What did you do on your snow day? Did you make a snowman? A snow angel? Go sledding? I shoveled a dog run path in the backyard for Cooper — who stands 12 inches tall. Without a path, he will disappear ten inches of snow.
I received two fun snow day photos from Leah (Mrs. Quigley’s Class) and Lucas (Mrs. Bohl’s Class) …and you can see what they did on their snow day! This was perfect snow for play.
If you have a photo of your snow day play, send it to me and I will share it on the blog!
District-wide adjustments have been made to the PK•K attendance schedule. Please mark these dates on your home calendars. I have made the changes to our school calendar (to the right). The PK•K teachers will also remind you of these changes as the dates draw nearer.
1. Friday June 4 will be changed to a M/W day for all PK•K students.
2. Monday June 7 will be the final day of school for M/W PK•K students.
3. Tuesday June 8 will be the final day of school for T/TH PK•K students.
Mr. Powers, the principal of Baldwin Middle School, is working to prepare the building and schedule for our 5th graders who part of the 2010-11 6th grade student body. You can find his letter to all 5th grade parents here: Parent Letter-6th Grade Timeline
For a prior blog post on the transition meeting, click: 5th to 6th Grade
We completed our first week of Bustin’ Thru Books Boot Camp. This reading camp is run with the help of a volunteer corp of dads who READ while kids in grades 1-5 READ! The goal of the camp is to provide time to READ with a focus on building stamina and endurance for reading.
We think of learning to read as a skill that can be compared to training for an athletic event. All athletes work with coaches who model the skill (teachers), perfect skills in sport clinics (reading groups) and have required time to practice on a daily basis (quiet, independent read time.) The more time you take to practice as an athlete, the better your performance. The same is true with reading. Our goal is to help every child attain 90 minutes of reading at their level each day. The parents who are volunteering to come in daily are allowing us to build in extra critical minutes for readers to just READ.
If you would like to volunteer, we would love to include you in the program. The only requirement is that you bring material to read! If you are interested, complete this survey and Jeff Wressell will contact you with time/date options.
WE ARE IN NEED OF VINYL BEAN BAGS for our reading time. If you would like to contribute $1 or any amount of money toward these, we would be so grateful. When boot camp is completed this spring, the bean bags will be used in classrooms. Thank you for any help you can provide!
Enjoy this video collection of photos from our first week of bustin’ thru our books!
I follow the DAILY OM site that provides helpful strategies for physical and mental health, as well as tips for 
parenting. I received an update yesterday that is a helpful reminder to me, on the parenting end of my life, to work at not CONTROLLING all that my children do and think. As someone who manages an elementary building of many staff and hundreds of wonderful children, I have a tendency to manage my family, too. I share this link knowing that parenting is a work in progress for all of us!
To read the post from Daily OM, read on:
“Truly loving our children requires us to set them free and practice non-attachment. Trust and allow.
Parenting asks us to rise to some of the most difficult challenges this world has to offer, and one of its greatest paradoxes arises around the issue of attachment. On the one hand, successful parenting requires that we love our children, and most of us love in a very attached way. On the other hand, it also requires that we let go of our children at the appropriate times, which means we must practice some level of nonattachment. Many parents find this difficult because we love our children fiercely, more than we will ever love anyone, and this can cause us to overstep our bounds with them as their independence grows. Yet truly loving them requires that we set them free.
Attachment to outcome is perhaps the greatest obstacle on the parenting path, and the one that teaches us the most about the importance of practicing nonattachment. We commonly perceive our children to be extensions of ourselves, imagining that we know what’s best for them, but our children are people in their own right with their own paths to follow in this world. They may be called to move in directions we fear, don’t respect, or don’t understand, yet we must let them go. This letting go happens gradually throughout our lives with our children until we finally honor them as fully grown adults who no longer require our guidance. At this point, it is important that we treat them as peers who may or may not seek our input into their lives. This allows them, and us, to fully realize the greatest gift parents can offer their offspring —independence.
Letting go in any area of life requires a deep trust in the universe, in the overall meaning and purpose of existence. Remembering that there is more to us and our children than meets the eye can help us practice non-attachment, even when we feel overwhelmed by concern and the desire to interfere. We are all souls making our way in the world and making our way, ultimately, back to the same source. This can be our mantra as we let our children go in peace and confidence.”
Share the OM: To email this to a friend, click SHARE
To discuss this article, click DISCUSS
STUDENT PICK-UP…….. Please parents as a friendly reminder from the office…. if you are doing student pick-up after school please be aware that school is dismissed at 3:40pm and the students should be picked up no later than 3:45pm. Just remember to take into consideration when the weather is inclimate to allow for extra travel time. Thank you!
DONUT SALE SUCCESS!!! A big thank you to Georgetown for making our donut sale a huge success! We sold 225 donuts and are now able to pay for our gymnastics! Thank you for being such a wonderful and supportive school! Mrs. Kok and students.
CLASSROOM BASKET RAFFLE….. You should be receiving a note from your child’s classroom with their selected a basket theme. Donations for these baskets can be sent to their classroom up until Thursday, Feb 25th. Each classroom will have a box to drop off basket donations. If you’d rather make a cash donation, send cash or check (made out to Georgetown PTC) to your child’s teacher.
These baskets will be on display in the main hallway outside the library March 1-3th, during the school day AND during conferences. You or your child can purchase tickets during lunch time or conferences where the baskets are on display. Cost for a ticket is $1. The Raffle Drawing will take place on Thursday, March 4th. Proceeds from this raffle will be going back to your child’s classroom. Please come and try your luck on winning a basket!
Please see the attachment for the list of teachers and their basket theme. Classroom Baskets Blog Letter 2010
5th GRADE UPDATES…….. We have tentative dates for this year’s 5th grade music testing, fitting, and parent meetings.
5th grade orientation at each Middle School (meet with counselors, tour of building, music testing, music concert with 6th graders)
Good Friday Afternoon!
NEWS FROM THE OFFICE
I know I have said this before, but GEORGETOWN ELEMENTARY ROCKS!! Georgetown families showed tremendous support for our building community service project, “Takin Down Cancer-Community for a Cure.” It took four trips into the bank on Friday to deposit the coins and cash raised. Our school raised over $1,000 on Friday alone. WOW! For the week Georgetown brought in $2,784.85 by collecting coins, cash donations and having a couple of class coin wars. If you add in the the monies acquired through t-shirt sales bought by staff and a few students we raised well over $3,000.00. The organizers of the event are overwhelmed by the outpouring of support by our Georgetown family and are extremely appreciative. As a teenager involved in the event said, “Your school is the BOSS!,” and ” You are my hero’s.” Well, I think that sums it up! 🙂 Thanks again for yet another successful building community service project!
HEADS UP
Hopefully some of you have already read the blog update from yesterday, but here is the info regarding the head lice at Georgetown.
FAMILY FARE
Family Fare has just given us our “Cash for Class” dates. Please help support our school as you do your grocery shopping during these dates. The first dates that will be coming up are FEBRUARY 21-27. The second week for this event will be held from APRIL 18-24. This is a great way to help out our school without even having to go out of your way!
MOTHER/DAUGHTER AFTERNOON
Just a reminder, the “Make a Memory with Mom” event is Saturday, February 6. This event is CLOSED to more registrations, so this is just a reminder to those that have already signed up. It will be in the Multi-Purpose Room from 1p-4p.
COMMUNITY ED NEWS
Please see/read the attached form in regards to some upcoming Baseball clinics. There are three different clinics listed on one form. One is a Father/Son clinic for grades 1-8, one is for Defense Skills for grades 2-5 and the last one is for Offense Skills for grades 2-5. If you have any further questions concerning these events please you may contact Dave VanNoord at 662-0648 or dvannoo1@hpseagles.net. You may also register online by visiting www.hudsonvillepublicschools.org.
COMMUNITY NEWS……. SALAD CITY CLASSIC…… Students, Parents, and fans: “Salad City Classic” annual event will be held this year at Unity Christian High School on Saturday, January 30, with games throughout the day. Admission is free, so come to one game, or all of them. Salad City Classic Shirts will be on sale next week at the high school to raise money for the Haiti Relief Fund. Be sure to wear your Salad City Classic shirt or your yellow shirt and bring your EAGLE SPIRIT!
The schedule for January 30 is:
9th Girls Basketball – 10:30 AM
9th Boys Basketball – 12:00 noon
JV Girls Basketball – 1:30 PM
JV Boys Basketball – 3:00 PM
Var. Girls Basketball – 5:00 PM
Var. Boys Basketball – 7:00 PM
Hope everyone enjoys their wintery weekend!! I have also attached the calendar for February.
Happy Friday!
Mrs. Nurenberg : )
Kindergarten Round-Up meetings will be held for parents on Tuesday, March 9. The meeting will offer parents information in preparation of your child entering Kindergarten Overview K current or Pre-Kindergarten Overview PK current in the Fall. The locations and times of the meetings are as follows:
Alward Elementary – 10 a.m. OR 7 p.m.
Bauer Elementary – 7 p.m. only
Georgetown Elementary – 7 p.m. only
Forest Grove Elementary – 7 p.m. only
Jamestown Elementary – 10 a.m. OR 7 p.m.
Park Elementary – 7 p.m. only
South Elementary – 10 a.m. OR 7 p.m.
Due to larger turnouts for our evening Round-Up meetings the past few years, we decided to offer a day time Round-Up meeting in three locations. We encourage parents from other buildings to attend those locations if the day time meetings work best for you. The same information will be given at each location. Please drop off your completed enrollment information to your child’s school. Screening is required for children turning 5 years old between June 1 – December 1, 2010. Appointments can be scheduled when you turn in your child’s enrollment form.
Good Friday Afternoon!!
NEWS FROM THE OFFICE
Wow…… it has been a fairly quiet news week in the office!!! NICE, Huh? Parents just a FYI from the school nurses (aka Miss Angie and Miss Doni) please make sure you are reminding your children to wash their hands frequently and try to keep them away from their mouths. We have hit the stomach flu season hear at Georgetown and we have had quite a few cases this week. Make sure to use lots of soap and hand sanitizer!
KINDERGARTEN news…… We now have registration packets available in the office. You may pick one up at any time or you may wait and get one at Kindergarten Round-Up on Tuesday, March 9. Kindergarten Round-Up will be held at 7:00pm in our Multi-Purpose Room. If you currently have a Pre-K student you will need to fill out a registration for the office. These will be coming home from Mrs. Estefan and are printed on a “Yellow” registration form.
DONUT SALE
Miss Becky’s CI class at Georgetown Elementary is selling donuts January 25-27. The cost is $1. The donuts will be delivered to your child’s classroom on Friday, January 29. The money raised will help pay for the CI students to participate in a six week gymnastics program.
Please send money to school in an envelope marked donuts with your child’s name and teacher’s name on it.
PE NEWS
Don’t forget about the Hudsonville PE apparel orders that are due on Friday, January 29. The “Jump Rope for Heart” envelopes are also due on February 15. If you would like more information on these two events please visit the PE blog at http://mvankoev.edublogs.org
D.E.S.K.
Please take a moment to read the following attachment in regards to an upcoming program that a wonderful Georgetown Father has put in place. DADS you are going to want to read this!!! : )
COMMUNITY ED NEWS
There are no new activities out this week for Community Ed. If you are interested in anything please stop by the information rack outside of the Multi-Purpose Room, type in key word “Community Ed” for a tag on the blog, or visit the community ed website at www.hudsonvillepublicschools.org.
COMMUNITY NEWS
SALAD CITY CLASSIC…… Students, Parents, and fans: “Salad City Classic” annual event will be held this year at Unity Christian High School on Saturday, January 30, with games throughout the day. Admission is free, so come to one game, or all of them. Salad City Classic Shirts will be on sale next week at the high school to raise money for the Haiti Relief Fund. Be sure to wear your Salad City Classic shirt or your yellow shirt and bring your EAGLE SPIRIT!
The schedule for January 30 is:
9th Girls Basketball – 10:30 AM
9th Boys Basketball – 12:00 noon
JV Girls Basketball – 1:30 PM
JV Boys Basketball – 3:00 PM
Var. Girls Basketball – 5:00 PM
Var. Boys Basketball – 7:00 PM
GEORGETOWN LITTLE LEAGUE……. Georgetown Little League in-person registration will occur on January 23 from 9 – 1 at the Jenison High School Media Center. Online registrations are open now and will run through at least February 14 with some divisions having late registration with a $10 late fee until February 28. Little League is open to girls who are 5 before 12/31/09 and boys who are 5 before 4/30/10. If you live north of Port Sheldon and east of 56th Ave , Georgetown Little League is your Little League. More information is available at www.GeorgetownLL.com or you may call Rob at 437-5054.
HUDSONVILLE LITTE LEAGUE……. Hudsonville Little League Sign-Ups are being held Jan 23, 27, & 30 at Unity Christian High School. For more information and to PRE-REGISTER, please go to www.hudsonvillelittleleague.com now!!!
Well I think this is it for this week. Enjoy your weekend!!!
MRS. NURENBERG : )
