Nine Lapeer winter sports teams honored for good sportsmanship by Metro League

Five teams from Lapeer West High School, three teams from Lapeer East and a combined boys’ swim team from both schools were honored for “good sportsmanship” from the Flint Metro League recently.

Selected from Lapeer West by varsity coaches from opposing teams were the following winter sports teams: wrestling, competitive cheer, girls’ basketball, boys’ bowling and girls’ bowling.

Lapeer East teams selected for the sportsmanship award from opposing coaches were: competitive cheer, girls’ basketball and boys’ basketball.

The combined Lapeer East/Lapeer West High School boys’ swim and dive team was also selected by opposing coaches for showing good sportsmanship.

Lapeer East, Lapeer West art students excel at Young Artists Today show

Art students from Lapeer Community Schools once again exhibited their talent as seven students from Lapeer East and Lapeer West High Schools walked away with awards at the Young Artists Today Show held at the Flint Public Library.

Lapeer East students, Morgan Williams, senior, won a second place, and Ariana Donahue, a sophomore received third place in the show.

Honorable mention awards were received by East student senior Holly Osentoski, and West students Drew Dabrowski, junior, who won two awards, Samantha Dahnke, senior, Nikky Mobley, junior, and Lindsy Barrow, senior.

“We are proud of the awesome talent of the art students and their teachers in our District,” said Superintendent Debbie Thompson.

Turrill Elementary hosts "Family Night" on April 21, both benefit Snack Pak Program

An open swim at the Lapeer Recreation Center and a dinner at Burger King on Tuesday, April 21st, have been scheduled to benefit the Snack Pak Program at Turrill Elementary School.

Turrill Elementary School is hosting a Family Night outing at Burger King, 727 S. Main Street in Lapeer, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 21, that will benefit the Snack Pak Program at the school, as well an open swim from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Lapeer Recreation Center, 880 S. Saginaw Street.

For every paying participant in the open swim that night, $1 will be given back to the Snack Pak Program at the school. People participating should be sure to mention Turrill school when paying for the swim.

Mrs. Pat Pozzi will collect Burger King receipts at the restaurant, which has agreed to return a portion of the dinner sales to the school.

“We encourage everyone to have a great swim and a good meal, and help our Snack Pak Program at Turrill,” said Mrs. Pat Pozzi, Dean of Students.

Lapeer East seniors present research, community service projects Thursday

More than 200 Lapeer East High School seniors presented research projects to classrooms at the school on Thursday, April 16th.

The projects, which included topics on politics, music, health, world affairs, sports, gambling and the military, are part of the senior English requirement.

In addition to the research, writing and presentation of the paper to another class of their peers, students are required to do 15 hours of community service in the topic of their choice.

Students use electronic, graphic and verbal presentations to aid in their talks.

An earlier round of presentations were made in February.

"Our students have worked long and hard on these projects and have learned a great deal in doing the research," said Mr. Bill Spryutte, East English teacher who has supervised many of the projects. "Many of our teachers look forward to having the students come to their classes and make the presentations."

To see photos of some of the presentations go to the District's photo gallery.

'Fiddler on the Roof' opens Friday at East

The Lapeer High School Drama Club will present “Fiddler on the Roof” on Friday, April 17th, Saturday, April 18th and Sunday, April 19th, at the Lapeer East High School auditorium, 933 S. Saginaw St. in Lapeer. Showtimes are 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday.

In a small village called Anatevka, Tevye, a poor dairyman tries to inspire, in his five daughters, the traditions of his tight-knit Jewish community in the face of changing social values and the growing anti-Semitism of Czarist Russia.

“Fiddler On The Roof” has touched audiences across the globe with its humor, warmth and honesty. The universal theme of tradition speaks to all people regardless of race, class, nationality, or religion. It will leave audiences crying from joy and sadness!

The production features many talented students from East and West High Schools including Lucas Cosens as Tevye and Sara Keys as Golde.

Tickets are $8 for adults and $5 for students, children and seniors. Tickets are available one hour before showtime.

Tonight: Dinner and the arts at Zemmer

Tonight is the evening of band and theater arts performances by students as well as student art displays, highlight this year’s “Fine Arts Night!” at Zemmer Junior High School from 5 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Thursday, April 16th at the school, 1920 Oregon Road.

The “Empty Bowls” annual fund-raiser will also be held tonight at the school. Students craft the beautiful ceramic bowls, and guests to the event choose a bowl. The donation they make to a Lapeer soup kitchen will get them both the bowl and a meal of soup, bread and drinks.

All donations this year will go to the soup kitchen at Grace Episcopal Church.

Zemmer invites the public to come enjoy the performances and artwork and also help contribute to a worthy cause.

Combined Lapeer East/Lapeer West boys' swim and dive team make Academic top 10

The combined Lapeer East and Lapeer West 2009 boys’ swimming and diving team placed 6th on the Michigan Interscholastic Swimming Coaches Association All-State Academic Team in Division 1.

The boys combined to post a 3.56 grade point average to achieve the high honor.

“This is a great accomplishment for these young men,” said Coach Pat Thomas.

Members of the boys’ team are: Lapeer East seniors, Jeff Baeckeroot, Bryan Bush, James Crittenden, Andrew Sornig, East junior Matt Schneider, East sophomores Aaron Knowlton, John Nestor, Mike Puskar and Mason Sornson and East freshman Kyle Nelson; Lapeer West seniors, Scott Boller, Austin Clements, John Engelman, Troy Hillman, David Jackson, Andrew Serrels, and West sophomore Patrick Martindale.

To see the listing go to to the Michigan Interscholastic Swimming Coaches Association webpage.

Lapeer Alumni hold Spring Luncheon

A large number of members of The Lapeer High School Alumni Association turned out Tuesday to enjoy lunch, fellowship and a speaker at the Association's annual Spring Luncheon.

The meeting was held at the Lapeer Area Elks Lodge and was catered by Bryan's in Deerfield Township.

A full set of photos are available for viewing at the District's photo gallery.

"Fine Arts Night!" and "Empty Bowls" fund-raiser set for April 16 at Zemmer

An evening of band and theater arts performances by students and student art displays highlight this year’s “Fine Arts Night!” at Zemmer Junior High School from 5 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Thursday, April 16th at the school, 1920 Oregon Road.

The “Empty Bowls” annual fund-raiser will also be held that night at the school. Students craft the beautiful ceramic bowls and guests to the event choose a bowl and the donation they make to a Lapeer soup kitchen will get them both the bowl and a meal of soup, bread and drinks.

All donations this year will go to the soup kitchen at Grace Episcopal Church.

Zemmer invites the public to come enjoy the performances and artwork and also help contribute to a worthy cause.

Fall school start date set: September 8

Students will return to fall classes at Lapeer Community Schools on Tuesday, September 8, 2009.

The Lapeer Board of Education set the opening day of school at its regular meeting on Thursday, April 2nd.

Last day of school for students is June 10, 2009.

Lapeer Optimist Community Tennis Courts to be dedicated 4 p.m. April 23

A dedication ceremony for the official grand opening of the Lapeer Optimist Community Tennis Courts is scheduled for 4 p.m. Thursday, April 23, at the courts next to Lapeer West High School, 170 Millville Road in Lapeer.

The dedication will precede the tennis match between home town rivals Lapeer East and Lapeer West High Schools.

For the first time in more than four years, high school teams from Lapeer East and Lapeer West have home courts to play on.

The new courts became a reality after the Lapeer Optimist Club donated $280,000 for their construction.

Demolition of the old courts was done last summer at the same time the West parking lot was resurfaced.

In the event of inclement weather, the dedication ceremony will be held at the same time and place the following day, Friday, April 24th.

"Fiddler on the Roof" presented by The Lapeer High School Drama Club

The Lapeer High School Drama Club will present “Fiddler on the Roof” on April 17th, 18th and 19th, at the Lapeer East High School auditorium, 933 S. Saginaw St. in Lapeer. Showtimes are 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. on Sunday.

In a small village called Anatevka, Tevye, a poor dairyman, tries to inspire in his five daughters the traditions of his tight-knit Jewish community in the face of changing social values and the growing anti-Semitism of Czarist Russia.

“Fiddler On The Roof” has touched audiences across the globe with its humor, warmth and honesty. The universal theme of tradition speaks to all people regardless of race, class, nationality, or religion. It will leave audiences crying from joy and sadness!

The production features many talented students from East and West High Schools including, Lucas Cosens as Tevye and Sara Keys as Golde.

Tickets are $8 for adults and $5 for students, children and senior citizens. Tickets are available for purchase one hour before the show begins.

Board of Education give high marks to Superintendent Debbie Thompson

Lapeer Community Schools’ Superintendent Debbie Thompson was commended by the Board of Education for her strong and effective leadership during challenging economic times.

The Board presented its evaluation of the Superintendent at its regular monthly meeting held at Lynch Elementary School Thursday, April 2, 2009.

Each year, the Board of Education conducts a thorough evaluation of the Superintendent’s job performance. The annual review is done to ensure a consistent assessment and maintain accountability.

On Thursday, Board President William Laidlaw presented the Board’s evaluation.

“The Lapeer Community Schools’ Board of Education has concluded and reviewed its annual evaluation process with the Superintendent of Schools, Mrs. Debbie Thompson. We are pleased to announce that she has once again received high performance scores from the Board of Education in the following areas: Educational leadership, staff relations, community relations, board relations, business and finance, personal qualities and goal achievement.

The Board commends Debbie for providing strong and effective leadership within the organization during challenging economic times.

Upon lengthy discussion, the Board of Education and Mrs. Thompson have set goals for the upcoming school year that will continually improve our schools and develop her skills as an effective leader for Lapeer Community Schools.

In the spirit of continuous improvement, the Board of Education will continue to enhance the strong working relationship that we have established with Debbie to keep the District moving in a positive direction.”

Dinner at Brian's Family Restaurant will benefit Lapeer West music boosters

So you stayed home for the spring recess?

Here's your chance to help the Lapeer West Music Boosters by dining out at Brian's Family Restaurant on M-24 in Lapeer on Thursday, April 9.

Here's how it works. Download a certificate from www.lapeerwestmusic.org and present the certificate at the time you pay for your dinner and Brian's will donate 10 percent of the bill to the Music Boosters.

The Boosters thank you very much for your support.

Maple Grove Elementary travels to Rollhaven for science lesson on wheels

A science lesson for the sixth graders in Mr. Chris Hinkley's sixth grade class at Maple Grove Elementary School in late March required the students to lace up some skates.

The purpose of the field trip was to explore force and motion.

In their lesson on wheels students learned about Galileo and Sir Isaac Newton's three laws of motion. With skates on students got a real life lesson in the three laws of motion and five mini-lab stations at the rink.

Later the students skated and played several games that further demonstrated these laws of motion and force.

Students worked out of work books and also got some physical education time on the skates.

A truly fun science lesson.

Lapeer West football press box named in honor of volunteer "Herbie" Matheson

To honor the late Destain Herbert “Herbie” Matheson, a long time Lapeer West High School football announcer, athletic clock operator and official, the Lapeer Board of Education Thursday named the press box at Fitzpatrick Field in his honor.

Herbie Matheson gave more than 40 years of volunteer service to Lapeer High School and Lapeer West High School athletics department as an announcer and supporter of the school’s athletic programs.

In addition to announcing football games and operating the time clock, Herbie Matheson also served as a clock operator for Lapeer West basketball games.

At the time of his death, many people made memorial contributions to Lapeer West High School in his honor.

“I believe this is a fitting way to remember the memory and service of a great friend of Lapeer High School and Lapeer West High School,” said Tim Zeeman, athletic director at Lapeer West. “From 1984-1994, Herbie was most ‘at home’ in the West press box.”

Herbie was born on January 2, 1936 and died on January 21, 2000.

Board of Education awards $1.6 million in East, West science lab improvements

Bids for the construction and improvements of science laboratories at Lapeer East and Lapeer West High Schools totaling $1,652,604 were approved by the Board of Education at its meeting, Thursday, April 2nd.

All the work was awarded to qualified low bidders and all winning bidders were Michigan contractors.

The work is expected to begin as soon as school is out in June and be completed in time for students to use the labs when they return to classes in September.

“This is a giant investment in the future of our high school science programs,” said Superintendent Debbie Thompson. “Combined with the universal installation of new computers and technology last summer, we are presenting a 21st Century science and technology program to 21st Century high school students.”

Winning bidders were: Demolition, Great Lakes Construction, of Beverly Hills, $38,600; masonry, HMC Mason Contractors, of Shelby Township, $51,800; general trades, Elkhorn Construction, of Smiths Creek, $743,000; aluminum work and windows, Architectural Glazing Systems, of Mt. Morris, $6,087; flooring, Ropposch Brothers, of Port Huron, $61,095; painting, L.E. Brockman, of Warren, $12,152; mechanical, Ecker Mechanical, of Burton, $611,000; and electrical, Sky Electric, of Lapeer, $128,870.

'Little Red Hen' teaches a lesson of hard work in Mayfield Elementary School play

A hard working "Little Red Hen" taught her lesson of hard work and reward in a play by the second graders in Mrs. Nancy Lamphere's class at Mayfield Elementary School.

Students in the class played a variety of farm animals and sang and danced their way to the idea that hard work has its own rewards. Also that working together is the best way to get along.

The play was performed for lower elementary students on Wednesday, April 1st, and twice on April 2nd, once in the afternoon for the upper elementary students and again that night for parents, family and friends.

Lots of singing, dancing and fun.

Chrome Panthers meet Gov. Granholm and Dean Kamen at Lansing FIRST event

The Chrome Panthers, the Lapeer West Robotics Team, had some high powered visitors to their pit during a recent FIRST competition in Lansing.

Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm and Dean Kamen, a well-known inventor and the founder of For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST), the international student robotics organization.

The governor and Mr. Kamen gladly posed with Mr. Cory Gutenschwager and members of the West team.

Lapeer East and Lapeer West High Schools each have a fully sponsored robotics team.

School employees volunteer to serve the troops at sendoff at Lapeer East

As part of a community send off for the Michigan National Guard Unit in Lapeer, four Lapeer Community Schools’ bus drivers have volunteered their time to transport the soldiers from the armory to the ceremony at Lapeer East High School on Monday, April 6th.

Four drivers, Cindy Mullin, Fred Anstette, Basil King and Donnal Teasley, one more than needed to drive the soldiers over to the school and back volunteered their time to be part of the event.

Gayle Early, a food service employee, also donated her time to help serve a private dinner at the school.

Lapeer East dean of students John Gonzales, a Vietnam veteran, is donating his time to oversee the event.

“The three buses we are planning on using will be cleaned up and decorated with the flags we have been using on our parade buses,” said Jerry Podzikowski, director of transportation. “ The drivers who will be driving the troops on Monday, April 6, between the Armory and East have volunteered their time for this event. They are happy to do their part.”

There will be a private dinner for the soldiers and their families at Lapeer East from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. and the public is invited for the 7 p.m. public ceremony.