Robotics team snares a silver medal

Excerpted from The County Press
The combined Lapeer East and Lapeer West robotics team earned a silver medal as second place district finalists in the March 4-5 FIRST district competition at Kettering University in Flint.

The combined Lapeer East and Lapeer West team, named “The Chimeras” snagged the silver medal as second place district finalists. The Lapeer County Education and Technology Center’s rookie team, GalakTech 3535, battled their way successfully to the semi-final round of the competition, making its mark as a serious contender.

“It was our first competition we ever made it that far,” said Chimeras team mentor Jon Uren of their second place prize. “It was really cool ... to walk out there and get that award.”

Uren confirmed that impressive performance, saying, “They did phenomenal ... They just excelled beyond belief.”

The scene at Kettering University’s field house was chaotic and spirited as 38 teams of teens, their mentors and their robots filled the pit areas. The teams spent the last six weeks designing and building robots that could tote inflatables and place them on pegs high up in the air. They also built mini-bots that could race up a pole.
Team spirit was evident everywhere. The Chimeras wore matching team shirts and sported black and white face paint. The Lapeer West Panther was spotted roaming the stands as well.

Team members were in a constant state of motion as they tweaked their robots in the pits before delivering them to the field of play. Rock music pulsed through building adding to the intense atmosphere. As they took their entries to compete, shouts of “Robot! Robot!” could be heard above the din so people could make way in the crowded pit area.

For each match, robots were placed into competition with robot operators lined up at each end of the field behind a plexiglass wall. The robots then battled it out, placing the inflatables on pegs to form the FIRST logo.

There was no shortage of team spirit as kids, parents and mentors cheered, jumping and up and down, noisily rooting for their robots during the matches. Post-event interviews made it apparent that two days of yelling took its toll.

The Chimeras are barely taking a breath as they prepare to compete again at Skyline High School in Ann Arbor Mar. 25-26 in another district competition, as they vie for a spot in the state and national championships. They are tweaking and upgrading their ‘bots.

“The kids are extremely excited. They really want first. They’re putting all their effort into it. They’re pumped,” said Uren. “We have a good robot with a good strategy. We’re pretty dangerous.” He said he thinks The Chimeras have a good shot at the nationals this year.

The Juggernauts of Pontiac, Killer Bees from Auburn Hills and T.O.R.C. from Oxford won the district competition. Metal & Soul of Capac won the Chairman’s Award, qualifying the team for state finals. Along with The Chimeras, the Martians of Goodrich and the Dragons of Swartz Creek earned silver medals as second place district finalists.

Photos by Nancy Elliott
Photo caption
Chimeras coach Tony Diodato and team members from Lapeer East and Lapeer West tweak their robot during pit time.

East's Tomczyk signs with Siena Heights

Lapeer East Senior Clayton Tomczyk has signed a letter of intent to play soccer at Siena Heights University in Adrian this fall.

Tomczyk is a 1st Team All-State, 1st Team All-League, and 1st Team All-District Player at Lapeer East. The 6-foot, 170-pound midfielder also plays for the TNT dynamite U18 club team. Clayton's sister, Kristen Tomczyk, a 2009 East grad, is also playing college soccer at Saginaw Valley State University.

“I chose Siena Heights for numerous reason, Tomczyk said. “First, the school has a solid Liberal Arts program that will allow me to study pre-pharmacy. Second, I was looking for a soccer program that felt right for me. I liked the family atmosphere, and the coaches and players were very friendly and welcoming.

“I hope to come in and contribute to the team right away. I would like to send out a special thanks to my family and coaches Joe Allen, Mark Burke, and Chad Kenny who have helped me develop as a player and person over the years.”

Siena Hieghts Coach Aldo Zid said, “The men’s soccer program at SHU is very excited to have a student-athlete of Clayton’s caliber join our soccer family. His ability in class and on the field will draw attention from our staff and faculty as well as our opponents.”

Spring Break -- April 4-8, 2011

Schools will be closed from April 4-8 for Spring Break.

Office hours for the Lapeer Community Schools Administraiton and Services Center during the spring break period will be 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

School will resume on Monday, April 11, 2011.

Talented students focus on movie-making

The theme this year is “Lights, Camera, Action!” for more than 50 Talented and Gifted (TAG) students in 2nd through fifth grades in Lapeer Community Schools.

The group gathered for its second outing of the year in the Media Center at Zemmer Middle School in late February for a day of movie-making. TAG students are selected based on exceptional strengths in academic areas and teacher recommendation. The District TAG Advisory Board puts together an all-day event each trimester.

The goal behind these all-day events is to allow these students to collaborate
and socialize with like-minded peers. The TAG Advisory Board is made up of interested teachers from each building, as well as an Art teacher, some Technology teachers and some District administrative staffers.

In the first trimester session in November, students learned documentary film-making. They conducted their interviews and made a mini-documentary using Windows Movie Maker. The students then saved the documentaries on “Flash Drives” purchased with TAG funds.

The second trimester project in February involved short, animated fantasy films. Students scripted, created background sets and shot their animated films using digital cameras. They then edited the movies on computers in the Zemmer Middle School media center.

The third trimester activities will include a premiere of all of the student films.

For a look at photos from the most recent movie-making session, visit https://picasaweb.google.com/LapeerCS/TalentedMovieMakersGatherAtZemmer#

Future Problem Solvers bring back trophies

Students from 14 teams from Lapeer Community Schools qualified 53 students for the Michigan Future Problem Solving State Bowl, March 26 and 27 at Clarkston Junior High School.

The teams represented Lapeer East High School, Zemmer and Rolland-Warner middle schools and Seaton, Lynch and Turrill elementary schools.

Five of those teams took home trophies for their presentations at the State Bowl, which is the culmination of a year-long program where students are taught to creatively seek, attack, and solve problems related to projections into the future.

These students had been hard at work on their problem-solving skills since the beginning of October, meeting after school once a week. An estimated 1,000 Michigan students worked on three problems during the 2010 - 2011 school year – Healthy Living, Air Transportation, and Genetic Testing – which were scored and critiqued by trained evaluators.

A total of 93 of Michigan FPS teams across three grade divisions (4-6, 7-9, and 10-12) were invited to participate in the State Bowl. While teams knew the general topic of this year’s Bowl – Water Quality – they did not know the specific nature of the problem they attempted to solve until the Bowl began.

One junior team which included Sarah Ridenour (Rolland-Warner MS 6th grade), Jacob Schlaud (Zemmer MS 6th grade), Ben Mitchell and Nathan Carr (Seaton ES 5th grade) took 4th place in the state in writing their 11-page booklet. That was just two places away from qualifying for the International Bowl in the junior division.

Two teams made it to the semi-final round, a junior team of 5th graders from Turrill, including Jullian Felton, Nathan Jasper, Kane Sweet, and Zach Bergstrom, and a middle team that included East 9th grader Nicole Romolino, Rolland-Warner 7th grader Zach Fritz, Zemmer 8th grader Alycia Mausolf and Zemmer 7th grader Alexis Mosher.

Two junior teams also had success in the presentation of their action plan. Taking a second in their presentation were Zemmer 6th graders Greg Schabel, James Felton and Steven Romolino and Seaton 5th grader Leah Bentley. Taking a third place were Zemmer 6th graders Olivia Card and Brooklyn Withey and Seaton 5th graders Pierce Logan and Chad Buike.

The Lapeer teams’ coach, Steve Larzelere-Kellermann, was named state FPS coach of the year.

Lapeer Community Schools can be proud of the showing our students had at the event.

Art Meets Science at Lapeer's Gallery 194

Gallery 194 in downtown Lapeer brings together both sides of the brain with BioArtography: Where art meets science opening March 30 and running through April. This unique exhibit features the dramatic and beautiful mages of cell structures in the body provided by lab research of the University of Michigan’s Center for Organogenesis.

On Wednesday, April 13, at 6 pm Deborah L. Gumucio, U of M Professor of Cell & Developmental Biology and Computational Medicine & Bioinformatics, will provide an exhibit tour with anecdotes about the artwork and research, which is free and open to the public.

University researchers united from a variety of disciplines at the center use cutting-edge advances in microscopic imaging technology to analyze cellular activity by viewing transparent tissue samples stained to identify specific cellular components. Gumucio says imaging is always in the forefront in order to observe the morphology of the cells, which come to life in vibrant color by being exposed to these stains. Gumucio explains that through this process “…right away we start seeing the artistic side of things. If you look closely at any tissue you cannot help but be thrilled by the way the cell looks. It’s so symmetric and colorful. The forms and shapes are beautiful.”

Over sixty million people are affected by organ damage and organ related diseases each year. The mission of the Center for Organogenesis is to design new and effective strategies to treat disease and repair damaged organs by studying organ formation, function and disease. The artistic inspiration that Gumucio described brought about BioArtography, a fundraiser for their graduate and post-graduate training program juried by professors from the Biology and Art Departments annually. Contributors submit artwork along with narratives in lay language explaining form, function and application of their research from labs across the United States and proceeds go directly to the center’s training program.

“I believe this is BioArtography’s first gallery exhibit, and we are happy to host. We hope to make information about scientific advances accessible through these compelling abstract images here in Lapeer County by exposing the art behind science,” says Gallery 194 Director Carolyn Manley McCarter. “This artwork encourages interaction; it makes biological research inviting to those of us who might otherwise be intimidated by it.”

Gallery 194, located at the corner of Court and West Nepessing Streets in downtown Lapeer next to the historic Pix Theater, is open Tuesday through Saturday from 11 am to 6 pm. Admission is always free and open to the public. For more information log onto www.gallery194.com or call 810-667-1495.

County Spelling Bee rescheduled

Bad weather and roads have pushed back the date for the 2011 Lapeer County Spelling Bee.

The new date is Wednesday, March 30, at 6:30 p.m. at Zemmer Middle School, 1920 Oregon Street, Lapeer.

Doors will open at 6 p.m. for registration of students.

For further information contact Dawn Mosher at dmosher@lcisd.k12.mi.us or Julie Rogers jrogers@lcisd.k12.mi.us.

Vandalism to buses closes schools

Lapeer Community Schools are closed today, Monday, March 28, because of vandalism of the school bus fleet.

To provide some further information about the vandalism to the buses, here are the facts at this time:

The valve stems were loosened and the air was let out of both front tires of more than 50 school buses.

Lapeer City Police are investigating.

No further damage was done to the buses.

It will take most of the day to reset the valve stems and inflate the tires on the 50 buses. It is anticiapted that all buses will be repaired in time for school to take place tomorrow, Tuesday, March 29.

The District bus fleet totals 73 buses. School was canceled today for the more than 6,000 students who attend the three high schools, two middle schools and seven elementaries in the District.

Zemmer holds first honor society induction

Zemmer Middle School held its first National Junior Honor Society induction ceremony for grades 6-8 on Tuesday, March 22. It was an honor for the 71 students who were recognized before their friends, parents, school staff and administration.

The presentation was conducted in the school’s cafetorium, followed by cake and refreshments for the students and guests.

“We are proud to announce the founding of the Deborah L. Thompson Chapter of the National Junior Honor Society at Zemmer Middle School. The NJHS has a proud tradition behind it, and we are pleased to be able to offer a chapter at our school. Being a member of the NJHS is a privilege for all students that meet the criteria for membership,” said Laurie Solack, a sixth grade science teacher and chapter adviser of the Zemmer NJHS.

The local chapter at Zemmer was named in honor of Lapeer Community Schools Superintendent Debbie Thompson, who is retiring at the conclusion of this school year. Present at the ceremony, Thompson addressed the students.

“These are the kind of honors that are fun to attend,” said Thompson. “This is a great day for all the students and their families. It’s an honor to be here and to have the chapter named after me.”

Membership in the chapter is an honor bestowed upon deserving students by the faculty, and is based on the criteria of scholarship, service, leadership, citizenship, and character.

To be considered for the Zemmer NJHS, students need to have a cumulative grade point average of 3.5 or higher out of 4.0. All seventh and eighth grade students and second trimester sixth grade students are eligible.

Scholastic achievement alone does not automatically guarantee acceptance as a member.
“We are very excited and honored to be able to offer this opportunity to our students. We look forward to all the continued service and leadership that NJHS students will bring to both Zemmer Middle School and the community of Lapeer,” said Solack.

NJHS officers for 2011 at Zemmer are: Scott Hilgendorf, president; Victoria Roush, vice president; Randy Frack, treasurer; Shawn Deverell, secretary; and Whitney Roemer, historian.

The 2011 Zemmer Middle School inductees included:
Sixth Grade: Lauren Barber, Bradley Birkle, Levi Bleau, Megan Bopra, Derek Buike, Victoria Carbone, Olivia Card, Brendan Dunavant, Carson Ellis, James Felton, Allyssa Fenslau, Matthew Garcia, Paul Gregor, Abigail Horning, Ariana Iloncai, Kaytlin Kabelman, Kimberly Kuligowski, Alyssa Laidler, Emily Lewis, Anna Lowe, Shelby Metzger, Logan Morys, Kendra Newman, Caitlin Nykamp, Hope O’Neill, Gregory Orth, Ryan Rogers, Steven Romolino, Drew Rubick, Greggory Schabel, Joseph Schunk, Destyni Stone, Baylee Thompson, Isabella Tindall, Victoria Tripp, Alicia Wagner and Brooklyn Withey.
Seventh Grade: Hannah Anderson, Noah Bindschatel, Alicia Birkenhauer, Mallory Brooks, Trevor Bruce, Allison Ciak, Megan Clemens, Mickey Coulter, Ginger Eastman, Scott Hilgendorf, Allison Johnson, Sydnie Jostock, Kayla Koryciak, Faith Kruger, Emily Lass, Rylei McAllister, Manon McCullough, Victoria Roush, Matthew Schneider, Hannah Sornig.
Eighth Grade: Amie Barker, Julia Borowicz, Hunter Conzelmann, Shawn Deverell, Randy Frack, Alexa Hill, Alycia Kigar, Garrett Knowlton, Leah Komisak, Sydney Maggs, MacKenzie Putnam, Meriah Putnam, Whitney Roemer and Shelby Smith.

Photo by Jeff Hogan
Photo caption:
Superintendent Debbie Thompson, for whom the Zemmer Middle School’s new National Junior Honor Society chapter is named, addressed the 2010-2011 inductees at a ceremony Tuesday evening.

R-W Fine Arts Night March 29

On Tuesday, March 29th, Rolland-Warner Middle School will be holding its annual Fine Arts Night.

From 5:00 – 7:30 p.m. students will offer a night of band performances, theater performances, art displays and working artists.

Along with that, for the past six years at Zemmer Junior High and now at Rolland-Warner Middle School, students will once again be hosting a community service event called Empty Bowls. The premise of this project is simple. Art students have been busy making ceramic bowls in class. These bowls will be used on March 29th to serve a meal of soup and bread to anyone who attends. Everyone who comes will be asked to make a donation of at least $5 per person in exchange for the meal and a bowl created by one of our students.

All money collected this year will be given to the soup kitchen at the First Presbyterian Church in Lapeer.

The Fine Arts Department hopes that everyone can attend this evening of events in support of our students and our community.

Schedule of events:
5:00 – 7:30 Art walk including art displays and demonstrating artists (in the hallways)
5:00 – 7:00 Empty Bowls (in the cafetorium)
5:30 – 6:30 Band solo and ensembles (in the band room)
7:00-7:30 Drama club performs (in the cafetorium)

Three Governor’s Exhibit artists featured at reception

The Governor's Art Show reception has been rescheduled for Friday night, March 25, from 6:30 to 7:30 in the Lapeer West Library.

The show honors students from both East and West High schools. In addition to featuring work by 2010 Governor’s Exhibit artists, including Hillary Davlin of Lapeer East and Cheryse Burns and Rachel Gillotte of Lapeer West, the works of about 30 students from both West and East will be on display.

The display will exhibit several works which have been or will be in other art competitions this year.

West art teacher Nancy Barry notes: "Come and see this wonderful work. You will see why our art program is so well respected."

Mrs. Barry and East art teacher Deb Helbig are co-hosting the reception.

Also on display will be the works of five artists – Adrianna Allen, Karley Bauroth, Catherine Wonders and Rebecca Korleski of West and Adam Porter of East -– who are among the top 100 student artists in the state for this year who will display their works at the Michigan Youth Arts Festival in May at WMU.

Work by Adrianna Allen also has been selected to be part of the 2011-12 Governor's Traveling Exhibit.

Photos of art work include that of Hillary Davlin (top) of Lapeer East and Cheryse Burns (middle) and Rachel Gillotte (bottom) of Lapeer West.

Schwan's Fundraiser at Rolland-Warner

The Schwan's Fundraiser at Rolland-Warner Middle School wraps up Monday, March 28.

Orders can be turned in at the R-W school office between now and Monday. The Schwan's Truck will be at the school for order pick-up on Friday, April 1st.

This is a great opportunity to support the school while enjoying the well-known quality of Schwan's.

Nominees sought for Alumni Hall of Honor

Do you know a Lapeer Community Schools high school alumnus worthy of induction in the Distinguished Alumni Hall of Honor?

Nominations for candidates for the sixth annual Lapeer Community Schools Distinguished Alumni Award program are being accepted for the fall induction program.

The Distinguished Alumni Award program is a coordinated effort by the District and the Lapeer High School Alumni Association.

To be eligible for the award, a person, living or dead, must have graduated from the Lapeer Community Schools at least 10 years ago and be noted in his or her field of endeavor or recognized for expertise and good works.

The person must be considered a role model for youth and demonstrated positive leadership and outstanding achievement, service or contributions to society. Honorees will attend the Distinguished Alumni Induction Ceremony this fall.

Applications are available in District buildings or by calling Mary Linn Voss at (810) 538-1634. Deadline for applications is Friday, April 29.

West, Rolland-Warner choirs are 'excellent'

On Wednesday, March 9th, the choirs at Lapeer West High School and Rolland-Warner Middle School attended the annual district choir festival.

Lapeer West took two choirs, Treble Chorus and Mixed Chorus. Both choirs from West scored "excellent" ratings allowing them to compete in the State Choir Festival on May 3-4th. This is the third straight year that Mr. Thomas Kaiser's choirs earned this honor.

Both choirs are extremely excited to be nominated and to compete in May. Last year, Lapeer West took two choirs to state festival, with one earning an excellent rating. "This year we will try and match last year's results and earn ourselves another plaque to add to the choir room wall." said Kaiser.

The Rolland-Warner choirs also attended the event and earned "excellent" ratings as well. This was the first year that the school has attended.

The choir, made up of 55 seventh and eighth graders, are headed to state festival. This year's Junior High festival will be held May 19th at Central Michigan University.

"I am happy that my choirs did so well yet again. They worked hard to earn excellent ratings, and it is just another achievement for all of my kids"

Parent volunteers needed

Rolland-Warner Middle School is looking for parent volunteers to help out with serving hot cocoa and donuts on Friday, April 15th, from 7:45-9:00 am.

The school will host its first YA Café (Young Adult Literature booktalk) with guest book-talker Mr. Sweeney, who will be talking about the book “Red Scarf Girl. “

Any parent interested in helping out with this event is asked to please contact Mrs. Taylor jtaylor@lapeerschools.org.

All middle school students are welcome to attend. Tickets will be available April 11th -14th free of charge to any interested students.

Seaton Elementary remains open for 2011-12

The Lapeer Community Schools Board of Education has decided to continue to operate Seaton Elementary School for the 2011-12 school year.

The Board voted Thursday evening to keep the school open during the next school year, 2011-12.

In its resolution, the board stated the building will close at the end of the 2011-12 school year unless the enrollment at Seaton is at least 300 students as of February 2012, or the district-wide K-5 enrollment on February 1, 2012 is at least 2,400, or a revised facility master plan is developed for the District.

The school, located on Coldwater Road in Oregon Township, has a current enrollment of 288 students in grades Early 5 through 5th grade.

Wandrie is finalist for Superintendent

The Lapeer Community Schools Board of Education on Thursday evening voted unanimously to advance Matthew Wandrie as a candidate for superintendent.

The board will schedule a visit to his home district, the Dearborn Public Schools, and has authorized the Personnel Committee to pursue a contract with him.

Wandrie was among more than 40 applicants for the superintendent position. He lives in the Oxford area and is currently the director of human resources at Dearborn Public Schools.

Superintendent Debbie Thompson will be retiring at the end of the current school year in June, after serving as LCS Superintendent for the last six years.

Second graders help save endangered rhinos

From the County Press
Nancy Lamphere’s second grade class at Mayfield Elementary School presented $175 to Ruth Ann Prey, a retired school teacher, Monday morning (March 14). The money, raised entirely by the students, will be sent to an animal sanctuary in Africa that helps rescue endangered black rhinoceroses.

Prey gave a guest lecture to the second grade class in late February about the black rhinoceros, whose population has decreased dramatically in the past few decades. While tens of thousands of black rhinos thrived as recently as 1970, recent research suggests that as few as approximately 4,000 lack rhinos are alive today.

The rapid decline in population is mostly due to poachers who hunt the rhinos for their horns, which are then sold as trophies or ground into a powder used in pseudo-medical practices as a cure-all. Black rhinos are currently classified as “critically endangered” by the IUCN.

After the presentation, the second grade students decided they wanted to do something to help. In particular, second grader Ella Coulter took the cause to heart. Her parents said she spent an entire snow day making posters, writing a letter to other students and their parents and making a collection jar for spare change. “She did it all herself,” said her parents.

Thanks to Ella and the rest of the students at Mayfield Elementary, a total of $175 was raised. Prey returned to the school Monday to accept the money and thank the students for their efforts. “I think it’s really important.... I love animals,” said Ella.

Photos by JACOB HUNSANGER
Photo captions:
Above, Ruth Ann Prey, a retired Lapeer teacher, talks to the second grade class at Mayfield Elementary School and applauds them for their hard work raising money. To the left, student Ella Coulter shows off the collection jar she made. The students used the jar to collect spare change from parents and students in other classrooms. On the right is the letter Ella wrote to help with the fundraising efforts.

East's Burke signs to play at Concordia

From the County Press
A Lapeer East Eagle will become a Cardinal in the fall as senior Jacob Burke signed his national letter of intent to play football at Concordia University.

Burke will play wide receiver at the next level in the Pistol Spread Option offense, which has four wide receivers on the field at all times. Though the offense is relatively new, the coaching staff at Concordia believes they can put Burke in position to make plays with the ball in his hands and believes he is a perfect fit for a student-athlete at Concordia.

The senior also played in the defensive backfield for the Eagles on defense and was a part of the basketball team. Burke chose Concordia over other schools that included Albion College, Adrian College and Siena Heights University.

He selected Concordia over the other schools because he liked the campus. He believes his biggest challenge as he moves on to college athletics will be preparing for the better competition he will face and how much time football will consume in college.

The intended communications major is excited about meeting his new teammates and facing new competition at his position in a bid for playing time.

Lapeer East coach Jake Weingartz said he believes Burke will have no problems translating his game to the collegiate level. “Jake has great athleticism and he is an overall playmaker on the field. He made a lot of plays for us this season. He was a big reason we were as successful as we were this season,” Weingartz said.

“He will be a very productive wide receiver in college,” Weingartz added. “He will have to get in the weight room and continue to get bigger, faster and stronger, but there is no reason he won’t have a successful four years.”

Photo by Eric Hohenthaner

Photo Caption:
Lapeer East senior Jacob Burke signs his letter of intent with Concordia University as he is surrounded by his parents and Concordia coaches.

Mayfield 2nd graders perform "Ugly Duckling"

Mrs. Lamphere’s 2nd grade class at Mayfield Elementary will perform "Ugly Duckling" (a mini musical) for students March 16th at 2:00 p.m. and for the public March 17th at 6:00 p.m. at Mayfield Elementary located at 302 Plum Creek Road, Lapeer.

Mrs. Lamphere’s annual play is always a treat for the students and their audience. Come enjoy a delightful cast of singing second graders.