Search Results for: Mr Rob

Blog Bits 3/13/2020

News From the Office…

What a crazy week it has been with cancelations and everything else related to the coronavirus! Please watch your emails as decisions are still being made on many things!! We are doing everything we can to keep the school as clean as we possibly can and our AMAZING Rob has been working very hard!

Thank you to Audrey Straub and her amazing team of volunteers for another successful book fair! The kids get so excited and we love to see them excited about books! We also want to say thank you to Erin Fredricks and Angela Smith for putting together another wonderful teacher conference dinner! Thanks to everyone who contributed to this! It is very much appreciated!

We are so fortunate at Georgetown to have such great parents showing your support at conferences! It means a lot to the kids and to the teachers!

We jump right into the M-STEP when we get back and the schedule can be found just below.  Please try to avoid scheduling any appointments during your child’s testing times. Have a safe weekend everyone! Hoping it’s full of sunshine again!

M STEP Schedule…

5th Grade – April 21, 22, 23, 28, and 29

3rd Grade – May 5, 6, and 7

4th Grade – May 12, 13, and 14

Parking Request for when we get back to school!!

PARKING REQUEST (AKA Scolding):  We are receiving complaints regarding parents who are refusing to park in a PARKING SPOT to come into school to pick up their child.   When you sit in your car and do not park, the traffic flow comes to a halt.  When you park your car (and it is not in a spot) and then go inside to get your child, people are BLOCKED in their parking spot and cannot exit. PLEASE PARK YOUR CAR IN A SPOT SO WE CAN KEEP THE FLOW MOVING! THANK YOU!! IT IS MORE APPRECIATED THAN YOU KNOW!!

Next Early Release…

Our next early release is on April 24. We will be dismissing at 12:15 on April 24. 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.

PTC News…

Apr 16 – Jet’s Pizza Night

Apr 20 – Culver’s Night

Apr 24 – Popcorn Friday

5th Grade News…

April 21-23 and 28-29 – M STEP for 5th grade

May 14 and 15 – 5th Grade Camp

Community News…

•HPS International Celebration

Please join the Hudsonville EL (English Learners) Department for an international celebration on Friday, April 17 at 5:30 pm in the Hudsonville Freshman Campus Cafeteria.  There will be a showcase of food, music, clothing, dances, and more from a variety of cultures. Your entire family is welcome to attend and we invite you to participate and represent your culture.

We will celebrate the food from different cultures. If you would like to prepare or purchase food, please tell us what food you would like to bring by filling out the form through the attached link. You do not have to bring food in order to attend the celebration.

We also hope to have some students and families share songs, poems, and/or dances from different cultures. If you would like to participate in this way, you can also indicate it through the link below.

Whether you come just to watch and/or enjoy the food or come to represent your heritage, we hope to see you there!

Please reply using the link below by Wednesday, April 1. If you have any questions, please contact Rachel Manzer rmanzer@hpseages.net (high school EL teacher) or Victoria Cooley  vcooley@hpseagles.net (ECC, K-8 EL teacher)

Click this link to indicate your interest-bit.ly/HPSInternationalCelebration

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!

Have a safe and sunny Weekend and we will see you all when we come back!!

March has arrived….and this is cause for celebration!  Although it is still winter, it is the month that marks our turn toward springtime.

Some of you may have heard that the 5th graders played pillow polo hockey against a select team of athletic educators on Friday.  You may also have heard that the athletic educators won ( 6 to 1).  AND…there are also some reports that the athletes on one team (particularly one) was a bit confused about the rules — and might have accidentally suspected the ball was an apple, might have accidentally stepped on the ball or any number of errors.  HOWEVER, it was a great time.  For parents of the fifth graders that played against us:  YOUR KIDS ARE SUCH COMPETITIVE ATHLETES — and GOOD!  The athletic educators hope to return to school tomorrow after a weekend of ice, heat and stretching.

A tremendous thank you to everyone who kindly picks up their children when they are sick — as well as those who considerately keep them home when they are ill.  It has been a rolling wave of illness late fall into present time.  Our youngest population (those 100% adorable and precious kinders and first graders) have been nailed this year.  Their immune systems have been exposed to viruses of all sorts and varieties.

We are doing EVERYTHING we can to keep our classroom surfaces, knobs, handles and faucets clean.  Last week, Mr. Rob spent hours washing down light switches and all the latches on the lockers.  Thank you to all who have sent in wipes and soap to help us stay on top of this tremendous and important task.

Some tips:  Please clean your child’s water bottle regularly.  Also, wash mittens/gloves, scarves and jackets.  These are frequently used to cover sneezes and clean up noses!

We are receiving questions from parents about how to talk to their children about the coronavirus.  An excellent kid (and adult) friendly cartoon was created by some exceptionally talented NPR writers/illustrators (with assistance from expert in science, psychology and social work).  Click on this link for the pdf and foldable version.

PARKING REQUEST (AKA Scolding):  Our poor office staff is receiving complaints regarding parents who are refusing to park in a PARKING SPOT to come into school to pick up their child.   When you sit in your car and do not park, the traffic flow comes to a halt.  When you park your car (and it is not in a spot) and then go inside to get your child, people are BLOCKED in their parking spot and cannot exit.

I have also received suggestions from parents to have a parking attendant in the morning and afternoon — and I would love to have the funds to pay an adult for 50 minutes (25 min am; 25 min pm)to stand in front and politely remind people to PARK THEIR CARS.  At this time all our school funds are going toward supporting learners during the school day with the goal of helping all children to be strong learners and more.    We have less than 70 school days left…and it’s time for all parents to SOAR in parking!

Heres to a fabulous 4.5 day week!  The teachers will be working on report cards Friday afternoon in preparation for evening PT CONFERENCES on Monday 3/9 and 3/11.

Mrs. Reagan

Three of our students attended an engineering day camp geared for girls at MSU this past Saturday.  All three of them loved their experience and have shares their highlights below.

Brynn Sremba, Grade 5, wanted you to know the following:

We used university classrooms — and it was cool and interesting to be in this setting.  They had lots of interesting displays set up on all the tables.

Rory Krusniak and Gianna Freytag, Grade 4 worked with Mrs. Estefan to create an ANIMOTO video about the highlights of their day below.  Watch the school blog and Mrs. Totten’s STEAM STUDIO blog for future opportunities like this.

We can’t believe we are entering week 4 of the new year!   Every week has been packed with learning activities…and as a result, flown by.

We are doing are best to survive this strange, unpredictable weather pattern.  Just when we get into our rhythm of arguing about snow forts (take overs and or snow chunk theft), the snow melts … the fields are muddy … and we are back to rotations for the GAGA Pit, the basketball court and the playground.   With recess in mind, I’d like to give a shout out to all of our staff (teachers and para-professionals) who supervise the playgrounds before school and lunch and during the day.  Recess if one of the most important parts each child’s school day.  We work hard to make sure they are well supervised and we also try to coach our students into knowing the difference between when to problem solve a playground argument on their own and when to get help.  Each staff member does their best to watch, listen, coach and, if needed, get support.  YOU ARE APPRECIATED!

This week we have the PK/K Registration Meeting (Tuesday, 1/24/2020).  We are still waiting for the online registration to go LIVE.  As soon as it does, I will send out an email.  All parents will register online….and will still need to stop by the office with:

• Driver’s License
• Child’s Birth Certificate
• Utility Bill or other proof of residence

If you child is currently an HPS PK’er, you do not need to register for K.  We transfer all your paperwork from last year.

We end this week with Popcorn Day and  a half day (teacher’s have meetings in the afternoon)…followed by the weekend and two days of winter break.

Wishing everyone a wonderful weekend!

Mrs. Reagan

I hope that your holiday time was just right for your family.  Now that the holidays are behind us, I am anxious to get

back into the school routine.  Be prepared for your child to be excited to come back and after a few days, be reluctant to return to school.  Your child is leaving a time of holiday fun with family/friends — a time with presents, later sleep ins, later tuck ins, etc.  Returning to school means your child’s brain will be busy with learning and social/emotional demands for seven hours straight.  For some kids, this is a time of homesickness — especially for our youngest learners in kindergarten-second grade.

Some tips to help your child return to school:  SNACKS (two healthy snacks per day), water bottle, scheduled bed time to help get the school schedule back in place.  Again, as a parent, stay on top of home/school communication by checking this blog and the classroom blog for updates.  If your child is struggling with the return, connect with your child’s teacher to let him/her know.  It is helpful to work as a team to help with re-entry to school after the holidays.

County Health Update:  The Ottawa County Health Department has reported that influenza cases in our county are on the rise.  Please remember to keep your child home if s/he presents with a fever, diarrhea for 24 hours after the last symptom.  Mr. Rob (our amazing custodian) and the entire staff do our best to prevent the spread of infections by wiping down surfaces and door knobs as frequently as possible.  Your support by keeping sick kids home helps prevent the spread of illnesses as well.

 PK/K REGISTRATION for 2020:  As soon as the calendar turns to the new year, our district begins working on enrollment paperwork for our pre-kindergarteners and kindergarteners next year.  If you have a child that will be entering PK/K, next year please download this paperwork ( K : PK Registration Paperwork 2020 ), complete it and drop it off at the school office.  We are anticipating higher than normal enrollment again next year.   

We will be holding a registration meeting on January 28 at 7 pm in the school cafeteria.   If you attended the meeting recently (2017-2019), feel free to skip the meeting and turn your paperwork into the office before the meeting on 1/28/2020.

Enjoy these snow free driving days for as long as they last.   I have a feeling winter will be returning soon!  Highlights of the week ahead are below.

Mrs. Reagan

First of all THANK YOU TO EVERYONE for making our WALK•A•THON so successful!  We raised $19, 040.19!  

We have ordered T-SHIRTs for everyone who raised $30 or more.  As soon as they arrive, they will be sent home with each child.

We have a BIG BUNCH OF WINNERS and these are all listed below.

BIG PRIZES….(SCOOTERS) parents will come to school to pick up.  You will be contacted.

Small prizes (Gift Cards) will come home on Monday.

Within the past week, we have had two new additions to our front area.

In memory of Rhonda Fabbro, one of the most amazing staff members to care for our students, a maple tree was planted on the K/1 playground.  A few staff members and Fabbro family members were present for the planting ceremony (photos above).

The second addition is a “little lending library“.  This can be found at the front of our building.  It is designed for children to take a book to read (free) and for community members to share books they have read and want others to read.  This project was made possible by the Hudsonville High School wood shop (assembly), Parent Club Funds (equipment funding) and three talented custodian’s (painters and artists).  Many thanks to Aubrey Hoekstra, Elaina Nibblelink and Makaih Schuur for their painting talents!

And credit is also due to Mr. Rob, our most FANTASTIC CUSTODIAN, who prepared the playground for the tree (and supervised the planting) and made sure that the lending library was completed and installed.  Georgetown is amazing because of this man — he does more than anyone will ever know (at all hours of the day and night) to keep the building running, grounds beautiful and staff and students cared for.  Mr. Rob is also very humble — and a one of a kind person.  We are very lucky to have him!

Our beautiful summer is coming to a close and every staff member at Georgetown is ready to get the year started!  As I have mentioned in parent emails, Mr. Rob and his custodial team have done a phenomenal job cleaning up the building and grounds so that we look at new as we were when the building opened in 2006.  I really can’t say enough about Mr. Rob and his attention to detail along with his huge heart for our school.  It’s because of him that our building looks so beautiful.

Teachers have been incredibly busy these past two weeks. They have been wrapping up graduate studies, attending professional development and preparing their classrooms.  Our building has been like a buzzing with new school year energy night and day.

We are welcoming some new members to our school team.  This past summer, some of our past teachers made changes to their career by either taking a leave of absence or changing grades/positions.  This allowed for new teachers in new positions … and it has been very exciting to build our school family.   All staff members featured in staff slide show above.  Take a peak to see if you can find new and familiar faces.

Our school theme this year is “You can…COUNT ON ME!”   As we focus on our school mission (SOAR to BE NICE, WORK HARD, LEARN WELL),  we will show them that they can count on us to be fair and keep a safe, calm learning environment.  SOAR stands for:  Be Safe, Own It, Act Responsibly and Be Respectful. We want them to show us that we can count on them to own their choices, walk safely in the hallways, play nice on the playground, be respectful in the classroom, on the bus, etc. Throughout the school year, we will share with you the expectations that we introduce for SOAR.

Remember…if your child needs to have medications kept at school, fill out the forms found in this area and drop the meds off at school — once they are signed by the doctor.  If your child has a food allergy, asthma or other major health issue, let us know!  We want to keep all children safe at school.

If you get to school and find out that someone in your child’s classroom has a food allergy, please practice compassion and empathy.  This will require careful attention to the snacks you send to school- and non-food bday treats.

OPEN HOUSE REMINDERS:

• Kindergarten:  August 20 from 6:30-7:30
• Grades 1-5: August 21 from 6:30-7:30

Please remember to bring a $1.00 per child donation for popcorn money to the open house. The Parent Club provides popcorn to all students (600+) on the early release Friday each month. Your donations make this possible!

Week 34 brings a little bit of sun, some rain….and most importantly STAFF APPRECIATION!   We have many important and amazing people to get your kids to school, supervise their play, feed them and teach team.  We also have staff members who make sure the phones are answered, medication dispensed and SO MUCH MORE!  And…where would we even be without MR. ROB, the most incredible custodian on the planet.  Because of him, our 14 year old building is sparkling clean and looks like NEW.

A special committee of parent volunteers will be celebrating the staff all week.  If you get a moment, send a note of appreciation to one of the staff members who supports your kids each day.

The video collection above includes photos of nearly all our staff.  Missing photos of each bus drivers.  They don’t like their photos taken…and they are also very busy people!

TONIGHT is CULVER’s NIGHT….so stop on by to have a staff member bring you your dinner.  A portion of the earnings between 5-8 goes back to Georgetown!

Some addition highlights of the week are below!

The schedule looks light on the outside, but open the doors of the classroom and we HUMMING LEARNING MACHINES!  Every teacher is taking full advantage of the 8 weeks remaining of school to help each child be a better problem solver, school community member, reader, math’er, writer, speller, etc.

Our fifth graders begin M-STEP Testing this week.  The testing takes place all morning long — and we reserve the afternoons for students who need more time.  Our amazing 5th graders are SO READY for this test — and they are also nervous.  They take English Language Arts, Math, Science and Social Studies.  It’s a lot of testing and we do our best to build in breaks and instill confidence.

Most importantly, we want them to do their best and understand and believe this:  THEY ARE MORE THAN THE RESULTS of the M-STEP TESTS.  We echo the same message that a teacher in Indiana and teachers all over the country share with their students:

“The scores you get from these tests will tell you something, but they will not tell you everything.  These tests do not define you. There are many ways of being smart. Remember that there is no way to ‘test’ all of the amazing and awesome things that make you, YOU.”  In other words, TRY YOUR HARDEST, DO YOUR BEST.  ALWAYS REMEMBER, YOU ARE MORE THAN A TEST!

We are all hoping for a return to more spring-like weather this week!

Have a wonderful weekend and here’s to a great week next week.

Mrs. Reagan