Cannonsburg Newsletter May 29

See what our students are saying about cannonsburg

Congratulations, Mrs. Julien!

Congratulations to Michele Julien, who has dedicated over 25 years to education and is now retiring. Her journey began as a sub at the high school in 2003. She landed her first official role as an Assistant Librarian at Parkside in 2006, and in June of 2010, she moved to Cannonsburg to become the Lead Librarian.

Michele has poured her heart into her work, supporting students in the library and on our playground.  Michele has led March is Reading Month activities, book fairs that raise important funds to get new books for students, Battle of the Books training and competition, and so much more.  Michele most loved the opportunity to form relationships and positive pathways for kids through book whispering!

  
Outside of school, Michele looks forward to spending more time with her husband, three children, granddaughters and Mom. She is especially talented at sewing, creating beautiful dresses for the holidays, and most recently, a stunning prom dress for her granddaughter!  Retirement will also bring more time for gardening, driving her Volkswagen Beetle convertible, and camping, but mostly, she's looking forward to finally ditching the early morning alarm!

Please join me in congratulating Michele Julien. We will be holding a celebration for her on June 4 after the Talent Show on the playground with ice cream at approximately 10am. Feel free to send in cards/gifts or stop by to share your congratulations! 

THank you!

Our staff would like to thank the Long family for the warm fuzzies they provided last week! We all loved the Crumbl cookies and appreciate you doing this!!

Summer Tutoring

The school district has provided a list of tutors available this summer. If you are interested, the list of tutors can be found here: List of Summer Tutors

Kindergarten enrollment!

Kindergarten Enrollment is now open! Children who turn five on or before December 1, 2026 will be eligible to enroll in DK and Kindergarten for the 26-27 school year. Find more information here: Kindergarten Enrollment Link

BAC - 2026/27 School Year

Before and After School Care (BAC) Program 

The BAC program is offered at all elementary schools in the RPS district, available Monday - Friday, 7:00 am until the start of school, and at the end of the school day until 6:00 pm. Our BAC programs provide parents with the security of knowing their children are in a safe, fun, and nurturing environment before and after school hours. DK students have the option of attending BAC at Cannonsburg or Crestwood where they attend DK. Transportation is provided between each elementary school and the DK locations. 

BAC is offered every day that school is in session and during Winter and Spring Break. Table games, crafts, gym time, outdoor play, and literacy time are planned each day. For more information regarding BAC registration, visit: 

 Before and After School Care website

 Please call our office at 616.863.6560 with any questions. 

Student cellphones and smart watches

• Students with a cellphone may not use them during the school day, and they should be stored in the child’s backpack at all times.  
• Please do not text or call your student on their device during the school day. Communication should go through the office.
• Students with smart watches should have their device set to School Mode, which disables distracting smartwatch features—like calls, messages, and games—while keeping essential safety tools active.
• Students should not be wearing earbuds or other noise-canceling headphones unless it is a documented accommodation.

Thank you for your help with this!

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

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!

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 My Ride app today!

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.