Some students qualify for free athletic Punch Cards

Student athletes in the Lapeer Community Schools who participate in the Free/Reduced price lunch program are eligible to receive one free athletic ticket Punch Card per season they play.

The program is designed to make it more affordable for families with documented financial need to attend school sporting events.

The cards can be used to purchase $50 worth of admission to school sporting events.
Each card provides 50 punches, worth $1 each, when paying for admission at the gate. The Punch Cards can be used at regular school sporting events within the Lapeer Community Schools, including both high school (except hockey) and middle school athletic contests.

Additional cards also are available for purchase by students, parents or community members at the school offices at Lapeer East High School, Lapeer West High School, Rolland-Warner Middle School, Zemmer Middle School and in the Operations Dept. at the Lapeer Schools Administration and Services Center. The cards are priced at $25 and can be used to purchase $50 worth of admission to school sporting events. That’s a 50% discount.

Cheering for Jamie

Just over two weeks ago, the Lapeer East Cross Country coaches, along with several team members and parents gathered at the Lake Orion track on a hot Sunday afternoon.
They were there to do what they have been doing for the past four years – cheering on Jamie Caminiti.

Jamie was there to complete a 1.5-mile time trial, competing for a $10,000 scholarship through the Boomer Esiason Foundation. In spite of the fact that the event had to be moved at the last minute from East to Lake Orion, all of these people made the effort to be there for Jamie.

“We cannot begin to express our deepest appreciation and gratitude to everyone – coaches, team members and parents – for all of the support and encouragement that they have given to Jamie in her years at Lapeer East and for being a part of this special day for her,” noted Jamie’s parents, Joel and Sharon Caminiti.


Jamie won the scholarship by running the mile and a half in 9:32. The scholarship will go toward her studies at Cornerstone University, where she is a freshman this fall. The foundation annually awards this scholarship to two senior athletes across the nation with cystic fibrosis (one male, one female) with the best 1.5-mile time.

New school phone system

Thanks to the 2007 bond issue, the Lapeer Community Schools technology department has been busy this summer installing a new phone system.

Every building throughout the school district is involved in the upgrade, which brings a phone into every classroom. The new system was purchased with proceeds from the bond issue approved by District voters in 2007.

The new phones are connected to an internet-based network, which will allow anyone calling from within the District-wide system to contact any of our 400 classrooms and offices by dialing the 4-digit extension.

The new system also will allow teachers to check their school voice mail messages from home or any other outside location.

Most of the bugs have been worked out of the system in preparation for the start of school on Sept. 7. Normally the volume of calls increases with the start of school, so parents may occasionally have difficulty getting through. We ask for your patience.

The conversion to the new voice over internet protocol (VOIP) system provides greater access by staffers to phone communications and also will save the district thousands of dollars each year on its phone bills, explains Lapeer Community Schools Technology Director Nick Ward.

The upgrades to the phone system required a change in phone numbers for some locations in the Lapeer Community Schools. You can find an updated list of building phone numbers by visiting the District website at www.lapeerschools.org. Click on the Contact Us icon at the upper right.

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Many school starting times change

The school bell will be ringing one hour earlier for students in five of the District’s elementary schools this fall.
The “country” elementary schools (Lynch, Maple Grove, Mayfield, Murphy and Seaton) will now follow the same schedule as the “city” elementaries (Schickler and Turrill) to optimize the busing schedule across the district. All elementary school students, grades K-5, will start the day beginning at 8:07 a.m. and end at 3 p.m.
Middle school students in grades 6-8 at both Rolland-Warner and Zemmer will attend classes from 9:07 a.m. to 3:45 p.m.
The starting times at the District’s three high schools (Lapeer East, Lapeer West and Lapeer Community) remain the same. East and West students attend classes from 7:25 a.m. to 2:07 p.m. Community High School students go from 7:30 a.m. to 1:55 p.m.