Note from Dr. Cannon
September 16, 2019
Dear Breton Downs Families,
Next week (September 23- September 27) East Grand Rapids High School celebrates Homecoming and our Breton Downs students enjoy participating in some of the activities. Here are the “Spirit Week” happenings:
Spirit Week- Dress-Up Days- September 23- September 27
- Monday, September 23- PJ Day
- Tuesday, September 24- Favorite Color Day (please note this is also school picture day)
- Wednesday, September 25- Crazy Hair/Hat Day
- Thursday, September 26- College Day
- Friday, September 27- Go East Day (Blue and Gold)
Homecoming Parade- Friday, September 27
The parade will start at 4:30 p.m. at Beechwood and Lake Drive and then turn westbound onto Lake Drive towards the high school. It will continue on Lake Drive before turning right onto Breton, left into Gaslight Village, left onto Bagley, and ending in front of the High School on Lake Drive.
The tradition of parade participants throwing candy from their vehicles will continue; however, we ask for your assistance in keeping our children safe while they retrieve the candy. Young children tend to run into the street to grab candy, putting them too close to the moving vehicles in the parade. We are requesting that parents keep children near the curb and not allow them to enter the street. Parade participants have been instructed to throw candy near the sidewalks. EGRHS Student Council members will be walking along the parade procession in orange vests to help keep young children safe and away from the moving vehicles.
Homecoming Football Game- Friday, September 27
The football game will start at 7:00 p.m. at Memorial Field.
Grace Lin Author Visit
This coming October, author and illustrator Grace Lin will be presenting to all elementary students in a joint effort sponsored generously by the Friends of the East Grand Rapids Library, East Grand Rapids Schools Foundation, and three elementary PTOs with support from the EGR Kent District Library. Students became familiar with Grace Lin’s work last year when reading “Big Mooncake for Little Star” during March Book Madness.
Grace Lin, a NY Times bestselling author/ illustrator, won the Newbery Honor for "Where the Mountain Meets the Moon" and theTheodor Geisel Honor for "Ling and Ting." Her most recent novel "When the Sea Turned to Silver" was a National Book Award Finalist and her most recent picture book, "A Big Mooncake for Little Star" was awarded the Caldecott Honor. Grace is also an occasional commentator for New England Public Radio, a reviewer for the NY Times, a video essayist for PBS NewsHour, and the speaker of the popular TEDx talk, “The Windows and Mirrors of Your Child’s Bookshelf," as well as hosting the two podcasts: kidlitwomen* and Book Friends Forever. In 2016, Grace’s art was displayed at the White House where she was recognized by President Obama’s office as a Champion of Change for Asian American and Pacific Islander Art and Storytelling. To learn more about Grace Lin, please visit her website at www.gracelin.com.
Prior to her visit, students will be doing an author study in their classrooms to familiarize themselves with more of Grace Lin’s picture books and novels. If you would like to pre-order some of her books, you may do so by returning the order form coming home in your child(ren)’s backpack. You may also find a copy of the form here. These forms must be returned to school by Friday, September 27, 2019 in order for the books to arrive in time for her visit. There will be a time for Grace Lin to sign autographs during her visit to each building. We are deeply thankful our students will have the opportunity to learn from such a well-renowned author!
Smartwatch and Cell Phone Reminder
Many of our students are involved in activities before and after the school day throughout the year. We understand that there are times when you need to communicate with your children. Smartwatches and cell phones are an easy way for you to do this. Please help us to maintain a distraction-free learning environment by reminding your child that any smartwatches and cell phones brought to school must remain off and in their backpacks while on school grounds.
First PTO Meeting
I would like to invite all parents to our first PTO meeting on Thursday, September 19 at 8:30 a.m. in the Breton Downs Learning Commons. This is a great opportunity to meet other parents, sign-up for volunteer opportunities, and become involved in your child's school. In addition to building and district updates, our PTO hosts rotating speakers on various topics.
Hearts of Gold- Epilepsy Foundation of Michigan
Each year East Grand Rapids Public Schools participates in a community-wide fundraiser called Hearts of Gold. Students, staff, parents, and community members work together to raise money for a local organization that supports a great cause. This year’s Hearts of Gold partner is the Epilepsy Foundation of Michigan. Epilepsy is a chronic neurological condition that causes recurrent seizures and 1 in 26 people will be diagnosed with epilepsy during their lifetime. The Epilepsy Foundation works with those diagnosed to learn how to manage their neurological condition, as well as raises money for treatment and research to find a cure. There are members of our East Grand Rapids community that have experience with this organization. Please see their story here and view with your child if you feel it is developmentally appropriate. We look forward to the official kickoff to our Hearts of Gold fundraising event happening Friday, October 4. The culmination of the fundraiser takes place on Friday, October 18 where a check of all funds raised will be presented to the Epilepsy Foundation. The check presentation will take place at mid-field of the varsity football game at 7:00 p.m. on Memorial Field. We look forward to seeing you at the game!
If you ever have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me at ccannon@egrps.org
Warmest regards,
Caroline
 https://twitter.com/principalcannon
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