Cannonsburg Newsletter March 2027

April Character Trait: courage

Definition: The ability to do something that frightens you.

Challenge: Step out of your comfort zone and act with kindness even when you're scared. Sit with someone new or try a new activity!

Green school certification

Cannonsburg is excited to be recognized as a Michigan Green School with an Emerald School designation! This means we have 15 activities at our school that have helped protect the environment. This is our first year to be a part of this program. Here are some of the activities we have done to earn this distinction:

1. Recycling Team Our Third Grade Student Recycling Team, with the leadership of Mrs. Fink and Mrs. Pitsch , collect recyclables weekly. Located in each classroom, as well as each community space, the mixed recycling receptacles are emptied one time per week. Paper is placed in the Paper Gator, which profits the school community monetarily. The other mixed recyclables are placed in a receptacle provided by Republic Waste Management.
2. Unplugging devices/electronics at Holiday Breaks before leaving for each extended break, our staff is reminded by the district to unplug electronics to save on electricity usage while we are away. Many appliances, such as computers, printers, and chargers, continue to consume energy even when they are turned off but still plugged in. Unplugging these devices ensures they are not drawing any power, which can save energy and reduce electricity costs over the break.
3. This winter our students in grades K-3 each participated in an outdoor, educator led lesson about how animals survive in the winter. They hike through the woods looking for evidence of animal presence: food and shelter, as well as create and build shelters for animals. Learning about the animals in living around us creates a sense of connection and a willingness to protect the ecosystems.    

Slushie Fun!

Our students have been hard at work practicing great hallway behavior! Approximately 60 students earned "golden tickets" for demonstrating RAMS hallway expectations that are Respectful, Accountable, Motivated, and Safe. They enjoyed a delicious slushie from our PTC. We are going to keep practicing our RAMS hallway behavior and look forward to handing out more golden tickets and slushies each week!

Our staff works hard daily to support and inspire students and we like to celebrate them. We have put together a fun list of all staff favorites from favorite treats to places to eat. This is a great document to save on your phone for special events such as a staff birthday, holidays or appreciation week. 

DOWNLOAD STAFF FAVORITES

Traffic Safety

Traffic safety during arrival and dismissal is a shared responsibility. We have noticed cars not yielding to traffic on Sturgis Avenue when leaving the drop-off/pick-up loop at school. Please remember you must stop and wait for oncoming traffic to clear if you are turning right or crossing over Sturgis when leaving the school drop-off/pick-up loop. If turning, please also use your signal to indicate your direction.  Our school buses frequently travel on Sturgis, so please help us ensure safety for all by yielding and using your signal before traveling onto/across Sturgis. Thank you!

GRASP

Do you want to help your child maintain reading and math skills over summer break?  GRASP is an at home program used by families for 50 years!  

Grand Rapids Academic Summer Program (GRASP) is a summer math and reading correspondence program that helps scholars in grades kindergarten through 8th retain skills learned during the school year by providing review exercises.

Teachers and curriculum professionals developed GRASP as a cost-efficient substitute for traditional summer school. Lessons were written to correlate with the Common Core Standards which most states have adopted.

GRASP offers nine lessons to be submitted during the summer - one per week or at a scholar's own pace as long as they are submitted before the final due date. Each lesson reinforces the basic skills typically found in most curricula at that particular grade level. GRASP staff score the lesson and return it to the scholar with comments.

Packets are available for scholars finishing grades K-8 to review their math and reading skills. Scholars finishing grades 4-8 can select online resources instead of the packets.

We recognize our scholars' efforts by awarding a certificate to those who successfully complete at least seven lessons with 70% accuracy. A medal is given to scholars who successfully complete all nine lessons from their packet.

GRASP ENROLLMENT LINK

Attendance Procedures

If your student will be absent please call the office attendance line by 9:30am. Robo calls go out at 10:00am. 

If you choose to email attendance notifications please include office staff & your student's teacher.

• Nicole Curtis - ncurtis@rockfordschools.org
• Anne Joles - ajoles@rockfordschools.org

Birthday treats and celebrations

• We look forward to celebrating our students’ birthdays and will honor each student with a shout-out on the announcement birthday board, as well as special moments throughout the day with the classroom teacher and peers.
• RPS school policy is no food birthday treats. You are welcome to send in a book for the class or a non-food item, such as indoor recess game.  We promise to make our birthday students feel special on their big days.  Unfortunately, if food items are sent in they will not be able to be distributed.  
• If your student is celebrating with classmates outside of school, please only send invitations to school when all classmates are included. This helps to avoid hurt feelings.  

Thank you for your support with our Birthday Celebration Procedures.

Standard Response Protocol (SRP)

HB 4096, the Revised School Safety Code, has been introduced to provide common language for schools during emergencies.  Here is an overview of the FIVE actions schools may take when addressing emergencies.

LOCKDOWN - The term "lockdown" should be used when there is an existing threat in or at a school building or a threat is expected to arrive in or at a school building imminently. Secure in a room, confirm the door is locked, and move to a place of cover away from the door and any windows. 

SECURE MODE - Determined when a LOCKDOWN, as described, is not necessary, but heightened security and awareness are needed due to a potential EXTERNAL threat. Instruction continues in a normal manner, but access to the school building and movement within the building is highly restricted. 

SHELTER - This is used when it is safer to be inside the building than outside. Common situations where this is used would be severe weather approaching or some type of hazardous materials incident in proximity to the school. 

EVACUATION - Deals with the need to evacuate the building as it is no longer deemed safe to occupy for any variety of reasons, like fire, chemical spill, gas leak, etc.

HOLD - Hold is utilized when there is a need to have students and staff remain in their classrooms as staff address a concern or issue (medical, student in crisis) in a hallway or common area. Students are released when the office announces all clear.

For more information about our SRP resource, please visit the I Love You Guys website.  

Transportation and busing

Transportation is encouraging RPS families to get the My Ride app on their phones.  For more information on this, please click on this link to our Transportation Department: Transportation

My Ride K-12 App

My Ride K-12 capabilities include the following:

• Stop location, assigned route, and scheduled pick up time.

• GPS geo-location push notifications, giving estimated time of bus arrival and information concerning bus status changes.

• Real time communication and messaging.

• Secure and confidential log in.

• Android/iOS app and web version available.
  
  

Download the app today!

Medication Drop-off

If your student(s) will need medication during the school day, please follow these instructions:

The medication forms can be found on the RPS website and are linked below. Please remember these documents must be signed by a parent AND their physician. Medication should be dropped off in its original container. 

Nursing Services Documents

RPS Student Device Management

Students in RPS are afforded the opportunity to access and enhance some learning activities through district provided Chromebooks. Thanks to the support of the 2019 school bond proposal, RPS has been able to support the scheduled purchases of instructional technology for student use. Last year, elementary students received new devices, and this year all secondary Chromebooks are new. Thank you! 

To preserve the quality of student devices as long as possible, we educate students about proper care and charge for repair when avoidable damage occurs. Like a textbook, each student is assigned a Chromebook and responsible for proper care. If a device is damaged or lost, a charge will be issued against the student's Family Access account. The charge will reflect Rockford Public Schools' cost to repair or replace the device. It is our hope that the layered approach of informing parents/guardians, educating students, and assigning fees when necessary, will assist to promote a decrease in the amount of overall damage to student devices and increased consistency of student accessibility to learning activities. 

Should a student device be damaged, the initial fees are as follows: 

Chromebook: 

• Broken Screen $30 

• Broken Keyboard (missing keys, etc.) $30 

• Damaged Chassis/Lost Device $200 

• Power Supply (Lost or Not Returned) $15 

iPads:

• Screen Repair $110 

• Broken/Lost Device $299 

During the summer of 2025 all devices were inspected to ensure that they are ready for distribution. School personnel will be diligent about communicating device care expectations to students and we ask that parents and guardians reinforce proper care expectations as well. 

During the year if a device requires repair, a district technician will review the damage and decide if a charge is necessary. Normal scratches and wear are expected and will not incur a charge. Any fees assigned will generate an email notification to parents/guardians. 

We appreciate your support in assisting your child(ren) to participate in the proper care of devices and if you have any questions or need further clarification, please don't hesitate to reach out to your child's school.