Plainwell Community Schools - Today's Learners Tomorrow's Leaders

♻️ Recycling Challenge Update ♻️ Thank you to the Trojan community for your support of the Recycling Challenge program! With your support, in the last three years we have collected enough plastic to receive seven new benches throughout the district - THANK YOU! We would like to share an update regarding the program, as there have been recent logistical changes. Beginning in May, the district will no longer serve as a drop-off location for plastic recycling. If you have plastic donations, they can be taken to other local sites for recycling.

We are excited to announce the Plainwell Middle School Students of the Week for March 9-13! We are proud of your hard work and dedication. Way to go, Trojans! - Abigail (8th Grade) - Austin (7th Grade) - Daniel (6th Grade) Throughout the year, we look forward to continuing to share our outstanding Middle School Students of the Week! Special thanks to our Student of the Week sponsors: Fly Inn, Barbed Wire Cafe, Culver’s and Taqueria San Francisco. We greatly appreciate your support of PCS and our students - Today’s Learners, Tomorrow’s Leaders!

‼️ Upcoming Field House Closure (3/13 & 3/14) ‼️ The Field House Pool and Walking Track will be closed on Friday, March 13 and Saturday, March 14. This closure includes lap swim, open swim, aqua aerobics and the walking track. We apologize for the inconvenience.

🍎 REMINDER - OUTSTANDING PEOPLE FOR EDUCATION NOMINATIONS DUE! 🍎 Do you know someone who has made a difference in our district? We are accepting nominations through Friday, March 13 for the 2026 Outstanding People for Education Award. 🍎 About Outstanding People for Education: The purpose of the Outstanding People for Education award is to honor and recognize people in public education who are excelling in their field and/or making an impact in the quality of education in Allegan County. 🍎 Examples of whom you might nominate: A teacher or classroom aide; an administrator, secretary or board of education member; a bus driver, custodian, food service or other school support staff; a social worker, therapist, or consultant; a volunteer or community member who supports education. 🍎 To submit a nomination for the 2026 Outstanding People for Education award, please scan the QR code or visit https://forms.gle/y8UX42khgQRbs7rXA by Friday, March 13.

Students in Mrs. Koenig’s CPR/First Aid class at PHS had a special opportunity with Jamie Landstra, a local paramedic with Plainwell EMS. Students had the opportunity to show the skills they had learned in class during a simulated medical scenario, with multiple victims requiring medical and trauma first aid treatment. It was a great learning experience, special thanks to Jamie and Plainwell EMS for sharing your knowledge with the Trojans!

🎟️ 2026 PHS MUSICAL TICKETS 🎟️ Tickets are still available for the 2026 PHS spring musical: "Hadestown". There are three showtimes at the Performing Arts Center: - Friday, March 27 at 7 PM - Saturday, March 28 at 7 PM - Sunday, March 29 at 2 PM Online tickets are available - to purchase, please visit plainwellschools.ludus.com.

Starr Elementary is proudly a Unified Champion School! The Unified Schools program, part of the Special Olympics, brings students together to play, lead and learn together. This year, the Rock Starr students have been collaborating with their Unified Champion peers on a basketball team. The goal isn't about winning games - it’s about making sure everyone has a friend, feeling proud of who they are and making their school a place where everyone belongs. 🏀 On Friday, they came together for a student vs. staff basketball game. The stands were filled with their teachers and classmates to cheer on the team, encouraging all involved to "choose to include." It was a wonderful experience for the Rock Starrs - in Unified, everyone wins!

Registration is open for our upcoming Spring Tae Kwon Do program. Join us to improve coordination, gain strength and increase your flexibility while learning self-defense techniques, taught by Mr. Mitch. Program is open to participants 7 and up and will run on Monday evenings through June 1 (excluding 4/6 and 5/25) from 5:30-7:00 PM. Practices will be held at Plainwell Middle School. Cost is $60 per individual or $85 per family. To register, please visit plainwellschools.org/page/youth-programs. GO TROJANS!

Congratulations to the Middle School Wrestling Team for their impressive victory in the conference tournament this past weekend, securing seven individual championships: 🏆 Julian Szatkowski 🏆 Braiden West 🏆 Kaleb Hileski 🏆 Boston Healey 🏆 Brady Kolenda 🏆 Jayden Kolenda 🏆 Noah Benson This marks the team's second consecutive championship! Fantastic work, Trojans - PLAINWELL PRIDE!

Congratulations to the Plainwell Bands for their stellar performances at MSBOA Band Festival! 🎼 Symphonic Band earned a 2nd division "Excellent" rating! 🎼 Wind Ensemble earned straight 1st division "Superior" ratings from all of the judges! Outstanding job, Trojans - PLAINWELL PRIDE! 📸 Courtesy of Tiffany Spidell

This Thursday 💛 Free Family Night at PCS! In partnership with Clayful, PCS invites you to a free family workshop. Join us on Thursday, March 12 for a FREE family workshop where parents, teens, and kids practice real skills together! We'll practice: ✨ Managing stress as a family ✨ Setting boundaries that connect, not divide ✨ Working through conflict together ✨ Saying "no" with confidence Hands-on activities. Real scenarios. Strategies you can use at home. 📅 Thursday, March 12 at 6:30-8:00 pm 📍 Plainwell High School Cafeteria 🍴 Free dinner, transportation & childcare included RSVP at clayful.co/plainwell

💙 Exciting Results from Ford Field! 💙 The MHSAA D2 Individual Wrestling State Finals wrapped up today, and PHS proudly has TWO STATE CHAMPIONS! Congratulations to the Nieuwenhuis siblings, Madison and Dylan, for becoming 2026 STATE CHAMPIONS! 🏆🏆🏆🏆 Madison Nieuwenhuis achieved victory in the 105-pound weight class, marking her FOURTH consecutive State Title! 🏆 Dylan Nieuwenhuis triumphed in the D2 113-pound State Final! All seven athletes who competed today earned All-State honors and showcased remarkable performances! Here are some additional highlights from the event: ➡️ Tyler Cooper - 113-pound State Runner-Up 
➡️ Avery Lynch - 3rd place 
➡️ Grady Erlandson - 4th place 
➡️ Evangeline Coutu - 6th place 
➡️ Austin Gyorkos - 8th place 🥉 The Plainwell Girls Wrestling team secured 3rd Place in the overall state team standings, regardless of division. Congratulations to these talented athletes for an outstanding day of competition and for representing PHS with TROJAN PRIDE!

🏆 Conference CHAMPS 🏆 Three-time District CHAMPS 🏆 6th in the STATE! The PHS Competitive Cheer team had an amazing competition today at CMU, marking their third consecutive appearance at the State Finals. Their season ended with an impressive 6th place finish in Division 2. What a remarkable season it has been for the Competitive Cheer team, guided by ten exceptional senior Trojans - 📣 PLAINWELL PRIDE! 📣

💙 News from Ford Field! 💙 After day 1 of competition at the MHSAA Individual Wrestling State Finals, we have some exciting updates from the Trojans! 🏆 In the D2 113 pound State Final, we have a guaranteed Plainwell State Champion as Dylan Nieuwenhuis and Tyler Cooper will face-off in the final match 🏆 In the 105 pound weight class, Madison Nieuwenhuis will wrestle for her Fourth Consecutive State Title 🤼‍♂️ Four Trojans will wrestle for placement: Evangeline Coutu, Avery Lynch, Grady Erlandson and Austin Gyorkos Matches start at 9:00 AM tomorrow, with the Finals beginning at 3:00 PM! Let’s show these athletes some 💙 and send them PLAINWELL PRIDE - GO TROJANS! Banners Courtesy of Ryan Lindsey Photography

🏆 DISTRICT CHAMPS 🏆 Congratulations to the Girls Basketball team who beat Three Rivers (53-40) for the Division 2 District 48 Championship! 🏀 GO TROJANS!!!! 🏀 Next up, they play on Monday (3/9) at Otsego High School at 7:00 PM to kick-off the first round of Regionals!

The PHS Cheer team's next stop...STATE FINALS! The Varsity Competitive Cheer team will be competing at Central Michigan University in their State Final competition tomorrow for the third consecutive year! Last night, they held a special send-off performance at PHS, where they also honored their seniors with a special mat signing. To end the event, the team had a youth cheer signing 💙 Trojans leading Trojans! 💙 From all of us at PCS, GOOD LUCK AND GO TROJANS! 📣💙📣

We were excited to welcome Ginny, alongside her handler Jean Freeman, to PCS this week! Ginny, a K9 service dog trained in both therapy and safety, has been exploring all of our buildings, getting acquainted with the district and the Trojan community. Together, Ginny and Jean have spent time with our School Resource Officer, Bob Farris, engaging with our students and staff while learning about the facilities. On the news! Both Ginny and Jean made an appearance on WWMT, you can catch the story at https://wwmt.com/news/local/plainwell-community-schools-zebra-k9-team-student-safety-ginny-labrador-retriever-emotional-support-education-community-allegan-county-west-michigan. For more information about this exciting new addition to Plainwell Community Schools, please visit plainwellschools.org/article/2721434.

📚 Reading Month is here! 📚 To help kick-off the month, Gilkey Elementary held a special assembly where they launched their One School, One Book initiative — “Dive Into Books!” This year, thanks to the support of the Gilkey Parents Club and funds raised during their Rock the Block fundraiser, every student at Gilkey received a book to read. Students in Kindergarten–2nd grade are reading Dolphins at Daybreak, while 3rd–5th graders are diving into Turtle in Paradise. 🥽 It is sure to be a great month for the Gilkey Geckos as they engage in memorable reading experiences all throughout March! 🦎

Join us this summer at Camp Invention for PCS K-6th grade students (based on grade level for 2026/27 school year). “Give your young innovator an inspiring action-packed summer adventure! Exciting, hands-on challenges will spark curiosity and build their confidence as they jump into limitless STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) fun with opportunities to imagine, experiment and create.” Camp will be held Monday-Friday from July 27-31 from 8:30 AM-3:00 PM at Gilkey Elementary School. Cost is $285/per student (enter FUN25 for $25 off until March 31). For more information or to begin the registration process, please visit plainwellschools.org/page/youth-programs. We look forward to a great summer at Camp Invention!

Pre-K students in Miss Annabelle and Miss Shelly’s GSRP classrooms at Starr wrapped up their weather study with a visit from meteorologist Collin Rogers from WWMT.