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The Appleseed
December/January 2023/2024
Update from the Superintendent
It is so hard to believe that 2023 is coming to an end, and we are embarking on yet another calendar year. This is certainly a time for giving and caring for others, and I wish you and your loved ones nothing but the best during the holiday season. We also want to celebrate all that has occurred throughout the current year. There were so many powerful personal stories among our students, staff, and community. Thank you for sharing your incredible children with us.
After over three years of planning and construction, I am thrilled to announce that the construction of our new field house at Hudsonville High School has been completed and will open its doors for the first event on Friday, December 22. This state-of-the-art facility will provide our students with year-round access to various athletic and fitness opportunities. The official ribbon cutting will take place on Thursday, December 14, beginning at 5:00 p.m. All are welcome to attend and tour the beautiful facility. Construction is well underway on two major projects at Bauer Elementary and Park Elementary schools. These projects will include new classrooms, a new gymnasium (these two buildings do not currently have a separate gymnasium), and improved safety and security features. We are excited to see these schools transform into even more vibrant and welcoming settings for learning. You can find additional information on our blog at (https://www.hpsbondprojects.com/). Thank you again for your generosity and support of the bond work that provides the students in Hudsonville Public Schools with some of the best learning environments in the area.
With little snow on the ground at this time, the days for skiing, sledding, and making snowmen have been sparse. However, we all know that winter is about to return. As we move into the winter months, preparing for possible snow days is crucial. Please know that student and staff safety is our top priority, and we will do our best to make school closing/delay decisions by 5:45 a.m. at the latest. In addition to our phone/email notifications, feel free to follow me on Twitter (@dvanderjagt70) for closing updates.
SOAR V (our Strategic Plan) is nearing completion and will go into effect on January 1, 2024. This comprehensive plan outlines our district's goals for continuous improvement. We are confident that SOAR V will help us create an even more successful learning environment for all our students.
As many of you prepare early for the following school year, we are finalizing the 2024-2025 school year calendar. The school calendar will be posted on our website before the December holiday break. Please take some time to review the calendar and plan accordingly.
On behalf of the entire district staff, I wish you a safe and happy holiday season. We look forward to continuing to work together to make Hudsonville a fantastic place to live, grow, and learn.
Dr. VanderJagt
Superintendent
Artificial Intelligence at HPS
This article was written by AI.
Not true, but I could have had AI write a good portion of it. Given that reality and the recent rise in AI access and use, we are addressing how to respond as a district.
One key part of our response is preparing staff. We included it as part of our staff training and developed an AI response guide that provides staff with tools and information that they can use in their work. Our teacher teams are incorporating AI in their collaboration, determining how to communicate student expectations, detect and respond to student misuse, and utilize available platforms to generate lesson resources and more.
We are also working to find the balance between access and safety. Currently, AI sites are blocked by our network filter for students. Conversations continue about how we can support students to use this helpful technology while not risking increased academic dishonesty. Some classes are analyzing work generated by AI and discussing the implications on our society.
As a district, we will continue to adapt to the changing world, and we will prepare our staff and students to thrive in it. Please contact your student’s school, teacher, or myself with any questions or ideas you might have.
Craig Steenstra
Instructional Technology Director
Little Eagles, Big Hearts
Our elementary schools and 5/6 Building recently completed the PE C.A.R.E.S. non-perishable food drive. This is a yearly tradition for our HPS students to be able to show their compassion for others in need. During their Physical Education classes, the students and PE teachers organized and counted the items and prepared them for donation. The PE teachers take advantage of this opportunity to teach the students about nutrition using real world examples. The food that is collected during the drive is then donated around our community to many of our local food banks. All together the elementary students brought in over 25,000 items to be shared with those in need!
We would like to thank Hudsonville Lanes for their continued support of this awesome community service project. Hudsonville Lanes donates a bowling party for the classes from each school that have the highest total number of items donated per student in their respective schools. The kids love having the opportunity to help others in their community and receiving positive reinforcement from Hudsonville Lanes shows our students that when we all work together our Hudsonville Community can accomplish some amazing things!
-Brad BeimersPhysical Education
Park and Forest Grove Elementary Schools
WATCH D.O.G.S. Launch at Forest Grove
Forest Grove Elementary School successfully launched a WATCH D.O.G.S. (Dads Of Great Students) program this Fall. WATCH D.O.G.S. is a family and community engagement educational initiative where dads, grandpas, uncles, and other father figures volunteer to come into school to help out in a variety of ways both in their child’s classroom and elsewhere around the school. The initiation of this program came from a current dad whose child recently transitioned from South Elementary to Forest Grove Elementary School. His love for and belief in this program, as well as his willingness to offer volunteer leadership to our staff, made it easy to say, "YES" to this program. We are excited to join several of our sister HPS elementary schools that already offer this program at their respective schools. We believe that positive male role models present in the building and engaged in school activities will demonstrate that education is important and that the teaching and learning going on at Forest Grove is highly valued. It has also been SUPER FUN to have our dads present here to connect with students, serve our staff and school community, and help out in meaningful ways.
ECC Registration Information
HPS Early Childhood Programs Open House for the 2024-2025 School Year
and 2024 Summer Program
Registration/Open House Night:
Tuesday, February 6, 2024, at the Early Childhood Center from 6:30 - 7:30 p.m. The Early Childhood Center is located at 5535 School Avenue (main entrance off Madison Avenue).
Programs include: 3 & 4 year old Preschool, Before/After School Care, and Summer Care.
This is a chance to gather information about the programs, meet staff, and visit the Early Childhood Center. There is no formal presentation and children are welcome.
Online registration will open Wednesday, February 7, at noon. The registration link can be found at hudsonvillepublicschools.org under Schools/Early Childhood Center. A $100 fee per child is due ($50 non-refundable registration fee; $50 credit towards future tuition). Please note that enrollment fills quickly.
For more information, please email eccoffice@hpseagles.net or call the Early Childhood office at 616-797-0842, ext. 1.
HHS Students Attend Women in Construction Day
Mr. Sytsma has been introducing our high school students to an array of different occupations through his Career Connections Seminars. He is always looking for businesses or individuals in our community who would like to share their expertise with our students. He can be reached at csystsma@hpseagles.net if you would like to speak to his class.
This fall, Mr. Sytsma took some interested students out of the classroom to attend Northern Michigan University’s Women in Construction Day at the West Michigan Construction Institute in Grand Rapids. Women only make up 9.9% of the workforce in construction despite the fact that it has one of the lowest pay gaps.* Females make 95.5% of what their male counterparts make in construction, while the national average is 82.9%.
Our students participated in three exploration stations: electrical, woodworking, and construction management. They practiced wiring a lightbulb, light switch, and plug at the electrical station. They made a mirror in woodworking, which they got to take home. They engaged in city planning in construction management, where they were given a budget to be able to purchase buildings and roads.
This unique learning opportunity also made our students eligible for a scholarship to Northern Michigan University in their Building Technology or Construction Management Programs.
Mr. Sytsma has been introducing our high school students to an array of different occupations through his Career Connections Seminars. He is always looking for businesses or individuals in our community who want to share their expertise with our students. He can be reached at csystsma@hpseagles.net if you are able to speak to his class.
2023 Eagles of Excellence Gala Resounding Success
On Monday, November 6, 2023, almost three hundred students, parents, educators, administrators, alums, business leaders, and community representatives gathered for a joyous evening of celebration and recognition at the 2023 Eagles of Excellence Gala hosted by the Hudsonville Education Foundation in partnership with Hudsonville Public Schools.
Attendees enjoyed a crowd-pleasing performance by the Eagle Claw Percussion Ensemble, the newly formed adapted-needs drum line, delicious desserts planned and prepared by High School consumer science students, a touching Eagles of Excellence student and teacher recognition presentation and truly inspiring acceptance speeches from the 2023 Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame inductees, Mr. Craig Hoppen, President and CEO of J&H Oil and Family Stores and Dr. Henry Luttikhuizen, Grand Valley State University College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Scholar in Residence.
Thank you to the generous event sponsors and donors for making the 2023 Eagles of Excellence Gala a resounding success and for celebrating extraordinary public school education throughout the year by financially contributing to support the mission of the Hudsonville Education Foundation.
For event photo highlights, Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame biographies, and a listing of sponsors, visit www.hudsedfound.org/gala.
Waves of Engagement in STEAM at the 5/6 Building @ Georgetown
During STEAM at the 5/6 Building this year students learned about the disaster that happened at a nuclear power plant in Fukushima Daiichi. A tsunami washed over the plant, causing radioactive material to leak and surrounding towns to be evacuated. For the safety of the people working to clean up the disaster site, engineers began to use robots to work on cleanup and restoration.
Using this historical event as inspiration, students collaborated to design prototypes of a robot that could be used to clean up the dangerous material inside of the nuclear reactors. They also had the opportunity to evaluate the success of each design.
HHS Students Celebrate Manufacturing Day
A group of students from Hudsonville High School accompanied Mr. Sytsma to Apex Controls and Sound Off Signal to explore the career opportunities available in the field of manufacturing. At Apex Controls, the students discovered that innovation comes to life right here in Hudsonville. They saw that both engineering and manufacturing can take place under one roof. Students observed an engineer working on a machine that connects the round Yoplait yogurt containers to their bottoms using sound waves. They also learned the machines that build the doors for the Ram 1500 TRX trucks are made at Apex Controls.
At Sound Off Signal, students toured the enormous facility, seeing all the various components that go into making a light bar for emergency vehicles. They learned that the electronic boards being built are so sensitive that the environment has to be kept at a particular humidity, and the staff must wear special footwear that prevents static electricity. Students also toured the shipping department and learned that Sound Off Signal sends out $150 million in products internationally annually. During both stops, students asked probing questions regarding training, education, benefits, and company culture.