Belmont Newsletter
Belmont Elementary School
6097 Belmont Ave NE
Belmont, MI 49306
616.863.6362
Dear Belmont Families,
I'm not sure how we are already in the middle of April, but we are. The school year has gone exceptionally fast and I have learned so much in my first year as your student's principal. Thank you for making this the best place to learn and grow as a school leader.
Please find linked below the school culture survey results from earlier this year. We had 50 families complete the survey and appreciate their feedback greatly. These results have also been shared with our Belmont staff and our Belmont PTO. We are reflecting on how we can improve in some areas and look forward to partnering with you in the process.
Please let me know if you have any questions, comments, or concerns. Let's finish the year strong and make the next seven weeks of the 2024/25 school year count!
School Culture Survey - Family Results
With gratitude,
Rachel DeKuiper, Principal
rmdekuiper@rockfordschools.org
616.863.6362
Upcoming Events:
April 14 - Welcome Back from Spring Break!
April 16 - Spring Testing Begins (see schedule below)
April 16 - PTO Meeting @ 6:30
April 18 - Popcorn Day
April 18 - Belmont Night at the Whitecaps!
April 23 - Administrative Professionals' Day - Let's Celebrate Holly and Katie!!
April 23 - Early Release Day
April 24 - VIP Breakfast from 7:30 - 8:15 (last names A-K)
April 25 - VIP Breakfast from 7:30 - 8:15 (last names L-Z)
May 9 - Parent/Guardian Class Placement Input Due
May 7 - Early Release Day
May 14 - PTO Meeting @ 6:30
May 22 - Adolescent Health Lessons (4th and 5th Grades ONLY)
May 23 - No School (Memorial Day Weekend)
May 26 - No School (Memorial Day!)
May 30 - Field Day (information from Mr. Banta coming soon!)
June 5 - Half Day of School
June 6 - Half Day and Last Day of School
Spring Testing
When we return from spring break, upper elementary students will be embarking upon the M-STEP. Our fifth graders will be tested in four content areas: English Language Arts, Math, Science, and Social Studies. Our third and fourth graders will be assessed in English Language Arts and Math.
Shortly after our upper elementary students wrap-up M-STEP testing, all of our students will take their end-of-year NWEA-MAP assessments in the areas of reading and math. You can see our testing schedule linked below along with a parent's guide to state assessments. Please know that we do all we can to prepare students for these assessments and will do our best to support them through the testing season. Thank you for all you do at home too.
Belmont Spring Testing Schedule
Parent's Guide to State Assessments
Administrative Professionals' Day
Help me celebrate the best administrative assistants in the world on Wednesday, April 24! This place is blessed with two great humans in our front office and we are beyond grateful! Please consider dropping them a card or an email message letting them know how much they are appreciated next week, Wednesday! Thank you!
Class Placement for the 25/26 School Year - Parent/Guardian Input
As we begin to consider next school year, parents/guardians are invited to share some information about their student(s) to help inform class placements for the 2025/2026 school year. Please complete this form by May 9. Please know that we cannot honor all requests and that many factors are considered when placing students. Thank you for your input and we look forward to planning for next year!
Belmont Class Placement Parent/Guardian Input
VIP Breakfast next week!
Rockford Eats - an REF Fundraiser
We have an amazing fundraiser, Rockford Eats, launching next week that supports our schools and 30 of our community restaurants. Donate $100 to REF and get a $50 gift certificate to a local restaurant of your choice! Check out the flyer below for details...
TRAILS Unit 5 - Parent Newsletter
Students are headed into the final TRAILS unit of the school year! This unit focuses on Responsible Decision Making. Students will kick off this final unit by participating in Rotation Stations on Friday, April 25. At each station, fifth graders will share with them Belmont's Schoolwide Behavior Expectations using our new RAMS acronym. We look forward to finishing the year strong and embracing the concepts of being Respectful, Accountable, Motivated, and Safe! Please find linked below resources that families can use to support the concepts being learned at school. Thank you!
Responsible Decision Making - Family Newsletter
Belmont Brew Crew
Our PTO was kind enough to award a LEG (learning enhancement grant) to Miss
Sweigart for a student-run coffee cart. Today, the Belmont Brew Crew could be seen rolling down the hallways at Belmont Elementary delivering drinks to staff that ordered them. Students had to read the orders, count money, and deliver the beverages to those who ordered. As you can imagine, both students and staff were all smiles! Thank you to our PTO and Miss Sweigart for supporting these fun learning opportunities for our students! 
Adolescent Health - 4th and 5th Grade Families ONLY
Please find linked below an Adolescent Health Landing Page for fourth and fifth-grade families. This page contains information that parents/guardians may want to review before our Adolescent Health lessons on Thursday, May 22. Next week letters and opt-out forms will be sent to 4th and 5th grade families as well. Please let us know if you have any questions! Thank you!!
New student Enrollment is open!
New student enrollment for the 2025-2026 school year is now open! We welcome our new class of Rockford Rams! The district encourages families to enroll their future Developmental Kindergarten or Kindergarten student PRIOR to June 1, 2025, to take advantage of an early, required placement screening. Children who turn five years old on or before December 1, 2025, are eligible to enroll for the 2025-2026 school year. Current Developmental Kindergarten students do not require an additional enrollment. Please see the flyer below or visit rockfordschools.org/enrollment/ for more details and enrollment procedures.
Belmont's Annual Education Report:
Belmont's Annual Education Report for the 23/24 school year is now linked to the Belmont page on the district's new website. You can find the report linked at the top of the black textbox in the bottom right-hand corner. Paper copies are available upon request from our office. Please let Holly or Katie know if you'd like a paper copy of this report. Thank you!
Belmont's Annual Education Report - 23/24
Dk/K Information
If you know of a Belmont family that was unable to attend the DK/K Information Night, please share the link below with them. We look forward to welcoming new families next school year and want to do all we can to answer their questions. Thank you!
Belmont DK/K Information
Recess Rams
Our students love it when Recess Rams are on the playground! Over spring break, we had two soccer goals delivered and outfitted with new nets. The number of kids down on those fields is impressive and exciting!
Because of this, we can always use volunteers on the playground during our recess times. To sign up to be a Recess Ram volunteer, please click on the link below. THANK YOU for sharing part of your day with us!
Belmont Elementary: Recess Ram
NEW FLASHING LIGHTS At Crosswalk!!
You may have noticed the new flashing lights at the crosswalk on Belmont Ave between our school and the fire station. We have been working on getting these since the fall and we are so excited for this added layer of safety. Thank you for all you do to keep our students safe during arrival and dismissal each day!
Drop-Off and Pick-Up
When dropping students off in the morning, please remember the following:
- Doors (main entrance only) open to Belmont students at 8:25. Students dropped off by families in the morning will now enter through the main entrance.
- Vehicles should form a single line along the sidewalk and pull ahead as far as they can (until the sidewalk ends).
- Drivers in this line must stay in their vehicle and continue to pull forward when space allows.
- Students may not exit the vehicle until the vehicle is completely off the main road and at a complete stop.
- Students must walk on the sidewalk to the main entrance.
- Please keep your goodbye routine short and sweet.
- If you have to pull off and wait on the main road, please consider putting your hazard lights on.
- If the driver is exiting the vehicle, they must park in a parking space and walk their child to the sidewalk.
- Another option for morning arrival is to use the lot next to Book Comp across the street and let our crossing guard safely guide students to school at 8:25.
When picking your students up at the end of the day:
- Please form two lanes and pull ahead as far as you can (until the sidewalk ends).
- Please have your child's last name displayed in the window.
- If you need a new yellow sign for your vehicle, please let us know ASAP. These signs help us stay efficient and safe when getting students to the correct vehicle.
- Please avoid large gaps between vehicles. Pull ahead whenever space allows.
- If you choose to exit your vehicle, please park in a parking spot. You should not be exiting your vehicle if you are waiting in one of the two lanes.
- Some families have chosen to pick up their upper elementary students from the Book Comp lot across the road. This is another option and we have a wonderful crossing guard that will help students safely cross the street to you.
Student Absences and attendance letters
Absences MUST be called into the office 616.863.6362. If you need to email an absence, please email both Holly and Katie at hcombs@rockfordschools.org and ktrolla@rockfordschools.org.
Please leave a message on our general voicemail box if you are calling after hours. Whether you are reporting an absence on our voicemail or speaking with Karen or Jamie we need to know the following things:
- Student's name and teacher
- Reason for absence - if it is an illness we need to know the symptoms of the illness - vomiting, coughing, fever, cold, diarrhea, lice - whatever the reason may be
The Kent Intermediate School District (KISD) has given schools within Kent County additional guidance on how to communicate attendance concerns. Their "Strive for Less Than Five" campaign is detailed in the linked video. When absences exceed five and ten days respectively, you may receive a letter. If attendance continues to be a concern, a truancy referral will need to be made and families might need to meet with the school to create an Attendance Improvement Plan.
GRASP IS BACK!
GRASP is a correspondence program for students in Kindergarten through 8th grades which helps students maintain reading and math skills while they are on summer break. Enrolled students will receive a packet of materials with a booklet containing nine lessons. It should take your student approximately one hour to complete each weekly lesson. They can complete one lesson a week or work at their own pace, as long as all lessons are submitted before August 8th. The students can mail the lessons to GRASP for scoring and the results will be returned to them, via the email provided. Or, new this year, lessons can be scored with a parent/guardian cell phone instead of mailing them in! Details regarding this process will be sent in May to the email provided on the order. There is also an online version of GRASP for students in 4th through 8th grade and these students will also receive results via the email provided.
Students who complete and submit at least seven lessons with 70% accuracy are awarded a certificate. Those who complete and submit all nine lessons with 70% accuracy will receive a medal! Certificates and medals will be distributed by your student’s school at the beginning of the next school year.
Please order your student’s CURRENT grade level. If there are extenuating circumstances, order the level that is appropriate for your student. The fees for the summer of 2025 are $26 for one subject or $48 for both subjects for each student. You can enroll your student for the book version (grades K-8) or the optional online version (grades 4-8) by completing the registration and payment online.
