Park Newsletter

Hello Park Families,

I hope you have enjoyed the sunshine we've gotten a peek of the last couple of days! It sure does make a difference after those bitter cold days. We have two exciting things coming up in March that I would love to share with you.

Conferences

We are looking forward to meeting with you on Tuesday, March 4 and Thursday, March 6. Our teachers love the opportunity to meet with you and talk about your child's growth and progress. Our goal is 100% participation in our parent-teacher conferences, so please prioritize this time for your family. If you need childcare, we will have National Honors Society volunteers at school each night from 4:30 to 8:00pm in the cafeteria. Please sign up for conferences with each of your child's teachers here.

Battle of the Books

Did you know that March is Reading Month? This year we are going to try an exciting new reading activity called Battle of the Books! Much like March Madness Basketball, we will be having a Book Bracket where books are put against each other and voted for until we have a winner at the end of the month! Watch your child's teacher newsletter for more information. When we complete our Bracket, we'll also be raffling off the titles to students at Park Elementary, putting some of the books right in our classrooms, and keeping a set of the books for our school library! Thank you to our Parent Club (and all of YOU) for supporting this exciting reading adventure!!

Best,

Mrs. Stefanich

Hudsonville Public Schools Annual Education Report

The Annual Education Report (AER) is designed to meet state and federal requirements for reporting to parents and communities. The report provides detailed data on state administered student assessment results, accountability results, teacher qualification information, and the state results for the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP).

Parents and the community can access AER information for the district and individual schools by clicking

on the Annual Education Report tab on our website. If you have any questions regarding the AER information, please contact your child’s building principal.

This is a great time of the year to remember we don't have to be able to do everything YET! It's okay to keep trying when something doesn't come easily at the first try. I recommend the book, The Most Magnificent Thing as an example of this growth mindset in action!

PreK/Kindergarten Enrollment Information 2025-2026 School Year

Welcome to Hudsonville Public Schools. We are thrilled you have chosen HPS as the destination for your child’s education. We value parent partnership immensely, and we are excited to begin the journey of education with you and your child.

Step 1 - Enroll online

Online registration for prekindergarten and kindergarten for the 2025-2026 school year will be available on our website (www.hudsonvillepublicschools.org) beginning on January 13, 2025. To be eligible, children must be five years of age on or before December 1, 2025.

When you are completing the online registration, you will be required to upload the following documents. Please refer to the Enrollment tab for more details.

❏ Original birth certificate with raised seal

❏ Photo ID of parent or guardian registering student

❏ Proof of residency (i.e. utility bill, tax statement, house buy/sell agreement, lease agreement)

❏ Health Appraisal Form which includes dates of immunizations and vision/hearing testing (due by August 15, 2025)

❏ Kindergarten Oral Health Assessment (completed within six months of the first day of school). CLICK HERE to download the form for your dental office to complete or attend one of the Ottawa County Health Department clinics to be held within the district. CLICK HERE for a flyer with dates and location.

Placement Preference

The online registration will include a place for parents to indicate their PreK/K placement preference. Final placement determinations will be made after Step 3, Kindergarten Screening Process, noted below.

North and south elementary school PreK locations will be determined prior to the start of the school year.

Oral Health assessment was new this year for the State of Michigan along with a Health Assessment an Oral is Health assessment is also required for your child to enter school. Please see scheduled clinic times in the letter below for your convenience.

Kids Heart Challenge has been a great time for our students at Park Elementary!

So far we’ve raised over $4,000 dollars for the American Heart association. I know many of our families have been affected by heart disease, or we’ve been trained in life saving techniques pioneered by the AHA so this cause is one I’m proud to see our students step up for every year. There’s still time left to sign up and donate (10 days as of this writing) so if your family would like to help feel free to join up!

Our Stats so far-

• 105 Students registered online

• 15 Students completed Finn’s Mission, learning Warning Signs of a Stroke and Hands

Only CPR

• $4,422 raised to help students with special hearts and the fight against heart disease!

A special shout-out to our STUDENTS who have completed Finn’s Mission!

Aiden M.

August H.

Avery J.

Charlotte G.

Colten J.

Emma J.

Ezekiel P.

Ginnie B.

Harper R.

Johnny R.

Logan M.

Makenzie M.

Oliver J.

Raelyn P.

Temperance J.

Great Job Everyone!

-Mr Beimers.

• Friday, Feb. 21 - VIP Night

• Friday, Feb. 28 - Early Release 12:15PM

• March 4 and 6: Elementary School Parent-Teacher Conferences

• Fri., March 17: Early Release 12:15PM

• April 3-13: Spring Break

.

We are looking for donations to help with our staff conference dinner coming up March 4 and 6. If you are able to help purchase or donate, please use this link:https://signup.com/go/GZomrqp

We are also looking for volunteers for our Book Fair that week! We are very flexible with times and would love to have you! Reach out if you have any questions. Below is the schedule for class shop times if you would like to help when your child shops. https://signup.com/go/QkOFUTY

Other PPC events coming up:

March 4- Jet’s Pizza Night (more info coming)

March 12- PPC meeting at 9am

March 17- School Skating Party at Tarry Hall

Open House:

Tuesday, February 4, 2025, 6:30-7:30 p.m.

Early Childhood Center, 5535 School Ave. (main entrance off Madison Ave.)

This is a chance to gather information about our programs, meet staff, and visit the Early Childhood Center. There is no formal presentation and children are welcome.

Programs:

• 3 Year Old Preschool

• 4 Year Old Preschool, including 4 Year Old “PreK for All” FREE Preschool

• Before/After School Care

• Summer Care

Online Registration:

Wednesday, February 5, 2025, at 12:00 p.m.

Registration link at hudsonvillepublicschools.org under “Schools/Early Childhood Center”

A $50 fee per child is due if enrolling in a tuition-based program.

For more information, please email eccoffice@hpseagles.net or call the Early Childhood office at 616-797-0842, ext. 1.

See the new opportunites. link

Wheelchair Buddy Ice Skating!

Join us for monthly wheelchair buddy ice skating, where a student from Total Package Hockey is partnered with a wheelchair friend to enjoy time together on and off the ice.

Southside Ice Arena

566 100th St. SW

Byron Center, MI 49315
Contact Holly Gritter for more information at holly533@gmail.com or 616-291-3939

Saturday, March 8, 10 am - 12 pm

Hello! I'm a professor of elementary math education at Hope College. I'm excited to announce we are hosting a Family Math Fun Festival on Saturday, March 8, 10 am - 12 pm on campus that is free and open to families with children in Grades K-8. Our festival features a wide variety of interactive low-floor, high-ceiling tasks that will engage families in creative problem solving that won't even feel like mathematics! We'll also be giving away goody bags to all participants with math games and other school supplies.

Dr. Gina Kling

Hudsonville Little League 2025 Spring Registrations are Open!

Visit www.HudsonvilleLittleLeague.com for more information.

Parents, please review our district wide Student/Parent Elementary Handbook. This is new this year and is full of great information that may answer many questions. Please take a look and let me know if you have any specific questions regarding this handbook. Some notable items are listed below:

• Student dress code prohibits clothing promoting alcohol, violence, etc. Additionally, dress code prohibits bare midriffs, sides, or backs.
• Cell phones and smart watches are not allowed at school. They need to be powered down and in backpacks during school hours.

• School begins at 8:45 a.m.

• Parent drop off: no earlier than 8:35 a.m.

• School ends at 3:45 p.m.

• Office hours: 8:00 a.m.- 4:00 p.m.

Did you know that we accept doctors notes when your child returns from an appointment? If your child has an extended illness or attends an appointment and the absence is accompanied by a doctors note the absence will not be flagged as truant. Under Hudsonville Pubic School guidelines if a student is above a 10% ratio of absences at any point during the school year a truancy (attendance) letter will be sent home. A doctors note makes it so the absence is not counted as part of that 10%.

In order to receive text messages from Park and HPS, you will need to Opt-in. Please see this link to Opt-in to text messages so you don't miss any important information.

How do recipients opt-in to receive text messages?

1. Text “YES” to 68453 from each phone or device from which they wish to receive texts.
2. Confirm that your phone is on file at your school

How do recipients opt-out of receiving text messages?

Recipients not wishing to receive text messages to a particular number can simply do one of the following:

1. Don’t opt-in, and don’t reply to the opt-in invitation message.
2. Text “STOP” to 68453 at any time.
3. Opt out online at http://schoolmessenger.com/txtmsg
4. Request that the SchoolMessenger system administrator adds the number to the account’s phone number block list.