Memorial Elementary School - Points of Pride

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05.24.13


	“POINTS OF PRIDE” AT MEMORIAL

There are numerous events, programs, and "points of pride" associated with Memorial School each year that give students, staff, and families opportunities to interact with one another and to be involved with the school in a variety of ways. In alphabetical order, here's a brief description of some of our "Points of Pride":

General Mills "BoxTops for Education"-- We collect "Boxtops forEducation" and receive 10 cents for each one from the General Mills Corporation. Please save these for us--a list of participating products in the GM family is available at the school or at www.boxtops4education.com for more information. We are looking for a person to chair or two people to co-chair BTFE this year. If you are interested, please contact the school, fill out an Apple Corps form, or come to the first PTC meeting on September 13 to volunteer!

Geography Bee --National Geographic sponsors this annual event. Students in 4th and 5th grade compete in an oral and written exam that tests their knowledge of world and US Geography. The National Competition is held in Washington D.C., and is hosted by Alex Trebek of "Jeopardy" fame.

Goodfellows Canned Food Drive --Students bring in cans and packages of food and participate in friendly competition among classes to accrue the greatest number of food products donated. All food is donated to the Goodfellows whodistribute baskets to needy families and food pantries. This project takes place the week after Thanksgiving in all the schools in Riverview. We also participate in a canned food drive to replenish the Riverview Food Pantry housed at St. Cyprian Church, usually in the spring around "carnival time." You do not have to be a member of the St. Cyprian parish to use the Riverview Food Pantry--it is open to all families with need.

Halloween Parade --Children and many staff members dress up in costumes and parade through the classrooms and outside the school through the board office, while parents cheer them on from the sidelines. This event precedes classroom parties that are held on or near October 31 each year.

Honor Roll --Students in Grades 3-5 who maintain a "B" average and exhibit good citizenship and work habits are eligible for "Honor Roll" status. Applebee's restaurant provides our honor roll students with free meals, and students who make the honor roll all four marking periods get a special ribbon and certificate at the end of the school year.

H.O.T. Pads --Parents can purchase these pre-printed bound pads of paper for $2.00 from the PTC. These notes simplify communication between parents and the school. The acronym stands for "Home-Office-Teacher," and parents can use them to make note-writing much easier.

"Hundredth Day"-- Lower elementary celebrate the 100th day of school eachyear with a variety of special lessons, art projects, math games, and activities that all revolve around the number 100. With assistance from our wonderful paraprofessional staff, first graders work hard to create special T-shirts with 100 objects painted in sets of ten. Students often keep and wear these shirts for years to follow on the hundredth day of school.

SchoolCenter Picture Hungry Howie's Pizza Sale --Each Friday, Apple Corps volunteers serve up HungryHowie's Pizza, which the Riverview Hungry Howie's store sells to us at a discount. Students pay $1.00 per slice, and proceeds have been used to buy supplies and equipment for our science lab. Students may purchase one or two pieces of pizza, and orders are taken and money is collected by the classroom teachers each Friday by 9:00.

"In School On Time Everyday" Drawing -Each week, every class sends the name of a student down to the office, selected from those students who have been in school every day of the week, with no tardies and no early dismissals. A special drawing is held and six students, one from each grade, win a trip to the "Fabulous Prize Showcase" as a reward for great attendance. All nominees each week win a specially imprinted "In School On Time Everyday" Memorial Mustang pencil.

"Just Write"- Each week, teachers select samples of their students' writing to send to the principal, who reads the students' work and selects one upper elementary and one lower elementary class to be the winners of the "Just Write" trophy, which is displayed in the teacher's classroom for the week. The trophy is huge and gaudy, and the kids just love it! It usually takes two students to carry it back to the room after they have come down to the office to accept it.

Kindergarten Round-Up-- Each spring, the school sponsors Kindergarten Round-Up, aprogram that allows parents and prospective kindergarteners to come into the school for a couple hours to meet the teacher, munch on refreshments, hear about kindergarten curriculum, learn about registration procedures, tour the school, take a school bus ride, and receive a packet of educational goodies for the kids. The program is completely free, and is open to interested families within and outside the district. Check the Website for the 2011 date.

Language Arts Fair -In May each year, parents come to the school to celebrate literary accomplishments as seen through festively displayed samples of books, stories, language arts projects, and multi-media creations that the students and teachers have created throughout the year. Once again this year, we plan to add an ice-cream social to the event, so that families can create sundaes and share in some "cool" time together in the cafeteria as they take a break from visiting the language-arts drenched classroom displays.

Latchkey Program- Memorial participates in the district's Latchkey Program, which offers child care for students before and after school. Hours of the program are from 6:45 A.M. until 6:00 P.M. Latchkey is held in the school cafeteria, and includes breakfast in the morning and a snack after school. Since we have implemented all day kindergarten, we no longer sponsor "KinderCare." Registration packets for the fall program are now available at the school. During the summer, Latchkey offers a "Day Camp" program complete with daily outdoor activities and weekly field trips. Summer Latchkey is held at Seitz Middle School. For more information on Latchkey or KinderCare, please call (734) 284-9160 to reach the Latchkey Office at Seitz. To get in touch with Memorial Latchkey in the cafeteria, call (734) 283-1864 during Latchkey hours before or after school only.

"Make A Difference Day"-- Students and families cooperate in helping the community, through various projects. Staff, students, and parents pull together to raise money for a good cause, or to complete a special project that will benefit the community or targeted groups of people in a community.

Meijer Community Rewards --Parents and friends of Memorial register with Meijer through our PTC, and Meijer Supermarkets will donate a percentage of the money spent by people who scan special cards at the time of purchase. Recently, Meijer changed their guidelines, and only purchases paid for with a Meijer credit card or bank debit card are eligible for the promotion. However, special perks, such as gasoline discounts, coupons, and special shopping offers are available for those who sign up for this program. Any person in the community can select Memorial School to be a beneficiary of the Community Rewards program. Please contact us for information on how to sign up.

Memorial Mustang Messenger --This monthly newsletter published by the principal goes home the first week of the month with students whose parents do not have it e-mailed to them.. It will be available on line at our Website, making it even more convenient for parents to read.

Mother Son Super Bowl -- In the past, w e've had beach parties, luaus, magic shows, and hoe-downs, but the event that has proven to be most popular is the annual Mother-Son Super Bowl. Boys and the special women in their lives come together at a local bowling alley on a Sunday afternoon to spend a couple hours bowling with friends and eating lunch together. In addition, they can have a memory photo created, and there are door prizes and a 50-50 raffle. Bumper bowling is available for the younger students, and a special feature is "Cosmic Bowling," where alleys are decked out in bright neon lights. This event usually happens in February.

Motor Moms and Dads-- Trained parents work with kindergarten and first grade children to integrate physical, sensory, and motor skills with academic learning. Using a set of specialized equipment, including mats, balance beams, beanbags, balls, crawl tunnels, and other similar aids, parent volunteers help young students to improve sensory-motor integration through participation in specialized exercises that incorporate body movement with reading and math skills. Students work in small groups with parents and staff in the halls outside the classrooms.

Mustang Dollar Store-- Our second grade students, assisted by parent volunteers, run this store each Friday morning. Children may use their "Mustang Dollars" awarded by staff members to purchase a variety of novelty school supplies and toys. Items are priced from "one Mustang Dollar" to "five Mustang dollars," so students may spend their money on smaller items a dollar at a time, or save up for the bigger items.

Office Depot-"5% Back to Schools Program" -- Five percent of the cost of your purchases at Office Depot will be rebated to Memorial School if you remember to give the cashier our school ID number when you check out each time you shop at Office Depot. Memorial's school ID # is 70052175

Open House --Each year, during the first week of school, parents are invited in to meet the teachers. Each grade level is scheduled for half-hour informational sessions, with extra time to chat and get to know the staff members at Memorial. Also present at Open House are opportunities to sign up for FCF Credit Union, to sample Mackinac fudge goods, and to get information about Apple Corps and PTC, Scouting, and other school and community activities. This year's Open House nights are tentatively scheduled for Wednesday, September 8 for Grades 3-5 and Thursday, September 9 for Grades K-2. More details will be available as the dates approach.

Parent Teacher Conferences -Two nights are set aside in the fall, and one night in spring for the purpose of Parent-Teacher conferencing. This year's conference dates are tentatively slated for November 3 and 4 and March 17 from 5:00 until 8:00 P.M. Teachers also meet with parents at various other times throughout the school year to discuss student progress. Parent requests for conferences are always honored at any time throughout the school year.

Parent Teacher Club (PTC) Meetings --This organization is the lifeblood of activities and special events that take place at Memorial, and in addition to the tremendous financial support the group lends to the school, PTC is largely responsible for leading most of the extracurricular activities that are associated with Memorial School. The first Monday of each month at 7:00, parents and teachers come together to plan special projects and to interact socially with one another. Refreshments are served, and meetings generally last less than an hour. On occasion, the PTC raffles off a gift card to add a little fun and excitement to the monthly meetings. In April, nominations are taken for board positions, with elections held in May. The PTC board consists of President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, and three or four Trustees. People desiring a position on the board need only to submit a nomination form. In order to be eligible to vote for board officers, parents must have attended three regular PTC meetings throughout the school year. There are no dues associated with PTC, and all parents and interested friends are cordially invited to our Library the first Monday of the month to join us in PTC meetings.

Playground Pals-- Incredibly, our parents raised $18,000 between January and April last year to put in a new play area for the students. We were so grateful for the grants and donations from charitable foundations, business partners, parents, community members, and students--all of which made the addition of the new playground possible. The tremendous work that went into fund-raising is very much appreciated by the school. This year, the PTC plans to continue the Playground Pals program, in an effort to create a play area designed more for younger students, and we hope to add a slide to the current "new" area. For a list of major contributors, please use the navigational link on the home page.

Popcorn Sales-- On Fridays, parent volunteers come into the school to prepare fresh popcorn using the popcorn machine purchased several years ago for the Carnival. Small bags of popcorn are sold at lunchtime for just a quarter. There is no need to pre-order popcorn. Warning: visitors to the school on Friday mornings are often tempted by the tantalizing aroma of freshly-popped corn!

Reader's Digest "Word Challenge" Bee-- Similar to a spelling bee, this competition among 4th and 5th graders has students vying for honors as the school's top achievers in Vocabulary. Competition begins at the homeroom level, and progresses to grade level and school championships for a fourth and fifth grader. This year, the school champions will be able to take a written test that could advance them to state and national level competition. (This competetion was temporarily suspended by RD as they work on improvements to the program. We hope to see it re-instated this year.)

Recycling for Technology --Nancy Face, our Computer Lab technician, is in charge of a program that recycles empty ink cartridges, toner cartridges, and cell phones. The school receives money and products in exchange. Donations from the community are welcome!

Safety Bear ---Each year, "Safety Bear" comes to visit Memorial second graders to teach them how to stay safe. Issues addressed include "stranger danger" and personal protection of their own bodies, as well as other general safety tips.

School Calendar-- To save printing costs, this calendar is now available on line. It is updated throughout the school year as new events are added.

Schools of Choice-- As part of the Riverview Community School District, Memorial participates in the Schools of Choice program. Riverview has been a Schools of Choice District for the past fifteen years, and currently more than thirty percent of our student population hails from outside the Riverview School District boundaries. We welcome students from any city in Wayne County, and we are happy to report a very high satisfaction rate from parents whose students are enrolled through Schools of Choice. For more information on how to enroll your child in Riverview Schools, please contact LouAnn Durand at Central Office, (734) 285-9660. Currently, we have openings at all elementary grade levels, and the Schools of Choice enrollment deadline has been extended until September 10, 2010. If you are "school shopping" and would like to visit Memorial School, please contact the principal, Nancy Holloway at (734) 285-4080 to arrange a personally guided tour of the school.

Science Exposition -Students in all grade levels may submit a project for our annual Science Expo held in conjunction with our Language Arts Fair in May. Our science fair is not judged-it is an exposition of the projects created with family, teachers, and students working together. All students receive ribbons for participation in this event. Projects submitted reflect knowledge of the Scientific Method, which is taught across all grade levels at Memorial.

Science Lab --Due to budget cuts, our Science Lab Paraprofessional position has been eliminated. We hope to keep the lab open to some extent this year, with support from parent volunteers, In the past, one entire classroom in our school was transformed into a wonderland of science that teemsd with animals, plant, wildlife, models, and displays. Students may still meet with their teachers weekly in the lab to perform experiments and to take part in scientific demonstrations and projects, but it will be without the support of paraprofessional Karen Norris, who worked with teachers to plan and set up experiments, and to assists students with projects and activities. If you are interested in serving as a volunteer in the Science Lab, please contact Mrs. Holloway.

Secret Santa Shop --PTC sponsors this annual program that allows children to Christmas shop at school. Hundreds of items priced at just $1.00 each are available for purchase, and gifts are specially selected to be appropriate for moms, dads, grandparents, siblings, and family pets. Students shop with their homeroom classes at a scheduled time, with assistance from parent volunteers. "Secret gifts" can be wrapped at school and saved for holiday giving.

"Specials" Classes --Each week, in addition to the core curricular classes taught in homerooms, students take part in physical education, art, music, and library skills classes, all of which are taught by teachers with special training in each of those areas. In addition, students go with their homeroom classes to the library for circulation, to the Science Lab for hands-on activities, and they explore all subjects through use of laptop computers in the classrooms. Occasionally, visitors and guests come into the school to teach particular skills to students, either through a contracted "workshop" program, or as parent volunteers.

Spelling Bee -Fourth and fifth graders compete for homeroom, grade level, and school level honors. Five top spellers represent the district at the Riverview Community Spelling Bee Championship held and hosted each year at Memorial School. Memorial now participates in the Scripps-Howard Spelling Bee, giving our students the chance to perform at the National Level in Washington D.C., should they qualify through participation in preliminary rounds of competition.

Spirit Days --Each Friday is "Memorial Mustang Spirit Day," and students are encouraged to wear school T-shirts, sweatshirts, and the school colors of burgundy and white. Occasionally, we sponsor special spirit days in support of local sports teams, reading events, carnival, or holidays. PTC purchases a Memorial Mustang t-shirt for each child and donates them at no cost to the student or family, so no one is left out of "Spirit Day" festivities. Staff members are also urged to show their spirit by wearing Memorial colors each Friday, and if they choose to wear jeans with the spiritwear, they contribute $5.00 towards an Activity Fund.

"Stellar Students" Program --Each month, every teacher nominates a student or two to be "Stellar Student of the Month." These boys and girls are good students who show continued good effort, outstanding citizenship, and notable leadership in their classes. Honorees receive an embossed ribbon, a certificate, and a gift certificate for a free junior pizza courtesy of Hungry Howie's Pizza in the Riverview Commons. Students also have their pictures displayed for the entire month on the "Stellar Student" bulletin board in our lobby.

Summer Accelerated Reader --During the summer, the school library is open one day each week fror three hours, so that students can come into the school to read books, to check out books, and to take Accelerated Reader tests. Paraprofessionals come in to support students who earn extra AR points during the summer by reading books and passing computerized tests that test comprehension. Prizes and rewards are offered to participants of the Summer AR program. This summer, the library is open on Wednesdays from noon until 3:00 P.M. The theme for this summer is "Make Waves with Books!"

Thousand Book Kid Program-- Parents are invited to register their young children from infancy through kindergarten in the school's "1000 Book Kid Program." In the lobby, there are 120 zippered tote bags with the "100 Book Kid" logo on them. Each bag contains ten picture books that appeal to the younger set. Parents check out the bags of books, one at a time, charting progress on index cards which are in files on a table next to the books. Incentive prizes are awarded to children as they complete 250 stories (25 bags), 500 stories (50 bags), 750 stories (75 bags), and finally, 1000 books (100 bags). The goal is to have children hear or read 1000 books by the time they enter or finish kindergarten. This program is open to all Memorial neighborhood families as well as School of Choice families. Parents are urged to register their children and to begin the program even before their children become students at the school. Please contact the principal for more information on this program.

Title I Schoolwide Program-- Because the Free / Reduced Price Lunch population at Memorial is so high (over 51% currently), our school is eligible for Schoolwide Title I support from the federal government. Our School Improvement Team has been working on the Ten Components of a Schoolwide Plan, which has been submitted to the state for approval. Parents are invited to be involved in the School Improvement Process. If you are interested in serving on the SIP Committee, please contact the school.

Target "Take Charge of Education"- Target Corporation donates 1% of sales made by registered Memorial family members and friends who use their Target Visa. It's easy to sign up--just go to your local Target and apply for a Target Visa card, and specify Memorial School in Riverview as your beneficiary. If you already have a Target Visa, just call Target to register your card with our school. The school has received several thousand dollars through the Target "Take Charge of Education" program, and Memorial families are asked to recruit their friends and family members to designate our school as a beneficiary of this program. Every little bit helps!

"Treble Makers" --This is the name of the group that has been known for years as the "Glee Club." Under the direction of music teacher Gerri Binion, "Treble Makers" meet each Friday to sing and rehearse for performances. Traditionally, they will entertain at a nursing home / convalescent center in December, and they will perform on stage at a concert in May. "Treble Makers" is open to 4th and 5th graders who like to sing, dance, act, and perform on stage. There are over 100 members in this group. When possible, Treblemakers take a special field trip to the Fox Theatre to see a professional musical performance. Two-year members receive certificates of recognition when they graduate from fifth grade.

Yearbook-- Lifetouch Studios works with the principal, school staff, and parent volunteers to produce a full-color yearbook that includes portraits of staff members and students as well as candid shots of kids and special events that happen at Memorial throughout the school year. The yearbooks are ordered as part of the fall portrait package, where they are most affordably priced, but they are not received until May or June. It is important for parents who want a yearbook to order them in the fall, with or without the rest of the portrait package that is offered by Lifetouch. Extra copies cannot be printed in the spring after the yearbooks start coming in, even though the distribution of ordered yearbooks usually prompts dozens of parents to "change their mind" and ask for yearbooks. In order to avoid disappointment, please order your yearbooks in the fall!

YMCA Storer Camp --This year, for the fourth year, fifth graders at Memorial will have the opportunity to attend YMCA Storer Camp in Jackson, Michigan for a four-day outdoor educational experience. During the program, which takes place from Tuesday, January 25 through Friday, January 28, this school year, curriculum revolving around science and social studies benchmarks established by the State of Michigan will be implemented thorugh twelve or more units of study accomplished within the fun-filled camp experience. In addition, students will be exposed to a variety of team-building and character-enhancing activities that are designed to establish a more cohesive bond among students during their final year at Memorial School. Students are supervised by trained YMCA staff members assisted by RCHS National Honor Society students who volunteer to serve as cabin counselors. Memorial fifth grade teachers attend and oversee the camping program. Fund raising for this event began last spring and will continue this fall. Cost of the camp is estimated to be about $200-$220 per student. Parents of fifth graders should attend an informational meeting (September 8, 5:30 P.M.) that will be held this fall for a complete update on the camp experience. It is hoped that all fifth-grade students will be able to participate in this exciting program.