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.)
Greetings Herbison Woods Families,
We have had a fantastic start to the school year! Students have been busy learning classroom routines, procedures, and reviewing our school-wide expectations these first two weeks:
Be Respectful
Be Responsible
Be Safe
We will continue to review these with students throughout the school year.
With the beginning of the school year comes our fall benchmark assessments. Students have already began taking the DIBELS 8 reading assessment this past week. In the coming two weeks, students will take the NWEA reading and math assessments. These assessments allow us to monitor academic progress and determine how we can best support students academically. We only ask that students try hard and do their best. On testing days, it's always helpful for students to be at school, come having had a good night's sleep, and having eaten breakfast. As a reminder, breakfast is free for all students. Please encourage them to eat, especially on these days. Classroom teachers will be communicating their specific testing days in their classroom newsletters.
Thank you for giving us the opportunity to work with your child. I truly feel fortunate to be a part of this staff, district and community! Please feel free to reach out with any questions or concerns. Our staff is here to help! We are off to a great start and I'm looking forward to the months to come!
Sincerely,
Alicia Ormsbee
Principal
HWE Families,
Our warmest welcome to our HWE families! It has been wonderful to interact with your 4th and 5th graders every day. My name is Rachel Nowak and I am the Dean of Students for grades 4-8. This will be my 4th year as Dean at HWE, after 20 years of classroom teaching experience. I am very excited to start the year with our HWE students!
One of my main responsibilities as Dean is to help all students reach their best potential when it comes to meeting our school expectations: being respectful, responsible and safe in all areas of the school. So far, the adults have been very impressed with how the school year has started! I encourage you to ask your HWE student if they have earned any Herbie Bucks yet, or if their class has earned any Panther Paws. Those are two of the positive behavior incentives that all students and classes can earn. Students will be able to "cash" in Herbie Bucks at our Herbie Buck store later in the month, and are also working toward a class goal with Panther Paws.
Please look for notes from me that will help you be aware of other positive behavior incentives as well as tid-bits on how to support your child this year. Reach out by phone or email if you have any questions on how our positive systems work!
In Partnership,
Rachel Nowak
HWE Families,
Welcome back to school, HWE Panthers! I am excited to start another school year and am looking forward to watching our students grow academically, socially, and personally. We had a great first week, full of connecting with new and returning students, and helping to open lots of lockers. It has been fun seeing many kiddos begin to feel comfortable with the new staff, peers, and building around them. I am confident we will have a wonderful school year!
Thank you,
Mr. Rogers
From the PTA
The PTA is more than just events—it’s a way to help support our students, staff, and schools throughout the year. PTA members can vote on funding and grant requests, help shape PTA decisions, and serve in chair or leadership roles. Membership is $10 for an individual, $18 for a dual membership, or $7 for staff. Everyone is welcome at our general meetings, whether you’re a member or not!
Join today: tinyurl.com/ptamember2627
Whether you have an hour to give, want to help at a single event, or are interested in getting more involved with the PTA, we’d love to hear from you! Fill out our Volunteer Interest Form and let us know how you’d like to help. Signing up doesn’t commit you to anything—it simply helps us know who to contact when volunteer opportunities come up.
Join the Volunteer Interest List: https://forms.gle/3amWhkAj7dqzgAP88
Family Skate Night
Friday, October 2 | 5:00–7:00 PM
Edru Skate, Holt
Lace up your skates and join us for a fun night with DeWitt elementary families! The rink will be closed to the public and open exclusively for our families.
$10 per skater (skate rental included)
Monster Mash
Saturday, October 24
Herbison Woods Elementary
Get ready for a frightfully fun evening at our free, family-friendly Monster Mash! Join us for dancing, games, a photo booth, and more. Costumes are encouraged but not required—come as you are or dress to impress!
Food and drinks will be available for purchase, so come hungry!
Admission is free, but we kindly ask families to bring a donation of individually wrapped, nut-free snacks to help stock our school snack closets for teachers to use in their classrooms.
To help us plan, please register in advance:
Register for Monster Mash: https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/monster-mash--2026-3
Our car loop begins at 8:20am. Supervision does not begin until 8:20. Please do not drop students off prior to this time.
Please only drop off students in the carloop area. For their safety, please do not drop off at the road or crosswalk area.
Signs with classroom teachers names will be posted out front showing where students will stand.
Please drop off and pick up students along the painted blue line along the curb.
Please utilize the entire length of our “blue drop off line”. This will help keep our line moving efficiently.
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.
Students being picked up at the end of the day will be released out the front door. For the first couple of weeks, we encourage you to post a sign with your child's name in the window.
As you exit the loop, please follow the right turn only sign.
Below are our dates planned for staff professional learning time this year:
September 23 - Early Release CLT (11:52 Dismissal)
October 28 - Early Release CLT (11:52 Dismissal)
November 13 - Early Release Records Day (11:52 Dismissal)
November 18 - Early Release CLT (11:52 Dismissal)
January 27 - Early Release Records Day (11:52 Dismissal)
February 16 - Full Day Professional Development (no school for students)
March 5 - Early Release Records Day (11:52 Dismissal)
April 21 - Early Release CLT (11:52 Dismissal)
May 19 - Early Release CLT (11:52 Dismissal)
June 4 - Last Day of School and Early Release Records Day (11:52 Dismissal)
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.
School breakfast and lunch are available to all students this year. Students are allowed one free breakfast and one free lunch due to a State initiative. More detailed information about our food service program and menus can be found here and will be updated soon.
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!