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Page 18/The Sun and News, Saturday, August 28, 2021

TK staff kickoff event seeks to spark school spirit

Kindness, love, patience
and support for all students
and staff were key messages
during Monday morning’s
2021-22 Thornapple Kellogg
Schools staff kickoff event.
TK Board of Education
President Kristen Cove told
staff members that working
in education is a noble call-
ing. She asked them to take
care of each other and to take
care of the 3,300 students
who are coming into the
buildings this week.
“Some of them (students)
have not been in the build-
ings in 17 months,” Cove
said. “I ask that we all show
a little grace, a little patience
and love.”
She shared one of her
favorite Maya Angelou
quotes, “You may not control
all the events that happen to
you, but you can decide not
to be reduced by them.”
“We cannot control what
has happened in the last 17
months and we certainly
can’t control what might
happen in the future. But we
can choose kindness and
love and to take care of each
other,” Cove said.
Staff members were greet-
ed with a high-spirited school
fight song played by the TK
Trojan marching band that
filled the entire auditorium
stage. Staff rose to applaud

and sing along.

“Wow! What a great

reminder of why we all work

here,” said Superintendent

Dan Remenap, who is begin-

ning his first full school year

with the district after being

hired in December 2020.

Remenap echoed much

the same sentiment as Cove,

encouraging everyone to

care and support each other

and all students through

some very difficult times.

After sharing an inspiring

video about the value of

everyone, he acknowledged

the contributions of everyone

working within the district in

all capacities.

“I know some of you are

sitting there thinking ‘I’m

just a bus driver. I’m just a

cafeteria worker. I’m just a

playground supervisor,’”

Remenap said. “There are no

‘justa’s’ at TK. You are part

of a valuable team. There is

value in everybody. Every

single one of our students

has value. Whatever your

role is, you have great value

to us. And it is our job to

find the value in every single

one of our students.”

Remenap said he wants

staff to focus on what teach-

ing is all about and help

drown out the debates over

masks, vaccines and politics.

“We’re going to keep the

noise outside of TK schools

so you can have a singular

focus on loving our kids and

finding their value,” he said.

Remenap challenged staff

to do two things this year:

1) “Please ask for help

sometime in the next two

weeks. We are going to need

each other this year. Is this

year going to be perfect? Are

we going to agree on every-

thing? No. But we have to

stay together and keep our

singular focus on loving our

kids, loving one another and

supporting each other. Our

kids need you. While we

have distractions, I want to

encourage you with a singu-

lar focus of just loving our

kids and I want you to find

the joy in a profession that

should be inherently joyful.”

2) “My second chal-

lenge is that I would like all

of you to absolutely love

your most challenging stu-

dent. They need you the

most.”

Lani Forbes with Barry

County United Way, and

Annie Halle and Craig

Stolsonburg with Barry

Community Foundation and

Thornapple Area Enrichment

Foundation, also encouraged

the staff to care for kids and

call on their organizations

when help is needed.

Forbes said the United

Way has delivered more than

1 million pounds of food in

the last year to needy fami-

lies and provided more than

$750,000 in direct assistance.

Just recently, she said, 267

students in Barry County

schools were able to pick out

new backpacks, school sup-

plies and new shoes. Books

are being put in the hands of

young children up to 5 years

old through Imagination

Library.

“It’s all available because

so many of you donate

money from each pay period

to help. One hundred percent

of your gift goes to services

and stays in Barry County,”

Forbes said.

Halle said the foundation

gave out 35 scholarships in

the last year and provided

more than $60,000 in class-

room and teacher grants to

the TK district in the last two

years. She said funds are

available for grants again

this year and encouraged

teachers to apply for class-

room needs.

Staff members spent the

rest of the day in building

meetings, staff development

sessions and preparing for

students to return to the

buildings.

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Thornapple Kellogg Schools Superintendent Dan

Remenap welcomes all staff members to the 2021-

school year.

Thornapple Kellogg Schools are welcoming several new staff members to the district this year. They were intro-
duced at the district’s opening day gathering.

Great Lakes and Energy,

because the property con-

tains wetlands.

The Planning Commission

expressed concerns earlier

this year about the original

BDR proposal to build some

three-story buildings close to

the road. But the updated site

plan addressed that by stipu-

lating that only two-story

apartment homes be built

within 385 feet of 60th Street.

BDR, based in Grand

Rapids, is proposing to build

30 two- and three-story

apartment homes, with rent

at market rate prices.

However, several residents

from Kentwood spoke out

against the project at the

township planning commis-

sion meeting in July, citing

traffic safety concerns. One

of the residents was

Kentwood City

Commissioner Emily

Bridson, who is running in

the Nov. 2 election to become

Kentwood’s mayor. She said

school bus drivers and others

have told her they are con-

cerned about the extra traffic

congestion the River Birch

project would create along

the already-busy 60th Street

corridor.

East Kentwood High

School and Pinewood Middle

School are just down the

road, Fieldstone Apartments

are just east of the proposed

development, and the

Bailey’s Grove housing and

condominium complex is

right across the road, on the

Kentwood side of 60th

Street.

To address that, an extra

access point was added to the

project. Developers also said

the complex would include a

safe pickup and dropoff point

for students.

The parcels for the BDR

project were designated

under the township’s future

land use plan in 2017 for

office/commercial use, but

the need for that has declined

in the current real estate mar-

ket, while the demand for

housing has skyrocketed.

BDR partner Kevin

Einfeld said recently that his

company hopes to break

ground on the first phase of

the River Birch Apartment

homes by next spring, or next

summer at the latest. If

approved, the project will be

built over several phases. A

completion date has not yet

been determined.

This is the original site plan that was proposed by BDR Custom Homes in January.

It has since been modified to include no three-story buildings close to 60th Street.

ADVANCES, continued from page 1