current_newsletter - West Ottawa Public Schools

West Ottawa Public Schools
Preparing Students to Be College, Career and Life Ready!
Sheldon Woods Newsletter
15050 Blair St., West Olive, MI 49460
Phone: 616-786-1700 / Fax: 616-786-1791
Sept. 25, 2015
DATES TO REMEMBER:
A Note From the Principal’s Office…
Sept. 28-Oct. 2 Spirit Week
Sept. 30 Annual Orchestra Concert
Field Trip - 5th graders at HL PAC
Oct. 2 PTO Fun Run Fundraiser
Event. See page 7 for details.
Oct. 5 PTO Mtg. 4:00 pm
Oct. 7 State of MI Student
Count Day
Oct. 9
School Store at Noon
Oct. 21 School Picture Make-Up
Day with Geskus
Oct. 29 SW “Monster Math” ShowCase Night 6:30-7:15 pm
(Wear your costumes!)
Sheldon Woods Mission Statement
Sheldon Woods, in partnership with the community and families, will provide a safe and positive
learning environment that meets the needs of
students and upholds high academic standards.
Through the process of inquiry, students will develop into caring, knowledgeable, and reflective
young people who positively impact both the local
and global community.
PTO Board Members:
PTO News
Co-President:
-Sarah Black
-Lisa Dirkse
Oct. 5 PTO Meeting
at 4:00 p.m.
Co-Treasurer:
-Angie Dick
-Stacy Voss
PTO Meetings are
held in the Library at
4:00 pm on the first
Monday of every
month.
Secretary:
-Corinne Wallace
Volunteer Coordinator:
-Jamie Dirkse
Read, Read, Read!
Hello, Sheldon Woods Families,
During the first few weeks of school, all students at Sheldon Woods
Elementary participate in a variety of assessments focused on identifying each student's present reading level. Each assessment provides us different information which helps us target the various skills
needed to help ensure your child starts at the right level and, immediately, begins to progress.
Although your child spends a significant amount of time reading at
school, it is important he/she takes 20-30 minutes each night to read
or listen to an adult read. If you are uncertain which books your child
should be enjoying, please contact your child's teacher as soon as
possible for some advice.
Thank you for your continued effort at home as we partner to maximize learning for all of our students. As always, if you have any questions or concerns regarding your child's academic or social growth at
school, please contact us at your earliest convenience.
Respectfully,
Mr. Greg Rutten, Principal
SHELDON WOODS NEWSLETTER
Sheldon Woods Newsletter will be
published every other Friday. If you
have an email address on file at
school, we will email the newsletter to
you rather than send a paper copy. If we don’t
have your email address on file, please update that
by calling the school office at 786-1700 or email
me at toppm@westottawa.net
The newsletter will also be available on West Ottawa’s website - www.westottawa.net
VOLUNTEERING
If there is any possibility that you may volunteer in a classroom, go on a field trip, or help at any school event this
year, it is important that you complete and return a
“Volunteer Profile Form.”
Volunteer Forms are available in the school office. If you
haven’t turned the copy you received at Open House, then
please call and we will send a new one home.
West Ottawa requires all volunteers to have a Profile on
file. Please return yours as soon as possible. Remember
this applies to any other family member who might volunteer such as a grandparent, aunt, uncle, etc.
SPIRIT WEEK AT SHELDON WOODS!!!!!
Accidents Happen!
Please send a change of clothing with
your child to keep in his/her locker.
We do not have a good enough assortment of extra clothing here in the office to
loan, so if there is any reason your child needs
to put on clean, dry clothes, we will first check
their locker, and then call parents or emergency
contacts to bring in fresh clothes.
Monday - Sports Day - Wear the logo of your favorite
team
Tuesday - PJ Day (remember shoes for playground)
Wednesday - "-er" Day - dress up as something that
ends in "-er" (camper, dancer, skiier, bowler...)
Thursday - Dress Like a Super Hero Day
Friday - Black and White/Sheldon Woods Spirit Day
and Fun Run!
Students who participate each day will receive a
special Spirit Week Spirit Stick!
REMINDERS FOR THE SCHOOL YEAR:
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Remember to continually check your parent portal account for student/school information! You may update any phone changes, emergency contact information on your
Parent Portal account.
To make changes to your busing needs, select the Parent Resources Tab on the WO website, and go to the “Transportation” link, and click on the “Transportation Forms” link.
All students are expected to go outside for recess, weather permitting, children should wear appropriate
clothing for outdoor activity according to the daily and seasonal weather. A doctor’s note is required for
students to be allowed to stay in during recess for more than 1 day.
Medications should be kept in the school office. If your child needs prescription medication, then you
need to have your doctor fill out a consent form. Form are available in the school office. This form must
be completed in order for the school secretary to dispense prescription medication.
Please remember to call the school if your child is going to be late or absent. Please note that if the
office is not notified, and unable to contact a parent/legal guardian on the day of the absence, the student will be marked unexcused.
STUDENT ILLNESS GUIDELINES
Please follow these important guidelines. We want to keep everyone as healthy as possible
with our Sheldon Woods family. In the early morning before school, it is often difficult to
determine whether or not to send your child to school. Most illnesses children have are contagious, meaning other children can catch them. For that reason, we have guidelines for
school attendance so children do not infect or endanger the health of other children. For
example, if your child has these symptoms, pleas keep him/her home from school:
FEVER: a per son’s “nor mal” body temper atur e can var y fr om per son to per son. Gener ally speaking, any temperature over a person’s “normal” temperature (usually 98.6) can be considered a fever. Your child’s temperature
should be “normal” for 24 hours before sending him/her back to school.
BAD COUGH: defined as per sistent and inter fer ing with schoolwor k. Childr en often do not r emember to cover
their mouths. Coughing can easily spread germs.
DIARRHEA, VOMITING OR SEVERE STOMACHACHES: these symptoms should be gone 24 hour s befor e
sending your child back to school.
RED EYES (WITH YELLOW DRAINAGE): your child may wake up in the mor ning with his/her eye stuck
shut. This may indicate “pine eye” which is extremely contagious. Please check with your physician.
It is VERY IMPORTANT that you keep the school office updated with any new phone numbers, or contact people for
your child. If your child gets injured or sick at school, we need to be able to reach you.
PARENT PORTAL
West Ottawa Schools is pleased to provide the Infinite Campus Parent Portal communication tool. The Portal connects
parents/guardians to students’ data online, anytime, from anywhere there is internet access. Once the Portal is accessed, information about only their child’s progress can be viewed.
Making this information-rich connection with parents is a clear way to improve communication
between teachers, parents and students. Access to the Parent Portal can be gained from home,
work, public library, or anywhere an internet connection can be established. The Parent Portal is
a free service to our district families.
How do I sign up for the Parent Portal Account? Go to www.westottawa.net , click on Parent
Resources, then Parent Portal and following the instructions.
Parent Portal… The best way to get timely school bus info – School bus routes may change
throughout the school year. For the most current school bus transportation information
(available at any time, 24/7):
Go to the District’s home page: http://www.westottawa.net/
1. Click on the Parent Resources tab and then select Parent Portal
2. Log in or sign up for a Parent Portal account (eligibility limited to parents/guardians). After successful login,
3. Choose Select a Student and then click on Transportation. Bus information is updated at the end of each business
day.
If you need to change your busing information, you will have to go to the Parent Resources Tab and select Transportation Forms. Fill out a new form.
For Parent Portal technical support, please contact the Help Desk
Coordinator at (616) 738-6800.
Have a safe and successful school year.
Gems from the Gym– Mrs. Jill Scholten
Whether in the workplace or on the football field, or even among members of a community, effective teamwork can produce incredible results. However, working successfully as a team is not
as easy as it may seem. Effective teamwork certainly does not just happen automatically-- it
takes a great deal of hard work and compromise. In Physical Wellness, over the past two weeks,
students have been working diligently to acquire good teamwork skills. Students in K-1 have
been encouraged to use teamwork as they played "Alligator Greetings” and “Frozen Beanbag”.
Second and third grade students played “Triangle Tag” and participated in a group challenge to encourage
teamwork called "Skin the Snake". While, “Mission Impossible” and “Group Juggling” provided 4th and 5th
grade students many opportunities to encourage each other.
Just remember T.E.A.M. - Together Everyone Achieves More!
*Don’t forget those gym shoes! Remember, these should be clean shoes that remain at school throughout the
year. Thanks for your cooperation.
Technology Talk!
Hello!
Please remember to check my website for the latest Technology news!
https://sites.google.com/a/westottawa.net/tech-time/
If you can’t reach the site, feel free to email me obrienp@westottawa.net and I’ll help you with
that! Thank you for staying informed!
Mrs. OBrien
MAKING THE CALL WHEN BAD WEATHER STRIKES
The decision to delay or close school or to send students home early is weighed heavily. Your child’s safety is our primary concern. Several factors are considered including current road and weather conditions as well as the weather forecast. We will make every effort to make an announcement by 6 a.m. whenever possible.
Thank you for your cooperation. Please be prepared when severe weather threatens and keep in mind:
As soon as the decision to close or delay schools is made . . .
1. Parents will receive an automated phone call at the primary number they have provided their child’s school for announcements of school closings or delays (unless they have opted out of this type of notification)
2. TV and radio stations will be informed, and
3. The information will be put on the District Information Hot-line, the District website, and on Charter Communications
channel 188. Please note that this is a new Charter channel and T2 Communications is no longer carrying the West Ottawa TV channel and is, therefore, no longer a resource for information regarding closings and delays.
Television Stations
WWMT - CBS (Channel 3)
WOOD - NBC (Channel 8)
WZZM - ABC (Channel 13)
.
Local Radio Station
WHTC (1450 AM)
WHTC radio station.
October 2015
Sun
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
1
Spirit Week
Fri
2 PTO Fun Run
Sat
3
Fundraiser Event
Spirit Week
WO Homecoming!
4
5
PTO Mtg.
4:00 p.m.
6
7
Official
St. of MI Student
Count Day
8
9
School Store at
Lunchtime
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
Geskus Retake
Student Photo
Day
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29 “Monster Math
30
31
Showcase”
6:30-7:15 pm
Wear your costumes!!!
State Of Michigan Official Student Count Day
School Store at Lunchtime
Wednesday, October 7, is the official State of Michigan
Student Count Day. Please be sure to have your child
attend school, if at all possible, on this day. This is an
official “Michigan Pupil Accounting Day” and very important to West Ottawa Public Schools for state funding.
Our PTO need volunteers for the school store.
Some to help with the sale and some to drop off
baked goods like cookies, brownies, donuts, etc.
We are going to try to have a school store twice
a month if possible, and it will be after lunch, in
the gym, from approximately 11:45-1. If you are
willing to help, you can contact Corinne
Wallace, at 826-4867 or cdt311@hotmail.com.
With the Fun Run happening on
October 2nd, we are planning on
having the next school store on
Friday October 9