Yake Elementary School

Good Evening, This is Mr. Podlewski writing to remind our families that we will have a half day of school tomorrow, with a noon dismissal to begin our Memorial Day weekend. We will not have school on Monday, which is Memorial Day. Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation's service. Every year, on the last Monday in May, Americans observe Memorial Day. Memorial Day is a holiday that commemorates those who have died in battle while serving in the U.S. armed forces. Memorial Day is for us to remember and honor American Soldiers who have given their lives for our country. So, though the long weekend is wonderful and I hope our Gators have lots of fun, please take a moment to think about the brave men and women of the armed forces who gave their lives in defense of our country. To all the solders & veterans within the Yake Family, “Thank You, so very much for your service to our country!” With that said, I will look forward to seeing all of my Gators when they return for a full day of school on Tuesday morning. Thank you, and have a great evening. Mr. Podlewski

Check out the WBSD Calendar-at-a-Glance for the 2025-26 School Year. This includes important dates such as conferences and breaks.

Did you know that families who have a child ages 0 to five years old in the Woodhaven-Brownstown School District are eligible for free books on a monthly basis from our partnership with Dolly Parton's Imagination Library? Check out the link here: https://imaginationlibrary.com/check-availability/

Good afternoon, I wanted to start by giving a "Shout out!" to Mrs. Kincer, Mrs. Redman and Mr. A. for putting on our Arts, Beats & Eats event last night.  The event was a success and our families loved London's Famous Walking Tacos.  May rolls on with some great upcoming events including field trips, a family dinner night at BW3's, Field Day, the Super Mile & more.  Click on the link below to read our newsletter to learn about these upcoming events, see some great pictures from the 3rd grade field trip to Lansing, a fishing trip to Michigan Memorial and more.  You will even find calendars for the 2025/26 school year and other pieces of helpful information. https://secure.smore.com/n/vyj1s  Please take a moment to review and feel free to contact me if you have any questions or concerns. Have a great day and a beautiful weekend. Tim Podlewski

Good afternoon, I hope that you are enjoying your day. We are excited to finally get our Fun Run in this afternoon. Please click on the link below for information about the rest of this year and links to get your calendars filled in for the 2025/26 school year. In the newsletter, you will find information about Arts, Beats & Eats, upcoming field trips (I am so excited to visit Lansing once again this year), half days of school, initial drafts of the 2025/26 building calendar and more. https://secure.smore.com/n/rkbuc Please take a moment to review our Gator Bites and let me know if you have any questions or concerns. I hope that all of our mothers and grandmothers have a wonderful Mother's Day! Have a great weekend! Tim Podlewski

Good morning, Mother Nature isn't cooperating with our Fun Run plans. We walked the grounds around the baseball diamond and the conditions are poor. Even if the rain stops, we don't see conditions improving enough for a Fun Run this afternoon (soggy grass and soggy feet aren't fun). As a result, we are bumping the running portion of the Fun run to tomorrow afternoon while keeping the Kona Ice Truck visiting us today. Even better is that due to class sponsors, all Gators will be able to enjoy Kona Ice Truck treats this afternoon. I apologize to the volunteers who took the afternoon off to help with the fun run and I understand that many might not be able to flex their schedules to tomorrow afternoon. We look forward to enjoying Kona Ice with our Gators this afternoon and Mr. Crane is already working on our Fun Run course for tomorrow afternoon. Your flexibility and understanding is appreciated. Tim Podlewski

🏀🏐🏈 SUMMER CAMPS ARE BACK! 🏈🏐🏀 Ready to move, cheer, and get in the game? WBSD is bringing the heat this summer with youth sports camps for every kind of athlete! 🔥 Cheer 🏀 Girls & Boys Basketball 🏈 Football 🏐 Volleyball Whether you're a future MVP or just love being part of a team, there's a camp for YOU! ✨ Learn new skills ✨ Make new friends ✨ Have FUN 📅 Spots are limited - don’t wait! #WBSDWarriors #WarriorWay #SummerSports #YouthCamps #GetInTheGame

Fall enrollment is now open for Champions before and after school care. Call or email for more information or to register your student.

The Michigan Alliance for Families is hosting many free seminars for parents throughout the month of May. In particular, check out this webinar for Supporting Student Mental Health on May 13 - with Dianna Robinson from 9:30am-11:00am. Register at https://tinyurl.com/y76829xd

🎧 NEW PODCAST EPISODE! The WHS Music Production class took over The Warrior Way Podcast — and they nailed it! 🎙️ From interviews to original music and smooth transitions, 19 students ran the show from start to finish. Hear them talk about Hadestown, Mental Health Awareness Month, senior advice, United Sound, and more. This is student voice at its best! Please support them by listening and sharing this episode!💜🎶 🔗 Listen now: https://rss.com/podcasts/thewarriorway/2010857/ #WarriorWayPodcast #WHSWarriors #StudentVoice #PodcastTakeover #WoodhavenHS

Good afternoon, I hope that your month of may is off to a great start. Take a peek at our Gator Bites as it is jam packed with information about all of the events and activities through the rest of the school year. You will learn more about Bike & Roll to School Day, Arts, Beats & Eats, field trips, half-days of school and more. You will also find a link to the Kindergarten Orientation presentation that I shared last week. https://secure.smore.com/n/890ac Please take a moment to review and let me know if you have any questions. Have a great weekend! Tim Podlewski -- Timothy S. Podlewski Principal Yake Elementary School 16400 Carter Rd. E. Woodhaven, MI 48183 (734)692-2230 (office) (734)692-2234(fax)

Good morning, Please see the information below about the spring WTC's production of HADESTOWN Teen Edition. Come out and enjoy an amazing production put on by our 3x Defending State Champion Theatre Company. Yake is well represented with Harper Clemons, Conor Hatfield & Makenzie Whitman in the cast, Christian Grantham & Miles Gawrych in the pit, and Rogue Williams, Tyler Brownlee, Broderick Justian, JoJo Reyes, Emmalyn Pinnegar, Elyse Hoss, Sophia Germano & Madeline Scala in the crew. Directed by our own, Thespian Teacher of the Year, Mike Clemons. The show is recommended for ages 8+ as they do say the word, Hell. Otherwise, this will be a great show for families to see. Please see the message below and the attachments for more information. Break a Leg in Hades, WTC! Tim Podlewski Good morning and happy Friday!! The Woodhaven Theatre Company would be thrilled if you would share an at the theatre with us. The WTC spring musical, HADESTOWN, is a truly exceptional production that our hard-working, passionate, and talented students have invested so much time and effort into. We would love to see our whole community next weekend! HADESTOWN  takes you on an unforgettable journey to the underworld and back, intertwining two mythic love stories – that of young dreamers Orpheus and Eurydice, and that of King Hades and his wife Persephone. A deeply resonant and defiantly hopeful theatrical experience, HADESTOWN invites you to imagine how the world could be. Free admission for all WBSD Staff (please show ID to help the ticket booth). Performances begin at 7pm on May 8, 9 & 10 in the WHS Auditorium. I've attached some pictures from rehearsal, the playbill (so you can see which students are involved), and the poster (feel free to share). Thanks and have a great weekend!! -- Michael G. Clemons Director of Theatre Woodhaven Theatre Company ITS Troupe 8057 Woodhaven High School 24787 Van Horn Road Brownstown MI 48134 (734) 783-3333 Extension 2855

Good morning, In looking at the future weather forecast, we feel like our best bet will be to move the Yake Family Fun Run to next Friday, May 9th. We should have better weather and the treatment for ticks will have had time to settle in. I apologize for the change and I appreciate your understanding. Thank you and have a great day! Tim Podlewski

🎙️ New Warrior Way Podcast Episode - Supporting Student Mental Health May is #MentalHealthAwarenessMonth, and in this episode, Superintendent Mark Greathead sits down with WBSD experts—Amanda Sayre (Brownstown MS Counselor), Monique Giannetti (School Social Worker), and Stefanie Scalcucci (School Psychologist)—to talk about real, practical ways parents can support their child’s mental health. 💬💜 ✅ How to check in with your student (without making it awkward) ✅ Reducing the stigma around mental health ✅ Support available through our partnership with @CareSolace 🎧 Tune in now and learn how small conversations can lead to big support. 🔗 https://rss.com/podcasts/thewarriorway/2010432/ #WBSDWay #MentalHealthMatters #CareSolace #StudentSupport #WarriorWayPodcast

Good morning, With rain in the forecast for today, Thursday and Friday and the increase in ticks that we are experiencing, Mr. Crane and I discussed moving the Fun Run to Monday afternoon. Even if it isn't raining Friday afternoon, the grounds may be quite wet and muddy. Additionally, our maintenance staff would need two dry days for the treatment for ticks to work. With Friday afternoon through Monday being dry and sunny, moving the Fun Run to Monday afternoon may work well all around. We would have much improved weather and grounds conditions and our tick application would have had time to set in. No final decisions have been made, but I want to give parent volunteers and families who plan to come out and observe the change to begin peeking at their schedules for a potential schedule change. I will share a final decision by the end of the day on Wednesday to give families a chance to plan accordingly. Your support and understanding is appreciated. Tim Podlewski

Good afternoon, I hope that your Friday is going well.  Please click on the link below to take a peek at our Gator Bites for the upcoming week.  In addition to seeing some fun pictures, you will also learn about the events and activities that will take us through to the end of the year.  You will have your last chance to submit a teacher request for the 2025.26 school year (due May 1st), learn about upcoming field trips, mark your calendars for upcoming half-days, the Excellent Attendance Family BBQ, Field Day, the Fun Run and more. https://secure.smore.com/n/7nqycg As always, please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.  As a note, I have included a link to the Kindergarten Orientation presentation that I shared last night for those families who missed it or who would like to go through the information at a slower pace. Have a great weekend! Tim Podlewski

🎨📚 Today, we celebrate our kindergarteners and teachers who bring curiosity, energy, and excitement to learning every day! Kindergarten is where the love for learning begins! Don't forget that tonight is Young Fives and Kindergarten Orientation at all five of our elementary schools at 6 p.m.💜 #WhyWBSD #BatesEagles #ErvingSkyhawks #GudithGrizzlies #WegienkaWildcats #YakeGators

🎙️ New Episode Alert! This week on the Warrior Way Podcast, we’re talking all things Young Fives with Yake Elementary’s very own Mrs. Kara Hool! 💜👶✏️ From how the program supports early learners to what a typical day looks like in her classroom, Mrs. Hool shares her passion for helping our youngest Warriors grow, learn, and thrive. 🎧 Tune in now to learn why Young Fives might be the perfect start for your child’s school journey! 🔗 https://open.spotify.com/episode/1auuv0T4eeW9MdndjejxZ0?si=vgbMI7LPQJq9RIPxIgYj6Q As a reminder, Young Fives & Kindergarten orientation is TOMORROW, April 24 at all of our elementary schools at 6 p.m. #WarriorWayPodcast #YoungFives #WBSDProud #WarriorStrong #WoodhavenBrownstown

Good afternoon, Just as a reminder, all Gator Fun Run t-shirt orders are due on Monday, April 21st. Be sure to get your orders in on Monday morning. Thank you! Yake PTO

Good afternoon, I thought that I would share our Gator Bites a day early to provide an additional reminder about school being closed on Friday for Good Friday.  Please take a peek at our Gator Bites for the week of April 21st.  We have a full calendar with our 3rd graders starting M-STEP testing this week.  You will also find information about upcoming events including Kindergarten Orientation, the Gator Family Fun Run, Bike & Roll to School day with Mr. Crane and I, field trips, Arts, Beats & Eats and more. https://secure.smore.com/n/vgb61 Please take a moment to review our newsletter and please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. I hope that all of our families enjoy a warm and safe three day weekend. Tim Podlewski