First Day of School at Alward
2020-2021 School Year
A Sneak Peak of the First Week of School
Mark Your Calendars!
- Monday, August 24th: First day of school
- Thursday, August 27th: Early Release at 12:15 p.m.
- Friday, August 28th: No School!
- Thursday, September 3rd: Early Release at 12:15 p.m.
- Friday, September 4th: No School!
- Monday, September 7th: No School!
Please check the HPS Student Calendar for early release dates and breaks for the 20-21 school year!
School Hours
School begins at 8:45 a.m.
School ends at 3:45 p.m.
Office hours: 8:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.
PK, KDG, and First Grade Helpful Tips
- Please have your child wear a name tag for the first day of school that has their first and last name along with their teacher's name. This will help us get your child to the correct classroom.
- Please label your child's backpack. They will receive a bus tag on the first day of school.
- Please send your child with multiple masks. We will be providing all students with break away lanyards that will be kept at school to prevent the masks from getting lost or traded during the school day.
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. This year adds 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. Parents will not be permitted to walk their child/ren to their classrooms due to the no visitor mandate. Therefore, 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 children 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 8:45-9:00 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. 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 additional cart tags in your child's take-home folder on the first day of school. If you need more, please contact the main office, and we will be happy to print some for you!
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!
Drop-off Map
Pick-Up Map
Car Tags
Here is a link for you to print a placard car tag for the first day of school-arrival and dismissal. Please put your child's first and last name on the card as well as your child's teacher's name. If you do not have a printer, please write this information on a piece of paper to put in the passenger side window.
In your child's take home folder, 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 costs $1.25. If someone qualifies for reduced lunch, the cost is $0.30 and free for those that qualify for free lunch.
Students that eat breakfast at school will eat breakfast in the cafeteria. They will be spaced out 6 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
Hot Lunch
Hot Lunch is available everyday to all students. 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.Students will be eating lunch in the classrooms 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.
Food Allergies
Peanut and Nut Free Classrooms
The following classrooms are peanut and nut free for the 20-21 school year. Attached you will find an approved list of peanut and nut free items that you can send in for your child's snacks and lunch items.
- Mrs. Wert-KDG
- Mrs. DeCarlo-First Grade
- Mrs. Heethuis-Second Grade
- Mrs. Louis-Fourth Grade
For more information about our peanut and nut free classrooms, please see the letter linked below and the approved peanut and nut free snacks letter.
Thank you for your support as we work to be proactive in protecting and keeping our students safe!
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
Transportation Home
- Please fill out this google doc with how your child will get home at the end of the day. Please note your child's bus number and if their transportation will change daily.
Change in Transportation Home At the End of the School Day
If your child is going to have a change in transportation home at the end of the school day, please contact the main office to let them know of the change prior to 3:00 p.m. We want to ensure that the classroom teachers are notified in a timely fashion prior to end of day dismissal procedures.Bus Information
Transportation (bus) information will be accessible via PowerSchool and will be communicated in an email and/or text message to all families this week.
Please contact transportation with any questions (669-7757).
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.
Child Feeling Sick
- If your child has a fever of 100.4 or higher, Please do not send them to school. They must be fever free without medication for at least 24 hours.
- Please follow this COVID-19
- Important COVID-19 information from the Ottawa County Health Department can be found on this link. We will be following these protocols if there is a positive case at Alward. These protocols do change frequently. We will keep you posted on any changes we get from the Ottawa County Health Department.
No Visitors or Volunteers
Forgotten Items
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
COVID-19 Health Screener Commitment
By signing this form, I am committing to screening my child to the best of my ability on a daily basis for the 2020-2021 school year, unless otherwise directed by public health authorities. I also understand that it is my responsibility to promptly notify school if my child is not going to school due to any illness especially to potential COVID-19 symptoms or any high-risk exposures to COVID-19.