West Ottawa Public Schools
Preparing Students to Be College, Career and Life Ready!
Sheldon Woods Newsletter
May 30, 2014
15050 Blair St., West Olive, MI 49460
Phone: 616-786-1700 / Fax: 616-786-1791
DATES TO REMEMBER:
June 13 SW office closes for the summer
Aug. 11 SW office reopens
Aug. 26 SW “Open House” 5-7 p.m.
Sheldon Woods
Mission Statement
Sheldon Woods, in partnership with
the community and families, will provide a safe and positive learning environment that meets the needs of students and upholds high academic
standards. Through the process of
inquiry, students will develop into
caring, knowledgeable, and reflective
young people who positively impact
both the local and global community.
Dear Sheldon Woods Families,
Reading during the summer is critical to our students’ academic success at Sheldon Woods. We regularly see
huge drops in reading scores from June to September in students who do not read over the summer months.
Then it takes months of additional instruction to help them “catch up” to where they left of the previous
spring. After multiple summer “drops”, students end up years behind their peers and struggling with grade
level work.
You can help! Parental support and encouragement to read over the summer can end this cycle and improve your child’s academic success. Take advantage of the free summer programming offered at Herrick
Public Library and/or participate in the Sheldon Woods Summer Reading program. Students can earn reading spirit sticks and also check out books from the Sheldon Woods library! You can also help by encouraging
your children to read at least 15 minutes a day. Just like any sport or instrument, reading takes practice!
Happy Reading! Thanks for all your help and support during the school year!
Wishing you a safe and happy summer!
Karen Abraham, Principal
West Ottawa Public Schools is now registering kindergarteners for the 2014/2015 school year! In order to
make the registration process easier for you, we recommend you complete the pre-enrollment packet online
at: www.westottawa.net/enrollment
The school office will need from you the following paperwork:
 Certified Birth Certificate
 2– Proofs of Residency (utility bill, tax statement, lease
agreement, etc.)

Current Immunization Records
Any questions, please call the school
Office at 786-1700.
Volunteer Breakfast!
If you have volunteered this past
school year, the Sheldon Woods
Staff would like to thank you by
inviting you to a special breakfast.
Please join us on the morning of
Friday, June 6, in our library for a very special breakfast from
8:15-8:45 a.m.
Please R.S.V.P. By calling 786-1700.
After the breakfast, at 9:00 a.m., you are invited to attend our special
End of the Year Assembly. Awards for participating in different activities will be handed out to our students and our 5th graders will receive their parting gift from our PTO.
End of the Year Reminders…
Please keep the school office updated with any changes in phone numbers, email addresses, or emergency
contact information. Keeping your email address up to date will help us contact you more efficiently with messages
pertaining to school and transportation via our IC Messenger.
Bus Stop Changes for next year
Please contact our transportation department as soon as you know of any changes you’ll need to make to your child’s transportation for next school year. You need to let them know each year whether you will be using the same daycare provider or a new
daycare. Come mid-August, our transportation department gets very busy and cannot guarantee that changes can be made by
the start of school. Their number is 616-395-2400.
Hot Lunch Accounts
Parents, please be sure to pay your child’s lunch account balances before the end of the school year. Any money left over at the
end of the year will be refunded or carried over to the next school year’s account to start out the year. If you have any questions,
please contact our Food Service Department at 786-2100. Thank you!
Medications left at school need to be picked up
Any student medications at school need to be picked up before the last day of school. Any medications left at school after
the last day will be properly disposed of.
Make sure to check the lost and found box inside of the school office. Any remaining items at the end of the
school year will be washed and donated to a local charitable organization.
WO Summer Camps & Swimming Lesson Information found at: www.wopanthers.com
The form is under the tab “Programs/Camp” Extra forms are available in the school office.
Fifth Grade Parents!
Please remember that sixth graders need to be up to date on their immunization requirements in order to attend Middle School. Don’t wait!
Schedule your appointment today with your health care provider today.
Good Luck to our Girls on the Run Team!
On Friday, May 30th, our Sheldon Woods team will be participating in a Celebration 5K run at Grand Valley State University. Members of this year’s team
are: Stephanie Berghorst, Callie Brondyke, Janaya Brown, Jenna Dirkse,
Carmen Deur, Kerri Rademaker, Charity Ihrman, and Kaurina Sidhu.
Coaches are: Lisa Dirkse, Charity Brondyke, Shannon Sidhu, and Sarah Black.
Best wishes for a successful 5K!
2013/2014 End of the Year Award Recipients:
National & Presidential Fitness Award Winners:
National Award = top 50% of the nation on ALL 5 fitness events:
Stephanie Berghorst, Adelaide Martonosi, Emma Yonker, Jasmine Correa, Kaurina Sidhu,
Janaya Brown, and Charity Ihrman
Presidential Award = top 15% of the nation on ALL 5 fitness events:
Blake Barrios & Callie Brondyke
Kindergarten “Super Star” Award: Laura Dick, Brooklyn Phelps, and Juan Mollado-Martinez
Job Squad Award Recipients: Kaurina Sidhu, Callie Brondyke, John Heidema, Brady Bosma, Maddi Rose, Tanya
Mollado, Abigail Taylor, Isabel Balbuena, Eden Szilagyi, Kerri Rademaker, Brendon Slate, Hannah Dick, and Jasmine
Correa
Student Council Recognition: Emily Voss, Jenna Dirkse, Kayla Berghorst, Savanah Mongar, Kerri Rademaker, Emma
Yonker, Callie Brondyke, Brendon Slate, Camden Chapman, Nash Bosma, Ashton Barrios, and Brooklyn Phelps
Boy’s Trek Quest Participants: KJ Phelps, Jaxon Cullom, Drew Black. Jacob Voss, Justin Fritz, and Blake Barrios
Girls on the Run Recognition: Stephanie Berghorst, Kerri Rademaker, Kaurina Sidhu, Callie Brondyke, Carmen
Deur, Charity Ihrman, Hannah Dick, Janaya Brown and Jenna Dirkse
Mileage Club “Feet for Fitness” Top BOY Runners:
1st Place by Grade:
2nd Place by Grade:
KG = Ashton Barrios 14.1 miles
KG = Daniel Bazan 11.3 miles
1st= Rylee Ehmcke 16.1 miles
1st = Beau Borgeson 4 miles
nd
2 = Paul Dick 15.3 miles
1st = Alex Hernandez 4 miles
3rd = Jacob Voss 16.4 miles
2nd = Eric Ramirez 8.8 miles
th
4 = Blake Barrios 34.3 miles
3rd = Avery Hite 12 miles
5th = Michael Stubbs 13.6 miles
4th = KJ Phelps 17.11 miles
5th = Brandon Evink 3.2 miles
5th = Brennin Carrier 3.2 miles
Mileage Club Top GIRL Runners:
1st Place by Grade:
2nd Place by Grade:
KG = Keira Wallace 13 miles
KG = Brooklyn Phelps 12.16 miles
st
1 = Paige Phelps 11.3 miles
1st = Samantha Berry 10.4 miles
nd
2 = Kimora Maya 5 miles
2nd = Kayla Berghorst 4.1 miles
3rd = Charity Ihrman 6.2 miles
3rd = Jasmine Huyser 4.1 miles
th
4 = Callie Brondyke 31 miles
4th = Hannah Dick 8.8 miles
5th = Alexyss Tinney 8.4 miles
5th = Tanya Mollado 7 miles
3rd Place by Grade:
KG = Juan Mollado 9.3 miles
1st = Camden Chapman 3.5 miles
2nd = Chase Brondyke 8.5 miles
3rd = Nate VanKampen 6.2 miles
4th = Brady Bosma 11.1 miles
5th = John Heidema 3.1 miles
3rd Place by Grade:
KG = Kaidince Bertram 8 miles
1st = Andrea Hernandez 5.3 miles
2nd = Daisy Huyser 4 miles
3rd = Samantha Correa 3.4 miles
4th = Laura Arispe 9.6 miles
5th = Adelaide Martonosi 5.5 miles
The TOP Runner for the Boys was Blake Barrios with 34.3 miles & for the girls, Callie Brondyke with
31 miles. Way to go Blake & Callie !!!
6th Grade Math Participant: Emma Yonker
5th Grade Orchestra participants: John Heidema, Kerri Rademaker, Stephanie Berghorst, and Kaurina Sidhu.
Perfect Attendance Award: Hannah Beach, Janaya Brown, Laura Dick, Paul Dick, Amber Durfee, Austin Durfee,
Brandon Evink, Kyle Evink, Kerri Rademaker, and Sarena Woods.
Principal’s Outstanding Student Award: Kerri Rademaker
4th & 5th Grade Chicago Trip 2014
Sheldon Woods Families,
This is our last newsletter! I have so enjoyed getting to know all the students and staff at my 3 different schools.
Miss Bethany Busch
616-786-1495
[email protected]
http://musicmissbusch.blogspot.com
Twitter! @MissBuschMusic
Kindergarten:
The progress we’ve made this year is just amazing. It is always exciting to see the huge growth that these little
personalities make in just one year. Some of the students were nervous to take risks at the beginning of the year
and now those same students are my big risk takers. They are comfortable using their singing voice and contributing to the musical conversation.
1st Grade:
I have loved getting to know these first graders. At the beginning of the year, we were all trying to get to know
each other. We have learned all about high/low, short/long, fast/slow, & soft/loud. We learned about quarter
notes and how to count music. We learned how to play new instruments and sing more challenging songs.
2nd Grade:
Our last test over the music alphabet was a huge success. The second graders had never taken a test on our keyboards before this year. Now, they are the experts. They know how to use the tool AND they understand more
difficult musical concepts. We went from identifying the pattern on the keyboard to being able to find specific
notes.
3rd Grade:
Through third grade, we have gone from understanding how notes work to how to read music. This is such an
important year in our music curriculum. Reading music is like learning a different language and the 3rd graders
did a lot of hard work to acquire this skill.
4th Grade:
Wow! Our recorders sound great! I’m so sad to press the pause button on our progress. All of the musical concepts we learned at the beginning of the year were applied on a new instrument. I am so
proud of the students’ hard work and look forward to next year!
5th Grade:
These students have worked really hard on some difficult concepts throughout the year.
From Kindergarten to 5th grade, the details of music continue to be magnified. We zoom
in from big idea concepts to the specifics of what makes music work. As we finish our
recorders and they finish their time at Sheldon Woods, I want to congratulate them on a
job well done. Good luck in Middle School!
WHITECAPS READING CLUB BALLGAME FUN!
Everyone had a great time at the Whitecaps game on Sunday, May 18th. Students who successfully fulfilled the reading requirement for the month of March received 2 FREE tickets to
the game. The Whitecaps won! Go Caps! We’re looking forward to next year’s game.
Mr. Jackson’s Art Newsletter
May 30, 2014
The students have done a wonderful job this year creating their artwork. I truly feel privileged to work with every child. I hope that my passion for art has been an inspiration. Please
encourage art experiences at home this summer. Thank you for supporting the arts and
being an advocate for the visual arts curriculum. Have a great summer and I look forward to seeing the
students in the fall!!!
-Mr. Jackson
GEMS FROM THE GYM!
Summer: Wow! I can’t believe the school year is over already! Time really flies when you are having fun! I
hope all my students have enjoyed their experiences in Physical Wellness this year. I have certainly enjoyed
working with, and getting to know, all of my students!
Remember, kids, keep moving over the summer… and if you run out of ideas of what to do, here are a few
suggestions:
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
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Have swim races
Organize a treasure hunt
Decorate bicycles and go for a bike ride
Play with water toys or jump through the sprinklers
Play hopscotch, Simon Says or Red Light,/Green Light
Have wacky relay races
Shoot some hoops
Set up an obstacle course
Visit your local tennis court
I really look forward to seeing everyone again in the fall. Fifth graders, I hope you have a great 1 st year in
middle school!
Mrs. Scholten
Technology Talk!
Hello!
It’s so hard to believe next Friday is our final day of the school year! We’ve
finally put all of those snow days behind us and we’re ready for beaches, sunshine
and warm weather! It’s also time to finish up projects, and do some spring cleaning! Next week,
I’ll have all classes delete any files they no longer need. Students’ user names follow them throughout their
West Ottawa careers. That means that anything they would like to save will be in their account next year. It’s
fun for students to look back and see what they did when they were “little!”
I also want you to know that this year, Moodle will be available throughout the summer! Students can login
and visit learning websites! It’s a fun way to fight that Summer Slide! Just visit moodle.westottawa.net for
great links to math, reading, science, & keyboarding sites and more! If your child does not remember his/her
user name, please email me and I’ll send it to you. My email address is: [email protected].
A few more notes:
 During the summer, students can see any work they’ve uploaded in Moodle. Before school
begins next fall, I will “refresh” the course. This removes work from the previous year. If
there are projects you’d like to keep, be sure to save them to a flash drive or to your home
computer.
 If you’ve downloaded Type to Learn 4 at home, your child can continue to work on those lessons as well. The keyboarding work they do over the summer will help them with their pretest in the fall! If you haven’t had a chance to download the program yet, download instructions can be found at the top of my Moodle course.
 I also have a link in Moodle (and here!) for the Herrick Library Summer Reading Program!
Remember to Read, Read, Read! All summer long!
Many thanks to all of you who support and encourage your child’s learning
each and every day!
Have a great, safe and relaxing summer!
Mrs. O’Brien
COMMUNICATION BETWEEN HOME & SCHOOL
West Ottawa Schools is pleased to provide the Infinite Campus Parent Portal communication tool. The Portal connects parents/guardians to students’ data online, anytime, from anywhere there is internet access. Once the Portal is accessed, information
about only their child’s progress can be viewed.
Making this information-rich connection with parents is a clear way to improve communication between
teachers, parents and students. Access to the Parent Portal can be gained from home, work, public library, or
anywhere an internet connection can be established. The Parent Portal is a free service to our district families.
How do you sign up for the Parent Portal Account? Please go to the West Ottawa Website and follow the
instructions under the “Parent Resource” tab.
Please keep the school office up to date with any new phone numbers for work or home, and email addresses.
Thank you!
June 2014
Sun
1
Mon
2
Tue
3
KG field trip to
Teusink’s Pony Farm
3rd grade field trip to
Saugatuck Dune Rides
Wed
Fri
6
Last Day of
School!
Sat
4
5
PTO Year End
4th & 5th grade field
trip to the
 1/2 Day of School
Saugatuck Dune
Dismissal at 12:07 pm
Rides
 Volunteer Breakfast
Celebration
Birthday Table
noon
Thu
Day
7
8:15-8:45 am
 9:00 a.m. Year End Assembly
8
9
10
11
12
13
School office
closes for the
summer.
14
15
Father’s Day
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
Please continue to clip those Box Tops
over the summer!

If you need assistance over the summer, please
call our Administration at 616-738-5700.

If you need to change your child’s bus stop
information for next school year, please call
our Transportation Dept. at 395-2400 before
August 12, 2014, to give them enough time to
make the change before the start of school. You
must also let them know yearly, if you are using a
daycare location for pick-up/drop off (even if
it’s the same as this year.)

The Sheldon Woods office will reopen on
Monday, August 11, 2014
West Ottawa Summer Camps &
Swimming Lesson Information
Please click on the following link:
www.wopanthers.com
Form is under tab Programs/Camp