North Godwin News

Steve Minard, Principal

Kristi Bast, Secretary

Telephone (616) 252-2010 and Fax (616) 252-2011

North Godwin Elementary will host our annual S.T.E.M. (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) Family Night from 5:30 PM - 7:00 PM on Thursday, November 16, 2023. Families are invited to join us for dinner, games, activities, and raffles! Many community partners will be on site for an evening of hands-on science, math, and engineering activities for students and families to complete together. The event includes a range of activities covering different STEM topics and connections to exciting STEM careers.

STEM fields are significant forces of innovation and development, resulting in modern technology and advances that improve our daily lives. Teaching STEM in our school encourages exploration and curiosity in our students, and teaches them about the world around them in a fun, hands-on manner.

Dinner will be served and there will be over 15 STEM stations throughout the building. Raffles will be held every 15 minutes! Our community partners consistent of engineers, mathematicians, scientists, and technicians from various companies that will demonstrate innovative experiments and oversee our young scholars as they explore the world of STEM!

Reminder to all parents and guardians --

There will be an early dismissal for all students on Wednesday, November 15, 2023. Parent pick-up begins at 1:30 PM. Buses depart and the final bells rings at 1:45 PM. Please plan accordingly and arrive on time!

Our next Principal's Coffee will be held on Friday, November 17, 2023 at 8:30 AM in the North Godwin Elementary cafeteria. Please join our Principal, Steve Minard, as well our Instructional Specialists, Karen Baum and Kelly Compher, to learn more about the academic happenings in our school. We will be recognizing select students for their recent PBIS achievements. Parents will have an opportunity to ask questions and learn more about ways that they can support their students to reach their fullest potential! Coffee and Donuts will be served!

Layla Joiner

4th grade

Miss DeVries' classroom

Mrs. Richardson rewarded her classroom with some Friday fun by holding a "Stuffed Animal" day for her students! Students brought their favorite stuffed animals to school on Friday, November 10, 2023. All of the furry friends were so cute, and Mr. Avocado was an especially BIG fan favorite!

Ode to Stuffed Animals

You are there to comfort me when I’m sad.
You come in so many shapes and sizes, that its hard for me to remember you all but, I do.
You’re there rain or shine, never objecting to what I want to do.
Most times, you are the only one that I can trust, or tell all my secrets to!
You’re always there, sitting on my bed, with a wide smile, and arms open.
Most times you look a little person, stranded in a sea of mess, but still there with that smile on your face.
Your loving embrace and soft fur chase away my nightmares and creeping fears,
like a mother bird protecting her young birds from the night creatures lurking around in the dark.

You calm my pounding heart and draw smiles on my face, like a child with a new, bright and shiny red balloon.

I bury my face in your warmth and my soul becomes whole again.

The first marking period of the 2023-2024 school year came to a close on Friday, October 20, 2023.

The 2nd marking period began on Monday, October 23, 2023 and is now underway. Academically, this is a crucial time for our students. We will be pushing forward with new materials and enhanced learning to keep each student on grade level. It is important your student/s NOT MISS SCHOOL, unless sick. Each day missed matters!

Missing a day here or there may not seem like a problem. But absences add up quickly. These missed school days can have a big impact on your child's learning and overall health.

Missing two days a month—excused or unexcused—can add up to a child being considered chronically absent. That's why the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) encourages parents to reduce unnecessary absences, follow attendance policies and prioritize getting their kids to school on time, every day.

The 2nd marking period runs from Monday, October 23, 2023 through Friday, December 22. 2023. The first semester also ends on Friday, December 22, 2023.

Godwin Heights Public Schools has a proud partnership with Feeding America West Michigan. They provide mobile food truck pantries to our school district once a month.

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:

Tuesday, November 14, 2023

Tuesday, December 12, 2023

If you have your own bags, please bring them!

Godwin Heights High School students will be performing "The Ghost of Splinter Cove" on Friday, December 1, 2023 and Saturday, December 2, 2023 at 7:00 PM in the Godwin Heights High School Auditorium. Admission is $1.00 for students and $3.00 for adults.

The Ghost of Splinter Cove, written by Steven Dietz, is an adventure story prompted by the imaginations of three young people left to play in their basement on a rainy day. Siblings Cora and Nate and their friend, Sydney, have a lot of questions about what their parents are doing upstairs. When their adventure game becomes more real than they imagined, they unearth a history of their family that they could never have known. The Ghost of Splinter Cove is a fun, lively and moving play for the courageous young person inside all of us. This play is a companion piece to The Great Beyond.

Please come together with our Godwin community to support our students in this wonderful live production!

“We are North Godwin
Five houses strong
Growing tomorrow’s leaders
In a place where everyone belongs.”

In an concerted effort to make ALL students feel that they belong at North Godwin Elementary, our Principal, Instructional Specialists, and School Improvement Team implemented a House Team concept, of which all students and staff participate.

The goal is to help students develop a sense of belonging and social skills, have a positive impact on their community, participate in cross-grade collaboration and learn to be team members, which can grow employability skills. Students do that by participating as a “house” on service projects, working together to plan and carry them out.

Students received a t-shirt to represent their House Team. The t-shirts were made possible by the generous support of community partners and other donations.

In observance of the Thanksgiving holiday, our staff and students will enjoy a Thanksgiving break this month.

NO SCHOOL

Wednesday, November 22, 2023

Thursday, November 23, 2023 (Thanksgiving Day)

Friday, November 24, 2023

We wish all of our families a warm, safe, and restful time of gratefulness and togetherness with family and friends.

Parents and Guardians,

Autumn temperatures are getting colder. Please be sure that your student comes to school every day appropriately dressed for outdoor weather. Sweatshirts, light jackets, socks, long-sleeve shirts, and pants.

All students are required to go outside during the school day UNLESS:

• the temperature is below 16 degrees
• the wind chill is below zero
• it is raining
• there is a severe thunderstorm warning in effect for our area
• the student has a physician's note on file for medical exemption from outdoor activity

If you need any assistance with these types of clothing items, please contact our school office at 616-252-2010.

North Godwin Elementary students will perform in a Holiday Music Program in the Godwin Heights High School Auditorium on Wednesday, December 20, 2023 at 6:00 PM. Our music teacher, Mrs. Christine Jenkins, will direct our students in a fun-filled night of music and memories. Stay tuned for more details!

In observance of the Christmas and New Years holiday season, our staff and students will enjoy a winter break as follows:

1/2 Day of School

Friday, December 22, 2023

Parent pick-up begins at 11:30 AM

Buses depart when the final bell rings at 11:45 AM

No School

Monday, December 25, 2023 through Friday, January 5, 2024

Classes resume as normal on Monday, January 8, 2024

https://4.files.edl.io/ba26/07/25/23/152431-cecb8d91-7012-4d74-91c7-33914a6243a4.pdf

November 15 ~ Early Release @ 1:45 PM

November 22, 23 & 24 ~ No School THANKSGIVING BREAK

December 13 ~ Early Release @ 1:45 PM

December 22 ~ 1/2 day of school Dismissal at @ 11:45 AM

December 25 - December 29 ~ No School CHRISTMAS BREAK

January 1 - 5 ~ No School CHRISTMAS BREAK

January 8 -- FIRST DAY BACK TO SCHOOL AFTER CHRISTMAS BREAK

January 15 ~ No School

January 24 ~ Early Release @ 1:45 PM

January 31 ~ Early Release @ 1:45 PM

February 14 ~ Early Release @ 1:45 PM

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

https://ghathletics.com/

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.

As a public school, we are held accountable to public school laws that govern attendance. The Kent Intermediate School District oversees all public schools in Kent County to be sure that all are operating under the laws and of the Michigan Department of Education.

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 is home to Godwin Heights Public Schools’ 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders!

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/