Academy holds 'Meet the Teacher' day

Fri, Aug 29, 2008    to del.icio.us

SPRING LAKE — In its 13th year and with nearly 400 students enrolled, West Michigan Academy of Arts & Academics hosted a "Meet the Teacher" day for new students Thursday.

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Eighty-two new students — many of whom are incoming kindergartners — will attend the charter school that emphasizes theater, dance, visual art and music, and uses the arts to enhance what's learned in the academic classroom.

At the open-house event, new kindergartners and twins Jordan and Taylor Seelye inspected a box of blocks on a table in their new classroom while meeting teacher Jennifer Veenema. "I get to color," said Taylor about her hopes for kindergarten.

The twins' parents, John and Melissa Seelye, said high test scores and small class sizes are what drew them to choose the school for their children.

"We also have tons of returning students who just can't wait to come back to school," said the academy's curriculum coordinator, Connie Stewart.

"I'm looking forward to band and art," said Michael Cassell, a seventh-grader who has attended the school since the fourth grade.