Herbison Woods News

January 9, 2026

Principal: Alicia Ormsbee

School Address: Pride Dr, DeWitt, MI 48820

Office Phone Number: 517-668-3300

Attendance Phone Number: 517-668-3347

Website: https://hw.dewittschools.net/

- Start Time: 8:40 a.m. (First bell rings at 8:35 a.m.)
  - Students may be dropped of at 8:20 a.m. or later. Supervision is not available before 8:20 a.m.
- Dismissal Time: 3:30 p.m. (Half Day dismissal 11:52 a.m.)

UPCOMING DATES:

January 14 and 15: ELA NWEA Testing

January 16: DIBELS Testing

January 19: No School - MLK Day

January 21 and 22: Math NWEA Testing

A Message from Mrs. Ormsbee

Greetings Herbison Woods Families,

Happy New Year! We are excited to be back for the second half of our school year! Students have been getting back into routines, working on reviewing our school and classroom expectations, and beginning to take our winter benchmark assessments.

The winter weather is upon us! Students will be going outside for recess when temperatures are above zero degrees. Please help to remind your child to bring proper outdoor gear for these cold temperatures. For more information on winter weather wear, please see below.

I hope that you and your family had a wonderful winter break, filled with time to make great memories with your family and friends. We are looking forward to some exciting weeks ahead, now that we are back in our learning routines!

Testing

Alicia Ormsbee

Principal

A Note from Mrs. Nowak

Welcome to 2026, HWE Families!

It is an exciting time as we get kids back into the routine of school, setting goals as learners, and seeing them grow as the second half of our year begins. I always appreciate being able to see the transformation right before our eyes as we continue on in the months. One way we help students grow is to remind them of the expectations of our school and how they demonstrate them in all areas. Your HWE student(s) should be able to tell you how they work to be respectful, responsible and safe in every location of our school.

They can also tell you how their grade level is doing in our next Panther Paw incentive! Grade levels are working collaboratively to earn 1,000 Panther Paws. Even though that seems like a daunting task, just by working to be respectful, responsible and safe as a group is an easy way to earn one. Encourage your HWE student(s) todo their part to earn those Panther Paws!

In Partnership,

Rachel Nowak

Lost and Found

We have a lot of items in our lost and found. The items will be located in our vestibule starting on Monday, January 12. If you see an item that may belong to your child, or if you know they are missing something, please come in and take a look. Anything that is not claimed by January 23rd will be donated.

DMS Students at Herbison Woods

As part of the Emerging Leaders class, DeWitt Middle School students join us at Herbison Woods.

PTA Updates

From the PTA

Happy New Year! We have lots of fun planned for the rest of the school year, and we’d love for you to join us.

Family Skate Night
Friday, January 16 | 5-7 PM at Edru Skate, Holt

Join us for a fun night of roller skating! The rink will be closed to the public and open exclusively to DeWitt elementary families.
$10 per skater • $2 skate rentals

Sponsor a Teacher – PTA Membership Drive

We’re 80% of the way there—only 17 more teachers and staff members need to be sponsored! For just $7, you can sponsor a PTA membership for a teacher or staff member, giving them access to local, state, and national PTA resources.

Sponsor a Teacher: https://tinyurl.com/staffdrive2526

Meet Our Staff at HWE

Mrs. Crane

Paraprofessional

Mrs. Crane has been a paraeducator in DeWitt for 4 years. Her daughter attends DeWitt Middle School. When she is not at work she enjoys crafting, snuggling her pets during scary movies, and listening to her husband rock out!

Mrs. Sherman

Paraprofessional

“Ms. Jamie” is a paraprofessional at Herbison Woods. She enjoys coaching her daughters in softball, basketball and volleyball. She enjoys running and spending time with her family.

Mrs. Cantu

4th Grade Teacher

Mrs. Cantu is excited for her 7th year of teaching at Herbison Woods. She enjoys spending time with her husband and kitty, running, photography, and traveling.

Mr. Snyder

5th Grade Teacher

Mr. Snyder is a 5th grade teacher. This is his 11th year in the classroom. He enjoys spending time at the beach with his family, golfing, running, fishing and watching Michigan State basketball.

Cold Weather Reminders

With the winter weather upon us, please help your students to make good decisions about proper indoor and outdoor winter clothing. Students should wear a coat outside if the temperature is 50 degrees or colder. In the winter, students will go outdoors when the termperature is above zero degrees Farenheit. Please remind your child to bring the proper gear for this weather, and to wear it at recess. If you need support obtaining some of these items, please reach out to our front office. We are happy to help!

Yearbook Sales

You can order your yearbook through Lifetouch today for $14!

Yearbook Flyer.pdf

CLT and Professional Development Schedule

Below are our dates planned for staff professional learning time remaining for this year:

February 27 - Early Release Records Day (11:52 Dismissal)
March 18 - Early Release CLT (11:52 Dismissal)
March 26 - Half Day of School (11:52 Dismissal)
May 13 - Early Release CLT (11:52 Dismissal)
June 4 - Last Day of School and Early Release Records Day (11:52 Dismissal)

Breakfast and Lunch

School breakfast and lunch are available to all students this year. Students are allowed one free breakfast and one free lunch at this time, due to a State initiative. More detailed information about our food service program and menus can be found here.

Medication Information

In order for Herbison Woods Staff to administer medication to your child, you must:

Submit a completed district medication form to our office.
All medication must be dropped off by a parent/guardian. Students should not bring any medication to school.
Be sure all medications are brought to school by a parent/guardian and stored in our office.
Be sure prescription medication is in its original container accompanied with a physician’s signature.
Be sure non-prescription medication is in its original container accompanied by a parent’s signature.
Please communicate with your child's teacher if he/she takes medication daily at school.
If your child has a medical condition, please be sure to complete a Medical Management Plan for your child and turn it in at the office.
Medication and other medical forms can be found on our DeWitt Public Schools website.

Picking Students Up From School

Student safety is a top priority. As a reminder, you will need proper identification each time your child is picked up from school. Proper identification can include:

Physical ID (Driver's license)
Personal identification by our office staff
Other identificaiton proof AND answering personal information we have in Infinite Campus (ie: phone number, birthdate, etc.)

Thank you for understanding and helping to keep a safe environment for our students!

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