Cooper Elementary -

The Cooper Elementary second grade students had a special presentation earlier this week from KC Orthodontics. They learned about dental hygiene and the importance of proper brushing and flossing. Special thanks to KC Orthodontics for presenting to the Cooper Koalas!

Due to ice and difficult travel conditions, Plainwell Community Schools is closed today (Thursday, February 6). The SAFE and ECEC programs will open at 7:30 AM. All afternoon and evening activities, including Middle School Conferences will be held as originally planned unless otherwise communicated by the district later today. We wish our students, staff and families a safe snow day! Have a great day and GO TROJANS!

We are happy to share our 2025/26 Plainwell Preschool information with you! Plainwell Preschool offers a variety of preschool sessions to meet your needs by focusing on developmental skills and school readiness for 3-5 year old children. For more information, please visit plainwellschools.org/page/plainwell-preschool. If you have any questions or if you would like more information, please contact Katie Nyberg at (269) 685-3103 or katie.nyberg@plainwellschools.org.

Plainwell Community Schools welcomes the use of school facilities by the community for purposes directly related to the educational, civic, cultural, recreational, and social life of the community. To request the use of facilities at PCS, organizations must complete an online application at least 14 days in advance. NEW RATES (2/4/25)! For updated rental facilities information, pricing or to request the use of facilities, please visit plainwellschools.org/page/facility-rental. Please note that rentals booked prior to 2/4/25 will be charged the previous contracted rates. For bookings on or after 2/4/25, please refer to the new rates.

Two teams from the Plainwell Robotics Club competed in tournaments on Saturday, February 1. Highlights from the competitions include: Middle School Team Error 404:Team Name Not Found (pictured) traveled to Bellaire for the 27-team event there. They finished the six qualifying matches in 15th place, were invited to join the 8th place alliance, and lost in the quarterfinals to the tournament champions. The team members are Ava, Anne. Mason and Lucas. Their coaches are Marcus Anderson and TJ Wilkinson. Meanwhile, The Gooder Gadgets, from Cooper Elementary School, visited Charlotte for their 40-team tournament. Team members are Harper, Kinzlee and Zander. The team is coached by Kate Bates and Matt Bates. They finished in 38th place after the qualifiers.

The 2025 Daughter Dance is this Saturday, February 8 - bypass the registration line at the event and register today by visiting plainwellschools.org/page/youth-programs (cash and check only accepted at the door). Join us for an evening of fun for PCS K-6th grade daughters. Event will be held at Plainwell M​iddle School from 6:00-8:00 PM (doors open at 5:30 PM for pictures only) and includes a formal digital photo, DJ, selfie station, refreshments, raffle and a flower. NEW THIS YEAR! Formal photos will be digital this year! Photos will be uploaded to a shared digital file and families will download and print their photos from there. We look forward to a wonderful evening at the 2025 Daughter Dance!

PCS KINDERGARTEN/YOUNG 5 ENROLLMENT IS NOW OPEN! We are excited to welcome the newest Trojans to Plainwell Community Schools next fall for the 2025/26 school year! For more information about Kindergarten and the Young 5 program at PCS or to begin the enrollment process, please visit: plainwellschools.org/page/kindergarten.

It was another great weekend for Plainwell Robotics. Check out these highlights from the PRC teams that competed. Four middle school teams competed in a 33 team event at the Grandville Competition Center. 👏 Team Tech Titans (pictured Liam, AJ, Logan and Isaac) placed 2nd after the qualifying matches and captained the 2nd place alliance in the final rounds. They lost their semi-final match. The team is coached by Brooke Billheimer and Matt Billheimer. 👏 Team Gear Gremlins (pictured Alyssa, Mia and Aubrey) placed 6th after the qualifying rounds, captained the 5th place alliance, and lost in the semifinals. The team was presented with the Innovate Award which recognizes an effective and well-documented design process for a novel aspect of the team’s robot design or gameplay strategy. The team is coached by Julie Williams and Matt Warren. 👏 Team Roll For Initiative (Elliott, Mason and Mason) placed 18th after the qualifying rounds, captained the 11th place alliance and lost in the round of 16. They are coached by Joe Potts. 👏 Team Error 404: Team name Not Found (Ava, Mason, Lucas and Anne) placed 20th after the qualifiers, were invited to join the 8th place alliance and lost in the quarterfinals. They are coached by Marcus Anderson and TJ Wilkinson. Two elementary school teams also competed in the 40 team event in Hudsonville. 👏 Team Koala Bots from Cooper Elementary (pictured Pearl, Aiden and Addie) placed 13th after the qualifying rounds and finished in 5h place in the final round. They were presented with the Build Award which recognizes a well-constructed robot that is built with a high degree of attention to detail in order to hold up to the rigors of competition. The award also earned them an invitation to the VEX IQ State Championship to be held in Monroe, Michigan in March. The Koala Bots are coached by John Morse, Adam Cornelius, and Craig Davies. 👏 The Hallow Knights from Gilkey Elementary (Ezekiel, Penelope, Madilyn and Charles) placed 31st after the qualifiers. The Hallow Knights are coached by Angalena Carruthers-Makarewich and Jamie Raulston. High School results: 👏 High School team Siege (Walker, Owen and Isaiah) competed in the Kalahari Classic Signature Event in Sandusky, Ohio. The event hosted 168 high school teams from across the country. Team Siege finished in 25th place in their 86 team division. They are coached by Matt Clippinger and Jason Ferris.

Two weeks until the 2025 Daughter Dance! Join us on Saturday, February 8 for an evening of fun for PCS K-6th grade daughters. Event will be held at Plainwell Middle School from 6:00-8:00 PM (doors open at 5:30 PM for pictures only) and includes a formal digital photo, DJ, selfie station, refreshments, raffle and a flower. Cost is $30 per couple ($10 each additional daughter). Bypass the registration line at the event and register today by visiting plainwellschools.org/page/youth-programs (cash and check only accepted at the door).

As we continue to monitor the weather and travel conditions, we wanted to provide an update on PCS afternoon/evening activities for today (Wednesday, January 22). All practices and activities are canceled, unless otherwise communicated by your student’s coach. Stay safe, have a great day and GO TROJANS!

Due to ongoing winter weather, extremely cold temperatures and difficult travel conditions, Plainwell Community Schools is closed tomorrow (Wednesday, January 22). This closure includes the SAFE and ECEC programs. We wish our students, staff and families a safe snow day!

The Plainwell Robotics Club held its 2nd Annual VEX IQ Tournament last weekend. Nineteen elementary school teams from across Michigan participated. Highlights from PCS students include: - Team Gear Slayerz, from Cooper Elementary (pictured), placed 5th after the qualifying rounds and earned the Teamwork 2nd Place Award in the finals. They also were presented with the Innovate Award, which recognizes an effective and well documented design process for a novel aspect of the team’s robot design or gameplay strategy. The team members are Alex, Carter, Noah and Aiden. The team is coached by Bryan Gruizenga and Justin Palme. - Cooper team The Gooder Gadgets, Harper, Zander and Kinzlee (pictured), placed 11th after the qualifying matches and finished in a six-way tie for 3rd place in the finals. The team was presented with the Create Award, which recognizes a creative engineering design solution to one or more of the challenges of the competition. They are coached by Kate Bates and Matt Bates. - Team Girls With Gears, from Starr Elementary, placed 12th after the qualifying matches and were included in the six-way tie for 3rd place in the finals. They were presented with the Energy Award, which recognizes outstanding enthusiasm and excitement at the event. The team members are Bridgett, Riley, Lula and Eleanor. They are coached by Sarah Orr and Nicole Moore. - The Hollow Knights, from Gilkey Elementary, placed 14th after the qualifying round. Team members are Ezekiel, Penelope, Madilyn and Charles. The team is coached by Angalena Carruthers-Makarewich and Jamie Raulston. - The Banana Penguins, from Starr Elementary, placed 15th after the qualifying matches and were also involved in the 3rd place tie. Team members are Bradley, Emmett and Brock. They are coached by Jeff Cabello and Christie Hansen. - Team Koala Bots, from Cooper Elementary, placed 18th after the qualifying round and shared the third place finish. Team members are Adelyn, Aiden, Grayson and Pearl. The team is coached by John Morse, Craig Davies and Adam Cornelius. - Meanwhile, two PRC high school teams were competing at a 32-team event in Hudsonville. Team Ring Kong (Lucas, Blaine, Luca and Parker) placed 26th after the qualifiers, were invited to join the 13th place alliance, and lost in the round of 16. The team was present with the Amaze Award, which recognizes a consistently high-performing and competitive robot. They are coached by Sarah Orr and Curtis Orr. - Team Brotherhood of Steel (Hunter and Kevin) finished the qualifying rounds in 16th place. They were invited to join the 9th place alliance, and lost in the round of 16. The team is coached by Charles Crouch.

As we continue to monitor the weather and travel conditions, we wanted to provide an update on PCS afternoon/evening activities for today (Tuesday, January 21). All practices and activities are canceled for today. In addition, the Field House and Pool are closed.

Due to winter weather and freezing temperatures, Plainwell Community Schools is closed tomorrow (Tuesday, January 21). This closure includes the SAFE and ECEC programs. We wish our students, staff and families a safe snow day!

As a reminder, there is no school on Monday, January 20. We look forward to welcoming our students back to school on Tuesday, January 21. Have a great weekend - GO TROJANS!

Registration is still open for the 2025 Daughter Dance! Join us on Saturday, February 8 for an evening of fun for PCS K-6th grade daughters. Event will be held at Plainwell MIddle School from 6:00-8:00 PM (doors open at 5:30 PM for pictures only) and includes a formal digital photo, DJ, selfie station, refreshments, raffle and a flower. Cost is $30 per couple ($10 each additional daughter). Bypass the registration line at the event and register today by visiting plainwellschools.org/page/youth-programs (cash and check only accepted at the door).

Due to snow and winter weather, our secondary (Middle and High School) students will be dismissed at 1:30 PM today (Tuesday, January 14). This will allow our bus routes to have additional time to complete the secondary route before picking up elementary students. For students that have parent pick-up, the building will remain open until students are picked-up. Please note, the PHS PM Tech Center students will not report this afternoon. In addition, all evening activities scheduled for today will be canceled.

Registration is still open for our upcoming Love and Logic Parenting Class! The class is available to any PCS family (present or future) on Saturday, February 15 from 8:00 AM-12:00 PM at the Plainwell Performing Arts Center. Cost is $10 (per workbook). Registration closes on January 31, register today by visiting plainwellschools.org/page/youth-programs. Please note that childcare is not provided during the event.

Dinner on Tuesday and Wednesday = ✔️ - join us for two upcoming Dine to Donate fundraisers: - Tuesday, January 14 at Jersey Giant from 4:00-8:00 PM to support the Class of 2025 Grad Bash (please mention Grad Bash when you order) - Wednesday, January 15 at BC Pizza from 5:00-8:00 PM to support the Cooper Elementary Parent Club (please mention Cooper Elementary Parent Club when you order)

We are excited to share that the Field House Walking Track will be available beginning Monday, January 13! The Community will have access to the track from 6:30-8:30 AM and 12:30-2:00 PM. When entering the FIeld House, please use the sign-in sheet before entering the track. Please note that these times are subject to change. GO TROJANS!