Spring Sunshine!

Sandy Johnson

Sometimes words come easily to me (sorry about that!) other circumstances it is difficult to find the right words to capture emotion and depth of a bit of news. The latter is the case now. At our staff meeting on Thursday, Sandy bravely shared with us that she will not be returning to teach kindergarten next year. She is a pillar in this Holland Christian community. After a career that spans 37 years, one can only imagine the number of children and families she has impacted and grown. I look at the painting and stain glass memorials the hang in our hallway and can only imagine how emotional this calling has been for Sandy as she has walked several families through the valley in those years. She has also celebrated many, many glorious moments with her families. As she shared with us, it is not by her choice. This is not a retirement, but rather due to our enrollment that Sandy will not be returning to South Side as a kindergarten teacher next year. All of us desire to serve God with the gifts he has blessed us with. All of us stay motivated and energized when we see fruit resulting from our labor. All of us are filled with expectant hope as we plant seeds in these young learners. One can only imagine how difficult this is for Sandy. She is our friend and has been a confidant for many years. Sandy, each of us appreciate and love you. We want to help celebrate your career, even if we need to do so in a gentle manner to help with the tangle of emotions these next weeks present. We love and appreciate you, Sandy!

Hmmm....could our kiddos try for success with a project like this? We have a little fleet of ozobots if anyone would like to take a crack at it with their kids! ;)

MAP Testing
Our final testing window runs Monday, April 23 through Friday, May 4. Thea has been amazingly supportive with administering the assessment if you are willing to shoot her an email with your test times, please. Thank you!

Kid Town
Just a reminder that Kid Town is all set up in the gym for next week. If you need space to spread out your learning with your kiddos, we can be grateful the weather looks nice because the gym will be out of commission for the week. Thank you to our second grade team for putting so much time and energy into this invigorating, real-life learning experience for our students. They LOVE it!

Class List Meeting
It's really getting to be that time! Would you be willing to begin putting down some thoughts on paper for pairing children with teachers and other students who enhance rather than inhibit the learning of others. Let's take a crack at putting together some lists. How do these dates and time look for you?

First Grade: Monday, May 7?
Second Grade: Thursday, May 3?
Kindergarten: Tuesday, May 8?