Author: Amy Hoekstra
PTC Basket Fundraiser
Only two days remain to purchase tickets to win one or more of the PTC Classroom Baskets! Tickets are available for purchase during lunch (11:30-12:30) and also Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons from 4-6 pm.
Each ticket costs $1.00. The money earned goes toward funding PTC events and activities here at Georgetown.
Check out these beautiful baskets arranged by Angel Truman and Michele Wieringa. Materials donate by YOU!
Raising A Reader School Contest
RAISING A READER SCHOOL CHALLENGE
We have the incredible opportunity to win $5,000 for our school library through a contest called, Raise a Reader School Challenge. Individual readers are also eligible for great prizes.
The contest is sponsored by the International Reading Association and Parents Magazine.
Beginning March 8, students log their reading minutes as they devour books throughout the spring. Logging of minutes continues through May 31.
We need every parent to register for this program and log in their minutes from home. We will also record the minutes read at school.
On March 8, go to this link and register: RAISE A READER SCHOOL CHALLENGE
If you have questions at any time, check with Mrs. VandenBerg, our school librarian, or your child’s teacher.
Thank you for doing such a great job to raise your child to be a reader and for supporting our school library!
Got Talent?
Are you in grades 3rd-5th? Can you juggle? Play an instrument? Do a special jump rope routine? Magic tricks? Gymnastics routines? Dance? Sing? Play the recorder? Be an MC for the show? Then Georgetown wants YOU!!
Our annual Georgetown Talent Show is right around the corner! Since May is so busy with end of year activities, we have decided to move our Talent Show earlier in the year to help celebrate the day before spring break??!! Its time to pull out all the stops and start practicing those acts!!
If your child is interested in participating in our Talent Show, there are some very important dates and details coming up that they need to be aware of to be considered for the show:
IMPORTANT DEADLINES:
- Decide on act and start practicing alone or with friends: NOW!
- Pick up Official Talent Show Audition Sheet (located outside music room door): Available on Tuesday, March 2
- Talent Show Audition Sheets must be turned in on or before: Monday, March 15
- Auditions will be held: Wednesday, March 17 – Friday, March 19
- Talent Show: Thursday, April 1
IMPORTANT RULES:
- Students must be in grades 3rd-5th to be in Talent Show. All other grades will watch only.
- Act must be 2 minutes or less.
- If song/act to perform is longer than 2 minutes, we can fade music out at the 2 minute mark.
- When submitting Audition Sheet, lyrics for songs performed must be attached to sheet. Only appropriate music will be allowed.
- Students must come to Audition PERFORMANCE READY. That means that they should perform as if it is the actual Talent Show. They should have all CD’s and props with them in order to be considered.
- If auditioning to be an MC/announcer for the show, student should memorize one joke to tell for their audition.
So start practicing! We are so excited to see all the amazing talents that Georgetown has to offer!!! We can hardly wait for April 1!
If you have any questions, please come see Mrs. Bretz, Mrs. Brouwer, Mrs. VanKoevering or Mrs. Nienhuis. Good luck everyone!
Bustin’ Thru Books: 1st Mission Completed
Since the beginning of February, Bustin’ Thru Books Boot Camp has been going strong on a nearly daily basis. Throughout 
the day, 93 students head down to the multi-purpose room to accomplish one mission, and one mission only: READ. The Boot Camp is supervised by parent volunteers–consisting mainly of Dads…and these Dads have one mission in mind also: READING.
I wanted you to know that since our opening day, we have collectively read for:
Boot Camp will run through the end of April. Our goal is to build reading stamina and endurance…and as a result become even better readers. Here’s to completing mission #2 in March, and mission #3 in April. We will continue to update you on our total minutes read.
Many thanks to all of you who have supported us with donated books from home and money toward bean bags. All of these items are being put to great use.
The Week Ahead: March 1-3, 2010
This is a very short week of school for students and a very busy week for staff. Parent/Teacher conferences will be held on Monday, March 1 (5-8); Tuesday, March 2 (4-6) and Wednesday, March 3 (4-6). On March 4th, teachers are in scheduled staff development–and there is no school for students. And, of course, winter break is on March 5th!
We are looking forward to seeing you this week and sharing all that your child has learned so far this year. I will serve as the stop watch for the 15 minute conference periods, offering a friendly reminder that the conference time is ended. This is done to politely keep teachers and parents on schedule.
Enjoy your weekend…and here’s to the first week of March!
Mrs. Reagan
Welcoming Baby Cameron Kok!
Mrs. Becky Kok, our teacher of cognitively impaired students, gave birth to Cameron Beatrice Kok on Thursday, February 25!
Cameron joins Liam Reifschneider, who was born in January.
We are waiting for the arrival of two more Georgetown babies, Baby Stadt and Baby VanSomeren. We will keep you posted!
Just 21 Days Until…
March 20th…when the Spring Equinox arrives! 
To help cheer spring on, I took the falling snow off our blog, added a spring photo of our school and adjusted the background colors.
Here’s to March 14…when we spring ahead to launch Daylight Savings Time and March 20th…the Spring Equinox!
Pen Pal Update
For those of you who have been patiently waiting to hear from your Taiwanese Pen Pal, please read this email I received from Helen, one of the teachers at Raey Guang:
Dear Mrs. Reagan,
I’m very happy to hear from you again and I’m doing fine. Thank you. The reason that your students received no feedback from any one of our students is because we were on winter vacation. And our students need the assistance from English teachers to read and write you back. We’re going to start the pen pals activity this afternoon. I’m sure that your kids will soon receive information from us.
I’m very excited to tell you that we’re making a plan to visit Georgetown Elementary next year! I will write more later.
Helen
If you have not heard from your pen pal by March 5, please get in touch with me and I will email Helen again. Also, this is exciting news that teachers will be visiting Georgetown! I will let you know details once I receive them from Helen.
A Wise and Thoughtful Six Year Old
This past week, I listened to a StoryCorps feature about a doctor who runs a clinic for homeless people in Miami. Dr. Joe learned one of life’s most important lessons while treating a mother and her small children at a Salvation Army Shelter. I thought I would share this inspirational story with you. It is a reminder to me why the thoughts and actions of children often help me look at life more positively!
To read or listen to this story, click on the passage below:
