NEW GRONINGEN NEWS
February 16, 2024
Happy Friday, NG!
MARK YOUR CALENDARS
2023/2024 Important Dates At-a-Glance
Teriyaki Madness Restaurant Night: Feb. 20, 4pm-9pm
NG vs. ZCS Unified Basketball Game @ 10:30am: Feb. 21
Chocolate Bar Money DUE: Feb. 22
Early Release, 12pm & Staff PLC: Feb. 23
NG CARNIVAL: Feb. 23, 5:00pm-8pm
5th Grade Student Visit to Creekside: Feb. 28, 9:15a-11a
Early Release (ECC, Y5-5th only): Feb. 29 & Mar. 1
National School Social Worker Week: Mar. 4-8
5th grade Student Visit to Cityside: Mar. 6, 12:30p-2p
NGFA General Meeting, 1pm: Mar. 7
Popcorn Friday: Mar. 15
Applebees Restaurant Night: Mar. 19, 4pm-9pm
Early Release (all levels)/Staff PLC: Mar. 22
4th Grade trip to Lansing: Mar. 27
Spring Break: Mar. 29-April 5
Don't Miss Out! ZKIDS Summer Camp and 24/25 REGISTRATION opening SOON!
ZKids Summer Camp Registration will take place Feb 1 online
ZKids 24/25 B & A School Registration will take place March 14 online
Families can contact me via email ckraker@zps.org or phone 616 748-4711. Information will be on the ZKids website as well. This will contain the registration link too.
Anchored in Excellence STARS
Each week our learners are earning tickets for showing excellent understanding of our expectations at New Groningen. They show us by following expectation in the hallway, bathrooms, classrooms, specials classes, on the playground, etc.. They earn individual tickets from ANY adult in the building, place them in a "ticket" tub in their classroom and each week those tickets are turned into the office. We draw a ticket from each class to come down to pick out a prize and have their picture taken! Students can be drawn multiple times in a year, we had three students this week who have been AiE STARS in past weeks! The more tickets you earn, weekly (students are not to keep them week to week), the better chances of having your name drawn!
Congratulations to the following AiE STARS!
Young 5's - 2nd Grade STARS
Young 5's and Kindergarten
Freya
Addison
Jabin
Amelia
1st Grade
Raylin
Crew
Makayla
Aaron
2nd Grade
Kelsey
Anna
Ani R
Ahava
3rd - 5th Grade STARS
3rd Grade
Livia
Brayden
Aiden
Audrey
4th Grade
Jaden
Sadie
Mason
Sylvie
5th Grade
Makenzie
Aria
Genavicia
Anna
Unified Basketball Practice!
Our students continue to have a blast getting ready for their first Unified Basketball game on Wednesday, Feb. 21 at 10:30am, hosted by New Groningen!
New Groningen Family Association
The NGFA is proud to help support our school, many fun activities, field trips and events for New Groningen Elementary free of charge for our families. We hold many meetings throughout the year that will be announced in the upcoming weeks, have many fun events and activities planned, fundraisers and there will be many volunteer opportunities as well.
General Meetings
March 7 @ 1:00pm
You can join our Facebook group “New Groningen Family Association - NGFA” to stay up to date with NG happenings.
If you have questions throughout the year you can contact us at ngfainfo@gmail.com.
Martha Menerick, President
Nicole Orazem, VP
Amy Nash, Treasurer
Kristin Hunderman, Secretary
Leslie Rindfliesch, NG Principal
New Groningen Carnival Information!
Looking to volunteer at our CARNIVAL? We would LOVE to have your help make this a GREAT night for all of our kids! Please see the information on how you can help below!
CARNIVAL VOLUNTEERS
In order to make this fun night happen it takes lots of volunteers. Please consider helping run game shift, help with food, set up or clean up for carnival on February 23th. It could be grandma's, grandpa's, middle school or high school siblings, etc.
VOLUNTEER Link: https://www.signupgenius.com/.../10C0B4CA5AF2DA7F4C70...
CARNIVAL DONATIONS
In order to run our carnival we are need of many donations such as bottled water, juice boxes, pop and especially items for our cake walk.
Donation items are DUE Friday, February 16th. If you have homemade items for the cake walk those items are DUE by noon Thursday, February 22nd.
DONATIONS Link: https://www.signupgenius.com/.../10C0B4CA5AF2DA7F4C70...
If you have any questions please email ngfainfo@gmail.com
All the Little Things our NG Staff Loves!
Ever wondering how to treat your child's teacher for going above & beyond, for being awesome, for working hard or just because? No worries! Please check out our All the Little Things I LOVE document! (while we all love a little surprise, treats and gifts are not mandatory)
MISCELLANEOUS
5th Grade Parent Information Night @ Creekside
Come on out to hear more about Creekside on March 7! There will be two identical sessions offered for parents (5:30pm & 6:30pm, both in the gymnasium)! This meeting will be for our english and spanish immersion 5th grade families!
5th Grade Parent Night @ Cityside
For those NG 5th grade families interested in Cityside for middle school, please join us for our information night on April 15 at 6pm.
Don't Miss Out on the Zeeland Recreation February & March Offerings!
Zeeland Rec has a handful of upcoming programs that you don't want to miss! Below are some highlights. Visit THEIR WEBSITE to view more details and to register!
Total Trek Quest Information & Coaches Needed!
Please let Mrs. Boeve know what questions you might have at lboeve@zps.org
FOOD SERVICE Information
COMMUNICATION
School-wide: Mrs. Rindfliesch will send New Groningen News to all families via email on Fridays (sometimes earlier depending on holiday breaks)!
Classroom: Each classroom has their own classroom communication site or newsletter and that will be communicated to each family by your child's teacher!
District-wide: ZPS sends emails in the form of Z For Me, uses Facebook (ZPS: Learning for Life), Instagram and Twitter. In addition, you can opt into our district-wide School Messenger, which delivers a text message to your phone to notify you of school closings, safety alerts and more! All you need to do is TEXT "Y" to 67587 to opt in (see flyer below for more information).
Other NG Resources:
- Facebook: You can also find information from the NG Family Association on our NGFA Facebook page located at New Groningen Family Association - NFGA if you search for us on Facebook. This is ONLY a place parent engagement and sharing. This is NOT where we store information or publish information that must get to parents.
SAFETY/SECURITY/VOLUNTEERING
Safety: The safety of all of the kids is our number one priority. If you need to come for any reason, you MUST at all times have a sticker from the volunteer computer that permits you into the building. You may NOT just come in (this includes just dropping your child off to their classroom). We really enjoy our parents being so involved and want to schedule those needs, but we also have to follow the safety procedures that are put in place district wide. All volunteer opportunities will be set up with the classroom teacher or NG staff. If you are hoping to observe your student or be with them at any point of their day, teachers need 24 hours notice. PLEASE be sure to enter the office, sign in using the volunteer computer system, put your name identification on your shirt (clearly visible) and then you can head down to fulfill your volunteer duties. If you do not have your identification clearly visible you will be stopped and asked to return to the office. Remember, this is not to make it hard for you, as the parent, to help in the classroom or visit/drop your child off, but to keep all of the kids in the building safe!
Volunteering: Be prepared to re-submit or submit your information for a background check in August by going to the following website: https://v2ms.zps.org/Login.aspx or stopping in the office and resubmitting your fingerprints and information through our volunteer computer in the main office.
At any time in the building, you do not have a visible green name tag on your clothes, you will be stopped and asked to return to the office. If your name tag is yellow, it indicates that your background check has not been fulfilled yet and you will be asked to return to the office. If your name tag is red, you are NOT permitted into the building past the main office (but please know that if you receive a letter in the mail from our Volunteer and Background Coordinator, you may appeal your denial through a letter format, and that is good for the remainder of your children’s schooling in Zeeland). This is for the safety of all of our kids. We are not trying to make entrance difficult, however it is our number one priority to make sure that all of our students are safe from the time they enter our building until they leave our building. We do everything in our power to make sure their education is the best!
Personal Technology Devices
Personal Devices: Many kids, especially our upper elementary students are carrying cell phones and we can appreciate the convenience of having a phone. While in school, all phones are kept turned off and in backpacks during the school day. Our classrooms and main office have a phone that can be used for students in case of an emergency or illness. It becomes extremely hard to keep track of kids’ needs when they are making calls at their lockers or in the bathroom when they don't feel well. Teachers often don’t know that a student may have called not feeling well and our secretaries aren’t sure when parents call back wondering why their child called them; leaving our staff in situations that are tricky to figure out. If students are using their personal device during school, it will be taken and parents can pick them up in the main office at their convenience. There may be instances that a teacher allows students to use their own device, however this is very rare.
FORMS & LINKS
Media Center & Classroom Library
In ZPS, we believe that reading is foundational to the success of our students. Throughout each week, students are provided with opportunities to read independently. Classroom teachers and library staff work hard to provide high-quality, engaging, and relevant texts for students. We respect each parent’s right to provide input on what books would be appropriate for their own child. For more information on this topic, please read this letter to the community.
Medical Forms
If your child will need ANY medications given to them during the school year, the correct MEDICAL FORM must be FILLED OUT AND SIGNED by your child's doctor BEFORE we can begin to give meds. Please contact Mrs. Boeve (lboeve@zps.org) or Mrs. Keeler(ckeeler@zps.org) in the main office a week or so prior to the start of school for the forms.