Newsletter Volume 44, Number 7

October 16, 2025 | Volume 44, Issue 7

Table of Contents

Thank you! Candy Donations for Pumpkin Palooza Sun., Oct. 19, 11:30 am - 2:30 pm
Secure Your Auction Tickets--Early Bird Prices Before Dec. 19
Submit Winterfest Performance Proposals--Due by Mon., Nov. 3rd
Tell a Friend! RSVP for SPARClers Now!
Literary Character Day Fri., Oct. 31

Upcoming Events

SAT, Oct 18

11 am - 1 pm, Friends of the Rouge Fall Fest

SUN, Oct 19

11:30 am - 2:30 pm, Pumpkin Palooza

THURS, Oct 23

7 pm, SPARCler #2: "How to Emotionally Support Gifted Children"

FRI, Oct 31

9 am, Literary Character Day & Bowling (at Super Bowl)

THANK YOU!

CANDY DONATIONS

For PUMPKIN PALOOZA

Sun., Oct. 19, 11:30 AM - 2:30PM

Thank you to the Lau, Hyun, and Nehme families for donating candy! Thank you to Mr. Liou and Mrs. Coffin for donating as well!

A reminder that the Plymouth Pumpkin Palooza is happening this Sunday between 11:30 AM - 2:30 PM. This year, our booth (#11) is located on Forest Ave. near Ann Arbor Trail. We hope to see you there!

SECURE YOUR AUCTION TICKETS

Early Bird Prices before Dec. 19

When & Where

Early Bird Tickets (by Dec 19, 2025): $75 Individual | $750 Table
After Dec 19: $85 Individual | $850 Table
Dress code: Science Fiction–themed attire encouraged!

What’s in Store

Exciting silent and live auction items
A costume contest to add flair and fun to the evening
Delectable dinner courses, dessert, coffee station, and bar

SECURE YOUR TICKETS NOW!

SUBMIT WINTERFEST

PERFORMANCE PROPOSALS

DUE by Mon., Nov. 3rd

The Winterfest is a Holiday Performance event. Students are invited to submit optional independent proposals for performance pieces, which will be followed by auditions demonstrating performance-ready acts. Gold proposal forms have already been sent home and are due by Monday, November 3rd.

TELL A FRIEND!

RSVP FOR SPARClers NOW!

Our second SPARCler (parent support forum) will be on Thursday, October 23rd 7PM at Steppingstone School. We have invited Kristin Cotts to be our speaker again this year and she will be sharing “How to Emotionally Support Gifted Children.” To attend, please RSVP for the session here.

Kristin is an LPC at the Center for Identity Potential in Huntington Woods, which specializes in counseling the gifted. She recently was promoted to Director of Training & Education at the Center. She is a former middle and high school teacher. She holds an MA from Adler University in Clinical Mental Health Counseling, an MA from University of Michigan in Communication, and a BA from Carleton College in French. She is also a singer-songwriter and actor. She lives in Troy, MI and has a 14-year-old son.

LITERARY CHARACTER DAY

Fri., Oct. 31

Students should arrive at the school on this day dressed as the main character from this month's Power Reading book. They will also bring a created prop as another clue to their "secret identity":

FRIDAY

Oct 31, 2025

Elementary students may need some assistance from parents to create their prop. This is the main project for Power Reading this month, so it should be student-made, not purchased or 3D-printed. As an example, if someone was dressing as Dorothy of the Wizard of Oz, the prop might be Toto. Each student should already have something in mind for their prop.

Students will play "20 Questions" to figure out their classmates' identities.

Thank you to the Styke, Hyun, and Nehme families for volunteering to donate snacks on this day! Teachers would be grateful if you limit sugar and food dyes since several students are sensitive to those ingredients as well.

Weather permitting, students will take a walk through the "Scarecrows in the Park" and have an early lunch in Kellogg Park.

BOWLING AFTERNOON

After our lunch break in Kellogg Park, we will go bowling at Super Bowl Lanes. If you would like to help chaperone, please inform Mr. Liou.

BEAUTIFUL BAOBAB

This week in Social Studies, our Early Elementary students learned about Madagascar's famous landmarks, the symbolism of their national flag, and major resources and industry. Did you know that more than half of the world's vanilla comes from Madagascar? Most of their crop comes right here, to the United States.

We looked at pictures of some of Madagascar's beautiful national parks and other recognizable landmarks. Possibly the most famous landmark in Madagascar is the Avenue of the Baobab Trees. Some of these trees are 30 meters tall and over 800 years old! We made our own miniature version of this famous spot.

Here, you can see Cassie, Aliya, and Jacob creating baobab trees from paper towel rolls. On the table are replicas of Madagascar's national flag. The white stands for purity, red stands for sovereignty (self-rule), and green stands for hope.