Ada Family Connection

Dear Ada Families:

Yesterday morning, we were treated to a beautiful rainbow during morning arrival! Seeing the excitement, smiles, and pure joy on our students' faces as they spotted it was one of my favorite moments of the year so far. It was a simple reminder that sometimes the most special moments are the unexpected ones. It's those small moments of joy that can mean so much.

If your family celebrates Halloween, I hope you have a fun-filled and safe weekend celebrating!

The proudest principal in the world,
Gabbi Kokenakes

Nov. 6th: 3rd Grade Belonging Event at Fine Arts Center

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

Mrs. Benstein, Mrs. Cerny, & Mrs. Hoad are our three instructional paraprofessionals at Ada. We want to thank them for their incredible dedication, flexibility, and constant support. Whether stepping in at a moment’s notice to adapt to changing day-to-day needs or giving students the extra guidance and encouragement they need to succeed, their hard work does not go unnoticed. Their positive energy and willingness to jump in wherever help is needed make a world of difference for our entire school community—we are so grateful for everything you do!

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.

Classrooms, grade levels, and staff groups all had the chance to come together as a team to create a PRIDE pumpkin for the month of October. All of the teams had their own collaborative approach to making a pumpkin that was unique to them. Each pumpkin embodies team spirit, collaboration, creativity, and joy! They will all be on display during our Harvest Parties throughout the day. Make sure that you stop by and take a peek. You won't want to miss them!

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!

Dear Ranger Families,

We are excited to kick off our Ranger community fundraiser and to continue our relationship with Family Promise of West Michigan next week! Central High has been partnering with Family Promise for over 25 years and helping support our community to end homelessness one family at a time. Our Ranger community has been the primary supporter of their holiday store event, which provides toys and gifts during the holiday season. With our fundraising efforts, we are able to help provide a holiday experience for over 120 kids and 80 adults each year. For over 15 years, families have been able to come and shop the holiday store to pick out gifts for their children. All is made possible by the efforts of our Ranger families.

Last year our Rangers raised $27,400 to support Family Promise of West Michigan. Family Promise is seeing a greater need this year and has more families to support. There are currently over 4000 homeless children in Grand Rapids, and on any given night, 40 to 50 kids and their families require emergency housing (shelters). This fantastic organization helps families get back on their feet by providing resources and aftercare support. Check out their website here and watch this video.

The collection will take place from October 23rd to November 1st. We know that not everyone can help, but if your family can give any small amount, it all adds up to help us reach our goal. Online donations can be made directly on their donation page or through their Venmo with this link. All donations with a check made out directly to Family Promise or digital donations through their website or Venmo are tax-deductible.

If you donate online on their website or through Venmo, please put Forest Hills and the name of your school. The winning elementary school will be joined by our Men’s and Women’s basketball teams during recess!

Venmo donations can be made through the link provided. https://venmo.com/u/Familypromisegr

Thank you for your generosity and support!

Jonathan Haga, Principal of Central High School

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. Start looking for Ada's new process in November!

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!

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.

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!

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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