By Greg Chandler
Zeeland Record
A little more than six weeks has passed since Rod Hetherton took over as superintendent of Zeeland Public Schools.
Hetherton has spent much of first few weeks on the job immersing himself into the life of the district – meeting with administrators and teachers, holding a retreat with the school board, even showing up at a marching band practice at Zeeland Stadium to give instructions over the public address system to the band.
“It’s been crazy. I’ve met a lot of people. It’s like a whirlwind,” Hetherton said at an Aug. 13 open house at Adams Elementary School, where parents and students got a chance to see the newly-added wing to the school, as well as the new playground.
The new wing, made possible by passage of a $75 million bond issue in May 2021, will serve fourth and fifth grade students at Adams.
The new superintendent, 25 newly-hired teachers and the Adams addition are just part of what’s new as ZPS kicks off the 2025-26 school year next Wednesday.
Hetherton says one of the things he hopes to see in the first days of the school year is an emphasis on building relationships throughout the district.
“Most kids are nervous to start the school year. We just want to build relationships with those kids, get them comfortable, help them understand the learning routines, what does school look like, (emphasize) overall positive expectations. Before we dig deep into curriculum, we want them to feel safe, valued and loved,” Hetherton said.
Some of the preliminary activities leading up to the opening day of school have already taken place. Orientation at both high schools occurred Tuesday, and Young Fives and kindergarten students had a practice bus run Wednesday.
Open houses at all of ZPS’ elementary buildings will take place tonight, with children and families getting a chance to meet teachers and tour the buildings. Details from individual buildings will be provided at the open houses.
Cityside Middle School will have a Back-to-School visit today from 12 noon to 6 p.m., while Creekside Middle School will be open today from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. for self-guided student/parent walk-throughs. Students will be able to locate their classes and practice their locker combinations.
As the school year begins, work continues on projects from the 2021 bond. North of the Zeeland West High School campus, turf is being laid down on new soccer and lacrosse fields –with dedicated fields to West and East. Each of the fields will have press boxes and dugouts for the competing teams. The fields are expected to be ready for the spring 2026 season.
“They’re state-of-the-art facilities,” East Athletic Director Josh Glerum said. “The other thing it does is it opens up space for both of our lacrosse programs, as they shared (Zeeland) Stadium earlier. Now they’ve got their own individual fields. We’re incredibly excited about it.”
A little further to the east, concrete has been laid down and fencing is being erected on the high school tennis complex. The complex features 16 courts, West Athletic Director Jordan Bandstra said.
“We go from sharing 12 courts between East and West to each having their own dedicated eight courts,” Bandstra said. “It allows for a ton of flexibility in practices and scheduling. We’re excited about the opportunity to host bigger tournaments, possibly state tournaments. The quality of the courts is what our programs and teams are excited about.”
Wondering about tickets to athletic events? Similar to last year, ZPS will use all digital tickets and passes for athletic events. Tickets must be purchased online through the GoFan platform or by using a debit/credit card at the events. Apple and Google Pay can also be used to purchase tickets either online or at the gate. Cash sales will not be accepted.
Single event tickets remain $5 for high school events and $3/$2 for middle school events. There will be no additional fee for purchasing tickets or passes through the GoFan system.
Individual and family passes are also for sale and managed through the GoFan platform. Stu-dent passes for K-12 students (you need a ZPS student number to buy one) are $25 while adult passes are $75 and family passes are $175.
Zeeland East and West passes are accepted at all regular season home contests at Cityside, Creekside, Zeeland East and Zeeland West.
Zeeland Record
A little more than six weeks has passed since Rod Hetherton took over as superintendent of Zeeland Public Schools.
Hetherton has spent much of first few weeks on the job immersing himself into the life of the district – meeting with administrators and teachers, holding a retreat with the school board, even showing up at a marching band practice at Zeeland Stadium to give instructions over the public address system to the band.
“It’s been crazy. I’ve met a lot of people. It’s like a whirlwind,” Hetherton said at an Aug. 13 open house at Adams Elementary School, where parents and students got a chance to see the newly-added wing to the school, as well as the new playground.
The new wing, made possible by passage of a $75 million bond issue in May 2021, will serve fourth and fifth grade students at Adams.
The new superintendent, 25 newly-hired teachers and the Adams addition are just part of what’s new as ZPS kicks off the 2025-26 school year next Wednesday.
Hetherton says one of the things he hopes to see in the first days of the school year is an emphasis on building relationships throughout the district.
“Most kids are nervous to start the school year. We just want to build relationships with those kids, get them comfortable, help them understand the learning routines, what does school look like, (emphasize) overall positive expectations. Before we dig deep into curriculum, we want them to feel safe, valued and loved,” Hetherton said.
Some of the preliminary activities leading up to the opening day of school have already taken place. Orientation at both high schools occurred Tuesday, and Young Fives and kindergarten students had a practice bus run Wednesday.
Open houses at all of ZPS’ elementary buildings will take place tonight, with children and families getting a chance to meet teachers and tour the buildings. Details from individual buildings will be provided at the open houses.
Cityside Middle School will have a Back-to-School visit today from 12 noon to 6 p.m., while Creekside Middle School will be open today from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. for self-guided student/parent walk-throughs. Students will be able to locate their classes and practice their locker combinations.
As the school year begins, work continues on projects from the 2021 bond. North of the Zeeland West High School campus, turf is being laid down on new soccer and lacrosse fields –with dedicated fields to West and East. Each of the fields will have press boxes and dugouts for the competing teams. The fields are expected to be ready for the spring 2026 season.
“They’re state-of-the-art facilities,” East Athletic Director Josh Glerum said. “The other thing it does is it opens up space for both of our lacrosse programs, as they shared (Zeeland) Stadium earlier. Now they’ve got their own individual fields. We’re incredibly excited about it.”
A little further to the east, concrete has been laid down and fencing is being erected on the high school tennis complex. The complex features 16 courts, West Athletic Director Jordan Bandstra said.
“We go from sharing 12 courts between East and West to each having their own dedicated eight courts,” Bandstra said. “It allows for a ton of flexibility in practices and scheduling. We’re excited about the opportunity to host bigger tournaments, possibly state tournaments. The quality of the courts is what our programs and teams are excited about.”
Wondering about tickets to athletic events? Similar to last year, ZPS will use all digital tickets and passes for athletic events. Tickets must be purchased online through the GoFan platform or by using a debit/credit card at the events. Apple and Google Pay can also be used to purchase tickets either online or at the gate. Cash sales will not be accepted.
Single event tickets remain $5 for high school events and $3/$2 for middle school events. There will be no additional fee for purchasing tickets or passes through the GoFan system.
Individual and family passes are also for sale and managed through the GoFan platform. Stu-dent passes for K-12 students (you need a ZPS student number to buy one) are $25 while adult passes are $75 and family passes are $175.
Zeeland East and West passes are accepted at all regular season home contests at Cityside, Creekside, Zeeland East and Zeeland West.
––––––––––––––––––––
Subscribe to the Legal News!
https://legalnews.com/Home/Subscription
Full access to public notices, articles, columns, archives, statistics, calendar and more
Day Pass Only $4.95!
One-County $80/year
Three-County & Full Pass also available
