Our stars are shining:

The Class of 2010's top ten academic achievers of Zeeland West and Zeeland East were recognized at luncheons in their honor May 27 and May 28.  The annual event is hosted and sponsored by Huntington Bank.  We congratulate the following students and their families for a job well done. 

Zeeland West High School Top Ten, honored May 27 (actually, there are 11 because of a tie in grade point averages):

• Parker Bussies, valedictorian, 4.093 grade point average; son of Glenn and Lisa Bussies; plans to major in premedicine and chemistry at Hope College.
• Amber Kuipers, salutatorian, 4.07 grade point average; daughter of Mike and Renee Kuipers; plans to attend Grand Valley State University.
• Elise Walker, 4.05 grade point average;  daughter of Trent and Lyn Walker; plans to major in psychology at Colorado Christian University.
• Kamryn Shaw, 4.04 grade point average;  daughter of David and Linda Shaw; plans to attend Central Michigan University.
• Madison Werley, 4.04 grade point average; daughter of Mark and Lisa Werley; plans to study graphic design at Hope College.
• Jake Lemmen, 4.03 grade point average;  son of Howard Lemmen and Jill Cooper; plans to attend Western Michigan University.
• Katherine Baker, 4.02 grade point average; daughter of Richard and Kim Baker; plans to begin study in medicine at Grand Valley State University.
• Kelsey Brandsen, 4.02 grade point average; daughter of Paul and Karen Brandsen; plans to study prepharmacy at Ferris State University.
• Kristin Gentzler, 4.01 grade point average; daughter of Ken and Renee Gentzler; plans to study nursing at Bethel College.
• Andrew Lewis, 4.01 grade point average; son of Mark and Karin Lewis; plans to study engineering at Michigan Technological University.
• Aaron Thimm, 4.01 grade point average; son of Dennis and Sheryl Thimm; plans to attend Aquinas College.

Zeeland East High School Top Ten, honored May 28:

• Jacob Lampen, valedictorian, 4.16 grade point average; son of Ronald and Nancy Lampen; plans to attend Calvin College and major in mechanical engineering and possibly physics.
• Ann Duong, salutatorian 4.1554 grade point average; daughter of Phuong Duong and Anna Cong; plans to major in public health and international development at the University of Michigan.
• Olivia Marshall, 4.1371 grade point average; daughter of Kenneth and Debra Marshall; plans to major in engineering at the University of Michigan.
• Cassie Westrate, 4.0937 grade point average;  daughter of Ron and Rhonda Westrate; plans to attend Calvin College.
• Ellen Reilly, 4.0914 grade point average; daughter of Michael and Lisa Reilly; plans to study math and science at the University of Michigan.
• Rachel Szucs, 4.0846 grade point average; daughter of Steve and Becky Szucs; plans to study nursing at Ferris State University.
• Cassie Lampen, 4.0777 grade point average; daughter of David and Lori Lampen; plans to major in cross-cultural studies and religion at Kuyper
• Ashley Blauwkamp, 40686 grade point average; daughter of Kevin and Kim Blauwkamp; plans to study communications at Hope College.
  
• Hannah VanDerHulst, 4.0663 grade point average; daughter of Dan and Beth VanDerHulst; plans to major in art and business at Aquinas College.
• Norma Ramirez, 4.0549 grade point average; daughter of Carlos and Maria Ramirez; plans to study psychology.

 "We screamed, we jumped, we hugged, we cried, and we ran ran all trhe way to the stage to pick up some pretty significant hardware," reported Destination Imagination team coach Jodi Owczarski.   And well they should.

The girls and coaches of Quincy Elementary's Destination Imagination (DI) team had just learned they captured second place in the "You're Gonna Flip!" challenge during the global finals in Knoxville, Tennessee  Saturday, May 29.  Along the way to that prestigious win, the local team earned a first place in the central challenge portion for their moving, dramatic portrayal set in Nazi Germany.

"The messages they taught about the dangers of discrimination were extraordinarily clear," Owczarski said. "The judges at each level of the competition were blown away by the maturity of these 10- and 11-year-old girls." 

When the scores from all areas---including central challenge, side trips and instant challenge---were combined, the team finished second overall in the "You're Gonna Flip!" competition. The girls were rewarded with medals and a trophy in front of more than 15,000 people at the Thompson-Bolling Arena on the University of Tennessee campus.

Pictured at right with their second place award are team members Kinsey Arendsen, Kristin Kirsch, Kaylee Owczarski, Ellie Pung, Amanda Veldheer, and Aubrey Wilson. Coaches are Jodi Owczarski and Renee Wilson.

A second Quincy team qualified for the globals and earned 30th place in the DI-Bot competition.  Both teams raised money to make last week's trip to Tennessee. 

Congratulations, students and coaches!

This year's competition began months ago with 13,400 teams from around the world working to solve a challenge. 

Zeeland West's standout forward, Austin Semple, has signed a letter of intent to play basketball with Mount Vernon Nazarene University in Mount Vernon, Ohio.  He'll be coached by Matt Moore, who took over coaching duties for the Cougars during the 2009-2010 season.  Austin is pictured with Coach Moore following the signing.  Austin, 18, is the son of Scott and Kim Semple.

The 6-foot, 6-inch Semple finished his season here as the Dux career scoring and rebounding leader. He averaged 17 points and seven rebounds per game while helping Zeeland West go 17-6.