Principal's Message
Dear Wealthy Elementary Families,
Welcome back! I hope you all enjoyed the winter break with your families and created fond memories together. I was lucky enough to visit Harry Potter and Disney Worlds with mine which was a dream come true for this Wizard! As our school community begins this new calendar year, the staff and I are looking forward to a wonderful second semester together. Despite the dreary weather, we enjoyed our first day back and our first inside recess of the new year!
First Semester Report Cards
First semester report cards for all K-5 students will be available in Skyward at 8:00 a.m. on Friday, January 6. A specific email communication announcing the availability of report cards will also be sent to parents/guardians as a reminder. In the meantime, if you need assistance in learning how to access Skyward, please do not hesitate to contact Mrs. Allchin in the main office at 616.235.7550 or dallchin@egrps.org.
Code Red Drill
Consistent with our commitment to communicate and to serve the best interest of our students, I am writing to provide you with information regarding a very important safety drill that will be conducted this Thursday, January 5. Wealthy Elementary School will have a Full Sheltering/Lockdown drill in cooperation with East Grand Rapids Public Safety. This drill is conducted at least three times annually in compliance with legislation adopted in 2006 (as amended by Public Act 12 of 2014). This will be our second Code Red drill of this year.
During this drill, teachers and school staff implement procedures designed to maximize student safety in the unlikely event that a threatening situation were to unfold in or near our school. These procedures have been designed in collaboration with the East Grand Rapids Public Safety Department and a public safety officer will be present during our drill to observe and provide feedback about performance. The public safety department will not practice their response procedures during our drill. The most noticeable components to these procedures that your child will experience are hearing the term “Code Red” as a signal to take shelter, statements they might hear over the Public Address system if a real danger were present, the verification that doors are locked and closed, lights being turned off, and the repositioning of students within each classroom to maximize safety.
In preparation for this drill, your child’s classroom teacher will have an age-appropriate class discussion about the drill and about appropriate student behavior and responses during the drill. Teachers emphasize that this drill is just practice for a highly unlikely situation with the goal of avoiding or reducing student anxiety during the drill. Since each grade level is unique regarding what depth of information or what types of student questions are age-appropriate, teachers moderate these discussions carefully and may direct students to talk with parents about those questions deemed by the teacher to be best addressed by parents. While these classroom conversations and the remarks over the Public Address system prior to the drill have been adequate at creating an anxiety-free experience for the vast majority of students in the past, please feel free to talk with your child to help them make meaning of why such a drill is necessary and to understand its importance.
If you have any questions or comments regarding this safety drill, please do not hesitate to contact me or the classroom teacher.
Parking Reminders
As we head into the second semester, we continue to keep student safety as our top priority. Please be mindful of signage around school property, including where no left turns are allowed. Full information on drop-off and pick-up procedures is linked here.
Smartwatch and Cell Phone Reminder
Typically, many of our students are involved in activities before and after the school day throughout the year. We understand that there are times when you need to communicate with your children and smartwatches and cell phones are an easy way for you to do this. Please help us to maintain a distraction-free learning environment by reminding your child that any smartwatches and cell phones brought to school must remain off and in their backpack while on school grounds. For more information, please see Board Policy 8320 and 8320-R linked here.
Calendar
Please click here to view upcoming events on the Wealthy Elementary School calendar. Please mark your calendars for the following events:
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Friday, January 6: Report cards available at 8:00 a.m.
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Monday, January 9: Board of Education meeting in the EGR Middle School Learning Commons
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Monday, January 16: No school for students; MLK Day
If you ever have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me at callen@egrps.org.
Warm regards,
Carlye Allen
Wealthy Elementary Principal
https://twitter.com/principalcallen
