Ada Family Connection
August 22, 2025
Dear Ada Families,
What a fun week at Ada! We had so much fun celebrating Ranger Rumble last Friday and showing our school spirit during Homecoming Spirit Week. From the excitement of our celebrations to the meaningful learning happening in classrooms, it was a wonderful reminder that joy and learning go hand in hand!
I love seeing our Rangers come together, build connections, and make memories while continuing to grow as learners. We’re grateful for all the energy and enthusiasm our students and staff bring to Ada each day. Go Rangers!
The proudest principal in the world,
Gabbi Kokenakes
Oct. 12th & 14th: Fall Conferences
Oct. 15th: 2 hour early release - dismissal at 1:45 PM
Oct. 16th-19th: NO School - Fall break
Oct. 13th: 3rd Grade Whales Tales
Nov. 6th: 3rd Grade Belonging Event at Fine Arts Center
Students in Art class have been busy exploring a variety of art materials and revving up their creative engines. All students in grades JK-4th have been working really hard on their Original Works projects. Families have the opportunity to purchase personalized keepsakes featuring their child’s artwork if they choose to do so. Below is a description of the Original Works projects students have been working on.
Junior Kindergarten:
Students have been exploring mark-making with permanent markers, crayons, and paint to create bright, bold sunshine pictures. We’ve been listening to the classic song, “Here Comes the Sun,” while we work and sharing our favorite outdoor, sunny day activities.
Kindergarten:
Students have been learning about sunflowers in Art class. They created a colorful sunflower using a variety of materials like paint sticks, crayons, and water-based markers that “magically” turned into paint when they added water.
1st Grade:
Students have been creating with tempera paint, color sticks, and permanent markers. They used warm and cool colors to create imaginative flowers that they designed. Their inspiration came from photos/videos of real flowers and painted flowers from a variety of artists.
2nd Grade:
Students learned about the artist Robert Indiana and used his art to inspire their bold and colorful LOVE picture. He is known for his LOVE sculptures and paintings around the world. Students used paint sticks and markers to create repeating lines and shapes around their letters.
3rd Grade:
Students created a beautiful black and white dragonfly design contrasted against a bold and colorful background of their choice (warm or cool colors). Their dragonfly could be realistic or imaginative, but had to include bold designs and symmetrical wings.
4th Grade:
Students created colorful chameleons and iguanas using tempera paint, permanent markers, and color sticks. After watching several videos and looking at photos and artwork of these reptiles, they began their work. Their goal was to make their reptile stand out from the background, blend interesting colors, and create unique designs and scales.
4th graders begin Art class with 5 minutes of silent sketching.
Love is in the air in 2nd grade!
Disney's High School Musical!
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
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!
Drop-off begins at 8:35 a.m. 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.
- Please remain in your car during drop-off and pick-up.
- Students should exit the vehicle from the passenger side, curbside for their safety.
- Please make sure your child(ren) remain safely seated in the car until it is time to exit.
- In the morning, pull all the way forward when dropping off. This helps keep the line moving continuously.
- Please be patient and never jump ahead of another vehicle in line.
- 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!
Gabbi Kokenakes
Email: gkokenakes@fhps.net
Website: https://www.fhps.net/elementary-schools/ada/
Location: 731 Ada Drive Southeast, Ada, MI, USA
Phone: 616-493-8940