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Blog Bits 3/5/21

News From the Office…

For those of you that have 5th graders, you may have heard that last week we had our annual floor hockey games, kids against staff! I’m happy to say the staff managed to keep the winning record alive and pull out the win against each class! We had to work very hard as these kids are seriously competitive, but fun was had by all! It obviously looked a bit different this year with all of the Covid restrictions, but so glad we were able to keep the tradition going!

Next week will be a busy week as we have parent teacher conferences on Monday the 8th and Wednesday the 10th. These will be held virtually again just as they were in the Fall. You should have heard from your child’s teacher and have it scheduled, but if you have not, please let us know! The book fair will also be going on during the week next week as well.

Lastly, we are celebrating March is Reading Month! Please take a look at our upcoming calendar GES March is Reading Month Calendar 2021 as we Saddle up for our Wild West themed March is reading month! Your child took home a reading log that should be filled out each day to reach their weekly goal! Hats off to Reading!!

Spring Break Dates: April 2-11. Enjoy the sunshine and have a great weekend!

Next Early Release…

Our next early release is on April 23. We will be dismissing at 12:15 on April 23. If your child is a car rider, please be at school between 12:10 and 12:15 for pick up.  Food Service will be offering a sack lunch on early release days. Children can order a lunch with their teacher in the morning and will have them to take to their destination.

PTC News…

Community News…

Local Food Distribution – Food bags will be distributed at Jamestown Baptist Church (2742 Quincy St) on Saturday, March 6 from 9am to 1pm. If you or someone you know could be blessed by a bag of groceries, stop on by the front parking lot to receive a bag. Feel free to call the church office at 616-896-8294 if you have any questions.

Community Ed…

• You can click here to go to the community education page on the Hudsonville Public School website. There are many activities for your kids to look into!

Upcoming Dates

Good Morning GES Families,

Just a quick reminder to please help us out in the morning by not parking in the drop-off loop when bringing your student to school.  If you need to park so that students can unload materials or for other reasons, please do so in one of the lots.  If you use the loop, please pull forward as far as possible, drop your student, and proceed out of the loop.  With the added traffic due to fewer families utilizing the buses this year the drive / loop become backed up quickly when people park rather than drop and go.  Thank you for all your help with this.  Have a wonderful final school week of 2020!

Blog Bits 10/9/2020

News from the Office…

Picture day is done and went very well. If your child was sick and missed picture day, we have make up day on Tuesday, Nov 3.  If your child was absent, simply send in the picture form with your child on retake day. If you wish to order online, you can go to geskusphoto.com/fallorders and use code 264BFISDGVNHA

We were able to hold the walkathon as well and we were thankful we could still get the kids out to do this! They had fun while they were out there and we are so grateful to all of you for your support! We raised $26,000!!! Amazing!!!

This year for our Fall Celebrations we are looking forward to having parties in our classrooms, much like years past.  Each classroom may look a little different depending upon grade level.  Your child’s teacher will be communicating out about this in the near future.  This year will be slightly different, in a couple of ways.

Parents and volunteers will not be able to attend.  (We will miss you!)

Snacks can be sent in, but need to be store bought and individually packaged.

Games, crafts, and snacks need to be sent in 24 hours in advance (or more). 

Like previous years, we will be welcoming your children to wear costumes, if they wish.  One change this year is that children will be able to wear their costumes to school, and wear them the whole day.  The intent behind this is to limit children gathering in the restrooms to change, and limit the number of children needing assistance from teachers and staff to get into their costumes.  We invite you to send your children in a costume that includes no weapons or gore, and easily allows your child to participate in regular school routines and procedures.  Can they take it off themselves to use the bathroom?  Can they fit in their seat at their desk? Can they go down the slide or sit in the swings?  Can they wear a mask under their “mask”?  Please save bulky, or extravagant costumes for home use, and dress in a fun and simple costume for the school day.  Fall or pumpkin t-shirts are a great alternative as well.

Lastly, we drop off has been going fairly smooth, but we still ask that you pull ALL THE WAY AROUND the loop to the cone to allow for smooth and quick drop off in the morning!! Please say your goodbyes before getting to the line so you can drop off and keep going without holding the line up. We have a lot of students to get into the building in a short amount of time and we appreciate all of your help with this!! Have a great weekend!!

Next Early Release…

Our next early release is on October 23. We will be dismissing at 12:15 on Oct 23. If your child is a car rider, please be at school between 12:10 and 12:15 for pick up.  Food Service will be offering a sack lunch on early release days. Children can order a lunch with their teacher in the morning and will have them to take to their destination.  The cost will be $2.25.  Free and reduced benefits will also apply.

PE News…

This year, we want to keep the Turkey Trot going with a virtual “race”. That means you will create your own course in your neighborhood (with an adult). While you are completing your trot, we want you to take pictures of yourself and the people with you and post them to our Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram Turkey Trot pages! You can click on this link to go to the sign up page.

Check out this flyer for all the information!! http://Turkey Trot Flyer 2020 FINAL.pdf

Lost and Found…

Since parents cannot be in and out of the building this year, we will post pics of the lost and found periodically for you to see if you see anything that belongs to your child! If you see something that belongs to you, let us know and we and can send it home!

PTC News…

Thank you, thank you, thank you for your support with the walkathon!!

Last Month’s Jet’s Pizza Winning class was Mrs. Tindall’s class!! Congratulations!!

Nov. 12 – Jet’s Pizza Night

Nov. 19 – PTC Meeting, location to be determined

Community Ed…

• You can click here to go to the community education page on the Hudsonville Public School website.

Upcoming Dates

Blog Bits 9/18/2020

News From Office…

We are very thankful that we have been able to be in school and thank you for all of your cooperation and patience as we navigate through new routines. We are asking that if you drop your students off in the morning, to PLEASE PULL ALL THE WAY around the circle drive to the cone!! This allows for more cars to drop off at a time and gets the line to move faster. Also for pick up after school we are asking that you park in a spot. Please do not park along any part of the drive. This will allow for traffic to keep moving. Thank you!!

We are doing a spirit week next week for the walk a thon.

Monday – PJ Day

Tuesday – Crazy Socks Day

Wednesday- Crazy Hair Day

Thursday- Walk a thon Day and Hat Day

Friday- Maize and Blue Day

Have a great weekend!

Next Early Release…

Just a reminder of the next early release Friday on Oct 23! We will be dismissing at 12:15 on Oct 23. If your child is a car rider, please be at school between 12:10 and 12:15 for pick up.  Food Service will be offering a sack lunch on early release days. Children can order a lunch with their teacher in the morning and will have them to take to their destination.

Picture Day…

Picture day will be on Oct 1. We will be sending the forms home at the end of next week.

SOAR…

PBIS at Georgetown!

PTC News…

Walk a thon Event details: 

•       Register your Child using School Identifier 5f3d669d605c9, please visit www.getmovinfundhub.com 
•       Event Date: Thursday, September 24, 2020
•       Final Donation due date: September 30, 2020
•         Donations can be online through your child’s webpage.  Otherwise, donations in the form of cash & checks (in-school donations), should be      turned in to the school.

      •         Please make checks payable to: Georgetown Elementary PTC

•           Visit this page for more details!!

Next Jet’s Pizza Night – Oct 8

Next PTC Meeting – Nov 19

Community Ed…

• You can click here to go to the community education page on the Hudsonville Public School website. There are a few activities for your kids to look into!

Upcoming Dates

Spring Break has arrived … and we are headed into it knowing that schools will be closed for the remainder of the year.  Although I was prepared to hear this news from Governor Whitmir, it was still very difficult to accept the reality of not coming back together as a school family this year.  I’ve had to accept how sad I am  — and give myself permission to grieve.  A friend recommended Brené Brown’s finding meaning during a time of grief.   It was the perfect podcast to help me own my sadness while working on how to support you and your children through distance learning.

This week, I plan to turn my school brain down a couple notches and do my usual spring break activities:  drawer cleaning, weed pulling, podcast listening, book reading….and connecting with friends in new ways.   I hope you and your family can find creative ways to have fun during our ‘Social Distancing Spring Break!’

Before I wrap up, I wanted to remind you that even though we’re not together, it is still time for you to provide feedback on each child’s strengths/needs to help us build class lists for next year.  If you would like to complete the survey, visit this link: PARENT SURVEY: CLASS LISTS   The survey results come to me only.  I cannot honor all parent requests so please keep this in mind when you submit your form. The survey closes on APRIL 17 @ midnight.

Many factors go into creating classes, for example a fair distribution by gender, ability and much more.  We spend over 20 hours in the spring working on class lists.  Thank you for your support while we prepare for this important work.  And….something to keep in mind for the future:  This survey is unique to me as a leader.  Not all principals do this…and I do not know if this will be done with the next principal.

Wishing you week that I very much hope is healthy and fun!

Mrs. Reagan

I think it is important to inform your children about the virus and help them understand that this virus — was NOT created by a group of people —  and NO ONE should be blamed for this virus.

Teaching tolerance is part of our daily practice at Georgetown.  We work with children and we know that they repeat what they hear from others (peers, news media, etc.).   Children also also either/or thinkers — they are growing into complex reasoners/thinkers.  And they have more limited experiences than adults.

Georgetown has children of many different beautiful ethnicities and cultural backgrounds.  We want them to feel comfortable and proud of who they are and who they are going to become.  Because of this, we are committed to having a zero tolerance for hurtful comments with means pre-teaching tolerance and confronting/naming intolerance when it happens.   And it happens.  Children make comments about body size, body appearance, odor, skin color, skin texture (rashes, eczema, burns), disability (missing limbs, hearing aids), body shape and body size, faith, family make up, etc.

How do we teach tolerance on a daily basis?

When we hear a child make a statement or ask a question that could be felt or perceived as hurtful to another, we pull that child aside and engage in a teachable moment.  It usually sounds like this:

• I heard you say this to….
• This is what those words can mean to that person…
• This is the impact words like these have on this person…
• When words like that are said people do not feel safe…
• We need to figure out how to make this right and make sure this doesn’t happen again.
• Where would you like to start?

These conversations are hard and long.  It usually involves myself and or another staff member meeting with other children too.  When intolerant words are used, there is frequently an audience.  We want everyone who heard the words to understand the impact and also to learn how to be courageous enough to stand up for one another if this happens again.

When I read and hear that Asian Americans are being blamed, teased and/or bullied for the COVID19 Virus, I am horrified.  I immediately think of all the children I know at Georgetown of Asian decent and I worry that they may hear this message and feel less than the amazing person they are.

This virus was NOT created by a group of people.  Please work to help your child understand that we have teachers, nurses, doctors, city/county workers, healthcare workers, grocery store employees, first responders and MORE who are diverse and working as hard as the rest of us to be safe and take care of us during this hard, difficult time.

What’s coming next…. A post tomorrow about connecting with teachers and kids and updates for next week.

Air Hugs,

Mrs. Reagan

We are already half way through the month of February!  Truly…hard to believe how fast this year is flying by.

We are hopeful that the virus that are plenty and actively being passed from one child to another, slow down and DISAPPEAR soon.   We have had some crazy days with sick teachers, para-pro’s and little ones.  It’s amazing how quickly we pull together as a team to get warm hearts in all the classrooms to make sure we can continue learning.  The Georgetown team is truly one of a kind!

This week, there are four and a half days of school.  Friday is POPCORN DAY with an early dismissal is at 12:15 pm.   Teachers have a full afternoon of professional development before their weekend begins.

Have a wonderful weekend…and here’s to a great week!

Mrs. Reagan

Our ANNUAL School  Holiday Program is held at:

Fair Haven Ministries just down the road from Georgetown Elementary at the corner of Baldwin Street and 28th Ave.

What time do students need to be there?
Students need to report to their assigned classroom 15 MINUTES PRIOR TO THE PROGRAM.

• 6:30 – 7:00   K-2nd     (Students report at 6:15)
• 7:45 – 8:15   3rd-5th   (Students report at 7:30)

It is very important not to be late so teachers have enough time to line students up in their riser orders, pass out props and make sure everyone who has a special part is accounted for. Please do not send your child to the classroom unsupervised or prior to their scheduled time.  Please keep their coats with you.

Where does my child need to go when they get to the church?
There will be signs directing you to your child’s classroom.
Below are the room assignments by grade along with a map of the rooms.

• K and 5th – Family Life Center 
• 1st  and 3rd –  100 Wing
• 2nd  and 4th –  400 Wing

How long will the program be?  Each group will perform for about 30 minutes. There will be 45 minutes between the two programs for K-2nd grade students to leave and upper elementary students to arrive for the next program.

What order are the grades singing? The grades are singing in order of age: Kindergarten perform first, then 1st/2nd grade, then 3rd grade and finally 4th/5th grade.

Can we save seats earlier in the day? No. The only reserved seats will be marked off and are for the directors, students and teachers.
Seating is first come first serve when the doors open.

PLEASE be respectful and courteous to other families. Everyone wants a good seat and we will do our best to fit everyone into the auditorium.  Please try to keep young children on your laps and not to take up unnecessary seats in order to leave more space for others.

Is food or drink allowed in the church? Absolutely no food or drink is allowed in the church. This is strictly enforced.

Do the students need to wear anything special? No. Most students love to dress up and will wear special holiday dresses or outfits, but there is no requirement. The exception to this is if your child has a special part. Some parts require special costumes. Many costumes are provided, but some may have to be brought from home. If your child has a special part, they should have brought home a “congratulations” letter that would say if they need to wear or bring anything special. Please note that if your child has a special part that requires a costume, they will NOT have time to change in between songs and will need to wear their costume for the entire performance.

How do students get special parts? For most parts, students audition during the school day. Sometimes simple parts are randomly chosen by pulling a class number from a jar or assigning my ipad to randomly pick a name. I also keep track of every student who has ever had a Christmas program part from Kindergarten through 5th grade. Whenever possible, I try to give parts to students who have not ever had parts or who have not had parts in the past couple years. Typically, I will have about 50-100 students audition for one part! I narrow the students down to about 20 and put those names in a bowl and draw a lucky winner. Although I would love everyone to have a part, having almost 600 students and only a handful of parts each year is very difficult. I discuss this with the students and they realize everyone cannot have a solo part, but that EVERY single person is important to the success of the program. Most songs have special props or motions that involve everyone as well.

How do we order a DVD of the performance? WCET TV records the performance each year.  They sell DVD’s for $15.

Please fill this form out and return to office.Holiday DVD Form 2019

Who do I contact if I have questions? Please email Mrs. Bretz at abretz@hpseagles.net.  This is usually the fastest way to communicate with me- especially the day or two before the program.   I am often out of my classroom during dress rehearsals so phone messages are not always able to be checked.