Pentwater Public Schools

The graduation ceremony this evening at 7pm will be livestreamed through Facebook!

We had a wonderful turnout at our Family Fun Night/Parent Cafe on Thursday, May 15. Parents engaged in conversations and learned how to set healthy limits on technology for their children. Kids enjoyed learning new math games and reading a new book in the Elementary Bookwalk. They received math games to take home and were also given a free copy of "How to Catch a Star", which was the book they read together at the event. Children also learned about our amazing solar system in a unique traveling planetarium. Thank you to the following people who made the event extra special: Sara Jeruzal, Justine Aultman, Phil Santellan, Brian Dotson, Meg Brown, Tracey Laaksonen, Mary Baker and James Mueller and our many Pentwater high school student volunteers.

Class of 2025 Graduation Ceremony is this evening, Thursday, May 22, 2025, at 7pm , in the school gymnasium. The doors will open at 6:30pm. Thank you!

We are now accepting schools of choice applications for the 2025-2026 school year!

Heather Bernard from Gift of Life Michigan recently visited Mrs. Fatura’s biology classes to discuss the crucial role of organ donation and the transplantation process. Her engaging presentation emphasized the significance of the donor registry and the profound impact it has on saving lives. Students had the unique opportunity to handle and examine human specimens, including a heart, lungs, kidneys, pancreas and liver. The discussion also covered tissue transplants, with samples of corneas, ligaments, tendons, and bone provided for examination. To deepen their understanding, students experienced what it feels like to have corneal blindness through specialized glasses. It was a very informative presentation! For more information, you can visit https://www.giftoflife.org/

The JH track meet scheduled for Tuesday, 5/20, in Kent City, has been canceled! Thank you!

Pentwater varsity softball finished up conference play this Monday in a double header against Mesick. Pentwater fell in the first game 11-6, despite out-hitting Mesick 10 to 8. Paige Sadenwater, Karina Olivarez and Mandi Sayles collected multiple hits in this game to lead the charge offensively. Karina Olivarez caught three runners stealing, as she limited Mesick's run game. Mesick's bats came alive in the second game as Pentwater struggled to limit the damage, falling into a hole in the second inning. Mandi Sayles was able to keep the hot hitting alive, hitting two sharp singles. The Falcons showed life in the bottom of the third, with hits up and down the line-up led by Emma Werkema-Grondsma, Charlie Swanger and Alazae Acevedo. The rally was not enough however as the Falcons fell 26 to 11.

2nd Place Team for Pentwater at Benona Invitational on Friday, 5/16/25, with some impressive scores from our freshmen! Highlighting Gavin Macher locking in his short game dropping some long putts and chipping them close finishing with 3 Pars and a Birdie to place our 4th score (82)! Top of the leaderboard was Bode Powell shooting an impressive (70) with 5 Pars and 2 Birdies to earn 3rd place in the tournament! Edgar Vazquez chipped his way to 4th place overall and 3rd on our team’s score (71) with 8 Pars! Mikey Carlson’s 5 pars and 2 birdies (75) earned him 8th place podium as well! Highlight to Aiden Henry for most improved from last year in this tournament! Dropping 14 strokes finishing (95) with 9 bogies! Great improvement!

2025 Youth Tennis Clinic sponsored by the Pentwater Tennis & PickleBall Club

Class of 2025 Senior Graduate Spotlight: Rolando Salgado is the son of Rolando Salgado and Tamara Alltop. Rolando plans on attending Ferris State University in the fall to study dental hygiene. He plans to get his degree so he can help people.

Class of 2025 Senior Graduate Spotlight: Michael Carlson is the son of Kathy Richards and Jeff Carlson. Michael plans on attending Northwood University in the fall to play basketball with the Timberwolves! Michael will be studying business management.

Community Pride Day 2025! The weather advisory was averted and our 20th annual community pride day took place on a beautiful Friday morning under clear blue skies! Our students are required to accrue 40 community pride hours as a part of their graduation requirements and every spring we schedule a community pride day to give an opportunity to earn some of these hours. You can see PPS students around the village doing various tasks beautifying our village. You can see them at the state park, the historical museum, the VFW hall, the artisan center, the township library, the township office, the Methodist church, various village gardens (water tower, village green, Channel Lane Park, Park Place, North Park garden) as well as some private homes for lawn care assistance. Our 8th grade crew also do some work on the school grounds. The goal of our community pride day requirement is to foster a sense of pride in community! The crew in the village green were given a sweet reward with thirst quenching slushies from HOF!

Class of 2025 Senior Graduate Spotlight: Logan Gehrke is the son of Kristina Steinke and Jason Gehrke. Logan plans to get a job and start working as soon as possible.

Class of 2025 Senior Graduate Spotlight: Kaiden Carter is the son of Josh Carter, Ashley Carter and Kristy Sauden. Kaiden plans on joining the military and being a mechanic. He then plans to have a career in automotive tech after the military.

Class of 2025 Senior Graduate Spotlight: Samantha Reese is the daughter of Patricia and Timothy Reese. Samantha wants to be a singer, standing on stage motivating others to stand up and make a change, to make others smile and have self confidence in music.

Our Pentwater elementary students learned more about how their food is raised when they visited the Michigan Farm Bureau Food, Agriculture & Resources in Motion (FARM) Science Program. Students participated in STEM-based lessons to increase agricultural awareness, through hands-on learning. Classes learned more about careers in agriculture and science through engaging lessons, including Erosion, Insects, and Potato Power, helping them understand how agriculture impacts their daily lives so they grow into informed consumers. Thank you to our local Oceana County Farm Bureau for the generous donation to make the FARM Science Program possible for our students, along with their continued support in education.

"The key to a fulfilling retirement is to embrace each day as an opportunity for adventure and discovery!" - The PPS family says goodbye to Gary Doody, bus driver, and Pete Dumonte, paraprofessional and coach, as they each have made the decision to retire at the end of the 2024-2025 school year! The students and staff honored them on Wednesday, 5/14, with a surprise assembly where they were overwhelmed (don't they look overwhelmed?) with cards and homemade tissue flowers and homemade birdhouses as well as warm good wishes and gratitude! We thank them for their dedication to the district and to the care that they brought each and every day to our students here at PPS, they will definitely be missed. We wish them both adventures in their retirement, they have both earned it! Thank you, gentlemen, it's time to relax and enjoy the fruits of your hard work and dedication!

Class of 2025 Senior Graduate Spotlight: Belle Powers is the daughter of Judy and Tobin Powers. Belle plans to get a part-time job while she pursues an apprenticeship with a senior tattoo artist. Belle will build upon her artistic ability and eventually earn a tattoo license.

Class of 2025 Senior Graduate Spotlight: William Werkema-Grondsma is the son of Melissa Grondsma. Will plans on attending Tiffin University in Ohio as a Tiffin Dragon. He plans on playing basketball while studying sports management and marketing. One day he wants to be able to help other athletes become better and reach their goals.

What an incredible track and field meet! The JH Falcons were on fire at the MCE Medal Meet Tuesday night, 5/13!! We saw 10 PRs, 16 scoring places, 18 Medals awarded, and 2 New Middle School Records!! -1st Place (Medal)- Lauren Macher - High Jump 4’ 4” (PR) Ayla Kokx- 3200m Run 14:52.76 (PR) **New School Record** -2nd Place (Medal)- Silas Jobbins- 70m Dash 11.56 (PR) Xacheriah Davis - Shot 28’ 5” 4x200m Relay (Ben Jorissen, Colton Jorissen, Andersen Oleneack, Jordy Miller) 2:33.16 Ayla Kokx - Pole Vault 6’ 0” (PR) **New School Record** 4x100m Relay (Shyra Bigsby, Janie Hasil, Lauren Macher, Karoline Slotegraaf) 1:10.46 4x200m Relay (Shyra Bigsby, Ayla Kokx, Xaria Davis, Karoline Slotegraaf) 2:40.69 -3rd Place (Medal)- Lauren Macher- 800m Run 3:12.75 (PR) -4th Place- Ben Jorissen - 400m Dash 1:19.50 (PR) 4x100m Relay (Silas Jobbins, Ben Jorissen, Colton Jorissen, Andersen Oleneack) 1:12.05 Karoline Slotegraaf - Long Jump 12’ 4” (PR) -5th Place- Janie Hasil - Shot Put 22’ 11” -6th Place- Jordy Miller - 200m Dash 37.69 (PR) and 800m Run 3:24.14 (PR) Silas Jobbins - Shot Put 24’ 8” (PR) Our next and final meet is next Tuesday, May 20, at the Kent City Invite.