We are excited to welcome the PCS students back to school tomorrow (Monday, August 31) for a half day. We look forward to seeing the Trojans back in the buildings to begin a great 2026/27 school year which will be filled with lots of growth for Today’s Learners and Tomorrow’s Leaders! PCS Families - please check your email from 8/28 for additional back to school information and reminders. GO TROJANS! Half Day Dismissal Times 📚 PHS - 10:45 AM ✏️ PMS - 10:45 AM 📖 RHS - 11:30 AM 🦎 Gilkey - 11:45 AM 🐨 Cooper - 11:50 AM ⭐️ Starr - 11:55 AM

🎨 Calling All Rock Detectives! 🕵️‍♀️🪨 Be on the lookout for some seriously rockin’ works of art! Our amazing Lifelong Learners have painted rocks to welcome back our K–5 students on August 31. 🎉 The rocks will be cleverly hidden on all three elementary playgrounds. 👀 Your mission: Find them! So sharpen those detective skills, grab your crew, and let the Great Rock Hunt begin! 🪨🔎✨ Happy hunting—and remember… leave the rocks for the next person to find.😉

We are just a couple days away from the upcoming school year and Plainwell High School, along with its remarkable students and dedicated staff, already has plenty to celebrate! Be sure to read this MLive article that showcases the recent rankings of Plainwell High School, where it has been recognized as one of the top 100 schools in the state, according to U.S. News and World Report! Additionally, PHS proudly ranks among the top 5 schools in the Kalamazoo area. These are truly exceptional accomplishments for the Trojans and we look forward to the upcoming school year where we will see all the Trojans continue to accomplish - PLAINWELL PRIDE!  https://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/2026/08/5-kalamazoo-area-high-schools-rank-among-michigans-top-100-us-news-report-says.html?outputType=amp

Plainwell Varsity Football kicked off their season at home tonight with a 32-18 win over Dowagiac. It was a great night at Streidl Field filled with PLAINWELL PRIDE!

The Girls Golf season is underway and they are off to a great start. Highlights from their first competitions include: ⛳ At the Shamrock Invitational, they placed 2nd out of 17 teams with a team score of 342. Great performances were had by the entire team! Two players placed in the top ten individually: Ayla Jaeger shot a 76 for 3rd place and Emma Rayman shot an 84 for 5th place. ⛳ At the Gull Lake Invitational held at Bedford Valley, they had a team score of 362 and took 4th place out of 19 teams - five strokes out of third place and behind two D1 teams! Ayla Jaeger scored a 76 to place 4th out of the 97 golfers. ⛳ On Monday, the first conference jamboree was hosted by Paw Paw and held at Lake Cora. Plainwell finished in 1st with a 172, edging out 2nd place Otsego by 9 strokes. The team had six golfers finish in the top 14 and four players finish in the top ten: 1st place was Ayla Jaeger with an even par 37, tied for 3rd place was Sam LaBonte with a 42, in 5th place was Avery Powell 43, and Katherine Jepsen came in 10th with a 50! Congratulations to these Trojans for a great start to the season - PLAINWELL PRIDE!

Their parking spots are painted and now we just await the arrival of our Class of 2027 students for the first day of school on Monday, August 31 (half day). It is a fun tradition at PHS for our senior students to paint their parking spots each year as a way to express their creativity as they begin their last year of high school.  We can’t wait to welcome our Class of 2027, along with all our students, back to school on Monday to begin a great year at PCS!

Get your Trojan gear ready, because the season opener for the Varsity Football team is TONIGHT (Friday, August 28) against Dowagiac! Kickoff is at 7:00 PM at Streidl Field. The football team has been putting in a tremendous effort to prepare for the season! During a recent practice, they received some extra support when Superintendent Montange joined them as a guest coach! Get ready to show your PLAINWELL PRIDE - GO TROJANS! For additional upcoming fall sports schedules, please visit https://websites.eventlink.com/s/phstrojans.

We are just one week away from welcoming the Trojans back to school on Monday, August 31. As students return to classrooms, they will be greeted by some new faces among the teaching staff. We are thrilled to introduce the new teachers joining PCS in 2026! Each of them is excited to meet their students and become a part of our school community. Let’s extend a warm welcome and some TROJAN PRIDE as they arrive at PCS!

Registration is open for our upcoming Fall Tae Kwon Do program. Join us to improve coordination, gain strength and increase your flexibility while learning self-defense techniques, taught by Mr. Mitch. Tae Kwon Do is open to participants 7 and up. Program will run on Monday evenings from August 31-November 26 from 5:30-7:00 PM at the Middle School Cafeteria. Cost is $60 per individual or $85 per family. To register, please scan the QR code or visit https://www.plainwellschools.org/page/youth-programs.

Our summer food service program wrapped up last week and we are excited to share that our Food Service team, consisting of 10 dedicated staff members and 8 volunteer students/alumni, served an impressive 47,736 free meals to the Trojan Community this summer! From food prep, to distributing bags, to warmly welcoming and serving families during breakfast and lunch, our food service team truly made a remarkable difference in the lives of many community members throughout summer. We are grateful to our staff and the numerous volunteers who helped ensure this program ran smoothly each week, you all played an important role, and we genuinely appreciate your contributions! PLAINWELL PRIDE!

We are excited to announce that Mr. Theodore Simonelli has been appointed as the new principal at Starr Elementary. Originally from West Michigan, Mr. Simonelli returns to the area with a wealth of experience as both a teacher and school counselor, having worked in Honolulu, Tulsa, and Chicago. His extensive background includes serving students at various grade levels and collaborating closely with families, teachers, and school teams. Mr. Simonelli joins PCS, along with his school therapy dog, Coco. Students, staff and families can look forward to seeing Coco at Starr throughout the school year, where she will work alongside Mr. Simonelli in supporting the Rock Starr students! As principal, Mr. Simonelli's mission is clear: to provide strong instruction, establish clear expectations, ensure consistent support for students, and maintain open communication with families. Starr families can look forward to direct communications from Mr. Simonelli, which will include opportunities to meet him in person. Congratulations to Mr. Simonelli, and welcome to PCS!

You're Invited to the Plainwell Community Tailgate! Plainwell Community Schools invites families, community members, sports teams, student clubs, local businesses, community organizations, vendors, and other groups to join us for our annual Community Tailgate on Friday, September 18, from 5:00-7:00 PM. Come enjoy an evening of community connection featuring food trucks, activities, games, and family fun for all ages! This is a free event to enter. Want to be part of the event? We welcome groups that would like to set up a tent, table, or gathering space to showcase their organization, promote activities, connect with families, or simply participate in the celebration. Reserve Your Tailgate Spot: If your team, club, business, organization, or group would like to host a tent or table, please scan the QR code or complete the following sign-up form so the organizers can plan accordingly: https://forms.gle/RrvH2zpm2DCegn8SA.

The PHS Champions program kicked off this week! This two-week initiative welcomes incoming freshmen, aiming to give students a preview of High School. The program focuses on engaging students in essential academic content, connecting them to other students through team-building activities, and assists them with the transition into their new school environment. The Champions program has been successfully running for over a decade, and each year, survey results show that students feel more confident, develop stronger connections with peers and adults at the high school, and find the experience beneficial in preparing them for success in high school.

We are getting ready to begin another great year of learning and growing at Plainwell Community Schools. We look forward to welcoming our students back as we kick off the 2026/27 school year on Monday, August 31 (half day). Here are some upcoming important back to school dates. For more back to school information, please scan the QR code or visit plainwellschools.org/page/back-to-school. We can’t wait to see you soon, Trojans!

Community Action of Allegan County currently has three job opportunities available for their classrooms at Starr Elementary.  ➡️ Head Start Teacher ➡️ Head Start Teaching Assistant  ➡️ Head Start Bus Assistant  Learn more about these opportunities by scanning the QR code! 

Thank you to the Plainwell Community for your support of the 2026 Non-Homestead Operating Millage renewal! With this approval, the district will continue to receive the full per-pupil funding levels established by the State of Michigan which powers everyday operations. We greatly appreciate your support in providing consistent funding for teachers, curriculum, transportation, special education, and extracurriculars at PCS!

See you at the polls TODAY (8/4) for the 2026 Non-Homestead Operating Millage vote! Please take a moment to share a reminder with your friends and neighbors - this renewal affects all of us, even if it won’t affect your primary residence taxes.

EXTENDED THIS YEAR! We are excited to share that the Michigan School Meals program was signed into law, allowing all public school students, Pre-K through 12th grade, to eat breakfast and lunch FREE for the 2026/27 school year! Although this is free for all students, we highly encourage all families to complete the Education Benefits Form (EBF). For more information or to apply, please visit https://www.plainwellschools.org/page/food-program-details.

We are just a day away from the 2026 Non-Homestead Operating Millage vote on August 4, 2026. Take a moment to review this information and share the word with your friends and neighbors - this renewal affects all of us, even if it won’t affect your primary residence taxes.

Upcoming Field House Closure! The Field House and Pool will be closed from August 3-7 for deep cleaning and floor refinishing. We look forward to seeing everyone back at the FIeld House the week of August 10.