News and Announcements

Elementary art teacher Kathy Bailey squealed with excitement when she saw the stack of brightly-colored aprons piled neatly on a table beside a sewing machine. "Look at all these! They are wonderful!" she said holding up one of the aprons and gently putting it over the head of a third-grade student who had just finished sewing.

How can plants be grown without soil? Where does chocolate milk come from? Why do chickens lay different colored-eggs? Thornapple Kellogg third graders asked and got answers to these questions and many more at the 14th annual Barry County Ag Awareness Day at the Barry County Expo Center.
More than 500 students from Hastings, Delton Kellogg, Thornapple Kellogg and Barry County Christian schools visited different stations set up at the fairgrounds to learn about agriculture and its importance to Barry County and the state.

Inspired by texts from a pilot program called "Reading Street," Lee Elementary students in Nathan Fischer's class felt the need to help out their community in some way. They decided to focus on their furry friends in the community, so they contacted the Barry County Animal Shelter to see how they could help.

With a heart shaved into the hair on the back of her neck and hearts decorating her shoes, JoAnne Desy led her last Lee Elementary Jump rope for Heart event and the school raised a record $30,634 for the American Heart Association.

Moving at lightning speed, second-grader Logan Shank beat his teammates Exley Roon and Emma Bowman to the Sphero, a miniature robotic orb, effectively becoming the leader of the assigned group of three. Tapping twice, Logan woke the sleeping Sphero, which dramatically snapped to life flashing strobe-like until it connected with his iPad via Bluetooth.

Lee Elementary sent one Odyssey of the Mind team to the regional competition. The team did very well and gained valuable experience. Primary teams are not eligible to advance to the state finals.

Who doesn't like chips and salsa, ice cream, cereal, honey and spearmint gum? But who knew so many of these foods in different brands are made right here in Michigan?

With assistance from a Barry County Youth Advisory Council grant, the Lee Elementary Library was able to purchase books written in Spanish and some written in Spanish and English.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day has become a day of service for many to honor King's work. Lee students learned about who Martin Luther King Jr. was, what he did and why his actions were important.