5/6 Building at Georgetown Updates
1-6-23
Letter from Mrs. McClure
Hello Future 56G Families and Students,
This has been such a fun week getting to talk to all of the Northside fifth grade students about scheduling electives, what a typical day will look like, and taking a virtual tour of the building! The students asked amazing questions and had a lot of energy during our conversations. There was definitely a lot of excitement in the classrooms!
Linked below, I have attached the course descriptions for incoming sixth grade students. In Hudsonville Public Schools, we are excited to offer students with a variety of electives at the sixth grade level to expand upon the learning that took place in their specials’ classes in grades K-5. We offer students the choice of a Performing Arts Elective that will last for their entire sixth grade year (band, choir, orchestra, or creative arts). In addition, we offer students choices for four additional electives in the areas of Art, ELA, Social Studies, PE, and Science/STEAM that will last one quarter each.
If you have had a student go through BMS or RMS already, you may be wondering why all sixth grade students are required to take a Performing Arts Elective now which is a change from years past. This was a district wide decision for all sixth grade students to get an opportunity to dive deeper into a music (performing arts) elective of their choice. One of our goals as a district is to grow our music program. By exposing all students to the various types of music as a sixth grade student, we can help increase participation in our music program offerings. We also looked at the latest research in regards to how music programs impact students and their performance in schools. The latest research shows that students who take music in middle school score significantly higher in Algebra in ninth grade than their counterparts who do not take music; have more enhanced fine motor skills that support their writing skills, computer skills, and other physical activities; and show an increase in language development that supports their skills in the areas of reading and writing. Finally, we looked at programming in area 5/6 buildings and found that they also require students to take a music elective starting in either fifth or sixth grade. These districts also made this decision based on the research tied to students' academic performance and providing students with opportunities to explore music at a deeper level than what was offered in the elementary general music classes.
Please take a look at these course descriptions with your child. There are links to many of the elective options to view more in-depth video descriptions to help your child make some decisions on electives that he/she would like to take. Below, I have included the timeline for upcoming music fittings, parent music meetings and when scheduling will take place with your child.
Please don't hesitate to reach out to me if you have any questions in regards to the scheduling process! I am looking forward to this upcoming school year and cannot wait to get to know all of you more!
Melanie
Scheduling and Music Fittings Schedule
5th Grade Electives Announcement for the 5/6 Building @ Georgetown
During the week of January 3rd, Mrs. McClure visited Alward, Bauer, Georgetown, and Park fifth grade students to talk to them about scheduling electives for sixth grade. Students learned more about elective options and what a typical day will look like for a sixth grade student.
During the week of January 9th, students will be participating in a music fitting where they will try choir, learn more about Creative Arts, and try different instruments for band and orchestra.
January 11th AM-Park
January 11th PM-Georgetown
January 12th AM-Alward
January 12th PM-Bauer
Following this, there will be informational Parent Meetings on Monday, January 16 at RMS and Tuesday, January 17th at BMS. Both evening meetings are at 6:30, 7:00, and 7:30pm and are for band and orchestra parents only. Parents only need to attend one evening and can choose whichever date works better, as they are not specific to BMS or RMS. Informational packets will be sent home with students that include a pink Course Selection Form on the date of their music fitting. The pink form is to be returned to their 5th grade teacher by Wednesday, January 18th. Mrs. McClure and a current middle school counselor will return to the Alward, Bauer, Georgetown and Park fifth grade classrooms the week of January 23rd to assist students with electronically scheduling their elective requests into PowerSchool.