Innocademy Blog

Mark Your Calendars…PLEASE

Wednesday, February 8th - State of Michigan count day - hoping for 100% attendance! =)

Friday, February 10th - Shoveling day in the am

Monday, February 13th - Monday, February 20th - Innocademy Break Week

Thursday, February 16th - Connecting Committee Fun Day - details below

Tuesday, February 21st - Innocademy School Resumes

Monday, February 27th - Regularly Scheduled Innocademy Parent Meeting - Location TBD

March 2nd - No school for Roosevelt Students - NO TRANSPORTATION OR HOT LUNCH

March 5th - No school for Roosevelt Students - NO TRANSPORTATION OR HOT LUNCH

March 5th - Parent/Grandparent Lunch/Recess Day at Innocademy

March 26th and March 27th - Student Led Conferences

June 21st - Family Fun Night at Dutch Village - Thank you Nelis Family!

State of Michigan Student Count Day - WEDNESDAY

This Wednesday, February 8th is the State of Michigan student count day. School funding depends on the physical presence of students at our school on this day. We are shooting for 100% attendance on Wednesday. Thank you!

Friday Fun and Shoveling?

Unless the weather drastically changes between now and Friday….(it could happen!) we most likely won’t be shoveling as previously planned. Instead, during the AM hours our youngest friends will be delivering Valentine’s Day Cards to our friends at Providence Christian Nursing Home on State Street in Zeeland. In the PM hours our older friends will be visiting the Nursing Home to engage in some fun activities with the residents.

EEE - Early Entrepreneur Experiment

Did your student(s) come home on Friday talking about earning “tickets” at school? If it was anything like at my house, the story may have gotten a little mixed up along the way! =) This video link might straighten some things out! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OuTjIy4MxPY&feature=g-all-f&context=G21170e1FAAAAAAAABAA Essentially, the idea is to take a small amount of seed money and, by thinking of entrepreneural activities, change that seed money from $50 to $500 in five weeks. This $500 then we will be using to help a charitable organization. Instead of just giving each pod the $50 seed money, however, we’ve decided to have students earn the money this next week by doing their “job” at school. They receive tickets for doing their “job” and, perhaps an extra ticket or two for going above and beyond! Each of these tickets represents $0.10. Stay tuned for more details as this week kids begin brainstorming ideas to turn the $50 into $500!

K Friends Learning Link

Please click on the link to learn more about the latest happenings in Ms. Heather/Ms. Robin’s group!

http://innoyoungfriendsblog.blogspot.com/2012/02/week-of-january-30th.html

Gallon Milk Jug Tops For Ms. Mel

Ms. Mel is working on creating some really neat spanish activities and would GREATLY appreciate any caps you can send to school. Thank you!

Growth Portfolios And Report Cards

If you have not yet returned your student’s growth portfolio to school, please do so asap. Thank you!

Valentine’s Day Cards

Just as in years past we will not be having a formal Valentine’s Day party on Friday, but rather doing some fun activities and stewardship projects. Bringing Valentine cards is not mandatory and we will not be making a big deal out of an exchange. However, if you child wishes to bring cards to school to pass out during the last couple of minutes of his/her ELA class on Friday, please make certain there is a card for every child in your student’s class (see attached list) valentine-list-ela-groups so that we don’t have any hurt feelings if cards are only passed out to a select few. Thank you!

Connecting Committee Fun Day!

The Connecting Committee is planning at fun filled day of sledding beginning at 11am on Thursday, February 16th at Charlie’s Dump (Soccer Bowl) located at the corner of 20th Avenue and Rosewood Streets in Jenison. The back up, “no snow” plan is to meet at 11am at Hudsonville Lanes on 32nd Street in Hudsonville. If you have any questions, please feel free to email Jane Lanser at mjlanser@comcast.net .  Hoping to see you there!

Check it out!  ART Workshops: Innocademy Break Week!

~~~  Valentine’s pARTy ~~~~

Tuesday, Feb 14     12-4pm     16 sillies aged 6-12

Join me in my art studio to create dazzling, eye-popping Valentine’s cards, a heart-felt

clay masterpiece, and hearty painting… and more.

Kids will work with acrylics, pastels, paper, glass, clay and home-made beads…

all while learning the beautiful message of St Valentine.

It’s a pARTy!  Valentine snacks, festive fun and ohhhh so much more!

~~~ Snowflakes ~~~~    (cool dudes in the studio)

Thursday, Feb 16     12-4pm     16 sillies aged 6-12

It’s snow wonder the studio is COOL!  We have snow flakey art in the studio!

(Ok, those were just bad, but the art will be awesome…. fun, educational and COOL.)

Join me in my art studio to create one of a kind beautiful snowflakes out of clay, glass and paper…

No two snowflakes are the same… just like us!  (ohhhh that has self portrait written all over it….)

$25 (price reduced for Inno)        $40 for BOTH SESSIONS

Ms Art Rock’s digs…

Cynthia Hagedorn Fine Art Studio

627 E Central Avenue   Zeeland

YOU MUST RSVP no later than Sunday, Feb 10 to cynthiahagedorn@msn.com

* please let me know if I can accommodate with pick up/drop off times and rides…

Rock on!

ZPS Technology Plan - UPDATE FROM ZPS TECHNOLOGY DEPARTMENT

Dear Parents,

As you know, we had planned to have iPads in the hands of all of our middle school students during the winter of this school year.  After talking with students, parents, and administrators, we realize that we need additional time to do this well.  We also want to use the remaining technology bond money for the purchase of technology that is  sustainable for students. Therefore, we are reviewing the potential for additional devices coming on the market this school year from various suppliers. So, we are pressing the Pause button.

We ask that you allow us to make a new commitment to you of implementing iPads for all our middle school students starting in the fall of 2012. Also, we plan to introduce approximately 400 iPads at our elementary schools starting in the fall of 2012 and will continue with iPads at the high school level.

In the meantime, we will have 150 iPads on carts in our middle schools this school year, prior to March 12, for staff and students to share among various classrooms.

Anna and Jaylee show off the bows they purchased from Early Entrepreneur, Kaylie!

Bella presents her sister, Selah for show and tell.

Book exploration with Ms. Lindsay

Chloe and Mallory enjoy some buddy reading time.

Inno Alum, Alec, shares a lesson with our younger friends!

Our oldest boys work through and discuss the book Holes during their book club time.

Gabriel, Caleb and the rest of the Blog Committee work on their news stories during our Foundation Friday Committees!

King Levi and Prince Trevin show off their INCREDIBLY clean locker….and the headpieces they earned!

Some VERY handsome Early Entrepreneurs!

Ms. Kelli gets us fired up for EEE - Early Entrepreneur Experiment during Pod time on Friday!

Mark Your Calendars…PLEASE

Friday, February 3rd - Fancy Dress Up Day

Friday, February 10th - Shoveling day in the am

Monday, February 13th - Monday, February 20th - Innocademy Break Week

Tuesday, February 21st - Innocademy School Resumes

Monday, February 27th - Regularly Scheduled Innocademy Parent Meeting

March 26th and March 27th - Student Led Conferences

K Friends Learning Link

Please click on the link to learn more about the latest happenings in Ms. Heather/Ms. Robin’s group!

http://innoyoungfriendsblog.blogspot.com/2012/01/week-of-january-23rd.html

InnoList Update

REALLY fun adult Valentine’s dinner/dance opportunity from the Winning At Home organization. Check it out at www.innocademy.com and select Innocademy’s List (password reminder in this week’s blog notice =)

Gallon Milk Jug Tops For Ms. Mel

Ms. Mel is working on creating some really neat spanish activities and would GREATLY appreciate any caps you can send to school. Thank you!

Growth Portfolios And Report Cards

Just a reminder to return the portfolios with your students sometime this week. Thank you!

Devotions Volunteers Needed

Please click on the link if you’d be willing to help. Thank you! http://www.signupgenius.com/go/60B0B4FA5A6283-parent

Planning the mini garden in Garden Club with Ms. Brenda

Ms. Nati is working with our younger friends. We love that she’s giving Innocademy a try!

Rebecca and Ashley made a poster thanking all of the Innocademy teachers! Wow!! Thank you, girls!

K-8 fun at it’s best! Ben’s sharing some apps on the iPad with our friends!

Faith helps Parker with his digital story.

(Sorry about the orientation!)

Jack B. enjoys adding to his digital storybook on Edmodo.com.

(again, apologies on the orientation!)

Mark Your Calendars…PLEASE

Monday, January 23rd - NO HOT LUNCH OR BUSSING as ZPS students do not have school. Middle School students will report to Innocademy from 9am-3:20pm that day. If your MS student needs to leave at the 2:30 time, please contact Leslie at leslie.rindfliesch@innocademy.com

Monday, February 27th - Regularly Scheduled Innocademy Parent Meeting

March 26th and March 27th - Student Led Conferences

K Friends Learning Link

Please click on the link to learn more about the latest happenings in Ms. Heather/Ms. Robin’s group!

http://innoyoungfriendsblog.blogspot.com/2012/01/week-of-january-9th.html

Xtra Math =)

It’s been great fun hearing from students and reading the weekly reports sent to us by xtra math. The teacher reports are similar to those you receive as parents. If you haven’t yet had a chance to investigate the site with your students, you can find it at https://www.xtramath.org/ Again, just to offer a reminder, the basic design of the site is to increase student fact fluency. It is not new content or information, just a daily, 10 minute a day, “vitamin” of practice for your students. Please know that we are not assessing students through their participation or achievement on this website. With that in mind, breathe easy and do not feel as though you need to offer assistance with typing numbers to help them attain the best score. Part of the learning process is locating those numbers on the keyboard or pop up calculator. =) We’d love to talk more about sites like this and hear your thoughts at the February 27th parent meeting! Thank you!

Gallon Milk Jug Tops For Ms. Mel

Ms. Mel is working on creating some really neat spanish activities and would GREATLY appreciate any caps you can send to school. Thank you!

Growth Portfolios And Report Cards

Next Friday your student(s) will be bringing home his/her growth portfolio. This is a collection of artifacts from each subject area and seven habits as well as MAPs scores and goals that were outlined during our fall student led conferences. Please allow your child the opportunity to present his/her portfolio to you and then simply sign the comment section and return the portfolio and all of its contents to school the following week. Also, please look for your child(ren)’s first semester report card to be emailed home next week Friday….sometime before midnight =)

Claire, Miriam and Jennika work on placing artifacts in their Growth Portfolios.

Sorry about the angle!

Mark Your Calendars…PLEASE

Monday, January 16th - SPECIAL EDITION Innocademy Parent Meeting 6pm at Innotec - Suite 100

Friday, January 20th - NO SCHOOL for Innocademy students - Records Day

Monday, January 23rd - NO HOT LUNCH OR BUSSING as ZPS students do not have school. Middle School students will report to Innocademy from 9am-3:20pm that day. If your MS student needs to leave at the 2:30 time, please contact Leslie at leslie.rindfliesch@innocademy.com

Monday, February 27th - Regularly Scheduled Innocademy Parent Meeting

March 26th and March 27th - Student Led Conferences

Parent Meeting Reminder - TOMORROW

Just a reminder that there will be a SPECIAL EDITION Innocademy Parent Meeting from 6-7pm tomorrow evening, Monday, January 16th at Innotec - Suite 100 to discuss our progress and answer questions about the charter process and timeline.

K Friends Learning Link

Please click on the link to learn more about the latest happenings in Ms. Heather/Ms. Robin’s group!

http://innoyoungfriendsblog.blogspot.com/2012/01/week-of-january-9th.html

Congratulations!

Friday afternoon we were able to hold our 4th annual Innocademy Spelling Bee. It was great fun to see students put their hearts into doing their very best! Congratulations to Ella Lanser and Leah Reinardy who will have the opportunity to represent Innocademy at the Regional Spelling Bee in February!

Feeling Icky?

Sadly, you are not alone! As you may have heard, or been the unfortunate victim of, we have had MANY sicknesses traveling around at school. While the ZPS custodial staff is working especially hard at night to clean common areas and your Innocademy Staff is wielding Clorox wipes during the daytime hours, we need your help at home as well. PLEASE, if your child has a fever or has been vomiting we ask that for the safety and health of other students and staff they be kept home, symptom free for a MINIMUM of 24 hours without the aid of medication. Thank you.

Xtra Math =)

So….how’s it going? https://www.xtramath.org/ Again, just to offer a reminder, the basic design of the site is to increase student fact fluency. It is not new content or information, just a daily, 10 minute a day, “vitamin” of practice for your students. Please know that we are not assessing students through their participation or achievement on this website. With that in mind, breathe easy and do not feel as though you need to offer assistance with typing numbers to help them attain the best score. Part of the learning process is locating those numbers on the keyboard or pop up calculator. =) We’d love to talk more about sites like this and hear your thoughts at the February 27th parent meeting! Thank you!

Lice

Nope….not yet! =) There have been many outbreaks recorded in Ottawa County so we thought we’d be proactive and ask you to offer a reminder to your student about the importance of wearing their own winter headgear and not sharing with friends.

Ms. Nancy’s environmental scientists, Merideth, Shelby, Claire and Emme, show off their work!

Olivia and Jack B. give it their all at the Spelling Bee!

During Mosaic class students are learning about the mosquito; deadliest animal

THANK YOU!!!

Huge thanks to Ms. Jackie for spending the first semester with us as one of our Spanish teachers! Best wishes - we will miss you!

Mark Your Calendars…PLEASE

Monday, January 16th - SPECIAL EDITION Innocademy Parent Meeting 6pm at Innotec - Suite 100

Friday, January 20th - NO SCHOOL for Innocademy students - Records Day

Monday, January 23rd - NO HOT LUNCH OR BUSSING as ZPS students do not have school. Middle School students will report to Innocademy from 9am-3:20pm that day. If your MS student needs to leave at the 2:30 time, please contact Leslie at leslie.rindfliesch@innocademy.com

Monday, February 27th - Regularly Scheduled Innocademy Parent Meeting

March 26th and March 27th - Student Led Conferences

Harlem Globetrotters - Van Andel Arena - Sunday, January 22nd at 2pm

Last call on securing your tickets, if interested, for Harlem Globetrotters coming to Van Andel Arena! Cynthia Hagedorn is getting group tickets in the nose bleed section =). Tickets are $15.50 per person. Tickets need to be secured by TOMORROW, MONDAY, JANUARY 9th.  It will be super fun! Please email Cynthia Hagedorn cynthiahagedorn@msn.com if you are interested.

Holiday Extravaganza - DVD’s Still For Sale

Christmas Extravaganza DVD’s for sale $5!!!  Enjoy the evening again and see your student shine.  Wonderful way to display your student’s talent and have it for years to come.  Send in $5 with your student and we will send them home with a DVD.  Any questions, e-mail Ms. Amy at amy.harbison@innocademy.com

Lego Club - Session #2

Lego Club will be starting up again on Tuesday, January 17.  Classes will be each Tuesday from 3:30-5:00.  Please arrive promptly to pick up your child.  Cost is $40 for this 4 week session.   Please make checks payable to IES.  Please sign up your child on Sign-Up Genius to reserve their spot. As of Friday there were only 6 spots left! Payment must be made in full prior to the first day of class.  Thank you!

K Friends Learning Link

Please click on the link to learn more about the latest happenings in Ms. Heather/Ms. Robin’s group! http://innoyoungfriendsblog.blogspot.com/2012/01/week-of-january-2nd.html

Innocademy School Spelling Bee - Friday, January 13th

We will be holding our Innocademy School Spelling Bee on Friday, January 13th in the Roosevelt Gym beginning at 2pm. Students from the blue, orange and green rooms will be competing on Thursday for 15 spots in the final to be held on Friday. Everyone is invited to come watch our 15 finalists spell their hearts out! The winner and runner up will be advancing to a Regional Spelling Bee on Tuesday, February 14th at a site yet to be determined.

Well…Winter WAS Here For a Few Days.

When it comes that time for snow to return to our area, please take a moment to label your students’ winter clothing and boots. As you can imagine, 150 students getting their gear on all in a small space makes for the perfect storm in terms of mix-ups! Thanks for your help!

Xtra Math =)

You may remember at our last parent meeting we viewed some portions of the Khan Academy video and talked about how we might see utilizing some online technology to assist in student growth and achievement? We thought this might be a fun site to investigate and experiment with: https://www.xtramath.org/ The basic design is to increase student fact fluency. It is not new content or information, just a daily, 10 minute a day, “vitamin” of practice for your students. This week you will be receiving home a note with your student that lists his/her pin number. Students can then log in and keep track of their progress as they move through the levels. Please give it a try with your students, if possible. We’d love to talk more about sites like this and hear your thoughts at the February 27th parent meeting!

Just before break we enjoyed learning about The Kingsway School in Uganda Thanks for visiting us, Ms. Milly!

Ella and Selah help unload some produce at the food pantry last Thursday.

BEAUTIFUL! Look at what the Garden Club is growing! They are learning lots with Ms. Brenda during each of our Foundation Friday Committee meetings.

Thank You!!!
Huge thanks to Ms. Amy, Ms. Lisa and Ms. Jane for putting together a wonderful Holiday Extravaganza! And another big thank you to everyone who attended! What a fantastic turnout!

Thanks also to those of you who chose to donate a gift for some of our Innocademy families this year. Your generosity is much appreciated!!

Mark Your Calendars…PLEASE
Monday, December 19th - ZPS Board Meeting - 7PM at Zeeland West High School Auditorium
Tuesday, December 20th - Pajama Day and Read In for all Innocademy Students
Wednesday, December 21st - Tuesday, January 3rd - Innocademy Holiday Recess.
Monday, January 4th - School Resumes for Innocademy
Friday, January 20th - NO SCHOOL for Innocademy students - Records Day
Monday, January 23rd - NO HOT LUNCH OR BUSSING as ZPS students do not have school. Middle School students will report to Innocademy from 9am-3:20pm that day. If your MS student needs to leave at the 2:30 time, please contact Leslie at leslie.rindfliesch@innocademy.com

Innocademy Charter Update - Lots of EXCITING Things This week!
Legislative - S.B. 618 was passed late Wednesday night!!!!!!  This lifts the cap off the number of charter schools in the state of Michigan.  To read more, click on http://www.legislature.mi.gov/(S(d4m5oi45nrs5s2azhfubfe45))/mileg.aspx?page=getobject&objectname=2011-SB-0618

Facilities - An architect (with experience in educational facilities) toured one of our primary potential sites and had positive feedback with no significant flags.

Charter Application - The application that a team of ten are working diligently on will be reviewed by a consultant from MAPSA (Michigan Association of Public School Academies) this coming Tuesday.

Q & A - We had just a couple questions after the Parent Meeting…three websites that are quite helpful are:
http://www.pbs.org/closingtheachievementgap/faq.html#q1
http://www.publicschoolreview.com/articles/3
http://charterschools.org/olc/images/stories/resources/Step%20by%20Step%20Grant%20Info.pdf

Uganda Visitor on Monday
Tomorrow our students are really fortunate to have the opportunity to visit with Ms. Milly, Director of Kingsway School in Uganda! Ms. Milly started the school and is going to share with the students a little about her life and culture. One thing her students could really use is pencils. If your family has some pencils lying about that you’d be willing to donate,  please feel free to send them to school with your students tomorrow and we will make sure that Ms. Milly gets them for her return trip to Uganda. If you’d like to come and hear Ms. Milly’s presentation, she will be sharing with the youngest friends from 9:30-10:00 and the middle/older group from 10:15-11:00. Both presentations will take place in the orange room.

Holiday Extravaganza Performance - DVDs for Sale
If you would like to purchase a video of the performance, they will be available for sale in person after school on Monday or Tuesday for $5. You are also welcome to send an envelope labeled with your family name to school with your student tomorrow or Tuesday and we will send home a DVD.

K Friends Learning Link
Please click on the link to learn more about the latest happenings in Ms. Heather/Ms. Robin’s group!
http://innoyoungfriendsblog.blogspot.com/2011/12/week-of-november-28th.html

Dice? Playing Cards? Counters?
If you have any of these items rolling around your junk drawers at home and would like to donate them, we would LOVE to take them off your hands! Please simply send them in with your students as we have lots of math games that are in need of these items. Thank you!

Warming Benton Harbor
Our Foundation Friday Stewardship Committee has worked hard to visit the pods and talk about their current project, Warming Benton Harbor. warming-benton-harbor1 They are working to help Gateway Community Church provide gently used blankets for the homeless population. If you would like to help their cause, you may send in your clean, gently used blankets to school with your students anytime before Christmas Break. Thank you!

Calvin College January Series
On Tuesday,  January 10th from 12:30-1:30 there is a live simulcast at Christ Memorial Church in Holland. The speaker is Pedro Noguera, professor of education at NYU whose teaching focuses on the ways in which schools are influenced by social and economic conditions in the urban environment. He is an expert on school reform, diversity and the achievement gap. Pedro Noguera is widely published, written 5 books, 150 articles and is a regular commentator on education issues on CNN and NPR. Here is one of his articles if you’d like to check it out: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/broader-bolder-strategy-to-ending-povertys-influence-on-education/2011/11/29/gIQAtTvaAO_blog.html

For more information, please contact Paul Scholten at Christ Memorial Church, 595 Graafschap Rd, Holland, MI 49423-4534. Phone: 616‑396‑2305. Website: www.christmemorial.org. Email contact: pauls@christmemorial.org

Innocademy Family Spotlight - The Buckingham Family

Jeremy and Kelly Buckingham
Kids (age/grade/pod/family): Jack-9 Green Pod, Claire-6 Green Pod
Kids (not attending Inno… Names and Ages) Brady 11 attending Cityside Middle School
Parent’s Occupation(s): Kelly -Dental Hygienist, Jeremy- Design/Sales Engineer
Favorite way to spend time as a family: watching movies, swimming, traveling

Hobbies: Jeremy-scuba diving, working on his fish tank, video games.  Kelly-reading, running,and spending time with family and friends.  Brady-sports and reading.  Jack-video games and sports.  Claire-dancing,reading,and playdates!

Innocademy Family Spotlight - The Drooger Family

Parents: Kevin and Brook Drooger

Kids (age/grade/pod/family): Callaway Drooger 7 (grade 2nd) Gavin Drooger 5 (Grade k) Green Pod
Parent’s Occupation(s): Brook - RE/MAX Lakeshore, Realtor….Kevin Drooger, Siemens PLM Solutions, Director Solutions Consulting
Hobbies/Interests: Golfing, Skiing and spending time together as a family.   Cally loves art and music.   Gavin loves any kind of sport and electronics!
Favorite way to spend time as a family: Golfing, Skiing and just being goofy together!!

Ms. Kerri, Ms. Lindsay and Ms. Heather’s groups work on some gingerbread math.

THANK YOU Ms. Emily and Ms. Marcy! We’ve so loved having you at Innocademy this semester and wish you the best of luck at your next student teaching placements!

Christian wonders just how big his pants have to be in order to fit this POCKET dictionary in the pocket?

Haylee and Marcos ask the author of Clever Beatrice some questions about writing.

Noah, Nathan and Marco perform some songs for the Green Pod.

Holiday Extravaganza Skit Rehearsal

That lady is everywhere! Thanks, Ms. Jane, for possessing so many mad skillz and helping with the performance!

We wish you a Merry Christmas!!!! And a Happy New Year!!!

Thank You!!!
Huge thanks to all of our Fair Trade Mini Market volunteers and coordinators! Also, thank you to everyone who donated supplies for our holiday crafts! What a full day of learning and fun!

Mark Your Calendars…PLEASE
Tuesday, December 13th - Innocademy Holiday EXTRAVAGANZA at Community Reformed Church at the corner of Felch and 104th Streets. 6:30pm
Friday, December 16th - Meet and Greet Coffee Open House with Superintendent Dave Barry in Roosevelt Library 8:30 - 9:30am
Monday, December 19th - ZPS Board Meeting - 7PM at Zeeland West High School Auditorium
Wednesday, December 21st - Tuesday, January 3rd - Innocademy Holiday Recess.
Wednesday, January 4th - School Resumes for Innocademy

Cookies Still Needed for Tuesday’s Holiday Extravaganza, Please!

Kelly Buckingham is collecting cookies for the social time after the extravaganza on Tuesday evening. If you can help donate cookies, please contact her at kelly.buckingham88@gmail.com. THANK YOU!!!

K Friends Learning Link
Please click on the link to learn more about the latest happenings in Ms. Heather/Ms. Robin’s group!
http://innoyoungfriendsblog.blogspot.com/2011/12/week-of-november-28th.html

Innocademy Holiday EXTRAVAGANZA - URGENT Rehearsal Information
On the afternoon of December 13th (the day of the performance), we will be walking over to Community Reformed Church in the afternoon for a performance rehearsal. We are asking that, if you normally pick up your children, please do so at 3:20pm at Community instead of Innocademy. If your children normally take the bus home in the afternoon, they will be walked back to school by Innocademy staff so that they may still do that. Middle school pick up and bussing will happen at the normal 2:30pm time at Innocademy. Students will be returned there by staff for pick up.

Innocademy School Pictures - Note From Ms. Leslie
There is a small change in plans for receiving proofs from Christy tomorrow.  She and her husband had to travel up north unexpectedly today (Sunday) due to the passing of one of her husband’s clients.  They are staying for the funeral on Monday.  Because of this, Christy will not be home to get the proofs to me Monday.  She will get them to me Tuesday afternoon and they will go home with your kiddos then.  Orders and money will be due on Friday so that she can get your orders filled and out to you by Tuesday, Dec. 20:-) innocademy-school-picture-pricing2 Thanks so much for your patience and understanding in this matter.  If you have any questions, please feel free to get a hold of me leslie.rindfliesch@innocademy.com.

Dice? Playing Cards? Counters?
If you have any of these items rolling around your junk drawers at home and would like to donate them, we would LOVE to take them off your hands! Please simply send them in with your students as we have lots of math games that are in need of these items. Thank you!

Warming Benton Harbor
Our Foundation Friday Stewardship Committee has worked hard to visit the pods and talk about their current project, Warming Benton Harbor. They are working to help Gateway Community Church provide gently used blankets for the homeless population. If you would like to help their cause, you may send in your clean, gently used blankets to school with your students anytime before Christmas Break. Thank you! warming-benton-harbor

Calvin College January Series
On Tuesday,  January 10th from 12:30-1:30 you are invited to attend a live simulcast at Christ Memorial Church in Holland. The speaker is Pedro Noguera, professor of education at NYU whose teaching focuses on the ways in which schools are influenced by social and economic conditions in the urban environment. He is an expert on school reform, diversity and the achievement gap. Pedro Noguera is widely published, written 5 books, 150 articles and is a regular commentator on education issues on CNN and NPR. Here is one of his articles if you’d like to check it out: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/broader-bolder-strategy-to-ending-povertys-influence-on-education/2011/11/29/gIQAtTvaAO_blog.html

For more information, please contact Paul Scholten at Christ Memorial Church, 595 Graafschap Rd, Holland, MI 49423-4534. Phone: 616‑396‑2305. Website: www.christmemorial.org. Email contact: pauls@christmemorial.org

Josh checks out some unique items at the Fair Trade Mini-Market.

Thanks to Ms. Robin, of Olivalito in Saugatuck, for sharing with us what Fair Trade really means.

Nathan “book buzzes” with Avery. He just can’t get enough of Geronimo Stilton!

Mark Your Calendars…PLEASE
Tuesday, November 29th - School Resumes
Tuesday, November 29th - Innocademy School Picture Day
Tuesday, November 29th - Hearing or vision screening by Ottawa County Health Department
Monday, December 5th - Innocademy Parent Meeting TO BE HELD AT INNOTEC - After meeting fun at Salt and Pepper in Holland

Thursday, December 8th - Fair Trade Market at Colonial Clock Company

Tuesday, December 13th - Holiday Extravaganza - Innocademy Holiday Concert at Community Reformed Church - 6:30pm

Friday, December 16th - Meet and Greet Coffee Open House with Superintendent Dave Barry in Roosevelt Library 8:30 - 9:30am
Monday, December 19th - ZPS Board Meeting - 7PM at Zeeland West High School Auditorium

K Friends Learning Link
Please click on the link to learn more about the latest happenings in Ms. Heather/Ms. Robin’s group! http://innoyoungfriendsblog.blogspot.com/2011/11/week-of-november-7th.html

Innocademy School Pictures

This is just a friendly reminder that students should return to school on Tuesday, November 29 dressed in their best choices for pictures (…Textures, vests, layers, patterns, belts, ties, hats, fur, chunky knit,  jackets…not necessarily all together, but all those do photograph well says Christy). We will have a shuttle taking students from Innocademy to Colonial Clock (located on Washington), where Christy Pacanowski’s photography studio is located.  Kids will be in groups of 10-12 and will be chaperoned by volunteering Innocademy parents (thank you if you volunteered - we have open spots if you are still able to volunteer! Please contact Heidi  wolt98@yahoo.com) and kept busy with games, coloring, word sorts and reading time while waiting for their turn to photographed.  We will be having kids who have Learn To Be Fit in the afternoon squared away in the morning before they begin running around and getting sweaty during PE time:-)  All middle school students that are early arrivals and early dismissals will also be taken care of right off the bat as well!  We are hoping for a smooth day.  If your child is not in attendance on Tuesday, our make up day is Wednesday, Nov, 30.

Please take a look at the pricing post card innocademy-school-picture-pricing1 There is no cost to you unless you decide to purchase a package.  Due to time constraints this year, we will not be offering sibling shots, only single child pictures.

If you have any questions regarding pictures, please feel free to email Leslie at leslie.rindfliesch@innocademy.com.

Innocademy Parent Homework =)
Online learning, flip learning, blended learning…what is all this talk about, anyway? You’ll be hearing more about it, for sure, as education is in a time of reinvention. Here’s a video from Salman Khan to further explain the cyber phenomenon.  http://www.ted.com/talks/salman_khan_let_s_use_video_to_reinvent_education.html
In what ways do you think we can utilize some of these ideas with your students at Innocademy? Pros/cons? We’d love to discuss the options as well as the possibilities and challenges at upcoming parent meetings beginning December 5th.

Leaving On Vacation For A Day or A Week?
At some point during the year you may find yourself away from your children for a day, long weekend or extended period of time. We want you to ENJOY your time! Unfortunately, sickness and accidents don’t always cooperate with your plans. PLEASE, for the safety of your students, drop us a quick email/voicemail letting us know of the change as well as the emergency contact information - even if it’s for one day - and if there is any change in pick up/drop off for your student.  Thanks so much for your help and cooperation.

Fair Trade Mini Market - December 8th
Please mark your calendar for Thursday, December 8th as our annual Fair Trade Mini Market will be happening at Colonial Clock Building in Zeeland from 10 am - 7pm. Here’s a chance to not only purchase some items for family and friends, but also support organizations devoted to helping others. Please take a look at the attachment (and pass it along to your friends and family!!!) for more information:  fair-trade-market-flyer1

Innocademy Parent Meeting - LOCATION CHANGE and Salt and Pepper Fun!
We are looking forward to seeing all of you at the Innocademy Parent Meeting on December 5th. So sorry to have to change the location! Because we will spend a large portion of the meeting hearing from Mike (who will be in Mexico on business) as he updates us on the current status of each of our future options, it is necessary for us to have excellent video conferencing abilities. We will be holding the meeting at Innotec Suite 50 - Second Floor Training Room. Please use the spiral staircase to access the 2nd floor.  If you are traveling from Innocademy to Innotec on Roosevelt, it is the building closest to our school.

If you are in need of childcare for that evening we are asking that you please use this sign up genius invitation to reserve a spot for your child(ren). Childcare will be located at the Innotec gym, which is the building directly behind Suite 50.  Our Innocademy student teachers and/or staff will be facilitating child care that evening. In order to drop students off at the childcare facility, it is necessary to  enter through the 2nd Innotec driveway on Roosevelt (just east of the Ventura building). Follow the drive toward the back to Suite 100.

Also, just a reminder that after the meeting we will be having a fun, adult, social get together at Salt and Pepper in Holland. Just so that we have a rough idea of the number of people to plan on, please rsvp using the signup genius link that was sent to you. You can also email Kim DeYoung at kim.deyoung@charter.net Feel free to come on over even if you don’t get a chance to rsvp!
Innocademy Holiday Extravaganza

Every student in our school will be playing a part in this seasonal event.

During your child’s music class they will be learning some holiday music which they will be performing at a program on Tuesday, December 13, 2011 at 6:30pm at Community Reformed Church. There is no fee for this event, just come and enjoy!  Don’t forget to invite grandma, grandpa, aunts, uncles and cousins too!

Below is a tentative list of the songs each Math group is working on. You’ll notice some Math groups have been divided, so double check with your child. They should know which songs are theirs. One group of students currently doesn’t have music, but they will be working on their own project for the program in Mosaic with Ms. Lisa.  They are a Ms. Kerri/Ms Kelli split.

If you have time it would greatly benefit your child to hear these songs at home.  It doesn’t need to be the exact arrangement we are working on in class, so any arrangement will work!  (Most of these are on YouTube.)

Ms. Heather
Up On the Housetop
Frosty the Snowman

Ms. Lindsay/Ms. Kerri
I Want A Hippopotatamus For Christmas
I’ll Be Home for Christmas

Ms. Kelli/Ms. Nancy
Christmas In Killarney
Jingle Bells/Cascabel (Espanol)

Ms. Leisa/Ms. Leslie
White Christmas
Believe
Last Christmas

If you have any questions about this, please don’t hesitate to e-mail me or catch me at school.  It is such a joy watching your children grow in their musical ability and knowledge!  Please watch for updates coming home on this event!

Thanks!
Ms. Amy
amy.harbison@innocademy.com

Practicing our spanish vocabulario!

Author, Angelina shares her writing with Sydney.

Seth takes a timeout to share the card he made for one of our United States Soldiers.

Skyla and Shelby work on their project together.

Thank You
The Connecting Committee is absolutely blown away by the parent (and grandparent!) involvement at our first ever Join your Kids for Lunch day on Monday.  We’re not sure who had the most fun out on those kickball fields—our younger friends or our REALLY REALLY REALLY old friends (Jeremy?!).  Thank you so much for making the effort to come.  And for those of you who couldn’t make it this time, we’ll definitely be offering this again!!

Ready, set, go!!!

The most people at an Innocademy lunch - EVER! Wow!

Simon and his dad, Lou. Say “cheese!”

Chloe and her mom, Kristy, enjoy a snuggle and lunch.

Another thanks for a successful Connecting Committee event at Fustini’s on Thursday evening. LOTS of yummy food and fun was had by all!

One last note of appreciation to all of you who were able to volunteer for the Feed My Starving Children event on Saturday! What an incredible experience and fun 2 hours!

Ethan and Anne Kollen help seal bags at FMSC.

Jack and Kelly Buckingham are in charge of veggies and soy!

Janelle and Jackie Perez are busy opening bags to be filled.

Innocademy Families make a great team!

Mark Your Calendars…PLEASE
Monday, November 14th, - ZPS Board Meeting - 7PM at Zeeland West High School Auditorium
Monday, November 21st - Monday, November 28th - Innocademy Recess. School resumes Tuesday, November 29th.
Tuesday, November 29th - Innocademy School Picture Day
Tuesday, November 29th - Hearing or vision screening by Ottawa County Health Department
Monday, December 5th - Innocademy Parent Meeting - After meeting fun at Salt and Pepper in Holland
Thursday, December 8th - Fair Trade Market at Colonial Clock Company
Friday, December 16th - Meet and Greet Coffee Open House with Superintendent Dave Barry in Roosevelt Library 8:30 - 9:30am

School Board Meeting - Monday, November 14th
We are again asking to see lots of smiling faces of Innocademy folks at this month’s ZPS school board meeting. On this month’s agenda is the intention of the board to vote on a resolution that will affect Innocademy. Thanks for your continued support and we look forward to seeing you at 7pm in the Zeeland West High School Auditorium.

K Friends Learning Link
Please click on the link to learn more about the latest happenings in Ms. Heather/Ms. Robin’s group!
http://innoyoungfriendsblog.blogspot.com/2011/11/week-of-october-31st.html

Innocademy School Pictures
It’s PICTURE TIME again!!!  School pictures are just around the corner for Innocademy!  Pictures will once again be taken by our resident professional photographer, Christy Pacanowski, mom of Eleanor, Andrew, and Claire  We will be shuttled in groups of about 6-10 by van to Colonial Clock where Christy’s studio is located.  She will spend some time with each child capturing all of their unique looks!  Please stay tuned for a pricing post card to come to you via email in the near future.  There is no cost to you unless you decide to purchase a package.  Due to time constraints this year, we will not be offering sibling shots, only single child pictures.  If you have any questions regarding pictures, please feel free to email Leslie at leslie.rindfliesch@innocademy.com.

Innocademy PARENT Homework =)
Online learning, flip learning, blended learning…what is all this talk about, anyway? You’ll be hearing more about it, for sure, as education is in a time of reinvention. Here’s a video from Salman Khan to further explain the cyber phenomenon.  http://www.ted.com/talks/salman_khan_let_s_use_video_to_reinvent_education.html
In what ways do you think we can utilize some of these ideas with your students at Innocademy? Pros/cons? We’d love to discuss the options as well as the possibilities and challenges at upcoming parent meetings beginning December 5th.

Birthday Party Invitations
If your are planning a birthday party for your student and wish to invite particular students from school, we ask that you please take care of reaching out to those students from your home rather than sending party invitations to school. As you can imagine, we have lots of hurt feelings when invitations get passed out to some students, but not others. Thanks so much for your understanding and support.

Zeeland Dance Program Presents Kids’ Dance Day

Saturday, December 17th, students are invited to participate in two dance workshops with the Zeeland Dance Ensemble. Children in grades K-8 work with high school leaders in age assigned groups. At the end of the day all participants perform in a production for family and friends. The fee is $35. For more information, and to register, please visit http://sites.zps.org/zps-performing-arts/kids-dance-day

Innocademy Featured Family - Thelen Family

Parents:
Randy and Christa Thelen

Kids:
Ryan (11, 5th grade, blue pod)
Lauren (9 1/2, 4th grade, blue pod)
Kiersten (7, 2nd grad, blue pod)
Trevin (5, Kindergarten, blue pod)

Parent’s Occupation:
Randy- President, Lakeshore Advantage
Christa - Part-time Community Education Coordinator @ Spectrum Health Zeeland
Community Hospital and Part-time Parent Liaison with Great Start Parent Coalition

Hobbies:
Randy- Reading, coaching the kids, biking, family vacations
Christa- Hiking, volleyball, family vacations and reading
Ryan- Playing baseball, football & video games, watching Tiger’s baseball w/dad
Lauren- Art, telling jokes, playing soccer and outdoors with friends and pets
Kiersten- Dreaming of being a teenager…, playing soccer, and having fun!
Trevin- Playing soccer, spotting Mustangs and Camaros on the road, smiling!

Favorite way to spend time as a family:
Vacations!!!! We also enjoy hiking in Hemlock Crossing and climbing Mount Pisgah or
Mount Baldy. On snowy nights, we will play a serious game of charades.

Upcoming News:
Our family will make up 0.0002% of the crowd at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day
Parade in NYC–look for us!!!!

Innocademy Featured Family - Smith Family

Parents:
Joel and Kari Smith

Kids:
Kate (9 years, 4th grade, blue pod)
Myah (7 years, Ottawa Area Center School)
Addison (3 years)
Elle (2 years)

Parent’s Occupation:
Joel - Engineer at Innotec
Kari - Stay at home mom

Hobbies:
Joel - mountain biking, spots, projects
Kari - reading, cooking, time w/family and friends

Favorite way to spend time as a family:
Movie night, go to a park, take walks

Levi and Simon show off their sturdy bridge during Lego Club!

Jakob and Dylan have a strong bridge, too!

Thank You
Thank you to all of our friends that volunteered to help with raking and the Harvest Celebration this week! What a fun week.

Mark Your Calendars…PLEASE
Monday and Tuesday, November 7 & 8 - NO TRANSPORTATION OR HOT LUNCH. ZPS students have no school on those days
Monday, November 7th - Join your Inno Student For Lunch! See details below
Thursday, November 10th - 6:30pm at Fustini’s in Holland. Adults only open house for Innocademy
NOTE DATE CHANGE - Monday, November 14th, - ZPS Board Meeting - 7PM at Zeeland West High School Auditorium
Monday, November 21st - Monday, November 28th - Innocademy Recess. School resumes Tuesday, November 29th.
Tuesday, November 29th - Innocademy School Picture Day
Tuesday, November 29th - Hearing or vision screening by Ottawa County Health Department
Monday, December 5th - Innocademy Parent Meeting - After meeting fun at Salt and Pepper in Holland
Thursday, December 8th - Fair Trade Market at Colonial Clock Company
Friday, December 16th - Meet and Greet Coffee Open House with Superintendent Dave Barry in Roosevelt Library 8:30 - 9:30am

Eat Lunch With Your Student on Monday…
The Connecting Committee would like to invite you to school to eat lunch and play with your student this Monday, November 7th! Please take a look at the schedule below. Hope to see you there!

12:00-12:30  Kickball in the fields
12:30-12:40  Get ready for lunch
12:40-1:00    Lunch in cafe
1:00-1:45      Math

Middle School Schedule Change for Nov 7th and 8th
Due not being in session on Nov. 7 or Nov. 8, middle school students should plan on a 9:00 AM start time and a 3:20 PM end time.  If you need to make different arrangements please contact Leslie at leslie.rindfliesch@innocademy.com.

Connecting Committee - Come Join Us At Fustini’s In Holland!
THIS Thursday, November 10 we have a parents only event!  Join us at Fustini’s Oils & Vinegars in downtown Holland for a little pre-holiday tasting event.  They will be preparing some yummy things using their oils and vinegars and there might also be some tasty beverages available!  This is a FREE event, so just come and enjoy.  It begins at 6:30 pm and Fustini’s is located at 24 E. 8th St. (between College and Central).  A quick RSVP to Jane Lanser at mjlanser@comcast.net would be helpful, but if you forget to RSVP, come anyway!

School Board Meeting - DATE CHANGED
The board meeting that was scheduled to be held on November 21st HAS BEEN CHANGED TO MONDAY, NOVEMBER 14TH. It will still be held at 7pm in the auditorium of Zeeland West High School. The board will be voting on a resolution that will impact Innocademy.

Chartering Update
*Chartering with ZPS and a university continue to be our top two choices going forward next year.  We will go hard at both of them up to the point where we must choose.
*In order to have a chance for feedback, a team of teachers is getting a jump start on the applications due in January for our university charter authorizers.
*We have most of the team assembled for:  legal, financial, curriculum, facilities, and administration.
*Stay tuned for developing details and opportunities to help!!!

Congratulations to Ms. Nancy!!!
She’s at it again! Take a peek at (the prestigious) NCTM’s Teaching Children Mathematics November ‘11 issue…our own Nancy Staal co-wrote an article with GVSU Professor Pam Wells! Nancy’s ELA prowess seeps into her math instruction in this powerful piece. Congratulations, Nancy!!  tcm2011-11-224a

Cardstock Donations Needed
If any of you scrapbook and have some extra cardstock lying around, we’d LOVE your donations! Please feel free to send them to school with your student. Thank you!

Holland Rescue Mission Collection
The Holland Rescue Mission is collecting personal care products (shampoo, toothbrushes, etc.) to give away to families who attend their annual Thanksgiving Banquet.  We have a collection box near the office for Innocademy families who would like to contribute to this cause.  You can give just a few items, or tackle the whole list if you wish.  Please see the attached flyer for more information. Collection deadline is November 11.

Girls On The Run
If your 3-5th grade girl is interested at all in participating in this program, please see the attached information. gotr-flyerupdated9212

New Friday Lunch Choice - Grab N Go!
Perhaps you’ve heard your student telling you about a new lunch choice in the cafeteria? (I know that was all the Lobbezoo kids could talk about yesterday! =) Food Service is piloting a new concept in delivering food to the students and are implementing it on Fridays ONLY at this point. In the Grab N Go idea, everything the students will be eating for lunch is already packed in a box for them. The package includes chocolate milk, turkey and cheese wrap, grapes, cucumbers/dip and brownie pieces. There are no substitutions as it’s already put together for the students to drop their card, pick up the box and head to the table to eat! The Grab N Go meal will be the same each Friday.

Mosaic Update
This week in Mosaic, the younger friends helped decorate boxes for the Holland Rescue Mission’s Thanksgiving Banquet.  The older friends have been learning about microfinance – small loans that make a big difference in the developing world.  We read some success stories, acted out a skit, and loaned some money using a Kiva account.  Don’t be surprised if your child asks for a Kiva card in his or her stocking this year for Christmas (for more information, visit Kiva.org).  All the classes discussed planet Earth’s big milestone this week—reaching 7 billion in population!

K Friends Learning Link
Please click on the link to learn more about the latest happenings in Ms. Heather/Ms. Robin’s group!
http://innoyoungfriendsblog.blogspot.com/2011/11/week-of-october-31st.html
Innocademy Featured Family - Harrington Family

Parents:

Drew and Jess Harrington.

Kids:

Ethan is a kindergartener in the Red pod, he is 5 and a half. Ethan has a little brother named Tristan, who is 3.

Parent’s Occupations:
Drew is a foreman at Bosch’s Landscape and Jess works as a nanny.

Hobbies/Interests:

Drew and the boys like to garden and camp (primitive-style) in a traditional cat-tail mat and bark tipi and they go to events around Michigan. We have a permanent bark house at Windmill Island, you might see Ethan and Drew gardening and camping there  We also like to go to the beach. In the winter Ethan’s favorite thing is to snow-plow and ride in the loader.

Innocademy Featured Family - Powers Family

Parents:
Scott & Christine

Kids:
Nick = will be 9 on 11/12/11 - 3rd grade - Green Pod w/Ms. Mel
Alex = 5 - Kindergarten - Green Pod w/Ms. Nancy

Parents Occupations:
Scott = Account Executive with Hovione, based in Lisbon, Portugal
Christine = Business Services Specialist with Lakeshore Advantage

Hobbies/Interests:
Scott = hunting, brewing beer & softball
Christine = cooking & baking healthy local food, kickboxing & enjoying wine
Nick = hunting & fishing, Legos, sports & playing with friends
Alex = computer games, soccer, basketball & playing toys

Favorite ways to spend time as a family:
Kayaking, Hiking, Eating & watching MSU football

We WILL conquer these leaves!!

What could be better than rolling in the leaves? Alex takes a timeout for some much deserved FUN!!!

Yay!!! We did it!! Look at that pile of leaves!

Thanks for visiting us, Peter Nevland!