Tomorrow is the Day!

¡Hola Familias!

What a whirlwind of a few days we have had! I would like to extend my genuine appreciation and gratitude for your understanding in the midst of so many changes. As you know from my previous email, unfortunately I will not be in the classroom until Friday this week. Maestra Perla De Leon (pdeleon@hollandchristian.org) will be with the kids on Tuesday, and Maestra Abi Rodriguez (arodriguez@hollandchristian.org) will be with them Wednesday and Thursday. If you need anything, please feel free to either reach out directly to them or to me. I am here to help!

Here are a few logistical items for this week and as we get into the school routine:

Transportation

I know I had parents fill out a Transportation form at the Ice Cream Social, but since tomorrow and Wednesdays will be half days, I want to make sure everyone is getting home the right way! :) Would you mind filling this form out for me quickly? Thank you in advance!

Also, in case you didn't know, there is a shuttle bus running to and from South Side Elementary for SI students. The morning shuttle will pick up at South Side at 7:55am and bring students to Rose Park. The newly added afternoon shuttle will pick up after school at Rose Park and return to South Side by about 3:30pm. Students will need to be picked up from South Side. For now it will be bus #1 and there will be a "RP Shuttle" sign in the window. There is a $75 fee per child to ride for the year. Email Rose Rodriguez at rrodriguez@hollandchristian.org to sign your child up.

Drop-Off & Pick-Up

Last year due to COVID restrictions, parents were not allowed in the school building. This year, parents are allowed to come inside for morning drop-off and/or to volunteer in the classrooms (yay!).

Children are allowed to enter the building at 7:55am. They will then go out to the playground, where a recess monitor will watch them until 8:10am. At 8:10am, the bell rings and they will go to their classrooms. Students are expected to arrive in their classrooms between 8:10-8:15am to begin their morning work, choose their lunch/milk option, and to pick up a free snack for the day. NOTE: We will NOT have a snack until 10:00am, so please make sure your child has a healthy breakfast at home before coming to school!

You are welcome to drop off your child at the front of the school building, or you may walk him/her inside to the classroom. I only ask that you make your goodbyes brief, since it can be hard for kindergarteners to get started with their day when Mom or Dad is hanging around. ;)

For pick-up, I will exit the side door (C I believe?) with the class at 3:15 or a few minutes earlier. You may either park and walk over to the sidewalk area, or make a line with the other cars. Please make sure I have seen you and your child says "Adiós" to me before running off with you! If you are waiting in the pickup line, keep your hazards on until your child is in the car with you. We will only load kids up to the white line (I believe there is a "loading zone" sign as well), so you might have to wait for the second or third round of cars.

Snacks/Lunch

We get another year of free lunches and snacks--hooray! (Personally, making lunches for my kids is one thing I am happy to do without--ha ha!)

Your child will be offered free snacks upon entering the school building each morning. As I mentioned above, your child should have breakfast in the morning before attending school. Our snack times are 10:00-10:15am and 2:00-2:15pm.

Upon entering the classroom in the morning, your child will choose school lunch or home lunch, as well as white or chocolate milk. We will eat lunches in the classroom this year to minimize the spread of germs. If your child has lots of food left over, I will usually try to send it home. Please make sure you check your child's backpack every day so there is no "extra-ripe" food in there! ;)

Supplies

Here is a list of what your child will need at school:

-pencil box (5 pencils, 3 glue sticks, crayons, scissors inside)

-take-home folder (will go and come each day)

-beach towel for outdoor learning (keep in locker)

-t-shirt for art (keep in locker)

-labeled pair of headphones

Masks

Thank you for your understanding and flexibility as we pivot continually with new mandates and expectations. I know that masks are not fun to wear, but kids are also resilient and will learn regardless. I will also do my best to allow for times of outdoor learning whenever possible to give the kids a mask break.

Field Trips this Week / Popsicles

The students will be taking two field trips this week--on Wednesday to Dunton Park and on Thursday to the Outdoor Discovery Center. Thank you to those who have volunteered to help! Also, if you signed up to bring popsicles in the afternoon, feel free to drop them off in the morning whenever you are able. We'll find a time to surprise the kids with them sometime during the week. :)

If there is anything else I have forgotten to mention, or you may still have questions about, please don't hesitate to reach out! While I will not be present for the first few days, I am always an email, text, or phone call away (339-222-8571). Please let me know if there is any other way I can support your child. I know we are going to get through the hiccups and confusion of the first few days, and we will have an amazing year together!

Welcome! ¡Bienvenidos!

¡Hola Familias! 

We love Holland MI!

My name is Hillary Klipp Lopez, and I am excited to introduce myself as your child’s Spanish Immersion kindergarten teacher at Rose Park this coming year! 

About Me

I am originally from Boston, Massachusetts, but I’ve lived in several different areas of the country, including 8 years in the Texas/Mexico border region where my husband Miguel is from. I hold a BA in English and Spanish from Grove City College, a Master’s degree from Plymouth State University in Language Education (TESOL), and over 10 years of teaching experience, most of which were spent teaching in my students’ non-native language. Teaching content through language is my passion, and I LOVE the formative year of Kindergarten!

Miguel and I have been married for 12 years and have 2 wonderful children, Anaiah (8) and Isaac (6). Both of our children are in the Spanish immersion program at Rose Park--Anaiah is in Rose Park’s founding SI class and will be entering third grade, and Isaac will be in first grade. We love the SI community that has grown and developed here at Rose Park. 

At the Selena Memorial in Corpus Christi 

Our family loves living in Holland, which has been our home since 2017. We attend Engedi Español and enjoy serving and loving our community there. We also love to travel and explore new places. We just got back from visiting several cities in Texas, including Austin, Houston, Corpus Christi, and the Rio Grande Valley area, including Reynosa, Mexico (my husband's hometown). 

Spanish Immersion

I am proud to be entering my 4th year as a Kindergarten teacher in our Spanish Immersion program at Rose Park. Our program started 4 years ago and continues to grow! Our team is innovative, creative, and passionate about immersion education and helping students become global learners, critical thinkers, and compassionate ambassadors of Christ. Throughout our journey together, I will give you lots of information on how you can support your immersion student at home. If at any point you have questions about the immersion model or would like more information, please don't hesitate to let me know!

Popsicles on the Playground

Visiting some caverns outside of Austin, TX

Who doesn't love popsicles in the summertime? (Or anytime?!) I would love to have the opportunity to get to know you, say hello to your child, and for the kids to meet and play with each other before school starts! On Thursday, July 29th from 6-7pm, please join me at the Rose Park playground for some popsicles and playtime! If you can't make it that day, no worries at all--I know summer can be a busy time.

School Supply List

I often have parents asking for our school supply list. Here is the link!

**NOTE: We are also asking that ALL students bring a labeled T-shirt to use in art class this year. Please include this shirt in your child's school supplies!

Upcoming Dates!

I know the beginning of school feels like a long ways away, but please note that our Ice Cream Social will be on Thursday, August 19th from 6:30-8:00pm. You and your child will be able to visit the classroom, meet some new friends, and (of course) enjoy some ice cream!

Our first day of school will be Tuesday, August 24th.

Meet the Teacher Night will take place on Thursday, August 26th from 7:00-8:30pm.

I can't wait to meet you and your child! Like I said, please don't hesitate to reach out to me if you have any questions about the upcoming school year. We are going to have a great year together!

1-4 de junio

 ¡Hola Familias!

Cue the confetti...WE MADE IT! 

What a joyous week of celebration we had! Field trips, popsicles, bouncy houses, water balloon fights, arts and crafts, and lots of singing, laughter, and excitement filled every day!

I remember starting the year off wondering how many weeks (days?!) we'd be together until we had to go back to virtual school. 

But here we are. And we made it.

IN-PERSON. ALL. YEAR. LONG!

Words can't express how grateful I am for this year we've had together. While the circumstances were far from "normal" (who knows what that is anymore?!), we made things work. We adapted. We reacted. We pivoted a few times. But we did it!

Thank you, thank you, thank you--for every smile, wave, note, encouraging word, text, gift, email, and prayer this year. Most of all, thank you for entrusting your greatest treasure--your child--to me to pour into, love, nurture, teach, and spent time with over the last 10 months. It has been an enormous privilege to me to be your child's teacher and get to know you all as families.

I wish your family a wonderful, relaxing summer, full of great memories and quality time together, and I look forward to seeing your child continue to grow and thrive!

Here are a few final notes for the summertime...

Summer Read Program

You should have received an orange flyer with information on our Summer Read program. We will be meeting at Kollen Park on Tuesdays from 6-7pm, starting on June 22nd and ending on August 3rd. Please sign up here (we're also looking for parents to help us provide some snacks!). Look forward to seeing you and your child there!

Book Fair

Parents! We are SO grateful for your overwhelming support of our outdoor Scholastic book fair. We hope your child has new reading material to enjoy from the book fair. Thanks to your generosity and support, our media center has received more than $1,600 to purchase new books for next year! WOW! A very special thank you to the many volunteers who gave time to organize and run our book store. Jamie Isanhart, in particular, thought outside of the box, worked creativity and popped up a COVID-friendly, wildly successful book fair! Thank you, parents and thank you, Jamie!