What's new

Zeeland Public Schools has an exceptional volunteer program called BRIDGE.  We encourage you to BE A BRIDGE VOLUNTEER!    Download your volunteer form  HERE. 

Parents, be sure to download these helpful items 

• A 1-page calendar of the school year HERE
• Download a 1-page calendar of ALL-DAY, ALTERNATE-DAY KINDERGARTEN HERE
• Download the Innocademy calendar HERE
• Download the fall Spotlight on Schools newsletter for HANDY INFO
  
• New to the district?  Download forms HERE.
• Your child may be entitled to reduced or free school lunches. Download the form HERE.

Athletes: stay cool during summer practices.   CLICK HERE to read advice from the Michigan High School Athletic Association.

Character meeting, team session planned

AUGUST 25--ZEELAND EAST is hosting a meeting for incoming freshman parents, athletes and first-time athletes  at 6 p.m. in DeWitt Auditorium.  This will be followed by the CHAMPIONS OF CHARACTER PROGRAM at 7 p.m. Parents will meet in DeWitt Auditorium, athletes will meet in the cafeteria. Afterwards, athletes will join parents in the auditorium for general information.  From 8:15 p.m. to 9 p.m., athletes and parents will break out to individual team meetings with coaches. For details, call the Zeeland East athletic office at 748-3122.
 

The Zee Bus travel season ends after the final neighborhood stop Thursday, August 6. This has been the busiest summer yet for the Zee Bus. Use of the rolling library has nearly doubled from last year and 100 learning packets for preschoolers were handed out. 

To celebrate another summer of reading, the Zee Bus organizers are putting on a picnic Friday, August 7, 12 p.m., at Roosevelt Elementary School.  There will be a free hot dog lunch as well as a free book and a prize for each child attending.   See you there!

For more details, contact Mary Beth Timmer at 748-4503.

By unanimous vote, Carol Slagh was named president of the Zeeland Board of Education for 2009-2010.  The vote came during the Board's organizational meeting for the new year July 20  in the central administration office conference room.

This will mark Slagh's second time in the president's chair, having served in that position during the 2004-05 school year. She served as vice president for three years:  2003-04, 2007-08, and 2008-09; and secretary for two years: 2005-06 and 2006-07.

Slagh was appointed to the Board in February 2001 to fill a vacancy. She was elected by the general public in 2003 and was re-elected in 2007. 

Here is the remaining slate of office holders for the new school year: 
Tom Den Herder, vice president
Marc Clevenger, secretary
Rick Dernberger, treasurer.

CLICK HERE to read more, including school board meeting schedule.
 

        A handy cloth bag including a book, reading tips, and magnetic letters to practice spelling await preschoolers boarding the Zee Bus this summer.
       "Research shows that preschoolers benefit from early exposure to books and reading," Zee Bus organizer Mary Beth Timmer said.  "We want to make a visit to the Zee Bus worthwhile for our preschoolers and their parents."
        One of the most helpful items in the bag is a tabbed brochure suggesting ways for parents to interest their preschoolers in reading.
The Zee Bus traveling library makes 16 stops throughout the 94-square-mile school district Mondays through Thursdays. DOWNLOAD THE ZEE BUS SCHEDULE HERE. 

The program ends August 7 with a noon-time party and picnic at Roosevelt Elementary School.  For more details, contact Mary Beth Timmer, community involvement coordinator, at 748-4503.

With school funding in question because of the economy, the work of the Zeeland Public Schools Education Foundation (ZPSEF) takes on added importance.  This fall, 15 teachers and their students at eight Zeeland schools will benefit from $11,302.30 in foundation grants approved for classroom projects.  Grants funded range from a geocaching adventure for elementary students to fraction tower equivalency cubes at the middle school level to a shaken baby simulator at the high school level.  All grants are paid for with private donations to the foundation.

CLICK HERE TO MEET THE MEMBERS OF THE GRANT REVIEW COMMITTEE

“More than 30 staff members requested funds for a huge variety of projects,” Mary Beth Timmer, community involvement coordinator for Zeeland Public Schools reported.  “This spring, the review committee approved 15 of the project. Grants will help teachers expand the basic curriculum and give our students experiences they would not have had otherwise.”

Below is a summary of the grants approved for the upcoming school year.  The list includes the name of the teacher submitting the request, the project funded, the dollar amount, and the school where the grant money will be used.

If you are new to the district and wish to enroll your child for 2010-2011, we encourage you to download the necessary forms on our ENROLLMENT PAGE.   Questions? Call Zeeland Public Schools at 616-748-3000.  Thank you.

CLICK HERE to download a handy, one-page calendar of the 2010-2011 school year.

Organizers of the sixth annual Zee Bus tour are hoping to see a lot of preschoolers climb aboard the book bus this summer.

"Reading at the preschool level is so beneficial," Zee Bus organizer Mary Beth Timmer said. "We are encouraging parents and youngsters to climb on board. In fact, we have a free book and a packet of information especially for preschoolers."

Sixteen stops have been scheduled Mondays through Thursdays until August 6.  Then, a party for all the readers happens August 7, 12 noon, at Roosevelt Elementary.  Last summer, more than 700 children enjoyed the bus, which is open to all students in the 94-square-mile district, regardless of which school they attend.  Home schoolers are also welcome. CLICK ON THE SCHEDULE ABOVE TO DOWNLOAD A PDF FILE.

For details, contact Mary Beth Timmer at 748-4503.