It will be a busy and exciting week at Georgetown. We welcome parents of incoming K students (3/17/09) and prepare our 5th grade students for the transition to BMS (3/18/09). In addition, we have the book fair, K screening, and much more taking place. See the details below.
Mon 3/16 Day 3: Play to Learn in MPR at 9 am; Scholastic Book Fair in Media Center all week
Tues 3/17 Day 1: Happy St. Patrick’s Day!; K Round Up: 10 am and 7 pm in the MPR;
Music Therapy: ECSE, CI in MPR 1:30-3:00 pm
Wed 3/18 Day 2: K Screening; 5th Grade to BMS for 6th Grade Visitation Day @ 10:30 am
Thurs 3/19: Day 3: K Screening
Fri 3/20: Day 1: MW PreK/K; Spring Equinox; Popcorn Day and Backwards Day; K Screening
MeapOnomics Mall Trip: 5th Grade (Bouwens/Burmeister)
We are happy to say that we have completed the MSTEP! That is always a good feeling! The kids did amazing as they have all year given what a crazy year it was! Just a reminder that if your child has medication, whether it by over the counter or prescription in the office, to please pick it up by the last day of school. We dispose of anything left at the health department at the end of every school year. We are quickly approaching the end of the year. We have Monday May 31 off for Memorial Day and our last day is a half day on Friday, June 4.
Lastly, we want to thank Audrey Straub for so many years of serving as president on the PTC! She took such good care of everyone at Georgetown and we appreciate her so much! Also thank you to everyone that served on the PTC, a committee, or just helped out in any way this year!! We appreciate you so much!
Have a beautiful weekend!
PTC News…
The last PTC meeting was rescheduled and will be held Thursday, May 27 at 6:30 on the lawn outside at Georgetown.
5th Grade News…
On Thursday, June 3, fifth-grade students will have an extended day camp experience at CranHill Ranch.
Students can take their normal mode of transportation to school in the morning.
The estimated arrival back to school will be around 9:00 PM.
Due to COVID-19 restrictions, we are not allowed to bring parent chaperones.
Community Ed…
• The summer brochure is out! 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!
We are happy to report that 5th grade has completed the MSTEP and they were amazing! 3rd and 4th grade are half done and we will be finishing them up next week! The schedule is as follows…..
4th Grade – May 11
3rd Grade – May 13
Please be mindful to not schedule appointments for your kids on their testing days if at all possible! Also make sure your child gets good sleep, arrives to school on time, and brings a water bottle. ***** Please note that if your child is ill, we will administer the tests on a make-up date. Do not send your child to school not feeling well*****
Next Early Release…
Our next early release is on May 21. We will be dismissing at 12:15 on May 21. 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.
PTC News…
May 13 – Jet’s Pizza Night
May 20 – PTC Meeting
5th Grade News…
May 5-12 – 5th grade scheduling window will open in PowerSchool. Students will independently put their 6th grade class selections into PowerSchool and will turn in the completed pink hard copy to their teacher. The students will be getting instructions and seeing videos about this in class. Please watch the teacher’s blogs as more information will become available.
Camp Update –All fifth-grade students in the district will have an extended day camp experience at CranHill Ranch.
The date for Georgetown students will be Thursday, June 3.
Students can take their normal mode of transportation to school in the morning.
The estimated arrival back to school will be around 9:00 PM.
Due to COVID-19 restrictions, we are not allowed to bring parent chaperones.
Community Ed…
• The summer brochure is out! 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!
We hope you all had a restful week of spring break and are refreshed to take on the last part of the school year! We will begin our first week of M STEP testing next week. Please be mindful to not schedule appointments for your kids on their testing days if at all possible! The schedule will be as follows:
5th Grade – April 20, 22, 27, 29
4th Grade – May 4 and 11
3rd Grade – May 6 and 13
Please make sure your child gets good sleep, arrives to school on time, and brings a water bottle. ***** Also note that if your child is ill, we will administer the tests on a make-up date. Please do not send your child to school not feeling well*****
Have a good weekend!
Next Early Release…
Our next early release is on April 23. We will be dismissing at 12:15 on April 23. 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.
Vote on May 4…
On May 4, Hudsonville School parents and community members will have the chance to vote on our annual Non-Homestead Millage renewal. This is an annual renewal request that voters have approved for the past 26 years and would generate approximately %5.5 million dollars of operating revenue for our school district. As a reminder, this is NOT a tax on primary residences and is NOT a new tax. Please consider taking the time to vote.
May 3 and 4 – 7:pm Parent Music meeting at the Freshman Campus Stadium
May 5-12 – 5th grade scheduling window will open in PowerSchool. Students will independently put their 6th grade class selections into PowerSchool and will turn in the completed pink hard copy to their teacher. The students will be getting instructions and seeing videos about this in class. Please watch the teacher’s blogs as more information will become available.
Camp Update –All fifth-grade students in the district will have an extended day camp experience at CranHill Ranch.
The date for Georgetown students will be Thursday, June 3.
Students can take their normal mode of transportation to school in the morning.
The estimated arrival back to school will be around 9:00 PM.
Due to COVID-19 restrictions, we are not allowed to bring parent chaperones.
Community News…
Our own Kevin Wolma who is our Athletic Director is the author of a Book titled 30 second time out. It is a book that navigates through the challenges of youth sports. If you are interested in buying a copy to read, we have some in the office for you to purchase. The cost is $10. Please contact the office if you are interested.
Community Ed…
• The summer brochure is out! 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!
Picture day is done and went very well. If your child was sick and missed picture day, we have make up day on Tuesday, Nov 3. If your child was absent, simply send in the picture form with your child on retake day. If you wish to order online, you can go to geskusphoto.com/fallorders and use code 264BFISDGVNHA
We were able to hold the walkathon as well and we were thankful we could still get the kids out to do this! They had fun while they were out there and we are so grateful to all of you for your support! We raised $26,000!!! Amazing!!!
This year for our Fall Celebrations we are looking forward to having parties in our classrooms, much like years past. Each classroom may look a little different depending upon grade level. Your child’s teacher will be communicating out about this in the near future. This year will be slightly different, in a couple of ways.
Parents and volunteers will not be able to attend. (We will miss you!)
Snacks can be sent in, but need to be store bought and individually packaged.
Games, crafts, and snacks need to be sent in 24 hours in advance (or more).
Like previous years, we will be welcoming your children to wear costumes, if they wish. One change this year is that children will be able to wear their costumes to school, and wear them the whole day. The intent behind this is to limit children gathering in the restrooms to change, and limit the number of children needing assistance from teachers and staff to get into their costumes. We invite you to send your children in a costume that includes no weapons or gore, and easily allows your child to participate in regular school routines and procedures. Can they take it off themselves to use the bathroom? Can they fit in their seat at their desk? Can they go down the slide or sit in the swings? Can they wear a mask under their “mask”? Please save bulky, or extravagant costumes for home use, and dress in a fun and simple costume for the school day. Fall or pumpkin t-shirts are a great alternative as well.
Lastly, we drop off has been going fairly smooth, but we still ask that you pull ALL THE WAY AROUND the loop to the cone to allow for smooth and quick drop off in the morning!! Please say your goodbyes before getting to the line so you can drop off and keep going without holding the line up. We have a lot of students to get into the building in a short amount of time and we appreciate all of your help with this!! Have a great weekend!!
Next Early Release…
Our next early release is on October 23. We will be dismissing at 12:15 on Oct 23. 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.
PE News…
This year, we want to keep the Turkey Trot going with a virtual “race”. That means you will create your own course in your neighborhood (with an adult). While you are completing your trot, we want you to take pictures of yourself and the people with you and post them to our Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram Turkey Trot pages! You can click on this link to go to the sign up page.
Since parents cannot be in and out of the building this year, we will post pics of the lost and found periodically for you to see if you see anything that belongs to your child! If you see something that belongs to you, let us know and we and can send it home!
PTC News…
Thank you, thank you, thank you for your support with the walkathon!!
Last Month’s Jet’s Pizza Winning class was Mrs. Tindall’s class!! Congratulations!!
Nov. 12 – Jet’s Pizza Night
Nov. 19 – PTC Meeting, location to be determined
Community Ed…
• You can click here to go to the community education page on the Hudsonville Public School website.
We are very thankful that we have been able to be in school and thank you for all of your cooperation and patience as we navigate through new routines. We are asking that if you drop your students off in the morning, to PLEASE PULL ALL THE WAY around the circle drive to the cone!! This allows for more cars to drop off at a time and gets the line to move faster. Also for pick up after school we are asking that you park in a spot. Please do not park along any part of the drive. This will allow for traffic to keep moving. Thank you!!
We are doing a spirit week next week for the walk a thon.
Monday – PJ Day
Tuesday – Crazy Socks Day
Wednesday- Crazy Hair Day
Thursday- Walk a thon Day and Hat Day
Friday- Maize and Blue Day
Have a great weekend!
Next Early Release…
Just a reminder of the next early release Friday on Oct 23! We will be dismissing at 12:15 on Oct 23. 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.
Picture Day…
Picture day will be on Oct 1. We will be sending the forms home at the end of next week.
SOAR…
PBIS at Georgetown!
This year we continue to teach and embrace our school values, be Safe, Own It, Act Responsibly, and be Respectful or SOAR. Be Safe has been of the utmost importance as we navigate face-to-face learning this fall. GES staff and students have embraced our SOAR values and spent additional time learning new routines related to masking, handwashing, and social distancing. Social-emotional wellness is another important aspect of encouraging positive behavior and providing the necessary support to help each student continue to learn and grow. We look forward to partnering with you this year to do this important work.
PTC News…
Walk a thon Event details:
Register your Child using School Identifier 5f3d669d605c9, please visitwww.getmovinfundhub.com
Event Date: Thursday, September 24, 2020
Final Donation due date: September 30, 2020
Donations can be online through your child’s webpage. Otherwise, donations in the form of cash & checks (in-school donations), should be turned in to the school.
•Please make checks payable to:Georgetown Elementary PTC
• You can click here to go to the community education page on the Hudsonville Public School website. There are a few activities for your kids to look into!
We are right back into the swing of things and the kids are doing great! We are so proud of them and we thank you for your support and patience as we navigate this new normal!
Parents just a reminder that if you have to change how your child is getting home, please send a dated note to the teacher. Remember, we cannot change busses or ride a different bus home with a friend. That is a CRAZY part of the day for teachers and it is super helpful to have that note as a reminder!! Also keeping it as consistent as possible is helpful to not only the teachers , but the kids as well.
If you know your child is not going to be attending school for a day, please let the office know for attendance. You can also leave a voicemail if you call while we are not here. If you prefer email, our email addresses are mjeltem@hpseagles.net and ahoekst2@hpseagles.net. Please let us know the symptoms of an illness as we have to do a report to the health department every week. Thanks for your help with this!! It cuts down on interruptions into the classroom and we greatly appreciate it!
We have been going through paperwork that we may still need for your child. If any forms come home with your student or you have received an email, please fill them out and return them to school as soon as you can. Thanks and have a great weekend!!!
Next Early Release…
Just a reminder of the next early release Friday on Sept 18! We will be dismissing at 12:15 on Sept. 18. 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 $2.50. Free and reduced benefits will also apply.
School Pictures…
As of now, we are planning on school pictures being on Thursday, Oct 1. We will be sending more information home soon.
PTC News…
Walk A Thon details will be coming out after Labor Day. We are planning on Thursday, Sept 24, but it will look different than it has in years past. Any questions, contact Audrey Straub at audreystraub@gmail.com
The next PTC meeting will be on September 17th at 6:30 on the K/1 playground weather permitting!! Bring a chair and come join us to see what is going on at Georgetown!!! We would love to see you!!
Jet’s Pizza Night – Sept 10, Order dinner on Sept 10 and let them know your child’s teacher. Jet’s generously donates a portion of the proceeds back to our school. Thanks for your support!!
Upcoming Dates
Posted on
BE NICE • WORK HARD • LEARN WELL
FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL: Monday, August 24
Dear Parents,
Welcome back to school! For those new to our school, know that you are joining a caring community of students, families and teachers. Georgetown opened in September 2006 and since that time the school and its staff has been committed to maintaining a climate that is safe, caring and focused on supporting learners of all ages and abilities. We are starting our 15th year as a school — and each year brings more adventures in learning and growing together.
This year we have some changes in our staff due to teachers changing grades, moving in from other positions in the district, or shifting to Eagle Virtual. We have 24 K-5 teachers (four sections of each grade) plus 10 specialists excited to welcome you back to school! Please subscribe to our school blog to stay up-to-date on all the happenings at Georgetown and to receive any information we share out: georgetown.edublogs.org
You will be receiving important forms that need to be reviewed, completed and returned to school ASAP. Thank you in advance for doing this important paperwork for us.
Required forms that MUST be returned to office:
Family Compact (pink paper)
Student Profile Sheet (white paper)
Covid-19 Health Screening Commitment
Medical Forms if your child needs medication at school. (forms to be found on blog)
Important information to review on the blog:
Go to georgetown.edublogs.org
Look under this tab: FORMS & PROCEDURES
Review the following:Elementary Guidelines, Medications at School, Background Check Form, Accident Insurance, Meal Plans (Breakfast and Lunch), Bus Pass Request/Procedures.
Background Check: MUST BE COMPLETED EVERY YEAR. (Although we cannot welcome volunteers into GES at this time, we hope to be able to in the future.)
Parent Club: We have a very active Parent Club. We are always in need of more support for activities related to learning and fun. Information posted regularly on the blog. Contact person for PTC: Audrey Straub audreystraub@gmail.com
Subscribe to your teacher’s blog. They should have emailed that information to you or you can find a link to their blog on the Georgetown Blog – https://georgetown.edublogs.org
Randy Waldie, Principal
Phone: 797-9797 ext 7010
rwaldie@hpseagles.net
https://georgetown.edublogs.org
GEORGETOWN HEALTH AND SAFETY INITIATIVES
MEDICATIONS AT SCHOOL
In order for your child to take any medication (prescription and non- prescription) at school, a MEDICATION FORM is required and must be brought to the school office by a parent or guardian, please do not send this with the child. If your child requires prescription medication (asthma inhaler, epi-pen, insulin) your physician must complete a portion of the form. The medication form is available in the school office and the school blog.
POP FREE SCHOOL
Georgetown staff is focused on promoting healthy living initiatives. One important initiative is a “POP FREE LUNCHROOM and POP FREE CLASSROOMS.” Please keep this in mind when you provide lunch for your child at school.
NUT AND MILK ALLERGY SAFETY
Please inform us immediately if your child has a NUT, MILK or other critical allergy. As a staff, we take food allergies very seriously and do all that we can to create a safe environment at school. We have a nut safe lunch room table and milk safe lunch room table. Students who need to sit at these tables can have friends join them with permission. A lunch assistant will check lunches to be sure that those who join the table have nut or milk safe lunches for that day.
Our number one goal is to make the lunchroom safe for ALL students who are eating. In addition to this, certain classrooms are NUT SAFE and these rooms will be marked accordingly. If your child is in a NUT SAFE classroom, DO NOT send any snack related food to school that contains nuts. If your child has a food allergy that we are not aware of, please let your child’s teacher know as soon as possible.
BUS PASS POLICY
NO BUS CHANGES for preK and kindergarten students. LIMITED changes to Grades 1-5 for a permanent scheduled change or emergency situation. Details explained below.
Only requests for extenuating circumstances will be accepted (no changes for play dates). Bus passes are to be used ONLY when making a PERMANENT regularly scheduled change or an emergency situation. If the pass is approved, transportation will notify the school office. The school office will notify the classroom teacher.
NOTE: Form must be completed by 10:00 am on the morning of the bus change. Late requests will NOT be honored.
Link to BUS PASS can be found on the school blog, Forms and Procedures, BUS PASS. Questions about policy, contact Transportation: 616-669-7757
Student Accident Insurance
Our district provides accident coverage for all students. Coverage is intended as a brief description for reference only and is not the policy. Only ACCIDENTS that occur in school-sponsored and supervised activities including participants in interscholastic sports are covered. This is on our blog under Forms and Procedures.
STUDENT DROP OFF AND PICK UP
This is a very busy time in the school drive and hallways and will be especially busy this year. Follow these procedures for safety/security:
CHILD DROP OFF: If you are dropping your child off at school, please do this in the front circle drive. This year, due to changes brought on because of the pandemic, please DO NOT DROP OFF BEFORE 8:35 a.m. Your child will then exit your vehicle (passenger side only for safety) and enter the building. Students will NOT go to the playgrounds in the morning this year, but right to their classrooms. Once inside the building, we will walk groups of students to their classrooms. Older students, who know the building will be allowed to proceed to their classrooms on their own. If your child arrives after school begins, you must walk him/her into the front office and sign your child in for the day. Our school secretaries will have a sign-in log available at the front desk. Your child will then walk to his/her classroom.
CHILD PICK UP: For those of you who pick your child up after school, please park in the lot and wait outside the building, on the south side of the cafeteria, near the outside door of the cafeteria. Please do your best to remain respectful of others and abide by social distancing standards. A Georgetown employee will be there to greet you, find out which child(ren) you are there to pick up, radio into the cafeteria to have the child(ren) sent out. If your child normally rides the bus, SEND A NOTE ADDRESSED TO THE TEACHER AND DATED indicating that you will be providing pick up. If it is a last minute change, inform the office no later than 3:00 p.m. Follow the pick-up procedure listed above after informing us of the change.
I am extremely excited to introduce myself to you and look forward to getting to know you and your students this upcoming year. My name is Randy Waldie and I could not be happier to join Hudsonville Schools as the new principal at GES. I have been an educator for the past 18 years at Coopersville Area Public Schools, working in a multitude of roles Pre-k through 12th grade, helping challenge and inspire all learners to become contributing, responsible members of a global society.
My wife, Anne, is an educator as well and works at Grandville Middle School. We have three children: Ali is 9 and will be in 4th grade, our angel, Ben, would have been 5, and Mia is 3 ½ and will be starting preschool this fall.
I look forward to meeting you and your children this year and I’m excited that we will be able to see students in the hallways again after a long summer. This year will certainly be full of opportunities, challenges, and growth. With the myriad of uncertainty surrounding so much right now, it’s important to remember that we have so much positive happening for us this year as well. We have the absolute best teachers who are supported by outstanding paraprofessionals and other staff throughout the day. We have a beautiful school building and grounds which rival any elementary in the state. And most importantly, we have wonderful students from fantastic families that partner with us each and every day to help make Georgetown one of the best schools in the state!
I hope that you and your family are able to enjoy the remainder of the summer and we look forward to seeing you on the 24th.
It’s the final week of April. May begins on Friday. Before this school year, February has traditionally been the ‘longest, shortest month’ in education. We are sick of the relentless gray skies, winter weather, indoor recess, viruses going around that make us sick and irritable and Valentine’s Day which is a blessing and a curse in schools. BUT…for the first time in my educational career, the longest month has been replaced this year by the month of April. Thank you COVID19 for changing things up!
And thousands of cheers to you, our parents, who have negotiated this long month as parents, teachers, employees and all the daily tasks of maintaining a family. Please continue to reach out to me or your teachers if/when you feel overwhelmed. To be fully transparent and vulnerable with you, we are also overwhelmed.
I have never been more exhausted than I am now. Endless hours on zoom — and when not on zoom creating materials on loom. Add grieving the lost time with the children we care so much for and about and our own anxiety about how to do as much as we can and not put too much pressure on you is something we are all doing in isolation and in the dark. (Apologies for that horrific run on sentence.)
If you can connect with your child’s teacher and the lessons the best you can when you can, THIS is WHAT is important and matters. We are continuing to put connections over content — which is a bizarre and uncomfortable tension to negotiate. However, this is also what has made Georgetown exceptional. We know that no one can learn if they do not feel cared for and about and safe.
We will continue to post lessons — and these lessons will stay up through the summer. If you can’t get to everything now, go back in the summer months. If your child needs more, pursue the endless options found online. Many companies have made learning enrichment free during this global pandemic.
I sense that you, like me, are searching for good news to read/share. One that I HIGHLY recommend is John Krasinski’s SGN (Some Good News). It’s wonderful.
Some other fun VERY LOCAL GOOD news are from our very own Georgetown kids! I get lost in flipgrid hearing their voices and seeing their faces. Every submission is an injection of love and energy for my soul!
Check out these flipgrids for PE, MUSIC, MASKS, JOKES and more.
Our next early release is on May 21. We will be dismissing at 12:15 on May 21. 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.
overwhelmed. To be fully transparent and vulnerable with you, we are also overwhelmed.
