Cody Cruce wins the Mayfield Spelling Bee competition on February 11

Sixth-grader Cody Cruce was named the spelling champ after correctly spelling "vanilla" during the Mayfield Spelling Bee on February 11. Fifth-grader Hope O'Neill was named the runner-up and sixth-grader Beth Adams the alternate.

Sixth-grader Cody Cruce will represent Mayfield Elementary School in the Lapeer County spelling bee after he emerged the winner in a spelling competition at his school on Thursday, February 11.

His secret for success? He reads a lot and controls his nerves when spelling in front of a crowd.

Cody won the competition at his school when he correctly spelled “vanilla” after other students were eliminated in the multi-round spelling bee.

“It just really seems to come to me,” Cody said of his spelling skills.

Mayfield will send two students to the county spelling bee. Fifth-grader Hope O’Neill will join him in the competition after finishing second Thursday. Sixth-grader Beth Adams finished third and will serve as alternate, competing at the county level if Cody or Hope are unable to attend.

The spelling bees, occurring in schools across the country, eventually will determine the competitors for the National Spelling Bee to be held in June in Washington, D.C.

Lynch Elementary held its spelling bee on Monday, February 8. Allison Vestbjerg won the Lynch competition and will represent her school in the county-wide bee. Seaton, Murphy and Maple Grove elementary schools will conduct their spelling bees next week to determine which of their students will compete at the county level.

Lapeer East High School seniors give presentations on social issues

Seniors at Lapeer East High School who completed 15 hours of service in the community and wrote research papers on a social issue, gave their presentations to Lapeer East classes on February 11.

Lapeer East senior Alex Hart heading to U.S. Coast Guard Academy

Lapeer East High School senior Alex Hart has been setting and achieving goals since he was a young child.

Whether it was in athletics or the classroom, Alex has set high standards for success.

Now, Alex has reached another milestone. He has been offered a full appointment to the United States Coast Guard Academy in New London, Conn. Attending the Academy is the next step toward his goal of working in National Security.

“The Coast Guard has attracted me my entire life,” Alex said. “I like the water, I’ve been a swimmer for 14 years, I love to sail and I want to travel. A military academy offers the kind of education I want and the Coast Guard program fits in perfectly.”

Appointments to the Academy are highly competitive. According to the Academy's website, only 411 appointments were offered to the 1,672 students who completed applications to be among the class of 2013. Of those offered appointments, only 288 were sworn in as cadets.

The Academy's educational program stresses academics, physical fitness, character and leadership.

Those qualities are a perfect match for Alex. Not only has he maintained a high grade point average, but he has competed on the Lapeer Swim and Dive team, on USA and YMCA swim teams for a dozen years and has competed in two national swim meets. He also has played on the Lapeer East High School hockey team and plans to participate in track and field in the spring.

He was selected to participate in the elite six-day National Youth Leadership Forum in Washington, D.C. in October 2009. Only 300 students from around the country were selected for the forum's inside look at the country's fight against foreign and domestic threats.

His mother, Kristen Hart, said her son's leadership abilities and skill on competitive swim teams gave him an edge in gaining appointment to the Academy. He will compete on the Academy's swim team and already has met with the team's coach.

"Alex wanted to serve his country ever since he was little," Kristen Hart said. "His family has a history of service in the military and he was interested in the Coast Guard because of its humanitarian efforts."

With his appointment, Alex will attend tuition-free for four years of school and will receive a monthly stipend. After graduation, he is committed to serving as an officer for five years.

He will attend boot camp this summer and spend a week training on the cutter Eagle, the tall ship used to train future Coast Guard officers. He does not yet know where the Eagle will be when it is his turn to sail on it, but said it could be anywhere in the world. His academic years will start in the fall.

Kristen Hart believes her son will do well at the Academy.

"Since he was very young he has always been very good at setting realistic goals and following through on those," she said. "The Academy will be a perfect fit for him because he is used to a very structured schedule."

Dennis Warner, Alex's counselor at Lapeer East, said Alex's experience at the Youth Leadership Forum cemented his goal of being accepted to the Academy.

"He's just a great kid," Mr. Warner said.

Alex is not done setting goals. He wants to work for the CIA and can apply for an internship with it between his freshman and sophomore years at the Academy. He hopes he can serve his five-year commitment with the CIA after graduation.

“When I went to the National Youth Leadership Forum, the intelligence aspect of it really stood out,” Alex said. “I am open to new cultures and being uncomfortable with my surroundings and having new experiences, traveling the most I can and enlightening people and having them enlighten me. I am open to anywhere in the world.”

Lapeer East and West athletic competitions cancelled today

All athletic competitions at Lapeer East and Lapeer West high schools are cancelled today, Wednesday, February 10, 2010, because of the weather.

Schools closed due to weather

Due to weather conditions, the Lapeer Community Schools are closed today, Wednesday, February 10, 2010.

Lapeer East students help raise money for Haiti with benefit concert

Lapeer East students Katherine Baeckeroot and Rebecca Wright organized the Helping Haiti Heal Benefit Concert, which featured music by junior Tate Robinson, teacher Al Margrif and Lapeer Music owner Rick Samano and a silent auction. The concert was help February 5 in the East auditorium.

Schickler Elementary students have a blast at Valentine dance on February 5

The Lapeer Center Building was a Valentine wonderland as students from Schickler Elementary School danced the night away February 5 during their Valentine dance.

Allison Vestbjerg is top speller in bee at Lynch Elementary

Allison Vestbjerg “monopolized" the Lapeer Community Schools spelling bee at Lynch Elementary on Monday, February 8 when she emerged as top speller despite tough competition from 23 other students.

Allison correctly spelled “monopolize” to take the honor and will now go on to compete against students from other Lapeer County school district. If the Lynch Elementary student wins there, she would advance to a competition against students from across the state.

The spelling bees, occurring in schools across the country, eventually will determine the competitors for the National Spelling Bee to be held in June in Washington, D.C.

Allison and the other spellers from the fourth, fifth and sixth grades competed at Lynch in front of an audience of their classmates. After her win, Allison said she is excited to move on to the next round of competition and said she always has been a good speller.

After Allison’s win, Riley Case and Samantha Schlaud, both Lynch students, challenged each other for second place by attempting to spell increasingly difficult words. Riley and Samantha battled for several rounds before Riley won by correctly spelling “ineffable” and “labyrinth” in back-to-back turns at the podium. Their competition for second place excited the audience, which erupted in applause and cheers after each round as the two students continued to challenge each other.

As runner-up, Riley would compete in upcoming bees if Allison is unable to attend.

Kindergarten Round-Up begins soon

The fall semester might seem a long way off, but Lapeer Community Schools officials are already thinking about their next kindergarten classes.

Registration for kindergarten is available for all children who will be 5 years old on or before December 1 of this year. Parents may register their children for kindergarten on Wednesday, March 24 from 1-7 p.m. or Thursday, March 25 from 1-7 p.m. at the Administration and Services Center, 250 Second Street, Lapeer.

When registering, please bring your child, proof of residency, your child’s original birth certificate, certified immunization record (available at the health department) and your work and local numbers in case of emergency.

For more information, call (810) 667-2401.

Board of Education changes locations of two April meetings

There are changes in location for two April meetings of the Lapeer Community Schools Board of Education. The changes are:

The April 1 regular board meeting will be in the Administration and Services Center.

The April 15 work session will be at Rolland-Warner Middle School.