November Newsletter
Calendar
November 1: Early Release Day
November 3: NO SCHOOL All Students
November 8: Early Release Day
November 13: Mobile Food Pantry - Time: 4:30 PM to 5:15 PM at Holland High School, 600 Van Raalte Ave,
November 15: Early Release Day
November 16: OCSN at Power H Shop - 4:30 PM to 6:00 PM at Maplewood Elementary (925 Central Ave, Holland, MI 49423)
November 17: Grades TK-5 First Trimester Ends
November 22-24: No School | Thanksgiving Break
November 28: HPS Family/Parent Night: 5:30 PM to 6:30 PM at Jefferson School 282 W 30th St - the focus of this Parent night will be Behavior Partnership- Home and School Behavior focus OCSN Child Advocacy Center Quick Tips Anxiety, anger, strong emotions, strong emotions Behavior Teams-break out groups
November 29: Early Release Day
December 6: Early Release Day
December 13: Early Release Day
December 20: Early Release Day
December 22: HALF DAY for ALL Students
December 23-January 7: No School | Holiday Break
Follow West on Facebook and for more information go to Holland Public Schools Main Page
POWER Expectations
At West, our behavior expectations are described in the matrix P-O-W-E-R. Our staff has been teaching what POWER stands for so that every student can memorize, recite, and demonstrate positive behavior.
Here’s what POWER stands for:
P-Pride | We care about self, others, work
O-Own Your Actions | We are responsible and honest
W- Wise Choices | We think before acting
E- Engaged | We are focused and involved in learning
R-Respect | Be Nice
We believe it is important for each parent to be aware of these expectations so you can support our efforts at home.
Principals Corner
Hello West Families,
Happy Fall and thanks to all that came to the West Reading Spooktakular! It was so great to see all the costumes and smiles. The holiday’s are right around the corner and the weather is getting colder. Please send your student to school with the appropriate cold weather gear. Let us know if you are struggling to find the necessary clothing and we can help you out. We recently had our first club Friday at West and it was a huge success. Each student was able to attend a 30 minute club of their choice with student’s from multiple grade levels. There were 23 different clubs that were led by West staff members. Our goal is to have two club Friday’s per month! The fun times and personal connections made outside of the normal classroom were incredible to see as we continue to build on the outstanding climate and culture of the school.
Reminder: No School for students on Friday, November 3.
I value the family and school partnership and the impact that it has on each student's education! Please reach out to me if you have any needs or concerns pertaining to your students' experience at West.
Yours in Education,
Chad Tolson
Our first Club day!
In response to our Student Climate Survey and due to a very generous grant from the Holland Education Foundation, West Elementary has created interest based multi-age clubs. Teachers and students have chosen clubs that represent their interests and personalities. Examples of clubs include healthy cooking, rock painting, mixed sports, ASL, crocheting, random acts of kindness and many others. This is a great opportunity for teachers and students alike to form relationships across grade levels and to improve our sense of community here at West. Ask your child how their first day in clubs went!
STEM
3rd grade families: Thanksgiving is right around the corner, and the 3rd-grade classes will be making floats for the 2nd annual Macy's Day "Balloons over Broadway Parade" through the halls of WEST. If you have any shoe boxes or boxes that could used for a float, please send them in. Any extras would be appreciated. Please send by before November 13. We do not have a ton of storage, so please do not send in big boxes, shoe boxes or smaller ones are perfect. I will send home a more detailed list with your child in the next few weeks.
Thanks in advance!
Mrs. Johns
ART
West Families,
In Art, we will be working on a whole school project making a giant found object color wheel.
We will be collecting small found objects no bigger than a fist or a hand such as small broken toys, plastic items or other items with the colors: red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple. I will send a note home with students in the next week.
If anyone finds any donations towards this project send them to Art. If you have any questions please e-mail me:
jjacobus@hollandpublicschools.org
Thanks! Mrs. Jacobusse-Art Teacher
OCSN Updates
November Attendance Incentive - Our next attendance incentive month is here! For the month of November we will be looking at best class attendance rate. The winning class will be getting a visit from the community action house with a fun food related activity.
Feeding America & Ottawa Community School Network Mobile Food Pantry
Date: Nov 13
Time: 4:30 PM to 5:15 PM
Location: Holland High School, 600 Van Raalte Ave, Holland, MI 49423 Parking Lot 1 (Behind building - use 24th street)
Food for those in need.
* Drive-thru service only * No ID Needed
Building Healthy Communities Grant
Great news! This year, our school district was selected to participate in the Building Healthy Communities program, an initiative that is helping us make our school a healthier place! Creating a healthy school for our students is important because we know that healthy students are better learners. Please see the BHC family website for more information.
Power H Shop
Household & Hygiene items for families experiencing financial crisis.
Date: Nov 16
Time: 4:30 PM to 6:00 PM
News from PTO
We are grateful for all the volunteers who helped us pull off the book fair, conference lunch and popcorn Friday in October! We couldn’t do it without all the wonderful support.
Here are the latest updates:
Annual Holiday Drive - This year we are giving back to TWO fantastic organizations - Community Action House and Resilience: Advocates for Ending Violence. Food donations for CAH and personal care items for Resilience will be accepted after Thanksgiving break through Friday 12/8. Look for flyers in backpacks soon.
Spirit Wear - If you missed out, we have good news! Our Spirit Wear store will reopen November 24 and run through December 10. Orders will be sent home before break.
We are still finalizing details for December’s Holiday Workshop and January’s Winter Carnival. To join us in volunteering, planning or fundraising, please email HollandWestPTO@gmail.com for opportunities.
If you’re holiday shopping, we have partnered with Minted and Mabel’s Labels for deals that give back to HPS PTO. Go to www.minted.com and enter “fundraiseholland” for 20% off customized cards, gifts and more! Or visit campaigns.mabelslabels.com and enter “holland public schools pto” to shop.
To get involved, please fill out our form to sign up for emails. As always, we are accepting staff lounge snacks/beverages in the red bin in the office.
Thank you!
West PTO
PBIS Update - Our referrals per day in the month of October have greatly decreased from September.
Housekeeping Items
Lost and found items will be donated Thanksgiving week. Please have your child check the lost and found items by the office.