The Houghton Connection - Waterford School District

The Houghton Connection
Houghton Elementary School ~ 8080 Elizabeth Lake Rd. ~White Lake ~ MI ~ 48386
September 2014
Celebrating
Leadership
Volume , Issue
A Message from our Principal
Dear Houghton Families,
New beginnings are always great. We are so glad that you have chosen to be a member of the
Houghton School Family. We have a few new staff members besides me. Mrs. Anne Beck is
our school office manager. She previously worked at Sandburg and has quickly become a valued member of our team. Mrs. JoAnn Lotsis has joined our student support services team as a
resource room teacher. Her expertise in special education is an important addition to our
school. We have Encore Teachers new to us: Ms. Elaine Thompson in Spanish, Mr. Dave Hamway in PE, Mr. Dave Kurth and Mrs. Kelli Determan in art. Currently Mrs. Sharon Kokoska is a
long term substitute in 4th grade half time, sharing with Mr. Beasley. In our Autistic Program we
have a new teacher, Kristi Phillips, who is serving our youngest students in that program. The
team has changed, but the core values of Houghton have not. We remain committed to students
and their learning.
As I’ve visited classrooms to start the year, I’ve reviewed my expectations with students. They
are very simple:
*Keep each other physically safe and emotionally safe.
*Respect each other and obey our school rules to maintain this high expectation
of safety.
*Do your personal best and get smarter every day.
We have talked about what each expectation means, and I’ve been impressed by how much our
students already know.
Thank you to all of you who attended curriculum night. It was wonderful to see our classrooms
full of interested parents. We know that schedules are packed and so appreciate that you made
your child’s learning a priority. If you were unable to attend, know that it is not a condemnation
of you. Life happens and we just can’t do it all. Know that we do want 100% attendance at our
3 days of parent/teacher conferences in November. If you have a tight schedule, please contact
your child’s teacher right away and make an appointment. We want to ensure that you are fully
aware of your child’s progress and that together we will help your child succeed. Schools must
have strong partnerships with families in order to do just that.
If you or your child ever have a need, know that our staff is here to help. Please do not hesitate
to contact us.
Committed to your child’s success!
Sincerely,
Valerie Grimes
Principal
* Attendance matters as early as kindergarten. Studies show many
chidren who miss too many days in kindergarten and first grade
can struggle academically in later years. They often have trouble
reading by the end of third grade.
* All absences (exempt, excused, and unexcused) represent lost learning time.
Waterford School District employs amazing teachers and utilizes innovative curriculums but students can only
benefit from it if they are in the classroom every day.

Some absences are unavoidable. We understand that children will get sick and need to stay at home occasionally. However, it is critically important that your child be at school as much as possible. Absences with
medical documentation will be exempt and will not count towards the student’s absence total.

Waterford School District Attendance Guidelines state that a student should miss no more than 10 excused or unexcused absences per year.

Families should avoid extended vacations that require your children to miss school. Try to align vacation
with school breaks. School calendars can be found on the Waterford School District website.

Be perfectly punctual by getting your child to school on time every day. Tardy students miss important instruction. They also disrupt the delivery of instruction as they wander into class late during the first 5 -10
minutes or more of each class. Those lost minutes may add up to hours of lost teaching time by the end of
the term.

Absences can add up before you know it. Three absences per month throughout the school year, represents 5 weeks of missed learning throughout the year.

Missing school can be stressful for students upon their return because they must catch up with the information they missed as well as learn the information being taught that day.
The Beautification Committee would like to warmly thank all the Houghton Staff that
made our school look so wonderful. Our staff has put in many hours over the summer,
tirelessly working on making our learning environment a happy place to be.
A special and personal thank you to: Carrie Cwiek, Kaye May, Emily Horrigan, Jackie
Pace, Pam Ciesinski, Shari Carlson, Tara Frizzle, Leslie Green, Kelly
Powell, Jeff Richards, Jill Richards, Troy Beasley, Alexandria Velez,
Deb Janette, Carly Musa, Kellie Determan, Joann Lotsis, Jen Bares,
Leslie Brandon, Jamie Brown, Colleen Bache, Lisa Partogian, Anne
Beck,
Val Grimes, Anne Kruse, Denise Blouin, Stacey Szczepanski,
Karen Oliverio, Diane Willman and Kevin Keck.
SCHOOL TIMES—Students
are welcomed to enter our
As a service to students and their families, the Waterford School District is making available an 80/20
student accident insurance plan for your child, through
First Agency, Inc., at a very nominal cost to you. Information and enrollment forms can be found on our
district website www.waterford.k12.mi.us or at First
Agency’s website www.1stAgency.com.
school at 8:35 a.m.
The bell
rings, doors are opened and
music plays throughout the
building. Teachers greet
their students at their classroom door as
they prepare themselves for an exciting day
of learning. Instruction begins promptly at
8:45 a.m. Please do not drop off or send children to school early because there is no supervision. If your child arrives after the start
of school (8:45), they will need to sign-in at
the school office.
WANTED—School bus drivers—NO experience
When we are scheduled for a 1/2 day, dismis-
necessary—we will train you. Please apply on
sal will be at 11:58 a.m.
line at www.waterford.k12.mi.us
HOUGHTON CALENDAR 2014-15
SEPTEMBER
9/22
PTA—Event Chair Meeting
9/23
Running Club (week 2)
9/25
Boy Scouts
9/26
Popcorn Friday
OCTOBER
10/1
STUDENT COUNT
PTA-Fun Run
Running Club (week 3)
10/2
Market Day Pick-up
Lego Club
10/3
PTA—Bowling (Century)
10/7
Running Club (week 4)
10/10 Popcorn Friday
10/13 PTA Membership meeting
10/14 Running Club (week 5)
10/15 OCC PE Program (week 1)
PTA -Buffalo Wild Wings
10/16 LEGO Club
10/17 PICTURE RE-TAKES
10/21 Running Club (week 6)
10/22 OCC PE Program (week 2)
10/24 Popcorn Friday
10/29 OCC PE Program (week 3)
10/30 PTA-Halloween Skate Night
Market Day Pick-up
Lego Club
NOVEMBER
11/3
Cookie Dough sale forms home
11/4
NO STUDENTS
11/5
OCC PE Program (week 4)
11/7
End of 1st quarter 1/2 day
Dismissal 11:58 a.m.
11/10 PTA Membership Meeting
11/11 Parent/Teacher Conferences
11/13 LEGO Club
Parent/Teacher Conferences
11/18 PTA—McDonald’s Fundraiser
11/19 1/2 day for students
Dismissal 11:58 a.m.
Conferences p.m. or evening
11/21 Cookie Dough Orders due
Popcorn Friday
11/25 PTA—Skate Night—Rolladium
11/26—28 Thanksgiving NO SCHOOL
DECEMBER
12/4
PTA—Skate Night—Rolladium
12/5
Popcorn Friday
12/8
PTA Membership Meeting
12/9
PTA—Applebee’s fundraiser
12/11 LEGO Club
OC Vision Screening PS, 1, 3, 5
12/15 OC Vision Screening
12/16 Cookie Dough Delivery
12/17 OC Vision Screening
12/18 OC Vision Screening
12/19 Popcorn Friday
12/22-1/2—WINTER BREAK
JANUARY
1/8
Market Day pick-up
LEGO Club
1/9
PTA—Bowling—Century Bowl
Popcorn Friday
1/12
PTA Membership Meeting
1/19
MLK—NO SCHOOL
1/21
PTA—Buffalo Wild Wings
1/22
LEGO Club
1/23
1/2 day—end of semester
Dismissal 11:58 p.m.
1/29
PTA—Skate Night—Rolladium
FEBRUARY
2/5
Market Day pick-up
2/5
LEGO Club
2/6
TALENT SHOW
Popcorn Friday
2/9
PTA Membership Meeting
2/11
2ND STUDENT COUNT DAY
2/19—20 February Break
2/24
PTA—Skate Night—Rolladium
2/27
Popcorn Friday
MARCH
3/3
PTA—Applebee’s Fundraiser
3/4
High Needs Conferences
3/5
Market Day pick-up
LEGO Club
3/6
PTA—Bowling—Century Bowl
3/10
Read-In
3/13
Popcorn Friday
3/16
Market Day pick-up
PTA Membership Meeting
3/19
LEGO Club
3/20
FIRE DRILL
3/24
3/25
3/26
3/27
Oakland County Hearing
Screening PS, K, 2, 4
OC Hearing Screening
OC Hearing Screening
School Carnival
Popcorn Friday
OC Hearing Screening
APRIL
4/2
Market Day pick-up
LEGO Club
4/3-10 SPRING BREAK
4/16
LEGO Club
4/17
PTA—Bowling—Century Bowl
Popcorn Friday
4/20
PTA Membership Meeting
4/21
PTA—Skate Night—Rolladium
4/30
LEGO Club
MAY
5/1
5/4-8
5/5
5/7
5/8
5/14
5/15
5/18
5/22
5/25
5/28
5/29
Popcorn Friday
TCHR. APPRECIATION WK
PTA—McDonald fundraiser
Market Day pick up
PTA—Bowling (Century Bowl)
LEGO Club
Popcorn Friday
PTA Membership
NO SCHOOL
Memorial Day -NO SCHOOL
LEGO Club
Popcorn Friday
JUNE
6/4
Market Day pick-up
6/5
FIELD DAY
End of School Picnic
6/11
Last Day of school—Dismissal
11:58 a.m.
Join us at the on Friday, September 26, at the Kettering H.S. home football game for Armed Forces
Recognition Night. Gates open at 6:00pm. 6:15pm processional lead by Kettering Marching Band.
Game begins at 7:00pm. Check presentation to the Wounded Warrior Project immediately following the
game. Those with a military ID will get in FREE.