Dear Dresden Families,

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving break. The students seemed ready to get back to

school, and excited for the weeks ahead. We have four weeks until our next break and that time is

packed with many activities.

Our PTO is very busy organizing and planning our next Santa Shop which will be open the week of

December 5th through the 9

th with the evening of 7

th open for parents and students from 6-8pm.

December is also a time for helping out those who may need assistance. Student Council is collect-

ing hats, mittens and canned goods for the Helping Hands organization. You will see our donations

gather on and under the tree that the students have set outside the media center. You might wonder

why our teachers are wearing jeans all month. We call it Denim December and teachers donate mon-

ey that is used to buy gifts and food for families in need. We call this a win-win!

Recently I talked to our students about how important attendance is. Research shows that the more

a child attends school, the more success they have in school. Please send your child to school un-

less they have a fever, are vomiting or have an unexplained rash. Students need to be in school.

Each day missed is a day lost of valuable learning. We had 114 students who had PERFECT attend-

ance for the first quarter. That means that about 24% of our students came to school every day the

first quarter. Way to go!!

We had also had 187 students who made honor roll or high honor roll for the first quarter. In other

words, about 40% of Dresden students have a B average or above. Congratulations!

Our NEHS induction ceremony is December 14th at 6:00 in the gym. National Elementary Honor Soci-

ety is awarded to those students who earned a 3.6 or better grade point average, demonstrate re-

sponsibility through leadership positions, service activities, membership in and recognition from other

groups at school or in the community and demonstrated at home or with family. The letters of invita-

tion will go home at the end of this week.

Thank you for all making our parent teacher conferences a huge success! We had 98% percent par-

ticipation this year. Thank you for being an essential part of your child’s education.

This month we are focusing on Habit 3 during our Lead Time. Habit 3 is “Put First Things First”.

When asked what this means, students talk about prioritizing what needs to be done, doing what is

important before what is not as important and have a plan on how to spend your time. If you are

spending too much time on unimportant tasks, you should focus on spending your time more wisely

so you can be effective in your responsibilities.

Coming in January: Updates on Student Leadership Teams and the work they are doing and our

Wildly Important Goals “WIGS”.

Have a wonderful Winter Break. Our last day of school is December 22nd

.

Winter Break: December 22-January 4.

Your Proud Principal and Lead Learner,

Jami Wood

Your students’ attendance

is very important to his/her

education and success

here at Dresden. Howev-

er, if your child needs to be

absent, please call the at-

tendance line and include

in your message; child’s

name (spell the last name),

teacher, grade, and reason

for absence (specific ill-

ness, vacation, funeral,

etc.)

(586) 797-4599

It is available 24 hours

7 days a week.

supervision on the play-

ground before school, stu-

dents should not use the play-

ground equipment. Teachers

will allow students to enter

assigned doors at 8:50 and

supervise then until school

begins at 9:00.

Our UCS parent and student

handbook states, “general

supervision begins 10 minutes

before the start of school.” At

Dresden , that means students

should arrive at school no

earlier than 8:50AM. Stu-

dents should not come to

school before this time, un-

less enrolled in School Age

Child Care. Since there is no

If you need to pick up your

child(ren) earlier than our

regular time, you will have to

sign them out in the office.

Children will be dismissed

only to their parents or those

listed on their emergency

cards. All children will be

called to the office when

someone arrives to take

them out of school.

Early Arrival Early Dismissal

Volunteers and Visitors

office. You will also need

to wear a visitor badge

and be prepared to show

your ID if you are going

into the school. Please go

directly to the classroom

you are volunteering in.

We love having volunteers

and visitors here at Dres-

den! In order to keep our

students in a continuously

safe environment, we ask

that you please come into

the office and sign in at the

counter, then sign out be-

fore you leave. If you

have not filled out a Volun-

teer Background Check

form, please do so in the

Page 3

9:00 AM-3:50 PM

Lunch/ Recess

Half day dismissal

12:04 PM

Office Hours:

8:00 AM—4:30 PM

586-797-4500

School Day Attendance

We are always in need of

lunchroom and recess su-

pervisors, These are paid

positions from 11:30-12;30

each day. Lunch Aides

work in our lunch room and

on the playground supervis-

ing students and ensuring

their safety, If you are

interested, or know of any-

one who might be, please

call Michelle at (586) 797-

4500

If your student re-

quires medication, in-

cluding over the coun-

ter medication, during

the school hours UCS

requires a medical

plan signed by a doc-

tor be on file in the of-

fice . These forms can

be attained in the front

office.

WELCOME TO FAMILY CONNECTION!

Utica Community Schools is pleased to introduce Family Connection linked with Naviance™ – a compre-

hensive website that your child can use to make plans about colleges and careers.

Family Connection allows your child to:

Research colleges

Research and apply for scholarships

Research careers

Prepare for the ACT test

Set academic and career goals for the future Build a resume

Tenth and eleventh grade students will receive their login and password information

in the month of January. Please discuss this exciting new opportunity with your

child. Look for additional information regarding this

district initiative.

Lunchtime Aides Needed! Medication Plans

Page 4

The second community meeting on school funding is scheduled for Wednesday, No-vember 16 at 7 p.m. at the Eisenhower Performing Arts Center, 6500 25 Mile Road in Shelby Township. The presentation will provide information on how the current school funding formula is impacting Utica Community Schools. More information on this important issue is available at: funding.uticak12.org or

#CostToEducateMyChild.

Utica Community Schools is committed to promoting the safe and effective use of technology. Through our district’s K-12 digital citizenship initiatives, we are providing students with information that promotes the proper use of digital content and tools.

A tool that families can use to help protect their children is the Michigan Child Protec-tion Registry. This free service from the State of Michigan protects children’s e-mail, cell phone numbers and Instant Messaging addresses from receiving inappropriate, adult-themed material.

The registry can be accessed by visiting www.protectMICHild.com. In addition, par-ents can click on the Protect MI Child icon, which will soon appear on the district and school Web sites for direct access to the registry.

New Federal Guidelines Set for Snacks Sold in School New federal mandated snack and beverage standards were im-

plemented effective July 1, 2014 in school districts nationwide. This will impact snacks sold by the district and through

school fundraisers. In accordance with the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act and the United States Department of Agricul-

ture (USDA), Utica Community Schools has implemented the required nutrition standards for all snacks sold in school by

all parties, including parent/student organizations, teachers, boosters, fundraisers and the Food and Nutrition Services de-

partment. These standards for snack sales are in effect from any time before school through one-half hour (30 minutes)

after school. through the rest of the day. The standards do not apply to foods brought from home for personal con-

sumption or to foods provided to students at no cost (i.e. approved special events).

The standards do not apply to items sold beginning 30 minutes after school through the rest of the day. The standards do

not apply to foods brought from home for personal consumption or to foods provided to students at no cost (i.e. ap-

proved special events).

Birthday Treats

Due to the increased focus on keeping our students healthy, we will continue with our goal of pro-

moting healthier choices. This year we will not be accepting birthday treats into our classrooms or

school. Please keep in mind that this means no food items will be distributed to classmates if your

child celebrates a birthday during the school year. As adults, we will certainly acknowledge children

who are celebrating a birthday in the same way as usual (for example: a song, a crown, a sticker, a

visit to the Principal.) In addition, teachers can provide suggestions for items other than food/treats

to pass out to classmates. Some popular suggestions have been; a book for the class, a board

game for indoor recess, a ball or jump rope for outdoor recess, individual pencils, stickers or eras-

ers to name a few. Thank you in advance for your adherence to this prac-

tice. It is our belief that this change will become a welcome one once we rec-

ognize the benefits to all our Dresden Dragons.

M-F Dec 5-9 Santa Shop

T Dec 13 Rink Night 6-8pm

F Dec 16 Last Day for hat, mitten or canned food donations

TH Dec 22 5th Grade Heritage Day 1:30-3:00pm

Dec 23-Jan 3 Winter Break

W Jan 4 Classes resume

W Jan 11 PTO Meeting 6:30pm

M Jan 16 No School MLK Day

Th Jan 19 & 20 1/2 day dismissal at 12:04pm for records

Th Feb 2 Academic Blitz Ford High School 6pm

M Feb 6 Rojo Mexican Bistro Lakeside Mall Restaurant

W Feb 9 Rink Night 6-8pm

W Feb 15 PTO Meeting 6:30pm

Feb 20-26 Mid-winter break

T Feb 28 2nd Grade Field Trip to Macomb Center of Performing

Arts

Th Mar 9 Evening of Excellence at the Palazzo Grande 6pm

Th Mar 16 3rd & 5th Grade Music Concerts

F March 24 Daddy Daughter Dance

W March 30 Rink Night 6-8pm

F March 31 1/2 day dismissal at 12:04pm for records

April 3-9 Spring Break

M April 10 4th Grade Field Trip to Lansing

F April 14 No school for Good Friday

W April 19 College Fair Henry Ford High School 6:30-8:00 pm

Th April 20 Fuddruckers Restaurant Night 12-9pm

W April 26 PTO Meeting 6:30pm

W May 17 PTO meeting 6:30pm

W May 24 Rink Night 6-8

May 26 & 29 No School Memorial Day

S May 27 Deneweth’s Fundraiser Day

M June 5 6th Grade Field Trip to Camp Copneconic

W June 7 Menchie’s Restaurant Night

W June 14 PTO Meeting 6:30pm

Dresden Elementary Calendar