Alward Action
August 27, 2021
A Note of Thanks
Hello Alward Families!
This week, we will venture into full days of school with students eating lunch at school. Please remember to send your child with a sack lunch or let them know that they will be ordering lunch. To help support our younger students, please try to send in items or containers that are easy for them to open. It is also helpful to have them start practicing opening containers or food items at home to help ease this transition. Our youngest scholars do take longer to eat so it helps when they are able to open their lunch containers. Teachers and noon aides will be there to help support our students as well with these tasks, but it does take awhile to get around to every student. Thank you for your help and support with this!
Finally, this year, we are trying something new to help support students and the transition from home to school called Handle With Care. There are many days that our students may experience difficulties at home in the morning before coming to school (not enough sleep, no time for breakfast, an argument with a sibling or a difficult family situation), and we want to help support your child. We understand that you are not always able to share details and that is okay. If your child is coming to school after a difficult morning, night, or weekend, please email your child's teacher with the words, "Handle with Care." Nothing else will be said or asked. This just lets our staff know that your child may need extra time, patience, help and/or love during the day. All families go through this from time to time, and it is normal. We want to help support our students in any way that we can to ensure they have a positive experience at school!
Thank you again for all of your continued support and encouragement as we dive into the school year to support all of our students!
In this together,
Melanie McClure
NO SCHOOL - Sept. 3 and Sept. 6
Friday, Sep 3, 2021, 08:00 AM
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PTC Public Meeting - Open House
Tuesday, Sep 14, 2021, 07:00 PM
3811 Port Sheldon Street, Hudsonville, MI, USA
School Pictures
If your student is absent, retakes will be taken on October 20.
Thursday, Sep 16, 2021, 08:45 AM
3811 Port Sheldon Street, Hudsonville, MI, USA
Early Release
Friday, Sep 17, 2021, 12:15 PM
3811 Port Sheldon Street, Hudsonville, MI, USA
Hudsonville Athletic Boosters
MORNING STUDENT LINE-UP LOCATIONS
Car Riders/Walkers
The doors will open at 8:35 a.m. Please do not drop your students off before this time for safety and security reasons. We do not have supervision available before 8:35 a.m.
We will have a staggered arrival for the FIRST WEEK of school. Please see below for student drop-off procedures. We will communicate with families when we will transition back to normal drop off times. Students will not be counted tardy to school during the first couple of weeks if they are not dropped off by 9 a.m.
All students will enter the building upon arrival and head straight to their classrooms.
KDG students will enter Door A.
Pre-K and 1st grade students will enter Door W.
2nd-5th grade students will enter Door U.
Bus riders
When buses arrive at Alward, a para will get students off of the bus and walk them into the building and take them straight to their classrooms.
STUDENT DROP-OFF AND PICK-UP PROCEDURES
Student drop-off and pick-up are very busy times during a normal school year in the school driveway and hallways. COVID has added a new layer, so please make sure to read all of these drop off procedures so that we can ensure the safety of our students and staff and efficiency of our car line. If you are dropping your child off in the carline, please remain in your vehicle and follow the procedures below.
Staggered Drop-off: We will have a staggered drop off due to the expected increase in car riders this year. We will have numerous staff helping students get into the building safely and to their classrooms.
- Grades 2-5: Please drop your child off between 8:35-8:45 a.m. Please do not come early as we will not be able to allow students into the building until 8:35 a.m. If you have children in grades PK-1, you can drop off all children during this time slot. We will have your oldest child help walk your younger child/ren to their assigned classes. Students in grades 2-5 will enter Door U unless they are walking a younger sibling to their class.
- Grades PK-1: Please drop your child off between 8:40-9:50 a.m. Students in KDG will enter door A. Students in PK and 1st grade will enter door W.
Car Line Drop-off Procedures:
1. Please place the placard sign, pictured below, in your passenger side window of your car with your child/ren's names and teacher's name listed. You will receive two car signs at open house. Additional signs can be picked up in the office if needed. If you can, please put a name tag on your child along with his/her classroom teacher's name to help us get students to their correct classroom.
2. Use the car loop on the west side (office side) of the building.
3. Stay in the right lane and drop off your child in the drop-off zone. Zone will be marked with cones. Please pull all the way to either the stop sign for the unloading zone or to the car in front of you.
3. Students will exit the cars on the passenger side of the car in the unloading zone. (Do not allow students to exit the car on the driver’s side for safety reasons!) Staff will help child/children get out of the car and direct them to the door that they will go in.
4. Parents remain in their vehicles.
5. Do not pass cars in the car line. Stay in a single file line until the cars move in front of you.
To Keep Our Line Moving Tips:
Follow the procedures noted above.
Say your goodbyes and give kisses prior to dropping off in the car line. :)
Have backpacks/supplies ready to exit car with students.
Parents need to remain in their vehicles.
Thank you in advance for your patience and understanding with our system and procedures. Safety is our number one concern for our students and their families.
Car Line Pick-up Procedures
PK-Fifth Grade Students
3:45 p.m.
1. Please put the placard sign, pictured below in your passenger side window of your car with your child/ren's names and teacher's names listed. You will receive two car signs at open house. Additional signs can be picked up in the office if needed.
2. Use the car loop on the west-side (office side) of the building.
3. Stay in the right lane and pull up to the orange cone on the far side of the parking lot or behind the cars in front of you.
4. Students will be walked out in groups to the car line and must enter cars on the passenger side of the vehicle.
5. If you need to help your child buckle his/her car seat, please pull forward with the flow of traffic, park in a parking spot, and help your child buckle his/her car seat.
To Keep Our Line Moving Tips:
Follow the procedures noted above.
Parents need to remain in their vehicles.
Please be patient with this system for the first few weeks of school. Once students, staff, and families get used to the process, the line moves efficiently and is safe for all of our students!
Based on last year’s car line data, the car line takes 4-5 minutes to load 60 cars!
Walkers
- Walkers are dismissed once our car line is out of our parking lot to ensure their safety in the parking lot and crossing Port Sheldon, if needed.
- Walkers will be dismissed out of Door T (at the end of our fourth and fifth grade hallway).
- If you or a sibling will be typically walking your child home, please notify your child's teacher.
- If the person designated to walk your child home changes, please contact the main office to let them know of the change.
Drop-off Map
Pick-Up Map
Car Tags
At Open House, you will receive a car tag for the arrival and dismissal car line. Please write your child’s/children’s names and classroom teacher's names as well.
If you need additional car tags, you can get them from our office staff.
Breakfast
Breakfast will be served starting at 8:35. Once students are done eating, they will be sent back to class.
Breakfast consists of cereal, milk, juice, fresh fruit, and a cookie/cracker bar.
Breakfast is free for any student.
Students that eat breakfast at school will eat breakfast in the cafeteria. They will be spaced out 3 feet apart at our cafeteria tables.
If your child will be eating breakfast at school, please contact your classroom teacher so that we know to send them down to the cafeteria the first week of school.
Lunch-Update
Hot Lunch
Hot Lunch is FREE for all students again this year. If your student chooses to take milk only, you will need to pay for that. Milk is .50. Menu's, Free and Reduced Information, Nutrition information and lunch account info can all be found on the Jenison/Hudsonville Food Service Home page. You received your students ID# with your students' teacher. You will need this ID# to set up an account with food service for making online deposits. Please call the office at 616-669-6700 if you have any questions.PK students will be eating lunch in the cafeteria, while our K-5th grade students will be eating lunch in the classrooms again this year. Students will travel down to the cafeteria to get hot lunch or milk, if they ordered it, and then go back into the classroom to eat. Teachers will be with the students while they are eating their lunches. We will have noon hour aides that will be assisting students getting their lunches and helping sanitize the classrooms after lunch is done.
Medications at School
Please do not send medications to school with your child. Please come into the office to drop off medications. Thank you!
Transportation Home
Change in Transportation Home At the End of the School Day
Bikes
Attendance
If your student will not be attending school due to illness or other reasons, please call the office before 9:15 am. Students who are not called in by a parent/guardian will be marked with an unexcused absence.
If your student will be late, arriving after 8:50 am, please call the office in the morning. Any students arriving after 8:50 am must be signed in by a parent/guardian.
If your student will be late and needs a hot lunch, please let us know when you call. Hot lunch needs to be ordered by 10 am.
Planned absences of more than 3 days require a vacation request form to be filled out. Forms can be picked up in the office or emailed to you. Please turn in vacation request forms at least 5 days prior to the planned absence.
Forgotten Items
Mom-2-Mom Sale
Borculo Christian School is holding an Outdoor Mom-2-Mom & Bake sale on Saturday, September 11, 2021, from 9 a.m. - Noon at the school 6830 96th Ave, Zeeland, MI 49464. Come shop the gently used clothes and toys of many individual sellers. Kids grow quickly, fill their closets at the BCS Mom-2-Mom Sale. If you are interested in selling at our sale, please contact bcsclothingsale@borculochristianschool.org for more information. In the event of rain, the sale will be moved indoors. Hope to see you there!
Saturday, Sep 11, 2021, 09:00 AM
6830 96th Avenue, Zeeland, MI, USA
Communication
- Visit Our Website: Our school website will be updated on a regular basis as it will be the main source of information for our parents and community members. We will no longer have an Alward Blog as we are looking to consolidate and simply communication to our families.
School Messenger: Regular communication from school messenger will be sent out via email, phone calls, or text messages to keep you in the loop on what is taking place at Alward!
Social Media: Follow our story by liking us on...
Facebook: Like us on Facebook-facebook.com/AESEaglePride
Twitter: Like us on Twitter @AlwardElem
Google Classrooms: We will no longer have individual blogs for teachers. Teachers will be updating their Google Classroom Sites on a weekly basis.
Website: https://www.hudsonvillepublicschools.org/alward/index
Location: 3811 Port Sheldon Street, Hudsonville, MI, USA
Phone: 616-669-6700
Facebook: facebook.com/AESEaglePride
Twitter: @AlwardElem