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West Ottawa News
Your Vote Counts On May 8
An election that will
be crucial for the financial health of West
Ottawa Public Schools
will be held on May 8
when voters will be
asked to approve renewing a one-year
18-mill non-principal
residence property tax.
The 18-mill levy has
been approved by residents for several years
and will not change the
current millage rate. It
merely renews the
current 18-mill levy, which
is used to pay for $10.9
million of the daily operations of our schools, such
as funding K-12 programs
and staff, providing school
supplies, and maintaining
school facilities.
This levy is placed on
industry, businesses,
resorts, second homes,
and non-qualified agricultural property. It is not a
levy on principal homes.
Due to a recent change
in Michigan law, Board of
Education members are
no longer elected in May,
but instead will be elected in November of even
years beginning in 2012.
Thus, the upcoming May
8 ballot will not include a
school board election.
The May 8 election
ballot is still very important to the future of
West Ottawa Public
Schools because of the
millage renewal request.
Please mark May 8 on
your calendar.
China
comes
to WO
Ap r i l 2 0 1 2
Bio box
Name: Lisa Neumann
Position:
Woodside
Elementary
principal
High
school
gradu- Lisa Neumann
ated
from: Dearborn High
Favorite high school
memory: Being a part of
“Sing Out Dearborn” and
meeting my husband
College: Henry Ford Community College, University
of Michigan-Dearborn,
Wayne State University
West Ottawa middle
school students received
a rare treat on March 6
when an ensemble of
musicians and dancers
from Western China performed at Harbor Lights’
Performing Arts Center.
West Ottawa was the
only school in Michigan
able to witness the talents
of Tarim, a Uygur song
and dance ensemble, as
part of an Arts-Midwest
Grant that brought it to
this area with performances at Harbor Lights in
addition to Saugatuck and
Douglas.
V O L UM E 2, I S S U E 3
Person I most admire:
My father
Favorite music: Top hits
from the ‘80s
Favorite movie: “Sixteen
Candles”
Members of Tarim perform “The Teacup Dance”
Students experienced
music, history and geography lessons during two
programs at Harbor Lights,
as interpreters explained
that the performers came
from Urumqi, a city of 2.3
million residents in the
province of Xinjiang,
which borders Mongolia,
Pakistan and Russia.
Urumqi is more than
6,500 miles from Holland
and is surrounded by
mountains.
(Continued on Page 2)
Favorite book: Professional book: “Failure is not
an Option;” Kid’s book:
“The Giving Tree.”
Favorite quote: “Do not
go where the path may
lead; go where there is
no path and leave a
trail.”
— Ralph Waldo Emerson
V O L U ME 2, I S S UE 3
Page 2
Proficiency on state-required test has a new definition
Each year students of West Ottawa Public Schools,
along with students from all other Michigan public
schools, in grades 3-9 are required to take the MEAP
test and eleventh graders are required to take the MME
test. If you haven’t already, you will soon begin hearing
news reports about new cutoff scores, or “cut scores,”
that the Michigan State Board of Education recently
adopted for these tests.
What are cut scores and why has the Michigan State
Board of Education changed them? MEAP and MME cut
scores separate test takers into various categories, such
as advanced, proficient, partially proficient, and not proficient. Michigan’s previous cut scores for these state tests
were set at a very basic level.
The new cut scores represent a significantly higher
standard for student achievement and are intended to
more accurately reflect a student’s progress toward college and career readiness. On some tests, students previously could have answered as few as 40 percent of the
questions correctly to be considered proficient. Under the
new scoring system, students will have to correctly answer a much higher percentage of questions. Michigan is
one of only three states in the nation (along with New
York and Tennessee) to move to this top tier level of test
scoring.
Like school districts across the state, West Ottawa
Public Schools’ MEAP and MME proficiency results are
expected to decline when publicly released. While we
anticipate an initial drop in the number of students reported as “proficient,” we are confident this change will be
temporary due to ongoing school improvement efforts
and student support.
If a student is reported as “not proficient,” it does not
mean that he or she isn't gaining academic skills or
knowledge expected for his or her grade level. It means
that on the day of the test, this student was not yet proficient on the material being tested. Many students may
require additional help and/or time to master these skills.
Actually, by the time parents and the school receive the
MEAP/MME results from the state, many students identified as “not proficient” will have closed the gap.
The MEAP and MME tests are only two of several
measures used in our district throughout the year to ensure that students are making academic progress. We
maintain high standards for our students and we anticipate an upward trend in our MEAP and MME scores
even with the new cut scores.
We will be examining our curriculum to respond to this
more challenging level of test scoring. In addition, our
staff will focus our professional development efforts on
enhancing our abilities to rise to the challenge presented
with these recent cut score changes.
Undoubtedly, parents will have many questions about
the scoring changes. We will continue to provide information through a variety of communication channels
such as newsletters, email, our website, parent-teacher
conferences, and more.
For more information, contact your child’s principal or
Suzanne Richards, Assistant Superintendent for Instructional Services, at 616-738-5730, and/or visit
www.oaisd.org/statetests or http://1.usa.gov/statetests.
China comes
to West Ottawa
(Continued from Page 1)
The performers treated students to
the traditional song and dance from
the Uygur culture, including ancient
songs of the Silk Road, a trading route
of Chinese civilization that grew under
the Han Dynasty (202 BC - AD 220).
Musicians took turns introducing
themselves and their instruments and
dancers floated across stage, sharing
such unique dances as one in which
they balanced teacups on their heads
while performing.
While listening, the sounds took
students to the spice markets, deserts
and vineyards of Western China.
Brightly colored outfits and instruments native to their homeland accented the performance of Tarim.
W es t O t t a wa Ne ws
Page 3
Our Current Budget Reality
In February Governor Snyder presented his K-12 budget proposal for next year to the public. West Ottawa Public Schools, like districts all over the state, was excited to
hear about a potential increase in funding. Unfortunately,
the actual numbers indicated that West Ottawa, like most
other districts in Michigan, will receive less per pupil
funding on top of the $470 per pupil loss for this school
year. For West Ottawa, this has resulted in a shortfall of
$4 million for this school year and an estimated $7 million
for next school year.
West Ottawa has handled the loss of funding better
than most districts in the state. Being new I want to
acknowledge what a great job the board, administration
and staff have done to create efficiencies across the district while preserving our quality instructional programs.
These efficiencies include expanding alternative revenue
sources, working with employee groups to achieve contract efficiencies, maximizing the use of one-time federal
funds, and reducing our financial reserves. If further consideration is not given to legitimately improve K-12 funding for the next school year, we are at the point where
very successful instructional programs at West Ottawa
will be impacted.
We as a West Ottawa family are exploring more options to reduce our structural deficit created by the loss of
funding at the state level. I was pleasantly surprised upon my arrival last July to find that West Ottawa had been
able to avoid the unfortunate reductions that have occurred in other districts, but if the current proposed budg-
et stands, operating without program
reductions will be impossible. If you
are concerned about continuing our
current level of funding and need to
adequately fund K-12 education in
this state, I would encourage you to
share your thoughts with your legislator.
I would also like to take this opportunity to share that as a leadership
team we are focusing on becoming a
school district that prepares our students to be College, Career and Life
Ready. In order to make this hapThomas K. Martin
pen, we are strategically working on
the following three areas:
1. Improve learning for all students
2. Correct/address our structural deficit
3. Communicate our story
As I have mentioned several times, we offer great
things for our students, but few seem to know about
them. Please tune in to WHTC 1450 AM Monday mornings at 8:40 for “Taking Pride in West Ottawa Public
Schools” where we share all of the great things we offer
the students of WOPS.
Sincerely,
Thomas K. Martin
Superintendent of Schools
Great Lakes holds first ‘Family Science Night’
An idea from PTO President Anna
Dorn and some help from two Hope
College groups led to Great Lakes
Elementary holding an exciting and
fun-filled Family Science Night which
was attended by 300 students and
families on February 23.
Dorn came up with the idea after
attending Family Story Nights at
Great Lakes Elementary and deciding she wanted to offer another opportunity for the school community to
come together.
“We tried to show the kids that science means answering a question
that you're interested in,” Dorn said.
“There are so many different types of
science, and science can be fun! We
wanted them to see that."
The Hope College Bio/Chem Club
helped out by leading students
through an experiment in which they
extracted the DNA from a strawberry.
After making their way through
(Continued on Page 9)
Hope College students fill small viles of strawberry DNA that Great Lakes
Elementary students were able to show off to their parents.
V O L U ME 2, I S S UE 3
Page 4
Waukazoo teacher
named “Cool Teacher”
Everyone knows Waukazoo Elementary has
some cool teachers. Now it’s official.
Amy Croel-Perrien, a fourth- and fifth-grade Montessori teacher at Waukazoo, received WGVU’s
“Cool Teacher Award” in February, earning her
class a pizza party on February 6.
Student Raveena Mishra nominated Mrs. CroelPerrien for the Cool Teacher Award because she is
trying to prepare her students for middle school by
teaching them to be responsible, independent, confident, and how to make good decisions.
Student Raveena Mishra (right) nominated Amy CroelPerrien (left) for the Cool Teacher award.
Each month WGVU judges all new entries and
selects the three best letters based on the students’
evidence of learning. WGVU hosts a pizza party
for the winning teachers and their classes, and
videotapes the celebration to promote the winning
teachers and the Cool Teacher program on the
airwaves of the local public broadcast station.
Panther Athletic News
•Summer athletic camp information is available at www.wopanthers.com.
Brochures are also available in the main office at each school.
•Students looking to participate in middle school or high school athletics
next year need to have a physical dated April 15, 2012 or later. Athletic
physicals will take place on May 22 from 5-9 p.m. @ the North High
School. Middle school physicals are free. High school physicals are
$15.
GO WO
W es t O t t a wa Ne ws
Page 5
Book club
celebrates
a winner
Macatawa Bay
Mock Newbery
Book Club
members show
the winning
book after enjoying a celebration pizza
party. From left
to right are:
C.J. Dixon, Caroline Sisson,
Drew Temple,
Dominic Aquino
and Erik
Heinldmeyer.
Macatawa Bay book club picks the winner!
It wasn’t the pizza that attracted
the most attention from the five
members of the Macatawa Bay Middle School Mock Newbery Club that
met recently to celebrate its twomonth review of some of the nation’s best children literature.
That honor went to the scattering
of free books in the middle of their
library lunch table that they were
able to pick from, which drew their
hungry eyes and led to a bartering
of sorts to determine who would get
which books.
What else can you expect from a
group of kids who had been reading
nonstop for the previous two
months, meeting every Tuesday to
discuss the books before amazingly
picking the very same medal winner
that the real national Newbery Medal Selection Committee picked:
“Dead End in Norvelt” by Jack
Gantos?
“For everyone who thinks children
don’t read, I wish they could have
sat in on the meetings to witness
their excitement,” said Lynn Rutan,
a retired West Ottawa librarian who
helped set up the mock Newbery
clubs at Macatawa Bay Middle and
Waukazoo Elementary Schools.
“They read intensely and were an
amazing group of kids.”
That’s high praise, considering
Rutan was one of the 15 people
from across the country chosen to
the Newbery Medal Selection Committee, and the only one from
Michigan.
Rutan, Macatawa Bay Librarian
Cindy Dobrez, and Waukazoo Librarian Lori Marco set up the clubs
so they mirrored the process used
by the actual Newbery Committee.
They met once a week to discuss
the merits of the books they had
read the previous week, with conversation centering on the literary
elements of the books such as
voice, character and setting.
“They loved it!” Dobrez said. “I
went to one of the fifth-grade meetings and heard one of the fifthgraders say, ‘I really appreciated the
shifting perspective,’ of one of the
books. That’s a fifth-grader saying
that!”
The students were charged with
not just determining whether they
liked or disliked a book, but why
they felt that way by discussing the
literary elements of the book.
Joining Heindlmeyer on the Macatawa Bay club were Dominic Aquino, C.J. Dixon, Caroline Sisson, and
Drew Temple.
Waukazoo club members were
Hannah Daniel, Jireh Gibson, Cella
VanHeest, Kaylee Vroon, Sydney
Bolt, Iris Swarthout, Jolene Soriano,
Clara Klein, Nathanial Jachim, and
Natalie Dunn.
Marco noted that the club motivated students to read more, with club
members telling other students
about good books they should read.
“They all did more reading because they wanted to talk about the
books,” Marco said. “I had one girl
who, even though she reads quite a
bit now, her mother was trying to get
to her read more. Through this process she’s been more motivated to
read more books and watch less
TV.”
V O L U ME 2, I S S UE 3
Page 6
The West Ottawa High School Symphony Band
WO music program continues superior tradition
It’s not easy to continue tradition
when the standards are as high as
West Ottawa's high school and middle school music programs have
set. But that’s exactly what West
Ottawa students did at this year’s
District Festival.
The Bella Voce, Select Women’s
Ensemble and Vocalaires all received rare Superior ratings at the
District Choral Festival on February
22.
Not to be outdone, the following
instrumental groups received overall
First Division ratings for excellent
performances at the band and orchestra districts on February 29March 2 at the West Ottawa Performing Arts Center: the high school
Chamber Orchestra, Symphony
Band, Symphony Orchestra and
Concert Band, Harbor Lights’ 7th and
8th grade Bands and Macatawa
Bay’s 7th and 8th grade Bands and
7th grade Orchestra.
Overall, Second Division ratings
for good performances were received by the following instrumental
groups: high school Concert Orchestra, high school Wind Sympho-
ny (which also received a First Division rating in Sight Reading), Macatawa Bay 8th grade Orchestra
(received a First Division rating in
Sight Reading) and Harbor Lights
8th grade Orchestra (received a
First Division rating in Sight Reading).
West Ottawa’s Concert Choir,
meanwhile, received an excellent
rating at the District Choral.
And the honors may still be coming in. The Middle School District
Choir Festival had not occurred by
the time of this newsletter. Look for
results in next month’s newsletter!
Lakeshore students learn about math and generosity
Lakeshore Elementary students
earned $4,631.06 for the St. Jude
Children’s Research Hospital
through its annual Math-A-Thon
that included participation by 105
students.
Math-A-Thon is a fun way of improving math skills while allowing
students a wonderful opportunity to
help sick children at St. Jude’s by
raising money for research and
treatments. The students collected
pledges and then completed math
workbooks to earn them.
Sadly, cancer is the leading disease killer of American children, and
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is the leading center for the study
of this disease. It is supported primarily by public contributions.
Approximately 25 children are
diagnosed with cancer in the United
States each day.
St. Jude’s treats children without
regard to race, religion, creed, or the
ability to pay.
Lakeshore Elementary has raised
a total of $95,648.65 for the St. Jude
Children’s Research Hospital since
1996 and is considered one of the
elite schools in the United States for
giving to this organization.
“That’s incredible,” said Lakeshore
Principal Jens Milobinski. “Our sincere thanks goes out to Lakeshore
students, families, and friends for
doing such an awesome job supporting this worthwhile cause!”
W es t O t t a wa Ne ws
Page 7
Children’s author urges: ‘Protect our Great Lakes’
Children’s author Mark Newman
shared a strong message about
protecting the Great Lakes with students at North Holland Elementary
School on March 9.
“You guys are our future. You
have to protect our lakes,” said
Newman, who also appeared earlier
at Lakewood Elementary and will
visit Great Lakes and Woodside
elementaries in May. “You have to
make sure they remain our great
lakes.”
Students had read Newman’s
book “Sooper Yooper,” about a
super hero who guards the Great
Lakes against invasive species,
prior to his visit. And while his talk
included information and illustrations
– by his late friend Mark Heckman –
he also provided a wealth of
knowledge about the Great Lakes
and the need to protect them,
including:
There are 180 invasive species in
the Great Lakes, including lampreys, which are older than dinosaurs. Other species that endanger
the Great Lakes include zebra mussels, gobies, and New Zealand mud
snails, with Asian carp being the
newest threat.
Lake Erie is the shallowest of the
Great Lakes and more fish are
Children’s author Mark Newman engages North Holland students in a
discussion about protecting the Great Lakes.
caught out of it than any other Great
Lake. Lake Superior is the deepest,
at 1,332 feet deep, and contains 3
quadrillion gallons of water.
More than 1,000 ships pass
through the Great Lakes and their
ballast water is emptied into the
lakes, introducing some of the invasive species.
“Forty million people depend on
the Great Lakes so it’s very important we protect our water,” Newman said.
Lakewood students need help to reach $3,500 goal
When second-graders at West
Ottawa’s Lakewood Elementary
School learned that 1.4 billion children die every year after getting sick
from dirty water, they did what they
could do to help.
With the goal of raising $3,500 to
help provide clean water for a
school in Kenya, the secondgraders sought the help of everyone
at Lakewood Elementary. They did
everything they could think of to
earn money. They did chores such
as rubbing their mother’s necks,
shoveling snow, vacuuming and
mopping floors, washing dishes,
making beds, walking and giving
their dogs a bath. They gave up
such things as going to McDonald’s
or Burger King, buying hot chocolate
at school, going to movies or buying
a toy. One student is coordinating
a walking fundraiser in her
neighborhood.
Now they need your help to reach
their goal. They need public contributions to realize the $3,500 goal.
The money will go to Aqua Clara, a
Holland organization that provides
means to gather rainwater, purification systems for the water gathered,
systems for washing hands, as well
as education on the importance of
clean water and washing to schools
in Kenya.
“The students felt they couldn’t let
children die elsewhere without trying
to help,” said Principal Elizabeth
VanderWege. “They’re hoping there
are others out there who also want
to help. Reaching the $3,500 goal
would mean so much to them.”
Those wanting to help can send a
check made out to Lakewood PTA
and mail it c/o Lakewood Elementary School, 2134 W. Lakewood
Blvd., Holland, MI 49424 or call
(616) 786-1300.
The unit that taught students that
water is a natural resource was an
outgrowth of the West Ottawa Public
Schools’ International Baccalaureate concepts that teach students to
think globally and share the planet
while being inquisitive, caring, principled, reflective, and taking action.
V O L U ME 2, I S S UE 3
Page 8
Glerum Elementary students participate in the school-wide assembly titled “There is NO Bully in Frog.”
Dance, anti-bullying
focus of Glerum
assembly
Glerum Elementary students learned about dance and
how to deal with bullying when Strike Time Dancers of
Hope College presented "There is NO Bully in Frog” to
students during a school-wide assembly at the end of
January.
The assembly helped reinforce how to identify bullying
and how to do deal with bullying in safe, respectful ways
while also reinforcing school-wide expectations of
respect, responsibility, and being ready to learn in an
interactive manner.
Glerum Elementary students learn some dance
steps from the Strike Time Dancers of Hope College.
Glerum students also learned about the elements of
dance and the various dance forms including tap, ballet,
modern, and jazz. Students became actively engaged
in the performance and were given the opportunity to
participate in the assembly as well.
The West Ottawa Public Schools do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, height,
weight, marital status, qualifying handicap, disability, or limited English proficiency in any programs or activities. The Office of
Human Resources for the West Ottawa Public Schools, 1138 136th Ave., Holland, MI 49424, has been designated to handle
inquires regarding the non-discrimination policies.
W es t O t t a wa Ne ws
Page 9
Woodside Elementary students show off their CHAMPS T-shirts.
Woodside students get a dose of healthy learning
Woodside Elementary students
received a healthy dose of learning
in January and February, when
nurses presented a “Healthy Habits,
Healthy Learners” program and an
after-school exercise program
taught them how to be CHAMPS.
Holland Hospital school nurses
Lisa Gort and Dawn Caron presented the “Healthy Habits, Healthy
Learners” program to a group of
more than 90 parents and students
in January. The presentation included information on the importance
of sleep, exercise, and good nutrition using the “My Plate” model.
Students were able to create their
own “My Plate” to take home and
each student received a West Ottawa water bottle. Information on
healthy living and resources were
supplied to each family.
Then 60 Woodside students participated in the CHAMPS afterschool program twice a week during
January and February. CHAMPS
stands for Creative Healthy Active
Motivated Positive Students.
The program is based on studies
that have shown that physical activity has a positive impact on student
attentiveness in the classroom. Principal Lisa Neumann said she was
grateful for the staff members who
volunteered to stay afterschool and
exercise with the students. She said
the presence of Sally Woods, Melissa Voss, Amy Bryant, Regina
Calnin, Staci Bartels, Kara Lynch,
Amanda Mendiola, Chanel Beghtel,
Lisa Gort, and Angie Gonzalez was
motivating for the students.
This is the second year of the
CHAMPS program. Physical wellness teacher Lisa Doyle heard
about the success of the 2010 program and wanted to continue to
offer exercise opportunities beyond
the once-a-week physical wellness
classes. The goal of CHAMPS is to
get students moving during months
when the weather makes it difficult
to play outside. The program included a wide variety of physical activities such as yoga, team building
activities, strength activities, cardiovascular activities, and agility
training.
Great Lakes holds its first ‘Family Science Night’
(Continued from Page 3)
this extraction, students left with a small vile of strawberry
DNA to showoff to their parents.
“The world needs future scientists and Family Science
Night planted a seed in our students that will blossom for
years to come," noted fourth-grade teacher Mary
Lindstrom.
Dr. Maureen Dunn, a professor from Hope College,
was also on hand with a large group of students from the
Exercise Science department. Great Lakes families spent
time going through a handful of fitness tests and learning
some unique ways to keep their bodies healthy. Included
was a discussion on how to use video games as a form of
exercise.
“One of the best parts of the night for me was to watch
our students interact with the Hope College students,”
said Great Lakes Principal David Stefanich. “As we continue to work to foster students who are College, Career,
and Life Ready, I think it is important to give our students
opportunities to interact with college professors and students.”
Fifth-grade teacher Ron Wilson, who was one of three
Great Lakes teachers that facilitated a station in which
students made the silicon polymer known as “flubber,”
noted that students “left Great Lakes that night feeling
proud, as evident by the smiles, laughter, and desire to
show off their flubber creations.”
V O L U ME 2, I S S UE 3
Page 10
Panther paw prints
Maas wins Grand Rapids Spelling Bee
Macatawa Bay Middle
School eighth-grader
Kyle Maas took third
place in the Greater
Grand Rapids Spelling
Bee held at the Gerald
Ford Museum on March 13.
The competition started with 22
students and lasted more than 3
hours before a winner – Mawangi
WaMaina from Crestwood Middle
School – was determined. Wa Maina
will go on to the Scripps National
Spelling Bee in Washington D.C. at
the end of May
Kyle Maas
Maas went through 13 rounds –
correctly spelling muumuu, cafeteria,
simile, arsenal, Schnauzer, amicable, cilantro, fastidious,
gymkhana, commissar, invasion, bailiff, and shuddering –
before misspelling toreader.
Maas qualified for the Greater Grand Rapids Spelling
Bee by winning the Ottawa Area Regional Spelling Bee at
Saugatuck Middle School in February by spelling
“perculate” to earn the honor of representing the region in
Grand Rapids.
Kyle’s path to victory included spelling the following
words correctly: emphasize, tentativeness, cholera, jambalaya, miso, talc, tortoni, eponym, participant, relevant, and
strategy.
Thirty students competed for the regional spelling bee
champion title, including Kyle’s fifth-grade brother, Derek,
who represented West Ottawa Public Schools’ Lakeshore
Elementary and finished in a three-way tie for fourth place.
most beautiful art museums in West Michigan,” said North
Holland art teacher Amy TenBarge. “While walking with
Mason and his mother as they explored the upstairs
Rauschenburg and pop art exhibit, I mentioned how cool it
was to have his art work on display in the same place
where many famous artists, such as Picasso, Lichtenstein
and Warhol, were also on display.”
“This truly was a wonderful event and I am very happy to
say I am a part of such a wonderful art department that
showed its talents and strengths in the exhibit.”
Three take first in Science Olympiad
West Ottawa middle school students took three
first place finishes at the Science Olympiad
Invitational Tournament in Allendale on February 25.
Macatawa Bay students Linsey Drost, Abby
Shepard and Anna Smyk took first for Experimental Design
while Macatawa Bay’s Ethan Heyboer and Harbor Lights’
Abigail Rosiak were both first in Road Scholar.
Also winning medals, for placing in the top three of their
respective events were Jeremy Cowelchuk and Julio Del
Real, second place for Bottle Rockets; Ethan Heyboer,
second place for Disease Detective; Ben Hahn and Nick
Christiaans, second place for Compute This; Alyssa Anderson, second place for Disease Detective; Bobby Ganzi and
Isabelle McConkey, third place for Disease Detective; and
Justice Higgins and Britney Ky, third place for Anatomy.
“Students represented our schools and district well. They
were polite, well behaved, intense, and fun-loving,” said
Nancy Storey, West Ottawa middle schools’ Science Olympiad head coach. “The invitational provides us with a lot of
information to work with as we prepare for the regional
competition at Grand Valley on March 24.”
WO student art chosen for regional art show
Eighth-grader in state Geographic Bee
West Ottawa was well represented in the annual Region 9 Art Show held at the Grand
Rapids Art Museum on February 22, creating
a lasting impact on some teachers and students.
Sponsored by the Michigan Arts Education
Association, every art teacher from schools in Region 9
was allowed to enter five pieces to be judged for the show.
Every art teacher in the West Ottawa district had at least
two of their five pieces chosen to be in this year’s show.
Pieces chosen from North Holland Elementary, for example, were a very colorful abstract tree drawing by Arianna
Biye and an extremely creative Pablo Picasso influenced
portrait by Mason Kobylenski.
“Both of my students arrived at the reception with family
and were proud to see their work on display in one of the
Macatawa Bay eighth-grader Aaron Stefanovsky has advanced to the state
finals of the National
Geographic Bee,
which will be held in
Kalamazoo on March 30.
Aaron won Macatawa Bay’s
school competition and then took
a qualifying test in which he
placed in the top 100 scorers to
advance to the state competition.
The winner of the state competition advances to the National Geographic Bee in Washington, D.C.
Aaron Stefanovsky
W es t O t t a wa Ne ws
Page 11
Three seniors named National Merit finalists
West Ottawa High School
students Elizabeth Csaszar, Lucy
Davis and Michaela Lohman have
been named National Merit Scholarship finalists.
The three were selected from
among 16,000 semifinalists representing less than one percent of all
graduating seniors in the country.
Csaszar, the daughter of Alex
Csaszar and Melinda Wilkens, is an
International Baccalaureate diploma
candidate and AP Scholar. She is a
member of the National Honor Society, National Art Honor Society and
the technical crew for the theatre
department. Next fall, Elizabeth
plans on attending Michigan Technological University and major in
biomedical engineering.
Lohman, the daughter of Marshall
and Karen Lohman, is an International Baccalaureate diploma candidate and an AP Scholar. She is a
member of the National Honor Society, National Art Honor Society and
the technical crew for the theatre
department. Michaela hopes to
major in pre-medicine and visual
Michaela Lohman
Elizabeth Csaszar
arts but has not yet chosen a college. She has been accepted at
Washington University in St. Louis,
University of Michigan, University of
Minnesota and is waiting to hear
from others.
Davis, the daughter of William and
Ellen Davis, is also an International
Baccalaureate diploma candidate
and AP Scholar. She is a member of
the National Honor Society, Student
Lucy Davis
Senate and the water polo team.
Lucy is still in the college selection
process. She hopes to major in
foreign affairs. She has been
accepted at the University of North
Carolina, University of Michigan and
University of Virginia and is waiting
to hear of acceptance to others.
“West Ottawa High School is very
proud of these three National Merit
scholars,” said High School Principal Kent Henson.
Pine Creek gives
students chance to
‘Be A Reading Star!’
Mrs. Law, Jonathon Fuentes, Jezanie Khounsavat
and Aaliyah Pugh (in the back row) and Tommy
Souvanhnasy and Xena Castellano (in the front
row) help kick off March is Reading Month at Pine
Creek Elementary.
Pine Creek students and staff kicked off March is Reading Month activities with a special assembly on March 1,
giving every student the chance to participate in this year’s
theme: “Be a Reading Star!”
The students have opportunities to earn recognition for
their reading efforts throughout the month by advancing
through different levels of awards based on the number of
minutes they read. The biggest objective for the month-long
celebration is to encourage kids to read and read often!
The school has set a goal of 150,000 minutes of reading
for the month of March. Parents are busy logging the
amount of at-home reading their children are completing.
West Ottawa Education Foundation
As you consider your charitable giving, please keep the West Ottawa Education Foundation in mind as it supports many enriching
programs for our students. Checks should be made payable to the West Ottawa Education Foundation and sent to: P.O. Box 8302,
Holland, MI 49422-8302.
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Holland, MI 49423
Permit #47
Residential Customer
On the Election Ballot
May 8, 2012
18-mill school operating millage
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www.westottawa.net
Sheldon Woods holds celebration of learning
Grandparents, aunts, uncles, brothers and sisters filled the hallways of
Sheldon Woods Elementary on the
evening of March 15 to celebrate student learning from kindergarten
through 5th grade.
Kindergarten students welcomed
family with songs they had learned
throughout the year demonstrating
their knowledge in reading, math, and
other content areas. Students toured
the classroom hand-in-hand with parents and a checklist to make sure they
showed mom and dad everything they
had learned this year.
First-graders also took their parents
and relatives on a “Learning Tour”
spotlighting many of the highlights of
first grade. Students also spent time
teaching their parents about magnets,
how water flows and changes shape,
and what they have learned in their
International Baccalaureate theme:
Who We Are. Student writing and
class books were also on display and
the first-graders performed a reading
piece to demonstrate their reading
fluency and expression.
Second-graders took advantage of
the crowds to raise awareness and
money for Haiti through the sale of
cupcakes they had decorated.
Science was on display in fourthgrade along with the pungent smell of
vinegar, worms, rotting items, and fish
that were part of students’ science
Fifth-grader Donna Gonzalez-Larios shares her essay with her mom
experiments.
The fifth-graders demonstrated their
science knowledge by sharing the tops
they designed while learning about
non-linear motion and answering the
question: Do the same laws of motion
apply to objects that move in a nonlinear path? Using their knowledge of
force and motion, fifth-graders also
shared roller coasters they constructed
to answer the question: How does
Newton’s First Law of Motion explain
the motion of the train and passengers
on a roller coaster?
Final drafts of fifth-graders personal
essays were also shared with families.
Sheldon Woods families also enjoyed a music video with pictures from
throughout the school year and left the
school with smiles and plates of cupcakes!