Organizations
At K.I. Sawyer Elementary students have many additional opportunities for enhancing their learning and school experience.
After School Tutoring
Assemblies
Big Brother Big Sister’s Program
Career Day
Celebration of Learning
Chess Club
Concerts & Choir
Countdown to Kindergarten
Dream Catcher’s Drama Club
Field Trips
Kindergarten Tutoring Program
Lunch Servers
March is Reading Month
Merit Cards
Mileage Club
ROARS Program
ROARS days
Penny Drive
Safety Patrol
Spelling Bee
Student Awards & Honors
Students of the Week
Three-on-Three Basketball
Veteran’s Assembly
Young Authors
After School Tutoring
Students in fourth through sixth grade have the opportunity to participate in after school tutoring. Miss Janice and Mrs. McCall help students on their homework, in addition to tutoring students in math and reading skills. If you are interested in this program for your child, please contact your child’s classroom teacher.
Assemblies
Throughout the school year, K.I. Sawyer students experience a variety of special assemblies that help to enhance the curriculum, entertain the students and build community in the school. Brad Quayle, a local musher, in the UP 200 shares the sport of dogsled racing with the students every year. Other assemblies include: the Melikin Puppets, U.P. Folktales, Moosewoods Nature Center, local singers & songwriters and visits from GACS High School basketball team.
Big Brother Big Sister’s Program
K.I. Sawyer Elementary partners with the Big Brother Big Sister’s organization to help students in need of a mentor or positive role model. Every week, students from the Gwinn High School eat lunch with a Sawyer Elementary student. The High School “Bigs” and K.I. Sawyer “Littles” build positive relationships through spending time reading, talking, working on homework or sometimes playing board games together.
Career Day
Each spring, K.I. Sawyer Elementary hosts a Career Day for students. Career speakers from a variety of disciplines are invited to share their profession in order to help students make the connection between school and their future careers. If you are interested in sharing your career with our students, please e-mail Elizabeth Bond at ebond@gwinn.k12.mi.us.
Celebration of Learning
Each year, the school hosts an annual “Celebration of Learning.” Students display samples of their work and projects from the school year. Many projects exhibited also display the curriculum standards and assessment piece (rubric) to help their parents and other community members learn why and how learning occurs in our school. Students are encouraged to bring their families to show off their work from the school year.
Chess Club
Mr. Taylor volunteers his time after school teaching students how to play chess. Students stay after school and engage in chess tournaments with their peers.
Concerts & Choir
All students participate in a winter and spring concert. Our music teacher, Mr. Hamner is well known in the area and nationally for his musical skills. We are very fortunate to have such a talented teacher lead our students every year in their music education. In addition, Mr. Hamner volunteers his time after school and during his lunch hour to provide bell choir and vocal choir for students in 5th and 6th grade.
Countdown to Kindergarten
Students entering kindergarten in the following fall are invited into school on a monthly basis. With their parents, these incoming kindergarten students participate in a variety of activities to help familiarize them with the school building, school programs, and school readiness skills.
Dream Catcher’s Drama Club
Mrs. Longhini, Mrs. Paulsen and Mrs. Woodring volunteer a great deal of their time after school each Wednesday afternoon rehearsing plays with the Dream Catcher’s Drama Club. Students perform 3-4 plays throughout the school year for the school and community.
Field Trips
Every student has the opportunity to participate in field trips throughout the school year that enhances the curriculum and the students’ learning experience. Some of the Sawyer field trips include: Fayette State Park, Northern Michigan University, The Iron Ore Museum and the Shiras Planetarium.
Kindergarten Tutoring Program
At K.I. Sawyer Elementary, kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Wommer, partners with fifth grade teachers, Miss Usher and Mrs. Gustitis to engage their students in a peer-tutoring program. Peer tutoring is an instructional arrangement where a teacher groups two students in a tutor-tutee relationship. Peer tutoring is a strategy that has been proven to be highly effective in raising student achievement. Fifth grade students tutor kindergarten student daily in letter recognition, but then move onto letter sounds as the kindergarten students progress to reading words and phrases and eventually reading books!
Lunch Servers
Students in 4th-6th grade have the opportunity to help in the kitchen at lunchtime. It is a great activity that helps to build community service in the school.
March is Reading Month
The staff at K.I. Sawyer Elementary is extremely passionate and dedicated to instilling a love for reading in all students. During the month of March, the staff engages the students in a variety of fun activities to promote “March is Reading Month”. To celebrate Dr. Suess’s birthday, students eat green eggs and ham at lunch while staff members read aloud the book, Green Eggs & Ham by Dr. Suess. Classrooms decorate their doors with themes from their favorite books. Students love the special reading days (wear and read a hat day or wear and read a t-shirt day) that help promote reading and community in the school. The students’ favorite day during March is Reading Month is pajama day where students get to wear their pajamas to school!
Merit Cards
Students are rewarded for positive choices through the merit card program. Students receive tickets, which turn into punches on a merit card. After ten punches, students earn a merit card. The students’ names are then announced during morning announcements and students get to come to the office for a special ROARS pencil, eraser and small prize.
Mileage Club
Physical Education teacher, Mrs. Buchkoe, encourages students to increase their aerobic activity through her Mileage Club. When students engage in walking or running laps at recess time, they can earn points. At the end of the marking period, students with the most points per grade level earn prizes.
ROARS Program
As part of a grant to implement Michigan’s Integrated Behavior and Learning Support Initiative (MIBLSI), the Sawyer staff started the ROARS program. We start the school year with introducing the students to ROARS. We expect our students to be: Respectful, Orderly at all times, have a positive Attitude, be Responsible and Successful.
In order for all students to learn the rules expected in different areas of the school, at the start of the school year and throughout the school year, all students participate in learning the recess, hallway, classroom, bathroom, and cafeteria expectations.
ROARS Days
Each month or every couple of weeks, classroom teachers set aside some time to reward positive behavior with their students. These activities are not only fun for the students, but also the teachers enjoy having this positive time with the students. Past ROARS activities have included: sledding, skiing, movies, and ice cream or pizza parties.
Penny Drive
Each school year K.I. Sawyer Elementary students participate in a penny drive to raise funds for school projects.
Safety Patrol
Students in 5th and 6th grade are invited to participate in the Sawyer school safety patrol. These students help kindergarten students on and off the bus in the morning and afternoon and assist in monitoring the halls. Safety patrol students report to Mr. Sandell at the end of the school day to notify him that the hallways are clear and the buses can be dismissed.
Students in fifth and sixth grade participate in classroom spelling bees each January. The top four students selected from each classroom participate in the K.I. Sawyer Spelling Bee. Students then have the opportunity to move on and participate in the District Spelling Bee with students from Wells Township and Gilbert Elementary.
At the end of the school year, students have the opportunity to receive the following: Perfect or Excellent Attendance Awards, Presidential Physical Fitness Awards, Good Citizenship Awards or Academic Awards.
Students of the Week
K.I. Sawyer Students of the Week recognizes students for good choices and positive behavior. Students selected have their picture posted on the ROARS bulletin board outside the office and get to have pizza with the principal at the end of the month.
Talent Show
Each year at K.I. Sawyer Elementary the students have the opportunity to participate in a talent show. Teachers Mrs. Maki, Mrs. Burbey and Mrs. Kitchen volunteer many hours rehearsing songs, dances, poems, and skits with the students. The Talent Show is performed in the evening for the community and during the day for the students and staff.
Three-on-Three Basketball
During the winter months, Mrs. Peterson takes students into the gym twice a week during recess time to play three-on-three basketball.
Veteran’s Assembly
Students from Mrs. Gustitis and Miss Connie Usher’s fifth grade classrooms organize a special Veteran’s Assembly Celebration each November. The entire school joins together in the gym along with many local veterans and their families to pay a special tribute and give thanks to the men and women who serve in the United State’s military.
Young Authors
Students in kindergarten through fourth grade participate in the “Young Authors” program where each student writes and illustrates their own book. For one day in May, students share their published book with peers from across the county at Northern Michigan University.