Ada Family Connection

Dear Ada Families:

I can't believe it's already November! This school year is flying by. We had such a fun time celebrating at our Harvest Parties last Friday. It was also such a joy to see so many family and community members at our costume parade. Those small moments when we can slow down, connect, and find a little joy, even for a short time, often become the big memories we look back on the most.

We have a big game to look forward to this weekend! Wishing everyone a fun weekend cheering on their favorite team. Go Green!

The proudest principal in the world,
Gabbi Kokenakes

Nov. 9th: Early Release at 1:45 PM

Nov. 25-27th: No School- Thanksgiving Break

Piper (Kindergarten) and Leighton (2nd grade) are our winners! The sister team thought Dr. K should dress up as a Golden Pride ticket because at Ada we show PRIDE together every day!

Violet (1st grade) is our runner up! Violet thought Dr. K should be a coyote because she's the leader of the pack!

Drop-off begins at 8:35 AM. Please wait for an Ada staff member to be outside before letting your child out of the car.

For both drop-off and pick-up, please use the car line. The other area is reserved for buses. Below, you’ll find a map showing Ada’s traffic flow. When we all follow the same procedures, our car line runs smoothly!

Thank you for practicing patience and kindness while in line.

1. Please remain in your car during drop-off and pick-up.
2. Students should exit the vehicle from the passenger side, curbside for their safety.
3. Please make sure your child(ren) remain safely seated in the car until it is time to exit.
4. In the morning, pull all the way forward when dropping off. This helps keep the line moving continuously.
5. Please be patient and never jump ahead of another vehicle in line.
6. The only exceptions to these arrival and dismissal procedures are those approved by Gabbi Kokenakes for specific needs, such as health concerns or students with casts.

Thank you for doing your part to keep our students and staff safe and to help make arrival and dismissal run smoothly!

A quick reminder about the importance of arriving at school on time! Students enter the building at 8:35 AM. Our school day begins at 8:45 AM, when the final bell rings and classroom instruction gets underway. Arriving on time helps students start their day feeling settled, prepared, and ready to learn. Even a few minutes can make a big difference! It also allows teachers to begin instruction without interruption and ensures students don't miss important morning routines and learning opportunities. Thank you for helping us make the most of every minute of learning at Ada!

One of our district's focus areas is continuously improving the school experience for families, students, and staff. Using feedback from our Spring 2026 Experience surveys, school leaders identified areas to celebrate and areas for improvement. The areas for improvement are goals school leaders have identified and are actively addressing.

As part of these efforts, we will conduct check-in surveys later this month. Each survey will ask one question to give us a “pulse” on how we are doing. Responses from students, families, and staff will be used by district, department, and school leaders to monitor progress toward our goals. In the spring, the district will use a more comprehensive survey to capture the full stakeholder experience. The link to the Fall 2026 Experience check-in survey for families will be sent at approximately 5:00 p.m. Friday, November 13.

Student surveys will open on Monday, Nov. 16, for students in 3rd-12th grade. Principals and staff will coordinate student participation within their schools according to their building schedules. Each school leader has selected one question from the previous Spring Student Experience Survey around which to “check in” with students. If you do not want your student to participate in the one-question Student Experience Survey, please email your school principal at gkokenakes@fhps.net by Friday, Nov. 13. All surveys will close on Friday, November 20.

Please be sure to provide your input! By doing so, you are helping us strengthen the vital partnership between schools and our community.

Thank you for all you do to support our students and our schools each and every day.

Junior Kindergarten:

Students have been exploring the sounds of major and minor tonalities. We have labeled major as sounding "happy" and minor as sounding "pensive." One of our songs in major is "5 Perfect Pumpkins," and one of our pieces in minor (we move to it, and some students have started singing along) is "Blowing in the Wind."

Kindergarten

Kindergarten is wrapping up our exploration of expressive opposites in music--fast/slow, loud/quiet, and high/low. High/Low is the trickiest of these concepts as it relates to pitch but students hear the words used to reference volume in everyday life. We have spent much time exploring high and low through prescribed movement (an example would be moving like a floating autumn leaf to high pitches and a stomping giant to low pitches), playing high and low patterns on step bells, and listening to examples of high and low pitches in game format.

First Grade

Students have been practicing playing rhythm patterns on rhythm sticks and exploring melody (the part of a song you can hum). They are taking the melody of "Snail, Snail" and identifying the solfege in the song (mi, sol, and la) while reading iconic pitch notation (pictures that are placed higher or lower depending on the pitch). This will transition into reading mi-sol-la patterns on a reduced music staff.

Second Grade

Students have been playing the game "Apple Tree" and using the melody of the song to start reading pitch notation on a 5-line music staff. "Apple Tree" uses the pitches do, mi, sol, and la. They are continuing to practice reading and performing half notes and half rests. Each class period, we also enjoy a video performance of an instrument from the orchestra so that we can learn the timbre of the four instrument families by the end of the year.

Third Grade

Students have been practicing playing their new rhythms and exploring the major scale with the song "Autumn Leaves." They learned about the life of Celia Cruz (the "Queen of Salsa" music) and have enjoyed movement activities to a few of her songs. Students also have been playing a rhythmic game "Zapatito Blanco" (little white shoe) from Mexico that works similarly to the play group game "Bubble Gum, Bubble Gum" in the U.S.

Fourth Grade

Students have been working on building fluency in labeling the pitches of the treble clef and in reading 32-beat rhythm patterns in preparation for utilizing those skills when playing the recorder. They are looking forward to playing recorders very soon. (Remember that your 4th Grader's Recorder Status Slip is due on Monday, November 2.) Students also have enjoyed playing a rhythmic game "Zapatito Blanco" (little white shoe) from Mexico.

Congratulations to all of our PRIDE raffle winners for the month of October! Our students continue to show up each day and show what it means to have Ada PRIDE. We are so proud of these 5 students for their commitment to our school community!

Calling all PRIDE Pup fans! Our PRIDE Pup sWAG sale is here, and it’s the paw-fect way to show some love for the four-footed friends who brighten our schools. Choose from cozy hoodies, crewnecks, tees, totes, and hats, with youth and adult sizes for the whole pack. Rep your favorite pup, or grab the design featuring the whole crew! Support Chase and the FHPS PRIDE Pup program! All proceeds go directly back to our school support dog program. Shop by Nov. 30 at grmifullypromoted.chipply.com/pridepupspopup. Have it shipped, or pick it up at your school. It also makes a great holiday gift!

Earlier this week the district sent out to families the announcement of a new Visitor Management System that will be in all the school buildings. The announcement outlines what to expect, things to remember, and how to check-in. The complete announcement will also be posted in the Focus for your reference. Please reach out if you have any questions. Our new process is up and running in the office!

If you have questions regarding your student's photos, order, or yearbook, please email: customerservice@geskusphoto.com. They are happy to help. Thank you.

Get ready to celebrate 20 years of Disney's High School Musical! Forest Hills Northern's talented students are bringing this fan-favorite musical to life November 19–21 at the Forest Hills Fine Arts Center! Don't miss this high-energy show filled with music, dancing, and Wildcat spirit!

Tickets are on sale NOW at FHFAC.Ludus.com or at the FAC Box Office, Monday–Friday, 9 AM–4:30 PM.

GO WILDCATS!

Thursday, November 19 – 7:00 PM

Friday, November 20 – 7:00 PM

Saturday, November 21 – 3:00 PM & 7:00 PM

• Odyssey of the Mind teams now forming. Calling all creative students in grades Jr.K-12 to join an Odyssey of the Mind team. What is Odyssey of the Mind? Check out their video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZbm0jGZd4k Join a team today; it’s not too late. If you love to tell stories, build cool stuff, perform or direct, create art, work with power tools, engineer treasures out of trash, or otherwise use your limitless imagination, then you’ll love OM. No specific or prior skills required, just an open mind and willingness to try new things. Follow this link to the FHPS OM website to learn more or use this link to register your student. We can’t wait to see you in OM!
  

• Cub Scouts Pack 3634: For boys and girls in grades JK-5th grade. The pack meets on Monday nights at 6:30 p.m. at Cascade Christian Church.

• Daisy Girl Scouts serving Pine Ridge and Meadow Brook: Daisy Troop 9604 invites Jr. kindergarten and kindergarten girls to join their new troop. Once registered, the troop leader will reach out with meeting details. Troop helpers are welcome to register as well. Register online. Questions? Contact Barb Gatchel, bgatchel@gsmists.org.

• JOIN Girl Scouts of Michigan (Shore to Shore): Find what’s within, from curiosity to confidence. Be a Girl Scout! Join Girl Scouts of Michigan Shore to Shore for an informational meeting to get connected and learn more. Girl Scouts welcomes girls in grades Jr.K-12. Questions? Email Barb Gatchel at bgatchel@gsmists.org, or call 616-690-0173. Register for an upcoming meeting.

• Our Forest Hills Fine Arts Center has three professional touring shows this season. Don’t let them pass you by. To put people in the winter spirit, they have Frost, a Cirque Holiday Extravaganza on Dec. 20. To close out their profession season, the Peking Acrobats will perform at the FAC on Feb. 21. Tickets are available at the Fine Arts Center box office and online.

• Please visit the FHPS website for additional opportunities, information about other nonprofit organizations, and community flyers. The school district does not sponsor/endorse or otherwise take a position on non-profit entities that exist separately from FHPS. We simply provide this service to our community in an effort to inform them of events/activities that may be of interest to school-aged children.

Thank you for your patience and support as we introduce our new carline number system! We are always looking for ways to make dismissal safer, smoother, and more efficient for everyone.

Each student will have a bag tag with their assigned carline number. That number will correspond with a cone featuring the same color as the tag. Please help your child keep their bag tag safe and attached near the top of their backpack so it is easy for staff to see and identify at dismissal. This system will help our staff quickly identify student numbers while we continue getting familiar with them and will help us stay organized as students are called and dismissed.

We appreciate your partnership as we work through this new system and make adjustments along the way. Thank you for helping us Build Together and for doing your part to keep our Rangers safe!

As we head into cold and flu season, we appreciate your help keeping our school community healthy! If your child is sick, please keep them home to rest and recover and help prevent the spread of illness. If your child has a fever or has vomited, they must be fever-free and free from vomiting for 24 hours before returning to school. Thank you for helping us keep our students and staff healthy and safe!

Email: gkokenakes@fhps.net
Website: https://www.fhps.net/elementary-schools/ada/
Location: 731 Ada Drive Southeast, Ada, MI, USA
Phone: 616-493-8940

Ada Elementary Website: www.fhps.net/ada

Ada Elementary PTO Website: http://www.adaelementarypto.com/

Ada Elementary PTO Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/adaelementarypto

Forest Hills Public Schools Website: www.fhps.net

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