Pentwater Public Schools

1st Place PENTWATER FALCONS!! WoW what a Battle all day long on Thursday, 5/8! Hesperia Panthers Invitational at the lovely Northwood Traditions Golf Course was a nail biter both individually and as a team. Mikey Carlson started the day with an incredible lead with Birdie Par EAGLE! But the competition from Ravenna, North Muskegon, Muskegon Catholic & Hesperia quickly tied up the leaderboard. It wasn’t until the very last putt that dropped that Mikey Carlson earned low score of the day! (79) with 2 Birdies, 4 Pars and that incredible Eagle! (2nd place with handicap hole) Even as the last scores were coming in, these top schools were battling shot for shot for a podium finish. Coming in clutch for the team was our 4th position, Edgar Vazquez!! His Par Birdie finish pushed Falcons over the top for the 1st Palace WiN! Edgar shot an incredible (80) with 7 Pars and that fabulous Winning Birdie! He placed 2nd lowest score of the tournament & tied for 3rd place! Nathan Macher had a steady streak of 7 pars and a Birdie on #1 ending with (86) and 9th place medal! Bode Powell’s (87) with 4 pars secured 11th place podium! Gavin Macher (98) & Aiden Henry (102) with 3 pars would have helped secure our WiN if needed for a tie breaker. Keep up the Great Work Falcons!!!

It was a beautiful day Thursday, 5/8, for our last JH conference track meet at MCE! We saw 15 PR's, 10 scoring finishes, and two new school records! These kids work so hard and show tremendous team work. 2nd Place Ayla Kokx - 3200m Run 14:58.71 (PR) **New School Record** 3rd Place Lauren Macher - High Jump 4’ 2" Ayla Kokx - Pole Vault 5’ 6” (PR) **New School Record ** 4th Place Xacheriah Davis - Shot Put 27’ 2.5" Janie Hasil - Shot Put 23’ 8” Lauren Macher - 800m Run 3:16.23 5th Place 4x100m Relay (Brennen Cory, Silas Jobbins, Colton Jorissen, Andersen Oleneack) 1:13.71 4x100m Relay (Shyra Bigsby, Xaria Davis, Janie Hasil, Ayla Kokx) 1:16.11 6th Place Ben Jorissen - 400m Dash 1:20.03 (PR) Lauren Macher - 70m Dash 10.86 (PR) Personal Record Brennen Cory - Long Jump 7’ 3” Jordy Miller - 400m Dash 1:28.81 and 800m Run 3:26.32 Silas Jobbins - 70m Dash 11.63 Corbin Tiles - 70m Dash 15.43 Colton Jorissen - 70m Dash 12.95 Xaria Davis - Long Jump 8’ 9” and Shot Put 17’ 9.5” Shyra Bigsby - 100m Dash 16.91 Karoline Slotegraaf - 70m Dash 11.91 and 400m Dash 1:31.30 We run at MCE again on Tuesday, May 13, for their medal meet.

Congratulations to 6th grader Ayla Kokx for setting a new JH track and field school record in pole vault at at 5' 6"!

3rd graders became experts on sea creatures. They spent many hours researching, creating google slides, and making sea creature models. The 2nd graders enjoyed the presentations!

JH Dance will be May 16, 6-8 pm!

The Pentwater Falcons, playing short-handed, struggled to find their rhythm in the first game against Frankfort, falling 18-2. Offensive momentum did not come until the fourth inning, when Mandi Sayles delivered an RBI double and Aubrie Adams followed up with an RBI single to put Pentwater on the board. Despite the late spark, it wasn’t enough to overcome Frankfort’s early lead. In Game 2, the Falcons improved their defense, but Frankfort’s strong bats continued to control the game, handing Pentwater a 14-0 loss in five innings. Paige Sadenwater collected a sharp single, and Sayles added another hit to her day, but the offense couldn’t get rolling against a tough Frankfort squad. The Falcons look to regroup and bounce back when they face MCE this coming Monday at home.

Members of the Pentwater Green Schools Club went to the Lake Michigan Camp to plant dune grass this week. In addition, they put up fencing to protect the dune and picked up trash along the lakeshore. It was a fantastic experience! The message we received from Greg Anderson, the supervisor of the project, was very heartwarming. It read… "I didn't get a chance to say it before you guys left, but I just wanted to tell you and the kids, thank you! It seems like a small thing, but I think it makes a difference, and I think making a difference in a small way is usually the best we all can do!”

Class of 2025 Senior Graduate Spotlight: Mandi Sayles is the daughter of Melanie Sayles and the late John Sayles. Mandi plans on working in agriculture and traveling. Well done, Mandi!

Congratulations to Senior Michael Carlson who has officially signed to play basketball with the Northwood University Timberwolves for Fall 2025! Michael is the son of Kathy Richards and Jeff Carlson. He plans to play basketball and study business management at Northwood University! Well done, Mikey!

Class of 2025 Senior Graduate Spotlight: Matilde Pacifico is the daughter of Patricia Petretto and Bruno Pacifico. Her host parents are Hillary and Vaughn Thurston-Cox. Matilde plans to go back to Italy, finish her high school and graduate. She would like to study law to become a detective. She also hopes to be able to come back to America!

The Falcons continued to soar in the WMD Conference Championship meet tonight in Marion. The team earned an impressive 18 personal records, 1 school record and 22 top 6 places!! The boys team finished 4th, while the girls team finished 5th. The school record was in the 4 x 100 relay as Kaleb Brown, Trey Johnson, Logan Fatura and Chase McGuire-Vangills broke the record they set a couple of weeks ago. They lowered their time from a 46.39 to a 46.14. This performance has propelled them back into 2nd place in the region! The evening was filled with perfect weather, smiles, and a sense of joy. The team's continuous improvement from meet to meet is truly inspiring. Witnessing athletes take pride in their accomplishments—whether it be setting a school record, achieving personal bests, or being a supportive teammate—made for a memorable night where everyone walked away with something positive. Next up, the team will compete at the invitational in Manton this Friday. Keep up the fantastic work! Go Falcons!! -1st Place-1st team all-conference honors -Trey Johnson - 110m Hurdles 18.92 (PR) and Long Jump 20’ 0.5” -Kaleb Brown - 400m Dash 53.08 -Logan Fatura - Shot Put 44’ 8.5 (PR) -Lauren Davis -300m Hurdles 51.17 (PR) -2nd Place-2nd team all-conference honors -4x100m Relay (Kaleb Brown, Trey Johnson, Logan Fatura, Chase McGuire-Vangills) 46.14 **New School Record** -Kaleb Brown - 100m Dash 11.86 -Trey Johnson - 300m Hurdles 45.45 (PR) -3rdPlace-Honorable Mention -Logan Fatura - Discus 115’ 1” -Lauren Davis -200m Dash 29.60 -4th Place- -Chase McGuire-Vangills - 110m Hurdles 19.49 (PR) -Logan Fatura - 100m Dash 12.13 -4x100m Relay (Aubrie Adams, Lauren Davis, Lexi Smith, Belle Powers) 1:02.62 -4x200m Relay (Aubrie Adams, Lauren Davis, Lexi Smith, Matilde Pacifico) 2:05.31 -Lily Smith - 1600m Run 6:31.35 (PR) -5th Place- -4x200m Relay (Anthony Acosta, Alden Grondsma, Rolando Salgado, Michael Smith) 2:03.11 -Kaleb Brown - 200m Dash 24.57 -Belle Powers - High Jump 4’ 2” -6th Place- -Tyler Zimmer - 1600m Run 5:29.50 (PR) -Chase McGuire-Vangills - 300m Hurdles 48.05 -Lexi Smith - High Jump 4’ 0” -Lily Smith - 300m Hurdles 59.50 (PR) -Personal Record- -Sam Gaylard - Shot Put 29’ 10” and Discus 76’ 4” -Ben Roberson - 400m Dash 1:05.79 and 1600m Run 5:33.71 -Rolando Salgado - Discus 79’ 8” and 200m Dash 30.65 -Michael Smith - Long Jump 13’ 9.5 and 400m Dash 1:07.29 -Tyler Zimmer - 300m Hurdles 55.70 -Aubrie Adams - Long Jump 13’ 4.5”

The Make a Difference Award recognizes individuals who go above and beyond to enhance the educational opportunities of students with exceptional needs. This evening five individuals from Pentwater Public Schools were recipients of this award. Their dedication, energy and commitment in making each day a great day, is inspiring. Congratulations to the following; Andrea Gallie (high school general education teacher), Stella Bouye (7th grade), Amelia Barter (9th grade), Heidi Fleming (2nd grade teacher), and Tami Bonzheim (elementary special education teacher).

Are you looking for an fun summer opportunity for your 8-18 year old student? Harness the Wind - Learn to Sail! Pentwater school students are being offered one week of free sailing lessons in the junior sailing program (a 501c 3 nonprofit organization founded by Gene and Barb Davidson)!

Class of 2025 Senior Graduate Spotlight: Cody Haight is the son of Tiffany and Rusty Haight. Cody plans on attending West Shore Community College for his associates degree and then attending Ferris State University for his Bachelor of Applied Science in digital animation and game design programming.

Congratulations to all of the Pentwater Student Artist participants and winners from the recent Pentwater Arts Council K-12 Oceana County Schools Art Show! We had a record number of Pentwater winners this year! -Grace Powers: 2nd Place Elem. Art 2D -Evaliina Kainulainen: 3rd Place Elem Art 2D -Zander Sandel: 1st Place Elem Art 3D -Alexandra Hughart: 3rd Place Elem Art 3D -Waylon Grondsma: Elem 2D Art "People's Choice Award" -Chi Jeruzal: 2nd Place MS Art 2D -Xaria Davis: 3rd Place MS Art 2D -Izzy Kolenda: 1st Place MS Art 3D -Allie Fatura: 3rd Place MS Art 3D -Brianna Musil: "Best in Show! " MS Art -Jane Howard: 3rd Place HS Art 2D -Bodey L.awler: 3rd Place HS Art 3D -Belle Powers: HS 3D Art "People's Choice Award"

Class of 2025 Senior Graduate Spotlight: Elijah Cook is the son of Elizabeth Panza and Nathan Cook. Eli has been accepted to Northern Michigan University and he will be majoring in history. After earning his bachelor's degree, he will work toward earning his master's degree in war history and its repercussions at the University of Potsdam in Germany.

The Pentwater High School softball team showed determination and in a tough doubleheader against a strong Okemos squad. While they came up short in the first game, Lauren Davis sparked the offense with solid contact highlighted by a single between third and shortstop. On the defensive side, Charlie Swanger made a handful of clean putouts, while Aubrie Adams showed grit in the circle, striking out three over five innings. Pentwater 0 - Okemos 15. In the second game, Pentwater’s bats responded behind Karina Olivarez with two sharp singles, a clutch Charlie Swanger RBI into left field and a Mandi Sayles well-placed sacrifice fly to bring in another run. Despite their improvement and energy, Okemos’ powerful offense proved too much as Pentwater fell 12-2 in five innings.

Congratulations to our elementary students of the month for April 2025, pictured with Superintendent Barter and Assistant Principal Oleneack: Amelia Chandonnet (KG); Silas Collins (1st Grade); Keaton Bigsby (2nd Grade); Joleigh Oleneack (3rd Grade); Amelia Skinner (4th Grade); Elsa Vanderstelt (5th Grade); and, Andersen Oleneack (6th Grade)! Well done, Falcon learners!

Class of 2025 Senior Graduate Spotlight: Trey Johnson is the son of Sarrah Acuna and Richard Johnson. Trey plans to attend Western Michigan University to study exercise science to pursue a career as a physical therapist.

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