Please note that returning your RSVP to Mrs. Brouwer does NOT mean that you must purchase your child’s framed artwork. The RSVP just lets the Kids Art Fair people know how many frames to ship to Georgetown for the event. So please RSVP if you plan to attend and celebrate your child’s creativity, enjoy a fun make-n-take art project, and register for some cool door prizes to be given away during the evening.

Also – Georgetown’s December Kids Art Fair does not take the place of the annual district-wide Student Art Show, which will be held as usual in April 2010.

We hope to see you at Georgetown’s Art Fair on December 1st between 4-7 PM! Volunteers are still needed to help out – please contact Mrs. Brouwer!

Email: jbrouwer@hpseagles.net
Phone: 616.797.9797 ext. 22412
Art Blog http://josettebrouwer.edublogs.org

Time is running out to let your voices be heard in Lansing. Our Superintendent, Nicholas Ceglarek, is inviting parents to email, call and/or attend an event in Lansing on November 10. To find out more, please visit the school blog.

We are a Georgetown family who feels incredibly blessed during this time of economic stress in West Michigan. For this reason, we have decided to share our resources in an area where there is a great need in our school. We are asking, most humbly, and as you are able, if you will join us in this pursuit.  We attend Fair Haven Ministries, and through a special project called the Kingdom Assignment (inspired by Oprah’s Pay it Forward Campaign), we have decided to use our money to help families in need at our own school.

The greatest need of Georgetown families at this time is for food. Some families are unable to qualify for free or reduced lunches because of their income, but at the same time, the money they do receive is going to pay mortgages and bills. There are also many children who come to school without snacks, leaving them hungry as they are trying to learn.

Up to this point, there has been a group of very committed teachers and staff who have been pooling their own money to address this concern. We are hoping that we can multiply their generous donations through this blog posting.

Again, if you are able, we would appreciate any donations of gift cards to food stores. Meijer, Family Fare, D & W Fresh Market and WalMart come to mind, but there may be others that you can think of. The gift cards can be dropped off at the Georgetown school office at any time during regular school hours (8:30 to 4:00). Please mark any donations as follows: SPRING SERVICE PROJECT.  Please know that you can also purchase gift cards through out PTC scrip program.  If you have questions about how to do this, contact Carrie Clark-Berry (csclarkberry@comcast.net).

Thank you so much for your consideration and your support of this Spring Service Project. Know that you will be helping our Georgetown families in this difficult time.

The Shereda Family

I would like to invite you to visit our school blog that brings together two schools, thousands of miles apart: BLOGPALS. You will find an entry from our sister school, Raey Guang.  A Year Six teacher, Chia Pin Chen, created a blog post on our site.  In addition, Mr. Chia Pin Chen has also created his own class blog that has photos of some of his students.

This has taken perserverence from both schools–one that speaks English only and another that speaks Mandarin with some English.  Please visit the blog and ready entries from our sister school students.

Mrs. Reagan

Early this fall, we implemented a common instructional strategy (K-5) for the teaching of vocabulary. When teachers provide direct instruction in the deep understanding of words (vocabulary), students are better prepared to understand the information they hear and read in their studies.  Much of this work was based on the research of Bob Marzano, international curriculum leader in the area of best practice instruction, K-12.

Under the guidance of our speech & language pathologist, Kristina Speidel, we also assessed all students in their understanding of this strategy so that we could make improvements to our instruction.  The data that we collected helped us to identify missing pieces of our instruction, and also helped to move in the direction of small group instruction as a next step.  Beginning this week, small groups of students in each grade will work with teachers to learn additional strategies vocabulary to improve learning in all content areas.  In May, we will re-assess students and create a plan for improving instruction for the 2009-10 school year.

To see a video of the lesson modeled, visit: VOCABULARY