Gaines Elementary School

Good Afternoon Dragon Families, School starts on Wednesday. We are so excited to have you in the Dragon Family. 2024-2025 is going to be a fantastic school year. A couple of notes are below. Things to know: Wednesday is a half-day in the afternoon. Please check the district website under "District: School Hours" for each building's official start and end times or click here: SC HOURS [https://www.swartzcreek.org/page/school-hours] 24-25 School Calendar: SC CALENDAR [https://core-docs.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/documents/asset/uploaded_file/3693/SCCS/4261852/New_-_School_Calendar__2024-25_.pdf] We can't wait to see your first day of school pictures! If you'd like us to share them, please Email your pictures to mcorbat@swcrk.org, and we will post them on our SCCS Facebook page. Your feedback on our ZERO-TAX-RATE increase bond proposal on the November ballot is crucial. Please read the BOND FAQ and click the QR code on page 11 to submit your feedback. Your input is highly valued and will help shape the future of our school district. Thank you! SC BOND PAGE [https://www.swartzcreek.org/page/bond] We are absolutely thrilled to welcome all our students and staff on Wednesday afternoon! Let's make this our best year ever! Rodney R. Hetherton, Superintendent

Check out the latest edition of The Dragon Connection—our district newsletter— filled with important updates and helpful information. This month’s issue includes: Transportation Services Free Lunch and Breakfast for All Students Kinder Camp School Bond Update Don’t miss out—click the link below to read more and stay connected with our school community! Read The Dragon Connection here: https://swartzcreekview.mihomepaper.com/pageview/viewer/SCCS#page=6 #DragonConnection

Exciting News for Swartz Creek Community Schools! We are thrilled to announce that the state of Michigan has once again approved a budget that allows Swartz Creek Community Schools to offer FREE breakfast and lunch to ALL students in grades pre-K through 12, thanks to the Michigan School Meals program! Last year, we saw a significant increase in student participation, leading to higher reimbursements for our Food Service Program. This means we can invest more in better food, equipment, staffing, and more. We need your help! Please fill out the Education Benefit Form through the Meal Magic Family Portal. Gathering this information is crucial for securing higher reimbursements through the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP), determining eligibility for Summer Food Service Programs, and ensuring our schools receive full access to federal and state funding for educational programs. Parents can create an account or just fill out the form without creating one. Please ONLY add children who are currently registered with Swartz Creek Schools. Any other children in another District or not yet registered should be added to the “number of members in the household”. Visit our website: [swartzcreek.org](http://swartzcreek.org) and click “Food Service” for more information. The Meal Magic Family Portal is also a fantastic resource for families. Here, you can set up accounts for your children to deposit money, view purchases, transfer funds between children, and set restrictions. Both the Middle and High School offer a la carte items for all students, whether they bring a lunch or eat a free meal, they can purchase additional items for lunch. Menus are available on the food service page under the NutriSlice tab, detailing nutritional value, calories, macros, and allergens. If your student has special dietary needs, please contact our food service department directly. This will ensure that their meals are modified and documented accordingly for state compliance, and the school will be notified of any dietary restrictions. #FreeMeals #StudentNutrition

Good Afternoon Dragon Families, Welcome back to a great new school year! We are so excited to kick off the 2024-2025 school year. We have many new faces and initiatives that will make this school year fantastic and memorable. Our goal is to give all our students a meaningful journey and learning experience. As always, we will be focused on relationships over the content during our first four weeks of school. Research shows that a connection at school dramatically increases the likelihood of a successful school experience. We are committed to this success and look forward to a great year with you. Here are some SCCS updates: •All principals and secretaries are back in the buildings. The principals are on retreat next Monday through Wednesday, so please email them if you need to contact them. They check their emails daily. You can also call the office to discuss general questions with the secretary. Classroom placement letters will be coming home shortly. •Our first student day back is Wednesday, August 21st. It is a half-day in the afternoon. Please check the district website under "District: School Hours" for each building's official start and end times. We are so excited to have students back. •This November, SCCS will present a crucial $38.8 million ZERO-TAX-RATE increase bond proposal on the ballot. The bond projects, which aim to bolster safety and security, upgrade learning environments, enhance classroom technology, and renovate building interiors and exteriors, are vital for our school's future. The bond proposal, which will not increase the current tax rate, will only extend the 2018 bond for two additional years. Please mark November 5th on your calendar as a reminder to cast your vote. Next week, I will share the FAQ, Press Release, and Feedback QR code for your reference. We have had a busy summer hiring season. If you or a friend are interested, we still have many support staff openings. It is a great place to work! If you are considering joining the Dragon family, please call 810-591-2300 for more information. Please see the list of our current principals at each school building: Swartz Creek High School Jamie Dammann, Principal Josh Attwood, Assistant Principal Amy Hart, Assistant Principal Adrian Trzebiatowski, Athletic Director / Assistant Principal Swartz Creek Middle School Dave Simonsen, Principal RJ Kaplan, Assistant Principal Theresa Anderson, Assistant Principal Dieck Elementary Heather Briggs, Principal Elms Road Elementary Shauntel Manning, Principal Gaines Elementary Michelle Paul, Curriculum Director and Principal Morrish Elementary Jaclyn Thompson, Principal Syring Elementary Brandie Bevel, Principal Swartz Creek VLC Kevin Klaeren, Executive Director of Compliance and Safety Swartz Creek Little Dragons Amanda Bendall, Early Childhood Coordinator Again, we are thrilled to start the year. Please contact your building principal or secretary if you have any specific questions or concerns about the start of school. They have all been working tirelessly to prepare for a great year. We are all here to make school an exciting, enjoyable, and safe place to learn and grow. We are eagerly looking forward to a great first week of school! Let's make it memorable and full of learning and fun! Rodney R. Hetherton, Superintendent

🤍❤️It’s Wee Dragons Wednesday ❤️🤍 Wee Dragons Wednesdays are dedicated to our youngest soon-to-be Dragons! Join us every Wednesday as we share engaging activities designed to prepare children for kindergarten. Nursery rhymes aren't just catchy — they are amazing tools for helping kids recognize rhyme. Rhyming helps children develop language and literacy by helping them pay attention to "end sounds" in words. Rhyming is also a lot of fun! Here are a few rhymes you can teach your child: * Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star * The Itsy Bitsy Spider * Hickory, Dickory Dock * Humpty Dumpty * Jack and Jill Once your child is familiar with a few rhymes, pause when you get to the final word in a line and let your child finish it. For example: "Hickory, dickory dock; The mouse ran up the _______." Point out that "dock" sounds like "clock" rhyme, and see if your child can come up with other words that end in the same sound (rock! sock! walk! talk! ). You can also make up silly rhymes — even out of imaginary words. For example, say you your child, “I have a frog, and its name is ________ glog? mog? zog? I have a mouse, and its name is ________,” etc. Get your bingo board here: https://bit.ly/SCCSWeeDragons More information about #WeeDragonsWednesday 👉🏻 https://www.facebook.com/share/fToTnybf7oWRPnF5/?mibextid=WC7FNe #WeeDragonsWednesday

Save the date! The Daddy Daughter Dance will be held March 1st, 2024 from 6PM-9PM at The Cage Fieldhouse. *Sponsored by the SCMS Student Council

Orientation day for our new Dragons! Welcome to the Dragon Family! Jennifer Edwards- Social Worker HS Erin Boggs- Teacher Resource Room HS Kimberly Brobst- Teacher 1st Syring Cynthia Broughton- Teacher Math HS Timothy Crow- Teacher Voc. Ed. HS Nathan Elder- Teacher Science/STEM HS Andrew Florkowski- Teacher Math VLC Sarah Foote- Teacher ELA MS Emily Hicks- Teacher 5th Dieck Ben Kitchen- Teacher 3rd Dieck Rhonda Lebbin- Teacher Resource Room HS Troy Lemieux- Teacher English VLC Erin Locklear- Teacher Math/Social Studies MS Doug McClure- Teacher German HS Tyler McPherson- Teacher ELA MS Madison Morrow- Teacher 1st Morrish Marian Shafer- Teacher 3rd Elms Heather Vitek- Teacher Resource Room Elms/Dieck #Good2Great

Look for email newsletters with information about student schedules, classroom assignments, and more from principals next week! #BackToSchool #Good2Great

Free Vision Screenings! #good2great

We’re hiring! https://www.swartzcreek.org/o/sccs/page/employment-opportunities #good2great #BEADRAGON