The Weekly Word

----------------------For parents of our Elementary students.

Where Children Come First----------------------

Please Visit our website at: merrill.k12.mi.us & click on “Elementary”

May 24, 2013

Enrollment 342

Dear Parents

  The school year seems to be quickly drawing to a close. After today, there are only 6 days of school left. Please remember that there is no school on Monday, May 27 and the students’ last day, on Tuesday, June 4 is a full day of school. (We’ve had lots of parents asking). It’s hard to believe that we are so close to being finished. If you owe any charges in the cafeteria, please try to get them paid as soon as possible.

Special Events for the Week of May 27

May 27   No School

May 29 Special Ed Meetings 10:00-3:00

Outstanding Citizen Celebration 2:00

May 30   Field Day

May31   Fourth Grade Sexual Awareness Lesson 1:00-2:00

  Fifth Grade Sexual Awareness Lesson 2:00-3:00

Special Upcoming Events

June 3 Fifth Grade Field Trip

Rain Day for Field Day

June 4 Last Student Day

  Meet the Teacher 8:30 a.m.

Kindergarten Registration

Our annual registration and information session was held on Wednesday, March 13, 2013.

Any child who is five by November 1, 2013 can be registered. Students who are five December 1, 2013 can still attend Kindergarten through the use of a waiver. If you know of any families with upcoming Kindergarten students, please ask them to call Linda at 643-7283 or email her at Honaman@merrill.k12.mi.us. She will mail out a packet of registration information.

Field Day

  There is a flyer attached to this week’s Word explaining a very special upcoming day. On May 30 the PVO is hosting a Field Day for all elementary students K-5. During that day, the students will be able to rotate between stations with fun games and activities that they helped to select. In order to have adults at the stations, many volunteers are needed. If you think you could help on that day, please take a minute to look at the flyer and respond. The kids will really appreciate it!

Summer School

If you received a summer school invitation for your child and have not sent back the RSVP form, please take a minute to do so. We have a number of student forms that we have not yet received. The deadline for responding was May 24. We will accept responses up to next Tuesday, May 28. Staffing and busing decisions depend on knowing who will be attending. If you have any questions, please call the office at 643-7283. For those students who will be attending, a letter will be sent home with them next week on Friday with more specific information as to bussing, staffing, etc.

Class Lists

Class lists were 99% completed this week. A letter will be mailed home to everyone next week with the teacher assignment. We will be having a Meet the Teacher day on the last day of school, June 4 at 8:30 a.m. The students will move to their classroom for the 2013-2014 school year. The teacher will have a short getting to know you activity planned for approximately 20 minutes. Students will also receive their supply lists for items needed for next year. Hopefully this experience will help to alleviate anxiety about classroom location, teacher, and classmates when the students return in the fall.

Box Tops

1st Place: Ms. Trogan's class with 222! Super job!

2nd Place: Mrs. Hardman's class with 220! Nice work, Kindergarten class!

3rd Place: Mrs. Trudgen's class with 108! In the top 6 again!

4th Place: Ms. Coleman's class with 107! Excellent job collecting this week!

5th Place: Mrs. Waterman's class with 93! Superb, 1st graders!

6th Place: Mrs. Stoneman's class with 80! Way to hang in there!

The remaining class totals are as follows...

Mrs. Spada's class with 65

Mrs. Glazier's class with 56

Mrs. Seamon's class with 45

Mrs. Peacock's class with 38

Mrs. Miller's class with 4

Mr. Beougher's class with 0

Thank you to everyone who contributed Box Tops this year! Our grand total for the year was 34,108!

I am happy to announce that Megan's room had the most Box Tops this year, with a total of 5,042! Way to go Mrs. Spada's room! They will have a special treat next week sometime.

Every class had large totals and here they are...

Spada: 5,042

Waterman: 3,790

Hardman: 3,638

Trudgen: 3,451

Peacock: 3,016

Stoneman: 2,857

Miller: 2,826

Glazier: 2,313

Seamon: 2,032

Trogan: 1,776

Coleman: 1,756

Beougher: 1,611

Scout News

Attention Future Scouts! If you were unable to come to the kindergarten Cub Scout round up it is not too late to sign up and still participate in summer activities. Boys in grades Kgd through 4th can still sign up for cub scouts and enjoy summer camps and activities. The Merrill Cub Scouts Pack #3317 is having a family camp at Lake Ann in Brant on June 7th. Don't miss out! Call Anne Bales for more information 989-642-9081

 Summer Reading Challenge!

Merrill Elementary Summer Readers will once again be rewarded with a Carnival in September! All students, *Kindergarten through 5^th grade who read the required number of books and turn in their reading log will be eligible to attend. We will have an inflatable ride; face stamping, games, popcorn and cotton candy to celebrate our readers’ accomplishments. A flyer with details and the summer reading logs will be sent home the last week of school, so keep it posted in a special place all summer long. Happy Reading!

Reading logs are due on Friday September 6!

*A note to parents of next year’s Kindergarten students-your child is able to participate in this program. You may stop by the office to get a reading log, or simply record on paper 20 books that you have read to them and return it to school by Sept. 6.

Sewing Help 

We need your help. We are having a sewing bee on June 1st and are looking for people to help our 4-H club meet their goal. We are trying to make as many dresses and shorts as we can to send to children in Africa. The 4-H club will be displaying them at the Saginaw County Fair then we will send them off this summer. If you know of anyone that would be interested in helping or donating anything please pass this information on. You can contact me by e-mail or call if you have any questions. Please see attached information.

If anyone would like to join us please let me know we would love your help.

Thank you, Anne Bales 642-9081

Medications/Lost and Found

  If you have sent in prescription and/or over the counter medications to school for your child, please be aware they will be disposed of on June 30.  You may stop in and pick them up before that date.  We cannot send medications home with the children.  If you have any questions, call Linda at 643-7283.

  We have a large number of items in the Lost and Found area, located outside of the cafeteria.  If your child is missing something, feel free to stop in and check it out.

Basketball Skills Camp

  S.K.I.L.L.S. Basketball Camps is running two camps in Hemlock this summer. The first camp is June 24-27 at St. Peter Hemlock; the second camp is July 22-25 at Hemlock High School. The camp is available for students ages 7-15. More information for these camps can be found on the website at www.skillsbasketball.org. These camps have been in the area in previous years and are run by Eric Hagenow, the principal and athletic director at St. Peter Lutheran School in Hemlock. Matt Bauer is currently teaching at Hemlock High School and is the Boys Varsity Basketball Coach. This is their nineteenth year of running the camps.

Menu for the Week of May 27

Please be aware that in addition to each choice below, the children can also choose a Turkey Sub sandwich.

Monday, May 27 No School

Tuesday, May 28 Bosco Bread Sticks, Green Beans, Chilled Applesauce, Food Bar, Milk

Wednesday, May 29   Nachos, Refried Beans, Chilled Mandarin Oranges, Food Bar, Milk

Thursday, May 30   Hamburgers, Chicken Burgers, BBQ Pork Patties, Broccoli, Chilled Pears, Food Bar, Milk

Friday, May 31   Pizza Pocket, Cooked Carrots, Chilled Pears, Food Bar, Milk

Monday, June 3   Chicken Tacos, Refried Beans, Peaches, Food Bar, Milk

Tuesday, June 4   Bosco Bread Sticks, California Blend Veggies, Pineapple, Food Bar, Milk

Pam Schomaker, Principal