Yake Elementary School

All Woodhaven-Brownstown School District schools will be closed on Tuesday, January 21 and Wednesday, January 22, 2025 due to extreme temperatures and wind chill. Please stay safe and warm!

Good afternoon, I hope that you are managing to stay warm as we prepare for the cold stretch ahead. Don't forget to text WBSD to 888777 to sign up for alerts from the Woodhaven-Brownstown School District. Please click on the link below to take a peek at our Gator Bites for the upcoming week. We have some special upcoming events including a Yake Family Dinner Night at Francesca's Brick Oven Pizzeria on January 29th (the Woodhaven Warrior is my favorite pizza!), Kids Against Hunger for our 3rd & 4th graders on February 8th, the Future Chefs Cooking Challenge, the Yake Family Fun Night at Kalahari (we are up to 118 rooms booked!) and more. https://secure.smore.com/n/hs4tkf Please take a moment to review and let me know if you have any questions. I hope that our Gators enjoy the three day weekend and the celebration on Martin Luther King Jr. day on Monday. Have a great weekend! Tim Podlewski

WHS Dance Team is hosting their Annual Winter Junior Warrior Clinic - the time is NOW to register! See the photos above for the details and the link/QR code to register. Register to secure your spot, as registration closes on 1/17 at 3 p.m. or when all spots have been filled.

Good morning! I just received a notice from Kalahari that we are down to only 6 rooms left for our Yake Family Night at Kalahari. Don't miss out on your chance to book your room for the special rate of only $154. This rate includes water park passes for the 17th & the 18th. Please click on the link below to book your room to join me and almost 100 Yake families for some water park fun. https://book.passkey.com/e/50882668 As a note, our event is so popular that other downriver elementary schools are trying to book their own events on President's Day (Wegienka joined in last year). Since they can only book four schools on a date each year, I booked us through 2028 to keep our event and to lock in the $154 rate for the next three years.

Join WBSD's Early On team for a special event, Diapers to Wipers to learn how to "potty like a rockstar!" Please RSVP for the event as space is limited. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSemyuHdcyH7Ujavenhg_HlfBebhXTfZ3ZXeBoTddNo24MO6zg/viewform

Good afternoon, I hope that 2025 is off to a great start! How are those resolutions coming along? Please click on the link below to take a peek at our Gator Bites as we charge into the New Year. You will learn more about dates and activities coming up as we move into January and February. https://secure.smore.com/n/mzbnd I look forward to seeing all of my Gators when they return for a full day of school on Monday. I am also looking forward to an evening of Music BINGO fun, karaoke and dancing with some great Yake families and friends next Saturday night. Have a great weekend! Tim Podlewski

Good afternoon, There is such a buzz of joy and happiness throughout the building today. I love all of the memories that our Gators are making as they prepare for the winter break. I know it seems odd to share our newsletter when we will be off for the next two weeks, but I wanted to share a few pictures, remind families of upcoming dates and wish all of our Gators and their families a warm, safe and joyful winter break. https://secure.smore.com/n/rd6sv Have a great weekend and a wonderful Holiday break! Tim Podlewski

Good afternoon, I hope that you are enjoying your day. Please click on the link below to to learn more about the week leading up to the Winter Break. A week often referenced by kindergarten teachers as being filled with "Good Times!" In the Gator Bites you will see the dates for Winter Break, MLK Day and more. You will also have a chance to book one of the last 20 rooms that are still available. https://secure.smore.com/n/972jf I want to give a huge "Thank you!" to our PTO and the volunteers who made our Santa's Secret Shop possible this past week. The amount of time and effort that goes into preparing for this event and buying up, sorting and storing items for Santa's Secret Shop 2025 is significant. I appreciate all of the hard work that goes into making this event possible every year. Please review our Gator Bites for the upcoming week and let me know if you have any questions or concerns. I will look forward to seeing many of our Gators and their families for Breakfast with Santa tomorrow morning. Have a great day! Tim Podlewski

Good afternoon, After spending most of the week at the MEMSPA Conference (Michigan Elementary and Middle School Principals Association), I am excited to see my Gators again on Monday. I am extra excited as the conference usually falls on Santa's Secret Shop week. This year I will be at Yake demonstrating my gift wrapping skills ;-) (I was kicked out of gift wrapping years ago for being too slow). Please click on the link below to learn more about Santa's Secret Shop, Breakfast with Santa, our upcoming Winter Break and more. https://secure.smore.com/n/23t4z Big "Thank you!" to our PTO and volunteers for helping to make these big holiday events possible.  The smiles on the faces of our Gators and their families make all of the time and effort worth it. I hope that you have a great weekend! I look forward to seeing our Gators on Monday. Tim Podlewski

"Oh, the weather outside is frightful But the fire is so delightful And since we've no place to go Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow!" We know students love "snow days," but did you ever wonder how the decision is made? Listen to the new episode of the Warrior Way Podcast HERE - Weathering the Storm: Inside WBSD’s School Closure Process to learn more. https://rss.com/podcasts/thewarriorway/1782681

Good afternoon, I hope that you had a wonderful Thanksgiving! For those brave enough to go out shopping this morning, I hope that you found some great deals. Please click on the link below to take a peek at our Gator Bites as we move into the month of December. With three weeks to go before our Winter Break, the month will just fly by. Take a peek at our Gator Bites to learn more about Santa's Secret Shop, Breakfast with Santa and more. https://secure.smore.com/n/dpwr3 I have to give a huge "Shout out!" to our PTO and parent volunteers who put in a significant amount of time to make our big events like Santa's Secret Shop and Breakfast with Santa take place. I hope that you have a warm, safe and restful Thanksgiving weekend. Tim Podlewski

Happy Thanksgiving to our WBSD Families!

The WBSD has a great safety system, Zonar, for our bus transportation system that can be a great tool to be used by parents. - Watch a demo video for the new Zonar MyView app here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IPVdnZPnSs - Download the Zonar MyView app in your device’s app store. WBSD’s Code is: WOO9929 (This is letters “W” and “OO” not numbers) - Login to your Parent Connect and find your child’s bus route information under the Transportation tab. If you would like to use the additional feature, the Z-Pass, you may request one by scanning the QR code or filling out this document - https://tinyurl.com/ydkj6s2p For more information, check out your school's weekly principal communication for more on Zonar.

Good Evening, Yake Families, This is Mr. Podlewski writing to remind all of our families that our Thanksgiving Break begins following a half-day of school tomorrow. Students will be dismissed from school at 12:00 p.m. tomorrow afternoon to begin their break. I hope that all of our Gators and their families have a warm and safe Thanksgiving Break. I will look forward to seeing all of my Gators when school resumes again on Monday. Thank you, and good night.

Good afternoon, Please take a peek at our Gator Bites as we move into our shortened week for Thanksgiving Break. Though the week is short for our Gators, they will have fun on Wednesday morning for Pie Day. Big "Thank you!" to all of our families who bought and sold pies. Please click on the link below to learn more about next week and the exciting events and activities taking place during the month of December, including Santa's Secret Shop and Breakfast with Santa. https://secure.smore.com/n/2n94g Please take a moment to review our newsletter and let me know if you have any questions or concerns. I hope that you have a great weekend and a wonderful Thanksgiving break. Tim Podlewski

Good morning, I can hardly believe Santa's Secret Shop is right around the corner.  For families new to Yake Elementary School, we have the best Santa's Secret Shop that you will find at any elementary school.  The only way that we can keep the shop running and have a special week for our Gators every year is with the help of volunteers to help sort and set-up the shop.  If you are available in the evenings during the week of December 2nd, please click on the link below to sign-up and volunteer. https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0A48A4AA23A6FF2-53079181-santa#/ Your help in putting together another wonderful Santa's Secret Shop is greatly appreciated! Tim Podlewski

Good Evening, Yake Families, As you are aware, Parent-Teacher Conferences are scheduled to take place tomorrow afternoon and evening. Conferences will run from 1:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. and from 5:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. As a result of Parent-Teacher Conferences, our students will have a half-day of school tomorrow with a 12:00 p.m. dismissal. During Parent-Teacher Conferences, your child’s teacher will share fall assessment data, information pertaining to your child’s progress in the classroom, i-Ready diagnostic data and observations of your child’s social interactions with their peers. If your student has been identified as being below grade level benchmark in reading, the teacher will also share your child’s Individualized Reading Intervention Plan (IRIP). Each conference will be limited to ten minutes. If, after that time, you feel you need additional time, we may arrange an appointment for another conference. Our goal is to have 100% parent attendance at conferences. Following your conferences, please take a moment to complete a Parent-Teacher Conference Evaluation Survey. These surveys can be completed in an online version using the link below. Your feedback will be very valuable to our ongoing school improvement efforts. https://forms.gle/GsPGpYFWa31fqKpr7 I hope that all of our families enjoy having a positive parent-teacher conference experience. Take care and have a great night!

Rooms for the Yake Family Night at Kalahari on President's Day (February 17, 2025) ate filling up fast! Remember, for the discount rate of $154, your family can enjoy a 2 queen bed room with waterpark passes. You can't get a room at this rate at any other time of the year and on the 17th, the park will be extra fun as it will be filled with Gators! My room is booked and I am excited to see many of our families there. Click on the link below to join me for a day (or two as you can use the park on the 18th as well) at Kalahari on President's Day 2025! https://book.passkey.com/e/50882668 I'll see you there! Tim Podlewski

Good afternoon, Please click on the link below to take a peek at our Gator Bites for the upcoming week.  In the newsletter, you will find information about our our Scholastic Book Fair, including a link to preview the sale and set up an eWallet for your Gator(s), information about our Grandparent's Social, parent-teacher conferences, Thanksgiving Break, Pie Day and more.    https://secure.smore.com/n/d0npz    Please take a moment to review and let me know if you have any questions or concerns as we move closer to Thanksgiving and the winter holidays. Have a great weekend! Tim Podlewski

Hi Everyone, This Thursday our Achatz Pie Fundraiser pick ups can begin at 3:15pm (we will post on facebook if we're done sorting earlier). A volunteer will go over your order will you to make everything is accurate. We will be doing pick ups until 6pm, please make sure you send someone in your place if you are unable to pick up that day as we don't have access to a freezer to store any orders left. You can enter the gym doors behind the dumpsters for pick up. If you have any availability, PTO would greatly appreciate any help as this is a big undertaking. Please check out our sign up genius to help with sorting or distribution- Yake PTO: Achatz Pie Sorting https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0A48A4AA23A6FF2-45290641-achatz#/ Thanks, Angie Lukas Yake PTO President