Claiming God's Comfort For Every Hour

We've been praying over and trying to push the breaks in advance of this day. Today marks one year, 365 long days and nights. for our Pat living without her Jay right beside her. She didn't want to mark this day. Yet here it is. We miss her here at school today and commit to continue to pray that God will reach out and surround her with his loving arms of comfort. Every hour of every day but especially this day. 

Pat told me yesterday at the end of the school day that she felt God's warmth and his presence through the quiet hugs, tears and concern expressed from you, her South Side family. Let's continue to uphold her throughout the next year. The valley is not over but the LOVE of God and his people will remain stronger. 

Welcome Joe Obaseki
Many of you have already met the newest member of our South Side team! Mr. O! He's awesome! He has already jumped right into work with our boys in Mrs. Haig's classroom and we're enjoying GREAT success! We're BLESSED to work alongside you, Joe! Welcome aboard!

Osmo base MIA
We are missing an Osmo base. That's the white thing that the iPad sits in. Anybody? Anybody?

Back to Health Chiropractic
On Monday, October 15, Back to Health will be providing lunch for you hard working South Side staff! Leave your PB & J or leftover pizza from the night before at home! There will be a tasty treat for you at school!

Kindness Rocks
Our loving JK students have painted rocks for students and will place them all over the playground! In special hiding places! I will tell the students over the PA on Monday morning how the kindness rocks work. If a student finds a kindness rock, they may run inside and place it in their locker. They are invited to accept the challenge to do something kind to someone else. Once their act of kindness has been completed, they get to hide the rock somewhere on the playground for someone else to find and accept the challenge. Isn't that cute? Thank you, JK!

POD group next Wednesday
The Pine Ridge POD group would like to come to SS to help with our students on Wednesday, October 3 from 1:00-2:00. Can you use some student assistants in your classroom? We're looking to place 30 kids :) Thank you for considering!

PD Tomorrow
PK will be meeting at Rose Park in the media center. Please see Tammy's previous email for the fine-tuned details. Breakfast will be served as well as lunch for you at Rose Park. Please bring a devise if you have one!

K-12 will meet at the high school. Breakfast begins at 8:00. Work begins at 8:30. Please bring a devise as well. I will be back and forth between both meetings as well as a few tours in Forest School and at South Side.

See You At The Pole

See You At The Pole
Next Wednesday, September 26 is a nationally recognized See You At the Pole Day. As we are a christian school, praying is something that we lead our students in all throughout the day. However, there is something special about taking the time to step out of our classrooms, circle around our flag and pray with students across our nation on that day. While certainly America has a long way to go to truly be the home for all the free and the brave, we have MUCH to be grateful for! So many people (some even parents and staff in our classrooms) who have sacrificed for the opportunities we enjoy in America. There is a sign up on the white board in the staff center. I encourage you to sign up for a slot, gather around the pole and lead our children in prayer. This is also a great opportunity to recite the pledge of allegiance together. 

Data Meetings During the Week of October 1
Here's what we've penciled in thus far:
First grade: Tuesday, October 2 from 12:45-1:45
Kindergarten: Thursday, October 4 from 11:45-12:30
Second Grade: Thursday, October 4 from 12:45-1:45

We'll examine the MAP, Delta Screener and Running Records of our students using the spreadsheets linked above.

PD Day on Friday, September 28
Breakfast begins at 8:00 on main street in the high school. We'll be engaged in a variety of work until 3:00 on Friday.

Beautiful Gate Chapel
For your calendar, we will have our annual Beautiful Gate combined chapel on October 17. Due to whatever time zone they live in, we have to adjust our chapel start time. We will START chapel at 8:45 on Wednesday, October 17. Several high school students who worked at Beautiful Gate this summer will share stories of their experience with us. At 9:00, we will pull up our little friends on FaceTime and sing together. Preschool, guess what! This means you can come too if you'd like and you're available. No need to worry about being able to sit perfectly still yet. All are welcome!

A Personal Day for Me
Cameron is in fourth grade. The fourth graders are traveling to Lansing for a field trip on Monday and I've gotten approval to take a personal day on Monday to be a chaperone. #lansingorbust I feel I should thank you for excusing me for the day too. We do have a tornado drill scheduled for South Side on Monday morning....of course we do 😅 Pat will announce the tornado drill over the PA, please have your students sit against the designated wall in your space and quietly wait until the drill is called off. I'll be thinking about you at 9:20 while I'm on the bus for two hours. Thank you for your grace in allowing me a personal day to be Mom to Cam. I'll tell you all about it on Tuesday ;) 

What's Up With That Finger?

So this is funny, huh? I've had a few people awkwardly ask me if everything is okay. To which I replied "Sure is! How about you?" A few have pressed on, is everything okay with TJ and you? And that's when I clued in. Ah Ha! Odd blog entry, but maybe I can catch everyone here in case you've been wondering too but didn't want to ask ;) Always ask anything....btw! This summer TJ and I played together on a beach volleyball league. We had a blast. However, during one game, I attempted to return a serve with a bad set. Poor form. I broke my finger. My finger is still way too swollen to get that ring even close to sliding back on. Interestingly, I had also sustained a concussion a few weeks earlier that took a bit to recover from. Two take aways? Maybe 44-year-olds should think twice about playing beach volleyball against people half their age (or at least I should think twice!) and TJ and I are happily married, communicate regularly and pray for many more years of doing life together. Wonder anything else? Feel free to ask! :D 

Thank you for your work at the staff meeting today. I will get that Grandparents Day order out to you soon. There are a few other tidbits and considerations for you listed below. Homecoming Game tomorrow. Dress cozy and maroon gear if you have any!

Beautiful Gate Chapel
For your calendar, we will have our annual Beautiful Gate combined chapel on October 17. Due to whatever time zone they live in, we have to adjust our chapel start time. We will START chapel at 8:45 on Wednesday, October 17. Several high school students who worked at Beautiful Gate this summer will share stories of their experience with us. At 9:00, we will pull up our little friends on FaceTime and sing together. Preschool, guess what! This means you can come too if you'd like and you're available. No need to worry about being able to sit perfectly still yet. All are welcome!

Assessment Season
Thank you for working through round 1 of MAP assessments! Remind yourselves when you see little ones just clicking through the screens this is just one piece of the "pie" when we look at student data. Your running records and math assessments truly provide us with the clearest picture of each child, particularly at this age.

Delta Math for 1st & 2nd Grade Only 
Speaking of assessments (I know...this feels like a lot), our Delta window just opened. For first and second grate teachers, would you please administer the Delta screener sometime before October 1? October 1 will be the week of our first round of data meetings. We'll need this assessment to gain a picture of students' skills and readiness. Here's a refresher on Delta since it's been since last spring:

1. What is Delta Math?
2. Preparation for Readiness Screening
3. Video of teacher leading class through assessment http://www.screencast.com/t/aFhwxuxb6
4. Decided how your students will get to https://inqwizit.oaisd.org/
5. Website: http://www.deltamath.org/
1. Username: deltamath
2. Password: math4all
1. Grade level screening packets
2. Grade level intervention lessons
6. Data: Generating Reports
7. Winter screening window December 5-16
8. Building data meetings TBD

Data Meetings During the Week of October 1
Here's what we've penciled in thus far:
First grade: Tuesday, October 2 from 12:45-1:45
Kindergarten: Thursday, October 4 from 11:45-12:30
Second Grade: Thursday, October 4 from 12:45-1:45

We'll examine the MAP, Delta Screener and Running Records of our students using the spreadsheets linked above.

PD Day on Friday, September 28
Breakfast begins at 8:00 on main street in the high school. We'll be engaged in a variety of work until 3:00 on Friday.

We're Hiring
Well....not exactly. Just trying to put out an enthusiastic ask. Amanda Bohle used to represent our South Side community on the School Improvement Team. She has relinquished that post when we moved to Zeeland. Imagine that! Before individually starting to ask people, I thought I'd toss it out to the group. Does anyone feel called to represent South Side and voice our perspective as the School Improvement Team continues their work in moving HC forward toward our Accreditation Goals? It really is a fun, productive group who is getting good work done.

We have one curricular review group that does not have a South Side rep. The Technology group needs a South Side representative. If you currently do not serve on a curricular review group and you are interested in ALL of the learning and advancement we can make with our tech tools at HC, would you please let me know? We'll happily accept your offer to help our South Siders grow in this important area of learning.

New Member On Our SS Team!

Trish Harkema! 
We have a new member on our team!!! Trish Harkema has accepted a position to help as an aide in our ESS room under Christy Haig's leadership. Already, Trish has bonded with our kiddos and, on that trust and love, these little ones are going to continue to blossom and develop! Welcome aboard, Trish!

MAP Testing Window
Please check the staff calendar. The fall MAP testing window opens on Monday. Thea does her best to support the tech side of this effort. While she cannot be in all places at all times, she has asked to be told the date and time of your test. She often tries to arrange for supporting each class.

New Disinfectant 
Darlene has informed me that we will all be given a brand new clearer. Lavender Quat. Doesn't that just sound clean and healthy (at least the first part does). You will be given a bottle to use to clean your students' desks. This disinfectant is healthier for students' bodies and is a knock out cleaner throughout the district. When your bottle is empty, please place it outside your classroom door. Darlene will see that as a secret code message to refill your bottle and replace it! Questions? Let me know....

CEA Attendance
Just a friendly reminder all faculty, part-time and full-time, K-12 are asked to attend the CEA Convention on October 25 and 26. This is an excellent opportunity to grow in our craft, network with others and kick around creative ideas with your team. Please let me know if you need exception made for your presence, otherwise, I'll see you there! :)

Report Cards
Will go home October 19.

P/T Conferences
Will be Monday and Tuesday, October 22 and 23 from 4:00-8:00.

Safety Protocol Reminder

• Once the day begins, please be sure to close, lock, and remove magnets in any exterior doors propped open before the day.
• Please never prop doors open during the day.
• Please be sure to have your classroom door handles locked at all times. Please prop your door open, if you wish, or use the magnets. If you need a magnet, or if your lock needs attention, please let the office know.
• When you leave, please make sure your classroom is secure, windows closed and locked, door closed and locked, and exterior doors closed and locked behind you.
• Pat and I will make work of getting a clear understanding of the medical needs of all of our students. You will be contacted with necessary steps and actions. I will connect with parents if we need to address changes in routine (such as meds in backpacks). 
• Your maps and class lists will be distributed asap...because, remember? We have a copier! :D