Posted on December 7, 2009 December 7, 2009

A busy week ahead!

As you know, this week is going to be very busy. Posted below is our schedule of events. We will keep you posted on the status of our Holiday Program which we hope will be held on Thursday, December 10 at Resurrection Life Church. As we all know more about the approaching winter storm, updates will be posted on the blog, and if necessary phone calls will go out through the school messenger service.

Remember to check your child’s classroom blogs for more specific details about the events this week and next.

Posted on December 6, 2009 December 4, 2009

Hottest Educational Gifts

Being the tech geek that I am, one of my email subscriptions is to Google Tutor. This week I received a list of the 5 Hottest Educational Gifts for Christmas. I thought I would pass these along. And, Santa… if you happen to be reading our blog, please remember that I would love a Kindle this year. I think I have been extra good!

1. The Amazon Kindle Although not technically a “toy”, the Amazon Kindle is the perfect educational gadget for anyone age 12 and over. Download thousands of books directly to the Kindle and the fact that it cannot be used for anything but reading ensures your teen is actually expanding his or her literary horizon when they are staring at the screen. You can also upload PDF files, and stay on top of the news with the Kindle.

2. The Wii fit is a great gift for the whole family. The Wii Fit can be used by anyone, with any fitness level and of any age, making it one of the best family gifts! Not only can you learn from the Wii, kids will stay fit, focused and active throughout the winter. This is the perfect holiday gift that actually gets kids off the couch.

3. Lego Ultimate Building Set: the Ultimate creative and educational gift Lego sparks the imagination of all age groups. Kids get creative, learn to play together, and learn to use their imagination when playing with Lego. The Lego Ultimate Building Set has all the pieces needed for hours of play time and lots of creative fun. Lego is also one of those timeless gifts that everyone loves, and boys and girls alike have played with Lego for a few generations. It’s a gift that lasts a lifetime, and that is also why it is in this list of favorites.

4. Playskool Talking Truck The Playskool Chuck my Talking Truck speaks over 40 phrases and words. It is the perfect gift to keep little ones entertained for hours, and help them practice their verbal skills. The coolest part of this toy is that it will start driving when it is called. It will talk when you lift his dump bed, press his bumper, or press the top of the truck, making play time discovery (and learning!) time.

5. Snapp Circuits SC-300 This toy isn’t just my favorite, it also has the National Parenting Center Seal of Approval, was named the Dr. Toy 100 Best Children’s Products, and is among the Dr. Toy Best Educational Products. With Snapp Circuits you get over 60 parts that can easily snap together to create alarms, doorbells, burglar alarms, radio, and over 3oo other fun technology projects. Kids with a heart for tech will love this educational toy! It is without a doubt one of the best educational toys, for both boys and girls who like to create fun electronic projects. Although kids get to play with circuits and build projects, they can do this safely without a risk of injury. The toy comes with a manual showing how to create the 305 possible projects. This is definitely not a toy kids get bored with easily.

Posted on December 4, 2009 December 4, 2009

Night at the Museum

If you are looking for an activity to keep your family busy during the holiday break, you might want to consider a visit to the Grand Rapids Public Museum. They have many interesting exhibits and host a special “Night at Your Museum” on December 27.

Another event, da Vinci di Notte / Leonardo at Night, held December 28-31, January 2…including New Year’s Eve, is also one worth considering.

Posted on December 4, 2009 December 13, 2009

HOLIDAY PROGRAM: December 17

GEORGETOWN ELEMENTARY

HOLIDAY PROGRAM

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2009

7:00 p.m.

*The dates have been adjusted to reflect our new date of December 17 due to the snow day on December 10.

Now that the Thanksgiving holiday is behind us, we have officially entered the holiday season! Our school will be kicking this off with our annual Holiday Music Program on December 17, 2009. This program is organized and arranged by Mrs. Bretz, our music teacher. She has been working with our students since early October to learn music pieces for this holiday celebration. We are again renting Resurrection Life Church for this event. This church is located in Grandville (52^nd Ave and Ivanrest). Please enter off from 52^nd Ave. After turning in the driveway, turn right at the first fork and follow the signs down to the Worship Center and enter through Door K, which has a large canopy over it.

There is only one performance this year and we ask that no students are dropped off before 6:30 p.m. We ask this for safety and security reasons, as there will be no supervision for children before this time.

Students should be in their “meeting room” no later than 6:45 p.m. Once you enter through Door K there will be signs directing you to the correct room.

Grades PK, k, 1 and 2 please meet in the CHOIR ROOM

Grades 3, 4 and 5 please meet in the CHAPEL ROOM

Parents and students are asked to stay for the entire program as there is adequate seating to accommodate everyone. Students will return to sit with their teachers/class after they sing and will be dismissed to their “meeting room” after the program for parent pick up. PLEASE WAIT PATIENTLY IN YOUR SEATS WHILE STUDENTS ARE DISMISSED TO THEIR “MEETING ROOMS”.

Please note that based on rental guidelines with Resurrection Life Church, we have been asked as a school community to follow these procedures outlined below.

*The church will be locked during the day of the performance. Doors will be open at 6:30 p.m.

* NO FOOD OR DRINK is allowed in the church.

*NO ONE IS ALLOWED ON STAGE. The stage is only for staff and students..

The program will be video taped for anyone who is interested in purchasing a DVD of the program. The fee for this DVD will be $15.00 and checks can be made payable to WCET TV. The order form is attached to this newsletter and MUST be turned into the office at Georgetown NO LATER than Tuesday, December 15.

We are looking forward to seeing you at the performance! If you would like to read Mrs. Bretz’s answers to commonly asked questions, please visit her blog.

Please look at the following links and attachments as they are maps to the church, map of the church, and a order form for the Holiday DVD.

RES LIFE

MAP

DVD FORM 2

Have a great snow day and enjoy your long weekend!!

Mrs. Nurenberg

Posted on December 4, 2009 December 4, 2009

Our First Snow Day

It is December 4th and we are experiencing our first snow day of this school year! Use this day to relax, play in the snow and participate in the BLOG SCAVENGER HUNT! We will have our drawing on Monday…so that gives you three extra days to get it done.

A tip for finding the “silly” scavenger hunt posts on each blog: TYPE THE WORD silly OR scavenger hunt INTO THE SEARCH BAR OF EACH BLOG. By doing this, you should pull up the post you are looking for!

Enjoy the snow and the day to play.

Mrs. Reagan

Posted on December 3, 2009 December 4, 2009

BITS FOR THE BLOG

Just a few “bits” from the office as we are counting down the days until Christmas break. We know all of you want to know that the countdown as of today, Thursday, December 3, we only have 11 school days until Christmas break! Woo-Hoo!!

KINDERGARTEN
We wanted to let you know first of all due to the Thanksgiving holiday last week, it will be a MONDAY/WEDNESDAY Kindergarten Friday.

HOLIDAY SHOP
Georgetown’s Holiday Shop will be taking place next week. It will be held in the media center starting on Monday, December 7 and going through Thursday, December 10. In the past the students have been handed a coupon for the ferry to Mackinac Island, but this year Fun Services is Going Green! Mackinac Island Ferry coupons are now available online. To print this coupon, click on Santa’s Secret Shop and then on the Star Line Ferry Logo. Fill out the form using the code GRR and print. These coupons are valid only for students at schools hosting a Fun Services Holiday Gift Shop or Santa Secret Shop Program. Maximum age is 12 years. Coupons are not transferable. One paying adult per two student coupons is required.

Attached is you will also find the schedule for when classes will be shopping and for when volunteers are signed up to work.
HGS Final Schedule

HOLIDAY PARTIES
Please make sure to visit your child’s teacher’s blog for the day and time of their holiday parties which will be held in a couple of weeks.

LAST, BUT NOT LEAST…….. The infamous HOLIDAY PROGRAM
Georgetown’s Holiday program is FAST approaching!!! Mark your calendars for next Thursday, December 10 at 7:00pm.

We hope everyone enjoys the upcoming holiday season and have a great weekend!
Mrs. Nurenberg

Posted on December 3, 2009 December 3, 2009

No Turkeys in this HUNT

24 Hours Remaining for our

BLOG SCAVENGER HUNT!

Our third hunt of the year is designed to introduce silly things teachers do! Your job is to hunt through all the blogs and a silly teacher in each of these areas:

A prek or kindergarten
A 1st grade teacher
A 2nd grade teacher
A 3rd grade teacher
A 4th grade teacher
A 5th grade teacher
A special teacher

ENTER YOUR ANSWERS ON THE ENTRY FORM.

For those of you who have never participated, the rules are simple:

Search all the Georgetown blogs linked to this site.
Keep a list of blogs where you found your items.
When you have found all the items, submit your answers on the SCAVENGER HUNT ENTRY FORM.
Everyone who enters by December 5 will be included in the school wide drawing.
Student winner receives: A Barnes & Noble Gift Card. Winning class (those who have the most students participate in the scavenger hunt) will receive one hour of choice time.
All those that enter will be added to the Reading Counts Drawing (held on December 15)

Happy HUNTING! And…Good Luck!

Posted on December 2, 2009 December 2, 2009

Moon Over Georgetown

When I pulled into the school parking lot this morning, I was struck by the way the full December moon was poised over Georgetown…and set against an indigo sky. I had to take a picture and share this with you.

We will have another full moon on December 31…and this will be a BLUE MOON. If we have a clear sky, I will take pictures to share on the blog along with a HAPPY NEW YEAR post!

Based on the percentage of cloudy days we typically have in the winter months ahead, our current full moon may be the last one we see for sometime. Enjoy!

Posted on December 2, 2009 December 2, 2009

A Great Night of Art

Our first KIDS ART SHOW was a tremendous success. We featured over 240 pieces of art work and hosted well over 300 people at the event. This event was sponsored by KIDS ART FAIRS. We were impressed by the the focus on featuring and appreciating artists and their work.

I did my very best to take a photo of every artist with their piece…but I know I missed some of you. It was such a busy night. Enjoy this video that captures the pride of each artist as they hold or stand next to their beautiful work of art!

Thank you to Mrs. Brouwer, Mrs. Anderson and all the volunteers who made this event possible!

Posted on December 1, 2009 November 30, 2009

KIDS ART FAIR TODAY!!

Georgetown’s Art Fair – Tuesday, December 1st from 4-7 PM!!
Please stop by the Georgetown gym for a look at some of the best artwork in town – you’ll be amazed to see student creations of Nazca Indian Weavings, Jumping Green Frogs, Floral Still Lifes, Sheep, Pattern Bugs, Spiral Snails, Shape Birds, even a Tree in a Park!

Forgot to send in your RSVP? No worries – we can frame up your child’s artwork on the spot! Enter our drawing too for cool art prizes! See you at the Art Fair!