After ten weeks of hard work, our fifth graders graduated from the

“Pine River Pioneers are kind, courteous, respectful, responsible, and always safe.”
Pine River Elementary
3575 King Road
China, Michigan 48054
http://www.ecsd.us/pre/
Attendance Line: (810) 676-1066
Fax: (810) 676-1060
Joyce Lemmer, Principal
(810) 676-1050
June 13, 2014
After ten weeks of hard work, our fifth graders graduated from the DARE program under the
excellent direction of Retired Deputy Cyndy King. Students showed their pride by singing
“Proud” and listening to “Taking a Stand” essays read by Ford Lincoln, Courtney McLeod,
Benjamin Stoecker, and Nathan Williams. Spencer Hack’s essay was chosen to represent Pine
River in Judge Spillard’s Memorial Contest!
Appreciation goes to the following people for their generous contributions in helping to make our
DARE Graduation a very special event.
D.A.R.E. Instructor: Retired St. Clair County Sheriff Deputy Cyndy King
Fifth Grade Teachers: Mrs. Shirley Frederick, Mr. Gary Griffin, Mrs. Michelle Hratchian,
Mrs. Kathy VanderMeulen
D.A.R.E. Parent Planning Committee: Amy Balok, Jessica Becker, Amie Gaedcke,
Dawn Hack, Wendy Heid, Jodi Kutchey, Kathy McCabe, Lisa McCabe, Jeff Parker,
Mary Pettinger, and parents who donated food and their time.
Parent and Business Contributors: D.A.R.E. cakes donated by Dawn Galante and
Serena Ireland. Photography donated by Lisa Fountain. Flowers donated by Neiman’s
Market. Chairs donated by Crossroads Community Church and ECSD.
Dignitaries: Honorable Judge Elwood Brown, St. Clair County Deputy, Ron Muxlow, and
Honorable Judge Cynthia Platzer
STUDENT MEDICATIONS
If you have any medications remaining at
school for your student, please stop in the
office and pick them up before June 20, 2014.
Any medications left behind
after this date will be disposed
of. Please call the office at
676-1050 before coming to
pick them up.
SAVE ALL SUMMER
Please save all your used ink jet and laser
printer cartridges and turn them into the
office in the fall. If your place of business
has used cartridges, or if you have other
connections, please keep us in mind. Any
size or shape of cartridge can make easy
money for Pine River!
SPRING BOOK FAIR THANK YOU
Pine River PTO would like to thank all the parent volunteers
who helped with this year’s spring book fair:
Mary Ashbaugh, Tiffany Bean, Sheri Betz,
Dawn Hack, Angela Jovanovich,
Jennifer Kokenyesdi, Jodi Kutchey
Lydia Schwarz, Tara Simonian, and
Terri Spezia. A special thank you to
Andrea Selweski for organizing the spring book fair.
LIBRARY DONATIONS
As this school year comes to an end,
we would like to take this time to
thank our students, families, and staff
for your donations to our school media
center.
Alexander Barrett, Reagan Brengman, Christina Bohm,
David Casteel, Ms. Christensen, Truman Jarsma, Cecilia and
Jarod Jovanovich, Kenyon Family, Eden Kutchey, Mrs.
Lemmer, Emily Liebetreu, Katie Mayhew, Noah Murav,
Andrew Parr, and Mrs. Wise.
A very special thank you to our Pine River PTO and
especially to Mrs. Selweski for running our Scholastic Book
Fairs for the last six years. We sincerely appreciate your
support and the many items donated to our library this
year.
WHAT’S COMING UP……IN THE FALL
Thursday, August 28
Pioneer Day/Open House 3:00-4:00 p.m.
PTO Barbeque – 4:00 – 5:00 p.m.
Tuesday, September 2
First Day of School for Students
Friday, September 12
School Pictures
Tuesday, September 23
Half Day for all Students
SEND US A POSTCARD
PINE RIVER MUSIC
CONCERT ONLINE…
In your journeys this summer around Michigan, the
United States, or the world, send a postcard to Pine
River. It will be added to a special bulletin board in
the fall to track our travels over the summer.
If you would like to view the Pine
River Music concert, go to:
http://www.watchctv.org/
Scroll down until you see “Pine River
5/20” and click on it. You will be
able to view the entire concert!
Mrs. Joyce Lemmer
Pine River Elementary
3575 King Rd.
China, MI 48054
Be sure to sign your first and last name!
Happy Traveling!
10 Ways To Prevent Summer Slide
Did you know that children can lose up to three months of academic progress over the summer?
Over 100 years of research continually shows this trend.
Here are ten things you can do to help your child avoid the summer slide.
1.
Read EVERY day! Read non-fiction, fiction, ebooks, poetry, newspapers and read out loud! For most children,
twenty minutes is an appropriate amount of time to read for a child who is an independent reader. Most libraries
have a wonderful summer reading program with incentives and rewards for books read over the summer.
2.
Cook with your children. This is one of the best ways to integrate math, reading and following directions. Let
your child design the menu too! Help your child put together their favorite recipes in a cookbook.
3.
Plant a garden. Your child will gain responsibility and pride as they watch their plants grow and thrive.
4.
Take a field trip to a museum, zoo or local park with walking trails. Keep a journal about your travels.
5.
Learn a new word each week! Hang it on the fridge and see who can use it the most times throughout the
week.
6.
Enroll in a quality summer program that will provide your child with opportunities to build their critical
thinking skills.
7.
Play quick games with flashcards like Math War or Concentration to keep math skills sharp.
8.
Listen to Audio Books during your road trip.
9.
Take pictures and make a summer scrapbook.
10. Did I mention READ?! If your child does nothing else this summer make sure he/she is reading!
Just like with playing a sport, Reading and Math are skills that must be practiced. When a child spends hours a day
hitting a baseball, swimming, shooting a basketball, they will progress. But say he/she then stops hitting balls for
three months or takes a few months off from swimming. Will he/she hit a ball on the first swing? Will he/she swim as
efficiently as before? No, but if he/she practices a few times a week, will he/she be able to regain the previously
learned skills relatively quickly? Yes! It is important to keep your child’s mind engaged over the summer so they will
not fall victim to the summer slide.
From The Little Scholars Blog
Three Ways To Stop The Summer Slide
Many children, especially struggling readers, forget some of what they've learned or slip out of practice during the
summer months. Try these strategies to help your reader improve her reading during the summer and beyond:
1.
2.
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3.
Six books to summer success: Research shows that reading just six books during the summer may keep a
struggling reader from regressing. When choosing the six, be sure that they are just right — not too hard and not
too easy. Take advantage of your local library. Ask for help selecting books that match your child's age, interests,
and abilities. Libraries often run summer reading programs that motivate kids to read, so find out what's
available in your area. Also check our book lists for recommendations.
Read something every day: Encourage your child to take advantage of every opportunity to read. Find them
throughout the day:
Morning: The newspaper — even if it is just the comics or today's weather.
Daytime: Schedules, TV guides, magazines, online resources, etc. For example, if your daughter likes the food
channel, help her look for a recipe on the network's Web site — then cook it together for more reading practice.
Evening: End the day by having your child read to you from the book he is currently reading (one of the six
books, above). Have him/her rehearse a paragraph, page, or chapter before reading to you. Rereading will help
him/her be more fluent — able to read at an appropriate speed, correctly, and with nice expression.
Keep reading aloud: Reading aloud benefits all children and teens, especially those who struggle. One benefit is
that you can read books your child can't, so he/she will build listening comprehension skills with
grade-level and above books. This will increase his/her knowledge and expand his/her
experience with text, so that he/she will do better when he/she reads on his/her own.
From Scholastic