March Newsletter
Calendar
March 6: Early Release Day
March 8: Dress as a Book Character Day!
March 13: Early Release Day
March 15: Vocal Dimensions Visits West!
March 15: PBIS Wise Readers Day: Who, What, Where, When, Why (Wear post-it notes about a book you are reading.)
March 20: Early Release Day
March 22: Class Color Day: Each teacher picks a class color for the day .
March 27: Early Release Day
March 28: Dress Cozy and Read Day
March 29 - April 7: NO SCHOOL | Spring Break
April 8 - Return to school
POWER Expectations
At West, our behavior expectations are described in the matrix P-O-W-E-R. Our staff has been teaching what POWER stands for so that every student can memorize, recite, and demonstrate positive behavior.
Here’s what POWER stands for:
P-Pride | We care about self, others, work
O-Own Your Actions | We are responsible and honest
W- Wise Choices | We think before acting
E- Engaged | We are focused and involved in learning
R-Respect | Be Nice
We believe it is important for each parent to be aware of these expectations so you can support our efforts at home.
Follow West on Facebook and for more information go to Holland Public Schools Main Page
Principals Corner
Dear West Families,
Happy March! It is really starting to feel like spring with the above average temperatures we have been experiencing. MARCH IS READING MONTH. Please create a Gentex/Grand Rapids Gold Read-A-Thon page, following the instructions sent home with your student. Here are some updates and reminders for March:
Student Achievements: Let's celebrate our students' successes! We will be having a schoolwide PBIS celebration in the coming weeks. Students will enjoy an extra recess and a bag of chips for their hard work following the building POWER expectations. We will also celebrate those students with perfect attendance for the month of March.
Spring Break: School will be closed from March 29 - April 5. Enjoy the break and return refreshed!
Upcoming Events:
High School Vocals visit West - March 15
Safety Reminder: Please do not park on the curb and get out of your vehicle during student drop-off and pick-up.
As always, please feel free to reach out if you have any questions or concerns. Thank you for your continued partnership in fostering a positive and enriching learning environment for our students.
Wishing you a wonderful March filled with learning, growth, and joy!
Yours in Education,
Chad Tolson
Hearts Around the World Program
Mrs. Kooyers Third Grade class is so grateful for everyone who sent Valentine greetings to our class and supported the Hearts Around the World Program. We received letters all the way from Guam, Scotland, Australia, The Netherlands, Austria, Slovakia, Hong Kong, United States and many states. This was a great way for students to build their mapping skills and it's always fun receiving mail. Please see the attached images!
A message from your School Nurses:
Symptoms of measles usually begin 7-14 days after exposure, but can appear up to 21
days after exposure and may include:
• High fever (may spike to over 104 ̊F).
• Cough.
• Runny nose.
• Red, watery eyes (conjunctivitis).
• Tiny white spots on the inner cheeks, gums and roof of the mouth, two to three days after symptoms begin.
• A rash that is red, raised, blotchy; usually starts on the face, spreads to the trunk, arms
and legs three to five days after symptoms begin.
1st Grader Rowen Stewarts Region 9 Art was chosen to be in the top 100 at State Level! His art will be in the state art display at Downtown Western Michigan University. Dates will be sent out later.
Congratulations Rowen!
Spring Choir Concert
Holland West Spring Music Concert 1st-5th Grade
Wednesday May 22nd
Time:TBD
Holland High School Performing Arts Center located at 600 VanRaalte Ave. Holland, MI 49423
Laup Early Release Day After School Program
Please fill out the attached Google form to express your interest in the Laup Early Release Day After School Program. The physical forms are in the West front office.
The ¡Aquí Jugamos! Play Program is designed for HPS students at Holland West Elementary and HLA in grades 2nd-5th. This program is free of cost!
Students in the program will:
-Enhance peer bonding
-Build community
-Foster and support student physical and mental health
-Increase problem solving
The program meets weekly immediately after school on Wednesdays from 2:30-4:30pm at Holland West Elementary located at 500 W. 24th St, Holland, MI 49423.
Please email Julian@laup.org or call (616) 888-7225 for enrollment questions. To officially enroll into the program you'll need to: Fill this application out and Sign the Physical Permission Slip Forms.
Director of Youth Programs & Advancement: Julian Lugo
Youth Program Instructor: Marlen Barrios
President & CEO: Johnny Rodriguez
West PTO News
BOOK FAIR
Thank you to everyone who helped make our book fair a success! We reached our goal of $3,500 and will be getting 60% back to spend on books for West! We were able to gift teachers $20 each for their classroom libraries and Mrs. Stenman won an extra $50 for her classroom. We also drew a student winner from every classroom so everyone would have a chance to win a book. So far this year we have donated $2000 in books to the vending machine, $500 to the library, and $500 to the Read-At-Home Room!
READ-A-THON
Our next event is the annual District PTO Read-A-Thon. We hope your students are getting excited about reading and logging their minutes. If you haven’t already, please create an account for your reader so they can join the fun. So far West readers have logged 3,192 minutes and raised $2,480!
The Read-A-Thon continues through March 22. Students, teachers, and even the principal all have chances to win prizes! Weekly building updates will be posted to Facebook and you can read all the details on prizes here. Funds raised help West PTO support field trips, classroom cash, staff appreciation, free popcorn Fridays, field day, and more!
TOP TEN - Minutes
Chamness - 780
Kuiper - 413
Dekker - 321
LePard - 269
Kempf - 254
Smith - 235
Hildebrand - 225
Witters - 225
Schoettley - 180
Marko - 165
Koessel - 110
TOP TEN - Donations
LePard - $375
Hildebrand - $350
Chamness - $275
Dekker - $255
Kuiper - $200
Hoebbel - $175
Kempf - $160
Ruhf - $150
Porretta - $100
Smith - $100
Thank you West!!SAVE THE DATE:
Next PTO Meeting - Monday, March 18 @ 3:45 at West
Free Popcorn Friday - March 22
Field Day - May 17
To get involved, email HollandWestPTO@gmail.com or visit https://facebook.com/HollandWestPTO to stay up to date. We appreciate your support!
OCSN News!
March Newsletter Insert – Week 1
Building Healthy Communities: March is Nutrition Month!
March is nutrition month, and students will be learning from the BHC lessons ‘Healthy Snacks’ and ‘Go Slow Woah’. Students will learn what makes a snack healthy vs unhealthy and how snacks can be good for us. They will also learn why it’s important to include a variety of foods from the 5 food groups to make up a healthy diet, and to stop and think about which foods are most healthy to choose. To reiterate these lessons at home, ask your child(ren) about the S-N-A-C-K acronym they learned in class! Snacks should be: Simple, Nutritious, Affordable & Available, Colorful and Kid Friendly! Use BHC’s Shop Healthy & Save tip sheet to help find healthful snacks to choose from. You can help be a healthy role model by providing and encouraging Healthy Snacks at home and at school. BHC helps our school staff be healthy role models too, to make our school environment the best it can be for our students’ health!
March is Reading Month!
Here at West Elementary, we read every day, but this month, we take some time to celebrate our reading! It is a time we get to share with our friends about books we have been reading at home and at school. This year, we are participating in the Gentex Reading Challenge. There is a separate sign-up letter for this. We are also playing Westopoly reading this month. So be sure to ask your child how their punch card is going!