Stewart Family Star

I am absolutely loving being here at Stewart Elementary! Thank you to everyone for the very warm welcome!

The Stewart community has so much PRIDE and for good reason!! Our kiddos are working hard and making so much progress, our staff is working hard learning how to provide the most effective literacy instruction, and our families are supporting us in this work!

This edition of the Stewart Family Star is jam-packed with important info so show perseverance and read on to the end (make sure you share with your child(ren) how much perseverance you are showing)!

Let's keep working together for these wonderful children!

Carole Fetke, Principal

Notable Dates:

• Saturday, March 23: 11 am, Stewart Family Caturday (Read to cats at the Humane Society)

• Thursday, March 28: 1/2 Day, End of Third Marking Period

• Friday, March 29: NO SCHOOL (Spring Break begins)

• SPRING BREAK April 1-5

• Solar Eclipse school event - Monday, April 8

Yellow Permission slips went home this week. PTO is providing an opportunity for safely viewing the Solar Eclipse with special certified glasses. PLEASE RETURN THE PERMISSION SLIP BY MARCH 27!

Blue Intent to Return forms went home this week. Please read thoroughly, mark the appropriate information, and send back ASAP! These forms are very important to plan for classes for the 24-25 school year. Thank you for your support!

It is our #1 goal to keep all of our children safe! Unfortunately, we have had a few scary moments for our staff in the car drop off/pick up lane in the past few weeks!

Pick adhere to the following guidelines so we can all work together and protect our children:

• ENTER the car rider drop off/pick up lane off of Maple Lane and veer right to loop around the back parking lot and enter the car rider drop off/pick up lane on Orchard Lane.
• After dropping off / picking up your child, EXIT the lane off of Orchard and onto Morton Lane (watch for our staff member here directing traffic to allow our buses to enter and exit safely).
• Keep your focus on the car lane and our staff who are directing traffic (please refrain from texting and/or look at your phone while you are in the drop off / pick up lane)
• Please do not go around any vehicles at the cones.

Officer Boone, our school resource officer, has watched our drop off/pick time on several occasions in the past few weeks and has complimented our families and staff on how smoothly it runs! Let's keep working together to keep our children safe!

Spring Picture Day will be Thursday, April 11,

Order Online: Inter-state.com/order

use order number: 86078NB

Our first Bingo for Books event was a wonderful success! Thank you to everyone for joining us to play Bingo, win books, and learn a little more about strategies families can use at home to help their child with Literacy! Also, a HUGE thank you to our staff who helped out and to our LHS Key Club volunteers!

Here's some great links to some free resources learn to help your child grow their literacy skills:

We received confirmation from the Berrien County Health Department that the isolation period for those having COVID has changed. The CDC has now combined COVID, the flu, RSV, and other respiratory viral illnesses under one umbrella as far as how long to stay home to reduce the spread.

Updated Guidance: The updated Respiratory Virus Guidance recommends that people stay home and away from others until at least 24 hours after both their symptoms are getting better overall, and they have not had a fever (and are not using fever-reducing medication). Note that depending on the length of symptoms, this period could be shorter, the same, or longer than the previous guidance for COVID-19.

It is important to note that the guidance doesn’t end with staying home and away from others when sick. The guidance encourages added precaution over the next five days after time at home, away from others, is over. Since some people remain contagious beyond the “stay-at-home” period, a period of added precaution using prevention strategies, such as taking more steps for cleaner air, enhancing hygiene practices, wearing a well-fitting mask, keeping a distance from others, and/or getting tested for respiratory viruses can lower the chance of spreading respiratory viruses to others.

The Schools of Choice application window will be open April 29 - May 20, 2024 for the 2024-2025 school year. Thank you for your interest in Lakeshore Public Schools!

If you have questions regarding Schools of Choice, please contact Sue Hardy at the Central Office at 269.428.1400 ext. 2900 or Email Sue Hardy.

Lakeshore Public Schools accepts Schools of Choice applications for residents of Berrien County, but non-residents of our Distrct ONLY during specific timeframes. Acceptance will be determined by the spots available in the building and the grade level requested. Some applications may be denied due to overall building capacity and/or student disciplinary issues.

Parents can apply by completing and returning an application to Lakeshore Public Schools Administrative Office during the posted dates established each year. In order to receive an email notification at the start of each application window, please send an email with your name, address, and Email Sue Hardy.

Important considerations for parents & students applying for Schools of Choice:

• The student must be a resident of another school district within Berrien County.

• Transportation is not provided for Schools of Choice students. Therefore, parents must provide their own transportation to and from school.

• According to the Michigan High School Athletic Association, there are rules for athletic participation for Schools of Choice enrollees in grades 10-12. Please visit the MHSAA website directly (MHSAA) for current information and eligibility.

Application Information

• Applications are only accepted during the specified time frame and are NOT on a first come basis.

• Parents will be notified if their child has been accepted as a Schools of Choice student 15 days after the application window has closed.

• Complete enrollment paperwork is not needed until after being accepted and proof of residency will still be required at that time.

• Once your child has been accepted, you do not need to reapply as long as you remain living in Berrien County.

Please remember to notify the office by 2 p.m. of any transportation changes for your child. This allows us to have ample time to relay the information to their teacher.

If you need to pick up your child early from school, kindly do so before 2:30 p.m. This helps maintain safety in the pick-up line and avoids complications.

Thank you for your cooperation!

It's that time of the year again! Germs everywhere! Please remember that your child should be fever free (without medicine) and not vomiting for 24 hours before returning to school. Thank you for following this policy and keeping our Stewart Family healthy! If your child will be late or absent, please contact the office before 9:00 am by email at jmcgovern@lpslancer.net or call 269-428-1418. You may leave a voicemail at any time. Mrs. McGovern checks it multiples times during the day. It is required by the state to report the reason for an absence so please share the reason/symptom and/or type of illness if known. Late students need to be signed in by an adult in the office. Thank you!

• The BookFair was a huge success! We were able to raise funds for our PTO account as well as take home some Scholastic Dollars. Thanks again to our awesome volunteers! Look for more information later this spring about one more BookFair this year! We will be offering a smaller BOGO fair in May.

You are also invited to sign up to volunteer for the POP store! The kids have been enjoying

shopping at the POP store using their POP tickets on Fridays. You have the opportunity to volunteer (and choose a date/time when your child will be shopping) by signing up here - Stewart POP Store — Signup Sheet | SignUp.com

Other ways to help out the POP store includes donating money to help stock the store and

purchasing items off of the POP store Amazon wish list. A ‘frequently asked questions’ flier

came home this week to help answer any questions you may have. We appreciate all of your

help in making this such a positive & rewarding experience for our kids! If you have any

questions regarding the POP store, please email stewartpopstore@gmail.com

-We have some FUN events happening this year! If you’re interested in volunteering with the

PTO, please email us at hello@stewart-pto.com. For more information on the PTO and other

helpful information, visit www.stewart-pto.com

*We love to provide fun and enriching opportunities for our students. Please check out these two

great options to donate in order to make those fun things happen:

Box Tops – These are now all online! Easy to scan and give the credit to our school!

Thank you for your continued support and; dedication to the Stewart Family :-)

Please join us for our LAST PTO meeting of the year on April 30th at 3:45pm. Child care will be provided, so skip the line and come into our meeting! We will be having our 2024-25 school year board seat elections at this meeting as well. If you are interested in joining the PTO or volunteering for our events, please email hello@stewart-pto.com.

The PTO is looking for interested parents to join our team! Our elections for next school year will be held at our community meeting on April 30th. If you are interested in a board position below, please submit your name to the PTO email by April 23rd (hello@stewart-pto.com).

We have several non-board positions open, as well, and hope to find individuals to fill these roles so these events can continue. If you’re interested in more information, please reach out ASAP!

TUTORING
Let us take the stress out of helping your child with their reading and math skills. Our mission for Kid's Club is to provide fun activities combined with small group learning to support the skills they are working on in school. All tutors have been in education and love working with the kiddos. Stewart kids may stay after school. Sign up here https://forms.gle/WRm2rEg2WUAr9mN9A

Kid's Club Y5-5th grade Tutoring on Tuesdays! Let us take the stress out of helping your child with their reading and math skills. Our mission for Kid's Club is to provide fun activities combined with small group learning to support the skills they are working on in school. All tutors have been in education and love working with the kiddos. Stewart kids may stay after school. Tutoring is every Tuesday from 4-5pm $15/session. Please contact Tessa Lee (2nd grade teacher) for more information at tlee@lpslancer.net

BOYS and GIRLS Grades Y5-5th

Canvas Painting or a Sport

Location: Stewart Elementary School

Wednesdays on March 6, 13, 20, 27 right after school until 5:15pm. Click the link to register

Pay by bringing cash or send Venmo to @SBVBCamp $20/session or all four for $70

Canvas-Come paint with us! Each Wednesday we will have two different options for kids to choose from. We will supply everything you need for your child to create a work of art while having fun with friends.

Sports-Each Wednesday we will have a new sport including soccer, basketball, volleyball, and floor hockey. Come burn some energy!

https://forms.gle/tmLRGo687a9kHvL48

Kid's Club Wednesdays- Flag Football or Cheerleading

Come to Stewart Elementary and join us for flag football or cheerleading FUN! This is an excellent activity to burn some energy and practice skills in football or cheerleading with friends. Students from Stewart Elementary may stay after school. April 10, 17, 24, and May 1. Students may choose between football or cheerleading. All equipment will be provided. We will not cancel due to rain. Students may wear tennis shoes and comfortable clothes they can move around in. 4:00-5:15pm. $20/kid each session. Register for all 4 sessions and only pay $70 (a $10 savings) Please contact Tessa Lee (2nd grade teacher) for more information at tlee@lpslancer.net

Register here: https://forms.gle/NRR8R9JkD1xLFwJy7