This school year was unpredictable, to say the least. In an attempt to give students the best possible experience, West Ottawa has been hard at work to make memories students will have for the rest of their lives.

“We want students to experience Prom, Senior Survivor, Graduation, etc. because it’s part of our culture at WO.  We value academics and education, but we also value experience.  We want our students, especially our seniors, to look back and remember that we did what we could to give them meaningful moments despite all the challenges we face right now.  Having these moments to look back on 1, 3, even 20 years later is important and we want to give that to our students if at all possible,” Assistant Principal Audra Bolhuis said. 

Here is the rundown of the upcoming events including dates, details, contact information.

Senior Survivor

Dates: April 19-23

Details: The annual WinWo fundraiser is back. This event is planned by Student Senate and WOBN and consists of 12 seniors competing in challenges to raise money for West Ottawa’s internal charity. This year the survivors will not be staying overnight due to rising COVID-19 cases.

“I think it’s especially important to continue this event during these hard times because no matter what there’s never a bad time to give back. We want to showcase our support for our community, even through these unprecedented times. I think it was also important to give seniors something to look forward to this year. We have some pretty cool and exciting games planned this year, and WOBN has plans to make this the best season yet. There will obviously be a lot of challenges, we still have a lot of things up in the air but we’ll jump those hurdles when we get there,” Sr. Andrew Ky said.

This year’s survivors are:

Keilah Visscher

Elizabeth Lambert 

Lydia Foy

Tabby Basha 

Serina Saengdara

Kindy Herman

Zach Vandam

Kyle Magennis 

Reese Bentley

Dominik Klavon

Brennen Galli

Trevor Burie 

Contact: Andrew Ky, [email protected]

Cathy Engel, [email protected]

Homecoming Elections

Date: April 19-23

Details: Due to the cancellation of homecoming in the fall, Student Senate decided to take elements of homecoming to the spring. Students can find voting forms in their email.

“Homecoming court is a major tradition and we wanted to keep it going. The court will be announced throughout the week of Senior Survivor. Every day in the episodes we will announce a different grade’s homecoming court! The last day of Senior Survivor will be the day homecoming king and queen will be announced,” Sr. Emmy Strait said.

Contact: Emmy Strait, [email protected]

Sexual Assault Awareness/Prevention Month

Date: Wednesday, April 21

Details: April is sexual awareness/ prevention month. The Child Advocacy Center (CAC) and the Youth Advocacy Team (YAT) are going to be spreading awareness throughout the high school.

“They’re going to have an interactive table set up at the high school to educate students on topics surrounding sexual assault. They will be handing out educational pamphlets about the CAC, sexual abuse awareness buttons that are designed by the YAT, and raffling off prizes (Apple Airpods, candy bars, gift cards, etc). They will also be asking students to sign a pledge to unite against sexual abuse,” Wellness Coach Danielle Barnes said.

Contact: Danielle Barnes, [email protected]

Blood Drive

Date: Friday, April 30

Details: West Ottawa Student Senate is collaborating with Beechwood Church to host a spring blood drive on April 30. One donation can save up to 3 lives and each donation is tested for COVID-19 antibodies. You can sign up at http://bit.ly/woblooddrive2021.

“We have had lots of success the past few blood drives due to the help of the West Ottawa Community. The blood drive is a great way to connect with the community and save lives! Any money that is received from Versiti-Blood will go towards the Student Senate Blood Drive scholarship,” Sr. Zachary VanDam said. 

Contact: Zachary VanDam, [email protected] 

Lydia Foy, 21lgf01@westottawa.net

Dominik Klavon, [email protected]

Senior Oscar Night

Date: To be determined

Details: Senior superlatives were voted on by the senior class. The winners of the senior superlatives were voted on and finalized on March 24. The date that winners will be announced, will be determined at a later date. 

“The Senior Selection Committee thought it was still a good way to honor tradition by having superlatives but updating them with new categories and a move away from gendered winners. Anything we can do to give the class of 2021 their senior year is incredibly important,” Instructor Bethany Willcock said.

Categories and Nominees include:

• Best Glow Up: Adria Hamilton, Jackson Hagood, Marcus Mulder, Wyatt Remkema
• Dynamic Duo: Emmorey Strait & Isaiah Reynolds, Jessica Weaver & Angela VanHorn, Jill Annable & Hayden Rutan, Kennedy Dumas & Lydia Foy.
• Next Olympian: Blake Bosma, Cam Dunn, Reese Bentley, Lily Brandt, and Genna Lebster
• Next Picasso: Maya Cooper, Paige Voss, Taylor Williams, Anna Dick
• Teacher Most Likely to Called Mom: Mrs. Meyer, Mrs. Owen, Mrs. Stoel, Mrs. Heemstra
• Best Bromance: Jacob Murillo & Dominick Payne, Aden Brink & Ian Frederickson, Alex Toth & Eli Permisang, Alex Toth & Jake Neitzel
• Next Broadway Star: Bella Kephart, Anna VanKampen, Meghan Diel, Mekiah Simmons, Jackson Hagood
• Best Dressed: Cameron Dunn, Ebony Roach, Brenna Carithers, Elizabeth Lambert, Kennedy Crider, Keliah Visscher
• Most Likely to Make you Laugh: Kara McCoy, Keagan Garcia, Shuan Panainte, Irma Gonzalez, Brecken Panse
• Teacher Most Likely to Come to your Wedding: Mr. Taylor, Mrs. Wally Walcott, Mr. McNitt, Mr. Mandrick & Miss Engel
• Most Likely to Become President: Andrew Ky, Lydia Foy, Bella Kephart, Michael Oriyavong
• Best Hair: Ebony Roach, Gibby Nienhuis, Marcus Mulder, Zach Angel, Mekiah Simmons, Isaiah Reynolds
• Best Dice Roll: Brecken Panse, Ernestina Grimaldo, Keagan Garcia, Leah Hopkins, Keylanna Saunders
• Most Likely to Survive off the Grid: Anderson Bloemers, Owen Cross, Sophie Walsh
• Next Beethoven: Jack Burkholder, Joy Anderson, Luke Balcer, Ebony Roach,  Anna Zoerner
• Most Likely to Get Verified: Nayeli Mora, Kennedy Crider, Emily Johnson, Kaley Hendrick, Emmorey Strait, Armani Chanthavong
• Most Likely to Follow Their Future Plan: Adria Hamilton, Armani Chanthavong, Aubrey Patchin, Emmorey Strait, Kennedy Dumas

Contact: Bethany Wilcock, [email protected]

Angela Mckellar, [email protected]

Tulip Time- Half Day

Date: Thursday, May 6

Senior Exams

Date: Thursday, May 20 and Friday, May 21

Last Day of School- Seniors 

Date: Friday, May 21

Prom

Date: Saturday, May 22-6-9 pm

Details: Prom will be held at Civic Center outdoors, and socially distanced indoors if there is rain. The event is only open to seniors. The traditional Senior Breakfast event will be combined into this Senior Prom Celebration. In order to encourage students to wear their masks, the theme of the dance is “mask”erade. The prom planning committee encourages students to go all out with their face masks, the more extravagant the better. 

“There will be food trucks available with some food truck tickets included with the price of the prom ticket. There will be selfie stations throughout the property. Prom will be from 6 – 9 PM… fun fact… the sun sets at 9:03 that night, so we are encouraging people to walk down to Kollen Park after prom to watch the sunset,” Instructor Shanna Meyer said.

Contact: Shanna Meyer, [email protected]

Convocation

Date: Tuesday, May 25- 8-10 am

Details:  Convocation will be held in the WO gymnasium. The event will be for seniors only and will be live-streamed to the public. Masks will be required for everyone. More details will be sent out to students and parents at a later date.

Senior Parade

Date: May 25- 5 pm

Details: Last year, in an attempt to give the 2020 seniors an end-of-year celebration WOHS held the first Senior Parade. The parade will start at the high school campus and end at the middle school campus. Seniors are encouraged to decorate their cars for the parade. 

“Last year, when I went to the Senior Parade and it was an amazing experience. The entire West Ottawa community came together to support the 2020 senior class. I am excited that West Ottawa is doing this event again for the 2021 class,” Sr. Emily Johnson said.

Graduation

Date: Thursday, May 27- 6:30 pm

Details: In attempts to keep some type of normalcy to graduation, WOHS has three tentative venues. Based on the COVID cases and situation, the event could be held at the West Ottawa High School gymnasium, Hope College DeVos Field-house, or outdoors on the WOPS campus. More details will be sent out to students and parents at a later date.

Jungle

Date: Thursday, May 27- Friday, May 28

Detail: Jungle is an all-night, chemical-free party for seniors. The tradition is on graduation night and started in 1988. Information on how to sign up can be found on infinite campus or at the north office. 

“This is a great opportunity to have fun with friends and celebrate your graduation! In the past, this night has consisted of awesome venues, lots of activities, prizes, and yummy foods and drinks! Every year is a surprise location and theme and this year should be a blast!” Parent Becky Karner said.

Contact: Erin Pilarski, [email protected]

Memorial Day- No School

Date: May 31

Last Day of School- Underclassman 

Date: Friday, June 11