April - Rockford Public Schools

The Crestwood
Cougar
6350 Courtland ■ Rockford, MI 49341 ■ 616/863-6346 ■ www.rockfordschools.org
CRESTWOOD ELEMENTARY
A Michigan Blue Ribbon Exemplary School March/April 2013 Volume 16, Issue 5-6
Talking to Children About Crisis
Greetings Crestwood Families!
The topic for this newsletter is about talking to your children during times of crisis.
Examples of this include: the death of a loved one (family, friend, or pet), a car accident,
extreme weather or a natural disaster. A crisis situation can happen any moment
and we, as adults, need to be ready to lead our children through that situation in a
positive manner. Achieving that, however, can be very difficult. Adults are human
too and we are certainly affected by tragedy. It is important that we have a plan and
are prepared. Included in this newsletter is a reference guide from the Home &
School Connection that gives some great strategies/tips on how to talk to children
about crisis.
One of those tips is to use school resources. Please know that Crestwood Elementary
is ALWAYS available to help during any time of need. We offer support services for
students and parents with our Behavior Interventionist (fancy term for counselor).
Rockford Public Schools also has a District Crisis Team that can be convened at a
moment’s notices. This team consists of several school counselors, school psychologists,
school social workers, etc. They have been thoroughly trained in how to help
students, parents and staff during times of crisis.
As always, if you have any questions, or would like to talk about any topic in more
depth, feel free to contact me anytime. THANK YOU for your awesome support and
dedication to you children and Crestwood Elementary! —Tom Hosford, Principal
email: tjhosford@rockfordschools.org
First grade student
Cayden Peterson-
McLain fielding calls
at Crestwood in his
role as
Principal of Day!
Mar 25 5th grade party planning mtg 6:30 pm
Mar 26 Pencil Hang-Out
Developing Healthy Kids lecture 6:30 p
@ high school auditorium
March 28 Spring Break begins—NO SCHOOL
April 8 School resumes at 10:40 a.m. late start
April 9 Pencil Hang-Out
Cub Scout Pack Meeting 6:00 p.m.
April 10 1st grade field trip to FM Gardens
PTO Meeting 12:00 noon
April 11 Kindergarten Round-Up 6:30 p.m.
April 12 Volunteer Luncheon 12:00 noon
GRASP deadline
April 16 Pencil Hang-Out
April 17 Muffins with Mom Last Name A-L
April 18 Muffins with Mom Last Name M-Z
both days: 7:30 - 8:30 a.m.
April 19 School Spirit Day: Groovy
Popcorn Sale
April 23 Garden Club clean-up 1:15 p.m.
April 24-26 Kindergarten Screening
April 25 Take Your Kid to Work Day (optional)
April 30 Pencil Hang-Out
May 2 Prayer Around the Flagpole (optional)
8:00 a.m.
May 3 School Spirit Day: Be True to Your School
4th grade field trip Binder Park Zoo
Volunteers
Brighten Our Day
An open invitation
to our Crestwood volunteers!
VIE Luncheon
Friday, April 12
12:00 - 1:30 p.m.
Crestwood Library
please join us

P.E. News
This month in Physical Education we
will be concentrating on finishing our
jump roping unit. The students will be
learning the proper way to jump rope
using a short rope, or single person jump
rope. One of the most popular weeks of
the jump roping unit is when we move to
the long ropes and the multiple activities
we do with them. All ages learn a variety
of games which help them learn about
rhythm jumping and teamwork. If you
have a jump rope at home have your
child/ren show you what they have
learned and maybe they can teach you a
few new moves.
Thank you to the kids and parents who
participated in Jump Rope for Heart. As
a school district Rockford Public Schools
raised $14,324.47. As a school, Crestwood
raised over $1,400.00 this year.
The following are the top six earners in
the school.
Abby Kurtz $275.00
Lauryn Hedstrom $175.00
Tyler Harrington - Elburn $156.00
Jessica Stewart $151.00
William Haggerty $126.00
Lance Bultman $91.00
A HUGE THANK YOU TO EVERY-
ONE WHO RAISED MONEY THIS
YEAR!!
—Scott Tucker,
Physical Education Teacher
ART-i-facts
Youth Art Month is observed annually nation-wide during
the month of March to emphasize the value of art education
and public support. Art can, among other things, contribute
to the development of a child’s self-esteem, heighten appreciation
of the work of others, offer a means of selfexpression,
improve problem solving skills, and raise overall
academic achievement. Make a family project, take a trip to
the art museum...celebrate with your family!
The Grand Rapids Art Museum is offering Saturday All Day with the Arts
for families through April. Each month offers a different theme that includes
hands-on activities, guided or self-guided tours and demonstrations.
The program is from 10:00am-3:00pm and is free with admission. What a
great opportunity for a family fieldtrip! The Grand
Rapids Art Museum is offering extended programming
during Spring Break, April 2-5. You can
drop-in for art-making from 10:00AM-3:00PM.
Get creative!
Fifth graders annually attend a performance by the Grand Rapids Symphony.
They were asked to illustrate a part from Behold the Bold Umbrellaphant
prior to their field trip. A slide show illustrating the musical piece included
several student works from each class attending the concert! Fifth
graders are learning about Pop Art, and the Endangered Species Series by
Andy Warhol. They are working on multi-step linoleum block relief prints,
using an animal of their choice as the subject.
Art Trading Cards is a new art form that has only existed for less than 20
years! They are miniature works made for trading, and found worldwide.
1st –5th graders have all made their own ATCs this year to trade and collect.
We started the new year off by learning about how the Chinese culture
celebrates this holiday. Kindergarteners learned about the Lion Dance, and
made their own miniature festive lion puppets. First graders learned about
the Golden Dragon Parade before decorating their accordion dragons with
patterns. Second graders used the symbol of former Chinese Emperors as
the subject for their dragon drawings. Each sculpted a signature seal and put
their stamp of approval on their finished work. Third graders sculpted
dragons out of clay , and covered them with visual texture. Fourth graders
learned some facts about the complicated Chinese language before painting
a New Year greeting using Chinese characters.
Kindergarteners also designed patterned s-s-snakes after reading
the African tale, Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears.
First graders sculpted clay Passport Masks. These miniature
masks serve the same purpose as our passports do. Tribal
members, from a particular group of countries, carry them
when traveling to show their tribal affiliation. Third graders
tried their hands at the popular African art form of weaving.
They learned the weaving process and vocabulary while making
patterned baskets. Fourth graders will experiment printing
Adinkra cloth like the Ashanti people of Ghana. They will
assemble their own stamps and create original patterns.
Jacob Tomasko,
Principal of the Day
—Artfully yours, Mary Penrod

Honest Abes
We would like to acknowledge the following
students who modeled the lifeskill
of truth, for turning in money that
they found at school:
Nicole Alexander
Claire Froumis
Jane Kettelhut
Rion Wawee
Jessica Stewart
Jordan Brechting
Lance Bultman
Taylor Hartley
Chloe Holmes
Celia Botruff
Gavyn Fernstrum
Andrew Landis
Yasmeen Aqel
Thomas Main
Chase Matulaitis
Thank You
We would like to thank the Tomasko family
for donating school office supplies:
Pencils
Pens
Scissors
Markers
Thank you to the anonymous donor for
4th grade field trip monies.
Thank you to the anonymous donor for
Nook donation for the auction.
Dana Brouse, Crestwood fifth grader,
was chosen to conduct the Grand Rapids
Symphony at DeVos Hall during a
recent field trip.
Student Placement
Forms are available in the office for the
next school year upon request. The
deadline is May 3rd. Please refrain from
requesting a specific teacher. We are
asking that you note the learning characterists
for your child, which will be considered
when creating next year’s class
lists. If you have any questions, please
contact the school office at 863-6346.
Music News
Fourth and fifth graders will be wrapping
up their recorder units during March with
a composition opportunity. They’ve been
challenged to read in a new language as
well as make tiny, but meaningful movements
with their fingers! Talk about fine
motor control! While the recorder is an
“easy” instrument to play, reading music
is a complex task with many symbols to
decipher. It’s great to watch them making
music together. You can sense their feeling
of success and accomplishment.
The fifth graders also attended a Grand
Rapids Symphony concert at DeVos Hall
during February. They saw the entire
orchestra in action playing some favorites
like Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony and
Bach’s Fugue in G minor.
February has been a busy month for other
classes because of Valentine’s Day, Chinese
New Year and African-American
History Month. Students have been involved
in playing and singing many examples
of music centered around these holidays.
We read rhythms, walked phrases,
performed hand-clapping patterns with
partners, and played singing games created
by children from long ago.
Third graders are traveling the continents
with songs, games and folk dances from
around the world. They’re identifying
common rhythm patterns, learning music
vocabulary and using simple percussion
within this unit. They performed some of
these songs at Rockford’s Expo on March
16 at the high school.
—D’Anne Ibarra
Twins Ethan
and Cullen on
Twin Day
Katie Greene, Principal of the Day

Drop Off Kids
Parents! We need your help when dropping
off your children
in the morning.
Please follow
the circle and drop
off at the corner.
Please do not drive
around back and
drop your child off
near the playground.
This creates
a safety hazard
for our students. Say your goodbyes and
kisses for the NORMAL drop off spot
for vehicles!! Thank you!
Crestwood PTO
The PTO would like to extend a sincere
thanks to all of the generous Crestwood
families that donated items, money,
purchased raffle tickets, and bid on silent
auction items to help support the
Crestwood Carnival and ultimately our
children. Proceeds from this event are
instrumental in allowing the PTO to
create an even better learning environment
for our children. The baskets raffle
brought in $3,677 and the auction
garnered $3,845.63.
Thanks to all of those people that made
the carnival possible!
Pasta Report
Crestwood’s Student Council would like
to thank all the students and families
who helped raise $1,463.02 throughout
our Pasta for Pennies campaign, which
benefited the Leukemia and Lymphoma
Society. The amount of change collected
was overwhelming and our school
helped show an enormous amount of
support for those struggling with blood
related cancer. Thank you once again for
your generosity. Mrs. DeWitt’s room
collected the most money and will receive
a Pasta Party from Olive Garden
after Spring Break. Congratulations!!!!
— Jeremy Karel, 3rd grade teacher
Out of the Mouths
of Babes
A third grade student
complained
that he felt like he
had a fever. When
the secretary took
his temp, she told
him he didn’t
have a fever. He didn’t believe her and
asked to see her “degree.”
Round-Up Time
Calling all new Kindergarteners!
If your
child will be 5 by November
1, 2013, be
sure to register him/her
for our Kindergarten
Round-Up on Thursday,
April 11 at 6:30
pm in the gym. Please note that Round-
Up is for PARENTS ONLY..
Crestwood Cub Scout Pack 3285 recently held their annual Pinewood Derby at school on
Saturday, March 23. Scouts transform a block of wood into a moving car which then travels
down the track at lightening speed. Overall winner (fastest) was fourth grade student Gavin
Fredricks. Trophies were awarded for 1st, 2nd, 3rd place finishers for Tiger, Wolves, Bears
and Webelos I ranks. Awards also included best paint job, most creative, turtle (slowest)
and open class (where sisters, moms, dads and boy scouts may compete in this heat).