Zinser Elementary News
May 12

Zinser Elementary News May 12

05/12/23

Wow! What a great turnout at Zinser this morning. We can easily say the building has never had so many people in it at one time. Thank you guests for participating and helping make it a fun experience, and being patient and understanding as we tried to manage the large crowd.

The day started with some goodies, saw a special musical performance by our 5th graders, and finished with some activities in the classroom, the gym or the extended learning area, and viewing the old Model A cars in the parking lot.

A HUGE shout out to Ms. Karly and Ms. Christin for all their hard work before and during the event, for the Lipscombs and Hollerans for the donuts, many members of the Zinser team for chipping in however they could, to Ms. My (with Mrs. Bradley) and our 5th graders for putting together a fun musical performance for many of the guests, to Officer Mitch Harkema and our Walker Police Department for safety support and participating in the fun, and to the original Mr. Willick (AKA Papa Willick) and his Muskegon Portside Model A Club, as well as the Grand Rapids Grand A’s Model A Club, for visiting with these treasured vehicles and sharing to our school community. We are Kids, Staff, and a Community that Cares!

Capturing Kids' Hearts! Update
Zinser was honored as a Capturing Kids’ Hearts Showcase school for the 3rd consecutive year! A shout-out to our hard-working staff to help us earn this honor once again. We are Kids - and a staff - Who Cares!

Youth Baseball Knight
On Tuesday, May 16 during the varsity baseball game against South Christian, youth baseball players are encouraged to attend. Open to all KH Youth players - wear your current little league or travel jersey! There will be a group introduction and photo with the varsity players!

GVSU Swim Lessons & Swim Camp
Swim Lessons for ages 4-14 | Swim Camp(s)/Swim Team for 7 years old - 12th grad. For more information and to register, visit www.GrandValleyStateSwimmingCamps.com or email questions to murrjame@gvsu.edu.

Camp Good Grief
Monday, June 12 - 8 am - 4 pm. An opportunity for fun, sharing, and healing, presented by Hospice of Michigan. This is a free program for children ages 8-17 who have experienced the death of a loved one. Held at Camp Newaygo - Please register by May 31, as space is limited. Register online at www.hom.org/camp. For questions, contact Karen Monts at kmonts@hom.org or call 313-578-6326.

Kiwanis West Michigan
Kiwanis has a new club in West Michigan that primarily supports the kids at Kenowa Hills! They meet in a virtual setting once a week and host projects to lift up kids in our district. If you'd like to learn more about the Kiwanis organization or learn how you can join, visit their website or follow them on Facebook!

OLDER NEWS

Be a Knight that Knows Nutrition
From now until the end of the school year Nurse Courtney will be handing out points when she catches students making healthy food choices at breakfast, snack, or lunch! Students can use these points to earn prizes! See the flyer below for more information or email Nurse Courtney at cellens@khps.org.

Attendance/Drop Off - Pick Up
Our start time is 8:35 am. We need your help getting students here on time! Any students arriving after 8:45 without an excused call/absence will be marked tardy. Any students arriving after 9:05 without an excused call/absence will be marked unexcused for the morning session. Please call the attendance line at 616-453-2461 to communicate your students’ absence, early leave time, or late arrivals as well. STRIVE FOR FIVE!!!

Parking Lot Notes:
Please consider utilizing our bus transportation option to avoid the busy parent pick-up lot.

• Always look to pull up where and when possible to help with the flow. Tell your child to look for the correct car and be ready. If your child is late to the sign and you pulled up past it, you can circle around the lot and keep your car moving.
• Thank you for those turning right only. We know it’s an inconvenience for some but we believe it will help speed up the line and be safer in the long run (we've had a couple of accidents at that intersection).

• Drop-off starts at 8:30; If you are in the lot before 8:30, you may drop your child off a few minutes early to get the traffic flowing, but the child will be standing by the grade sign until the 8:30 bell. All 1st-5th grade students can enter at the bell in the designated door.
• We do have two lanes in the parking lot. Please only use the right lane for drop-off and pick-up, the inside lane is a pass-by lane only. Please pass by with caution. It is very dangerous to let students out in that lane.

Drop-Off Expectations:

• Drop-off starts at 8:30 with the day officially starting at 8:35.
• Kindergarten (including K-Knights) families please park and walk to the flagpole to have your child line up with the class at the 8:30 bell. The teacher will come out and greet the students and enter the building together.
• Staggered entrances will be used once again. Grade-level signs will be put outside by the designated door. After the first week, students will walk in the correct door at 8:30 or later and head directly to the classroom.

Dismissal Expectations:

• The school day ends at 3:37 pm.
• Kindergarten (and K-Knights) and early pick-ups start at 3:30 pm.
• Kindergarten parents please park and walk to meet the class and get the child by the flagpole for a more intimate and safe pick-up.We will designate consistent early pick-up families once again. Please contact our office if you can consistently be in the parking lot early for an early pick-up at 3:30 pm. 1st-5th grade families will use the car line in the parent parking lot for pick-up. Your child will stand at the correct grade level sign and enter the car when it’s at the sign or close to the nearest pull-up spot. You may need to pull up past the grade sign to help with the flow.

News from our Nurse
If your student or a household member has Covid-19 please notify Nurse Courtney. You will not be contacted by the Health Department but these cases must be reported and monitored within the school. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation! Please reach out to Nurse Courtney at cellens@khps.org if you have any questions

Background checks
Background checks must be completed annually by anyone volunteering at least 3 days prior to volunteering! Forms can be completed in the school office or at the administration office. A photo ID will be required.

Birthday
Individual treats or “gifts” are not encouraged again this school year. Instead, we are encouraging you to donate a book to your child’s classroom in honor of them and their birthday. You are welcome to personalize the book or we can do it for you.

You can have your child visit the office or Mr. Willick for a birthday pencil!

We do not want birthday invitations to be passed out to students during the school day. A student may pass out invitations if everyone in the class will receive one, or a parent can discreetly give some invitations to the teacher, who can place them in backpacks.

Feeding Walker Kids