Mecosta Elementary

As we prepare for the winter-weather season ahead, we want to make sure you’re always in the loop regarding weather-related closures and delays. Here’s how we notify the Warrior community about school closures: 1. CHSD App & Website: Check our app and/or website for the latest updates on closures or delays. We’ll post notifications and updates as soon as decisions are made. 2. Text Alerts, Phone Calls & Emails: We’ll send out notifications via our school messaging system. Please ensure your contact information is up-to-date! 3. Social Media: We’ll post all closure and delay announcements to our school Facebook accounts, so be sure to follow us. 4. Local TV & Radio: Tune in to these local stations for broadcasted school closures – TV 9&10, Fox 33, NBC 25/Fox 66, ABC 12, ABC 7&4, WNEM TV 5, Fox 17, Wood TV 8, WZZM 13 – and radio stations 102.3 and 100.9 Y102-WYBR, 95.3 WCFX, 105.3 WCZY, 94.5 WCEN. We understand how important it is to stay informed, and we’re committed to keeping you updated quickly and efficiently! For more details regarding all our communications channels, visit the District Communications page on our website here: https://www.chsd.us/page/district-communications

Picture retakes are tomorrow! If you are doing retakes, please remember to send your original photos to return to the photographer. New photos can be ordered online at geskusphoto.com.

A special THANK YOU to The Mecosta County Optimist Club for supporting Mecosta Elementary! They purchased two new soccer goals and nets for our playground, purchased popcorn passes to help ensure every Mecosta Elementary student could receive popcorn for the whole year, and also provided a check to purchase decorations for our KISS Dance this spring! Again, thank you to The Mecosta County Optimist Club for your generosity and these wonderful gifts for our students!

REMINDER: No school on Friday, November 15 for Safety Day!

Are your kiddos wondering what’s on the lunch menu today? We’ve got you covered. Just pull up the school’s lunch menu right in the CHSD app to see what’s cookin! Our school’s daily lunch menu is easily found in the district app under the Dining section for each building. Today’s menu will automatically be featured, but you can scroll through the dates to see the meals planned for the rest of the month. If you prefer a paper copy, you can download our monthly lunch menus online here: https://www.chsd.us/page/food-service Easy peasy!

Picture Retakes will be next week on Wednesday, November 20. If you plan to do retakes, please send the original photos with your student to return to the photographer. New photos can be ordered at geskusphoto.com.

Have you received our text message tests? All Chippewa Hills parents and guardians with a valid cell phone number should receive the text messages from the district. We’ve done 3 tests with text messages during our initial roll-out in October. If you are still not receiving our text messages, we’ve outlined a few troubleshooting tips to help ensure messages are being delivered to you. You can view the troubleshooting tips on our website here: https://www.chsd.us/o/chsd/page/text-troubleshooting Text troubleshooting can also be accessed through the CHSD app by going to the Documents tab under the District page.

Award-winning children’s book author, Shannon Anderson, will be visiting our Mecosta Elementary students on Monday, October 28! Shannon is an award-winning children’s book author, professor, TEDx speaker, frequent keynote presenter, and certified brain coach. She taught for 25 years, from first-grade through college level, and was named one of the 10 teachers who “Awed and Inspired” the Today Show in 2019. Her book, I Love Strawberries! was named the top-rated 2022 picture book by Good Housekeeping magazine and the National Book of the Year by the Farm Bureau Foundation. We are thrilled to welcome Shannon to our school on Monday!

Did you get the text? Our second test for text message alerts went out at noon today. Parents, if you did NOT receive the text, please update your cell phone information by calling your child’s school or filling out this form: https://chsd.us/forms/text-alerts-parent-cell-phone-information. We have one more test scheduled for next Wednesday, October 30 at 12 PM. This allows all our Warrior families time to update their cell phone information with the school if needed. After our October rollout, text message alerts will only be used for urgent communications like school closures and delays, power outages, emergency cancellations, building lockdowns, etc. If you want to be ensure you're able to receive district texts, please update your cell phone number with the school by Tuesday, October 29 so you can receive the final test message on October 30.

Looking for a particular form on our website? You can find most school documents and forms in one place on our website, under the District Documents & Forms page. This page contains new student enrollment forms, yearly acknowledgement forms and notices, medication forms, athletics forms and more! You can access this page from our District homepage under District > District Documents & Forms. https://www.chsd.us/page/district-documents-forms It's also in the CHSD Warriors app! All district documents and forms can be downloaded within the app, under the District page > Documents > Documents & Forms.

Are your costumes ready? Family Halloween Night is this Sunday from 4-6 PM. Bring the kiddos to trick or treat through the entire high school! We’ll also have games, treats, and a haunted house for the older children! The trick-or-treating event is FREE and family friendly! Haunted House Pricing: $3/person or $10 for a group of 4 (or $2 per extra person for a group more than 4). Please note, the haunted house is scary and not intended for younger children.

REMINDER: Monday, October 21 is an early release day. The High School and Middle School are released at 12:00 PM. Elementary Schools are released at 12:15 PM.

Our Wellness Center's Vaccine Clinic is tomorrow! The clinic will be held in the Middle School Library from 12-4 PM. Walk-ins are welcome, but appointments are encouraged to avoid long wait times. Call 989-967-2290 to schedule an appointment today!

REMINDER: Friday, October 18 and Monday, October 21 are early release days! The High School and Middle School will be released at 12:00 PM. Elementary Schools will be released at 12:15 PM.

Our first test for text message alerts went out at 12:00 PM today. Parents, if you did NOT receive the text message, please update your cell phone information by calling your child’s school or filling out this form: https://chsd.us/forms/text-alerts-parent-cell-phone-information. Two more tests are scheduled for text message alerts on Oct 23 and Oct 30 at 12:00 PM. This allows all of our Warrior families time to update their contact information with the school if needed. After our October rollout, text message alerts will only be used for urgent communications like school closures and delays, power outages, emergency cancellations, building lockdowns, etc.

Can't wait to see all our Warriors dressed up for picture day tomorrow! Remember to bring your order forms with you!

Text alerts are coming! During the month of October, we will be rolling out text alerts for emergency communications from Chippewa Hills. Text alerts will be used for urgent situations like school closures and delays, power outages, emergency cancellations, and building lockdowns. We will still continue to use all of our other communication methods for emergencies (like the CHSD app, social media, email, radio/TV announcements, etc), and text alerts are simply another tool we’re adding to our arsenal for distributing needed information quickly. Day-to-day updates, reminders, and announcements will continue to be shared via the CHSD app, Rooms, social media, and email. **PARENTS: In order to receive text alerts, it is essential for you to make sure the school has your correct cell phone number on file! You can verify that information by checking your account information in Skyward Family Access or by calling your child’s school office. You can also fill out this form and we will update your cell phone information: https://chsd.us/forms/text-alerts-parent-cell-phone-information TEST MESSAGES: We have scheduled 3 tests for text alerts on the following days/times: • Wednesday, October 16 at 12:00 PM • Wednesday, October 23 at 12:00 PM • Wednesday, October 30 at 12:00 PM If you do NOT receive the first test message on October 16, please update your cell phone information with the school ASAP. Once your cell phone number is updated, you should receive the second and third test messages. We’re scheduling these tests to ensure as many Warrior families as possible are receiving the text alerts and to give parents time to update their contact information if needed. We’re trying to wrap all of this up during October as we prepare for the school closures and delays that will come with the winter weather season ahead. Update your cell phone information today!

Just a reminder that Picture Day is next week on Thursday, October 17! Order forms were sent home with students this week.

Are you coming to Friday’s Warriors vs Cancer football game? We’re inviting all cancer warriors (those who have defeated cancer and those that are fighting) in our community to ring the victory bell during a special halftime celebration! We will also be making luminaries to honor all our loved ones affected by cancer. Our students will make the luminaries, which will be displayed along the track throughout the evening. If you would like to ring the victory bell or have a luminary dedicated to a loved one, please fill out this form by Thursday, October 10: https://forms.gle/ohX7qSLYBkchK4KX9 Friday night is also Senior Night and we will be honoring our senior fall sports athletes before the game. We look forward to seeing you there, Warrior Nation!

Did you know you can find school contact information quickly and easily on the Chippewa Hills website and the CHSD Warriors app? Simply visit our website at www.chsd.us and click on the blue Contact Us buttons located on the district homepage as well as the homepages for every building. From there you’ll see all the contact information for your school’s office, as well as a listing of all building and department phone numbers. If you’re using the CHSD Warriors app, just click on the Contact Us button in the menu to view a listing of all building and department phone numbers. Simply click on a phone number to make a call! If you’re not using the CHSD Warriors app, how come? It’s the best way to stay connected with everything happening at Chippewa Hills! You can download the CHSD Warriors app for free from the Google Play or Apple App store.