April 2026 Update from Mr. Crete

BMS Week at a Glance

Dear Parents/Guardians,

Spring has sprung at Baldwin Street Middle School, and with it comes a busy, but exciting month! As the weather has begun to warm-up, we have noticed several students arriving at school before 7:15 am. Please make note that we do not open the doors to school until 7:15 am. Prior to 7:15 am there is no adult supervision outside the building or in our cafeteria where students congregate. Please be mindful of this expectation and ensure that students are not arriving to school unsupervised prior to 7:15 am.

This newsletter highlights upcoming standardized testing information and offers some helpful tips to ensure your child feels prepared and confident. The testing dates are:

Tuesday, April 21st
Wednesday, April 22nd

On testing days, please take into consideration the following information:

Attendance is crucial on these testing days. Testing materials are designed to be given at a specific time, and missing even a part of the test can negatively impact your child's score. Please avoid scheduling any appointments that would conflict with testing times, if possible.

Chromebook Reminder:

To ensure a smooth testing experience, please remind your child to bring their fully charged Chromebook and charger to school each day during the testing window. All testing will be completed online, and it is essential that we have their Chromebooks charged.

Headphone Reminder:

We are encouraging students to bring their own headphones for testing week. Wired headphones preferred. We have extra headphones but there is only a limited supply available.

The testing schedule provided below is for:

Tuesday, April 21st (PSAT 8 and 7th MSTEP ELA)
Wednesday, April 22nd (8th MSTEP Social Studies & Science and 7th MSTEP Math)
Thursday, April 23 (MSTEP Make-Up Testing)
Tuesday, May 6 (Spring STAR Reading)
Wednesday, May 7 (Spring STAR Math)

The specific tests being administered and grade levels participating can be found in the schedule itself. Each day follows a similar schedule with testing locations in the morning and afternoon with breaks scheduled throughout the day. There is also a designated lunch period each day. Room assignments were shared with students this week and we did a trial run of their assigned locations during advisory this week to ensure students knew where to report.

Here are some tips to help your child feel prepared and confident during testing:

Establish a Regular Sleep Schedule: Adequate sleep is crucial for focus and concentration. Encourage a consistent bedtime routine throughout the next couple weeks.
Promote a Healthy Breakfast: Fuel their brainpower with a nutritious breakfast on testing days.
Create a Positive Testing Environment: Reduce anxiety by talking about the test in a calm and reassuring way. We will also have the whole building in testing mode to create a quiet and calm atmosphere at school.
Review Testing Strategies: Many resources are available online to help them practice test-taking skills. We will also be providing opportunities throughout the week in school for test preparation.
Focus on Effort, Not Outcome: Emphasize the importance of doing their best and staying calm.

THANK YOU TO CHAPEL POINTE CHURCH! They will be providing healthy snacks to students in the morning on Tuesday, April 22 to help boost our students for their assessments.

Remember, our dedicated staff is here to support your child's success. Please don't hesitate to reach out to your child's teachers, administrators, or counselors with any questions you may have. We look forward to an amazing spring with you and your children.

Sincerely,

Ryan Crete

Principal, Baldwin Street Middle School

Click here for 2025-2026 BMS Student-Parent Handbook

2025-2026 BMS Yearbook Cover Contest

This year are students voted on the top 4 yearbook cover submissions. The first place winner will have their cover art featured on the front cover of the yearbook. The second place winner will have their cover art featured on the back cover of the yearbook. Congratulations to our winners below and thank you to all students who submitted a cover design. There are so many talented students at BMS and we appreciate all the time and effort that our students put into this voluntary project.

1st Place - Front Cover

Ensley Kim

7th Grade

2nd Place - Back Cover

Brooklyn Vaiana

7th Grade

8th Grade - Celebr8! Event

Please mark June 5, 2026 during the school day on your calendars to help us celebrate our 8th grade students!

We will be communicating out more details in future newsletters. If you have any questions about this event, please contact Ryan Crete at rcrete@hpseagles.net.

Schedule for the Event:

8:25 am- 10:00 am- Breakfast with parent volunteers (more information on this later) & students sign yearbooks

10:00am- 10:30am- Mock elections & Dave Powers Award in the gym (Parents are invited to attend)

10:30am- Walk out/Clap out - Parents are invited to wait outside to clap students out

Please note that we will be communicating soon about the details for the 8th Grade End of Year Field Trip (optional) on Thursday, June 4 during the school day.

Upcoming Dates

Upcoming Teacher Team Time Dates:

April 22, May 13, May 27

Upcoming Early Release Dates:

May 8

BMS Music Program Highlight

It has been a banner month for the Baldwin Music Department! Please join us in celebrating these incredible achievements:

Choir: Our 7th and 8th graders earned an Excellent Rating (the highest possible!) at the MSVMA Festival. They blew the judges away and had some of the highest scores of the day with one official stating they set the standard for the entire District.
Orchestra: Our 8th graders performed at Calvin University, earning straight Division 1's and the highest possible scores of A’s in every category. The judges were impressed by their performance, instrumentation, and the size of the orchestra!
Band: The 8th Grade Band represented BMS with pride at Grandville High School, securing a Division 1 rating in Sight Reading and a stellar overall Division 2.

We are so proud of these students! If you see a music student, give them a high-five for a job well done. Go Baldwin!

BMS Renaissance and Business of the Month

Students received their Q4 Renaissance Blue Stickers this week during lunches. If your student did not receive their Blue sticker and you feel they should have, please have them stop into the office next week.

Athletics and Extracurriculars

Come out and support our Eagle athletes! All Middle School Spring Sports Schedules can be found at: https://hudsonvilleathletics.com/

Jon VanSlyke - BMS Athletic Director: jvansly@hpseagles.net

Juli Smies - Athletic Secretary: jsmies@hpseagles.net

Food Service Update

Breakfasts and Lunches will be FREE to all students for the 2025-2026 school year. We encourage any family to apply for Free & Reduced Meals and other additional Child Nutrition and Educational Benefits. Click here to complete the application. There is important student support funding that HPS receives that is tied to approved applications. Approved applications also ensure that families receive any and all discounts related to Athletics, Technology, Testing, Summer School, Home Internet, etc.

To receive any potential discounts, you MUST return THIS FORM to Food Service. You can visit our website at www.jenhudfood.org to find links to menus and more information about School Meals.

Contact Food Service at foodservice@hpseagles.net or at (616) 457-2400 if you need assistance with anything related to meal service.

Additional Parent Volunteer Opportunities

Parents of Baldwin Street Middle School students! We need your partnership in many different ways during the school year. Opportunities include regular Copy Parent, volunteer during school day as needed, Activities, Library, and Others.

***All parent volunteers are required to have a background check on file. This includes Parent Chaperones that attend field trips throughout the school year. Please fill out our online "Volunteer Background Check Form" on the BMS website.

Please contact Jayme Santana or call the office at (616) 669-7750 if you are interested in helping out.

HEF Spring SOARee - May 6, 2026

Registration is officially open for the Spring SOARee. This event raises support for our classroom grant initiative while gathering our wonderful community for food, fun, and a great silent auction. Individual tickets are $50. More information and the ticket registration link are available at Spring SOARée : Events & Fundraisers : Get Involved : Hudsonville Education Foundation.

https://hudsedfound.org/get-involved/events-fundraisers/spring-soaree.html

Hudsonville Public Schools Annual Education Report

The Annual Education Report (AER) is designed to meet state and federal requirements for reporting to parents and communities. The report provides detailed data on state administered student assessment results, accountability results, teacher qualification information, and the state results for the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP).

Parents and the community can access AER information for the district and individual schools by clicking on the Annual Education Report tab on our website. If you have any questions regarding the AER information, please contact Ryan Crete at rcrete@hpseagles.net.

Community Resources

Hudsonville Public Schools does not discriminate on the basis of sex and prohibits sex discrimination in any education program or activity that it operates, as required by Title IX, including in admission and employment. https://www.hudsonvillepublicschools.org/about/civil-rights-compliance

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