G-A Superintendent Newsletter
April Edition
Check this Newsletter for:
Ramily Resources: Anxiety and Depresesion: What Parents Need to Know
Bond Info
Superintendent Excellence Awards
Upcoming Events, Fundrasiers, and More: Kindergarten Enrollment!
Building Newsletter Sections
Community Section: Things going on in the community? Send me info and I'll add it here!
Ramily Resources
Anxiety and Depression: What Parents Need to Know
Connect with your School Counselor for support and resources
988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline Call or text 988 for free, 24/7 support (youth/adults)
Crisis Text Line: Text 741741, Free 24/7
Bond Proposal May 5, 2026
Learn about the Bond
Galesburg-Augusta Community Schools will have a bond proposal on the May 5th ballot. This proposal focuses on maintaining safety and security, improving mechanical systems and efficiency, and addressing aging infrastructure.
Please take a moment to learn more about what’s included and how it impacts our community: https://www.gacsbond2026.com/blog. Your voice matters—be sure to vote on May 5!
As we head into this decision, it’s also a good opportunity to model civility, seeking accurate information, listening to different perspectives, and engaging in respectful conversations even when we may disagree. That’s the kind of community we want our students to learn from and be part of. We love our students. We love our community.
Go Rams! -Dr. Newton
Superintendent Excellence Awards
Logan Fisher
Nominated by Mrs. King
Logan is an incredibly dedicated and dependable teammate whose work ethic sets the tone each day—he’s consistently the first to arrive and brings that same level of commitment into his classroom. He plans with intention, applies professional learning with ease, and builds strong, meaningful relationships with his students. Known for being calm, caring, and having a great sense of humor, Logan leads quietly but effectively, making a lasting impact on both students and staff.
Mile Schwendinger
Nominated by Mrs. Ellis
Milo was recognized as the KRESA Career and Technical Education IT Pathway Student of the Month for his collaboration, humility, dedication, and teamwork. As a Computer Networking student, he consistently sets a strong example for his peers through his work ethic and positive approach to learning. Milo represents Galesburg-Augusta with pride, and this recognition highlights the impact he has made within the program.
Nikki Ellis
Nominated by Mrs. King
Nikki truly embodies her role as Family Advocate, consistently ensuring that students and families have the support and resources they need. Students naturally gravitate toward her because she takes the time to listen, uplift, and be there when it matters most, always with her “I got you” mindset. She is a kind, resourceful, and positive presence in the building, and her willingness to step in—such as taking on teaching Flex this year—shows her versatility and deep commitment to the team.
Nicklas Stevens
Nominated by Coley Church
Nicklas is an inventive and determined student whose work was accepted into the 2026 Kalamazoo Institute of Arts High School Area Show, where he created and welded his own sculpture specifically for the exhibition. He has spent the past three years developing his welding skills and is now exploring it as a creative medium, combining technical ability with artistic expression. As a junior in Advanced Art, he continues to refine his drawing and painting skills to support his design process, demonstrating both dedication to his craft and a strong ability to bring complex ideas to life.
Jenna Dornoff
Nominated by Theresa King
Jenna is a dedicated and passionate educator who holds high expectations for her students while providing the support they need to succeed. Her leadership has led the high school band to Division 1 ratings at Festival, a reflection of her hard work, strong communication, and commitment to excellence. Balancing both middle and high school programs with grace, Jenna is reflective, collaborative, and continuously seeking growth, making her an outstanding teacher, leader, and musician.
Kindergarten Info for 2026-2027
Spring Testing
Spring Testing Approaching...
Please check dates if possible before scheduling vacations, appointments, etc. Thank you!
G-A Gives Back with Hat Week!
G-A Community Schools is proud to show what “acts of service” truly mean!
Together, we raised $656 for Three Rivers Community Schools after damage to their transportation building. We’re grateful for the opportunity to support a neighboring district and give back to our local community.
This is what it’s all about—coming together and lifting each other up! 🙌
We will deliver the check after Spring Break!
Events, Fundraisers and What's Going On!
High School Newsletter
Spring Break Fun!
Work Force Wednesday
Work Force Wednesday takes place each Wednesday during Flex for all grades 9th-12th. The lessons are focused on explicitly teaching College and Career Readiness Skills. Students learn everything from creating a resume, filing for FAFSA, identifying areas of strength and which career fields might be a good match to attending career fairs, engaging in mock interviews, attending college visits, or learning about different fields from guest speakers. Pictured below in Mrs. O’Donnell’s classroom is a group of seniors brainstorming potential obstacles or barriers once they find themselves in a particular field and what could be potential back up plans. On the right a group of Juniors learning more about Western Michigan University. We believe strongly in preparing students for their future, whatever that may be!
Will AI Become Smarter Than Us?!
At our staff meetings we have been focused on increasing engagement, not just participation with our learners. We go on learning rounds each month to observe and learn from one another. Check out Ms. Root’s class as they engage in a Socratic Seminar discussing the question, “Will AI become smarter than us?” This structure creates space for student voices to share their opinions while providing textual evidence to support. These skills are imperative to the future workforce!
Our Big Ram/Little Rams
Counseling Office Updates
Counseling Office Updates
Scholarships: Check the document here for the latest scholarship postings.
HS RAM BAND!!
Recieved Division 1 Ratings at Festival!
Important Dates
April 6: School Resumes April 8: PSAT 9/10 & SAT/Seniors working with Lack on Senior Papers April 9: WIN Testing (Juniors) April 9: 2027 Class Meeting during Flex April 14 & 16: MSTEP Testing Science & Social Studies (Juniors) April 17: GAIAA Ceremony @ 9 a.m. April 22: CPR for Seniors 8-10 a.m. April 22: Half Day for Students/PD for teachers April 24: NHS Blood Drive April 30: 9th Grade Vision Screenings
Middle School Newsletter
Hall of Fame
Our March Hall of Fame winners are: Delaney Bruce, Hayden Kershner, Brennan Allie, Lily Rabideau, Colten Tiller, Mackenzie Wierderholt, and Ryleigh Saddler!!!
The Hall of Fame award recognizes outstanding student work and kindness shown to others. Congratulations!!!
Congrats to our MS RAM BAND!
For earning a Division 1 Rating at Festival!
Curtain Up! Drama Elective:
Our Curtain Up! Drama Class held two very successful performances of Willy Wonka! It was amazing to see the students shine on stage! For the 4th quarter, the Curtain Up! students will be collaborating with our History through Art students to put on a fully memorized play in May. More information on this performance will be coming soon!
Baby Quail:
Ms. Baird’s Quail have hatched! What a fun and memorable learning experience for our students!
Instructional Highlights:
Ms. Walker’s 6th grade mathematicians have been hard at work. They spent time matching equivalent expressions and celebrated Pi Day learning about the circumference of a circle while eating circular treats!
Mrs. Lantinga’s 5th grade STEAM students have been working hard to code Finch robots to drive through mazes they created!
Thoughts from our Counselor, Ms. Sparks.
Upcoming Spring Testing Dates:
April 9th: PSAT Grade 8
April 14th: ELA M-Step Grades 5-7, Science M-Step Grade 8
April 16th: Math M-Step Grades 5-7, Social Studies M-Step Grade 8
April 21st: Science M-Step Grade 5
April 23rd: Social Studies M-Step Grade
May 6th & 7th: NWEA Reading Grades 5-8
May 12th & 14th: NWEA Math Grades 5-8
Athletics and Extra Curricular Events
Come out to cheer on our Middle School RAMS at our home athletic events in April!
April 9th: MS Track
April 15th: MS Softball/Baseball
April 15th: MS Tennis
April 18th: MS Softball/Baseball
April 21st: MS Track
April 22nd: MS Tennis
April 23rd: Tennis
April 28th: Track
April 29th: Softball/Baseball
Important Reminders for Parents:
Doors open at 7:55 for all students who are eating breakfast. Students must go directly to the cafeteria upon entering the building and they must get breakfast. Students will remain in the cafeteria until 8:05. Doors open to ALL students at 8:05.
Classes start promptly at 8:14. Please make sure all students are dropped off no later than 8:10 each morning.
Important Dates at the Middle School
March 27th-April 5th: Spring Break
April 6th: 4th Marking Period Begins
April 22nd: ½ Day K-12/Teacher PD in the afternoon
Primary School Newsletter
Good parenting for those staying home for Spring Break
Tips for Families Staying Home
Staying home with your kids? Make Spring Break fun, educational, and most importantly stress-free with these ideas:
Make a plan! School-aged children are used to routine, so help make spring break more manageable by planning out some activities that you can do with your children. Some ideas include taking your family to a local library and selecting two books to be read during break, or visiting a nearby museum of science discovery center. Whatever you choose, be sure to include your children in the planning and find out what they want to do.
Connect with neighbors. Meet up with friends and neighbors to formalize a game of tag at a park or set up a group playdate with neighborhood families in your backyard. Not only does this give your children structured ways to spend their fun time, but helps build connections among families in the community.
Lean on family and friends if you don’t have time off. Spring break presents a unique challenge for working parents. If you’re unable to take time off from work, make use of family members and friends in your neighborhood that can watch your children while you’re at work. Situations like this are an example of why building connections in the neighborhood can be so important, not only for you but for other parents who might not have family or close friends nearby.
Take care of yourself! The extra stress of spring break can wear you down, so make sure you budget time for yourself. One date night or night out can make the difference between a manageable spring break and a crazy one. Ensure you have the time you need to yourself in order to decompress and destress.
Primary School Teachers
Our Primary School teachers got to spend some time eating lunch together. This is a rare thing as we are all on different schedules. So great spending time together with our colleagues.
PreSchool downtown Kalamazoo
The best pizza around……Bimbos pizza in downtown Kalamazoo. For years, Ron Smilanich, Matt Smilanich and his family have welcomed our G-A Preschooler with open arms to teach them all about making pizza as Bimbos pizza is made right in front of the customer.
The preschoolers had a blast.
Guest Readers
Lots of Mystery Readers were out and about this month. Thank you to all the volunteers who came in to read to classrooms.
Mr. Sportel, his daughter Sienna too, and Dr. Newton got to participate in sharing some of their favorite books.
A Successful Spring Distribution of Shoes!
The Spring First Day Shoe Fund fit just over 6,400 pairs of new shoes at 49 schools during the months of February and March 2026.
Galesburg-Augusta Community School saw 321 Pre-K thru 5th grade students fit with new shoes on March 10 and 11, 2026.
A big thanks to the Kalamazoo Whisker Crew, our spring sponsor, and FDSF for all their efforts and generosity.
For the year, FDSF gave Galesburg Augusta Community Schools students just over 700 pairs of shoes when combining the Fall and Spring fittings.
Kazoo Whisker Crew helped fit our students with the best shoes 🙂
Mrs. Rekis’s First Grade Class
Mrs. Rekis received a $350 grant from The Galesburg-Augusta Community Foundation to purchase a class set of dry erase boards and 20 new jigsaw puzzles! Her class uses dry erase boards throughout the school day to work on writing sentences, solving math problems, and learning to draw. The first graders absolutely love working on jigsaw puzzles as a quiet choice when their work is completed.
Doing a puzzle offers a wonderful opportunity to develop concentration, problem solving, patience, fine motor, and social skills. Thank you G-A Community Foundation for your generous grant and your commitment in supporting educators in our community.
STEAM
2nd and 3rd Graders are building Gear Rovers and Giant Roadways!
4th Graders visited Eaton Cummins, where they were able to take a tour of the facility and learn all about how transmissions are made.
Honking the horn of the big trucks was their favorite part :)
Art
Kindergarten through 4th grade students have worked in Art class creating their artwork for our annual, art fundraiser.
More information will be coming home with your student. Also, keep an eye out on our G-A Facebook page for updates and reminders.
Thanks for your support,
Mrs. Westerhouse
Physical Education
Students need to learn life long skills…..such as: BOWLING
In Physical Education, students were learning how to bowl on our “Lanes” as well as on the Wii. They also worked on teamwork activities.
Congratulations on completion of the Kids Heart Challenge! Hopefully, the students learmed lessons of heart health and know that they make a difference for kids with special hearts.
Here are the stats to highlight how you impacted your community….
Raised - $10,300.69 Amazing Job by you and your students!!!
Lifetime Raised - $181,904.92
Students Registered Online – 97
Students Raising Money - 73
Finn’s Mission Completions – 20
Families Watched Hands Only CPR Video – 25
Families Watched Warning Signs of a Stroke - 26
3rd grade Music Performance
On Tuesday, March 24, 2026, the 3rd Grade classes performed their Spring program "Stars, Stripes, and Songs". The performance featured 3rd graders singing American Folk Songs. The concert also featured each 3rd grade class performing ostinatos on bucket drums to America theme pop tunes, and ended with a community sing-along to "You're A Grand Old Flag", and "Somewhere Over the Rainbow". Congratulations 3rd Grade students on a wonderful performance!
Growing Together from Mr. Ball and Mrs. Walker
Walker’s Window into Counseling:
Helpful language
Sometimes your child may not want to stop what they are doing and switch to something you need them to do. By using the word “Pause” instead of “Stop” lets them know that they can come back to that activity. Letting children know that they don’t totally have to give up what they want to be doing can be helpful in them transitioning to different activities. Going along with using the term “Pause”, it can also be helpful to use the wording of “First…Then…” with getting children to do what you need them to do. For example, “First we are going to pick up our toys, then we can have a snack”. Again, we are letting them know that they will get what they want, but first they have to do an unpreferred activity.
Ball’s Expectations
Students have been working hard after a cold January of testing and returning to routine. We are staying focused on behaviors when there are less adults to remind us of our expectations, such as the cafeteria and recess. More students leads to more fun, but can also lead to more opportunities to stray off course. Preventative measures such as designated recess areas, alternative indoor recess plans, and reviewing expectations before dismissal to the playground have been helpful in reducing our instances of behavior that does not demonstrate RAMS expectations. Sometimes, using recess time to make amends for mistakes can be valuable for students to understand that their behavior was not helpful to others. A pep talk from Mr. Ball, Mr. Russell, or Mr. Sportel also goes a long way in helping students reset and do their best!
Important Dates
April 23rd - All Pre-K to Frederick Meijer Garden
April 23rd - Kindergarten Orientation 6:00-7:00 at the PS School
April 29th - Rising Rams 4th grade to 5th grade orientation
May 20th - Last day for Pre-K students
May 20th - 4th Grade “Dream” Presentations at Eaton/Cummings
May 21st - RAMping Up
May 29th - Primary School Field Day
June 4th - Spring Walk-to-school
The 3rd Annual GABCA Spring Craft & Vendor Show
The 3rd Annual GABCA Spring Craft & Vendor Show will be held on Saturday, April 18, 2026, from 9am to 3pm at the Galesburg-Augusta Primary School. Currently accepting vendors for this show! The application is attached.
Community Track Times -Starts in April
Greater Galesburg Day June 20th
A yearly tradition in our community!