Plainwell Community Schools - Today's Learners Tomorrow's Leaders

The PHS Girls Golf team competed in the Wolverine Conference Golf Finals today at Pineview Golf Course in Three Rivers where they finished in 5th place. Freshmen golfer, Ayla Jaeger, shot a 77 for 18 holes to earn medalist (1st place) honors. Congratulations Ayla and the Girls Golf team. Next up, they will compete in the Regional tournament on October 10! Go Trojans!

This morning, Gilkey Elementary held their September Student and Staff of the Month ceremony. Each month, Gilkey teachers select one student and a staff member who they felt did an outstanding job. In September, the students and staff members who were selected did an awesome job being respectful. Way to go, Geckos!

The PHS Grad Bash Committee invites you to participate in their Flamingo Fundraiser. Help support Plainwell’s 2024 Grad Bash with this fun fundraiser! For more information, please visit https://5il.co/25wmu.

EUROPE TRIP 2024: Interested in eating fondue in the Swiss Alps? Seeing a picturesque fishing town or two in northern Italy? Visiting the gorgeous French Riviera and Provence? Are you a PHS student who is interested in traveling to Europe mid-June 2024? All students are welcome, ONLY 3 spots remain for this amazing trip. This trip increases by $330 on 10/1. Please visit http://www.eftours.com/2570749er for details and to sign-up. Have questions? Please contact Julie Trahan: julie.trahan@plainwellschools.org.

GO TROJANS! The Freshman Volleyball team is having a great season so far, the team is currently 3-0 in conference play! In addition, the team also finished 1st at the Thornapple-Kellogg Quad and East Kentwood Tri. Next up, they will be taking on the Wildcats at Three Rivers tomorrow (Thursday, September 28) at 5:00 PM. PLAINWELL PRIDE!

Recently one of our students won the "Poems that Ate our Ears" contest through Kalamazoo's Friends of Poetry. This past weekend, Plainwell Middle School 6th grade student and Cooper Elementary alumni, Levi Corning, was able to attend a beautiful celebration at Kalamazoo Public Library where he shared his winning poem "Fox. We are incredibly proud of Levi for his amazing accomplishment - Plainwell Pride!

Add two more wins to the books for Plainwell's Swim and Dive team. The team took a win last week at Hastings with a score of 95-75 and followed it up with another win tonight against Otsego with a score of 103-83. Great swims by Sydney Harper, Teighlor Nooney, McKenna Soderquist, Ella Way, Addison Williams and the rest of the team. Our divers Liv Perrin, Lilly Inquilla and Gabby Northern took 2nd, 3rd and 4th! The Plainwell Swim and Dive team is currently undefeated! Way to go Trojans - PLAINWELL PRIDE!

Did you know that PCS offers Senior Fitness Classes? We have two classes to choose from taught by Ace-Certified Group Fitness Instructor Sharrin Schultz. Join us to stay active and have fun at our Fit Over 50 or S.E.A.T. Fitness classes. For more information, please visit https://www.plainwellschools.org/page/community-education-fitness-classes.

On Saturday, September 30, our Cross Country teams will be competing at the Otsego Invitational. Spectators, please view these important reminders! 1. For those that will be joining us to cheer on the Trojans, please note that parking passes need to be purchased at https://www.otsegops.org/athletics/tickets. 2. Please make note that all traffic must be westbound on Washington Street. To allow a more efficient and safer route, eastbound traffic on Washington Street will be closed down. This will be a big meet for our Trojans, please join us in wishing them good luck! GO TROJANS!

Let’s show our Plainwell Pride and support the Trojan Marching Band! Vote today for the Southwest Michigan's Favorite Marching Band 2023, voting is open through Sunday, October 1. Let’s go Trojans! https://wkfr.com/favorite-marching-band-2023/

We are excited to announce that we will be reviving the Plainwell Education Foundation (PEF) and you are invited to join us! The PEF is a non-profit 501c3 organization founded in 1985 to assist PCS in providing excellence in education. The PEF supports all students and staff with teacher grants, student scholarships and other efforts. As a reminder, if you are interested in volunteering for this organization, please join us for an informational meeting tomorrow (Tuesday, September 26) at 6:00 PM in the PHS Media Center. If you are unable to attend, but interested in learning more, please email jeremy.wright@plainwellschools.org. Thank you for your ongoing support of PCS - GO TROJANS!

Last Friday, PCS took part in the Help Me Grow “Books, Balls, Blocks and Bounce” event at Ransom District Library. It was a great event for children 0-5 and their families where they enjoyed various activities, screenings, free goodies to take home and learned about programming that is provided throughout our county for our youngest Trojans! For information on PCS’ Early Education opportunities including upcoming Play-and-Learn events, please visit https://www.plainwellschools.org/page/plainwell-early-education.

We are excited to share the Plainwell Middle School Students of the Week! We are proud of your hard work and dedication. Way to go, Trojans! Vija (8th Grade) - Vija not only works hard to ensure she understands new material, but is also willing to help others. She consistently shows PRIDE in all that she does, no matter what is going on around her. Peyton (7th Grade) - Peyton has been very dedicated and positive with peers and her own work. She has shown passion for the subject and continuously strives to help out her classmates to understand material. Caiden (6th Grade) - Caiden has been a hard working student. He is a great leader and always willing to help others as well as share his knowledge in class. He comes prepared everyday ready to learn something new and loves showing Plainwell Pride. Caiden has done a fantastic job adjusting to the Middle School. Throughout the year, we look forward to continuing to share our outstanding Middle School Students of the Week! GO TROJANS! Special thanks to our Student of the Month sponsors: Fly Inn, Mayor's Joint, Barbed Wire Cafe and Taqueria San Francisco. We greatly appreciate your support of PCS and our students - Today’s Learners, Tomorrow’s Leaders!

News from PHS Cross Country! Congratulations to the Boys Cross Country team on their win at the Bangor Invite yesterday with a low score of 29. The team won the meet by 87 points. Also, a special shout out to Henry Cox! Recently, Henry competed in an Invitational where he ran the 2nd fastest time in Plainwell school history with a 16:05 5k. Way to go, Henry - Trojan Pride!

Join us next Tuesday (September 26) at the Plainwell Education Foundation Meeting to learn about the PEF and how it supports the PCS teachers, staff and students! The meeting will be held at 6:00 PM in the PHS Media Center.

Students in Ms. Cole and Mrs. Amaezechi 4th grade classes at Starr Elementary had the opportunity to go to Swisslane Farms today. They were able to take a wagon ride and tour the whole farm where they learned about cows. They even had a chance to meet and feed the calves…which was a class favorite! What a great field trip filled with fun learning opportunities for the Rock Starrs!

The Gilkey Geckos have a new addition to their building - A BOOK VENDING MACHINE! 📚 This morning, they held a special ribbon cutting ceremony to announce the new addition to their students. Two students were selected to be the first to pick a book from the vending machine, congratulations to Rhianna (5th grade) and Avery (3rd grade). Through learning, positive behavior and hard work, students can earn “coins” to purchase a variety of different books that are available for all K-5 grade levels. The vending machine was purchased thanks to the support of many local businesses: Ransom District Library, Parker, HyTech, TruVista, Bennett Family Agency, Cornell Associates & Realtors, and Amy Hamilton from Jaqua Realtors. The Geckos are excited for this awesome addition to Gilkey Elementary!

Registration is open for our Youth Kickers Soccer program for K-5th graders. Program runs from October 28-December 16. Cost is $60 per athlete. For more information, please view the flyer or visit plainwellschools.org/page/youth-programs. To register, please scan the QR code or visit plainwell.revtrak.net/Community-Ed-Rec/.

The Boys Varsity Tennis Team had a great week! Earlier this week, they hosted and defeated Otsego with a team score of 5-3! At the match, the senior athletes were also recognized. The following players won their matches: - Number 1 Singles: Calvin Strader - Number 1 Doubles: Andrew Hampton and Teagen Wilson - Number 2 Doubles: Bradley Jeffreys and Austin Susens - Number 3 Doubles: Anthony Kolhoff and Brayden Triemstra - Number 4 Doubles: Lincoln Benson and Sean MacRitchie Throughout the week, they also traveled to Niles and Sturgis where the following players brought home a win: - Number 1 Singles: Calvin Strader - Number 1 Doubles: Andrew Hampton and Teagen Wilson - Number 4 Doubles: Lincoln Benson and Sean MacRitchie - Tristan Starret and Caleb Braybrooks also brought home a Doubles win for the JV Tennis Team - JV Number 2 Singles: Caleb Braybrooks Way to go, PHS Tennis - Trojan Pride!

It was a great morning as we kicked-off the Lifelong Learners program for our community senior citizens at Christian Neighbors. In partnership with Christian Neighbors, Ransom District Library and Otsego Public Schools, we are excited to offer this program to community senior citizens who are looking to get involved and active in our community! During the kick-off event this morning, attendees had the opportunity to tour the new Christian Neighbor's facility, play games, enjoy "school" breakfast and workout with Ace-Certified Group Fitness Instructor Sharrin Schultz. It was a great morning with many wonderful community members. Throughout the year, we look forward to offering additional Lifelong Learner programs. For additional information and upcoming programs, please visit plainwellschools.org/page/lifelong-learners. New events and information will be updated frequently, so please stay tuned as our Lifelong Learner program grows! Have questions or suggestions for our Lifelong Learners program? Please contact Jason Herbert at jason.herbert@plainwellschools.org.