North Godwin News
Week of February 5, 2024
Steve Minard, Principal
Kristi Bast, Secretary
Telephone (616) 252-2010 and Fax (616) 252-2011
Spring is Coming Early!
On Friday, February 2, 2024, Punxsutawney Phil did not see his shadow in front of thousands of spectators Friday morning at Gobbler's Knob in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, part of the annual Groundhog Day tradition celebrated in the U.S. and Canada. That means, according to the legend, we're in for an early spring.
This marks the first time since 2020 that Phil predicted an early spring, and the 21st time since records were kept.
It's official: spring is right around the corner!
FREE LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES FOR OUR PARENTS!
Parents and Guardians,
Click on the links below to learn more about FREE educational opportunities for our parents. Parenting classes, health and wellness, and English classes!
School Safety Flag Girls are Making Betsy Ross Proud!
Our 5th Grade School Safety Team members are assigned various jobs throughout our elementary school. Each year, two safety members are assigned the task of caring for and displaying our United States of America flag.
This year, come rain, snow, sun, sleet, or shine, Karis Davis (Mrs. Lossing's classroom) and Violeta Vasquez Hernandez (Mrs. Whelan's classroom) have been faithfully performing this special duty. Mrs. Bast, our school secretary, lovingly refers to them as "Betsy" and "Ross" in honor of Betsy Ross, American seamstress born in 1752 who, according to family stories, fashioned and helped design the first flag of the United States.
Karis and Violeta are responsible for raising the flag each morning, which requires them to keep on top of the weather in understanding proper care for the flag. The flag should not be subject to weather damage, so it should not be displayed during rain, snow and wind storms unless it is an all-weather flag. It should be displayed often, but especially on national and state holidays and special occasions. They are also responsible for flying the flag at half mast when our state governor or country's president call for this special honor. At the end of the school day, they are responsible for lowering the flag, taking it off the flagpole, and properly folding it to put it away for the night.
Thank you, Karis ("Betsy") and Violeta ("Ross")! We appreciate all of your hard work, daily smiles and preservation of our school flag!
February is Black History Month!
During the month of February our students will be celebrating Black History Month with special lessons and reminders about the impact and contributions that Blacks have made in our country and around the globe.
Black History Month is an annual celebration of achievements by African Americans and a time for recognizing their central role in U.S. history. Also known as African American History Month, the event grew out of “Negro History Week,” the brainchild of noted historian Carter G. Woodson and other prominent African Americans. Since 1976, every U.S. president has officially designated the month of February as Black History Month. Other countries around the world, including Canada and the United Kingdom, also devote a month to celebrating Black history.
Mid-Winter Break is Coming Up!
Our staff and students will enjoy a short mid-winter break soon!
Wednesday, February 21, 2024
HALF DAY of school for all students (no TEAM 21) with parent pick-up beginning at 11:30 AM. Buses depart and the final bell rings at 11:45 AM.
Thursday, February 22, 2024
NO SCHOOL
Friday, February 23, 2024
NO SCHOOL
Classes resume as normal on Monday, February 26, 2024!
A Parent's Guide to Keeping Kids Home From School
Parents and Guardians,
When your child is sick, it’s important to know when they should stay home from school. If they have a contagious virus or disease, keep them home. This will help them get better faster and keep their teachers and classmates from getting sick.
Talk to your child’s doctor or health care provider if you are unsure if they should stay home from school. As a general rule, your child should not go to school if they have:
- A fever over 100.4° Fahrenheit (F) or 38° Celsius (C) – Your child can return to school after they’ve been fever-free for 24 hours without antipyretics. Antipyretics are medicines that treat or prevent fever.
- Signs they are weak and tired. This is common with the flu.
- Diarrhea – Having loose poop (stool) more often that isn’t caused by a change in diet.
- Throwing up (vomiting) – More than 2 times in a 24-hour period.
- Coughing that disrupts normal activity.
- Wheezing or get short of breath.
- Pain from earache, headache, sore throat, or recent injury.
- Yellow or green drainage from the eye(s).
- A new rash – Not all rashes mean your child must stay home from school. Check with their doctor or health care provider.
If your child has a fever, they must stay home from school until they have been FEVER-FREE for 24 hours WITHOUT medication! Thank you!
FEEDING AMERICA MOBILE FOOD PANTRIES
One in every 9 people. At least 261,000 people in West Michigan and the Upper Peninsula are food insecure—meaning they don't have consistent access to enough food for an active, healthy life. Food insecurity exists for a variety of reasons, and anyone can experience a bout of it. Feeding America West Michigan, believes hunger is unacceptable and that their community has the power to change lives—one meal at a time. That’s why they've assembled a network of partners that they work alongside on their mission to relieve hunger and increase food security in West Michigan and the Upper Peninsula.
Our Godwin Heights Feeding America truck distributions will now be every month on TUESDAYS! Same time, same place, 4:00 pm in front of the high school, just one day later each month. Here is the schedule for the rest of the year:
Wednesday, February 7, 2024
Wednesday, March 13, 2024
Wednesday, April 10, 2024
Wednesday, May 8, 2024
Wednesday, June 12, 2024
Wednesday, July 10, 2024
Wednesday, August 7, 2024
Wednesday, September 11, 2024
Wednesday, October 9, 2024
Wednesday, November 13, 2024
Wednesday, December 11, 2024
If you have your own bags, please bring them!
Mark Your Calendars for Thursday, February 29, 2024 -- Family Reading Night at North Godwin!
Parents and Guardians,
Please mark your calendars for Thursday, February 29, 2024. North Godwin will hold our annual Family Reading Night that evening. This will kick off the upcoming national March is Reading Month. More details will follow and we hope that you can join us!
Godwin Heights Public Schools Health and Wellness Committee Meetings
Parents and Guardians --
School community stakeholders (parents and community members) are welcomed to participate in the wellness policy process at Godwin Heights. The upcoming meetings are posted above. Please join us!
WIDA Testing Begins on February 5, 2024 for our ELL/MLL Students!
In an effort to provide quality education to English language learning students, the World-Class Instructional Design & Assessment (WIDA) consortium has developed 5 English Language Development (ELD) Standards to help students understand English in both a social and academic context. The annual WIDA test is designed to help measure the academic progress of English language learners. Students identified as English learners (ELs) are assessed annually to measure their English language proficiency and determine eligibility for English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) services.
Testing at North Godwin begins on February 5, 2024 and will last for approximately 3-4 full weeks. Teachers will be notified regarding what days that their ELL/MLL students will be tested. It is important that our students get a good night's sleep the night before their tests so that they perform at their best level. Parents, thank you for supporting our students on this important test!
If you have further questions about WIDS testing, please call our school office at 616-252-2010, or email our ELL/MLL Teacher, Mrs. Mindy Lange at: lange@godwinschools.org
Godwin Heights 2023-2024 School Year Calendar
February 14 ~ Early Release @ 1:45 PM (State of Michigan Student Count Day)
February 21 ~ 1/2 day of school -- Dismissal at 11:45 AM for MID-WINTER BREAK
February 22 ~ No School MID WINTER BREAK
February 23 ~ No School MID WINTER BREAK
March 6 ~ Early Release @ 1:45 PM
March 20 ~ Early Release @ 1:45 PM
March 27 ~ Early Release @ 1:45 PM -- P/T Conferences
March 28 ~ 1/2 day of school -- Dismissal at 11:45 AM -- P/T Conferences
March 29 ~ No School SPRING BREAK
April 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5 ~ No School SPRING BREAK
April 17 ~ Early Release @ 1:45 PM
May 1 ~ Early Release @ 1:45 PM
May 22 ~ Early Release @ 1:45 PM
May 24 ~ 1/2 day of school -- Dismissal at 11:45 AM MEMORIAL WEEKEND
May 27 ~ No School -- MEMORIAL DAY
May 31 ~ 1/2 DAY OF SCHOOL -- DISMISSAL AT 11:45 AM -- LAST DAY OF SCHOOL
Click below!
STRIVE FOR LESS THAN 5 DAYS ABSENT!
The data for students who are chronically absent is clear: Students who miss more than 10 percent of school time, just two days a month, are far less likely to be proficient than their peers who regularly attend school.
Across Kent ISD, approximately 13 percent of students are chronically absent. Like the national studies, the prevalence of chronic absenteeism varies widely from school building to building and district to district but, in virtually every instance, it is greater in buildings and communities serving the economically disadvantaged.
The effects of chronic absenteeism are profound. Kent ISD researcher Sunil Joy found these students are much less likely to become proficient in math or reading. Just one in four are likely to be proficient in math at eighth grade. Worse, low-income students who are chronically absent have just a 10 percent chance of being proficient. Even more startling is the effect on African-American students, with just 3 percent likely to be proficient if they are chronically absent.
While truancy is well known and understood, chronic absenteeism is less familiar, as most absences are excused by parents and, until recently, were rarely challenged by educators. That began to change approximately a decade ago through the work of education researcher Hedy Chang, who is now the executive director of Attendance Works, a national nonprofit seeking to help schools and communities combat chronic absenteeism.
Chang’s research led to the publication in 2008 of “Present, Engaged and Accounted For: The Critical Importance of Addressing Chronic Absence in the Early Grades.” This report revealed that one in 10 kindergarten and first-grade students nationwide miss nearly a month of school each year. In some cities, the rate is as high as one in four elementary students. Research across Kent ISD reveals just 40 percent of chronically absent children in kindergarten through second-grade are proficient on third-grade reading tests.
Our district is working hard to get at this problem. The value of the Strive for Less Than 5 campaign is its uniform message to all children, families and community partners. Attendance is important, and parents and their children should strive for fewer than five absences a year.
Attendance Policy
The normal attendance expectations for any given child in the Kent County Intermediate School District are as follows:
> that a child miss not more than 10 days of Excused Absences for the entire school year,
> that a child have no Unexcused Absences for the entire school year
> that a child have not more than 5 Tardies combined with Leave Early check-outs per semester.
> that a child have no Suspensions for the entire school year.
Godwin Heights Public Schools are held by law to report tardies and absences in excess of the guidelines listed above to the Kent Intermediate School District Office of Truancy and School Attendance-State Law Enforcement Division.
The primary rationale for positive attendance is the strong relationship between student attendance and student achievement. Chronic student absences reduces even the best teacher's ability to provide learning opportunities. Students who attend school regularly have been shown to achieve at higher levels than students who do not have regular attendance. This relationship between attendance and achievement may appear early in a child's school career. A recent study looking at young children found that absenteeism in kindergarten was associated with negative first grade outcomes such as greater absenteeism in subsequent years and lower achievement in reading, math, and general knowledge.
Poor attendance has serious implications for later outcomes. High school dropouts have been found to exhibit a history of negative behaviors, including high levels of absenteeism throughout their childhood, at higher rates than high school graduates. These differences in absentee rates were observed as early as kindergarten, and students who eventually dropped out of high school missed significantly more days of school in elementary school than their peers who graduated from high school.
North Godwin Elementary
Email: bast@godwinschools.org
Website: www.godwinschools.org
Location: 161 34th Street Southwest, Wyoming, MI, USA
Phone: 616-252-2010
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NorthGodwin/