Middle school and high school track teams

Olympian Dathan Ritzenhein

Track and field athletes in Cedar Springs got a real treat last week. Middle school as well as high school athletes gathered to listen to advice from a world-class athlete—three-time Olympian Dathan Ritzenhein. The runner visited Cedar Springs to speak to the teams and join them on a run around the campus.

Ritzenhein, who graduated from Rockford High School in 1991 and set several state and national records, explained to the students the importance of working hard. “When I was starting with running, I was not that good. I was a middle-of-the-pack runner,” he said.

Times change. His career has taken him through college and into professional distance racing where he has represented the United States in three Olympic Games. Ritzenhein said he enjoys seeing the passion the younger runners have for the sport.

Middle school track runner Sarah Martin said, “I thought it was interesting what he shared about working hard and seeing the payoff.”

Cedar Springs athletes running on campus

While Ritzenhein said he had benefited from hard athletic work in school, he advised the runners to try to enjoy their time as students. “Just enjoying the time in school is important,” he said. “You have to build those close friendships and don’t lose sight of the lessons you learn here.”

The Grand Rapids Press reported that Ritzenhein would soon be moving his family back to West Michigan, from Oregon, and will serve as assistant coach to runners at Grand Valley State University.

Monday, August 26, 2013

Students will be required to attend a mandatory orientation program at the high school.  At this time, all students will have their pictures taken for the yearbook and student identification cards, review school policies from the student handbook, review athletic policies, meet with their class advisor, receive their schedules and agendas.

Sophomores:  8:00am – 10:00am

Juniors:  9:15am – 11:15am

Seniors:  10:30am – 12:30pm

Freshman:  11:30am – 2:25pm

Freshman orientation will include lunch, a tour of the building and a chance to meet many of their teachers.

Parents do not need to attend, but are welcome.

Food service will be open so that students planning to eat in the cafeteria during the school year will be able to deposit money into their lunch account.

**Please Note:  Because schedules will be handed out during orientation, they will only be available to students attending orientation.  Anyone not attending the orientation will need to log onto your PowerSchool account and print your schedule prior to the first day of school.  Your PowerSchool account will be available after August 28, 2013. NO EXCEPTIONS!

OPEN HOUSE Schedules August 27 & 28

Tuesday, August 27

Red Hawk Elementary – 6th Grade

Team A (Banagis, Ludwig, Verwys, Willette):  5:30

Team B (Elenbaas, Gariepy, Pantoja, VanderLugt):  7:00

Middle School – 7th Grade & 8th Grade:  5:00—6:30

Wednesday, August 28

Cedar Trails Elementary

Kindergarten:  5:00—6:00

1st Grade:   6:00—7:00

Beach Elementary

2nd Grade:  5:30—6:30

3rd Grade:  6:00—7:00

Cedar View Elementary

4th Grade & 5th Grade:  6:30—7:30

New Beginnings Alternative HS

6:00—7:00

As I drove in to the newly repaved High School today, I felt so grateful for the generosity of our community in making this happen. The passage of the sinking fund in 2012 allowed this major improvement to become a reality. This summer, the school was able to use these dollars to resurface the high school gym as well as improve the overall flow of traffic at the high school. We were able to add more parking spaces and eliminate the potholes too numerous to count. Without the support of voters in passing the sinking fund, this would not be possible. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Brook Nichols, school board President

Taxpayers to Cedar Springs Public Schools will see the result of some of the sinking fund money collected when the school begins reconstruction on the Cedar Springs High School parking lot and drop off loop at the end of this week.

School is out today, Thursday, June 6, and construction is set to begin on Friday, June 7 and last until August 23. There will be no access to the high school during that time.

According to school officials, they will be adding 68 parking spaces for improved parent drop-off, event parking, and student access to the high school; install updated energy efficient lighting; and construct better and more efficient drainage.

An advisory committee made up of parents, staff and community members came up with a long-range plan for the facilities and infrastructure, and the high school parking lot was a top priority.

Traffic congestion and parking at Cedar Trails was also a big issue, but once the school changed the start time for preschool to 9 a.m., it brought some relief to the parents dropping off their kindergarteners and first graders.

All of the incredible student projects will be on display Tuesday, April 24, 6-8 pm for the Cedar Springs Fine Arts Night at the high school.

What a talented group of art students we have in Cedar Springs!  All grades have been busy working on wonderful projects that are developing their artistic skills and challenging their creative thinking.

Middle School eighth graders just completed their clay project, which was based on face jugs produced in North Carolina in the 1800’s. Students decorated their bottles with whimsical facial expressions full of detail and humor.

7th graders continued with their study of “dwellings” by making clay houses. Students could choose to make their house realistic or fantastical mushroom houses. All of them were amazing.

Red Hawk sixth graders are busy honing their basic drawing skills, learning to draw three dimensional forms and adding shading and shadows to their drawings. They will add to their drawing talents landscapes, cityscapes, perspective drawings and figure and cartoon drawing.

Cedar View 5th graders are in the middle of their medieval unit. They just completed their clay goblets and are learning about the role of knights in our history. They will be making a textured tin knight using a relief tooling method. 4th graders are in their “form” unit and just completed their clay owls. They are now beginning their papier mache pies. They look so real you might mistake them for an actual snack!

We would love for you to join us for a grand art adventure this night and meet some of our talented artists.

Three 15-year-old students from Godwin Heights High School are suspected of stealing items from the Cedar Springs High School locker room during a basketball game.

Cedar Springs Police Officer Chad Tucker investigated a complaint on February 29 that during the Cedar Springs-Godwin Heights High School basketball game the night before, someone entered the locker room area and stole money and items from gym bags and lockers.

According to Cedar Springs Police Roger Parent, security staff at the school provided quality video of the suspects entering and leaving the locker room. “Communications had already begun between the two schools and the Administration at Godwin Heights was very helpful with identifying the students involved,” he said.

Officer Tucker was able to recover a stolen computer (Galaxy Tablet). A set of headphones and some money is still missing. The three juvenile suspects have been referred to the Kent County Juvenile Prosecutor’s Office for charges of larceny in a building.

On a very warm Friday afternoon in September,  third graders from Beach Elementary walked to the high school football field where they all watched the Red Hawk Band perform their halftime program.  After the performance, the third graders were able to ask questions and just generally interact with the band members on the field.  The experience was made even better with the brownies that the Band Boosters provided.  It was a great experience for all!  A special thank you to the high school band and the Band Boosters for making this great time possible!

August 29, 2011 all High School students will be required to attend a mandatory orientation program at the High School.

Orientation Schedule:
10th grade    8:00 am to 10:00 am
11th grade    9:15 am to 11:15 am
12th grade    10:30 am to 12:30 pm
9th grade    11:45 am to 2:25 pm

All students should attend their scheduled time.  Students will receive their schedules and important information regarding the 2011-2012 school year.  A school picture for ID will be taken.

Girls State delegates from Cedar Springs are Corey Willette (left) and Kayla Ovokaitys (center right). Also pictured are American Legion Auxiliary Past President Mary Goller Kilts (center left) and Mary Anne Yuncker (right), American Legion Auxiliary Department of Michigan first Vice President, both of Cedar Springs.

Girls State is held every June in Lansing, Michigan, on the campus of Michigan State University. The girls who attend are between their junior and senior year in high school. They are sponsored by our local Auxiliary and also by the Cedar Springs Women’s Club.

Girls State offers training in the practical processes of good citizenship, as practiced in a democratic society. The “citizens” study local, county and state governments. But it’s not all work and studying. The girls get to live on campus and experience dorm life; they spend a day at the State Capital; they have talent shows, sing, and make friendships to last a lifetime.

Scholarships are available and college credit is offered. Contact your American Legion Auxiliary if this interests you. Our own city manager, Christine Burns, addressed the girls this year. We are happy for her participation and support of this vital and worthy program.