Above and Beyond #9

On April 1, the Holland High School staff truly went above and beyond by holding a luncheon for Megan Wilson's daughter Natasha. The luncheon raised $2,300 to help the Wilson family and Natasha's battle with Leukemia.

Natasha was diagnosed on October 10, 2008. In an email to staff, Megan wrote, "Thanks again to all the support my family has received. I do believe that my support system has gotten me though the tough times I have already faced. Natasha’s treatment has been going on for about 6 months now and has just less than two more years left. Today showed me my support system is much bigger than I ever knew. It makes me look at the next two years with an even bigger smile…take that cancer!"

You are very welcome Megan and Natasha and like you said, "Take that cancer!"

Above and Beyond #8

Lynn VanLente- Hoover is just one of the many great teachers we have here in Holland Public Schools. She goes above and beyond the call of duty on a regular basis for our staff and students at Maplewood School. As a part of our second grade teaching staff, she has volunteered to serve as our Math Academy representative. She has attended many training sessions at the ISD and has returned to Maplewood to train her staff in the strategies learned in her trainings. She has risen to the challenge of teaching a split classroom which included a new grade. In addition to meeting the demands of teaching her second and third graders she has taken on the role of district coordinator of the Big READ Bus. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Big READ Bus, this offers reading opportunities to our students throughout the summer. It’s a literacy program on wheels! The bus runs on a weekly basis and makes various stops throughout the district. Students are able to check out books to read with their families. It’s Lynn’s hard work throughout the entire school year and summer that allows our district to provide books to our students all summer long. Lynn also serves as our H.E.A. secretary and is a member of our H.E.A. executive board.

Every Member Should

Above and Beyond #7

Did you know a Lakeview teacher did home visits during Christmas break? Another did them after school so she could meet with parents at a time that was convenient for them! And another teacher regularly decorates the tree in the courtyard that was dedicated to Michael Eastman, a former student at this school who died as a young man. His mom was an HPS teacher. She takes pictures of the tree and sends them to her sometimes. Another teacher spends a little extra time after school daily with a hearing impaired student to increase his signing and communication. These are just some of the amazing things Lakeview teachers are doing to make HPS great.

Above and Beyond #6

On a beautiful Halloween Day, Jefferson School held its first Walk-A-Thon. A Walk-A-Thon is simply students walking around the Holland High track and collecting pledges for each lap walked or one pledge for the entire walk.

Our purpose was two fold. One, to promote a healthy lifestyle, and second, to obtain extra money for field trips. With the blessing of our PTO, the Walk-A-Thon was planned and Jefferson School was able to collect $6,000 extra dollars for 4th and 5th grade field trips to the Outdoor Discovery Center, skiing at Bittersweet or any other location.

All the children had a wonderful time and a great time was had by all.

A Comment from the HEA to the Holland Community

“ The teachers of the Holland Public Schools wish to assure the citizens of Holland that the excellent delivery of education will continue on a daily basis within each school building. To all students and parents: you can rest assured that all students will be safe, nurtured and cared for by our highly qualified and veteran teaching staff. The care that all students have received will continue and all parents can rest assured that their child's/children's teacher(s) will be there for them."

Charles Bullard
President
Holland Education Association

Thinking of retirement?

Annually the MEA sponsors several Pre-Retirement Workshops during each school year.

The next workshop is scheduled for:

Saturday, January 24, 2009 (9:00 a.m. until Noon)

Location: Muskegon Community College

This is a free workshop and if you are planning to retire within the next couple of years you should attend this workshop.

To register for the workshop please call: 1-800-458-9213 and provide your name and school district that you teach in.
Spouses are welcomed as long as there is room.