Friday, March 19, 2010

Lapeer East, Lapeer West students win several honors at recent Lansing art show

Lapeer East and Lapeer West students won several honors at the recent Michigan Art Education Association show held in Lansing.

The selections continue a history of success by Lapeer art students at the State art competition.
Lapeer East, Lapeer West and Lapeer Community High School students had art work selected for judging in the Region 10 MAEA and several of those had artwork selected for further judging at the State level in Lansing.

Lapeer West students Cheryse Burns and Rachel Gillotte, students of Mrs. Nancy Barry had art work selected for the State’s Top 18. Cheryse, Rachel and Hillary Davlin, a Lapeer East art student of Mrs. Deb Helbig had art pieces selected for the Governor’s Traveling Show.

As part of the traveling art show, the students’ artwork will be exhibited in at least three high schools in Michigan, the Governor's residence, the Michigan Art Education Association convention and three universities. Lapeer West and Mrs. Barry will host one of the governor's show exhibits next school year.

In addition several East and West art students had artwork selected for the Michigan Youth Arts Festival Art Show.

Selected for the YAFAS were: East students, Ayla Chanakam Asawasathaporn and Hillary Davlin; and West students, Cheryse Burns, Elizabeth Smith and Rachel Gillotte.

The Top 18 artists will be honored at a special luncheon in May at the Michigan YAFAS at Western Michigan University.

“These students are to be congratulated for a terrific job,” said Mr. Jeff Bolzman. “Congratulations to all the students who participated in this show.”

Other students selected for the State judging were: West students, Rhonda Vandercook, Jessica Phelps, and eighth-grader Paula Kelly Greenman; East student, Kayla Miller.

Lapeer West students honored for work at Regional Scholastic Art competition

Two Lapeer West students won Gold Key awards at a recent Regional Scholastic Art competition. (As soon as the art is returned from judging it will be posted online, so come back and check)

A total of 11 students were honored for 17 pieces of art judged at the regional event.
The prestigious Scholastic Art Show has been the most rigorous competition for high school artists in the country for more than 80 years.

Students of Lapeer West art teacher, Mrs. Nancy Barry, have won national honors more than 20 times during her career.

“Schools are honored to have even a single piece in this juried show,” said Mrs. Barry. “The Art Department instructors firmly believe that everyone can benefit from instruction in the visual arts.”

The West art department agrees with author Daniel Pink’s statement that: “Research has shown that instruction in the arts boost test scores in other areas as well as being valuable for teaching creativity, which cannot be outsourced.”

Gold Key awards; Lisa Noelle (two awards, sculpture and ceramics and glass) and Jessica Phelps (ceramics and glass). Noelle also won a College for Creative Studies Special Award for her ceramics and glass art. Both are students of teacher Mr. Jeff Bolzman.

Silver Key awards, Jaclyn Conlon (photography), Jessica Phelps (ceramics and glass), Elizabeth Smith (sculpture), Haileigh Sanders (drawing). Phelps is a student of Mr. Bolzman and Jaclyn, Haileigh and Elizabeth are students of Mrs. Barry.

Students honored with Certificates were: Kaitlyn Becker (drawing), Samantha Case (drawing), Jaclyn Conlon (photography – two photos), Lauren Gates (drawing), Rachel Gillotte (drawing), Jessica Phelps (ceramics and glass), Megan Roberson (drawing), and Sabrina Stryznski (drawing), all students of Mrs. Barry.

Lunch can be educational too! Lapeer Community Schools spices up lunch time

Learning doesn’t always stop when the lunch hour bell rings.

As part of National Nutrition Month, the Lapeer Community Food Service Department is using student lunch time this week to teach students about the flavorful and healthy use of spices in crafting low-fat healthy snacks.

Students around the District will be offered a taste test of four healthy snacks during the month of March.

“Spice Up Your Health. Exploring the benefits of herbs and spices” was the theme of the annual program to teach healthy nutrition to District students. The program was offered by Chartwells, the food service company that supplies meal services to the District.

“From observations, it appears the two most popular snacks were the ‘Creamy Cinnamon Vanilla Dip,’ which was served as a dip with apple slices, and the ‘Cheddar Herb Biscuits,” said Jill McLaughlin, administrative assistant and chef at Chartwells, “But students like the other healthy snacks as well.”

Copies of all the recipes were made available to students. Copies of the recipes are posted on the District’s photo gallery at: http://picasaweb.google.com/LapeerCS/SpicingUpLunchAtLCS.

Spices used in the four recipes were cinnamon, vanilla, ground ginger, granulated garlic, oregano, dried rosemary, dried thyme leaves and black pepper.

Brownie Girl Scout beginning ice skaing program at Polar Palace begins March 24

Following is some information that may be of interest to many of our students and parents about a new beginning ice skating program at the Polar Palace. From the Polar Palace:

The Brownie Girl Scout Program is a beginning ice skating class for those Scouts interested in discovering, connecting and taking action on and off the ice.

Trained Skating Instructors will be conducting the 5-week program on Wednesday (Mar 24 - Apr 28 from 4:50-5:50pm) to help Scouts achieve several of the designated outcomes that are essential to strong leadership -- from exploring the sport of ice skating, ice skating etiquette, learning the basics of ice skating, ice skating games and the opportunity to be an inspiration to others.

"We will also have some off-ice time devoted to creating an acrostic poem about ice skating and making a skating mural," stated Lemieux. "It is our hope to provide the Scouts with a unique experience both on and off the ice."

The cost of the 5-week session program is $55 and includes skate rental. Scouts enrolled in the program can take advantage of the Wednesday Public Skate beginning at 3 pm. The designated one hour session includes 1/2-hour group lesson and 1/2-hour practice time. Upon earning their Polar Palace Skating School patch, a $5 discount coupon will also be provided to all Scouts wishing to "first time" enroll in any "Learn-to-Skate or Learn-to-Play" class thereafter.

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Reminders, notes from today's e-mail blast

If you are the parent of a high school senior, now is the application time for scholarships. Many are available in both small and large amounts, but every little bit can help. There is plenty of information on the counseling tabs on both high school websites. Deadlines are approaching, some as early as next week, so make sure your senior is not left out of a scholarship. Each year millions of dollars of scholarships are given to graduating seniors at the high schools.
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Canned and boxed foods are being collected at the school offices at Lapeer East and Lapeer West for the Habitat for Humanity Food Drive during the month of March. All donations will remain in Lapeer County.
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High school juniors at Lapeer East and Lapeer West should be aware of several opportunities this spring and summer for leadership and citizenship seminars. These programs are completely funded by our Lapeer American Legion, Legion Auxiliary, Lapeer Rotary and Lapeer Farm Bureau Organizations. Students attend free of charge. Applications for Boys State, Girls State, Rotary Youth Leadership Conference and Young Peoples Citizenship Seminar are now available in the counseling offices and must be returned by this Friday, March 19.
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Deadline for orders for the West Music Boosters Easter Ham Sale is this Friday, March 19. Ham pick-up will be next Wednesday from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. in the West band room. Call Tina Conlon (24*) 766-5701 to place an order.
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Reminder: The Mayfield Elementary School PTC Spring Craft Bazaar and Mom 2 Mom Sale is this Saturday, March 20, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the school, 302 Plum Creek Road. It’s a great place to get deals on new or gently used clothing and other items.
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We now have links on the elementary school home pages for the fun Math & Science Connection newsletter. Lots of fun things to do at home with your student.

Advanced Sitter, Youth Golf enrichment classes offered through spring enrichment

Advanced babysitting classes and a youth golf class for boys and girls in grades K -7, are being offered through the Lapeer Community Schools Spring Youth Enrichment Programs.

Young men and young women with at least some babysitting experience are invited to take an Advanced Sitter class on Monday, April 19, that will prepare them for overnight or family travel babysitting jobs. Basic CPR will also be taught. The class is excellent for achieving scout badges or 4-H requirements.

An Advanced Babysitting Certificate will be issued upon successful completion. The two-hour class which begins at 6:30 p.m. will cost $20 a person or 2 registrants can enroll for $30. The class is taught by Mrs. Gloria Sherman and will be held at Rolland-Warner Middle School, 333 DeMille Boulevard in Lapeer.

Young people interested in learning golf are invited to register for a program taught by professional instructors. Students will be taught the fundamentals (grip, stance and swing); long game (drivers and irons); and short game (pitching, chipping and putting).

The course, which will be held in one-hour sessions on Wednesdays, April 14, 21, 28 and May 5 at 6:15 p.m. in the Murphy Elementary School gym, 1100 Pratt Road in Metamora Township, will also teach the finer points of etiquette and rules. Top-of-the-line junior clubs and safe foam balls will be used for this indoor class.

Cost of the four sessions is $55.

Pre-registration is required for both classes. There will be no registration at the door. To register or to obtain a registration form call (810) 538-1622.

Lapeer East High School receives high marks as NCA accreditation approved

Following the visit of a Quality Assurance Review team in December, Lapeer East High was notified it received high marks and a five-year renewal of its accreditation by the North Central Association on Accreditation and School Improvement.

The seven-member team gave Lapeer East high marks in the seven areas of “Standards for Quality Schools.” Those standards are: Vision and purpose, governance and leadership, teaching and learning, documenting and using results, resource and support systems, stakeholder communications and relationships and commitment to continuous improvement.

Among others, the team specifically commended Lapeer East in the following areas:

· “The Advanced Placement (AP) program has seen significant growth, increasing student achievement and skill set of teaching staff. This growth is also diverse in terms of socio-economic background and the teaching staff receiving training in this program.”

· “Stakeholders have a great deal of pride and building staff display a great deal of camaraderie.”


· The building staff has begun to use data to support teaching and curriculum choices.

NCA CASI provides nationally-recognized accreditation, the purpose of which is continuous school improvement focused on increasing student performance. To earn accreditation, schools must meet NCA CASI’s high standards, be evaluated by a team of professionals from outside the school, and implement a continuous process of school improvement.

NCA CASI accreditation is recognized across state lines, which not only eases the transfer process as students move from accredited school to accredited school but also assures parents that the school is meeting nationally accepted standards for quality and successful professional practice.

“We are pleased that the hard work by our students and staff was recognized in such a positive way by the accreditation team,” said East Principal Kelly Paige. “Our goal is to constantly improve our standards and expectations for our students and our staff.”


Lapeer West High School is also an NCA accredited high schools.

Combined Lapeer boys' swim team finishes season well at its final 2010 meet

In the final swim meet of the season, every swimmer on the combined Lapeer East/Lapeer West swimming team improved in at least one individual event and some in more than one.

“The team dropped almost 50 seconds off its total best time for the meet,” said Coach Pat Thomas. “That’s almost as long as the 100 freestyle event being eliminated. The whole team and every member improved all season long but really had some dramatic drops in their times at this final meet.”

The team’s overall record, 2 wins and 6 losses, second place finishes at the Vehicle City Relay and Mt. Morris Invitational and a tenth place finish at the Glen County Invitational is not a full picture of how much the team accomplished and how it sets up for next year.

“Every member of the team made giant strides to become well-rounded swimmers who can swim all the strokes and are prepared to go the distance to be a force to be dealt with in the future,” said Coach Thomas. “I am very proud of what our team has done since the onset of the season on November 23rd.”

At the Flint Metro League meet in Fenton in late February, the swim team finished in sixth place in the seven-team field.

Personal best finishes and scores were posted at the meet by: Patrick Martindale (200 free); Mason Sornson (diving); Alex Hart (100 butterfly – also a school record); Ryan Tuckfield (100 fly); Eric Bevers (100 free); Mark Wells (100 backstroke); John Turner (100 backstroke); John Nestor (100 breaststroke); and Mason Sornson (100 breaststroke).

Season best results were posted in: 200 Medlay relay, Mark Wells, John Nestor, Mason Sornson and Neil Denver; 200 Free relay, Alex Hart (broke school record in lead-off part of relay), Pat Martindale, Ryan Tuckfield and John Nestor; 400 Free relay, Alex Hart, Pat Martindale, Eric Bevers and Ryan Tuckfield.