December 9, 2016

Martell Monitor http://martell.troy.k12.mi.us/

Accredited by the State of Michigan & AdvancED: The world leader in school accreditation

Calendar of Events

Dear Martell Families,

Our students and staff are engaged in a very special

community service project this month. Our “Gifts on the

Go” initiative has challenged the entire Martell

community to collect donations of new toys for children in

need this holiday season! Our goal for Martell is to fill an

entire fire truck with these toys! All donated gifts will be

donated to Courage Kids in Detroit and also to local

children throughout Troy.

All gifts should be unwrapped and brought in to your

child’s classroom teacher by December 13th. Please join

us in helping to spread some joy to others in our area! I’m

so excited that our students and staff have taken on this

challenge!

Sincerely,

John F. Pagel

Principal

Black Out Bullying Spirit Day!

Please join elementary students from all across

OneTroy to wear black next Tuesday in honor of

“Troy Kindness Day” and “Black Out Bullying Day!”

Together we can raise awareness around this

important topic!

Dec 12 PTO Meeting with Dr. Machesky

6:30 p.m. Media Center

Dec 13 Black Out Bullying Spirit Day

Students and Staff Wear Black!

Dec 20 Classroom Holiday Parties

Times TBD by Teachers

Dec. 21 Last Full Day of Classes

Winter Recess begins Dec. 22nd

Jan. 3 Classes Resume - Full Day

12-12 12-13 12-14 12-15 12-16

1A 1B 1C 1D 1C

Principal’s Corner

Weekly Specials Schedule

Dr. Machesky Visits Martell PTO

We are excited to welcome our very own Troy Superintendent of Schools Dr. Richard Machesky to the next Martell Elementary PTO Meeting. Dr. Machesky plans to present some important updates to our families at the meeting. We are hoping you can join us!!! When: Monday December 12th Time: 6:30 p.m. Where: Martell Media Center

PHONE NUMBERS FOR MARTELL

Main number 248-823-3800 Attendance number 248-823-3801 Fax number 248-823-3813

Special thanks to Mrs. Caswell, Mrs. Daly and their corps of fantastic volunteers for organizing our recent PTO Holiday Shop!

You are awesome!

We congratulate our Marvelous Mustangs (Students of the Month) for November!!!

Outstanding Citizenship

Emily Caswell Lily Szleszynski

Ailina Zhou Jaiveer Dhadiala Madhu Battula

Ritu Bandi Joshua Schmidt

Aishwarya Gangisetti Kendall Tsai

Ben Vitanovich Natasha Carnegis

Peyton Cordes Sophia Kaltsounis

Grant Sobota Aditya Patil Luke Wilkins

Zephyr Fegley Sindhu Pannuri

Junha Park Martina Doss Caleb Smith

Best Effort Gage Olance

Ainsley Benson-Pedersen Beckham Barthlow

Sophia Gonzales Mallory Smith Gina Fauret Aishani Singh Rohith Challa

Lyla Gorny Antoni Tralo

Bianca Gerbino Lara Daaboul

Ronan Howard Iris Daly

Nahuel Larroquette Kristian Vitanovich

Esther Kraiza Shawn Li

Elena White Zach Gillespie Alexia Tralo

Help Wanted: District Food Service Staff! The Troy Schools Food Service Department, which is contracted by the Sodexo Corporation, is once again looking to

add to our Food Service Staff by seeking friendly people willing to fill various vacancies that are responsible for

providing lunches to the students of the Troy School District. Not to worry if you haven’t had previous experience, as

“on the job” training will be available!

Depending on the school, the hours would primarily be during the middle of the day, and would range from 3 to 4

hours a day. You would be earning some extra money while your students are in school! Come join our Student

Nutrition Team by calling 248-823-5089, or email me at gmoran2@troy.k12.mi.us, or come into the office at the

Service Center, 4420 Livernois, Troy 48098 for an application. I look forward to hearing from

you!

Gayle M. Moran

Director, General Manager

Sodexo Corporation

Speech and Language Skill of the Month: CATEGORIZATION

We use categories to organize our world and our thoughts. The aisles of a grocery store, the clothes in our closets, and the books in the library are all arranged and sorted based on categories. Our ability to understand and navigate these categories makes it easy to find what we’re looking for more efficiently. Similarly, we store words in our brain using categories. Children need to learn categorization because when they do, it helps them effectively store new words and information in their brain. They can then connect a new vocabulary word or concept to their schema or pattern of knowledge that they already know. For example, when a child learns the subcategory of desserts his or her brain makes an association because he or she already knows that is a type of food. When an older child learns about the water cycle, he or she can make meaning based on previous knowledge about weather, types of precipitation (rain, sleet, snow, etc.), and/or sequence of events. Activities to practice categorization at home:

Practice sorting objects around the house – food/toys/clothing Practice describing objects by:

Category (food/animal), Function (we eat/ride), Location of the object, Attributes (color, size)

Practice comparing and contrasting objects A sailboat and a car are the same because they are both vehicles and we ride in them.

They are different because a boat is found in the water and a car is found on the street. A sailboat uses wind to move and a car has an engine.

If you have any questions or concerns about your child's speech and language development, feel free to

contact me:

Christa Formberg, M.A. CFY-SLP cformberg@troy.k12.mi.us

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The Troy School District is preparing for

“February is Kindergarten Enrollment”

The Troy School District is beginning to identify kindergarten students for the 2017-18

school year. If you have a child who will be five years old on or before September 1, 2017*

please call the Martell office at 248-823-3800 to place your child on our incoming

kindergarten list. Important information and procedures for your child’s enrollment

process will be sent via the US Mail to your home in early January.

In February, the Central Enrollment Staff will meet with all incoming kindergarten

parents to complete the enrollment process for your student at:

Central Enrollment

Troy School District

Administration Building

4400 Livernois

Troy, MI 48098

Look for a schedule to be posted soon!

In the meantime, we encourage you to visit the Troy School District website to review our

New Student Enrollment procedures at:

http://www.troy.k12.mi.us

*Per the State of Michigan, if your child will be five years old between September 2, 2017 and December 1, 2017, they are

eligible to attend Kindergarten. A “Kindergarten Waiver” is required to be completed and signed by parents.