Sept. 27

Walk-a-thon Fun

DUNE STUDY FIELD TRIP - On Tuesday we will be traveling to Spring Lake to participate in a 2-mile dune hike to explore the changes to land over time.  This trip is hosted by the Ottawa County Parks & Recreation Commission.  They are asking a few things of us:

1. Make sure your child has a good breakfast before the field trip. We will expend a lot  of energy hiking outside on the trails and climbing the dune stairs. 

2. Be sure your child is dressed appropriately for the variable weather conditions found  at Lake Michigan. Conditions are often windy and cooler than nearby locations away  from the lake. Dressing in layers is best as children can peel off an outer layer if they  get warm or put one back on if they get cold.

3.  Pack a sack lunch with a drink. Also, pack a separate small backpack (like a sling bag) with a snack and water bottle - your child will carry this on the hike. The lunch will stay on the bus while we hike.

4. Children should wear long pants and closed-toed shoes. This way they can explore  without worrying about poison ivy, prickles, mosquitoes or stubbing their toes. They may want to apply sunscreen to their face and arms, depending on the forecast. Sunglasses or a hat may also be helpful - but only send them if they will be helpful😉.

5. Be prepared to climb 200+ steps up and down stairs.

THINK ENERGY: We just had our Think! Energy with SEMCO program and your student is bringing home a free energy efficiency kit to help you save energy and water unless you opted out. 
Please install the items you need and give things you cannot use to a friend or family member. 
Help us earn funds for classroom supplies by doing a short survey called the Home Energy Worksheet (HEW) used to improve the program. Please complete the HEW by (put your due date here) by returning the paper to me or completing it online at https://thinkenergy.org/semco/hew with my ID number: 295260.
There is a space on the HEW to provide your email address to be invited to do a 10-15 minute survey by the program's evaluator. This information is optional.
No kit? You can still benefit from the program if you opted out of taking a kit. There are many resources in the Family Activity Guide and on the program website at https://thinkenergy.org/semco. This includes installation videos and links to other ways to save energy and money.

Parent Teacher Conferences - Directions for Scheduling through Paragon:

1. Go to HC Virtual Paragon and enter the Access Password ‘gohc’ in all lowercase letters 
   If you have used Paragon to schedule conferences previously, click login and enter the account you created previously. If this is your first time using Paragon, click the “Create New User Name” button and create an account.
2. Once logged in, select "Making Reservations."
3. Select all of the teachers with whom you want conferences by clicking the box next to each teacher's name. Be sure you have the correct teacher in the correct building, since many of our teachers work in more than one building.
4. Scroll to the bottom and click “Continue.”
5. Reserve the times you want by clicking the box in the available time slots. The number of time slots you sign up for vary by grade level:
   
   1. High School & Middle School: 5 minute reservations for any teacher. You may use two 5 minute reservations (a 10 minute conference) for no more than one teacher.
   2. Elementary K-5th grade: 15 minute reservations with each teacher.
6. Click “SAVE/DONE” when you are finished making all of your reservations.
7. In the next window, associate each reservation with a specific student by clicking “Edit.”

You have now reserved your conferences! If you have difficulty, feel free to email us for help or call your school's office for assistance.

Grandparents Day Cookies! - If you would like to help out and provide some cookies for our amazing grandparents and grand friends. Please review the available slots and click on the button to sign up. Thank you!

Grandparents Day Invitation! If your child will not have a special visitor on Thursday morning, please let me know as soon as possible.  Thank you!

Grandparents/friends are invited to join us in our learning spaces and participate in worship with us! Please pass along the following invitation to your family’s special people: 

Sept. 20

Thank you for your continued support and prayers for our class as we yearn daily to let God be the guide in our classroom.  We truly feel his presence!

THINK! Energy: We are excited to welcome a guest teacher from the THINK! Energy program next week Tuesday.  She will be teaching us about wise energy use & conservation.  Part of the program is a kit of energy efficient items (shower head, pipe insulation, LED nightlight, faucet aerators, etc.) that each child receives for free.   If you DON'T want to receive this kit, please email me prior to Tuesday.  Most families are happy to have it, or they pass on any unwanted items to friends and relatives, but if you don't wish to get the kit at all, just let me know.  Thank you!

ORCHESTRA: Mr. Nester, our orchestra teacher, met with us today to introduce the idea of orchestra to the students.  Many of them are VERY excited!  A white note came home today with all the details. 

Homework (reading and math minutes) continues to be due on Mondays, and library books should come back on Mondays as well.  Word Work tests are always on Friday morning.

WALK-A-THON: This week Wednesday afternoon we will be taking buses over to the high school to participate in the Walk-a-thon.  Thank you so much for assisting your child in raising funds for this cause! We are looking forward to a fun-filled afternoon of celebration, grateful to all those who love us enough to donate!

Notes from the RP Office:

1. Save the date: Rose Park Fall Fest will be happening on THIS UPCOMING THURSDAY September 26th. 5:30-7pm, you can sign your family up HERE.

2. Holland Christian’s All School Walkathon will be taking place on Wednesday, September 25 during the afternoon of school. Thank you for your support in this endeavor. For those new or unfamiliar with our Walkathon, please read through a few FAQs here! 

3. Hearing and Vision Screenings:  The Ottawa County Health Department will be conducting annual Hearing and Vision Screenings on September 24th and 26th.  Grades Kindergarten, 2nd, and 4th will have a hearing screening and grades 1st, 3rd, and 5th will have a vision screening.  You may opt out of these screenings by informing the office in writing and include the following information: Name of student, date of screening, which screening to opt out of (hearing or vision), and parent signature.

4. Grandparents Day Cookies! - If you would like to help out and provide some cookies for our amazing grandparents and grand friends. Please review the available slots and click on the button to sign up. Thank you!

5. Grandparents Day Invitation! We’re ready to roll out the red carpet for some of our most treasured guests of the year! Grandparents/friends are invited to join us in our learning spaces and participate in worship with us. Please pass along the following invitation to your family’s special people: 

Here are some pictures from our week :) 

Studying the patterns in waves!

Some recess fun in the woods.

A while back I came across this helpful list of questions to ask your child after school when you want to get them talking, but all they say when you ask them how school was is "good."😉. I hope you find it helpful.

21 After-School Questions to Get Your Kids Talking

1. What’s one thing that really made you laugh today?

2. What was the most favorite part of your day?

3. What is one thing (subject, activity, etc.) you like/dislike about school? Tell me about that.

4. What do you like about _________ (i.e. your teacher, math, spelling, etc.)?

5. Share one thing you know now that you didn’t know when you woke up this morning.

6. Who did you play with the most at school today? What did you do together?

7. Who is someone you don’t like hanging out with? Why is that?

8. Who is someone at school (or a friend you know) who always seems to do the right thing? Tell me about him/her.

9. What is one thing you’re not looking forward to this week? How do you plan to make the most of it?

10. Is there a problem you faced today that you solved? How did you solve it?

11. When did you feel most proud of yourself today?

12. Did anyone push your buttons today? Tell me about that. How did you react/respond?

13. What is one thing you want God to help you with at school this week?

14. What would you like to talk about tonight?

15. Name one thing that happened today that you’re very thankful for.

16. Is there a friend or classmate you have trouble getting along with? How can you be a better friend?

17. Who is someone (a friend at school, a teacher, sibling, etc.) you saw act with humility today? What did they do?

18. What was the most difficult thing you had to deal with today? How did you get through it?

19. What, about school, makes you happy?

20. If you could change one thing about school, what it would be?

21. What is one thing we can do as a family after school, or on the weekend, that would brighten your day?

Sept. 16

Here's what's coming up this week in the academic world:

BIBLE - We have learned about Ehud, Deborah, and Samson in our unit on the Judges.  We have explored the cycle of sin that the Israelites found themselves in:  Sin -> Enemy -> Repent -> Deliverer -> Peace 
We will have a little Bible quiz on Thursday this week. You will see a little review sheet in their backpack and find the reminder in their planner.

WORD WORK - We will again get a new, individualized list on Monday, practice over the course of the week, and then test on Friday.

MATH - We are practicing becoming experts at multi-digit addition and subtraction.  All the math fact practice your child does at home GREATLY assists them in being successful with this skill.  Thank you for supporting your child with this!  Those will always be due on Mondays.

READING - We have finished all our beginning of the year assessments and are now settling into our routines.  We spend a bit of time having a mini-lesson on our skill for the day (currently we are working on building strong reading habits), followed by some individual reflection time, and then independent or small group reading.  

WRITING - We are beginning a unit on Realistic Fiction.  We are exploring some ideas for stories that we have in order to find one that we can create a masterpiece out of.

GRAMMAR - We are learning about how to make complete sentences that include both a subject and a predicate.

REMINDERS:  

1. Walk-a-thon pledge money is due Wednesday (the 18th)

2. Mile Run on Friday

2. Library Books on Mondays

ORCHESTRA - Mr. Nester, our orchestra teacher, will meet with us on Tuesday to introduce the idea of orchestra to the students.  Look for a note to come home with more information.

Gently used items for the office: It is nice to have a few items in the office if students ever end up dirty on the ranch, or accidentally were not prepared for the elements. We could use:  Adult S & M shorts, Adult S & M sweatpants, Youth shoes sizes 11, 12, or 1, Adult S & M sweatshirts/jackets/winter coat. Please drop off in the Rose Park Office.

Grandparents Day Cookies! - If you would like to help out and provide some cookies for our amazing grandparents and grand friends. Please review the available slots and click on the button to sign up. Thank you!

Grandparents Day Invitation! We’re ready to roll out the red carpet for some of our most treasured guests of the year! Grandparents/friends are invited to join us in our learning spaces and participate in worship with us. Please pass along the following invitation to your family’s special people:

Sept. 7

We spent some time on Wednesday afternoon with our kindergarten buddies! 

We read a book together and made some apples together. I love seeing these kiddos lead and care for their buddies.

Barn Chores: Accomplished

A couple notes for this coming week:
1.  Reading minutes (pink long skinny paper), math minutes (yellow long skinny paper), and the Mad Minute fact test are all due on Monday.  A new set will also come home on Monday for the following week.  Remember, instructions for how to administer the fact test are on the back of the paper.  (Please notice #3 - draw a line after the last problem completed before the 2 minutes was up, then finish the rest of the paper, untimed.)

2.  Word Work - I've finished assessing students current spelling abilities and have chosen word work lists (also known as "spelling words") tailored to their individual needs.  Those will come home on Monday, and the test will take place at school on Friday.  The students will practice in school during the week, but some students also need additional practice at home prior to the test.  Please check with your child before Friday to see how they are doing with their words.  Thank you!

3.  Just a reminder to check your child's planner  (and then help them remember to return those to their back pack for the next day).  With your child, go over the things in their planner that they are supposed to remember for the next day, and also take some time to look over the papers they bring home in their take home folder (on Mondays and Fridays).  It gives you a great opportunity to (1)praise them for their hard work, (2)help them with skills that were tricky for them, and (3)it lets them know that you value their work at school.  

4. School Pictures - We are scheduled for pictures on Thursday, the 12th at 9:45am.  Please make sure to send in the picture order envelope by Thursday. Remember to order a yearbook so your child can participate in the fun of getting autographs when they arrive at school in May☺️!

5.  Library - Today your child took home their first few choices from our school library.  Those books will be due back next week on Friday again in order to get new books.  If your child needs to renew a book, that can be done as well until they have had sufficient time to finish it.

6.  MAP test - The students have been troopers tolerating all the beginning of the year assessing that has to happen for appropriate teaching to take place this year.  This coming week we just have one portion of the MAP standardized test to complete (Language) as well as the Delta Math Screener.  At this point, it looks like we will try to get those done on Tuesday and Wednesday.  There's nothing you need to do at home for this, but if possible, try to avoid pulling your child out from school on those days.  Thanks so much!

7.  Walk-a-thon pledges are due Wednesday the 18th!

NOTES FROM THE OFFICE:

Save the date: Rose Park Fall Fest will be happening on Thursday, September 26th. 5:30-7pm, you can sign your family up HERE.

Maroon and White Day: To celebrate Holland Christian Homecoming  we will have Maroon & White Day on Friday September 13th! If you would like to attend the Homecoming Celebration please visit our website here, and sign up for a ticket if you would like to join the fun!

Help Wanted: Rose Park is seeking a nurturing and caring part-time aide for our After School Care program. Our after school program runs from 3-5:30 Monday - Friday and we would love to have you join our team. 18+ years of age. Interested applicants should apply here for this position. If you have questions, feel free to reach out to Laura Rotman at lrotman@hollandchristian.org.