Updates for Elementary Families

LABOR DAY WEEKEND — NO SCHOOL

WMAES families, please remember that there will be no school on Friday, September 4, or Monday, September 7, in observance of Labor Day weekend.

Classes will resume on Tuesday, September 8. We hope our students, staff, and families enjoy a safe and restful long weekend!

Important Dismissal Traffic Reminder

Thank you for your continued cooperation as we work to keep dismissal safe and efficient each day. We need your support in one specific area to ensure traffic continues moving smoothly and does not negatively impact our surrounding community.

When exiting campus during dismissal, all drivers must turn either left or right onto Leonard Street. Please do not continue straight across Leonard Street or use a neighboring driveway to turn around.

For families turning right, please continue west on Leonard Street to 8th Avenue. This route provides easy access to major thoroughfares: drivers may travel north toward I-96 or south toward Lake Michigan Drive/M-45. These convenient connections make it easy to continue toward destinations throughout the area without turning around along Leonard Street.

Following these expectations helps prevent traffic backups, protects our neighbors’ property, and creates a safer and more predictable traffic flow for everyone. Walker Police will be monitoring the area and will issue citations for inappropriate or unsafe turnarounds.

We greatly appreciate your cooperation and your help in keeping dismissal safe and running smoothly for all.

Dollar No Uniform Day Friday, September 11

Students may bring a $1 donation and wear school-appropriate, non-uniform clothing of their choice. Donations help support student activities, field trips, and many student resources throughout the year.

Participation is entirely optional. Students who do not participate may wear their regular WMAES uniform.

WMAES Mum Fundraiser 

Brighten your home for fall while helping our classrooms grow! The WMAES Parent Team is partnering with Rinzema Greenhouse to offer beautiful mums in three sizes: 8”, 12”, and 14”.

Proceeds will help fulfill teacher requests for valuable classroom resources, including microscopes, gloves, recess equipment, math games, and more.

Order Online

Visit: https://wmaes-4463.square.site/parent-team

Select each size and quantity you would like, add them to your cart, and complete your purchase using a credit card. A receipt will be emailed to you after checkout.

Online orders close Friday, September 11.

A digital receipt is required when picking up online orders. If a friend or family member places an order that you will be picking up, please have them forward their receipt to you.

Paper Orders

Paper order forms are available in both school offices. Completed forms must be returned to your student’s teacher or the office by Thursday, September 10, with cash or a check made payable to WMAES.

Pickup

Mum orders will be available for pickup on Tuesday, September 22, during student pickup. A limited number of additional mums will also be available for purchase that day.

Questions may be directed to parentteam@wma-es.com.

Thank you for supporting our students, teachers, and classrooms!

WMAES Parent Team

Sync the WMAES Calendar with your Phone or Device

Important dates for the coming school year have been added to our school calendar on AddEvent—including breaks, early release days, family events, and more! We encourage all families to follow the calendar to stay informed and organized throughout the year.

You can follow the calendar by clicking “Follow Calendar” above this post or by visiting:
https://www.addevent.com/calendar/MF615307

Our calendar is hosted through AddEvent and is fully compatible with:

• Apple Calendar (iPhone, iPad, Mac)

• Google Calendar (Android devices and Gmail accounts)

• Outlook

• Office 365

• Yahoo Calendar

• Any calendar app that supports iCal or .ics feeds

Once added, all events will sync directly to your personal calendar—and any updates we make will automatically be reflected on your end. It’s a simple, reliable way to stay connected and never miss an important date! 

We’re pleased to share that our uniform provider has all WMAES uniform apparel available for online ordering—with free shipping to your home!

Just click the link below and click “Shop Now”—then navigate to the Uniform category to explore all that’s available. We’re especially excited to let you know that several new, lower-cost uniform t-shirt options have been added for your convenience.

Shop Now: https://wmaesapparel.secure-decoration.com/

As a reminder, here are our uniform policy guidelines:

Uniform requirements include:

• A WMAES uniform top

• Solid color pants or shorts, or solid jeans or jean shorts

• Closed-toe shoes

Please note:

• The WMAES top must be the outermost layer

• All clothing must be free of writing, adornments, and rips/tears/holes

• Uniforms with the old logo will be fully grandfathered in. Students may continue wearing their previous uniform items. 

Thank you for partnering with us and for your continued support of our uniform policy!

PBIS AT WMAES

Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports, or PBIS, is our schoolwide approach to creating a safe, positive, and successful learning environment. Just as we teach academic skills, we intentionally teach, model, practice, and reinforce the behaviors students need to succeed in classrooms and throughout our school.

At WMAES, our shared expectations are represented by SOAR:

S — Be Safe
O — Own Your Behavior
A — Act Responsibly
R — Be Respectful

When staff members see students demonstrating SOAR, they provide positive recognition and award digital Eagle Bucks through PBIS Rewards. Students can use their Eagle Bucks during school store opportunities, while additional classroom and schoolwide recognitions help us celebrate their positive choices and growth.

PBIS is more than a reward system. It gives students clear expectations, provides adults with consistent language, strengthens relationships, and ensures that students know their positive choices are noticed. Together, we help every WMAES Eagle learn to SOAR!

CONNECTING WITH THE PBIS REWARDS FAMILY APP 

Information for connecting to the PBIS Rewards Family App will be sent home by your child’s teacher. This information will include the unique QR code or link needed to connect securely to your child’s account.

For families, the app provides a window into the positive choices your child is making at school. When a staff member recognizes your child for demonstrating SOAR—being safe, owning their behavior, acting responsibly, or being respectful—the recognition and Eagle Bucks can be recorded in PBIS Rewards.

Once connected, families can view their child’s Eagle Bucks balance, see details about positive recognitions, and follow how Eagle Bucks are used through our school store. This creates opportunities to celebrate successes and continue positive conversations about SOAR at home.

At WMAES, PBIS Rewards is primarily a tool for recognizing, reinforcing, and celebrating the behaviors we want to see more often. We hope the Family App helps you stay connected to the many great things your child is doing each day!

To help families with back-to-school planning, our staff has put together updated recommended supply lists for each elementary grade. The lists can be found at the link below. 

https://wma-es.com/supply-lists/ 

These lists were thoughtfully created by our teachers to include items that may support your child’s learning and organization throughout the school year. Please know that these are recommendations only and are not intended to create a burden for families. We understand that back-to-school shopping can feel overwhelming, and families should always feel free to do what works best for their situation.

Our hope is that these lists provide a helpful starting point and make the process a little smoother as we prepare for a great school year together!

Stay Connected with WMAES!

Please take a moment to add our school’s phone number to your contact list: 616-791-7454. This helps ensure that you recognize calls coming from West Michigan Academy of Environmental Science.

We also kindly ask that you make sure your phone is set to allow calls from the school. It’s important that we’re able to reach an adult family member during the school day if needed.

We are pleased to continue our efforts in supporting our students through our assistance programs. Our resources have expanded this school year, and we want to ensure you are aware of the benefits available to our entire community.

Our new counseling service, the School Assistance Program (SAP), is offered through Pine Rest, a professional mental health service. This program provides five free, confidential counseling sessions per episode of care and is available 24/7 to anyone in the student’s household.

To access this service, simply call 800.442.0809, press 1, and follow the prompts. Be sure to mention, “I have an SAP with West Michigan Academy of Environmental Science.”

To learn more about all the benefits provided by this program, please watch the introduction video. Click the link below or paste the URL into any browser:

SAP Video – Password: SAPOrientation
URL: https://vimeo.com/video/956870695?share=copy

Please note that all services provided through the SAP are 100% confidential. We hope this resource can support you and your family whenever needed.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out.