West Ottawa Public Schools
May 16th Pine Creek Elementary School
Important dates to remember
Friday, May 16: 2nd grade Field trip-Neil's Dutch Village - 9:30am- 2:30pm
Monday, May 19: 1st grade Field trip- John Ball Zoo 9:00am- 12:30pm
Wednesday, May 21: 1/2 day Students half day ( Dismissal 11:52am)
Monday, May 26: NO SCHOOL Memorial day
Tuesday, May 27: School resumes students back to school
Thursday May 29th - Friday May 30th- 5th grade Camp Field trip
Thursday June 5: Half Day of School - Dismissal at 11:52 p.m.
Friday June 6: Half Day of School - Dismissal at 11:52 p.m. - Last Day of School
Fechas importantes para recordar
Viernes, 16 de mayo: Excursión de 2º grado - Neil's Dutch Village - 9:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.
Lunes, 19 de mayo: Excursión de 1º grado - John Ball Zoo - 9:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Miércoles, 21 de mayo: Día parcial para estudiantes (Salida 11:52 a.m.)
Lunes, 26 de mayo: NO HAY CLASES - Día de los Caídos
Martes, 27 de mayo: Las clases se reanudan - estudiantes regresan a la escuela
Jueves, 29 de mayo - Viernes, 30 de mayo: Excursión de campamento de 5º grado
Jueves 5 de junio: Medio día de clases - Salida a las 11:52 p.m.
Viernes 6 de junio: Medio día de clases - Salida a las 11:52 p.m. - Último día de clases
Pine Creek Families,
As we celebrate this week’s high school graduation at West Ottawa, it’s a powerful reminder that every graduate’s journey began years ago in an elementary classroom, many even here at Pine Creek. The foundational skills, values, and love of learning that students develop in these early years are essential building blocks for future success. It takes a true partnership between families and teachers to nurture each child’s growth. Together, through encouragement, support, and shared goals, we are planting the seeds that will one day blossom into confident, capable young adults ready to take on the world. Thank you for your continued partnership!
Senior Walk-Through: Tomorrow our WO seniors who attended Pine Creek as elementary students will come to visit and walk the halls one last time. This is one of my favorite WO traditions and it's always really special to see our Pine Creek seniors. When they arrive at Pine Creek, students and staff will come out into the hallway for a clap out where we can honor our PC seniors!
End of the Year Testing: Last week our Yk-5th grade students took their end of the year Acadience reading test and i-ready math diagnostic test. It has been great to see the progress that students are making in reading and in math! We are so proud of our Pine Creek students! If you have any questions about your child’s progress in math or reading, please reach out to your child’s teacher.
Half Day: We have a 1⁄2 day of school on Wednesday May 21 for teacher professional development. Students are dismissed at 11:52 AM this day. Please be sure to pick up your students on time as teachers will begin their grade level meetings right after dismissal.
Panther Pathways: This week is our last week of Panther Pathways session 5! Our 4th and 5th grade students have their last flag football and soccer games this week, and our Craft Club will also have their last session this week. It has been so great to see so many of our Pine Creek families and staff members in attendance at these games and events. Thank you for encouraging your students to participate in our after school activities!
Online Registration: We are currently accepting applications for next school year. Please complete your online enrollment before the end of this year to secure your child’s spot at Pine Creek for the 2025-2026 school year. If you need help with your enrollment, please contact the Pine Creek office at 616-786-1600.
Have a wonderful week!
Mrs. Rios
In Technology the last few weeks, grades 1st thru 5th have been exploring our MicroBits. 4th and 5th graders programmed the MicroBits to play Rock, Paper, Scissors. In their code, they needed to generate a random number between 1 and 3 and then assign a picture representing rock/paper/scissors to show when that number was selected. Once the program worked (usually after some debugging) the students unplugged the MicroBit and plugged in a battery pack and played Rock, Paper, Scissors against their classmates, and even against themselves! In the next few weeks they will add a “smart cutebot” extension to their options and create programs for their MicroBit to control the little cutebot car. It should be a great challenge and a blast!
2nd and 3rd graders programmed their MicroBits to send out a unique radio signal (one that matches their partners.) Then they sent a message that was only received by MicroBit partners that were on the same radio frequency. They really had a lot of fun with this.
1st graders got a little more time on the MicroBits as well and they programmed the MicroBit to show a flashing heart or shape. They also programmed it to show a string message.
Kindergarteners began their research on all things animals by going to the World Book of Early Learning. There, they could choose between dozens of animals, read/hear about them, and even watch a few short videos to support their learning. So if you hear any facts about sharks or dinosaurs you know what they were reading about!
This current week all grade levels got to play “Sharks and MInnows” with our Sphero robots! We placed spring colored solo cups on top of the bots and drove them around the “Shark Pit” (made with connected pool noodles.) The last minnow cup standing was the winner and the next shark! Thai was super exciting and even more fun with the lights off.
If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at johnsond@westottawa.net. Thanks! We are having a great year!
Mr. Johnson
