CTA’s Kid’s Club is back! The program runs Monday-Friday from 3-6:00 p.m. (1-6:00 p.m. on early release days) for students in grades K-5 and is administered by Nancy Freyling. Students will spend time making crafts, doing homework, working on team-building skills, playing games and participating in outdoor activities.

Mrs. Freyling is married to Brad Freyling and mom to sons Owen and Tripp in 6th and 4th grades at CTA. She has been active in the PTO and the CTA Creates program. Contact Student Services at 616-696-4905 if you are interested in enrolling your child in Charger Kid’s Club.

CTA’s Kid’s Club is back! The program runs Monday-Friday from 3-6:00 p.m. (1-6:00 p.m. on early release days) for students in grades K-5 and is administered by Sherry Fisk. Students will spend time making crafts, doing homework, working on team-building skills, playing games and participating in outdoor activities. Miss Sherry is married to Dan Fisk and mom to Nathaniel and Ethan Fisk in 7th and 4th grades at CTA. She has been active periodically in both the PTO and the CTA Creates program during the past three years and now serves as the PTO president.

She has also been an active member of the traffic safety program at CTA during the past year.

Sherry was a classroom parapro at their previous school. She is excited about being at CTA and working with the students. Contact Student Services at 616-696-4905 if you are interested in enrolling your child in Charger Kid’s Club.

Reading Rocks at Cedar Trails

Reading Rocks at Cedar Trails

Beach Literacy Night was held on March 10 at the Middle School.

March is Reading Month and the PTO provided a special assembly called Reading Rocks. The kids had so much fun singing and dancing and being challenged to read more and more.

What a wonderful group of parent volunteers. The PTO from Cedar Trails has purchased an additional chromebook cart containing 36 mobile chromebooks, mice and headphones. Our students love them. Thank you for caring so much about their education.  Cedar Trails PTO is the best!!!

Board of Education member, Shannon Vanderhyde, was a guest reader at Red Hawk during March is Reading Month.

Assistant Superintendent, Jo Spry, was a guest reader during March is Reading Month.

Board of Education member, Michelle Bayink, reads to students at Red Hawk during March is Reading Month.

Andy Secor, Principal

Cedar View welcomed over 250 people to “Family Fitness Fun” on Thursday night!  This is our second year of holding family nights and we are building off our great success with “Math Night” in the fall.  We had a certified instructor doing kickboxing in the gym, a zumba instructor in the cafeteria, and boot camp with Mr. Secor in the media center.  I have attached a handful of pictures (see more on twitter @secorsig).

The YMCA brought a taste-tester with healthy food.  Jennifer Willette, Lana Kamer, our high school Red Hawk athletes, and our PTO helped to secure and organize healthy snack bags for students and parents.  A huge thank you goes out to the PTO, the Cedar View “family night” committee, and all Cedar View staff who attended, advertised, or helped with set-up.  Thank you to parents who brought their students out and got a great work-out in!    Just another reminder of the strong bond between school and community here in Cedar Springs!  This is truly a special place.  Look for family night #3 coming this spring!

Ken See, Principal

On Thursday, February 5, the Beach staff in conjunction with the PTO sponsored a Parent Math Curriculum night.  Parents were invited to bring their Beach student to come and hear about how Every Day Math is taught here at school.  Parents had the chance to play math games with their child and to learn about some online resources they could use at home to support their child in math.  The night ended with a pizza dinner served by the Beach PTO.  We had 515 of our parents and students in attendance.  Thank you to everyone!

Post photo by J. Reed.

Post photo by J. Reed

The Cedar Springs Elementary PTO held a Walk-a-thon Friday, October 17, which was their one fundraiser for this year. They raised $24,192.96, which will go directly to the four elementary schools that participated—Cedar Trails, Beach, Cedar View and Red Hawk.

According to Liz Grice, with the PTO, the money will go toward playground equipment, library books and other educational items.

“We had 2,119 participants, including students, staff and volunteers,” said Grice. “We accepted sponsorships from companies in and around Cedar Springs to purchase a t-shirt for every student at these four schools. The day of the event the students and staff all wore their matching red shirts and walked the stadium.”

The students took pledges from friends and family prior to the event. On the day of the Walkathon, classes walked to Red Hawk Stadium at the High School, and then around the track for a half hour while music played. The top classes in each grade won $200 for their class.

The Cedar Spring Elementary PTO is stepping up the annual Walk-a-Thon! The coordinating team, led by Liz Grice and Andrea Dersch, has been seeking corporate sponsorships in the Cedar Springs community so that there is no cost to the PTO for the Walk-a-Thon.  Thanks to the generous support of businesses with ties to Cedar Springs, each elementary student will receive a red t-shirt they will be proud to wear throughout the year.  This also means that every dollar pledged to Cedar Springs students will stay in their school.  This is the only fundraiser for the PTO this year so we are asking parents to consider what you would have spent on subs, cookie dough, wrapping paper and the like.  Put that money towards a generous pledge for your student and make a huge impact in our schools.  Want to cheer your student on? Attend the Walk-a-Thon at Red Hawk Stadium on Friday, October 17 during your school’s timeslot.  Fill the stands with cowbells, cheering, and clapping as we celebrate the support of education with a healthy and fun filled event.  Spread the word and encourage your student as they fill their pledge sheets!

Mrs. Baas’s class with Librarian Donna Clark (left)

The fourth-grade students at Cedar View Elementary celebrated “March is reading month” by holding a read-a-thon to raise money for the Cedar Springs Library and the Cedar View PTO.

Each student had a goal to raise $35 for the all-day reading marathon. About 54 students reached that goal, and each one of them received a Red Hawk beanie baby from the library for their effort.

The students raised a total of $1,356 for the library, and $1,356 for the PTO.

On Tuesday, March 26, Librarian Donna Clark went to each class and handed out the beanie babies and spoke to the classes. She left one beanie baby for each of the teachers to remind the students that March isn’t the only month for reading. “I hope they continue to read and come to the library this summer because we have a great summer reading program,” noted Clark. “I really want to thank the students for being so community-minded and raising the money for the library.”