Alward Action

Dear Alward Families,

We are incredibly blessed by a community that continues to support our students, teachers, and staff. We are so grateful to have such engaged and supportive families! This was evident in the way our community came together for our Walk-a-thon fundraiser. We celebrated with our students this Thursday and had an absolute blast! Thank you to all our parent/guardian volunteers who made this event possible!

As we look forward to the months ahead, here are a few important reminders:

Halloween on October 31st:
We’re excited to celebrate Halloween parties with our students and will be holding a costume parade at 1:30 p.m. (weather permitting). Families are welcome to join us outside to enjoy the festivities. For costumes, please keep them school-appropriate: no blood, gore, violent themes, or weapons. We appreciate your help in making this a fun and safe event for all! Class parties will take place throughout the day. Teachers have additional information in their newsletters to families.

Parent-Teacher Conferences:
Conferences will take place on November 19th and November 21st from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Conference sign-ups will be available starting November 1st, please look for the email with a link and instructions. Please mark your calendars so we can connect and discuss your child’s progress. Each family will be able to sign up for one 15 minute time slot per student.

Thank you and take care,

Heidi Mucha

We had so much fun at our PTC sponsored Walkathon Assembly. Because of your generosity and reaching our walkathon goal the PTC organized this fun assembly for kids to watch our our lucky staff members become Human Sundaes. Thank you again for all your support!

Dear Families,

Get ready—the Scholastic Book Fair is coming to our school! This is a great opportunity to connect

with your child over the thrill of bringing home new books to dive into again and again. Studies show

that kids read more when they choose books for themselves. And fostering a love of independent

reading leads to a wide variety of benefits—including academic success and improved mental

health.

Here’s everything you need to know about the Book Fair:

Dates: November 18- 22

Location: Alward Elementary Library

Family Event schedule and location: Parent/Guardian Shopping Nov. 19 & 21 from 4:30 - 7:00

There’s even more info on our school’s Book Fair homepage:

Alward Book Fair

While you’re there, set up a Book Fair eWallet, the digital payment account that allows your child to

shop for books at the Fair without cash. Then share your eWallet link so friends and extended family

can add funds.

When you fund an eWallet, you’ll have the opportunity to contribute to a giving initiative called

Share the FairTM. Your contributions directly support our students who need help buying books

from the Fair.

Many of us still remember the rush of finding the perfect book at a Scholastic Book Fair. I hope you’ll

join your child at our school’s Fair and share a reading experience they’ll remember forever.

Happy reading,

Mrs. Mucha

Principal

Alward Elementary School

PS: Need one more reason to visit the Book Fair? Every purchase at the Fair benefits our school!

Thank you so much to all the parents who have taken the time to update your students Powerschool Account. This made it much easier for our office to make sure our records were up to date. Several parents have requested that another parent be added to your account. In order for a parent to access powerschool - the parent needs to create an account. You can create an account HERE. You might need an access code - You can either call 616.669.6700 or email eemmert@hpseagels.net to get that code from us in the Office.

Next school year this will be the way you will access your students new teacher assignment.

They can always be reached with any questions via email at alwardptc.hps@gmail.com

Co-President: Audra Kotman

Co-President: Stacey VanderBent

Co-Vice President: Allie Gonzalez

Co-Vice President: Ali Westhuis

Treasurer: Anna Boglitsch

Secretary: MJ Hernandez

Social Media Manager: Heather Kleinjans

Member-at-large: Tom Holmes

Teacher Representative: Rachel VanKoevering, 1st Grade

PTC Public Meeting Minutes September 23, 2024

We would love your help to make this event a success!

Volunteer HERE!

*Event Setup

*Candy Walk

*Game/Activity Monitor

*Tattoo Station

*Candy Walk

*Pumpkin Clean up

A super simple way to raise funds for Alward PTC is by buying gift cards from RaiseRight to pay for your everyday shopping and spending year-round!

Create a free fundraising account on the RaiseRight mobile app or at RaiseRight.com.

Enroll Code: WWJZU5516X2B

https://www.raiseright.com/enroll?enrollCode=WWJZU5516X2B

Our hope with Raise Right is to utilize the funds directly to enrich and impact our children’s classrooms. Raise Right will help fund Class Cash, a program that enables teachers to request financial support to purchase various classroom items, like flexible seating, books and manipulatives to improve hands on learning!

GotSneakers has developed a unique sneaker recycling fundraiser that helps keep sneakers out of landfills and helps organizations like ours raise funds. The program is truly a win – win!

Bring in your used adult or kids’ athletic footwear in any condition: excellent, good, fair and poor/recyclable (no funds given for shoes in poor/recyclable condition but they will stay out of the landfill).

Not Accepted: Single athletic shoes or any non-athletic footwear including but not limited to dress shoes, heels, sandals, wedges, water socks, rain boots, crocs, and other non-athletic styles.

For a special field trip with our Art Teacher ~ Mrs. Kingsley!

Student drop-off and pick-up are very busy times during a normal school year 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:

1. Please place the placard sign, pictured below, in your passenger side window of your car with your child/ren's names and teacher's name listed. You will receive two car signs at open house. Additional signs can be picked up in the office if needed. If you can, please put a name tag on your child along with his/her classroom teacher's name to help us get students to their correct classroom.

2. Use the car loop on the west side (office side) of the building.

3. Stay in the right lane and drop off your child in the drop-off zone. Zone will be marked with cones. Please pull all the way to either the stop sign for the unloading zone or to the car in front of you.

4. 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 help child/children get out of the car and direct them to the door that they will go in.

5. Parents remain in their vehicles.

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

7. If you want to walk your PK/K child to their line up spot, you must park in the parking lot and cross at the crosswalk. Parents will need to say their goodbyes at the line up spot.

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

1. Please put the placard sign, pictured below in your passenger side window of your car with your child/ren's names and teacher's names listed. You will receive two car signs at open house. Additional signs can be picked up in the office if needed.

2. Use the car loop on the west-side (office side) of the building.

3. Stay in the right lane and pull up to the orange cone on the far west side of the parking lot or behind the cars in front of you.

4. Students will be walked out in groups to the car line and must enter cars on the passenger side of the vehicle.

5. If you need to help your child buckle his/her car seat, please pull forward with the flow of traffic, park in a parking spot, and help your child buckle his/her car seat.

To Keep Our Line Moving Tips:

1. Follow the procedures noted above.

2. Parents need to remain in their vehicles.

3. Please be patient with this system for the first few weeks of school. Once students, staff, and families get used to the process, the line moves efficiently and is safe for all of our students!

4. Based on last year’s car line data, the car line takes 4-5 minutes to load 60 cars!

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 3:00 p.m. We want to ensure that the classroom teachers are notified in a timely fashion prior to end of day dismissal procedures.

Due to the number of food allergies in the school, we ask that you please bring in non food items for birthday treats. Please see examples below.

• Breakfast will be served starting at 8:35.

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

• Students that eat breakfast at school will eat breakfast in the cafeteria. Once students are done eating, they will be sent back to class.

• If your child will be eating breakfast at school, please contact your classroom teacher so that we know to send them down to the cafeteria the first week of school.

2024-2025 School Year: Michigan Public School Students Prek-12 will receive Breakfast and Lunch at NO CHARGE.

Michigan approved Healthy School Meals for All. The budget will fund FREE school meals for all public K-12 students in Michigan for the 2023-24 School Year.

**** Districts MUST still collect Free/Reduced Meal Applications. We still need to verify eligibility levels for proper accounting of meals. ****

New! Family Portal: https://hudsonville.familyportal.cloud/

• Apply for Free and Reduced Price Meal benefits! Free and Reduced Meal Benefits are based on household size, income amount (gross), and income frequency. GOOD NEWS: any family that qualifies for Reduced Price Meal benefits will receive breakfast and lunch at NO COST.
• You will need to register a new account to monitor accounts or deposit online; Send Money to School accounts no longer exist. You will need your students ID to create an account. You will receive your students ID on their student profile sheet at the open house. Please make a note of it!
• Regardless of benefits status, Milk-only purchases remain at $0.60 per carton. Milk is included as part of the whole MEAL benefit. If your child(ren) qualify for free or reduced price meals and all they want is a carton of milk, their account will be charged 60 cents.

Our website www.jenhudfood.org is loaded with information. Please click on any of these links for more information:

• Digital Menus by Nutrislice (look for updates in August to Nutrislice)
• How Meal Service Works and Depositing Money
• Meal Charge Policy
• Follow us on Social Media!!

Contact us:

Email: foodservice@hpseagles.net

Phone: (616) 457-2400

Please check out our website for important information on Health Services.

In order for your child to take any medication (prescription and non-prescription) at school, a MEDICATION FORM is required. If your child requires a prescription medication (asthma inhaler, EPI pen, insulin), your physician must complete a portion of the form. The medication forms are available in the school office and will be posted to our website.

PLEASE DO NOT SEND MEDICATION TO SCHOOL WITH YOUR CHILD!

MEDICATION CAN BE DROPPED OFF BY PARENTS FOR AN OFFICE STAFF MEMBER TO ADMINISTER.

Please send us an email if your child will be late or absent aesattendance@hpseagles.net.

You are still welcome to call our office 616-669-6700 option 1 if you would like to speak with one of our Administrative Assistance or have any questions.

• Email address aesattendance@hpseagles.net to report your student absent or late.

• If your student will not be attending school due to illness or other reasons, please call or email the office before 9:15 am. Students who are not called in by a parent/guardian will be marked with an unexcused absence.

• If your student will be late, arriving after 8:50 am, please call or email the office in the morning. Any students arriving after 8:50 am must be signed in by a parent/guardian.

• If your student will be late and needs a hot lunch, please let us know when you call. Hot lunch needs to be ordered by 10 am.

• Planned absences of more than 3 days require a vacation request form to be filled out. Forms can be picked up in the office or emailed to you. Please turn in vacation request forms at least 5 days prior to the planned absence.

All volunteers and visitors are required to have a background check on file. Background Checks must be completed every school year. Please complete the background check now so you are all set for the school year!

• 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. Past newsletters will be linked under NEWS.

• 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 Alward!
  

• Social Media: Follow our story by liking us Facebook

• facebook.com/AESEaglePride

• Google Classrooms: Teacher google sites are linked under staff members. Teachers will be updating their Google Classroom Sites on a weekly basis.

Website: https://www.hudsonvillepublicschools.org/alward/index
Location: 3811 Port Sheldon Street, Hudsonville, MI, USA
Phone: 616-669-6700
Facebook: facebook.com/AESEaglePride

Community Ed Fall Programing

HERE

Hudsonville Youth Lacrosse registration will open on December 1st. Starting January 1st, there will be a $100 late fee. A parent meeting will be held on Tuesday, December 3rd, from 6 to 7 p.m. in the Baldwin Street Middle School cafeteria. Additional information as well as registration can be found HERE.

Saturday, November 23, 2024
8:30 am - 10:30 am OR 11:00 am - 1:00 pm (2-hour experience)

Join us for a magical Christmas experience featuring a gourmet brunch buffet, holiday crafts, and a special photo-op with Santa!

$25 per ticket (Ages 2 and under are FREE) or $200 for a table (seats 10 people)

Please visit www.terrasquare.com/upcomingevents to reserve your spot for this holiday season event.

Be sure to register early due to limited space!