Gilkey Elementary -

EARTH DAY COOKIES & CONVERSATION: Our Food Service Director, Mr. Ritsema, had a fun food service promotion for Earth Day today. During school lunch at our three elementary buildings (Starr, Gilkey, Cooper), Mr. Ritsema joined the students for cookies and conversation to bring awareness about Earth Day. He talked about how students can help the environment by recycling and reusing at school. It was a great experience for all!

PHS Jazz Night Featuring Stratøs! After a few years, we are excited to welcome back the Annual Palinwell Jazz Night! Mark your calendar to join us next Tuesday, April 26 at the Plainwell Performing Arts Center at 7 PM! The Plainwell Jazz Night features the Middle School and High School Jazz bands PLUS an unbelievable guest artist - Stratøs! Our guest artist (pictured) is a WMU Grad with a handful of national awards under his belt in Jazz composition and performance! Outside of his many awards and accomplishments, he is a multiple instrumentalist, with experience on all saxophones, clarinet, flute and piano. We are extremely excited to feature him on many tunes that our jazz groups have been working on throughout this school year! This is a concert that you will not want to miss! A $5 dollar donation (if possible) is requested for each person that will be attending the concert. We hope to see you at the event next Tuesday! 📸 Photo courtesy of Photographer Landon Lacey

EARTH WEEK: Ms. Pierce’s 4th grade class from Gilkey Elementary enjoyed a walk in the Mory Ismond Environmental Lab today to celebrate Earth Week. They had fun looking for items on a Scavenger Hunt as well as taking time to do their part in keeping the Earth clean by picking up trash. They found enough to fill almost 12 bags - way to go Geckos!

PCS KINDERGARTEN: Our Kindergarten Round-up events were so much fun! We enjoyed meeting our incoming students and welcoming them to the Trojan community! Do you have a Kindergarten or Young Five Trojan that will be joining PCS for the 2022-23 school year? Enrollment is now open, please visit https://www.plainwellschools.org/page/kindergarten to learn more! We can't wait to welcome our new Kindergarten and Young Five students to PCS in the fall - GO TROJANS!

ALPIN HONG AT THE PAC: The Gilmore Piano Festival is presenting a Family Concert next Wednesday, April 20 at the Plainwell Performing Arts Center. Alpin Hong will be in concert “as he travels the multiverse of music through video games and films, as well as pop and classical music”. Tickets are available to purchase at https://www.thegilmore.org/event/alpin-hong-multiverse-plainwell/. We look forward to this amazing show at the PAC!

JOHN BALL ZOO VISITS GILKEY: The Gilkey Geckos had some special visitors as the John Ball Zoo stopped by several classrooms today. The Zoo’s educational team brought along several animals for an up-close encounter where students were able to meet and learn about each animal. It was an amazing and memorable learning experience for all! The Zoo will return tomorrow to share more with the Gilkey Geckos.

KINDERGARTEN ROUND-UP: Lots of fun was had at Cooper Elementary’s Kindergarten Round-up last night! If you were unable to attend, you can still join us for this special event to welcome the 2022-23 Kindergarteners to Plainwell Community Schools. Join us this evening (Thursday, April 14) at Starr Elementary for our Kindergarten Round-up (for children turning 5 years old prior to September 1, 2022). Students/ families can: Meet the staff, sign-up for academic screening, receive vision screenings (limited availability) and go on a "get to know your school" scavenger hunt. For more information and enrollment details, please visit https://www.plainwellschools.org/page/kindergarten.

PHS CHOIRS COLLAGE 2022: Mark your calendar to join us as Plainwell High School Choir presents "Collage 2022: A Senior Celebration" on Tuesday, May 3 at 7 PM. Join us for this free concert at the Plainwell Performing Arts Center featuring music from the PHS Choirs.

KINDERGARTEN ROUND-UP REMINDER: It was a great time at our first Kindergarten Round-up at Gilkey Elementary last night! If you were unable to attend, you still have two opportunities to join us for this special event to welcome the 2022-23 Kindergarteners to Plainwell Community Schools. Join us this evening (Wednesday, April 13) at Cooper Elementary or tomorrow (Thursday, April 14) at Starr Elementary for our Kindergarten Round-up (for children turning 5 years old prior to September 1, 2022). Students/ families can: Meet the staff, sign-up for academic screening, receive vision screenings (limited availability), enjoy bus rides and go on a "get to know your school" scavenger hunt. For more information and enrollment details, please visit https://www.plainwellschools.org/page/kindergarten.

SON DAY: Community Education is offering an evening of Sons and Magic for students K-6. Sons and their chaperones will be treated to a magic show with the very successful, funny and sly magician, Brian Penny. The themed photo booth, balloon artist, Scoop the Balloonatic and tricks and treats throughout the event are sure to create what sons will remember as their special day! The cost is $20 per couple ($10 for each additional child). To join us for this special event at the PAC, please register by visiting https://plainwell.revtrak.net/Community-Ed-Rec/.

KINDERGARTEN ROUND-UP: Join us next week for a special event to welcome the 2022-23 Kindergarteners to Plainwell Community Schools at our Kindergarten Round-up (for children turning 5 years old prior to September 1, 2022). Students/ families can: Meet the staff, sign-up for academic screening, receive vision screenings (limited availability), enjoy bus rides and go on a "get to know your school" scavenger hunt. Three dates available from 4:30-6 PM: Tuesday, April 12 at Gilkey, Wednesday, April 13 at Cooper and Thursday, April 14 at Starr. For more information and enrollment details, please visit https://www.plainwellschools.org/page/kindergarten.

GILKEY READING ASSEMBLY: The excitement for reading at Gilkey is contagious! During the month of March, their school participated in One School, One Book by reading The Lemonade War. They started the month by having a Zoom assembly and introducing their schoolwide book. During the month, the classes earned "lemons" by reading. Yesterday, they held their Lemonade War Champions Assembly. The winning classes that earned the most "lemons" in their classroom pitchers had the opportunity to pie some staff members in the face. What a great way to celebrate their reading efforts and have some fun prior to Spring Break! Way to go, Geckos!

IT’S SPRING BREAK! As a reminder, there is no school from Friday, April 1-Friday, April 8 for Spring Break. We wish our students, staff and families a wonderful break filled with relaxation and happy memories! Have a great break and Go Trojans!

GIRLS BASKETBALL SKILLS CAMP: This past weekend, we wrapped up the Girls Basketball Skills Camp for 1st-8th grade girls. It was a great camp hosted by the PHS Coaching Staff and players. What a great opportunity for our young Trojans to learn all about the game of basketball.

CINDERELLA BEGINS TONIGHT: We are just a few hours away from opening night at the 2022 PHS Spring Musical “Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella". The cast and crew have done an outstanding job preparing for the show and we can’t wait to see them live on stage beginning this evening! Tickets are still available to join us for this outstanding show from Plainwell High School. There are three showtimes available this weekend at the Performing Arts Center: - Friday, March 25 at 7 PM - Saturday, March 26 at 7 PM - Sunday, March 27 at 2 PM Tickets are available online by visiting plainwellschools.ludus.com ($12 balcony / $15 lower level). Limited tickets will be available at the door; however, we strongly encourage purchasing your tickets ahead of time to avoid the line. Thank you in advance for your support of the 2022 Spring Musical - we look forward to this amazing show from PHS!

MORE FUN FOR READING MONTH: Mr. Montange, PCS Superintendent, joined in the reading fun while visiting Mrs. Funk’s Kindergarten class at Gilkey Elementary as guest reader today! The students loved his Grover story, but most importantly they loved how he used a Grover voice while reading it! Reading month is so much fun!

SPRING MUSICAL BEGINS TOMORROW 🎼: Will Cinderella find her Prince Charming? It’s nearly midnight, have you purchased your tickets to the 2022 PHS Spring Musical “Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella"? Join us for this outstanding show from Plainwell High School, which begins TOMORROW! There are three showtimes available this weekend at the Performing Arts Center: - Friday, March 25 at 7 PM - Saturday, March 26 at 7 PM - Sunday, March 27 at 2 PM PURCHASE YOUR TICKETS TODAY! Tickets are available online by visiting plainwellschools.ludus.com ($12 balcony / $15 lower level). Limited tickets will be available at the door on show days; however, we strongly encourage purchasing your tickets ahead of time to avoid the line. Thank you in advance for your support of the 2022 Spring Musical - we look forward to this amazing show from PHS!

GECKO GUEST READER: Mrs. Pierce’s class at Gilkey Elementary had a special visitor this week. Plainwell High School NHS member, Kallie Arlington, visited the students as a guest reader. Reading Month is so much fun! 🦎

SPRING MUSICAL 🎶: It’s nearly midnight, have you purchased your tickets to the 2022 PHS Spring Musical “Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella"? Join us for this outstanding show from Plainwell High School, which begins on Friday. There are three showtimes available at the Performing Arts Center: - Friday, March 25 at 7 PM - Saturday, March 26 at 7 PM - Sunday, March 27 at 2 PM PURCHASE YOUR TICKETS TODAY! Tickets are available online by visiting plainwellschools.ludus.com ($12 balcony / $15 lower level). If you would prefer to purchase tickets in person, the Box Office at the Performing Arts Center will be open from 5-8 PM on Thursday, March 24 for ticket sales. Please note that limited tickets will be available at the door on show days, but we strongly encourage purchasing your tickets ahead of time to avoid the line. Thank you in advance for your support of the 2022 Spring Musical - we look forward to this amazing show from PHS!

"IMPOSSIBLE THINGS ARE HAPPENING EVERY DAY" - IT'S MUSICAL WEEK! The cast and crew have been working hard to put the final touches on the 2022 PHS Spring Musical “Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella", which begins this week! Join us for this outstanding show from Plainwell High School. There are three showtimes available at the Performing Arts Center: - Friday, March 25 at 7 PM - Saturday, March 26 at 7 PM - Sunday, March 27 at 2 PM PURCHASE YOUR TICKETS TODAY! Tickets are available online by visiting plainwellschools.ludus.com ($12 balcony / $15 lower level). If you would prefer to purchase tickets in person, the Box Office at the Performing Arts Center will be open from 5-8 PM on Thursday, March 24 for ticket sales. Please note that limited tickets will be available at the door on show days, but we strongly encourage purchasing your tickets ahead of time to avoid the line. Thank you in advance for your support of the 2022 Spring Musical - we look forward to this amazing show from PHS!