Category: Miscellaneous

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Let the HUNT Begin!

We want you to read our blogs and find out about all the incredible things we are doing as learners at Georgetown.  To help you get into the blogs, we host BLOG SCAVENGER HUNTS THROUGH THE YEAR.

The guidelines for each hunt are simple:

  • As soon as Mrs. Reagan opens the hunt with a post on the school blog, you will have one week to complete the hunt.
  • When you are done with the hunt,  enter our information on the entry form with  your name and answers.
  • Your name will go into a drawing for a prize.
  • The drawing for the prize will be done by school announcement. Prizes for each hunt will be posted on the blog when the contest begins.
  • Everyone who enters the Scavenger Hunt contest earns an extra drawing in the Reading Counts drawing.

Keep your eyes on the blog!  The first scavenger hunt will begin September 14, 2009.  The drawing will be held September 25.

The prize for this hunt:  Pumpkin Carving Kit and $10 Gift Card to Barnes and Noble

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Please Join the Pink Panthers!

As many of you will remember we held a “PINK DAY” last May as a fundraiser for breast cancer awareness. In one day we raised $1100 which we donated to the Susan G. Komen foundation. We had 3 board members visit our school a couple weeks later and we presented PinkPanthersthem with the money that we raised. While they were at our school they invited us to be part of the Susan G Komen Race for the Cure which will be held September 26, 2009 at the Rivertown Crossing Mall in Grandville.

We have created a school team for this event and want to invite everyone to participate. The name of our school team is the Georgetown Pink Panthers. You can register at this location. Included with you entry fee is a race day T-shirt. I think it would be a great act on the part of Georgetown to set our goal as the largest single team participant. We have set a goal of raising $1,000 as a school team for the cure.

The deadline to sign up for our team is September 25. If you plan to be part of our team and race day please sign up early.

Thank you.

Ashley Tiesman – Team Captain, 5th Grade Student, Georgetown Elementary

Check out Ashley’s interview on WZZM-TV Take Five:



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Georgetown Gives: School Supply Wish List

“The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little” – Franklin D. Roosevelt

It is with this quote in mind that we are encouraging those who can give to help out those who are in need at Georgetown Elementary.  During this tough economic time in our nation we have all heard tales of those who have to get by on much less.  Getting by on less often means not being able to afford back to school supplies for many families.  If you can afford to give please feel free to check out the list of items we are in need of and send/bring in the items to school marked Georgetown Gives when we return to school.  Our goal is to provide every child in need the necessary back to school items to help them be a success at Georgetown Elementary.

“No Act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted” -Aesop

Suggested list of supplies for donation:

  • composition books (black speckled cover bound, not spiral)
  • glue sticks
  • pencils
  • scissors
  • pencil box (8” x 5”)
  • pens (red and blue)
  • highlighter
  • Post-it notes (all sizes)
  • markers
  • colored pencils
  • backpacks (larger ones that can carry home snow clothes)
  • gift certificates to Meijers, Target, etc. OR store that sells gym (PE) shoes
  • GENTLY used backpacks and/or gym shoes

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Kindergartener’s First Day

If you have a pre-kindergartener or kindergartener starting school this year, please keep in mind that the start dates are as follows:

  • Tuesday/Thursday Alternating Friday:  September 8, 2009  (Grades 1-5 begin on this day also)
  • Monday/Wednesday Alternating Friday:  September 9, 2009

Your child can ride the bus to school on the first day or ride in the car.  I am aware that the Appleseed communication encourages parents to provide car transportation for PreK and K students on the first day of school, but this is your choice as a parent.

Our PreK and K Open Houses will be held on September 1, 2009.  This is geared toward parents attending with their PK/K child.

  • Mrs. Estefan and Mrs. Weiss  and Mrs. Bohl’s MW will hold their open houses from 5:30 to 6:15 pm.
  • Mrs. Bohl’s TTH and Mrs. Nederveld will hold their open houses from 6:30 to 7:15 pm.

The alternating day Friday schedule for this year can be found here:  PK/K FRIDAYs

School Hours and other schedules can be found:  HOURS and   SCHEDULES

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CHORES Prepare Your Child for School

If you have a child who is preparing to enter preschool, pre-kindergarten or kindergarten in the fall, I would like to give you permission to shift away from skill and drill on letter names, color and shape identification.  I, along with the early childhood teaching team, encourage you to prepare your child for school by having a set list of simple chores (jobs, to do’s) that can be completed each day.

Much of what we do in school involves asking children to complete tasks after hearing and seeing two or three step directions.  Chores or daily jobs involve a series of steps that can be repeatedly daily, and this repetition builds more success and hopefully jobs that are completed better each day!

And, to make this blog post more credible, there is research support.  I can’t begin to tell you how much I love research that promotes the benefit of daily chores for my own children.

To find out more details about the benefits of learning two step directions, visit  Connect With Kids.

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Enrollment Forms

I have received many emails and phone inquiries about enrollment forms for children in grades PK-12.  If you need enrollment forms for PK, K, elementary or secondary to one of the Hudsonville Public Schools, you can access these via our district site’s ENROLLMENT link.  If you have any questions about these forms, do not hesitate to contact Robin VandenBerg:  rvandenb@hpseagles.net or 669-1740 x 55110.

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Leadership Day 2009

Today is LEADERSHIP DAY 2009.  This is a day in which Scott McLeod, a professor at Iowa State University,    invites educators to share why and how we use technology in our careers.  Earlier this week, I blogged about being a principal who twitters. Those of you who read the post learned that I am certifiably a ‘tech geek’.  It is important to note that I am also NOT very ‘tech savvy’.   For example, I struggle to define critical technology terms (gigabyte, modem, html, css) and certainly do not know how to rebuild a hard drive.   I have been smart enough to call on technology experts when needed:  I know the extension numbers to the district Tech Office by heart — and when they can’t be reached, I have utilized the brains and heart of John Lawrence.

How specifically do I use technology on a daily basis as the learning leader of Georgetown Elementary?

  • As a learner, I cannot imagine not utilizing technology as a tool to create documents, problem solve and communicate with others via blogs, nings, wikis, twitter, and email.
  • As a building administrator, technology allows me to function more efficiently and accurately (hand held computer, laptop, web 2.0 tools to create, sort and examine data).  Sometimes, technology tools make me look more artistic and creative than I am!  If I use my tech tools well, I have additional time to build relationships with parents, students and teachers.
  • As a learning leader, technology allows me to do what is essential – promote independence in teachers and students.  I want the teachers to empower their students in technology with the same passion they use to model, guide and release reading, writing, and math—and all content areas. Technology is a learning tool that promotes independence, invites discussion, and grows a community of learners in exciting new ways.  Therefore, I am committed to helping teachers find the right tools to use at the right time with the right learners.

Why am I so passionate and focused on technology when there is so much that competes for my attention on a daily basis?

  • Access to amazingly simple and free technology tools have transformed the way I communicate, problem solve, share, create, learn and lead.  This did not require me to be tech savvy…it required me to be tech interested.
  • I  believe that technology tools will not by themselves create great learners, teachers or leaders.  I am convinced, however, that our best and brightest will be the better ‘tech’ equipped and capable at learning, teaching and leading NOW and in the future.

For those who would like to begin the journey of discovering more about technology tools and how they are used in education, I would encourage you to:

  • Read blogs by teachers, students, administrators.
  • Once you have read a blog post, leave a comment for the blogger.
  • Join twitter.  Find followers in the area of educational technology.  Follow them, ask questions, share.
  • Begin a blog of your own and invite others to read your posts & leave comments.  There are many free blog options available on the web.  I am partial to Edublogs due to their great support, both tutorials and problem solving.  Kudos in particular to Sue Waters, someone who has tutored me from Australia!
  • Learn about web 2.0 tools by following these 23 Simple Steps

Finally, if you are interested in following the many blog posts by educators, type this phrase into a  twitter search bar:  #leadershipday09.  You can also follow Scott McLeod’s Blog.

Thank you for sticking with this post and reading my passionate thoughts about technology in education.

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Hudsonville Bus Drivers Rock!

On Monday, June 15, the  Michigan Association for Pupil Transportation state school bus driving championship was held and it was our Art Birdsley that claimed our district’s first title since the last of back-to-back wins in 2004.

Hudsonville drivers also finished fourth and 12th in the 37-driver field representing the finest of Michigan’s school bus industry, which spends $770 million transporting more than 1 million children about 187 million miles each year on 12,665 buses. The two districts have won five of the last seven state titles, with four runners-up in that span.  To read more, click  BUS

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