The Preschool 3s enjoy spending time in the Outdoor Classroom for learning, play, and exploration.

Preschool 4s use the Outdoor Classroom for learning, play, and exploration. Students make friends with their 4th grade Prayer Partners. At the end of the year, Preschool 4s enjoy Field Day and an ice cream party.

Young 5s students spend time learning and exploring in the Outdoor Classroom and planting in the garden beds. During the school year, Young 5s have Spanish class. At the end of the year, students enjoy Field Day and an end of the year celebration!

Special highlights for the first graders include field trips to Kids’ Food Basket, a walk to Village Cone Shop, a visit from John Ball Zoo, watching the life cycles of caterpillars and ladybugs, and fun activities with their fifth grade prayer partners.

In second grade, students experience their First Reconciliation and First Holy Communion. Students prepare for their sacraments with visits to the Adoration Chapel and retreats.

Throughout the year, students host their own Animal Zoo, create Potato Head pets, engage in lots of hands-on science experiments, and visit the Kalamazoo Air Zoo, among other fun experiences.

Our third graders, while learning about Michigan history, take a day-long field trip to our capitol building in Lansing.

Prior to All Saints Day, students complete a research project on a saint, which they display in the hall at the beginning of November. For our school celebration of All Saints Day, their selected saints are included in our Litany of the Saints at Mass.

Third graders attend and deepen their relationship with God at Mass with their 7th grade prayer partners.

Fourth graders gain responsibility with prayer partner leadership-building activities throughout the school year. They also engage in service learning by donating basket items and cards for patients at Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital.

In March, the fourth graders participate in the annual diocesan 4th Grade Song Fest, as well as Battle of the Books. In May, students research and create a Biography Research Wax Museum Project, which families and other students in the school are invited to attend.

In preparation for fifth grade, they also get to visit Catholic Central High School for an instrument fitting to try various instruments as they discern joining band the following year.

To commemorate their time together and celebrate a successful school year, our fourth graders enjoy a field trip to a local park for a fun-filled picnic in late spring.

Fifth graders get the special privilege of spending a full week each season at the Franciscan Life Process Center in Lowell, MI. Students engage in outdoor activities, farm-related tasks, and faith-based education.

During the school year, the fifth graders live out Catholic Social Teaching by decorating bags for Kids Food Basket and organize a book drive for the Kent County Juvenile Detention center.

Our fifth graders are also the proud prayer partners of the 1st grade students.

Throughout the school year, our sixth grade students earn service hours to engage with their communities. After they’ve settled into their new roles as middle schoolers, students partake in a full day retreat to grow in their relationships with the Lord and with one another.

Near the end of the school year, our sixth graders participate in a team-building camp experience and enjoy an afternoon at a Whitecaps baseball game!

The seventh graders spend their school year completing service hours and preparing for their eighth grade confirmation.

In the fall they support God’s Kitchen by painting bowls for their annual ‘Soup’s On For All!’ fundraiser.

At the end of the school year, the seventh graders take a field trip to Lake Michigan for a retreat and team-building experiences.

As the oldest students at IHM, our eighth grade students take part in a fall leadership retreat and receive the sacrament of confirmation.

In October, they display the crosses for life on our campus, followed by assisting with Luminaries for Life in January.

In the spring, the eighth graders organize May Crowning and celebrate their experiences at IHM with a Mass and graduation ceremony at the end of the year.

Throughout the school year, these students organize pep rallies and other community-building activities for the student body.