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All About Alaiedon
Alaiedon Elementary School Newsletter
Volume 12, Issue 2
November/December 2014
Winter Greetings Alaiedon Families!
Our students have been quite excited with the snow’s arrival! I’m not sure that the
adults share in their enthusiasm, but we are preparing our winter routines. The
teachers and I thank all our parents/guardians for attending November ParentTeacher Conferences. The opportunity to share the strengths and challenges of
your children help us all guide our students on the road to success.
Thank you for taking time to review our school newsletter filled with important
information.
I wish you all a warm and fun-filled holiday season with your families,
Mrs. Lisa Francisco
Principal
UPCOMING EVENTS
November
26 – 30 – No School – Thanksgiving Holiday
Holiday Break – December
20th thru January 4th
December
1st – PTO Meeting, 5:30PM – Gym
2nd – 2nd Grade Christmas Program, “Winter
Follies”
 6PM – Mrs. Haudek’s Classroom
 7:15PM – Mrs. Carlson & Mrs. Yallup’s
Classrooms
th
4 – Market Day Pick-up, 4:35-5:35PM – Gym
9th – Stuff the Bus
11th – Popcorn Day
19th – Sky Dome Planetarium Assembly
January
5th – School Resumes
13th – EDRU Skate Night, 6-8:30PM
14th – 16th – AIMSweb Literacy & Math
Screening
15th – Market Day Pick-up, 4:35-5:35PM – Gym
19th – No School, Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Observance
22nd – Popcorn Day
29th – Laugh Factory Family Assembly (details
are coming)
SCHOOL HOURS
First Bell
8:35AM
Tardy Bell 8:40AM
Dismissal Bell 3:46PM
WINTER WEATHER
School Closing Announcements
Mason Public Schools delays and cancellations will be
announced via Instant Alert and on area radio and television
stations such as:
Television Stations
WLAJ
WLNS
WILX
FOX 47
Radio Stations
WVIC
WFMK
WJIM
WKAR
WUNN
WJXQ
WWDX
WIBM
WITL
Outside Clothing Expectations
The snowy weather is fast approaching. The Winter
Playground Rules were sent home with all students on Monday,
November 17th. Snow pants and boots are required in order to
go off the blacktop whenever snow is present. Having a time
frame for when snow pants and boots are required is most
helpful for students and staff. For the 2014-15 school year,
this time frame is from November 18th through March 27th.
Requests to Stay Inside
With the exception of extreme weather, children will have several recess times
each week. Documentation from a doctor is required for students to remain inside
from recess. Please contact the office at 676-6499 if you have any questions.
MASON PUBLIC SCHOOLS FOUNDATION NEWS
Donation Received!
The Mason Public Schools Foundation generously donated
$2,500 to Alaiedon Elementary School. These funds allow
us to equip three classrooms with a Smart Board. Mrs.
DeKett’s Resource Room, Mrs. Lange’s CI Classroom, and
Ms. Haine’s Music Classroom. Thank you MPSF!
PARENT ADVISORY FORUMS
Superintendent Ron Drzewicki is hosting
three Parent Advisory Forum to develop a
strong connection between the school
district and the parents we serve. The
goal is to provide parents/guardians an
organized voice and
keep you involved in the
decision-making process.
Superintendent
Drzewicki will be asking
for feedback on the
strengths, weaknesses,
opportunities and
threats of the school
district. Please plan to
attend one of the two
remaining forums.

Monday, February
23, 2015

Monday, April 20, 2015
Thank You PTO!
Our PTO and families
treated staff to a
lovely dinner on
Thursday, November
20th. They nourished
us between school and evening
conferences with delicious soups,
salads, drinks and desserts. Thank you
for helping us out during our busy
week.
Thank You Boy Scout
Troop #736
Boy Scout Troop #736
dedicated time and
energy to clean up our
playground fence line on October 25th.
It was amazing to see how much brush,
limbs and other debris they cleaned up.
The boys were determined, focused
and hardworking!
STUFF THE BUS 2014!
Our school will be participating in a food drive to benefit
Capital Area Community Services and the Mason Area
Food Bank. Items collected will be used to support Mason
area families in need. Our district goal is to “Stuff the
Bus” with donations.
Donations should be non-perishable items that are factory
packaged and sealed. Whatever you bring will be great but if you are looking for
ideas, the Director of the food bank reported the following items that are always
in demand: Hearty soups, canned fruit in light syrup, peanut butter and jelly.
Other items in need are: laundry detergent, shampoo and conditioner. Cash
donations are always welcome.
Mr. Kevin Doty, Transportation Director, will provide a school bus to pick-up
donations at each school. Please send items in a grocery bag or box, so that
they may be easily carried to the bus by our students.
Collection date is: TUESDAY, DECEMBER 9th
ANNUAL 2ND GRADE WINTER PROGRAM
WINTER FOLLIES – DECEMBER 2nd
Music teacher, Ms. Kari Haines, and our 2nd Grade students are busy
preparing for the annual winter program. Winter Follies will be
performed on Tuesday, December 2nd at the following times:
 6:00PM – Mrs. Haudek’s Classroom
 7:15PM – Mrs. Yallup and Mrs. Carlson’s Classrooms
Families and friends are welcome to attend! You may also join us for the dress
rehearsals scheduled for 1:45PM & 2:45PM on December 2nd in the gym.
ALAIEDON’S ANNUAL ORNAMENT DRAWING
In keeping with Alaiedon Elementary tradition, all
students have an opportunity to help decorate the
school lobby’s holiday tree.
Students can bring in a handmade ornament and
contribute to the display. They will then be allowed to
enter their name (one time) into a drawing in the
office.
One winner will be drawn from Mrs. Lange’s classroom
through 2 Grade, and one winner will be drawn from Grades 3-5. The drawing will
take place on Thursday, December 18th. Each winner will receive a holiday prize.
nd
This is a family activity, so we encourage parents and students to work together to
create an ornament.
SUBSTITUE PARAPROFESSIONALS AND NOON AIDES NEEDED
We are in need of sub paraprofessionals and Noon Aides. If
you are 18 or older and are interested in working as a
substitute paraprofessional or Noon Aide please contact Mrs.
Francisco at 676-6499. All persons interested in applying
need to be referred to MPS Human Resource Department by
a building administrator. They are also required to have a
background check that includes fingerprinting ($60 cost).
GREAT TURKEY SHOOT-OUT
Our PE teacher, Mr. Mike Marshall, organized and hosted the annual Great Turkey
Shoot-Out on November 11th. Shown below are the grade level participants. This is
always a fun and easy family activity. Thank you students for the generous
donations of four big boxes of food and $28 cash for the Mason Area Food Bank!
3rd Grade Participants
4th Grade Participants
5th Grade Participants
8 and 11.
WHERE’S THE MEAP? INTRODUCING M-STEP
The Michigan Department of Education (MDE) has
announced the new summative assessment to be
administered in Spring 2015 for students in Grades 3-
The new assessment meets all of the requirements put into law
by the legislature; that it be: an online assessment, with a paperand-pencil option; aligned to the state standards; expanding
writing assessments to additional grades; providing an increased
number of constructed response test questions so that pupils can
demonstrate higher-order skills, such as problem solving and
communicating reasoning; and pilot tested before statewide
implementation.
M-STEP replaces the 44-year-old MEAP test, which was not online and measured
the previous state standards. The Spring 2015 assessment will include Michigancreated content, as well as content developed by the multi-state Smarter Balanced
Assessment Consortium. Educators from Michigan public schools helped develop and
write test content that will appear on M-STEP.
Grades 3-5 will begin taking M-STEP in the areas of English Language Arts and Math
after Spring Break. 4th Grade students will also be assessed in Science, and 5th
Grade students in Social Studies. Specific information to these families will be sent
home to prior Spring Break.
POPCORN DAYS!
Children have an opportunity to purchase a bag of fresh popcorn one
day each month. Popcorn orders will be placed in the classroom and
students will receive their popcorn the same day. The cost is 50
Cents a bag. Students may purchase no more than two bags of
popcorn. Our popcorn dates for this year are:
December 11th
February 26th
April 23rd
January 22nd
March 26th
May 28th
PARKING-ARRIVAL-DEPARTURE
A yellow traffic line has been painted in the South parking lot to separate the
drop-off/pick-up zone. Words indicating it is a drop-off/pick-up zone will be
added in the spring. Four signs indicating no parking are also positioned along the
adjacent sidewalk. Everyone’s efforts in making drop-off and pick-up times safe
and smooth is much appreciated. As always, please use extreme caution when entering and
exiting the parking lots. At the end of the school day, please allow the buses to pull out of
your vision before making a turn onto Okemos Road.
END OF THE DAY DISMISSAL & TRANSPORTATION CHANGES
If your child is leaving school on a bus, other than their regular bus, or has any changes in
transportation, a parent note is required stating permission. The notes must be logged by
school office personnel and will be returned to your child at the end of the school day.
Please instruct your child to come directly to the office when they arrive at school to have
their note recorded.
In order to ensure all students receive notification in time for the end of day
parents/guardians need to contact the school office by 3:15PM for
transportation/pick-up changes made.
Students remain in their classrooms until the dismissal time of 3:46PM. Asking to pick-up
your child 5-10 minutes early to “beat the rush” disrupts last minute instruction,
distribution of homework and school communications, and preparations for the next school
day. We ask that you avoid requesting the office to contact a classroom after 3:30PM for
early dismissal.
LIBRARY FUN!
Mrs. Peden works really hard to make the Alaiedon Library an exciting
place for students. Hearing her read a story is always a highlight of
the week. The November Book Fair was a huge success – thank you
parents!
There is also a new bulletin board display in the library. In conjunction
with the book Wonder that the 4th and 5th graders are reading in
library, Mrs. Peden has put up a
Precepts bulletin board. Students
are invited to put any special saying
that they like, original to them or
not, on a 3 x 5 card and hang it up. 5th Grade student, Zach
Walkington put up the first one. < “Never stop doing what you
love.”
EAGLE DASH
Our PTO’s main fund raiser, The Eagle Dash, was a HUGE success!
$12,269.39 was raised. Our entire staff says “THANK YOU” to our
students and families for their dedication and commitment to Alaiedon
Elementary. Our PTO takes thoughtful care of these funds and helps
us provide several activities, trips, and materials to enhance student
instruction.