Contents

Principal’s Message 1

Emergency Closing 2

A.T.O.M. 3

Peace Keepers 4

Calendar 5

Dates to Remember

January

Classes Resume 4

M.M.A. Meeting 11

No School 16

1/2 Day 19

1/2 Day 20

February

Academic Blitz 2

M.M.A. Meeting 8

Mid-Winter Break 20-24

Classes Resume 27

Dear Parents,

Happy holidays! The Messmore staff wishes each of you a joyful holiday

season.

We extend a thank you to all the parents who attended this year’s

parent/teacher conferences. The communication between parent and teacher is

invaluable to student success. Your participation communicates to your children

that you value their education and want them to be successful.

During this time of the year, the community as a whole teaches a wonderful

lesson to its youth by their example – caring for others. Businesses, service

groups and individuals recognize and help those less fortunate than themselves.

The Messmore staff finds this an important character building lesson for children.

This season, the Student Council is supporting three organizations: The Foster

Closet of Michigan with a Giving Tree, the Kiwanis Club with a Food Drive and

Moose Mittens. A.T.O.M. supports UNICEF with a monetary collection. Mrs.

Vedder and Mrs. McKenna, along with the upper elementary classes, host

Santarrific, with the earnings being donated to charities the students research and

choose. Mrs. Grace’s class made blankets and is hosting a silent auction.

Proceeds are donated to the American Cancer Foundation. We are very proud of

our student body for the thoughtfulness they continue to demonstrate toward their

fellow man with the guided support of their parents.

Our holiday break this year begins at the conclusion of the day Thursday,

December 22nd, and resumes in the New Year on Wednesday, January 4th.

Have a wonderful holiday season.

Yours in education,

Patrick Zott

Happy Holidays!!

Messenger

Patrick Zott, Principal

8742 Dill Dr. Sterling Heights, 48312

http://messmore.uticak12

Office: 586-797-5600 Attendance Line: 586-797-5699

The mission of Messmore Elementary School is to provide a Montessori environment that fosters self-motivated, responsible, life-long learners.

Messenger The mission of Messmore Elementary School is to provide a Montessori environment that fosters self-motivated, responsible, life-long learners.

2 of 5

In the event of severe inclement weather, loss of electrical power, heat or water; or other emergency, Utica Community Schools may: close the school(s) for the entire day; open school(s), but without bus transportation; delay bus transportation and start time(s) by one hour; or dismiss students early. Parents will be notified of emergency school closings by an automated telephone calling system. Depending on conditions, the calls may go out the night before or the early morning of a closing.

Emergency Closing of School

Emergency closings will also be broadcast on radio stations WOMC-104.3 FM, WJR-760 AM,WWJ-950 AM; TV stations WJBK-2, WDIV-4 AND WXYZ-7 and on the district’s website www.uticak12.org and UCS-TV cable stations 15 and 22. If students must be dismissed early, efforts will be made to contact a parent or emergency card designee. Please make sure your child knows your family’s plan for emergency dismissal.

Children Expected to Partake in Outdoor Recess

Messmore students do have recess during the winter months. Recess is an important part of the school day. It gives the children a chance to release some of their pent-up energy, and clear their minds for the remainder of the school day.

All students are expected to go out for recess, unless we have a doctor’s note saying they must stay inside. This is true even during warmer months.

At Messmore, students will go out for recess whenever the wind-chill is 10 degrees or higher. The Mount Clemens area report on Channel 42 and Comcast Channel 22 are used to determine the

wind-chill as well as the website, www.weather.com.

Proper clothing for outside recess is a necessity. Children should dress warmly with gloves, scarves, boots, coats and hats. It is a good practice to include an additional pair of socks and sweatpants in your child’s backpack in case their clothing gets wet. This practice cuts down on calls home or at work for a change of clothing.

On bitter cold days, the children will stay inside. The length of recess will often be adjusted to allow the children to get a little fresh air, so they are not subjected to the cold for an extended period.

Snow Day!

“Students will go out for recess whenever the wind-

chill is 10 degrees or higher.”

Look for a note to come home with all items and prices so students can start making their shopping lists.

As always, profits go to student-researched and chosen charitable organizations. We look forward to another great year!

Thank you in advance for your continued support,

The Santarrific Committee

It's that time again... Santarrific is back! Messmore's own Holiday Shop with a range of gifts for the whole family! Children can shop for family members on their holiday list this year. Monday and Tuesday, December 12th and 13th, are “preview days” when students can come and check out merchandise. Wednesday, December 14th, shopping begins and lasts through Friday, December 16th.

“Santarrific Shop” is coming

Children can shop for family members on their

holiday list.

Messenger 3 of 5 The mission of Messmore Elementary School is to provide a Montessori environment that fosters self-motivated, responsible, life-long learners.

The A.T.O.M. (Academically Talented of Messmore) group is up and running. We have been doing a variety of activities that enrich our minds and help others.

Our first charitable event was Trick.-or-Treat for UNICEF. This is something that A.T.O.M. has participated in for the past 15+ years. This year the students of Messmore collected $603.72 to help people in need. Thank you to everyone who participated.

We have also been working on

creating games. The A.T.O.M. students will have a game showcase on April 17th for anyone who would like to join in on the fun! More details to follow.

The new 4th graders joining A.T.O.M. this year are:

Isabelle Gumma David Joseph Drew Kanitz Mary Larocca

Annika Sreedhar Mrs. Cocco A.T.O.M. Sponsor

A.T.O.M. Supports UNICEF

We’re so excited to have Messmore's 2016-2017 Student Council up and running! We had a great election process. Our candidates were amazing. This year’s student-chosen officers are:

Shaan Datta ~ President Katie Coles ~ Vice President

Martina Haranczyk ~ Secretary Ava Lepore ~ Treasurer

Our class representatives are: Kenley Simon, Blair Wade, Eliza Kleinberg, Adeline Parayil, Arianna DeRouin, Dylan Shkembi, Dominic Hannish, Olivia Kupke, Owen Malik, Ansh Malhotra, David Joseph, Emelia Markoz, Daniel Buzdugan, Marilyn Stephen, Cristina Micu, Elijah Cambare, Antonio Dababneh, Isabelle Nafso, Lauren Farley,

Arnav Bhaskar, Anika Malhotra and Jenson Moss.

Some of the activities we have worked on so far are: Michigan/Michigan State Spirit Day and Cozy for Cans Day. We have also worked very hard on some service projects. This year our holiday giving is going to benefit Kiwanis Club, Foster Closet of Michigan, and Moose Mittens.

Thank you so much for all your support!

Martina Haranczyk Student Council Secretary

Mrs. Cocco and Mrs. McKenna Student Council Sponsors

Messmore Student Council News

We just completed our annual community service project

collecting $603.72!

2016-2017 Student Council is up and running! The creative ideas continue to flow as our students have a voice in their

school climate.

“Special Day” Request

“Sensitivity to food

products is on the rise.”

The practice of celebrating students (i.e. birthdays) is a tradition. If you plan to honor your child’s special day at school, please take the following under consideration:

1. * Many of our students have food allergies.

2. * Most of our classrooms are “peanut safe.”

3. * Many of our students are on restrictive diets (i.e. gluten-free, diabetic, vegan/vegetarian).

4. Cross contamination is the number one risk factor for exposure after ingestion.

In lieu of treats:

* A class book or game in your child’s name may be donated.

*A small gift bag of non-edibles (i.e. pencils, trinkets…) may be distributed.

*If a parent has the “special day” off of work, you may take your child to lunch or join your child for lunch in the cafeteria (if you don’t have sensitive ears!).

Thank you for understanding and your support. As a team, we will keep all students in a safe, comfortable learning environment.

Messenger 4 of 5

The mission of Messmore Elementary School is to provide a Montessori environment that fosters self-motivated, responsible, life-long learners.

Messmore Peacekeepers Assembly

Messmore kicked off its first Maverick for Peace Assembly on Wednesday, November 30, 2016. Teachers and staff members throughout the building were keeping an eye out for students who were being peace keepers through things they say and things they do. Our first assembly was a big success!

Congratulations to the follow peace keepers: Brynn Buell Katelyn Coles Dylan Dequito Quinn Filary Joseph Haskins Ricardo Jackson Amannuel Johnson Olivia Kupke Amelia Moser Cassandra Naliath Robert Ogilvy Michael Oommen Aanya Patel Kishan Patel Christina Sam Nathan Sam

Box Tops for Education Hello Messmore Families! We are off to a wonderful start, so keep sending in your Box Tops! Our first contest officially ends in January. The winning class will receive an extra recess, as well as Wendy's Frosties. It's extremely helpful if you double-check the box tops expiration dates prior to sending them to school. Unfortunately, we can't accept expired box tops. Thank you again for your support! Wendy Johnson & Megan Simon Box Tops for Education Coordinators

~ Current Standings ~

Miss Hartlage: 649 Mrs. Pecoraro: 629

Mrs. Witek: 569 Mrs. Riddle: 358 Ms. Vedder: 306 Mrs. Volpe: 257 Mrs. Grady: 246 Mrs. Schultz: 236

Mrs. McKenna: 164 Ms. Grace: 154

Mrs. Masinick: 107 Mrs. Wilberding: 106

Mrs. Van Tongeren: 44 Mrs. Papandreou: 23

Mrs. Hannish: 15

December 2016

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 2

Parents’ Night

Out

(6:00 – 8:00 PM)

3

4

5 6

7

8

Bodhi Day

9 10

11 12 Santarrific

~ Preview ~

13

Santarrific

~ Preview ~

Milad un Nabi

14 Santarrific

~ Open ~

M.M.A. Meeting

15 Santarrific

~ Open ~

16 Santarrific

~ Open ~

17

18 19 20

21

22

23

No School

24

Chanukah

( Begins in the evening/ Ends

January 1st)

25

Christmas

26

No School

Kwanzaa (December 26th –

January 1st)

27

No School

28

No School

29

No School

30

No School

31

No School

The mission of Messmore Elementary School is to provide a Montessori environment that fosters self-motivated, responsible, life-long learners.

January

Happy New Year! 1

Classes Resume 4

M.M.A. Meeting 11

No School 16

1/2 Day 19

1/2 Day 20