Herbison Woods News

March 27, 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: 8:45 a.m. (First bell rings at 8:40 a.m.)
  - Students may be dropped off at 8:25 a.m. or later. Supervision is not available before 8:25 a.m.
- Dismissal Time: 3:35 p.m. (Half Day dismissal 11:57 a.m.)

UPCOMING DATES:

March 27: Early Release - Start of Spring Break

April 7: School Resumes

April 15 - May 9: Spring Testing

April 18: No School

May 14: Early Release

A Message from Mrs. Ormsbee

Greetings Herbison Woods Families!

Thank you for meeting with us last week for Parent Teacher Conferences! We have begun the third trimester of the year, and are heading into spring break. When we return from spring break, our spring assessments will be upon us. Students in fourth and fifth grade will be taking MSTEP, NWEA and DIBELS assessments between the months of April and May. Below you will find information on M-STEP assessment dates and schedules. In preparation for the state assessment (M-STEP), students may:

Complete M-STEP practice tests at home (must use Google Chrome) to become familiar with the platform and styles of questions:

Click on the Sample Items Sets
Select Grade 4 or 5
Complete both the English Language Arts and Math (no calculators allowed) mini-assessments
Be sure to try out the testing tools located at the top of each question screen. These are useful tools to assist with taking the test.

I hope you have a wonderful spring break!

Thank you,

Alicia Ormsbee

Principal

Classroom Spotlight - Mrs. Jones and Mrs. Earl

Mrs. Jones's and Mrs. Earl's fourth graders incubated and raised Japanese quail. They learned about chick development in the egg, bird adaptations, and how to feed and care for the quail. They also learned how to safely handle the quail. Their learning culminated in independent quail projects along with a series of team events including the quail quiz bowl and finally the quail awards ceremony.

Classroom Spotlight - Mrs. Cantu

Mrs. Cantu's students participated in a series of STEM activities this past week.

March Students of the Month

Congratulations to our March Students of the Month. In March we recognized students who demonstrate the Panther Power of Honesty and Trustworthiness.

Author and Illustrator Visit

As part of March is Reading Month, we welcomed Author and Illustrator Team, Karen and Darrin Brege to Herbison Woods! Thank you to everyone who donated to our Color Run in the fall, as it allowed for us to bring in a great assembly for our students!

Author Illustrator Assembly Presentation

PTA Updates

From the PTA:

Culver's Community Share Night – Monday, April 7th, 5-9 PM
Too tired to cook after Spring Break? Join the PTA at Culver's of DeWitt and donate while you dine! A portion of sales from 5-9 PM will be donated to the DeWitt Elementary PTA. No flyer or code needed—just dine in, carry out, use the drive-thru, or order online at culvers.com (third-party delivery not included).

April PTA Meeting – Wednesday, April 9th @ 7 PM | Herbison Woods Media Center
Come join us for our April PTA Meeting and help us finish the year strong! It’s a great time to see what we’re all about and explore ways to get involved.

Spring Testing - MSTEP, NWEA and DIBELS 8

The second week after we return from Spring Break, our students will be taking our Spring assessments. Although these are not assessments that students can study for, there are ways to help them perform their best. Some helpful tips include:

Getting a good night sleep the night before testing day
Eating a healthy breakfast (remember, breakfast is available daily at school as well)
Attending school on time, on the day of an assessment (once a testing session has started in a classroom, a student arriving late will not be able to enter and test) Tests will begin promptly at 9:00 on testing days.
Giving their best effort during the test
Bringing headphones on testing day

4th Grade will test on:

Wednesday, April 16 - MSTEP ELA
Wednesday, April 23 - MSTEP Math
Tuesday, April 29 - NWEA ELA
Thursday, May 1 - NWEA Math

5th Grade will test on:

Tuesday, April 15 - MSTEP ELA
Thursday, April 17 - MSTEP Math
Tuesday, April 22 - MSTEP Science
Thursday, April 24 - MSTEP Social Studies
Tuesday, May 6 - NWEA ELA
Thursday, May 8 - NWEA Math

Yearbook Orders

Order your Herbison Woods Yearbook by April 20. See the Herbison Woods Homepage for more information!

Celebrations and Class Parties

To promote a safe and secure indoor school environment, create an inclusive atmosphere for all students, and to reduce distractions for the duration of the school day, the following school celebration guidelines will be followed:

Classroom celebrations will be kept to one hour.
We encourage healthy snacks and alternatives to food to support allergies and our wellness policy. Some classrooms may have a “no food” policy due to allergies.
Only volunteers and party classroom coordinators may be allowed in the classroom to help support classroom celebration activities per individual teacher request/classroom needs. There will be 3-5 parent volunteers per classroom.
Volunteers and party classroom coordinators may not bring any additional guests including siblings (of any age), relatives, etc.
Volunteers and classroom coordinators must complete the I-Chat Form and be cleared if they at any time are going to work with students independent of where the classroom teacher is.

Volunteering - IChat

If you plan on volunteering this year in the DeWitt Public Schools, please fill out the following background check form: IChat link.

Stop the Spread of Respiratory Illnesses

Respiratory Illness Protocol.docx.pdf

Please see the following CDC Guidelines for reducing the spread of Respiratory Illnesses.

CLT and Professional Development Dates

Below are the dates for Collaborative Learning Time (CLT) and professional development calendar. On early release days, Herbison Woods will dismiss at 11:57 a.m.

May 14 - Early Release for CLT

Car Loop Procedures

Safety is our #1 Priority.
Car loop begins at 8:25am; please do not drop off students before this time.
Please only drop off students in the car loop area; supervision is only provided in this area.
Please drop off and pick up students along the entire painted blue line along the curb.
Utilize the entire length of our “blue drop off line” by:
- Pulling up behind the car in front of you (please refrain from leaving large spaces between vehicles)
- Dropping off along the whole blue line (Please refrain from dropping off your child only in front of the area where their class waits. The entire blue line should be utilized for efficiency. )
During arrival, your students should be ready and prepared to get out of the car by having all their materials gathered and good-byes complete.
For the beginning of the school year, signs will be posted with teacher names in the front of the school. At parent drop off, students should stand by their teacher's sign.

Dismissal Procedures

Car loop:

Students will be escorted out to the car loop and will stand in their classroom’s designated area.
Students will remain in their area and wait for their car to pull up.
Cars will use the painted blue line as the area to pick up their children.
Please pull all the way forward, as to allow the maximum number of cars to pick up their students at one time.
Please post a sign with your child’s first and last name in a visual area of your vehicle for the first couple of weeks of school.
When students see their car, they will walk toward it and quickly get in.
Students will enter their car on the sidewalk side.
Adults should not get out of the car at any point in the car loop.
To exit the car loop, please follow the signs and exit to the right only.

Bussers:

Students will be escorted outside and will stand in their classroom’s designated area.
Once their bus arrives, they will walk to their bus.

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.

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