Fifth Grade: Tutoring will begin at the start of the second semester (January) and will be invitation based. Your child’s teacher and the building academic specialist/counselor will work together to determine if they are eligible for tutoring and invitations will be shared at that time.

Sixth Grade Tutoring Sign-up Link

We are looking forward to offering tutoring to our sixth grade students this year. Tutoring will look a little different as it is open to all students that would like help with organization and homework help. Tutoring will take place Tuesday mornings from 7:10 - 7:40 a.m. and Thursday afternoons from 2:55 - 3:25. This is drop-in tutoring meaning that students can come when they need additional support; they are not required to attend every session. Parents/guardians will need to sign their student up every Monday for the tutoring sessions being offered that week. Transportation will not be provided for students participating in before school and after school tutoring this year. Room location will be communicated soon! Tutoring will run up to spring break.To secure a spot, please fill out this google form by 3:00 on Mondays. Students will need to bring their homework with them to the session.

We are excited to announce an opportunity for Early Release Friday candy sales from our 5th grade LINKS! We will be selling candy canes starting today and going until next week Thursday, December 12th. Candy canes will be 2 candy canes for $1 (must purchase 2, limit of 2/student). Money and orders are due to homeroom teachers by Thursday, December 12th. Candy cane proceeds will go towards Unified Sports and LINKS programs. Candy cane orders will be passed out Friday, December 13th. Thank you for your support with 56G Unified Sports and Links!

Holiday Gifts from Artsonia are available! The holidays are approaching! Artsonia keepsakes with your child’s artwork imprinted make wonderful gifts for loved ones.

Popular gift options include:

Cards, Ornaments, Mugs, T-Shirts, Magnets, Jewelry

Holiday shipping deadlines are December 15th for standard delivery service and December 20th for Express delivery service.

Contact info@artsonia.com or (800) 869-9974 with any questions. Here is a link to the 56G Artsonia page!

Thank you!

Mrs. Seitz, Art Teacher, jseitz@hpseagles.net

All 5th grade students will be going to Fair Haven Church for rehearsal on Dec. 11 in the morning. Please try to avoid appointments that morning! Students should not be dropped off or picked up from Fair Haven during this time.

The doors will open at 6:45pm for Families!

Open House:

Tuesday, February 4, 2025, 6:30-7:30 p.m.

Early Childhood Center, 5535 School Ave. (main entrance off Madison Ave.)

This is a chance to gather information about our programs, meet staff, and visit the Early Childhood Center. There is no formal presentation and children are welcome.

Programs:

• 3 Year Old Preschool

• 4 Year Old Preschool, including 4 Year Old “PreK for All” FREE Preschool

• Before/After School Care

• Summer Care

Online Registration:

Wednesday, February 5, 2025, at 12:00 p.m.

Registration link at hudsonvillepublicschools.org under “Schools/Early Childhood Center”

A $50 fee per child is due if enrolling in a tuition-based program.

For more information, please email eccoffice@hpseagles.net or call the Early Childhood office at 616-797-0842, ext. 1.

Individuals and families associated with the HPS District are invited to take advantage of the Timber Ridge Discount Card for ages 6 and up through the Hudsonville Ski and Board Club. Individuals may use the discount cards daily. See details below. Deadline: Wednesday, December 18.

Why purchase the cards for yourself or your family?
*Significantly Discounted Lift Tickets & Rental Equipment.

*MS and HS students can travel by bus to Timber Ridge on selected days (Cost - $20 - includes at least 3 trips)
*Two reduced price Ski or Snowboard Lessons. (Amazing Learning Experience) for students ages 7 and up. Discounted Cost $10 per lesson. Contact the Timber Ridge Snow Sports School for scheduling and rates for other available lesson possibilities at (269) 694-9449 ext. 122.

Middle School and High School Students may also choose Bus Trips. At least 3 times during the year the MS and HS Students have a chance to ride the bus to Timber Ridge on Monday evenings. Cost is $20 total for the bus including all 3 dates. Bus leaves from the High School at 4:30 pm and arrives back at the High School at 10:00 pm. Middle and High School Students only!
Dates:
January 13
January 27

February 3

On these Mondays, Timber Ridge offers 2 beginner lessons for those interested. Discounted Cost $10 per lesson. Contact the Timber Ridge Snow Sports School for scheduling and rates for other available lesson possibilities at (269) 694-9449 ext. 122.

Student Discount Club Card: Cost - $40 Valid All Day Any day, Timber Ridge is closed on Christmas
$26 All Area Lift Ticket
$26 Equipment Rental.

Adult Discount Club Card: Cost - $40

Valid Mon-Fri (non-holiday, Saturday and Sunday at the $31 rate)
$26 All Area Lift Ticket
$26 Equipment Rental.

For Saturday, Sunday and Holidays
$31 Lift Ticket
$26 Equipment Rental.

You can make a lift ticket and rental payment at the Timber Ridge ticket offices when you arrive.
Visit the Timber Ridge site for normal rate info:

https://www.timberridgeski.com/

Click - to Fill Out The Form and purchase your Card(s)

Baldwin Street Middle School questions email - Bruce Kunzi bkunzi@hpseagles.net

*Bruce would also be the Northside Elementary School contact. (Alward, Bauer, Park, Georgetown, Georgetown 5th/6th)

Riley Street Middle School questions email - Roger Zuidema rzuidema@hpseagles.net

*Roger would also be the Southside Elementary School contact. (South, Jamestown, Forest Grove)

High School questions email Jason Glanville -JGlanvil@hpseagles.net

Girls on the Run has fun, evidence-based programs that inspire participants of all abilities to recognize their inner strength, increase their level of physical activity, imagine their possibilities, and gain confidence.

For 5th-6th Grade Girls
Two days a week after school for 10 weeks

3:00pm - 4:30pm - Tuesday/Thursday at the 5/6 Building at Georgetown

Starts: Week of March 10, 2025
Ends: Celebration 5K is May 31, 2025

Registration is open December 1, 2024 - December 12, 2024

Late Registration: December 16th Registration

Fee: $130

Scholarships Available

Go to www.gotrwm.org for more information and to register on December 1, 2024.

Coaches Needed! Visit www.gotrwm.org/coach for more info and to get involved! Coaches receive a discount on participant registration. Email site liaison, Janessa Smit, for more information or questions.

Each Tuesday beginning on January 21st we will be hosting both a Young Athletes Program session as well as a Developmental Sports Program session. Both sessions will be held in our Auxiliary Gym with Young Athletes running from 5:30-6:15pm and Developmental Sports from 6:15-7:00pm. We would love to make these sessions full, so please promote these offerings to your students and families. There is also an opportunity to join a Youth Special Olympics basketball team. Registration links can both be found below.

Some information on each program:

Young Athletes: The Young Athletes Program is a play-based motor-skills program designed for our youngest of athletes ages 2-7. Through the program athletes will be introduced to the basics of sports and start to build their gross motor skills for future sports participation. Young Athletes also helps to build cognitive and social skills and allows athletes to see the possibilities in their athletic careers.

Young Athletes Registration: https://forms.gle/qmyBa8w3oJVL5xff8

Developmental Sports: Special Olympics Developmental Sports is a program designed to teach athletes ages 8-12 years, both with and without intellectual disabilities, how to participate in a team sport. Through the program athletes will be introduced to the basics of team sports play and start to develop the skills and knowledge necessary to play as a team. Sports offerings will vary each week, with each week of the program focusing on a different team sport. Sports will be repeated multiple times throughout the session to help develop and strengthen skills.

Developmental Sports Registration: https://forms.gle/JNuwa8zMnkfudojF7

Special Olympics Youth Basketball Team: One more opportunity we will have is our local Area 11 has a youth basketball team & they are looking for more members for their team. This opportunity is open to children ages 8-12 with intellectual disabilities. Practices take place every Saturday morning Mid-December through February! They practice at the Unified Sports and Inclusion Center and would love to have more players to offer multiple teams and run true games.

If you know of anyone interested, please have them reach out to Coach Zach via email at zachharigtv@gmail.com — we want all children to be involved if they have an interest in basketball!

We have a lost phone in the office. Please call the office if your student has lost their phone.

• Click the link above for the 24-25 HPS Student Calendar. Here you will find vacation days, early release dates and parent-teacher conference dates. Please note: 56G will follow the middle school schedule for Parent-Teacher Conferences.

• You can find all 56G events linked here.

Change in Transportation Home At the End of the School Day

If your child is going to have a change in transportation home at the end of the school day, please contact the main office to let them know of the change prior to 2:00 p.m. We want to ensure that the classroom teachers are notified in a timely fashion prior to end of day dismissal procedures.

Student drop-off and pick-up are very busy times in the school driveway and hallways. If you are dropping your child off in the carline, please remain in your vehicle and follow the procedures below.

Car Line Drop-off Procedures

7:15 a.m.

1. Use the car loop at the main entrance of the building.

2. Stay in the right lane and drop off your child in the drop-off zone. Staff wearing yellow vests will be directing traffic. Please pull all the way up to either the stop sign for the unloading zone or to the car in front of you.

3. Students will exit the cars on the passenger side of the car in the unloading zone. Do not allow students to exit the car on the driver’s side for safety reasons. Staff will direct them to the door that they will go in.

4. Parents remain in their vehicles.

5. Do not pass cars in the car line. Stay in a single file line in the right lane until the cars move in front of you.

To Keep Our Line Moving Tips:

1. Follow the procedures noted above.

2. Say your goodbyes and give kisses prior to dropping off in the car line. :)

3. Have backpacks/supplies ready to exit car with students.

4. Parents need to remain in their vehicles.

5. Thank you in advance for your patience and understanding with our system and procedures. Safety is our number one concern for our students and their families.

Car Line Pick-up Procedures

2:45 p.m.

1. Pull into the parking lot and park.

2. Students will be walked out to the cross walk and then will go directly to their cars.

• Breakfast will be served starting at 7:15.

• Breakfast consists of cereal, milk, juice, fresh fruit, and a cookie/cracker bar.

• Breakfast is free for any student.

• Students that eat breakfast at school will eat breakfast in the cafeteria.

Sack Lunches on Early Release Days

• Students will let their first hour teachers know if they would like to order a sack lunch

Lunch Schedule

1st Lunch-10:40-11:10

• Sixth Grade Homeroom Teachers-Bowen, Nixon, Riley, and Sneller
• Sixth Grade Homeroom Teachers-Cardinal, Richardson, Teal, and Weberg

2nd Lunch-11:15-11:45

• 6th Grade Homeroom Teachers-Brower, Schwartz, Schwerin, and VanNoord

3rd Lunch-11:45-12:20

• 5th Grade Homeroom Teachers-Burmeister and Wiebenga
• 5th Grade Homeroom Teachers-ELA teacher, King, and Cho

4th Lunch-12:20-12:55

• 5th Grade Homeroom Teachers-Fischer and Karel
• 5th Grade Homeroom Teachers-Baas and Wysocki
• 5th Grade Homeroom Teachers-Higgs and Standish
• 5th Grade Homeroom Teachers-Gamble and Willmore

Hot Lunch

Hot Lunch is FREE for all students again this year. If your student chooses to take milk only, you will need to pay for that. Milk is .50. Menu's, Free and Reduced Information, Nutrition information and lunch account info can all be found on the Jenison/Hudsonville Food Service Home page. You received your students ID# with your student's teacher's name. You will need this ID# to set up an account with food service for making online deposits. Please call the office at 616-669-6700 if you have any questions.

Interaction among students and staff, coupled with involvement within the total school

environment, are critical factors in the learning process. These interactions are dependent upon a student’s presence in school. Regular attendance (no more than nine absences per school year, 9/180 school days = 5% of school days) helps to develop lifelong attitudes necessary for success.

It is our goal to help provide support and resources so your child can be in school every day. If you are struggling to get your child to school on a daily basis, please let us know so we can collaborate and assist in any way possible.

CHRONIC ABSENTEEISM

Chronic absenteeism refers to students missing an extended period of school when both excused and unexcused absences are taken into account. Chronic absence is defined as missing 10% or more of the school year (an average of one day every two weeks) regardless of whether absences are excused or unexcused; OR, at any time during the school year, a student has tardies, (late arrivals or early dismissals) that have reached 20% of their school days.

If a student is absent 10% or more of school days at any point throughout the school year, parents/guardians may be notified via letter/email summarizing their student's attendance. These letters are for awareness and are to help maintain open lines of communication between school and home. If a student continues to be chronically absent throughout the school year, the school will send additional communication via letter/email and/or develop a support plan with the student and their parent(s)/guardian(s). Ongoing chronic absenteeism will indicate that additional support at the county level may be needed to address the matter of truancy.

EXCUSED ABSENCES

Students may be excused from school for one or more of the following reasons and will be provided an opportunity to make-up missed schoolwork and/or tests:

1. the student’s physical or mental illness (physician’s verification is required after 4 consecutive days of absence for illness);

2. severe weather;

3. medical appointments for the student;

4. death or serious illness of the student’s family member;

5. attendance at a funeral, wedding, or graduation;

6. appearance at court or for other legal matters;

7. observance of religious holidays of the student’s own faith;

8. family vacations (when family vacation procedures are followed)

• Students with a health condition that causes repeated absence are to provide the school office with an explanation of the condition from a registered physician.

• School-related absences (ie. requirement for a particular class), and In-School or Out-of-School Suspensions, are considered authorized absences and do not count against attendance requirements. Students are responsible for making up missed assignments.

• Three class periods missed (6th grade) is considered a half-day absence for all reasons.

• Any student arriving late to school is to report to the school office before proceeding to class.

ABSENCE NOTIFICATION

If a student is going to be absent, we ask that parents contact the office no later than 8:15 AM the day of the absence by calling (616) 272-7100 or emailing 56gattendance@hpseagles.net. An explanation for the absence is necessary for the absence to be excused. An excused absence allows the student to make up all possible work. It is the responsibility of the student to obtain missed assignments. If an absence can be foreseen, the parent should make arrangements as many days as possible before the absence to assist the student in making up any missed school work. An absence from school for all or any part of the school day without a legitimate excuse from the parent/guardian shall be considered an “unexcused absence.

If you need to pick up your child early, or you need to change how your child will be getting him that day, please contact the office no later than 2:00pm. We cannot guarantee your child will be notified of last minute changes if you notify the office after 2:00 PM. No student will be allowed to leave school prior to dismissal time without a custodial parent(s) request. No student will be released to a person other than a custodial parent(s) without permission from the custodial parent(s) or guardian.

VACATIONS DURING THE SCHOOL YEAR

All vacations must be pre-excused. Parents are discouraged from taking their child out of school for vacations. Each day of vacation counts as a one-day absence. Vacation absences do count against daily attendance requirements. When a family vacation must be scheduled during the school year, the parents should discuss the matter with the student’s teachers and the main office administrative assistants to make necessary arrangements. The Family Vacation Form is to be completed and submitted to the office at least five days prior to the trip.

Please complete the Medication Administration Authorization form for any medication to be administered for your student in the school setting.

A new Medication Authorization form must be completed for each medication and each time there is a change in dosage/instructions.

Non-prescription medication must be in the original container with the factory label and must not expire during the school year. For Non-prescription medications, please complete the top two sections of the Medication Administration Authorization form. Non-prescription medications will be stored and administered by school staff in the office.

Prescription medication must be in the original container with a pharmacy label. Prescription medications require BOTH the physician and parent authorization sections of the Medication Administration Authorization form to be completed.

ALL medication must be delivered to the office by a parent/guardian. Medication cannot be sent to school with a student.

No medication is to be carried by a student UNLESS both the physician and parent provide authorization for self-carry/administration of certain emergency medications including asthma inhalers and Epinephrine. Please complete the first and last sections of the Medication Administration Authorization form to authorize Self-Administration.

If your child has any of the following health conditions listed below (severe allergy, asthma, diabetes, seizures) that require treatment and/or a medication at school, please provide the required form(s) listed on the HPS health website from your child’s specialist.

Hudsonville Public Schools prohibits the possession or use of personal electronic devices (PED) within the school building during the school day. For purposes of this Policy, “personal electronic device” means a privately owned device that is used, or can be used, for audio, video, or text communications (ie. cell phone, smart watch, fitness tracker, tablet, gaming device, laptop or computer that is not school-issued, wireless earbuds, etc.).

Students may keep personal electronic devices in their backpacks, but the devices must be powered off and kept out of sight. Students at The 5/6 Building @ Georgetown are expected to have devices turned off and stowed in their backpacks at all times while on school grounds. This policy has exceptions for students whose Individualized Education Plan (IEP), 504 plan, or healthcare plan requires the use of an electronic telecommunications device.

If a student is found in possession of a personal electronic device, the following protocol will apply:

• First Offense: Staff member will confiscate the PED and deliver it to the main office. The student can pick it up at the end of the school day.

• Second Offense: Staff member will confiscate the PED and deliver it to the main office. The student's parent/guardian will be notified by administration of the second offense and the need for the device to be picked up at school if there are subsequent PED violations.

• Third+ Offense(s): Staff member will confiscate the PED and deliver it to the main office. The student’s parent/guardian will be contacted, and the PED will need to be picked up by the parent/guardian. Further disciplinary action may be taken.

Recognizing that many parents/guardians rely on PEDs as convenient communication and coordination tools, parents may call the main office to deliver urgent messages to their child. Students are also permitted to use the main office phone to contact parents/guardians.

The school assumes no responsibility for theft, loss, damage to, misuse, or unauthorized use of electronic devices brought onto its property. Students and parents are strongly encouraged to take appropriate precautions. If students possess personal electronic devices at school, it is important that their devices are not left unsecured.

Electronic devices, including cameras and cell phones with camera capabilities, are prohibited in restrooms, locker rooms, or other locations where individuals have a reasonable expectation of privacy. In all cases, any photos or videos, taken or posted, must be done so only with permission from those in the photos or videos.

The HPS criminal background check is required for all school volunteers. In order to complete this request, we ask that you fill out this volunteer form at least 48 hours prior to volunteering. Once your request is submitted, all Volunteer status updates (Approval, Denial or Limited Access Approval) will be sent directly to the building you have selected to volunteer in.

The Hudsonville Public School District has the right to approve or deny your request if your background check does not meet the standards of HPS Board Policy.

If you have any questions regarding the Volunteer Background Check process, please contact Dwight Sneden dsneden1@hpseagles.net.

We greatly appreciate your support and willingness to volunteer for Hudsonville Public Schools. Go Eagles!

If your child forgets to bring something to school, we will have a table set up in our front vestibule for "forgotten" items. Place the item/s on the table, fill out a slip of paper with your child's name and grade, and leave the items on the table. Our office staff will make sure that students get their items as quickly as possible.

• Visit Our Website: Our school website will be updated on a regular basis as it will be the main source of information for our parents and community members.

• School Messenger: Regular communication from school messenger will be sent out via email, phone calls, or text messages to keep you in the loop on what is taking place at 56G!
  

• Social Media: Follow our story by liking us on...

• Facebook: Like us on Facebook-facebook.com/56Georgetown

• Instagram: Like us on Instagram @56georgetown.

Website: https://www.hudsonvillepublicschools.org/5-6-building-georgetown/index
Location: 8175 36th Avenue, Hudsonville, MI, USA
Phone: 616-272-7100
Facebook: facebook.com/56Georgetown

Hudsonville Public Schools prohibits sex discrimination in any education program or activity that it operates. Individuals may report concerns or questions to the Title IX Coordinator. The

notice of nondiscrimination is located at https://www.hudsonvillepublicschools.org/about/civil-rights-compliance