Herbison Woods News

October 31, 2025

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:

November 3-6: Book Fair

November 5: Picture Retakes

November 5: In Person Conferences

November 6: Virtual Conferences

November 11: Veterans Day Celebration at 2:00

November 14: Early Release - Teacher Records Day

November 19: Early Release - CLT

A Message from Mrs. Ormsbee

Greetings Herbison Woods Families,

We had such a great week, full of fall and Halloween fun! Thank you to everyone who helped make our festivities a success today! Next week we will be holding our Parent Teacher Conferences. An email was sent on October 24th with a SignUp Genius link to choose a date, time and format that best fits your schedule and needs. In Person Conferences will be held November 5th, from 4:00-7:30 and Virtual Conferences will be held November 6th, from 4:00-7:30. If you would prefer an In Person Conference, and it is not available, please reach out to your child's teacher. We look forward to meeting with you!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Sincerely,

Alicia Ormsbee

Principal

A Note from Mrs. Nowak

Herbison Woods Families,

Has your 4th or 5th grader come home sharing how many Panther Paws their class has? If not, ask them! At Herbison Woods, we have many motivators to encourage individuals and classes to make responsible, respectful and safe choices. One of those motivators is our Panther Paw class awards. As a class obtains a certain number, they earn a reward. Mr. Rogers and I get the pleasure of going into classes once they have earned 40. Ask your child what their class has earned and how they can help earn more as a group.

One area of the school students are working hard to have respectful, responsible and safe choices is the cafeteria at breakfast. Please remind your HWE student that only those going to eat breakfast should enter the cafeteria, no matter how cold it is in the morning! Also, remind them that picking up after themselves is an expectation; all trash should be put in trash bins in the hallways or classrooms. We even have a share table for breakfast foods now, so we can do even more to eliminate waste. Thank you for your support with this!

In Partnership,

Rachel Nowak

Veterans Day Assembly

On November 11, our students will be honoring our Veterans at an assembly at Herbison Woods. Our assembly will take place from 2:00 - 2:30 pm. If you or a family member is a veteran and would like to attend, please fill out the following form. We are asking our guests to arrive at 1:45 pm. We are excited to have our students honor our community Veterans.

PTA Updates

From the PTA

Conference Cuisine
We’re doing things differently this year. Instead of asking for monetary donations, we’re relying on our only fundraiser of the year (Pasta for the Panthers) to fund meals for staff during conferences. However, if you’d like to contribute snacks or drinks to help stock the break rooms, please use the links below:
Scott School: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/904094CA8A928AB9-59906150-fall#/
Herbison Woods: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/904094CA8A928AB9-59906985-fall#/

Pasta for the Panthers
Our spaghetti dinner and bingo night is coming up fast! Join us on Saturday, November 8th at the DeWitt Charter Township Community Center (DARA) from 5–8pm. If you plan to eat with us, please purchase your tickets in advance so we can ensure enough food for everyone! You’re welcome to join us for bingo, raffle, games, and a preview of our online auction as well!
Tickets: https://app.givebacks.gives/pastaforthepanthers

Teacher, Staff, and Coach Experience Raffle
Stop by our table during conferences at Scott and Herbison Woods on Wednesday, November 5th to purchase raffle tickets for a chance to win an experience with a favorite teacher, staff member, or coach! Tickets are $10 each and anyone can win. You’ll also be able to buy tickets at Pasta for the Panthers and during conferences at Schavey Road.
Take a look at our available experiences: https://www.ptadewitt.org/raffleprizes2025.html

Online Auction
Our annual online auction goes live on Saturday, November 8th at 8pm, right after Pasta for the Panthers wraps up! Take a look at some of the exciting items up for grabs and bookmark your favorites now — new items are being added daily.
Auction Preview: https://www.32auctions.com/dewittptaauction2025

November PTA Meeting
Join us for our next PTA Meeting on Tuesday, November 4th at 7pm in the Herbison Woods Media Center. We’d love to see you there!

Book Fair Week

The Fall Book Fair is coming to Herbison Woods November 3rd - 6th. If you are interested in volunteering, there are still some available slots. Please see use this link to sign up for a time and date.

Bookfair Fall 2025.pdf

Meet Our Staff at HWE

Mr. Goerge

Special Education Teacher

Mr. Goerge has been teaching since 2001. He has 2 sons. One is attending MSU, the other is a Junior at DHS. Mr. Goerge loves bacon.

Ms. Meszaros

4th Grade Teacher

This is Ms. Meszaros 4th year teaching 4th grade! When not at school, she is playing music, being with her family and friends, or going for walks.

Mrs. Hingst

4th Grade Teacher

Mrs. Hingst is a 4th-grade teacher who loves sharing her passion for reading with her students and helping them grow as learners. Outside of school, she enjoys running to stay active and clear her mind. Most of all, she treasures spending time with her family, making memories together, and finding joy in the little moments.

Mrs. Wineland

5th Grade Teacher

Mrs. Wineland has taught 5th grade in DeWitt for 34 years. She loves spending time with her dogs, Daisy and Rosie. Mrs. Wineland hopes to travel when she retires at the end of this year!

DHS Musical Preview

Herbison Woods Students had the opportunity to see a preview of the DHS musical Mama Mia! this week. The high school students did an amazing job!

Mrs. Cantu's Class and Mrs. Wineland's Class

Mrs. Cantu's Class and Mrs. Wineland's Class are 4th and 5th grade buddy classes. They spent time interacting, making some new friends and working on a Halloween craft together.

Collage of students doing a Halloween craft

Halloween Fun at HWE

Student in costume doing a Halloween craft

Students in costume doing a Halloween craft

Students in costume doing a Halloween game

Mrs. Jones' Pumpkin Patch

Yearbook Sales

You can order your yearbook through Lifetouch today!

Yearbook Flyer.pdf

CLT and Professional Development Schedule

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

November 14 - Early Release Records Day (11:52 Dismissal)
November 19 - Early Release CLT (11:52 Dismissal)
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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