Pentwater Public Schools

Class of 2026 Graduate Highlight: Alazae Acevedo is the daughter of Tosha Acevedo and Jace Acevedo. Alazae plans on attending West Shore Community College and earn an associates degree in business and marketing. Go for it, Alazae, and remember, "Good marketing makes the company look smart. Great marketing makes the customer feel smart." - Joe Chernov

Class of 2026 Graduate Highlight: Bailey Alltop is the daughter of Heather and Jason Alltop. Bailey plans on finishing her ASM Tech Early College program at West Shore Community College and then enroll in the nursing program at Ferris State University. After receiving her nursing degree, Bailee would like to become a travel nurse and see the countryside. Way to go, Bailey! "It's a beautiful thing when a career and a passion come together." - Unknown

Class of 2026 Graduate Highlight: Ben Merten is the son of Sarah Merten and Fred Merten. Ben plans on becoming an apprentice in a lineman program. Well done, Ben, the sky is the limit!

Class of 2026 Graduate Highlight: Lauren Davis is the daughter of Anthony and Lisa Davis. Lauren plans to attend Ferris State University in the fall to pursue a degree in nursing! Go, Lauren, and Go, Dogs! "Nursing is an art, and if it is to be made an art, it requires an exclusive devotion as hard a preparation as any painter's or sculptor's work." - Florence Nightingale

An under-the-weather Pentwater Varsity softball team made its way to Hesperia to take on the Panthers in a two-game out-of-conference series. Although the bats were hot for the Falcons, multiple mental mistakes and untimely throwing errors plagued the Falcons throughout both games. Charlie Swanger shined at the plate in Game 1 batting 3-4 with two doubles and three runs. Amelia Barter connected with a deep double driving in one run. Alazae Acevedo put pressure early in the game with two singles. In Game 2, Charlie continued her hot hitting with a triple to start the game. Karina Olivarez went deep to right center, doubling in a run, along with new member, Alyssa Schafer, from Walkerville also collected an RBI double to the right-center field gap. Pentwater’s defense was unable to capitalize on the hot hitting as a number of errors allowed the Panthers extra outs to keep up and outpace the Falcons in both games. Game 1: 20-13. Game 2: 14-4

Decision Day, a time to recognize all the hard work and choices that have to be made before embarking on the journey of life after High School. Today we held an assembly to hear what each of our 2026 graduates plan to do as they soar away from Pentwater. Then we had an opportunity to take photos with kids from all grades who look up to these individuals.

Samuel Gaylard is the son of James Gaylard and Rebecca Nicholson and Mark Haynor. Sam plans to complete the ASM tech program at West Shore CC next year. After that, he plans on transferring to Michigan Tech University and continue studying engineering with an emphasis in aerospace engineering. Well done, Sam, and Go, Huskies!

Class of 2026 Graduate Highlight: Aubrie Adams is the daughter of Nikki and Josh Adams. Aubrie plans on attending Nuvo College of Cosmetology. She plans on owning her own salon one day - "In a world where you can be anything, be someone who makes others feel beautiful!"

Congratulations to our JH/HS Students of the Month for April 2026! Owen Verschueren (8th Grade); Jamison Clark (7th Grade); Xacheriah Davis (9th Grade); and, Alazae Acevedo (12th Grade)! Well done, JH and HS Falcon learners!

Class of 2026 Graduate Highlight: Abram is the son of Joel and Renae Kieda. Abram plans on attending Michigan State University in the fall to earn a bachelor's degree in civil engineering. Well done, Abram, and remember, "The road to success is always under construction." (Quote - Thomas Tredgold)

Class of 2026 Graduate Highlight: Sophie Harker-VanGunst is the daughter of Kaitlin Harker and Richard VanGunst. Sophie plans on attending West Shore Community College and continue taking welding courses to pursue a career in underwater welding. She also plans on working at Oceana County Animal Control. Good job, Sophie, and, "Make every weld better than your last!"

2 Pentwater Falcons will be heading to Chicago over the summer for 2 different 1-week leadership programs at the University of Chicago. Ben Roberson will attend the 10th-grade program, while Maggie Jorissen will attend the 11th-grade program.

This selective program is designed to equip students with ideas and tools they can take back to their communities to support growth and development. It offers opportunities to explore various career paths, experience life on a college campus, and engage with everything Chicago has to offer. Both programs also provide valuable chances to build skills that will benefit students in school and beyond.

Congratulations to both of them!

The Middle School track team traveled to the Traverse City Invite on Monday, 5/4. This was a very large invitational and our Falcons competed against athletes from D1, D2, and D3 schools! They all showed incredible courage and determination that resulted in several personal bests, 2 scoring finishes, and one medal!

-3rd Place (medal):
Lauren Macher - High Jump 4’ 2” (T3)

-4th Place:
4x200m Relay (Khloe Vangunst, Lauren Macher, Maple Prescott, Karoline Slotegraaf) 2:13.64 PB!!

Personal Bests:
(Khloe VanGunst, Lauren Macher, Karoline Slotegraaf, Maple Prescott) - 4 by 100M Relay, 1:02.57
(Anderson Barter, Porter Jaeb, Jordy Miller, Chi Jeruzal) - 4 by 200M Relay, 2:31.28
(Anderson Barter, Porter Jaeb, Jordy Miller, Chi Jeruzal) - 4 by 100M Relay, 1:10.45
Maple Prescott- Long Jump 11’ 2.75”
Porter Jaeb - Long Jump 11’ 2.5”
Valerie Smith - 1600m Run 7:39.14
Evie Bouye - 800m Run 3:03.77
Ayla Kokx - 800m Run 3:16.91
Khloe VanGunst- 70M Dash 11.06

The Falcons travel to Mesick on Thursday for our conference championship!

Friday, May 1st, Pentwater Student Council hosted a Family Dance for grades K-5. With all the attendees dressed in their finest and dancing their hearts out, they had a lot of fun. Special thanks to Pentwater Library for coming, bringing glow-in-the-dark goodies, and hosting a book raffle.

Pentwater Student Artists had an amazing showing this weekend at the Pentwater Arts Council’s Oceana County K-12 Art Show! Special thanks to all of the students, staff, parents and community members that attended. Congratulations to all of the selected artists. Awards and cash prizes were as follows: “Best in Show” Elementary Art: Yvette Kokx 2nd Place Elementary 3D Art: Edie Mazur 3rd Place Elementary 3D Art: Arrow Steinke 1st Place Middle School 2D Art & People’s Choice Award: Cassidy Battista 1st Place Middle School 3D Art & People’s Choice Award: Sophia Skinner 2nd Place Middle School 3D Art: Riley Swanger 3rd Place High School 2D Art: Jojo Mannor 1st Place High School 3D Art: Bailey Case 2nd Place High School 3D Art & People’s Choice Award: Anaviolet Jeruzal

Congratulations to K-8 Pentwater School Counselor, Cara Kuipers! Cara was recently recognized by the Pentwater Education Association with a local “Friend of Education Award.” Quotes from Cara’s nominations include: “Cara supports not only the students by providing them different tools and a trusted adult to talk to, she also works to support teachers in the classroom by actively seeking input with what they are noticing and what she can do to support a better school environment.” “Cara certainly cares about all stakeholders in our school community. She will do anything in her power to support us, as she seeks creative solutions.” “Cara always finds time to listen to the needs of students and staff with a heartfelt ear. She truly makes you feel heard and has an amazing ability to build relationships with students to break down barriers in order to support students' needs. Her SEL lessons in the classrooms bring much needed eye opening perspectives to our elementary students to learn about themselves and each other. Cara's sincerity, her demeanor and her personality enrich the lives she has made an impact on.” “Cara is a wonderful school counselor! She is kind, compassionate, empathetic, and knowledgeable! She helps both students and staff overcome obstacles they face, and encourages everyone to become their best selves!”