By Joanne Bailey-Boorsma
joanne@wktv.org
This week, School News Network provides a number of stories focused on the decisions to close a school to the creative lessons staff are doing to help students get through the COVID-19 criss. Here is just a sample of stories from the Kentwood/Wyoming area.
All Districts: Area Superintendents warn of need for vigilance in combating virus
Last week, 46 West Michigan superintendents –including the superintendents of Wyoming, Kentwood, Kelloggsville, Godwin Heights, and Godfrey-Lee — signed a letter urging residents to be more vigilant in combating COVID-19. As Kent County sees a surge in COVID-19 cases, and rising rates of positive tests, West Michigan school superintendents joined together to remind families of the importance of following safety protocols. For more, click here.
All Districts: Major factor in school closings: evidence of virus spread
For school officials, deciding when to close a school is not an easy decision to make. When there are positive cases in a school, the Kent County Health Department and superintendents review whether prevention measures are being enforced strongly enough, including social distancing, mask wearing, screening students so they don’t enter the building if they are COVID-19 positive, hand washing and sanitizing surfaces. To learn more about how a decision is made to close a school, click here.
Godwin Heights: Bringing individual value to shared space
Rainbows, blankets, and even a Rubik Cube become symbols to represent the homes of Godwin Height students. Based on the Heidelberg Project, named for a four-block street-turned neighborhood art project in Detroit where the mission is to include and embrace the strengths of those in the community, teacher Lindsay Miceli uses the Godwin Heights housing project as the class’s first assignment to help students hone writing and sensory language skills and get to know one another. To learn more, click here.
Kelloggsville: Students learn resilience by piecing together art
Kelloggsville students have fun breaking glass all in the name of creating art. The students are learning about mosaics and in the process discovering how something shatter can not only become something beautiful but a symbol of resilience. To learn more, click here.
Kentwood: Operation Face Shield: complete
When East Kentwood’s First Robotics team’s annual robotics competition at the high school got cancelled, one team member and his parents, advisors for the team, discovered a way to re-channel their disappointment by creating face shields. In nine weeks, the group made more than 10,000 pieces of personal protective equipment which was distributed to more than 100 area organizations. For more, click here.
For more stories on local schools, visit the School News Network website, schoolnewsnetwork.org.
