The Potter’s House is pleased to announce that high school Social Studies teacher, Tricia Kremke, is the recipient of the James Madison Fellows, which is awarded to just one teacher from every state. Read More
The Potter’s House High School Social Studies Teacher, Tricia Kremke, was recently awarded the James Madison Memorial Fellowship for 2012.
James Madison Fellowships support the graduate study of American history by aspiring and experienced secondary school teachers of American history, American government, and social studies.
Named in honor of the fourth president of the United States and acknowledged “Father of the Constitution and Bill of Rights,” a James Madison Fellowship funds up to $24,000 of each Fellow’s course of study towards a master’s degree. That program must include a concentration of courses on the history and principles of the United States Constitution.
The 57 James Madison Fellows were selected in competition with applicants from each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the nation’s island and trust territories. The fellowships are funded by income from a trust fund in the Treasury of the United States and from additional private gifts, corporate contributions, and foundation grants. Recipients are required to teach American history or social studies in a secondary school for at least one year for each year of fellowship support. The award is intended to recognize promising and distinguished teachers, to strengthen their knowledge of the origins and development of American constitutional government, and thus to expose the nation’s secondary school students to accurate knowledge of the nation’s constitutional heritage.
Founded by an Act of Congress in 1986, the James Madison Memorial Fellowship Foundation is an independent agency of the executive branch of the federal government. (Taken from www.jamesmadison.gov.)
Congratulations Tricia!
Second and third grade students performed folk dances as the culminating event for a Social Studies/Language Arts unit of Cinderella folktales from around the world.
The co-op track & field team (along with West Michigan Lutheran) traveled to Marcellus High School on Tuesday, May 15th and continued to show great improvements in all areas. The schools competing in the meet along with PH/WML were Marcellus, Paw Paw, and Decatur. Coach Peter Vande Brake was pleased with his programs improvements. “The highlight was that all four members of the relay team took about two seconds off both their 4X200m and 4X100m relay race times, placing 2nd and 3rd respectively in the meet.” In addition to the success of the relay team, freshmen Jason Blaauw had a personal best in discus with an 84’7″ throw (about 8 feet further than his previous best).
Come out to support the Track & Field team on Friday when they travel to Gobles High School for the State Regional meet.
The track & field team traveled to Fennville High School on Wednesday, May 9th. The program, which is a co-op with West Michigan Lutheran, continues to show improvements in each meet. Several student-athletes continue to get better and better each meet, showcased by their ability to continually get personal best times and distances.
Here are the results from the meet:
Long Jump
David Katabana – 16′ 10″ (personal best)
Rae Hudnell – 16′ 2″ (personal best)
Janvier Irafasha – 15′ 11″ (personal best)
Sarah Jawara – 12′ 1″
Miracle Jones – 12′ 1″
100m
T-Boy Lonpeah – 12.12 (tied personal best)
David Katabana – 12.60
Rae Hudnell – 12.68
Janvier Irafasha- 12.42 (personal best)
Sarah Jawara – 14.48
Miracle Jones – 14.45 (personal best)
200m
Sarah Jawara – 31.37
Miracle Jones – 30.94
400m
Sarah Jawara – 1:15.28
Miracle Jones – 1:16.41
Boys Relays
4X100 – 51.34 – 3rd place (best time this year)
4X200 – 1:45.63 – 3rd place
1600m
Francesca Bruschi – 2nd place
3200m
Francesca Bruschi – 1st place
Head Coach Peter Vande Brake had this to say about the meet that the PH/WML track & field co-op participated in on Thursday, April 19th. “This track meet was a learning experience for everyone in the new Potter’s House and West Michigan Lutheran track program. Hopefully the relay teams will be able to put things together in practice in the next week. I think it is our best chance to score and move on at regional. Everything about a track meet is still pretty foreign to the students on the team.”
Freshmen Jason Blaauw had a personal best in the disc while junior T-Boy Lonpeah had solid performances in his events, but didn’t score in the top three for an individual medal. However, Lonpeah but he did score some points for PH/WML. The relay team got a second place finish while sophomore Sarah Jawara did very well in the short sprints and long jump and scored two seconds and a third. Junior Miracle Jones did well in the 400m dash and placed 5th in the long jump.
Here are some of the results from the meet:
Jason Blaauw (FR)- Discus – 76′ 0″ (PR) / Shot Put – 26′ 5″
T-Boy Lonpeah (JR)- Long Jump – 14′ 11″ / 100m – 12.12
Rae Hudnell (FR) – Long Jump – 14′ 1″
David Katabana (SO) – Long Jump – 15′ 10″
Janvier Irafasha (JR) – 400m – 1:07.4 / 200m – 27.27
4 X 200 meter relay (Katabana, Hudnell, Irafasha, Lonpeah) – 1:45.4 – 2nd place
4 X 100 meter relay (Katabana, Hudnell, Irafasha, Lonpeah) – 53.38 – DQ (would have been 3rd if they had not been disqualified)
Sarah Jawara (SO) – Long Jump – 12′ 11″ – 3rd place / 100m – 14.21 – 2nd place / 200m – 30.57 – 2nd place / 400m 1:17.46
Miracle Jones (JR) – Long Jump – 10′ 11″ – 5th place / 200m – 32.54 / 400m – 1:14.17
The Girls’ Varsity soccer played a close game against Algoma Christian on Monday, May 14th, but came up just short and lost 2-1. PH is now 4-13-1 on the year and 3-8-1 in the Alliance League. Despite the loss, PH played exceptionally well. Junior April Phillipi took a great shot assisted by fellow junior Yare Leal in the second half and scored to make it 2-1 with only a few minutes left. The Pumas had a few opportunities to tie it up in the finals seconds, but couldn’t quite put it in the back of the net. PH had four of their starting players gone due to injuries or academic trips and many girls stepped up and played positions that they had never played in a game before. They played as a team and showed a lot of improvement since they last played Algoma.
The Lady Pumas hosted Fruitport Calvary Christian on Friday, May 11th and lost by a score of 8-0. PH is now 4-12-1 overall and 3-7-1 in the Alliance League. The game was called at 8-0 with only a few minutes left in the second half due to the MHSAA “mercy rule”. Fruitport is a difficult team and the Pumas held on very strong. They showed a lot of heart as they continued to play their hardest despite three players having to be taken out of the game due to injuries. Goal keeper Dana Hulst helped to keep the team in the game with 21 saves.
Come out to support the Lady Pumas when they host Algoma Christian on Monday, May 14th for a 5:15pm start time at Marquette Park.
The Lady Puma Soccer team hosted Kalamazoo Heritage Christian on Thursday, May 10th and came away with a big 3-2 victory. PH is now 4-11-1 overall and 3-6-1 in the Alliance League. Sophomore goal keeper Dana Hulst had 19 saves while sophomore Hannah Fouty helped to give the Pumas a great start in scoring with a beautiful goal assisted by sophomore Kassi Walcott. Senior Mayra Hernandez continued to the lead the scoring attack, scoring two goals. One was assisted by sophomore Alyssa Tuttle and the second by freshmen Genesis Garcia.
The Lady Puma’s played a wet and rainy game against Zion Christian on Monday, May 7th, falling by a score of 3-0. PH is now 3-11-1 on the year and 2-6-1 in the Alliance League. The Pumas had their hands full in this game as Zion is one of the strongest teams in the Alliance League. Despite that, PH hung in there was only down by a score of 1-0 at halftime. Zion pulled away in the second half for two more goals to finalize the score at 3-0. The Lady Puma’s offense had a difficult time overcoming the offsides trap that Zion’s defense played. PH Keeper Dana Hulst had 18 saves in the game as she continues to play very well.
The PH Soccer team hosted 1st place Alliance League member Holland Black River on Tuesday, May 1st, falling by a score of 4-0. The Lady Pumas are now 3-7-1 on the year and 2-5-1 in the Alliance League. The Lady Pumas left it all on the field tonight despite the loss. Black River got off to a quick start and headed to halftime with 4-0 lead. However, the Pumas held them of and were able to shut them down the second half.
The girls came out very strong and showed that they are capable of competing with any team in our league. Sophomore goalkeeper Dana Hulst had her best game of the season by getting 36 saves and earned a well deserve shutout in the second half. Head coach Ellen Zilka had this to say after the game, “The girls played as a team and I couldn’t be more proud. They showed significant improvement from their last game against Black River, which ended in a 8-0 loss. The Lady Pumas are now turning our focus to our tournament at Freedom Christian this Saturday!”
Recap:
The Lady Puma’s had their first sweep of the season with a 1-0 victory against Holland Calvary on Thursday, April 27th. Their last game against Calvary was a 6-5 overtime victory a few weeks ago. PH is now 3-5-1 on the season and 2-3-1 in the Alliance League. Coach Ellen Zilka was very happy with her teams’ performance and with the progress the girls are making. “The girls did a nice job this time transitioning and getting back on defense which allowed us to get the shut out. We played tough as always and we are really excited to see the girls’ hard work paying off.” Going into halftime the score was 0-0. The only goal of the game was scored during the second half by sophomore stand-out Deysi Cosyal off of a corner kick, assisted by sophomore Kassi Walcott.
Come out to support PH as they travel to Fruitport Calvary on Friday, April 27th for an Alliance League match up. Game time is 5:30pm.
Recap:
The PH Varsity Girls Soccer team traveled to Tri-Unity Christian on Monday, April 23rd in a non conference match up and fell by a score of 4-0. The Pumas are now 2-5-1 on the year. Tri-Unity executed a good game against PH and the Lady Pumas were not able to get through their tough defense. Head Coach Ellen Zilka had this to say after the game, “Despite coming off a 6-5 victory over Holland Calvary last week, and it was hard loss to suffer for us today. But the girls are putting it behind them and looking forward to our conference games Thursday and Friday.”
Come out to support the Pumas as they host Holland Calvary at Marquette Park on Thursday, April 26th at 5:00pm.
Recap:
The Lady Pumas Varsity Soccer team traveled to Holland on Tuesday, April 17th to take on Holland Black River and were defeated by a score of 7-0. The girls played hard, but the River Rats are a very skilled team and executed a very good game. Black River scored five goals in the first half and two in the second. Goalkeeper Dana Hulst came played her first game back from an ankle injury and had twenty-three saves. Head Coach Ellen Zilka had this to say after the game, “The girls are looking forward to their game on Thursday. And were able to realize a lot of their strengths and weaknesses going up against Black River. Though it was not a victory, the players are still growing and developing individually and as a team as the season continues.”
Recap:
The Potter’s House Girl’s Varsity Soccer team traveled to Kalamazoo on Saturday, April 14th to take on Heritage Christian and ended with a 1-1 tie. The Pumas are now 1-3-1 on the year. PH showed a lot of puma pride in their game against Heritage Christian as they were missing many players due to conflicts or injuries. It was a very aggressive and physical game, but PH did not back down. Heritage Christian scored from a penalty kick in the first few minutes of the game. However, April Phillipi (Junior) lifted the Puma’s spirits with the help of Mayra Hernandez (Senior). During the second half, Herndandez had a nice assist to Philippi who had a great shot in the upper right corner of the goal. Genesis Garcia (freshman) also stepped up and played keeper for the first time this season. She had some big shoes to fill, but did an excellent job and made eight saves.
Come out to support the Pumas as they travel to Holland on Tuesday, April 17th to take on Holland Black River at 5:00pm
Recap:
The Potter’s House girl’s varsity soccer team suffered an unfortunate loss to Zion Christian this Tuesday, April 10th by a score of 1-0. PH is now 1-3 on the year. It was an aggressive game and resulted in some of our Lady Puma’s having to be walked off the field due to injuries. Zion Christian scored during the second half after sophomore goal keeper Dana Hulst made a block, which resulted in an ankle injury and gave Zion an open net. Hulst had a very good game with 12 saves before having to leave the game because of her ankle. Sophomore Kassi Walcott stepped in as keeper for the first time this season and made five saves. Though it was not a victory for the Lady Puma’s, Coach Ellen Zilka still believes there is a very promising outlook for the season. “We have a young team this year, with only two seniors. Zion Christian had six seniors on their team and only one freshman. I am very proud that our girls were able to hold their own and play just as experienced and aggressively as the other team.”
Recap:
The Lady Pumas Varsity Soccer team traveled to Kent City on Tuesday, March 27th and fell 4-3 in a nail biter to Alliance League foe Algoma Christian. PH is now 1-2 on the season and 0-1 in Alliance League play. The Knights of Algoma Christian were able to capitalize on an unfortunate penalty kick called by the officials during the last twelve minutes of the game to take the 4-3 lead. Both teams scored two goals during the first half. Junior April Phillipi was the first to get the Lady Puma’s on the score board, assisted by sophomore Elli Huizinga. Senior Mayra Hernandez followed shortly after, assisted by junior Yare Leal. The Puma’s came into the second half strong and showed their strong determination by scoring a goal within the first few minutes. The goal was scored by sophomore Sarah Teesdale and it was her first official goal of the season. Head Coach Ellen Zilka had this to say after the game, “Algoma Christian unfortunately was able to pull off the victory this time. However, we were missing a few of our starting players and many girls took on the initiative and really stepped up to fill some important positions. I’m very proud of a game well played. We definitely proved that we can put the ball in the back of the net and are looking forward to a strong comeback for our highly anticipated games post spring break.”
Come out to support the Lady Pumas as they host Zion Christian on Tuesday, April 10th at Marquette Park at 5:00pm.
Recap:
The Lady Pumas Varsity Soccer team hosted their first game of the year on Friday, March 23 and they fell 4-0 to Grand River Prep. PH is now 1-1 on the year. The girls put up a good fight but just couldn’t get the ball in the back of the net. In the last 2 minutes of the first half, Grand River Prep scored a goal on a lucky breakaway to take a 1-0 lead going into halftime. GR Prep followed with scoring three more goals the second half despite tough defense from the Pumas. Coach Ellen Zilka had this to say after the game, “Having only one week of practice under our belt, we did well considering our busy first week of games with three games this week. We have a lot to work to do in the upcoming season but the girls have a lot of spirit and proved from this game that we will never stop playing our hardest.”
Come out to support the Puma Varsity soccer team on Tuesday, March 28th at 5:00pm when they travel to Algoma Christian for the first Alliance League game of the year.
Recap:
The Lady Pumas Varsity soccer team traveled down the road on Wednesday, March 21 to take on Lee High School and came away with a dominating 4-0 victory. PH came out strong with two goals in the beginning of the first half to take a quick 2-0 lead. Despite numerous injuries and over eighty degree weather, the players showed high endurance and scored two more goals the second half. Team captain and senior Mayra Hernendez led the team by scoring three goals, one assisted by sophomore Sarah Teesdale and another assisted by sophomore Elli Huizenga. Hernandez also assisted a great goal scored by junior April Phillipi. The Lady Pumas also did a nice job defensively shutting down Lee’s offense. Great defense by stud sophomore defender Kassi Walcott and some incredible saves by sophomore goalkeeper Dana Hulst gave the girls a well deserved win and shut out to be proud of.
The Potter’s House Athletic Director Brett Geertsma is excited to announce the hiring of Ellen Zilka as our new Varsity Girl’s Soccer coach. Ellen, who is originally from Minneapolis, MN, comes to us as a graduate of Calvin College this past December with a K-8 Elementary Education degree. Zilka has been playing soccer since her youth and played competitively all the way through high school where she starred as a high school soccer stand out. Zilka had this to say after the hiring, “I am very excited about the season and to have the opportunity to help the girls grow in their faith, soccer abilities and as a team.” Additionally, Athletic Director Brett Geertsma had this to say about Coach Zilka, “Ellen exemplifies exactly what a Potter’s House coach should be. She is a dedicated and passionate follower of Jesus who has the skill set and desire to mentor our student-athletes. She comes from a soccer family and knows the game extremely well. I am confident in Ellen’s ability to get the best of her soccer players on and off the soccer field and I can’t wait to see the girls get on the field this year.”
Second and third grade students performed folk dances as the culminating event for a Social Studies/Language Arts unit of Cinderella folktales from around the world.
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