Weekly Good News
January 20th - 24th, 2025
Letter from the White House
Students in Mrs. Nykerk's 2nd grade classroom wrote a letter to President Biden and received a response back!
Back in October, students in Mrs. Nykerk's 2nd-grade classroom learned about the branches of government in their Studies Weekly curriculum. When reading about the executive branch, students had a lot of questions, including "Does the president have chefs?," "What do you do during the day—do you have any chores?," and "Is it fun being the president?". All of these questions brought back a fond memory of Mrs. Nykerk's childhood, where her teacher wrote a letter to the former president, Bill Clinton. So that is exactly what her students did! They wrote a letter to President Biden, and by early January, they received a response back.
Students were so excited to learn about the president's background and to get a glimpse into life at the White House. One student even exclaimed, "Maybe one day I could be the president!" This project will definitely be a core memory for these 2nd-grade students!
Middle School Spelling Bee
The Middle School Spelling Bee went 8 rounds. Amara Sheffer's winning word was "catapults." Amara will be moving on to the Allegan County Regional Spelling Bee next month along with Logan Battenfield, Mackenzie Schwarz, and Logan Bush. Congratulations and thank you to everyone who participated!
Michigan Literacy Project
Exciting news! Steeby Elementary teacher, Sam Tetreault, has been selected as one of six recipients to receive approximately 200 free books for his classroom library. This award comes from the Michigan Literacy Project, a non-profit organization that provides classroom libraries to recent GVSU graduates teaching in underserved Michigan public school districts.
Mr. Tetreault’s application was described as “compelling in outlining the need for high-quality, high-interest children’s literature.” He has been invited to a warehouse shopping event and luncheon to expand his private classroom collection and celebrate his commitment to education.
Congratulations, Mr. Tetreault!
USA Pride Softball
In mid-January, Wayland Union High School junior Shelby VanHouten had the opportunity to play for the USA Pride softball team in an international softball tournament held in Rotterdam, Netherlands.
Michelle Brander, the head softball coach for Hope College, played in the tournament herself when she was younger. She now has the opportunity to coach the USA Pride team. Coach Brander personally selects ten local softball players to represent the U.S. and travel to Europe to compete against professional European softball programs.
While reminiscing about her time abroad, Shelby stated, “being able to play among some of the greatest softball players in the world opened my eyes to just how big the love of the game really is. While experiencing another culture and competing in high-level play, the friendships and the bonds I created with my new teammates are something that will last forever.”
Team USA Pride went 4-2 in the tournament, playing against teams from the Netherlands, Great Britain, Czech Republic, and the United States. Ultimately, team Roef! from the Netherlands took home the championship title.
Shelby would like to acknowledge “God for the ability he has given me to play softball, Coach Brander and Coach Dani for this wonderful opportunity, my parents, my teammates, and Coach Pete, Coach Dave, and Coach Ritz for their endless support. I can’t wait for The Cup 2026, as I graciously accepted the opportunity to return and play for the USA Pride team again next January.”
Wayland Union Schools is thrilled to see our students thrive both on and off school grounds. We can’t wait to watch Shelby participate in the tournament next season!
