West Ottawa News - West Ottawa Public Schools

MICROSOFT
West Ottawa News
West Ottawa realizes over
$500K in energy savings
Five West Ottawa schools are saving
a combined $562,570 a year in energy
costs in comparison to the median
schools nationwide, according to data
compiled by ENERGY STAR®.
That has earned West Ottawa High
School and Lakeshore, Lakewood, Pine
Creek and Great Lakes elementary
schools the EPA’s ENERGY STAR for
2016.
“Over the past few years, we have
upgraded mechanical systems at West
Ottawa High School, Lakeshore Elementary and Lakewood Elementary utilizing
the District’s sinking fund,” said Assistant
Superintendent for Business Services,
Jim English. “This recognition confirms
the savings realized by upgrading our
facilities.”
“We have been working with West Ottawa Public Schools on upgrades in order
to reduce energy costs for taxpayers,”
said Ron Snoeyink, Principal Mechanical Engineeer at GMB Architects & Engineers. “With work planned for Macatawa Bay Middle School, Waukazoo
Elementary and Woodside Elementary
along with work just completed in 2015
at Harbor Lights Middle School and
Sheldon Woods Elementary, we expect
to see greater combined utility savings
of 30% to 50% in the future.
“Even though West Ottawa has
four buildings with ENERGY STAR
scores above 90 (on the scale of 100),
we continue to look for more ways to
reduce costs.”
(Continued on Page 3)
'I was so
freaked out'
Harbor Lights students
learn valuable lessons
More than 30 Harbor Lights Middle
School students and staff members developed skills in teamwork, cooperation,
leadership and perseverance when they
made a trip to Eagle Village on March 4-5.
The overnight getaway featured
team-building activities and personal
challenges that brought together students from the West Ottawa community in ways they wouldn’t normally experience, such as climbing a rock wall.
“I was so freaked out (by the rock
wall) but I worked with my friends and
they helped me and pushed me to overcome my fears,” said seventh-grader
Gabe Sowers. “I had lots of fun and I got
to interact with people I never really knew
before.”
Timberlyn Mazeikis climbs the rock
wall at Eagle Village.
“It was inspiring,” added Janelly
Vazquez, also a seventh-grade student. “I learned how to communicate
(Continued on Page 4)
V OLUME 6 , I SSUE 3
APRIL 2 0 1 6
A letter from...
Supt. Tom Martin
Dear Friends,
Much work has taken
place since my last update.
You will see that we have
been planning in all areas:
safety and security, building
upgrades, and instructional
technology.
Here’s a brief summary
regarding the various 2014
bond construction projects
and technology upgrades:
 Construction has
begun at the middle
school site. The break
in the weather has
allowed a lot to be
done ahead of
schedule. Photos of
the excavation
showing how things
are now really coming
together are available
for viewing on the
Bond 2014 Update
page on the district
website at
http://www.westottawa.
net/bond-2014update/. Drilling of the
geothermal well field
started the week of
March 7.
(Continued on Page 11)
V O LUME 6 , I SSUE 3
P AGE 2
Pillowcases help
students to read
at Sheldon Woods
Athough learning to read by
osmosis may not be possible, the
staff at Sheldon Woods Elementary
School believes it is worth a shot.
Each year, kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Haight, provides all of her
students with their very own
“Sleepytime Word Wall.”
This “word wall,” affixed to a
brand new pillowcase, lists high
frequency words kindergarten students are either learning or will learn
in the near future.
The tradition of handing out the
pillowcase was started by Sheldon
Woods’ former principal, Mrs. Abraham. Seven years ago her own child
received one from his school. She
knew the students at Sheldon
“Sleepy Time Word Wall” pillowcases at Sheldon Woods list
high frequency words kindergarten students are
either learning or will learn in the near future.
Woods Elementary deserved one,
also.
So through the years, the generous Sheldon Woods’ PTO has
purchased pillowcases for hundreds
of students so they can have their
own “Sleepy Time Word Walls.”
Sheldon Woods plans to continue
supporting this fun “gift” as a symbol
of their commitment to ensuring all
students are “Career, College, and
Life Ready!”
Migrant tutoring program begins at Lakeshore
The I-club, an after-school migrant tutoring program, has started
at Lakeshore Elementary!
Señora Archer, migrant and
ESL teacher at Lakeshore, and
Señora Boeve, Spanish immersion
kindergarten teacher, are the two
highly qualified teachers leading this
amazing opportunity for Lakeshore’s
migrant students. The teachers
meet with the students Monday
through Thursday for one hour beginning with a snack. Students work
on ELA and Math skills during their
time together.
“It is wonderful to see student
excitement and cooperation as they
help each other!” said Principal Jens
Milobinski. “The student excitement
and the rigor are high for this afterschool program because we believe
that every one of our students
should and will be ‘College, Career
(Continued on Page 11)
Ariek Gomez, Joandry Nino Vela, Alex Serrano Flores, Dalia Olivarez
and Jimena Gomez Zapata are among those enjoying the after-school
migrant tutoring program at Lakeshore.
W E ST O TT AW A N E WS
P AGE 3
WOEF awed
by teacher
West Ottawa Educational
Foundation board members said
they have been awed by the diversity of grant requests they receive
each semester from West Ottawa
teachers.
Take, for example, Corene Keifer at Woodside Elementary, who
found her kindergartners needed
extra practice with basic reading
skills. Keifer found Ready to Go
Learning Centers and thought they
might be just the right thing to help
some of her struggling students
get caught up to speed. With an
approved grant from WOEF, her
class was off and running.
Keifer trained her students and
their parents to encourage positive
interaction with these at-home
practice materials, and it is paying
off! Students told WOEF board
members they love to use the learning packs at home, and Ms. Keifer
has found that students’ skills are
improving!
At Great Lakes Elementary,
Tori Zokoe was anxious to help fifthgraders explore music concepts
such as steady beat, reading musical notation, rhythm chords, harmony and improvisation in a way that
would capture their interest. Additionally, Zokoe wanted to help level
the playing field for students who
might not be able to take part in
Kindergartners Joshua Kronemeyer and Jenelle Huerta show off
their sequencing skills using a Ready to Go Learning Center
purchased with WOEF grant funds.
private musical instrument lessons
due to cost. The idea of teaching
fifth-graders to play the ukulele was
born! As a result of a grant she
submitted to WOEF, Great Lakes
fifth-graders are happily strumming
away…and learning a lot in the
process.
Those are just two of the ten
grants that WOEF funded last year
impacting five different schools in
the West Ottawa district. To see
more students engaged with WOEF
funded grant materials, visit Facebook at www.facebook.com/wopsef/
or on Twitter @WOEFgrants.
In order to enrich the educational experiences of students in the
district and continue funding the
exciting projects WO teachers submit, your help is needed. Consider
making a tax deductible donation to
the WOEF. To donate, simply mail a
check to WOEF at PO Box 8302,
Holland, MI 49422.
West Ottawa realizes over $500K in energy savings
(Continued from Page 1)
The West Ottawa High School
campus, for example, used only
56% as much energy as the median
school and its total 12-month utility
cost was $557,096, compared to the
median school cost of $994,815,
which is a savings of $437,719. Its
energy score: 95.
Lakeshore Elementary, Pine
Creek Elementary, Lakewood Elementary, and Great Lakes Elementary had ENERGY STAR scores of
88, 91, 96 and 97, respectively.
“Conserving energy dollars
means that we can direct more of
our resources into the classroom,”
said Tom Martin, Superintendent.
ENERGY STAR, a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
voluntary program that helps businesses and individuals save money
and protect our climate through energy efficiency, tracks energy use at
more than 10,000 facilities in the
country and then benchmarks usage
against similar facilities. That allows
for comparison of gas, oil or electric-
ity on an equal basis, with the usage
divided by the square feet of the
facility, with regional factors such as
weather and facility use factors taken into consideration, for an ENERGY STAR score of 1-100.
If a school is
in the top 25%
of all the schools
nationally, they
are eligible for
certification as a
top performer.
V O LUME 6 , I SSUE 3
P AGE 4
Mac Bay holds orientation for incoming class
The Showcase was open to all
Macatawa Bay Middle School students and parents; highlighting all
the wonderful programs and activities Mac Bay offers. The theme “I
want to see you Shine” has been
used throughout the year and was
front and center in all the displays.
Fifth-grade parents and students heard a presentation delivered by Principal Anne Armstrong
and Assistant Principal Linda
Pinkham. The presentation covered
general middle school information
including lockers, schedules, and
course offerings, to more specific
topics of acceleration, interventions,
and school safety. Armstrong and
Pinkham made sure to introduce the
students to the sixth-grade staff and
encouraged the incoming students
to mark their calendars for sixthgrade orientation.
Students and parents then traveled the halls of Mac Bay, where
staff featured their programs, clubs,
activities, and school culture. Current Mac Bay students gave tours,
answered questions, and encouraged future students to check out
certain areas.
“It was so wonderful to see the
leadership and sense of pride our
current students displayed tonight
for Mac Bay” commented Principal
Armstrong.
Areas most visited by students
were the sixth-grade classrooms
and the unified hall. Industrial technology teachers Jennifer Bailey, Jim
Borlik, and Dennis Keegan had
(Continued on Page 5)
Harbor Lights students and staff were all smiles at Eagle Village.
Harbor Lights students learn valuable lessons
Continued from Page 1)
with others and how to solve problems. It was awesome.”
The students weren’t the only
ones who learned from the experience. Nine Harbor Lights staff members also attended.
“I can't express in words how
incredible this experience was. It is
truly a highlight of my career thus
far,” said Assistant Principal
Michelle Woods. “I was privileged
enough to see students step outside
their comfort zones, provide support
to their peers, overcome obstacles,
and challenge themselves beyond
their own understanding.”
The Eagle Village trip was part
of Adventure School, a program
that has been offered for more than
15 years and is designed to offer
students opportunities to develop
such specific skills as teamwork
and leadership. Since its inception
selected students have attended a
Hope College soccer game, traveled
to Eagle Village’s experiential camp,
participated in cooperative and
initiative activities, attended middle
school plays, and canoed on a local
river.
“I learned that it’s really important to communicate with other
people and if you don’t do that you
won’t be successful,” said eighthgrader Diego De Dios. “Just keeping
your own thoughts and ideas to
yourself doesn’t help anybody,
especially the team activities. Those
wouldn’t have been fun or even
doable if we didn’t talk to everybody,
even the people I didn’t know before
the trip.”
W E ST O TT AW A N E WS
P AGE 5
Pine Creek students help ‘Flood Flint with Love’
Pine Creek Elementary students and staff felt compelled to do
something about the water crisis in
the city of Flint, so they decided to
“Flood Flint with Love.”
Water in Flint has been contaminated with lead, making it unusable
for residents, who have had to resort to bottled water for almost all
their needs.
So the Pine Creek Student
Council launched the ‘Flood Flint
with Love’ campaign during the
month of February. Students made
a goal to give every student at
Greater Heights Academy a case of
bottled water, a bottle of hand sanitizer and a case of body wipes.
“Flood Flint with Love” began
on Feb. 1 and concluded Feb. 11.
Donations trickled in slowly at first
but as students saw the cases of
water pile up near the gym, their
excitement grew. Everyone wanted
to play a role in helping reach the
goal.
Students could bring in a case
of water, or monetary donations. On
Feb. 11 the Student Council was
excited to share the final totals: Stu-
Pine Creek students collected more than 400 cases of water to send to
Greater Heights Academy students in Flint.
dents collected more than 400
cases of water, 325 cases of body
wipes and 310 bottles of hand
sanitizer.
“Flood Flint with Love” concluded with a Valentine’s Day Dance to
celebrate sending love to Greater
Heights Academy.
“This was a wonderful learning
opportunity for our students,” said
Principal Shalonda Owens. “We can
all do something to help someone
else! “
Macatawa
Bay holds
orientation
(Continued from Page 4)
student projects and hands-on displays that were quite popular. Art
teacher Rebecca Morrissey also
had the help of some high school
Art students to show parents all the
opportunities and talent WOPS art
programs have to offer.
Macatawa Bay Middle School
was able to show how they “shine”
and is excited for the Class of 2021
to take part. The future is bright for
these incoming sixth graders.
Eighth-graders Taylor Overbeek, Morgan Elzinga, and Madelyn Graan
at the Macatawa Bay orientation.
V O LUME 6 , I SSUE 3
P AGE 6
High school named an Academic State Champion
West Ottawa High School was
recently named as one of 44 Academic State Champions for 2015-16
by Center for Michigan’s Bridge
Magazine, placing them in the top 5
percent of the 770 high schools in
the state of Michigan.
West Ottawa is the only high
school in Ottawa County to receive
this recognition.
“We are obviously pleased with
the recognition for the high school,
and based on previous Bridge
reports, we feel this is also recognition of our district wide efforts toward student achievement,” said
Thomas K. Martin, Superintendent
of Schools.
Last year, Bridge magazine
recognized the entire district and all
of its schools for performing better
than expected. This year’s rankings
were based on the past three year’s
ACT scores. Bridge analyzes these
trends while factoring in family
income.
“Our students continually rise to
the challenge. Our teaching staff
has focused tirelessly on meeting
the needs of all students. Their collaborative efforts in raising academic standards and building a collegegoing culture have resulted in recognition of increased student achievement,” said Todd Tulgestke, high
school principal.
Find the Bridge report at http://
bridgemi.com/2016/02/meet-the2015-high-school-academic-statechamps/. West Ottawa High School
can be found by scrolling down to
the medium sized counties in the
middle income section.
“To determine this year’s
Academic State Champion winners,
Bridge partnered with Public Sector
Consultants, Inc. (Michigan’s leading public policy research firm) to
evaluate test scores, adjusted for
student family income, which is
often a predictor of academic
achievement,” John Bebow, presi-
dent and CEO at the Center for
Michigan noted in an email to West
Ottawa High School. “Bridge recognized the top 5 percent of the nearly
770 public high schools in the state,
after grouping schools by county
size (small, medium or large) and
within one of three family income
levels.”
“In past years, rankings encompassed performance on the MEAP
along with proficiency rates on the
ACT and the Michigan Merit Exam.
With the change to M-STEP, this
year’s ratings rely exclusively on
ACT proficiency over the past three
years, when adjusted for income.
Essentially then, Bridge’s Academic
State Champions are recognized for
over-achievement, rather than raw
scores or proficiency rates. ”
Congratulations to all West
Ottawa High School students and
staff.
High school graduation rate climbs to 95 percent
Consistent focus and hard work
by West Ottawa High School faculty
to build a college-going culture is
paying off in rising graduation rates
across all subgroups of students.
The Michigan Department of
Education recently released graduation rate data for the Class of 2015
and West Ottawa High School confirmed that 95% of students in the
Class of 2015 graduated on time in
four years. The overall four-year
graduation rate for West Ottawa
High School has increased from 80
percent in 2011 to 95 percent in
2015.
Even more pleasing was the
graduation rate data released for
subgroups of students. The percentage of students receiving free or
reduced price lunches has remained
near 47 percent for the past five
years. However, these students at
West Ottawa High School are graduating at a rate of 92 percent. This
is compared to a statewide graduation rate of 67 percent for economically disadvantaged students.
The following summary shows
some other highlights of the recent
release of graduation rate data:
● WOHS Class of 2015 graduation rate of Hispanic students: 94%
● Statewide Average graduation rate of Hispanic students: 72%
● WOHS Class of 2015 graduation rate of African American students: 84%
● Statewide Average graduation rate of African American students: 67%
● WOHS Class of 2015 gradua-
tion rate of Mixed Race students:
100%
● Statewide Average graduation rate of Mixed Race students:
74%
● WOHS Class of 2015 graduation rate of English Language Learners: 94%
● Statewide Average graduation rate of English Language Learners: 72%
● WOHS Class of 2015 graduation rate of Students with Disabilities: 78%
● Statewide Average graduation rate of Students with Disabilities: 57%
● WOHS Class of 2015 graduation rate of Migrant Students: 86%
● Statewide Average graduation rate of Migrant Students: 66%
W E ST O TT AW A N E WS
P AGE 7
New phone system right around the corner
The installation of a new phone
system as part of the 2014 bond is
just around the corner.
The community’s support of this
bond prevents the school district
from having to use its limited money
for educational programs to pay for
the new system. The district, once
again, thanks the community for its
support.
The district’s current phone
system is more than 25 years old
and is outdated technology. The
new phone system will:
 have modern technology
features.
 comply with new E-911 requirements by matching phone numbers with locations rather than
staff so that emergency responders can easily find
the location where a 911 call
originated.
 reduce the district’s phone bill,
saving money that can be spent
on educational programs.
 have new menus so, when you
first call the new system, you
will want to listen carefully to
the options.
 offer menus in two languages
(English and Spanish).
 allow you to dial by name or
extension number.
The new phone system is
scheduled to be operational in two
waves on the following dates:
Here are the main phone numbers
Below is a list of the main phone numbers for each building, plus Food
Service, and the tentative effective date the new phone system will be
operational. When you first call the new system, please listen carefully to
the menu options.
Tentative
Number
Building
Effective Date
786-1000
Harbor Lights
April 29
786-1100 (New #)
786-1200 (New #)
786-1300
High School
Great Lakes
Lakewood
April 22
April 29
April 29
786-1400
786-1500
Lakeshore
North Holland
April 29
April 29
786-1600
Pine Creek
April 29
786-1700
Sheldon Woods
April 29
786-1800
786-1900
Waukazoo
Woodside
April 29
April 29
786-2000
Macatawa Bay
April 29
786-2040 (New #)
786-2050 (New #)
786-2100
Transportation
Administration
Food Service
April 22
April 22
April 29
 April 22 - both high school
buildings, the administration
office building, and the transportation center (former Glerum
Elementary School)
 April 29 - all other buildings
The main number at Great
Lakes, the high school, transportation, and the administration building
will be changing. Almost all exten-
Great Lakes students
continue to 'read, read, read'
At Great Lakes Elementary, students
are extremely familiar with the slogan
"read, read, read."
It was a slogan that was coined
about six years ago as the staff at Great
Lakes began to put a huge focus on
building a literacy rich school environment. Principal David Stefanich says this
slogan any time he makes announcements over the intercom and classroom
teachers have been known to say it as
they high five students out the door at the
end of the day.
(Continued on Page 12)
sions are changing as well, but the
main building number stays the same
at most buildings. This change will
allow the district to have a consistent
786 prefix at all locations across the
school district.
The implementation dates may
change due to factors outside the
district’s control. Please check the
website for any changes.
Batman,
Spiderman,
Batgirl and
The Flash
visited
Principal
David
Stefanich and
Great Lakes
Elementary to
help kick off
the theme
“Every Hero
has a Story”
for the month
of March.
V O LUME 6 , I SSUE 3
P AGE 8
North Holland staff helps students develop pride
Webster’s dictionary defines
“Pride” as “a feeling that you respect
yourself and deserve to be respected by other people.”
The North Holland Elementary
staff supports this mission and
works intentionally and systematically to help children develop “Pride”
at school.
Through a program aptly titled
“Prides,” all students at North
Holland are divided into cross
grade-level teams led by one of the
many positive staff members. Students remain in these groups
throughout their experience at North
Holland, providing them the opportunity to forge a relationship with a
caring adult while becoming familiar
with students of various ages.
This year, students participated
in a “Beach Day Lunch,” a snowflake lesson focused on differences,
and photo scavenger hunt called
“How Well Do You Know the Halls
of North Holland?” Each of these
experiences, prepared by Pam
Bosch, left students feeling better
about their school, about other stu-
Students ElliAnna Teneyuque-Guzman, Evans An, Sonesai Rockford
and Alex Tunks enjoy their Beach Day Lunch.
dents and, most importantly, about
themselves.
As North Holland continues this
special program, it is safe to say
that you may not find the teaching of
“Pride” in a state curriculum, but you
will certainly find it at North Holland
Elementary!
Waukazoo students
learn about
micro-finance
In March, Waukazoo Elementary students had the opportunity to
learn about how small micro-finance
projects can help families step out of
poverty by generating income to
meet the needs of their family.
Students had a fun competition
between grade levels at lunch time
to see who could bring in the most
coins to support these minibusinesses. As a school they raised
$2,176 for Food for the Poor to purchase 120 chickens, nine pigs, two
goats, three donkeys, six huge coolers, fish to stock three ponds, six
fruit trees and three sewing machines for budding entrepreneurs in
the developing world.
It helped students at Waukazoo
learn about problems and solutions
in the real world and how to make a
positive difference.
Luke Foy, Charlotte Moore and Alex Wagner put their
coins in the kindergarten collection tub.
W E ST O TT AW A N E WS
P AGE 9
Playing with
science
Lakewood students
demonstrate their
own experiments
To help beat the winter chill this
year, Lakewood Elementary held its
biennial Science Night in February.
As in the past, students enjoyed
“playing” with science. Students
followed directions to make their
own slime, build a catapult,
“explode” a volcano, fly paper rockets and design paintings with salt.
Students also got to see
demonstrations put on by the West
Ottawa High School Robotics Team,
Lakewood Elementary Lego League
and Lakewood parents Charles
Elwood and Carrie Dummer. Who
knew you could use broccoli as
Minecraft controls or use a 3-D printer to make an Eiffel Tower?
Students also played a larger
role in this year’s Science Night.
New this year, students brought in
their own science experiments they
conducted at home by themselves,
with siblings, or friends. The student presentations were very impressive as students explained their
experiments using the scientific
method.
This year 38 groups, 59 total
students, brought in experiments
Third-graders Rachel Carr and Madelyn Brack play with one of the
science experiments at Lakewood Elementary.
that were on display that night.
Below are a few examples of questions students explored in their
experiments:
 Which fruits conduct the most
electricity?
 Which liquid commonly found in
your kitchen is the most acidic
and therefore cleans pennies
the best?
Third-grader
Madelyn
Brack (left)
provides an
up close look
at what she
created at the
Lakewood
Elementary
Science
Night.
 Which liquid commonly found in
your kitchen is the heaviest?
 Which liquids will separate?
Science Night is a collaborative
event planned by Lakewood’s PTO
and the staff of Lakewood Elementary. Special thanks to fourth grade
teacher Ken Arthurs and Lakewood
parent Rachel Nykamp for putting
on such a wonderful event this year!
A 3-D printer
was one of
the many
items that
helped
students play
with science
at the
Lakewood
Science
Night.
V O LUME 6 , I SSUE 3
P AGE 1 0
Woodside airing morning
show on YouTube
channel
This school year, a YouTube program took to the
airwaves at Woodside Elementary called: “Wake Up,
Woodside!”
This daily show is produced every day for all of Woodside to view each morning as students enjoy their breakfast in the classroom. The Pledge of Allegiance, Seven
Habits of Highly Effective Students, daily announcements,
upcoming breakfast and lunch menus, and drawings for
those students who have earned tickets by demonstrating
positive behavior throughout the week make up the majority of this daily scripted show.
“I wanted to have a way to communicate with all students every day with a positive, fun approach and deliver
important, consistent school-wide themes and messages,”
said Woodside Principal Nicholas Holtvluwer. “My first job
out of college was working in production at WOOD-TV 8,
so this was an easy way to combine the skills I developed
in my first career with my responsibilities now as a building
principal.”
The title of “Wake Up, Woodside” was created spontaneously by the very first pair of fifth-grade student anchors.
Along with Holtvluwer hosting the program, fifth-grade students who are in Woodside’s National Elementary Honor
Society have opportunities to anchor the show throughout
the year with parent permission.
Every Woodside teacher has subscribed to the
YouTube channel and has easy access to view the program and have it ready to show to the students within the
first 15 minutes of the school day.
“If we forget to watch the show, the kids always remind us,” said second-grade teacher Kristen Bickel. “Not
Principal Nicholas Holtvluwer during one of the
“Wake Up, Woodside!” broadcasts.
only does it ensure that we say the Pledge of Allegiance every day, the program instills a common language for positive behavior and provides a sense of
community throughout our entire campus.”
Parents also have the ability to subscribe to the
YouTube channel to keep current on all the events,
happenings, and messages delivered to the Woodside
teachers and students every day.
Even Woodside Elementary’s social worker,
Sally Woods, gets into the action. She produces
monthly inspirational videos set to music, 7 Habits
language, and pictures of students engaged in the
many learning activities that take place on a normal
school day at Woodside.
The most popular video produced for “Wake Up,
Woodside” has been viewed more than 500 times.
The video was Holtvluwer introducing his new baby
boy from Holland Hospital directly to the Woodside
community.
“It was so cool to be able to utilize my YouTube
channel to communicate with all the teachers and
students in real time even though I was miles away,”
Holtvluwer said.
US-31 reconstruction set to end in November
Reconstruction and bridge
improvements of US-31 from
8th Street to Quincy Street began in
early March 2016 and are scheduled to end in November 2016.
There will be lane and ramp
closures, traffic crossovers and brief
intersection closures during the various stages of the project, which will
include additional through-lanes in
each direction from Lakewood
Boulevard to Quincy Street.
How will traffic be affected?
Stage 1 - March to early May:
Traffic signal upgrades on northbound US-31 at 8th, James, Felch,
Riley and Quincy streets. All lanes
will be open during the Tulip Time
Festival.
Stage 2 - Mid-May to mid-August:
Southbound traffic will be crossed over
to northbound US-31.
Stage 3 - Mid-August to midNovember: Northbound traffic will be
crossed over to southbound US-31.
MDOT's reconstruction project
flyer and ramp detour maps are available at the following address:
http://www.westottawa.net/2016/03/04/us-31reconstruction-holland-project-and-detour-maps/
W E ST O TT AW A N E WS
P AGE 1 1
A letter from Tom
(Continued from Page 1)



Senora Archer and Senora Boeve lead the
migrant program at Lakeshore.
Migrant tutoring
program begins
(Continued from Page 2)
and Life Ready!’ This program helps our students
achieve this goal.
Student teachers from Lakeshore and volunteer
students from West Ottawa High School are joining in
the fun. Not only do the Lakeshore students get a great
chance to learn from these teachers, the teachers get
the great opportunity to learn from these students.
Bonds are formed, and friendships are created that last
for many years.
Come out on Monday through Thursday from
3:45-4:45 p.m. to take a look at this great program.
The program will be completed with a parent meeting
and celebration on Thursday, April 28, at Lakeshore
Elementary.
Joaquin Olivares
Guerrero is
ready for another
day of learning in
the migrant
program at
Lakeshore.
The Waukazoo office staff relocated down the hall, as
construction began in earnest there over spring break.
We are soliciting bids for the replacement of the fueling
station at the transportation facility. If that goes well,
construction should happen there sometime in 2016.
Planning continues for the upgrades to the Macatawa
Bay facility in the 2016-17 school year, including a
secure entry, restroom renovations, and a complete
overhaul of the mechanical systems.
Technology Implementation Update
The installation of a new network, wireless network and
phone system as part of the 2014 bond is underway after
many months of planning. The community’s support of this
bond and the receipt of Universal Service Fund money to
pay for a large portion of this upgrade prevents us from
having to use the District’s limited money for educational
programs to pay for this. We would like to thank you again
for your support in approving the bond proposal.
Thank you, too, for your patience, as we have spent a
great deal of time in the planning stages to try to get this
done right and as inexpensively as possible, without being
cheap.
Wireless Installation Update
The new network and the wireless access point
installation is moving along, and we’re excited to announce
that we turned on the new Cisco wireless system at the first
two schools in the district (North Holland and Sheldon
Woods) the week of March 7.
Generally, we plan to start up the new wireless first in
smaller buildings and buildings that don’t currently have
wireless access. Starting with smaller buildings allows us to
troubleshoot the simpler systems first before jumping into
large configurations meant to provide wireless across
150,000 to 350,000 square feet.
Buildings with construction planned for summer 2016
will not have fully implemented wireless during this school
year. We will need to coordinate the wireless installation
with the planned renovations.
Chromebooks Update
Our secondary teachers received their Chromebooks
last fall and have been participating in teacher-led
professional development throughout this year. This was
part of the plan, to give teachers an opportunity to get out
ahead of our students and learn how to use the devices as
something other than an expensive pencil. Training has
gone well, and we are now prepared for the roll out of the
one-to-one student devices next fall. Fourth and fifth grade
teachers received their Chromebooks and have begun their
training. Their students will also get student devices in the
fall.
Thank you again for your support in assisting us in
preparing all of our students to be College, Career and Life
Ready.
Sincerely,
Tom
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April 22
WEST OTTAWA HIGH
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GRADUATION RATE
CLIMBS
Residential Customer
Page 6
INSTALLATION OF
NEW PHONE SYSTEM
Page 7
Great Lakes students continue to 'read, read, read'
(Continued from Page 7)
Great Lakes uses books, bookmarks, and other reading and writing
tools as incentives for the schools Positive Behavior Intervention Support System. Core Support Teacher Kevin
Westate states "what better way to get
students excited about reading than to
be constantly rewarding students with
free books when the opportunities arise!"
Like most schools, Great Lakes
celebrates March is Reading Month.
This year, Great Lakes used the theme
"Every Hero has a Story" to kick off the
month of March. Students were treated
to a Kick Off Assembly in which they
learned about the prizes, goals, and
reading incentives for March but, most
importantly, they were visited by Batman,
Spiderman, Batgirl and The Flash who
stressed that the most important superpower one can have is the ability to read.
March is also a month in which Great
Lakes hosts an Author Visit to get students excited about reading and writing.
This year author Aaron Zenz, the author
of The Hiccupotamos, came to school
and treated students to an exciting
presentation in which he shared his own
story as an author as well as illustrated a
story that the students made up on the
spot.
"Promoting literacy is a passion of
mine and over the last six years I think
we have done a great job in creating a
culture in which our students know the
importance of reading, but also have
created lasting habits that will help them
become life long readers" stated
Stefanich.
On the Election Ballot
May 3, 2016
Please remember to vote on the following ballot
issue:
Annual Non-Homestead Property 18 mill RENEWAL. This renewal
does not increase the current millage rate and does not apply to your primary
home. It applies to industrial, commercial, and second home properties.
The renewal represents about 15% of the district's annual operating budget.
Author Aaron Zenz illustrating a
story that Great Lakes fourth
graders created with him.