North Godwin News
Week of January 23, 2023
Steve Minard, Principal
Kristi Bast, Secretary
Telephone (616) 252-2010 and Fax (616) 252-2011
North Godwin Youth Development
Our group effort in working with students to ensure their overall success is strongly supported by our two incredible Youth Development Coordinators; Mr. Keontre' Miskel, M.Ed and Miss Cierra Lowe.
Their main objective is to provide assistance and additional support in the endeavors of nurturing our North Godwin students, tracking and finding patterns in our incident data, intervening in conflict situations, communicating with parents, assisting with building security, and effectively supporting the goals of our school PBIS initiative and individual student behavior plans. Many students and families have different needs which can require an individual approach in order to successfully surpass certain circumstances.
Mr. Keontre Miskel has worked on our team as a Youth Development Coordinator for approximately three years. He attended Grand Valley State University where he received his undergraduate degree in physical education while serving as a wide receiver on the GVSU Lakers football team. He went on to pursue a masters degree in higher education while working full time and coaching. He has coaching experience at Godwin Heights in both football and track. Our students feel inspired by Mr. Miskel and enjoy his presence in our school. He provides stable, fair and structured counsel and mentorship to our students and effectively models and fulfills the provisions of our district-wide P.B.I.S. (Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports) initiative. Mr. Miskel is honest, approachable, perceptive, determined, and extremely hard working. He serves as an excellent role model to our diverse student population!
Miss Cierra Lowe has been a part of our North Godwin Elementary family for a little over a year. She has fast become a valued and relied upon member of our Youth Development team. Miss Lowe is pursuing a degree in criminal justice. She previously worked for four years with challenging youth ages 8 - 17 years of age in a juvenile detention center. Miss Lowe is able to build strong relationships with students of various ethnic, linguistic, and socioeconomic backgrounds, as well as those with special needs. An avid fitness enthusiast, Miss Lowe further inspires her students to be strong in mind and body. She has coached youth basketball in the past and will be a new coach this spring for our North Godwin Girls on the Run program. Miss Lowe is dedicated, intelligent, patient, and an excellent communicator. She sees a need and works diligently to fill it. She has an enormous heart for our students!
WIDA TESTING BEGINS FEBRUARY 6, 2023
The WIDA Screener is an assessment screening tool used by educators to measure the English language proficiency of students who have recently arrived in the U.S. or in a particular district. It can help to determine whether or not a child is in need of English language instructional services.
Annual 4th Grade Ski Trips
We are very excited to announce our ski trip to Cannonsburg Ski Area in February!
Dates
February 6, 2023 (Mrs. Compher, Mr. Sterken and Mrs. Vander Meulen)
February 13, 2023 (Mrs. Richardson and Mrs. Tidey’s Class go on February 13th!
Cost
We are very fortunate to have many donors for this trip. The cost for your student is only $25.00. This is a huge discount for a whole day of skiing. Money is DUE BY Friday, January 27, 2023.
Need
Your child will need snow pants, waterproof gloves, and a winter coat. Students will be wearing a helmet, so there is no need for hats. If you need assistance with these items, please reach out to your homeroom teacher.
Permission Slips
Due by Monday, January 23, 2023
We Have a New Digital Sign!
Please "LIKE" our North Godwin Facebook Page!
Cherry Street Dental Services Hygiene Team is Hard At Work!
Feeding America Food Truck on Monday, January 23, 2023
Godwin Heights High School
Main Entrance
4:45 PM - 6:00 PM
Please bring your own bags, if you have them! Thank you!
Early Release on Wednesday, February 1, 2023
FREE ENGLISH CLASSES for NORTH GODWIN PARENTS
LOCATION: North Godwin Elementary
ADDRESS: 161 34th Street SW Wyoming, Michigan
DATES/TIME: Every Monday and Wednesday evening from 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
START DATE: Monday, January 23, 2023
FREE CHILDCARE WILL BE PROVIDED!
To sign up for these FREE classes, please contact Laura at the Literacy Center of West Michigan. 616-459-5151
Student Count Day -- February 8
Our Aspiring Postal Carrier!
USPS mail carriers deliver mail to homes and businesses in cities, towns, and rural areas. They travel planned routes, collecting and delivering mail, obtaining signatures, and answering customer questions about postal regulations and services. Mail may be delivered on foot or by mail truck, depending on the location. Delivery occurs regardless of the weather, although schedules may be delayed.
It's exciting and important for our students to imagine the possibilities in life when it comes to a career of their own someday. In these formative years they are not only learning basic skills for academic success, they are also learning about their personality, their unique likes and dislikes, things that interest them, and ways in which they enjoy contributing to the world.
Thank you, Braylen, for your enthusiasm, kindness, and organization!
Mrs. Eichhorst
Mr. Alvarez
Playground Aide
Detention Supervisor
Mrs. Marr
Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) is an evidence-based, tiered framework for supporting students’ behavioral, academic, social, emotional, and mental health. When implemented with fidelity, PBIS improves social emotional competence, academic success, and school climate. It also improves teacher health and wellbeing. It is a way to create positive, predictable, equitable and safe learning environments where everyone thrives.
Schools like Godwin Heights that implement PBIS:
- Use a continuum of evidence-based practices to support student needs
- Engage students, families, and community members to co-create culturally responsive practices
- Regularly check the effectiveness of their practices
- Rely on teams to guide implementation
- Use data to identify strengths, uncover needs, and monitor student progress
- Implement universal screening
- Develop content expertise through coaching and on-going professional development
PBIS is an ongoing commitment to supporting students, educators, and families through systems change. When you implement PBIS well, students experience improved behavioral, social, emotional, and academic outcomes; schools and programs reduce their use of exclusionary discipline practices and improve their overall climate.
Request a Thermometer While Supplies Last!
Attendance Policy
The normal attendance expectations for any given child in the Kent County Intermediate School District are as follows:
> that a child miss not more than 10 days of Excused Absences for the entire school year,
> that a child have no Unexcused Absences for the entire school year
> that a child have not more than 5 Tardies combined with Leave Early check-outs per semester.
> that a child have no Suspensions for the entire school year.
Godwin Heights Public Schools are held by law to report tardies and absences in excess of the guidelines listed above to the Kent Intermediate School District Office of Truancy and School Attendance-State Law Enforcement Division.
The primary rationale for positive attendance is the strong relationship between student attendance and student achievement. Chronic student absences reduces even the best teacher's ability to provide learning opportunities. Students who attend school regularly have been shown to achieve at higher levels than students who do not have regular attendance. This relationship between attendance and achievement may appear early in a child's school career. A recent study looking at young children found that absenteeism in kindergarten was associated with negative first grade outcomes such as greater absenteeism in subsequent years and lower achievement in reading, math, and general knowledge.
Poor attendance has serious implications for later outcomes. High school dropouts have been found to exhibit a history of negative behaviors, including high levels of absenteeism throughout their childhood, at higher rates than high school graduates. These differences in absentee rates were observed as early as kindergarten, and students who eventually dropped out of high school missed significantly more days of school in elementary school than their peers who graduated from high school.
North Godwin Elementary
Email: bast@godwinschools.org
Website: www.godwinschools.org
Location: 161 34th Street Southwest, Wyoming, MI, USA
Phone: 616-252-2010
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NorthGodwin/