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| IM (Ionia-Montcalm) Kids 3rd Meal is a brand new feeding program working to provide food insecure children in our communities with their evening meal Monday through Friday. Ionia County and Montcalm County have 3530 and 4090 food insecure children, respectively, who run the risk of a school lunch being their last meal of the day. We are providing evening meals to almost 500 children each day.
The size of this mission requires a lot of community support. If you or your organization is interested in volunteering with us, we offer a variety of projects and ways to help at our website www.imkids.org. We hope with community support to grow from 500 meals to eventually providing for all food insecure children in our communities.
If you would like to learn more about IM Kids 3rd Meal or would like to sign up to volunteer, please contact us at 616-527-4900 ext. 1252. |
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| The VISTA Summer Associate program offers individuals the opportunity to become engaged in our local communities through our existing VISTA project for 9 weeks during the summer. The program runs from June 9th to August 8th. Our VISTA summer associates will participate in planning & delivery of a variety of summer programming activities with local partners. The summer programming includes the middle school STEM camp, 6-day youth leadership camp, high school interns, USDA summer feeding program & the IM Kids 3rd Meal program and community gardens. For more information including living allowance and application details, click here. |
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Congratulations to everyone listed below on winning a quilt from our raffle! Didn't win a quilt? You still have an opportunity to bid on one of the top ten community selected quilts by clicking on the Quilt Auction link in the right column. The auction will end Saturday at 4pm. The minimum bid price for each quilt is based upon a sponsorship of a full five years ($135.00) plus the fees assessed through ebay and paypal ($15.00). This way when you purchase a quilt, the total amount goes to sponsoring a child for 5 years.
Doris Tubergen, #1
Janet Buche, #3
Deb Rowe, #4
Joan Mull, #6
Wheaton, #8
Mike Brown, #10
Roberta Sprague, #12
Emily Priest, #13
Mike Keast, #14
Jane Baeger, #15
Katie Edick, #16
Laura Zyber, #17
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Joan Mull, #18
Judy Gilbert, #19
Paul Reinhart, #20
Pam Withrow, #21
Jenny Scheurer, #22
Cari O'Connor, #24
Marilyn Goodemoot, #25
Cari O'Connor, #26
Jami Vroman, #28
Jim Kjolhede, #29
Mariah Deyong, #30
Judy Gilbert, #31
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Pam Withrow, #33
Dala Granzo, #34
Cheryl Granzo, #35
Kathy Thiel, #36
Chris Zuchowski, #37
Jenny Scheurer, #39
Case Goodemoot, #40
Paul Reinhart, #43
Brenda Brown, #44
Denise Wittenbach, #47
Janet Buche, #49
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Despite the recent weather spring, aka Snow and cold, spring is on the way and that means………Spring House Cleaning!!!
The House will be holding their annual Yard Sale in June and would love you donations. You can drop donations off at the House between 7:30 am and 2:00 pm, or call, 527-9689 for a pick up!
Money from the yard sale funds our last day celebration and other activities throughout the year.
Thank you in advance for your support,
The House students and staff |
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The START Coaching Module that was scheduled for 03/31/2014 has been rescheduled for 05/30/2014.
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The quilt raffle is one way you can support the library and provide books to children in their homes. There are 48 quilts total that were handmade by community members and citizens interested in assuring that every child has books in their home and is read to before they go to school. The quilts were designed to be lap quilts for you and your child to cuddle up and share a book. The quilts are based on the book, The Fuzzy Little Duckling.
Tickets for the raffle will be $5.00 per ticket or $30.00 for 10 tickets. This is approximately the same amount of money that it costs to fund a child in the program for an entire year! The more tickets you buy, the more chances you have to win a quilt that is sure to be treasured by your child. Tickets can be purchased at the Ionia ISD and through various community organizations.
Click here for more details and to view the quilts! |
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Beginning March 17th through the 23rd...Biggby in Ionia will donate $1.00 to the Dolly Parton Imagination Library of Ionia County for every Grande or Specialty drink that is sold all week long when you mention the Dolly Parton Imagination Library! You can view 8 of the quilts while you are placing your order and ....buy your raffle tickets at the same time! Treat yourself this week and support literacy a great cause!
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| Criminal Justice students pose with Mr. Kjolhede, ISD superintendent, during the Heartlands' Open House on March 6. |
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The annual Philip Wilson golf outing takes place on June 21st and the registration deadline is on Friday May 30th. For more details click here to view the flyer. |
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“Far & away the best prize that life has to offer is the chance to work hard at work worth doing”
School Safety’s Impact on Our Children
It is a fact that how safe children feel in school affects their ability to learn. Effective schools are free from threat of physical harm to students & staff. We recognize that the issues surrounding school safety are complex & must be addressed. Unfortunately, it is an extremely difficult proposition during times of declining revenue.
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“The future is not a place we are going… it’s a place we are creating”
Transforming Schools Into 21st Century Learning Environments
There is widespread agreement among community stakeholders about what will prepare students for the demands of career & college in an increasingly globalized & interconnected world. Personalized learning is the future of education. Parents, students, teachers, & administrators view it as an inevitability that fosters academic success. For them, personalized learning cannot come fast enough. It is the most effective way of building talent & developing skilled workers. Personalized learning moves Michigan farther & faster. Increasing availability to every student is our most important goal.
Ionia County Schools must rise to the challenge. We are on the brink of fully realizing the kind of education that all students deserve. Technology has given us the tools to make what was once mere wishful thinking into everyday practices. Technology is constantly evolving & will infiltrate & alter our places of learning. In the absence of adequate revenue, painfully slow change will mire us in outdated practices, leaving far too many children behind.
From: Michigan Virtual University, Moving Michigan Farther, Faster
“Choice, not chance, determines destiny”
The Regional Enhancement Millage for School Safety & Technology asks for a five year, one mill commitment from voters to allow each local Board of Education to determine how to advance their school buildings’ security & also equip students with the 21st Century skills necessary for successfully transitioning into the workforce or post secondary educational opportunities. The cost to homeowners… 1% of half the value of your home. For example: an $80,000 home would cost the homeowner $40 per year for the duration of the the Millage. This millage is about…
PLEASE GIVE THIS PROPOSAL SERIOUS CONSIDERATION
“Today’s preparation determines tomorrow’s achievement”
For more information please visit: www.ioniacountymillage.com
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Voting is now open for the Parent Advisory Committee award nominations. You have until March 17th to submit your vote!
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| At the year end staff picnic, the Wellness Team will be drawing three winners from the pool of Wellness Buck that you've earned since the begining of the 2013-2014 school year! Our grand prize winner will win a two night stay at Tree Tops Resort! |
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Our second place drawing will be for two full reflexology sessions here at the ISD and our third place drawing will be for a $50 gift card to Oliveras!
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| I’M Kids Food is a brand new feeding program servicing food insecure children in Ionia and Montcalm counties. The program began forming in late 2012 with the mission to end childhood hunger in our communities. With Ionia County and Montcalm counties having 3,530 and 4,090 food insecure children, respectively, we know we have a lot of work to do. |
We are reaching out to our community to see if groups and organizations are interested in forming volunteers groups to help assemble sack dinners at the H.O. Steel Education Center in Fenwick, Michigan.
I’M Kids Food is seeking individuals or groups of 5-10 people who would commit to volunteering one day a month. Volunteers could sign up for one or more of the following shifts:
- Morning Prep from 9:00am-11:00am
- Lunch Prep from 11:00am-3:00pm
- Afternoon Clean Up from 3:00-5:00pm
- Evening Prep from 5:00pm-7:00pm
- Other
If you are interested please fill out the volunteer survey at this link: http://goo.gl/Kb6dt1. We are confident that with a strong volunteer base we can grow from 500 sack dinners to eventually provide meals for all food insecure children in Ionia and Montcalm counties. If you are interested in forming a volunteer group or would like more information about how you can help please call 616-527-4900 or email imkidsfood@gmail.com. We appreciate your support as we work to end childhood hunger in Ionia and Montcalm counties. |
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Ionia County YAC members collected food in their communities and brought it with them to their November 15th meeting to donate to the countywide food drive that runs from October 26th to November 22nd. The donations will go to 10 local food pantries in the county. Volunteers will work together on November 23rd Family Volunteer Day to distribute food to the pantries. Family Volunteer Day is a day of service that demonstrates and celebrates the power of families who volunteer together, supporting their neighborhoods, communities and the world.
YAC members celebrated their donations by building sculptures from their food donations as a teambuilding activity during their meeting.
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Ronald McDonalds House Charities of Outstate Michigan awards the ISD’s I’M Kid’s Food Program a $25,000 grant. The grant will purchase food from Feeding America along with other donations to create nutritionally sound meals for food insecure children in our counties (Ionia, Montcalm). The goal of this project is to ensure that food insecure children regularly receive nutritious, kid-friendly meals alleviating hunger when they are not in school. IM Kid’s Food will work in partnership with the community to feed food insecure school-aged children beginning in 2014. Thank you Ronald McDonalds House Charities of Outstate Michigan!
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Continuing the WION Tradition, the Community Food Network will be coordinating the 5th Annual County-Wide Food Drive! Donations will be collected throughout Ionia County to support 10 nonprofit organizations (including I’M Kids Food) helping families in Ionia County. The ISD, Freedom Acres and Heartlands will be donation drop off sites from November 6 – November 22nd. Donations will all be combined at the Ionia Intermediate School District on November 22nd and be sorted by volunteers. The I’M Kids Food team will gather on November 23rd to pick up our donations. Please support I’M Kids Food and the County-Wide Food Drive and donate!
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For those of us who enjoy shopping on Black Friday or Clearance racks and helping others in need at the same time, Ionia ISD and AmeriCorps VISTA are encouraging community shoppers to purchase new or gently used youth coats and boots to help Eight-Cap children in Ionia and Montcalm Counties. They need youth coats sizes 3-5 and boots sizes 10-12. Collection boxes are located at Ionia ISD, Montcalm ISD, public Libraries in Ionia, Belding and Greenville, Independent Bank of Ionia across from the fairgrounds, First Bank of Belding on the corner of M-91 and M-44, and Fifth Third Bank on S. Greenville West Dr. between Meijer Dr. and Carson City Rd. The items donated will be collected from now until December 1st.
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Please assist the Ionia County YAC and Portland High School by taking a moment to make a commitment to safe driving. Ionia County YAC and Portland High School could win a $100,000 grant and a Kelly Clarkson concert. You can go in and make a commitment (vote) each day between now and October 26th.
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The process is several steps, but is very easy, user-friendly and takes about a minute or two. Here are the steps.
- Go to www.celebratemydrive.com and click the Make A Commitment button
- Enter a valid email address and your date of birth and click submit
- Search for Portland High School – you will need to enter the state and your affiliation (teacher, student, community member, etc.) and then either the city name or zip code (48875), and click on submit.
- Find your school from the list and click submit.
- Answer two questions on safe driving behaviors and click submit.
- Read the next page which will tell you if you got your answers right or not, and then check the box where it asks if you are ready to Make a Commitment for Safe Driving and click submit.
- The Thank You page will be next and will let you know how many commitments your school currently has where it ranks in your group (Large School or Small School).
After the first time, you will enter email and date of birth, but the next screen will automatically populate with the school you committed for the day before. You can either proceed and move through the same process, or they can search for another school if they want to commit for someone else. But you will answer two questions each day.
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YAC will hold their 3rd annual teen driver safety conference in Holland at the Doubletree Hotel & Conference Center on October 18th from 10-3 sponsored by State Farm.
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The conference is planned and implemented by teens for teens on the issue of safe teen driving. Registration is available under conference registration.
October 18th is also “Celebrate My Drive” by State Farm. Celebrate My Drive is a chance for communities to rally around young drivers and encourage them to make safe driving choices every time they’re behind the wheel. With good reason - auto crashes are the number one cause of death among teens in North America. If we can reinforce habits like remembering to keep 2 eyes on the road and 2 hands on the wheel - we’ll save lives together. You can vote for our program on the Celebrate My Drive Facebook page from October 18-October 26. You can vote once a day for us beginning on October 18!
Click here for our public service announcment.
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The Going Green Team has had their second picking of zucchini and both times there have been an abundance of them! A third picking will also be happening this week as we have them growing faster than we can keep up. We guess we know our garden is good for squash. All food has been donated to Zion Methodist Church Food Pantry.
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