DRAFT 4 -- Newsletter Volume 43, Number 4

September 19, 2024 | Volume 43, Issue 3

Table of Contents

Go to the Pumpkin Fest! At Tollgate on Oct 5th & 6th
Thank You, Parents! Scarecrows in the Park Decorating
Send Outerwear to School
Recess Fun
Dress to impress--Literary Character Day Thu., Oct. 31st
Parent Conferences RSVP by Mon., Sep. 30th
Show Your School Spirit--Spirit Day, Thu., Oct. 3rd
RSVP and Attend MAGC Fall Virtual Conference Tue., Oct. 22 & Thu., Oct 24
First SPARCler; RSVP to Personalize Your Learning
Submit Winterfest Performance Proposals; Due by Fri., Nov. 1st

Upcoming Events

THU, Oct 3

12:30 pm, Spirit Day Lunch & Assembly

SAT - SUN, Oct 5 - 6

Pumpkin Fest @ MSU Tollgate

FRI, Oct 11

NO SCHOOL

Fall Parent-Teacher Conferences

FRI - FRI, Sep 27 to Nov 1

Scarecrows in the Park avaiable for viewing

GO TO THE PUMPKIN FEST!

at Tollgate on Oct 5th & 6th

To greet the fall season, go to the Pumpkin Fest at Tollgate Farms on Meadowbrook Rd. in Novi. It will be held on Saturday and Sunday, October 5th & 6th, and will cost $15 per person at the gate, or $12 if you order by September 28th (this Saturday). To order tickets, visit

https://commerce.cashnet.com/cashnetg/static/storefront/msu_3568/catalog

As a side note, if you’d like to start getting in the mood for our (Western-themed) Auction on April 12th, go to the Tollgate Drop-in Square Dance event this Friday from 6:30-9:30 pm in the Tollgate Barn.

THANK YOU, PARENTS!

Scarecrows in the Park Decorating

Thanks to all the parent/student volunteers who created our astronaut: Robert & Jenny Schiff (Cassie & Finnley), Barb Malnar-Styke (Finley), and Dena Shuayto (Aliya).

Check out the Steppingstone scarecrow in Kellogg Park through November 1st. Our scarecrow is located right across from the Penn Theatre.

THANK YOU, PARENTS!

PARENT CONFERENCE CONFIRMATIONS

Thank you, parents for RSVPing in a timely fashion. A yellow confirmation slip with your conference time will be sent home today.

SEND OUTERWEAR TO SCHOOL!

Check the weather and send Jackets to school. Kids go outside for recess every day unless it’s raining or bitterly cold. When it is too cold to stay outdoors, students usually still take a walk for fresh air.

RECESS FUN

We have our recess outdoors, except on rainy days like this past Tuesday. In such cases, we will have our recess indoors, either in the Annex Gym or in our classroom. A big part of our recess protocol is that we ask all our students to run laps first before playtime. This is part of our PE fitness curriculum. Thanks to Dr. Otto from Structure & Function Chiropractic-Rehab for coming in last year, as he also helped us implement a stretch and warm-up routine before running laps.

When the students are outside (pictured above), they tend to have more creative playtime, utilizing their surrounding environments and imagination. When we have indoor recess (pictured below), we try to provide a more controlled play structure, such as hover soccer.

DRESS TO IMPRESS

LITERARY CHARACTER DAY

Thu., Oct. 31st

Today, Thursday, September 26th, we had our monthly visit to the Plymouth Library. This month our goal was to pick out several biographies for October's Power Reading genre. Mr. Liou provided small Steppingstone tote bags to carry our new books and keep them secret! Each student chose a favorite from their group of books. This book was then covered with paper to conceal the title. Why? We're getting ready for Literary Character Day!

A favorite annual event, Literary Character Day will occur on Thursday, October 31st. Students should arrive at school dressed as the person from the biography they chose. The costume should be student-made as much as possible. The first activity of the day is a round of 20 Questions. Students ask each other "Yes or No" questions to gather information about whom the book was written. It's a challenge to keep the "identity" of your "literary character" a secret until the event!

Other activities for this day include snacks, games, and a PE field trip (watch for information on that as the day gets closer). Students will take a walk through the "Scarecrows in the Park" and have lunch in Kellogg Park if it is not raining.

Parents, donations of fruit or veggie trays will be appreciated! If you send treats, they should be individually or commercially wrapped. Also, this is a NUT-FREE school year so please avoid peanuts and tree nuts and carefully read the ingredients of commercially prepared items to avoid nuts as well. Teachers would be grateful if you also avoid high sugar content and food dyes since several students are sensitive to those ingredients as well.

More information to come in future newsletters.

SHOW YOUR SCHOOL SPIRIT

SPIRIT DAY

Thu., Oct. 3rd

Our first Spirit Day is coming up next Thursday, October 3rd. Don’t forget to wear your spiritwear to show off your school spirit! Parents are welcome to join us for lunch on this day. If you are planning to come, please let Mr. Liou or Mrs. Dudek know.

RSVP AND ATTEND

MAGC FALL VIRTUAL CONFERENCE

Tue., Oct. 22 & Thu., Oct. 24

The MAGC (Michigan Association for Gifted Children) will be having its annual virtual fall conference again.

Tuesday, Oct 22, 7 PM - Academic Needs with Dr. Susan Corwith
Thursday, Oct 24, 7 PM - Social/Emotional Needs with Kristin Cotts

To register or for more information, you can visit migiftedchild.org.

FIRST SPARCler

RSVP to PERSONALIZE

YOUR LEARNING

Our first SPARCler (parent support forum) will be on Tuesday, October 29th 7PM at Steppingstone School. This year, we will be kicking off our SPARCler series with a Q&A panel discussion following the MAGC Virtual Fall Conference noted above. This will be an opportunity for you to take away personalized information regarding your child(ren)’s academic and social/emotional needs. We have invited Kristin Cotts to be a part of our panel discussion in addition to Kiyo Morse (Steppingstone founder), a teacher, and parent representative. To attend, please complete the following:

Register for the MAGC Virtual Fall Conference
RSVP for the SPARCler session
Fill out the questionnaire

SUBMIT WINTERFEST

PERFORMANCE PROPOSALS

DUE by Fri., Nov. 1st

Although Winterfest is still a couple of months away, we want the students to start thinking about potential variety show performance(s). A gold form has been sent home and the proposal is due by Friday, November 1st. If you have any questions/concerns, please contact Mr. Liou.