Zinser Elementary News
March 14

Zinser Elementary News March 14

03/14/25

Zinser BLITZ! 
Working Together in Our Neighborhood - March 22, 9 am-2 pm
BLITZ is an acronym for: Be Love - Inspire Teachers (& Staff) @ Zinser
Join us to clean up the quad and refresh the staff lounge at Zinser on March 22 between 9 am-2 pm. Pizza lunch will be provided at 11:30 am. Bring work gloves, pruning shears, hedge trimmers, rakes, shovels, brooms, gardening hoes, yard waste bags, and simple tools (electric drill, screwdriver, etc)

Family Council Update
We need a few more volunteers for popcorn Friday on 3/21. If you can help please email ZinserELEMFC@gmail.com

Get ready for an unforgettable night of entertainment! Join us for our School Talent Show on March 25th from 6:30 - 7:30 PM in the school gymnasium. Come cheer on our amazing students as they showcase their incredible talents—singing, dancing, comedy, magic, and more! You won’t want to miss this evening of fun and creativity. Bring your friends and family and support our talented performers! See you there! 

The Roller Skating Party has been re-scheduled! Mark your calendars for May 7th!

Washington DC Trip
Attention all current 5th and 6th grade students! There are approximately 10 open spots for the 2026 Washington DC trip before a waitlist is started. Please make sure you get registered if you want to experience this amazing opportunity. You MUST complete the information requested at sign up and pay the deposit or your seat is not confirmed. We are not able to hold seats if these two things are not completed. If anything is missing, you will receive a message from the committee. Please visit our website for details regarding the trip and feel free to email the committee at kh.dc.trip@gmail.com if you have any questions.

El Aztecas Fundraiser
Join us for lunch or dinner on Wednesday, April 16, 2025, dine-in or take-out, and 15% will go back to Zinser Elementary. Present the flyer upon purchase. 3040 Walker Ave NW.

Girl Scouts - Monday March 24 | 6 pm-7 pm
Get a fun spring preview of what being a Girl Scout is all about! Girls in grades K-5 are invited to join in on crafts and activities while parents and caregivers learn how to get involved as troop leaders. 3275 Walker Ave NW. *This is not a drop off event and preregistration is required. RSVP by March 23rd.

6th Grade Camp - Oct. 7-9, 2025
Every year, 6th graders have the privilege of attending 6th grade camp. Our campers travel to Grace Adventures in Mears, MI, along the shores of Upper Silver Lake. Students, staff and chaperones spend three days and two nights participating in activities that build strength, character, and friendships. The courses offered have been selected to provide a cross-section of outdoor skills, environmental awareness, teamwork, and goal-oriented tasks. Some of campers’ favorite activities include horseback riding, rock climbing, laser tag, and ropes courses. We are excited about the team-building opportunities this experience will provide our incoming sixth grade students to come together and get to know more about themselves and each other.

We do need parent volunteers. Parents who have attended in the past have given us great feedback, thoroughly enjoy the experience, and often want to attend again with their younger children or even sometimes when they do not have children attending. If you are interested in chaperoning 6th grade camp, you must be able to travel out to camp with and return with the group, stay the entire time, and remain with your day and cabin groups while at camp. We do require a background check to be on file with the district, which is something that has to be submitted annually, so you will need to submit a new one for the 25-26 school year. The cost for chaperones is $114. This covers room and board as well as participation in activities when space is available. This is first-come, first-serve, so if you know you want to be a chaperone, you can email Erin Plants (information included at the bottom of this letter)

The cost of camp this year is $170 per student. You can pay the full amount for your child starting now, or make installment payments until the deadline. We have a link in your student’s efunds account set up for your convenience. When you login to your child’s efunds account, there is a link to Student Fees/Optional Fees. Once you select that, you will see a link to make a 6th grade camp payment. This is NOT the same as the donation link on the homepage. We know this is early, but we want to give families time to make small payments if necessary. The final deadline for full payment is September 26, 2025. More information regarding fundraising and donation opportunities will be out later this year and early in the fall.

Please contact Erin Plants at the Middle School with any questions or concerns you may have. We will have more information about possible fundraisers and specific camp information later this year and again in the fall.

Sincerely, Erin Plants (eplants@khps.org)

Lacrosse Registration - 3rd - 6th Grade Boys
Registration ends March 21st - Register online or more info.

Girls Lacrosse Registration - Girls 3rd-8th Grade (No experience needed!) Tuesdays, from 6:30-8:30 pm at Jenison Fieldhouse
Register Online

Aquinas Youth Basketball Shooting Camp
April 7, 9 am-12 pm and April 8, 10 am-1 pm - Boys and Girls K-5th Grade (as of fall 2024). Registration can be found at aquinasmbbcamps.com or email Carl Gibbons at gibbonsc@aquinas.edu.

Special Someone Dance - Saturday May 3, from 6 pm-8 pm @ Central
Join us for a magical Knight. Crafts, photo booth, snacks, & of course dancing. 4 years old - 6th grade welcome, $30 for one adult and child, $10 per additional child. Cash or checks to Kenowa Hills Dance. Return the form to your child's school by Friday, May 2nd. To obtain the form or for questions, email khdtfundraising@gmail.com.

FREE Family Open House - AMP Lab @ WMU
Open the door for your kids to explore the future of STEAM with even more hands-on activities - exciting robotics demonstrations, 3D Printing, motorized Lego building, and brand new interactive experiences for all ages! Saturday, April 12 from 10 am-2 pm at the AMP Lab @ WMU: 200 Ionia Ave SW, Grand Rapids.

OLDER NEWS

Parking Lot Notes: MAP
➔ Please consider utilizing our bus transportation option to avoid the busy parent pick-up lot
➔ Always look to pull up in line and when possible to help with the flow of traffic.
◆ Tell your child(ren) to look for the correct car and be ready. If your child is late to the class sign and you’ve pulled past it, you can circle around the lot and keep your car moving.
➔ Thank you for those turning right only! We know it’s an inconvenience, but we believe it will help speed up the line and be safer in the long run ( We have a couple accidents a year with vehicles turning left)
➔ Drop off starts at 8:30; children may exit vehicles a few minutes early to get traffic flowing, and must wait by their grade sign until the 8:30 bell.
➔ We do have two lanes in the parking lot. Please only use the right lane for drop off and pick up, the inside lane is a pass by lane only! Please pass by with caution.

DROP OFF EXPECTATIONS:

• Drop off starts at 8:30 with the day officially starting at 8:35. Kindergarten & K-Knights families please park and walk to the flagpole to have your child line up with their class at the 8:30 bell. The teacher will come out and greet the students and enter the building together.

DISMISSAL EXPECTATIONS:

The school day ends at 3:37

• Kindergarten & K-Knights and early pick-ups start dismissal at 3:30. Kindergarten parents please park and walk to meet the class and get your child by the flagpole for a more intimate and safe pick-up.
• We will designate consistent early pick-up families once again this year. Please contact our office if you can consistently be in the parking lot for an early pick-up at 3:30.
• 1st - 5th grade families will use the car line in the parent parking lot for pick-up. Your child will stand at the correct grade level sign and enter the car when it’s at the sign or close to the nearest pull up spot. You may need to pull up past the grade sign to help with the flow of traffic
• We understand that parents can get stuck in traffic or weather events happen that can extend travel time to get to school for the 3:37 dismissal. If you are going to be late please call the office ahead of time so we can make the student(s) aware. Consistent tardiness for pick-up will result in your child(ren) being bused to our Early Childhood Center for after school care. You can be billed for this.

Attendance/Drop Off - Pick Up
Our start time is 8:35 am! We need your help getting students here on time! Any students arriving after 8:40 will be marked tardy. Any students arriving after 9:05 am without an excused call/absence will be marked unexcused for the morning session. Please call our attendance line at 616-453-2461 opt.1 or email ziattendance@khps.org to communicate your student’s absence, early leave time, or late arrival. STRIVE FOR FIVE!!!