Zeeland Quest News
June 16, 2022
2021/2022 ZQuest Calendar & Highlights
No School: June 17
Kinder-2nd Grade Walking Trip to Captain Sundae: June 20, 12:15pm
Kinder-2nd Grade John Ball Zoo Field Trip: June 21, 9a-2p
Walking Trip to Captain Sundae (3rd-5th): June 22
Last Day of School / 8th Grade Moving On Celebration: June 23
*see information below for 8th grade family rsvp
Kinder-6th Grade Field Day/End of Year Celebration: June 23
ZQuest End of the Year Celebration: June 23, Lawrence St. Park, 6p-8p
Summer Break! June 24-August 7
Back 2 School Information Sent to inboxes: June 24
ZQUEST EVENTS & OPPORTUNITIES
LAST DAY OF SCHOOL FAMILY PARTY:
- DATE: Thursday, June 23rd
- What?: Fun meet up at a Zeeland park after school. Bring your own dinner and hang out with friends.
- Lawrence St. Park, Zeeland
- 6pm-8pm
- RSVP
8th Grade Moving On Celebration
You are invited to join us for a fun celebration send off as your 8th grader moves on to the next journey in their educational career! It's a moment of excitement, joy, a little sadness and a lot of nervousness! One thing that is for sure (and I can vouch for this) they will have the most amazing 9-12 experience and it will FLY by faster than you ever imagined, so take it all in, soak up every moment and enjoy the ride!
Help us CELEBRATE the accomplishments they've had at ZQuest!
(whether they've been with us since kindergarten or only a year or two)
WHO? 8th graders and Parents/Grandparents/Guardians/Important People
WHEN? Thursday, June 23; 12pm-2pm
WHERE? Zeeland Quest
WHAT? Here are the details!
12:00pm-12:30pm: LUNCH in cafe for parents (of graduates), 8th graders & staff
12:30pm-1:30pm: 4 Stations of FUN for 8th graders and families to visit & snag pics along the way
1:30pm-2:00pm: ICE CREAM SUNDAES
2:00pm: DISMISSAL
NOW WHAT? rsvp by answering this short form!
Hand 2 Hand 2022/2023
Dear Parent/Guardian:
We would like to offer your student the opportunity to participate in a program at ZQuest called “Hand2Hand”. This program helps provide a student with food for the weekends and is intended for families who currently may be experiencing a financial burden. The first backpack is set to be delivered on August 11.
Here’s how Hand2Hand will work: At the end of the week students who are signed up for the program will receive a minimum of 10 food items in a black school logo drawstring bag that will be provided at the first week of participation. These food items will be a combination of breakfast, snacks, lunch and/or dinner items. While the food items are meant for the student, they can be shared among the family as well. (Please note: if your student or another family member has food allergies it will be the responsibility of the parent/guardian to check the contents of the backpack each week to ensure the food doesn’t contain ingredients which could cause an allergic reaction).
There is no cost to participate! If you sign your student up to receive Hand2Hand, they will continue to receive the weekly bags each week they are at ZQuest. However, if down the road you no longer need the assistance, simply write a note expressing your desire to discontinue receiving Hand2Hand bags and give this note to the school office. This opportunity is being provided by Bethel Church. 515 East Main, Zeeland. To learn more about Hand2Hand, please visit their website: http://h2hkids.org.
If you feel your student would benefit from this opportunity, please complete the response form at the bottom of this letter and return it to your student’s teacher by August 1 and we will make sure that your student’s name is then added to the list. Your response will be kept
Please either email Leslie with the following information OR print the document attached and return to Leslie during the 1st week of school in August!
IF YOU WOULD LIKE YOUR STUDENT(s) AT ZQuest TO PARTICIPATE IN HAND2HAND, PLEASE RETURN THIS PORTION TO THE SCHOOL OFFICE.
Student’s Name: _____________________________
Teacher: _______________________________
Student’s Name: _____________________________
Teacher: _______________________________
*Parent/Guardian Email: ________________________
*Phone: ______________________________
Parent/Guardian Signature: ________________________________ Dated: _______________
*Please note: Email or Phone Number will only be used in case of school closures
Welcome to ZQuest, 2nd Grade, Ms. Neevel!
Hello! My name is Ali Neevel and this will be my first year teaching 2nd grade at ZQuest. For the last five years I have been teaching in Holland Public (1st grade, 2nd grade and 3rd grade) and before that I taught 1st grade in Indiana. I have also taught a multi-aged classroom at Innocademy Allegan. I am a graduate of Central College in Pella, Iowa and just recently finished my Masters in Urban Educational Leadership from Davenport University. I am very excited to be joining the ZQuest team! One of my favorite parts about teaching is building relationships with students, families and the community. I look forward to building those relationships here in Zeeland. On top of teaching, I tutor a couple nights a week for students who are dyslexic or need extra support with academics.
When I am not teaching or tutoring, I love spending time with my family and friends. I enjoy catching sunsets at the beach, drinking iced coffee, reading and being active. I am a huge sports fan and often that is the only thing on my television. I enjoy camping and traveling as well. In college I studied abroad in Merida, Mexico, but have also traveled to Guatemala, Sierra Leone, Africa and Italy. As for the United States, my goal is to hit all 50 states by age 50!
ZEE BUS Summer Schedule!
2022/2023 School Information
2022/2023 Transportation Form
Transportation forms for the 2022/23 school year are again needed by the transportation office. This form is needed for all students regardless of how they get to school so we can begin planning busing for next year. This year the forms are online making it easier than ever! Please fill out the transportation form by clicking HERE.
2022/2023 ZKids Enrollment
It's that time of the year again!
Time to enroll for the 2022/2023 ZKids Childcare. Those of you who are new to this, please know that you must enroll right away to ensure a spot for your child(ren). ZKids generally fills up very quickly!
For Zeeland Quest, ZKids is offered at ZQuest during our summer hours (in June and August), Monday-Thursday (Fridays the kids go to Quincy, unless otherwise specified). In July, the kids go to Quincy (or another location specified).
Enrollment for ZKids begins...
February 1, 2022 for current families, and
March 16, 2022 for new families for the 22/23 year
Summer camp (this is for this July) Registration starts March 16
Click HERE to go directly to the enrollment options
ZQuest PTO Information
All About PTO...
Family Organization Information
Volunteer Hero Hours: What is it and How does it work?
FOOD SERVICE Information
School Year (August-June) Breakfast and Lunch Information
Please fill out the Free/Reduced Meals application REGARDLESS of your financial status. Each application filled out helps support the district. Click HERE to take a few minutes to fill out the application (even if you know you will not be approved)!
Communication
Parent Website at http://www.zquestparents.com/. This site is our MAIN place of information and should become a habit to look at for reminders and answers. If we need to point out something specific, Leslie will send it in an email with attachments and teachers will do so as well in their classrooms!
You can also find information on our Parent’s Facebook page located at ZQuest Parents if you search for us on Facebook. This is ONLY a place for reminders and parent engagement and sharing. This is NOT where we store information or publish information that must get to parents.
We will also be using the REMIND app, which has been a great tool for us. This will primarily be for reminders and should we have a fog delay or snow day (I can’t believe I’m talking about snow!). Your child’s teachers may set up a classroom REMIND as well. They will come to you in the same way and will tell you who the REMIND message is from.
- Directions for signing up to receive REMIND texts:
- Text @zquest2021 to the number 81010 (you will receive a welcome text from Remind)
Go to https://www.remind.com/join/zquest2021 and follow the directions
Miscellaneous
Safety: The safety of all of the kids is our number one priority. During the summer hours there will be someone in the office during our school day. If you need to come for any reason, you MUST at all times have a sticker from the volunteer computer that permits you into the building. You may NOT just come down (this includes just dropping your child off to their classroom). We really enjoy our parents being so involved in our classrooms, but we also have to follow the safety procedures that are put in place district wide. PLEASE be sure to enter the office, sign in using the volunteer computer system, put your name identification on your shirt (clearly visible) and then you can head down. If you do not have your identification clearly visible you will be stopped and asked to return to the office. Remember, this is not to make it hard for you, as the parent, to help in the classroom or visit/drop your child off, but to keep all of the kids in the building safe!
Volunteering: Be prepared to re-submit or submit your information for a background check in August by going to the following website: https://v2ms.zps.org/Login.aspx or stopping in the office and resubmitting your fingerprints and information through our volunteer computer in the main office.
At any time in the building, you do not have a visible green name tag on your clothes, you will be stopped and asked to return to the office. If your name tag is yellow, it indicates that your background check has not been fulfilled yet and you will be asked to return to the office. If your name tag is red, you are NOT permitted into the building past the main office (but please know that if you receive a letter in the mail from our Volunteer and Background Coordinator, you may appeal your denial through a letter format, and that is good for the remainder of your children’s schooling in Zeeland). This is for the safety of all of our kids. We are not trying to make entrance difficult, however it is our number one priority to make sure that all of our students are safe from the time they enter our building until they leave our building. We do everything in our power to make sure their education is the best!
MTSS-B at ZQuest!
Positive Behavior Intervention Support System (MTSS-B at ZQuest)
Your learner will be hearing some new vocabulary at ZQuest starting in August. We have created a system of supports that revolve around behaviors, very similar to our system of supports for academics. We want all of our learners to feel safe, valued and loved in order to learn in the very best environment possible. A little information for you!
What is MTSS-B?
Multi-Tiered System of Supports for Behavior (aligns with our district’s MTSS-Academics) is an umbrella framework that includes RTI and PBIS (Positive Behavioral Intervention & Supports) frameworks. Multi-Tiered Systems of Support for Behavior (MTSS-B) is not a specific model but a compilation of effective practices, interventions, and systems change strategies that are designed to prevent student behavior problems and promote student achievement.
Why MTSS-B in Zeeland?
When students lack the behavioral and social skills necessary to focus on academics/achieve in school, we see far too many times that they are more at risk of failing or falling behind. Teachers are in need of proper support to eliminate the time being spent on managing student behavior and increase actual teaching time.
Our Goal at ZQuest (supported by ZPS)?
How it all began! We launched our SCHOOL-WIDE GOAL to students in January!
GOAL: Our staff and students will explore how to promote a community of inclusiveness and looking out for each other in all areas of our school through a PBL unit. This unit was implemented as the ZQuest MTSS-B model for the 2018/2019 school year and will continue in the future. In the end, we want to create a positive school climate that fosters positive behaviors and academic successes!
What is our Plan and how does it work?
Each of the following positive behaviors will be taught to all learner’s at ZQuest. We will be intentional about showing examples of both the negative behavior and the positive behavior, with emphasis on the positive. We have reward tickets that learners will be earning weekly (as school starts) and then gradually requiring learners to earn tickets in less intentional ways. These tickets will then turn into a reward that builds a relationship (rather than monetary or food gifts). By teaching positive behavior, learners will come to school knowing the expectations they are being held to and great learning for all can happen. We will be implementing a consequence matrix system as well, but will not release this until September when all teaching of expected behavior has been completed.
Q-U-E-S-T
Q= Quality Choices is our overarching foundation. Everything that we do must be done with quality choices & all of our expectations fall under quality choices.
U= Understanding YOUR Impact. How does your behavior impact yourself?
E= Empathy. How does your behavior affect your peers and teachers?
S= Safety. How does your behavior affect your safety, your peers’ safety and your teachers’ safety?
T= Trustworthy. How does your behavior affect your integrity?
Attendance Information
ZQuest Attendance Line: 616-748-3060
Creekside Attendance Line: 616-748-3310
Attendance/Tardy/Truancy Policy
Research shows that students learn best and reduce the academic slide when they are in school more often. One of the most attractive things about ZQuest (besides PBL) is the year-round, balanced calendar. This type of calendar allows for a break week in September/October, November, December/January, February, April, May and the entire month of July (it equals out to about one week off every 5-6 weeks). We recognize that it’s not always possible to schedule adult work vacations around the school calendar, however we ask that you try your best to make this happen. It’s extremely hard to make sure that kids are continuing their learning trajectory, especially in PBL groups, when group members are missing or when teachers need to collect work or try to catch kids up due to multiple weeks being gone. Please view the county-wide attendance policy that is in effect currently. It’s important to note that our middle school students WILL NOT be counted absent during our break weeks from Creekside, that is aligned with our calendar and is acceptable, so long as they are not participating in 9th grade PE/Health and/or it is not a performance week for band/choir/orchestra/dance.
Ottawa Area Intermediate School District’s (OAISD) Attendance Policy:
Chronic Absenteeism, 10%-Whether excused or unexcused:
At any time during the school year if a student has absences (either excused OR unexcused) that have reached 10% of their school days as being absent, this should initiate the following steps by the district addressing concerns. It is recommended that these check marks be made at 30 days of school, 60, 90, 120, 150.
OR
At any time during the school year a student has tardies (late arrivals and early dismissals) that have reached 20% of their school days, or any combination of the above, the following steps should be initiated:
· At 5 days absent (or at 10% of their school days being absent) a district identifies a potential attendance problem (both excused and unexcused absences are counted in this percentage).
· At 7 absences (or continued absences after identified attendance issue) district sends out an attendance letter addressing concerns of absences (both excused and unexcused absences are counted in this percentage).
· At 10 absences (or continued absences after identified attendance issue) district attempts to contact parent/guardian to discuss attendance issues and offer any support as needed. District also attempts to confirm that the parent/guardian received an attendance letter. Tier 1 and Tier 2 supports being reviewed by school (see handout) (both excused and unexcused absences are counted in this percentage).
· At 12 absences (or continued absences after identified attendance issue) district attempts to contact parent/guardian and schedules school meeting to complete Truancy Meeting Forms and offer any resources that might be helpful. Tier 1 and Tier 2 supports being reviewed by school (see handout) (both excused and unexcused absences are counted in this percentage).
· At 15 absences (or continued absences after identified attendance issue) and the district has exhausted all resources and interventions and attendance has not improved, a referral to the ISD is made via the Truancy Data Manager (TDM). After a referral has been made, all absences must have a doctor’s note in order to be marked excused.
· *Schools can refer a student to truancy prior to 15 absences (especially elementary) as long as the student has missed 10% of the school year and the school has exhausted all efforts and tiered interventions to improve attendance.
Excused absence means the following:
Student illness/injury
Residential treatment (with doctor’s note or verified by parent)
Medical appointments (with doctor’s note)
Religious holidays
Lice (3 days)
Funeral/death in family
Mandated court appearances (documented-only if children are required per subpoena).
Placement by Juvenile Court in detention.
Educational opportunities approved by school officials
Travel (5 days with school official approval)
Unexcused absence is any absence not accounted for above, examples of unexcused absences include, but not limited to:
Staying home to baby-sit
Overslept
Travel (more than 5 days in school calendar or any travel days without prior approval)
Needed at home
Weather
Missed bus
Child is not immunized
Sickness (not documented or verified by parent)
Chronic lice (over 5 days, CPS referral may be suggested/should be considered).
Willful truancy (skipping/student refuses to attend school per parent/guardian, or reported as a run-away).
Failure to notify school
Zeeland Quest Informational Video
Parent Portal
Medical
Diabetes Management Plan (come to the office or your doctor will have the plan)