Dear Black River Families,

Beginning today, we are changing our practice for notification of students who are considered close contacts to COVID-19 cases here at school. Although the Health Department bears the responsibility of notifying families of close contacts, Black River has always felt it was important to ensure this information was delivered as quickly as possible. In addition to the county and state communication (currently through Traceforce phone calls) the school has made phone calls as well. This important work is not taken lightly but in order to communicate in a more efficient manner, notifications will now come to families through email. This will go to the parent/guardian's email address that is on record in Infinite Campus and phone calls will no longer be the primary method of communication.

The practice of determining who is a close contact has not changed and our commitment to following the proper procedures continues. 

If you are unsure of your current contact information you can check this through your Infinite Campus Parent Portal account by clicking "More" and "Family Information." Thank you for making sure that your contact information is correct and up to date.

Shannon Brunink

Black River, Hope College Recognized for Sustainability Practices 

Black River will be hosting the Health Department for our yearly vision and hearing screenings over the next few weeks and the dates are included below. Parents that would like to exempt their students from this year's screening should turn in the completed form linked below to the main office by Friday, September 24th. 

Vision/Hearing Screening Exemption Form

This year the technicians will not be able to accommodate testing outside of the scheduled grade level. If you have vision or hearing concerns for a student that will not be tested for that this year you are welcome to call 616-396-5266 to schedule an appointment at an upcoming Health Department clinic. 

September 28
Hearing screenings for Kindergarten, 2nd grade, and 4th grade.

September 29
Vision screenings for 1st grade, 3rd grade, and 5th grade.

September 30
Vision screenings just for Kindergarten students that were not screened prior to their enrollment. 

October 5
Vision screenings for 7th grade and 9th grade.

October 6
Vision RE-screens for those that missed, or forgot their glasses for the 7th and 9th grade date.

October 26
Vision and hearing RE-screens for those that missed, or forgot their glasses for the Kindergarten - 5th grade dates. 

Students from the class of 2021 and former BRPS students can pick up their yearbooks in the highschool office anytime during office hours.

If you cannot pick yours up, please email Miss Shirk at shirkj@brpsk12.org

Dear BR Families,

I just wanted to let you know that today we were informed that we have what the Health Department considers to be an outbreak of COVID-19.  What this means is that they have reason to believe that a case of COVID-19 was transferred from one person to another person here at Black River.  It seems like a dramatic term given the movies etc. that use the word "outbreak" but it is, in fact, the term.

When this happens, contact tracing takes place as in any other COVID-19 situation.  The difference is that unvaccinated people who are determined to be a close contact to the particular case that the Health Department is referring to, are required to quarantine.  This is a difference since right now, most quarantines are by choice, unless it is a household close contact or deemed to be an outbreak.

This particular situation was in our middle school and high school.  All of those who needed to be notified have already been contacted to be sure we are all doing our part.

Thanks for everything you do for our kids and our community!

Shannon Brunink

Dear Black River Families,

As we all continue to work together to make our school the safest that it can be, we need your help!  The help that you can provide is to keep students home if they have symptoms of COVID-19 as defined by the Flowchart for Symptomatic Individuals located in the Toolkit from the Ottawa County Department of Public Health and posted on the Black River website Quick Links:  

https://www.miottawa.org/Health/OCHD/pdf/2021-Interim-School-Guidance.pdf

Specifically, page 6 of the Toolkit shows a flowchart for symptomatic individuals.  Following this flowchart is the best way for us to keep our doors open and keep our in-person learning happening.

We all have a role in keeping our school healthy and safe!

Thank you,

Shannon Brunink

Headrat

be nice. webinars are back!

"Back to School Mental Health for Parents using the be nice. Action Plan" will focus on using the be nice. action plan with your K-12 student as we enter into a fresh school year, facing many risk factors but there's also so much opportunity to thrive!

On Sept. 14th, this half-hour webinar includes a quick overview of what to look for, or notice, in your child's mental health, how to invite conversations about mental health that will ease our collective family minds and help us challenge ourselves to recognize that we are all in this school year together. 

Stay tuned for registration information for a second webinar on Oct.6th. This webinar will provide you with the tools to notice if your child could be experiencing ongoing stressors like mean behavior and harassment that can have acute and lasting effects, especially on young people's mental health.

Click the link below for registration information for Sept. 14th. Join us! 

Black River Public School is proud to announce that we have been featured in the ODC Network Nature-rich Business Guide. 2021 nominees were identified through community outreach by this year’s supporting partners for their commitments to the various pillars of the City of Holland Sustainability Framework support sustainability, resiliency, and livability. Together they help make our lakeshore communities the best place to live, work, learn, and play. We are excited to be acknowledged for positive actions and sustainable improvements.

Check out the 2021 Nature-rich Business Guide and see how Black River is making a difference in our community!

https://outdoordiscovery.org/nature-rich-business/

The Social Work/Counseling Department would like to share this new Student Support Newsletter with our BR community! Each month, you'll find helpful resources and activities that will support our students. The newsletter will be posted here each month, and then archived under the Wellness tab for future reference. Click below for the newsletter. Thank you!

The City of Holland is planning to reopen the 24th Street and College Ave intersection later Friday night (9/3) or first thing Saturday (9/4).

After the holiday weekend, on Tuesday (9/7) the will be closing the intersection of 22nd Street & College Ave. Traffic will be rerouted to 24th Street.

Please take note of this change when planning your drive to and from school. Thank you!

Hello families of Black River! Community Action House is beginning a Food Club in October. Food Club invites qualifying low-income residents to contribute at a level based on their income, offering an affordable way for members to have access to fresh and healthy food. For a small monthly fee, members get points based on household size to spend as they wish throughout the month. Learn more at https://www.hzfoodclub.org/ . We have attached the Spanish/English flyer below.

English Flyer

Spanish Flyer

We would like to offer our Black River students the opportunity to participate in a program called “Hand2Hand.” This program helps provide a student with food for the weekends and is intended for families who currently may be experiencing a financial burden. The first backpack is set to be delivered on Friday, September 10.

There is no cost to participate! If you feel your student would benefit from this opportunity, follow this link for more information.

https://bit.ly/3DeFL9E

All responses will be kept confidential. To learn more about Hand2Hand, please visit their website:

http://h2hkids.org.

Welcome back for the 2021-2022 school year! We hope that our Black River families are enjoying another beautiful West Michigan summer. We don't want to rush your summer break, but the first day of school, Wednesday, August 25, will be here before we know it.The link below contains the information you need to know to begin the 2021-2022 school year. Please reach out if you have any questions. 

2021-2022 Back to School Information - Grades K-12

Stay up-to-date on BRPS current events and news by adding the Stay Connected App to your phone! Features include:

• Headline News and Information
• Calendar of Events
• School and Staff Directory
• School Notifications for Closings and Delays
• Push Notifications for Important Updates 

Please click on the preferred link below to download the website application:
Click Here for Apple SchoolPointe Stay Connected App
Click Here for Android SchoolPointe Stay Connected App

Infinite Campus has released two new and improved mobile apps: Campus Student (for students) and Campus Parent (for parents). Download your free app for real-time access to grades, assignments, schedules, announcements and more. 

School Code: 231963
District ID: PWHTPS

Download on the App Store

Get it on Google Play