2013 Laker Writers Camp Flyer  (to print and mail)       

To Register and Pay Online 

We will be offering eight sessions of camp in 2013

All camps meet from 8:30 am - 12:30 pm

Cost is $120/person

• Allegan:  July 8-11:  Grades 4-6 in the Fall

        at the Allegan Administration Building

• Allendale:  July 15-18:  Grades 7-12 in the Fall

        at GVSU's Allendale (Main) Campus

• Belding:  June 24-27:  Grades 3-6 in the Fall

        at Belding Middle School Media Center

• Grand Rapids:  July 8-11:  Grades 3-5 in the Fall

        at GVSU's Pew (Downtown) Campus

• Grand Rapids: July 8-11:  Grades 6-8 in the Fall

          at GVSU's Pew (Downtown) Campus

• Grand Rapids:  July 8-11:  Grades 9-12 in the Fall

        at GVSU's Pew (Downtown) Campus

• Holland:  July 22-25:  Grades 4-6 in the Fall

        at GVSU's Holland Campus

• Muskegon:  August 12-15:  Grades 6-8 in the Fall

        at GVSU's Muskegon Campus

The deadline to register is 10 days before the start of each camp.

About Our Camps

The Lake Michigan Writing Project is proud to announce our annual Laker Writers Camps! For one week, your future novelist, poet, or journalist will have the chance to explore the wonders of writing with some of West Michigan’s finest teachers!

The Laker Writers Camps offers students an opportunity to explore many styles of writing in a fun environment.  With students returning each morning to the exciting environment, students participate in activities that create a community of writers and provide nurturing support for developing authors. To prompt writing, campers and facilitators may travel from their camp site to various age-appropriate places of interest, learning and inspiration.

Teachers plan writing activities that build confidence while providing the writing tools that inspire creative thinking and author’s craft. Campers write a variety of pieces such as poems, autobiographical sketches, short stories, and nature observations while engaging in the writing process of drafting, revising, responding and editing. Finally, each camper will choose a piece of his or her writing for publication in the camp anthology.

The Laker Writers Camp is an outreach effort of the LMWP to encourageand nurture young writers. Our staff consists of Lake Michigan Writing Project Teacher-Consultants who have been identified as outstanding teachers of writing and nurturing role models for our campers.

Meet Our Teachers

Jill Annable (Allendale)

Mrs. Annable earned a bachelor's degree in English and Mathematics Education at Western Michigan University. She is in the process of completing her master's degree in Secondary Education at Grand Valley State University. Mrs. Annable teaches at Spring Lake Middle School in the English department, where she enjoys reading young adult literature and working on her own writing pieces alongside the young writers in her class. She is also a Teacher-Consultant with the Lake Michigan Writing Project. When time (and weather) permits, she enjoys taking walks with her husband and rowdy dog.

Bethany Burnett (Allegan)

Mrs. Burnett attended Michigan State University for her English and teaching degrees. She has a Master's Degree in Teacher and Curriculum from Michigan State University and is currently working on a second Master's in Educational Leadership.  Mrs. Burnett teaches 5th grade at Dawson Elementary School in Allegan and is a Teacher-Consultant with the Lake Michigan Writing Project. In her free time, she enjoys mountain biking, running, walking her dog and spending time with her husband and three young children.

Leanne Feuerstein (Belding)

Mrs. Feuerstein attented Central Michigan University for her undergraduate work, and is currently finishing her Masters in Reading through Grand Valley State University. She teaches 4th Grade at Woodview Elementary in Belding, and has for the last 6 years. Mrs. Feuerstein and her husband have a 2 year old daughter, and are currently awaiting the arrival of baby number two. Mrs. Feuerstein and her husband enjoy going to Michigan Football games every fall her hobbies in her spare time are: spending time with her family, reading, writing, playing golf and walking.

Mrs. Fortmeyer attended Liberty University (Music Education) and then received her Bachelor's degree (Language Arts/Elementary Education) and her Master's degree (Reading) at Grand Valley State University. She teaches third grade at North Muskegon Elementary and enjoys collaborating with others as a Teacher-Consultant with the Lake Michigan Writing Project. In her free time, she enjoys music, playing keyboard with her church's worship team and gospel jazz group, reading, writing, baking, and traveling with her husband and family.

Ingrid Fournier (Grand Rapids Elementary)

Mrs. Fournier went to James Madison University in Harrisonburg, VA for her bachelor's degree. She then got her Masters in Education from the University of Michigan after serving two years as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the West Indies. Mrs. Fournier currnetly teaches in Forest Hills Public Schools 5th Grade, Northern Trails, in the Spanish Immersion program. In her free time, she loves to travel, read, and write.

Amy Holmes (Grand Rapids High School)

Mrs. Holmes earned her B.A. in Education with an emphasis in teaching English and Spanish from GVSU in 2006. She began teaching at Cedar Springs Middle School in 2006 and then moved up to the high school in 2007. She has been teaching for 6 years, experiencing a variety of courses, including Spanish, English, and Journalism. She is currently teaching 11th grade English, Newspaper, and Yearbook at Cedar Springs High School and thinks she may have been an editor in another life. She became a Lake Michigan Teacher Consultant in 2009 and is currently working on her M.A. in the K-12 Reading Specialist Program at GVSU. In her down time, Mrs. Holmes enjoys spending time with her husband and three young boys, capturing life through poetry and narrative, reading great books, and cooking delicious foods.

Tracy Horodyski (Grand Rapids Elementary)

Mrs. Horodyski is a graduate of Grand Valley State University.  Go Lakers!  She currently teaches at Zinser Elementary School in Kenowa Hills.  Mrs. Horodyski loves to spend time with her family and friends and enjoys being active:  running, hiking, roller blading, biking, swimming, golfing, dancing and going to the beach.  And, of course, she always finds it a pleasure to have some quiet time to read and write!

Jennifer Knittel (Muskegon)

Mrs. Knittel teaches English at Spring Lake High School.  After earning a business degree from Saint Mary's College in Notre Dame, Indiana, she moved to Indianapolis to pursue a business career.  After six years of uninspiring and unsatisfying work, she returned to West Michigan to earn her Masters in Education at Aquinas College.  Mrs. Knittel is a teacher consultant with the Lake Michigan Writing Project and loves using writing as a way to explore, question, and connect.  Sharing this love of writing with her students is a definite passion for her.  She has been married for five years and has two children, ages 4 and 2.  In her spare time, she likes to read, try to be crafty, cook, play with her kids, and camp.

Becky Kooi (Grand Rapids High School)

Mrs. Kooi earned a bachelor's degree in Psychology at William Tyndale College and then acquired her teaching certificate in English and Psychology from Saginaw Valley State University. In 2011, she completed a master’s degree in Counseling at Spring Arbor University. Mrs. Kooi teaches English and Psychology at Cedar Spring High School, where she enjoys writing creatively along with students and listening to their unique voices. She is also a Teacher-Consultant with the Lake Michigan Writing Project. In her free time, she enjoys vacationing with family, reading, and mentoring youth in various clubs.

Rachel Kooiker (Muskegon)

Mrs. Kooiker earned a B.A. in English and Psychology at Grand Valley Stat University, and is currently completing her Master's degree in Secondary Education at GVSU.  She is in her fourth year of teaching at Spring Lake High School, where she teaches English and Psychology.  Mrs. Kooiker and her husband raise horses and other livestock, and spend a lot of time working with their animals.  Mrs. Kooiker also enjoys spending her time reading, writing, and running.  

Jan Lamborne (Belding)

Mrs. Lamborne received her Masters Degree from Central Michigan University, in fact, her husband and three children are also CMU grads.  She teaches first grade at Ellis Elementary School in Belding. She loves spending time with her family and is fortunate enough to have her children and grandchildren living close to her.  Some of Mrs. Lamborne's favorite things to do are reading, writing, spending time in her garden, going for walks, bike rides and enjoying her friends.

Mary Shannon (Allegan & Holland)

Mrs. Shannon received her bachelor's degree from Grand Valley State University and her master's degree from Michigan State University. She currently teaches fifth grade at Lincoln Elementary in Zeeland and is also a teacher consultant for the Lake Michigan Writing Project. She lives in Holland with her family. When she is not teaching, Mrs. Shannon enjoys
walking with her husband and hanging out with her family. She also loves to read and write at various coffee shops and at her family's cabin.