8/9: Kindergarten Arrival Practice, 12:30 - 1:00
8/9: Park Party @ GRCDC Playground, 1:00 - 3:00 PM
8/17: GRCDC Board Meeting, 6:00 - 7:30 PM- ALL ARE WELCOME!
8/20: Back to School Night, 4:00 - 7:00 PM, Sign ups coming soon!
8/24: First Day of School!
8/28: Half Day of School, 11:30 Dismissal
9/4 & 9/7: No School, Labor Day Break
9/9 and 9/10: Kick off Community Meetings for 26-27! W- 3-5th and TH- K-2 at drop off time
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Dear Families,
WELCOME to the first Link Letter of the 26-27 school year! Though the school year has not yet begun, it is time for us to begin putting into place the pieces that will result in a successful kickoff for all!
One of the ways you can start to prepare for the school year is to make little changes beginning now, so that the start of the year feels a little less like a "mad dash" and a little more like a "slow ramp up"! Here are some things to consider:
- Begin adjusting routines now. Move bedtimes 15 minutes earlier a night until you get to a bedtime closer to school year bedtime. If your family is like mine, you are having dinner in the summer at the time your children normally go to bed!
- Organize supplies a little at a time, gather a little each week to ease the strain on your budget and also help children get used to the idea of new school supplies. The new supplies and control over them can sometimes be a placeholder for anxiety children may be feeling about the school year starting. My 14-year-old daughter has a two-page self-generated list right now; one is labeled "school supplies," and the other is labeled "not school supplies, but things I need B4 school"!
- Do a little mental and physical preparation. Come to the park party on August 9 or find some time as a family to come up on a weekend or evening and visit the playground. Read stories together about the first day of school or school in general. Talk about something your child is looking forward to and something they might be worried about. Some children feel sad about being separated from their parents while they are at school if you had a lot more time together in the summer. A book we have loved in our family is The Invisible String by Patrice Karst. Here is a link to a read-aloud of the book, too.
If your child will be changing loops this year or starting kindergarten and beginning the year with a new group of classmates and a new teacher, it is especially important to prepare now! Children will take their cues from you. Make sure that they see you excited for the change, believing in their ability to handle this change, and trusting in the safe adults and school community that your child is a part of. Changing loops is an exciting part of life at GRCDC, and although it can make some kids and families feel nervous, connecting with new people, building new relationships, and stretching and growing in a new environment are important parts of life for all of us. Anxiety about beginning a new school year is completely normal, and children will look to their important grown-ups for cues- present a calm, confident outlook for the year to come!
We are SO EXCITED to begin preparing for families and children to return to the building. At 409 Lafayette, the sunflowers are tall, the tomatoes are on the vine, and the narwhals are ready to dive into a new year together! Please do not hesitate to reach out to me with any questions.
Sincerely,
Lisa
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We have some information to get you prepared for the start of the 2026-2027 School Year!
Classroom Assignments: You will be able to view your child's classroom teacher assignment shortly after this Link Letter is published on 7/31 in ParentSquare. Please remember that many factors are carefully considered when creating class lists, including the needs of individual children, the classroom community, and the school as a whole. For this reason, we are unable to accommodate requests for specific teachers or requests to change a child’s teacher.
Teacher Newsletter and School Supplies: Your child's teacher will share a welcome newsletter by August 12th at 4:00 PM. In the newsletter will be a suggested supply list. At GRCDC, we use communal supplies as aligned with our philosophy and teachers will share what will be needed for the classroom community and what each individual child may need.
Back to School Night, Thursday, August 20th: Sign-ups are coming soon for Back to School Night. This is a required event for all families. At Back to School Night you will:
- Visit your child's classroom in a small group session planned to help form intentional connections between the family and the teacher.
- Pick up dismissal car cards
- Visit with the teachers of Movement, Studio, and Music
- Visit the medical table (required for students who have prescription medication or inhalers).
You will receive a notification in ParentSquare when it is time to sign up for your session time.
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Kindergarten Arrival Practice: Reminder to the Kindergarten families about the arrival practice on Sunday, August 9th at 12:30 PM. For more information and to RSVP, please click this link.
School Meals: Breakfast and lunch are free for all GRCDC students. Each classroom will have a daily morning process for students to let the teacher know if they need a school lunch or have brought a lunch from home. Please note: Milk is included in the school lunches, however, milk will not be available to purchase for students who bring a lunch from home. Breakfast is served before instruction begins. Please aim to have your child arrive between 8:00 - 8:15 AM for breakfast.
Arrival Note: School instruction begins at 8:20 AM. Please make every effort to arrive on time for instruction daily. If arriving after 8:20, you will not be able to drop your child off at the car line. Please come to the front of the school to check in at the office.
Dismissal Times: Dismissal operates on a staggered schedule based on your child's last name. For new families, we will have a session at Back to School Night to introduce this process! For reference, here are the staggered dismissal times:
Regular School Days M, W, Th, F:
- 3:45 - 4:00 is for students with the last name A - I
- 4:00 - 4:15 is for students with the last name J - Z
Tuesday Early Release:
- 2:30 - 2:45 is for students with the last name A - I
- 2:45 - 3:00 is for students with the last name J - Z
Half Days:
- 11:30 - 11:45 is for students with the last name A - I
- 11:45 - 12:00 is for students with the last name J - Z
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Here are the staffing changes for the 26-27 School Year:
Not Returning:
- Support staff: Matt Palmisano, Elijah Ko
- Teachers: Danielle Starke
New Hires or Changes:
- Cheyenne Rose, Resource Room, Special Education (See Ms. Rose's bio and photo below!)
- Coach Maranda will be teaching 5th grade full time
- Ms. Elly will be teaching special education and interventions full time
Please reach out to Ms. Nuyens with any questions.
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My name is Cheyenne Rose (Ms. Rose) and I am the new K-5 special education teacher at Grand Rapids Child Discovery Center.
I am so excited to get to know all the students and families and cannot wait to see everyone's progress at the end of the 26/27 school year! Before coming to GRCDC, I worked in Kalamazoo as an Early Childhood Special Education Kindergarten teacher and a K-5 resource room teacher in Athens. When I'm not a teacher, I am a mom to my wonderful 4 year old daughter. We enjoy spending as much of our free time as possible enjoying the outdoors with our dog Ziva and seeing new places.
If you see me in the community, please say hello! I'd love to get to know you all. We're going to have a great year!
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The parking garage is almost finished and the arch has been painted. If you have not seen the updates since the last day of school, it's worth a drive-by, especially at night! |
Join the Family Team on the GRCDC Playground on Sunday, August 9th, 1:00 - 3:00 for the last Park Party of the summer! |
- If you are experiencing a housing crisis or issue, please contact us at 616-459-0330 and our Homeless Liaison will reach out to you.
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Families Supporting Families! We want to support our families. We are collecting the information for any family-owned businesses within our community. If you own a business, please fill out this survey. We will add you to the directory once we receive your information.
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GRCDC Threat Reporting Form: It takes everybody in the school community to keep a school safe! In short, if you see or hear something, say something! GRCDC has a team of staff that have been trained to assess and respond to any threats to the school community. Please use this form to make a report.
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OK2SAY: If you receive a threat or know of a threat of violence against your community, please contact your local law enforcement or call 9-1-1. Non-emergency tips can be submitted the following ways:
- Call: 8-555-OK2SAY, (855-565-2729 )
- Text: 652729 (OK2SAY)
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Email: OK2SAY
- Visit: OK2SAY website
- OK2SAY Mobile App: Available for download for Apple, Google and Android mobile devices.
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Absence Reporting: If your child will be absent from school, please contact us by 8:20 AM if possible. There are a few ways you can contact us about an absence:
- Email office@childdiscoverycenter.org
- Call the main office, 616-459-0330
- Send a ParentSquare message
- If you contact a teacher only regarding attendance, please know that they do not always have time to inform the office about your child's attendance. Your first contact should always be the school office. If you want to include the teacher and inform them as well, go for it!
If we do not hear from you, ParentSquare will send an automated message around 8:50 AM that you may also reply to. If you do not contact the office to excuse the absence, it will be marked unexcused.
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