THE INDEPENDENCE UPDATE

6850 Hubbard Road

Clarkston, MI 48348
(248) 623-5500

Chris Turner, Principal

Ray Lebert, PTO President
February, 2015

From the Principal . . .

A few things to know as we move through the Winter months

Student Drop-off Do you drive your child to school? If so, please

have your child ready to exit your vehicle quickly, on the passenger side,
after you pull up and stop in the drop-off zone. Children may be
dropped off beginning at 8:30 a.m. This helps free-up the line of
traffic and keeps it moving. Thanks for your help!
If you drive your child to school, but would rather park and walk
him/her to the school doors, please feel free to do so. However,
please be careful and pay extra attention while crossing the parking
lots or bus lanes.

Blessings in a Backpack Independence Elementary participates in the

Blessings in a Backpack program. Blessings in a Backpack provides
free food for the weekend for any students that qualify for the
Federal Free & Reduced-price Lunch Program. If youre not sure if you
qualify, just contact the office and well send an application form home.

2015-16 Kindergarten - Do you have a child that will enter

Kindergarten in the fall? Children that turn five years old by
September 1, 2015 are eligible to attend Kindergarten. Clarkston has
two options for Kindergartners Traditional Kindergarten and Young
Fives Kindergarten. Enrollment documents can be found on the District
website beginning Feb. 9.

Important Dates to Remember

February 9
February 13
February
February
February
February
February
March
March
March
March
March

16-17
18
20
25
26

3
4
12
13
17 & 19

2015-16 Kindergarten registration begins

Jump Rope for Heart all grades
Valentines Day parties 2:30 p.m.
No School Mid-winter recess
School resumes
PTO Board meeting 9:30 a.m.
Late Start Day School begins at 9:25 a.m.
Student Council Night at Culvers restaurant 6:00-8:00 p.m.
Donuts with Dad (A-M) 8:10 a.m.
Donuts with Dad (N-Z) 8:10 a.m.
Last day of 2nd trimester
No School Teacher records day
Parent/Teacher Conferences 4:00-7:30 p.m.

READYSETJUMP!!
We are really excited about this years Jump
Rope For Heart event and the experience it
offers our students. We hope you will
support your childs participation in this
lifesaving, educational event.

Conference sign-ups
begin soon on
signupgenius.com.
Watch for info from
your childs teacher.

Jump Rope For Heart will be held on Friday

February 13th 2015.
JUMP SCHEDULES
8:50-9:50 3rd, 4th, 5th
10:00-10:45 1st and 2nd
11:00-11:30 K (jumping stations)
11:40-12:10 Y5 (jumping stations)

***Please turn in donation envelopes

by February 18th.

Welcome
New Students
Caleb Scriver-Kukulka
(Kindergarten)

Calling all
2015-2016
Kindergartners!
If your child turns five (5) years old on or before September 1, 2015,
he/she is eligible to attend Kindergarten.
In the Fall of 2015, Clarkston Community Schools will continue to
offer two options for parents of Kindergartners:

Kindergarten Full-day Kindergarten is offered at every

elementary school.

Young Fives Kindergarten Young Fives

Kindergarten is available for students that turn five years old
between June 1 September 1, 2015 (or as late as December 1
with a signed waiver). Full-day and half-day options are
available. Young Fives Kindergarten is offered at the Early
Childhood Center and Independence Elementary. Students
that attend Young Fives go to their home school the following
year for regular Kindergarten.

IE Winter Carnival
Thank You!
Oh, what a night!
The first-ever Independence Winter Carnival was a big success!
Thanks to the tremendous support of our parents and community,
the carnival raised over $12,000. This money will be put towards
the redesigning of the school computer lab.
Thank you to everyone that attended the event, and EVERYONE that
helped out. An activity of this magnitude doesnt just happen. It
takes a lot of planning and preparation and many, many
volunteers! Thank you for your help.
A special thank you to the planning team for all the time, effort,
and energy they gave to make the carnival a reality:
Dianna Casetti
Michelle Cray
Camila Duarte
Susan Howard
Dennis Klenow
Sarah Malys
Sue Massey
Jan Norman
Chelsea OBrien
Heather Powers
Tena Richie
Brad Shires

Speaking from Experience

News from the IE-PTO

John Dewey, an American philosopher who wrote Experience and Education in 1938 stated, We always
live at the time we live and not some other time, and only by extracting at each present time the full
meaning of each present experience are we prepared for doing the same thing in the future.
Lately, I have been thinking more and more about the idea of experiences, as they relate to the school
environment and at home. Deweys ideas have been popularized by countless teachers, but quite a few
articles online lately have focused on some of the same tenets - create meaningful experiences at home.
Just Google, Buy experiences, not stuff and you will see what I mean.
As many of these articles declare, more happiness can be attained when you invest in experiences such as:
trips, concerts/shows, hikes, zip-lining, walking, rock-climbing, impromptu pick-up games, gardening,
writing together, cooking together, playing instruments, drawing together, and other life events - as
opposed to investing in things. If an experience is planned out in advance, you and your family will get
more bang for your buck. Not only is there a lead-up to these great events, the education of trying things
out for the first time, followed by the lasting memories afterwards, is worth it in the end.
Can you remember what your family did when the power outage occurred in Clarkston last year? Chances
are (even if you were upset that the Clarkston Wolves football game was cancelled) that you brought out
the candles, board games, books, raided the fridge together, walked outside a bit, and sat on the floor
squinting to read game rules before calling it a night.
At Independence Elementary, the students are experiencing their education in exciting ways every year in
the classrooms too, and these are the memories that will last. This is why the upcoming S.O.C.K.S. Day is
so unique (get ready for it), as well as the wide arrays of field trips, classroom projects, Friday assemblies,
our first-ever Winter Carnival, the Variety Shows, school clubs, Jump Rope for Heart, and the Fun Run.
Thank you to all of the teachers for planning classes that incorporate meaningful experiences while
covering your individual subject matter standards and benchmarks. We see this type of learning happening
all of the time, hear about it when our kids come home, and observe their intellectual growth blossoming
every year.
Parent volunteers are also incorporating valuable experiences throughout the year, and were noticing
them as well. All of the holiday parties were a hit! My daughter still talks about the Master Chef Junior
competition that was held at school. Our parents and PTO at Independence Elementary have been
involved in volunteering countless hours to ensure that our school, students, and community remain topnotch. Every month, the PTO meets and discusses how to assist in the functions of IE, and you are always
welcome to attend, read the meeting minutes online, and/or volunteer for various experiences throughout
the year.
Ray Lebert
PTO President

Wed like to thank everyone who supported our January Market Day sale. Every
month we have a few new families trying out Market Day. We hope that everyone
will give it a try at least once! First time customers will save $5 off of a $25 order
using the Promo Code: NEWFIVE at the online checkout.
February brings us Cookie Dough Bonus Days with so many delicious flavors.
Free Chocolate Chunk Cookie Dough with purchase of any three pre-portioned
Cookie Dough flavors.
New this month, Market Day has introduced a few new items that might be your
new favorites:

Tuscon Cod
Cookie & Cream Pie Cups
Strawberry Pastry Crisps

Market Day has two great offers as a way to say one big thank you to you! With
any online purchase, receive $20 to spend with
. You can also qualify to
receive FREE Cheese Ravioli when you order $90 at Marketday.com and enter the
promo code: FEBBONUS during your online checkout.
Finally, February is the start of the Spring Freequent Buyer offer. Make two
purchases of $40 between February and April. Then place a third order of $40 in
May and you will receive your FREE set of 2 collapsible bowls at your May sale
pick-up.
Place your order by Wednesday, February 11th and it will be at the school, ready
for you to pick up on Tuesday February 24th from 3:15 to 4:15 in the school
cafeteria. As always, please call if you have any questions!
Carrera Gach

847-404-0305

NON-DISCRIMINATION CLAUSE
In compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, Section
504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, the Americans with Disability Act of
1990, and the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, it is the policy of the Clarkston Community School
District that the Board of Education does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex,
disability, age, height, weight, marital status, genetic information, or any other legally protected characteristic, in
its programs and activities, including employment opportunities. For information, contact the Director of
Personnel, 6389 Clarkston Road, Clarkston, MI 48346, (248) 623.5400. For information regarding ADA, contact
the Deputy Superintendent, 6389 Clarkston Road, Clarkston, MI 48346, (248) 623.5400.

Its another Independence Elementary Night at Culvers on Sashabaw Road!

Join us on Thursday, February 26th from 66-8 p.m. Look for your I.E. Student
Student
Council members working during that time. 20% of both lobby and drivedrivethru sales between 66-8 p.m. will directly benefit our school!
We hope you can stop by for some dinner and/or dessert!

Your Independence Elementary PTO is on Facebook!

Please look for:

Independence Elementary PTO Clarkston

and

to get even better connected on all the happenings and important

information from our school!

Passive Fundraising Update

THANK YOU!
A very special THANK YOU to everyone who is participating with the Passive Fundraising Programs
your efforts are record-setting and IE will definitely benefit!
Box Tops for Education/Labels for Education: Keep sending in your Box Tops and Labels! They can
be found on hundreds of products. We collect all year long and submit twice a year. Our next submission
deadline is March 2nd! To date, we have earned over $2,100 from Box Tops alone this school year!
Thats over $200 more than the Fall Submission last year. Lets set another record for our Winter
Submission!!! See attached Winter Sheet.
Hat Day for Box Tops! Mark your calendars for Friday, February 6th The Holiday Hat
Day for Box Tops was a BIG Success!!! We collected 4,700 Box TopsThats $470 we
earned from Hat Day alone! Show your support again!! Dig out all those Box Tops youve
been saving, and wear your favorite hat to school! No Box Tops, No problemYou can still
bring in a $ donation and wear your hat.
Kroger Community Rewards: THANK YOU to everyone who has enrolled in the Kroger Community
Rewards. We now have 93 families enrolled and our most recent check was $931! WAY TO GO IE
FAMILIES!! If you havent enrolled yet, theres still time! Simply click on
www.KrogerCommunityRewards.com and follow the prompts to link your Kroger Plus Card to our
Account #82420. Please see the attached one-pager with step-by-step directions to enroll!
Registration is quick and easy, so please do it today
! Earn $ for IE while you shop!
E-Labels for Education: Remember to Shop. Swipe. Earn! This program allows our school to earn one
point for any Campbells Labels for Education purchases automatically. To sign up, register on-line by
following the prompts at www.E-LabelsForEducation.com. Enter your Kroger Plus Card number, and
select our school to receive the E-Labels for Education points. This program is in addition to any
points/labels you send in, so keep those coming as well!
Target: THANK YOU to all of you who participate with the Target REDcard Take Charge of Education
program by designating IE to receive a percentage of your purchases. This Fall we received a check for
$1,317! To participate, program information can be found at www.target.com/tcoe
We also continue to participate with the Meijer Community Rewards (www.Meijer.com/rewards), Office
Depot and Tyson (www.Tyson.com/ProjectAPlus) programs. Complete program info can be found at:
www.clarkston.k12.mi.us/ie. Just click on PTO and then Passive Fundraising. Also, remember to
multiply your efforts by asking friends and family to participate on behalf of our school, too!

Thank you for your continued support!

IE needs your help to receive FREE money!!

Sign Up TODAY and Shop, Swipe and Earn for IE!
___________________________________________________
Last year, IE received over $3,400.00 from this program to help fund important classroom enhancements/projects with
only 85 families participating. Imagine how much our school could receive if all families participated! Now is the
time to Enroll or Re-Enroll with Kroger!
Please help us receive a cash donation based on the percentage of your purchases! It will take less than 5 minutes of
your time. Simply follow the directions below to link your Kroger Plus Card to our Account #82420.
It's FREE and SO EASY to set up! Then, just SHOP, SWIPE AND EARN for IE!!
Please note: Your Kroger Fuel Points are not impacted with this program. You can earn Fuel Points and $ for IE!!
Directions for 1st Time Enrollment:
Click on www.KrogerCommunityRewards.com
Click Create Account
Enter your e-mail address, create a password and confirm password.
Select your preferred store. (This is for information purposes only for Kroger; all shopping done with your
card will still go towards IE.) Enter zip code, select store, then click Create Account.
5. Enter your Kroger Plus Card number and last name used for your Kroger Plus card
6. Go to Community Rewards (near bottom)
7. Complete the fields (name, address, etc.)
8. Enter Independence Elementary or type in our Account Number: 82420, then click Enroll Now
9. Select Independence Elementary
10. Click Enroll
You are now Enrolled!!! THANK YOU!!!

1.
2.
3.
4.

Directions to Re-Enroll:
1. Click on www.KrogerCommunityRewards.com
2. Click Sign In
3. Enter your e-mail address and password used to enroll your card, then click Sign In
4. Enter Independence Elementary or type in our Account Number: 82420, then click Enroll Now
5. Select Independence Elementary
6. Click Enroll
You are now Re-Enrolled!!! THANK YOU!!!
Assistance?
If you need assistance registering, please call 1-800-KROGERS, press 5 for customer service, press 5 to speak to a
customer service representative.
As of 12/2014