ABC 12 video on Spirit Cup now available

The video of the coverage of the award ceremony for the Spirit Cup is now up on the website of WJRT-TV, Channel 12.

Lapeer East High School students honored for Spirit Cup food donation efforts

It was an exciting morning as Lapeer East High School was honored with the top 5 schools in the ABC 12 School Spirit Cup Challenge.

Lapeer East, which led the competition for several weeks after collecting 17,000 pounds of food for the Food Bank of Eastern Michigan ended up in fourth place.

It was Lapeer East that set the bar very high for the later schools.

Students from East were interviewed and will likely be shown on the news this afternoon. So far there is no link on the Channel 12’s website, but we’ll keep watching and put it up here when it does. It is now available here.

Mayfield Elementary School host 11th annual Grandparents' Day on Friday

It was bonding time for Mayfield Elementary students and their grandparents on Friday, May 22nd at the school.

Teachers had special class presentations and the school hosted a special picnic lunch for the grandparents and students.

This was the 11th annual Grandparents' Day at Mayfield and about 400 grandparents or special family members were on hand to enjoy the programs.

To get a peek at some of the activities go to the District's photo gallery here.

It was Carnival Night at Schickler Elementary School Thursday

It was cotton candy, popcorn, laser maze and much, much more at the Schickler Elementary School's Carnival Night on Thursday, May 21st.

Students visited dozens of attractions inside and outside the school and a good time was had by all as anyone can see from these photos.

Turtles, chincillas, birds, frogs and snakes. Oh My! at Lynch Elementary School

Science Alive! brought its collection of interesting animals to visit the students at Lynch Elementary School on Thursday, May 21.

Photos were taken in Mrs. Talia Leonard's class.

Students had an opportunity learn about reptiles, amphibians, birds and mammals during the classroom presentations.

Also, the students had a chance to gently handle or pet the animals, if they wanted. The critters return to Lynch on Friday.

Staff urged to show school spirit and raise money for the LCS Scholarship Fund May 29

On May 29, the LCS Scholarship Fund needs your support.

Each year, the LCS Scholarship Fund provides scholarships for students at Lapeer East, Lapeer West, and Lapeer Community High School. These scholarships are funded by donations each year. This year, Friday, May 29, was selected as LCS Scholarship fundraising day for 2009.

Staff members throughout the district are asked to donate a $5 toll for wearing either school spirit colors or jeans to work on Friday, May 29 in support of the LCS Scholarship Fund. Large envelopes will be available in each main office area for donations.

Please help us continue to support our LCS graduates on an annual basis!

Thanks for your help in this. Please contact Kevin Walters at Lapeer West, (810) 67-2423, if there are any questions.

Ground breaking at Zemmer marks exciting new beginning to the future of LCS

A cloudless sky and warm temperatures matched the wonderful occasion of the ground breaking at the site of the future Zemmer Middle School on Wednesday, May 20th.

A large group of parents, students, staff and community leaders were on hand to mark the official beginning of construction work to transform Zemmer Junior High School into a state-of-the-art Middle School. More photos are here.

Students Billy Irvine and Blake Clements, of Seaton; Martin Flores and Brooke Soroka, of Murphy; and MacKenzie Putnam and Brianna King, of Turrill Elementary, led the Pledge of Allegiance.

Superintendent Debbie Thompson welcomed everyone to the event and introduced the Zemmer Band under the direction of Joann Royce which played "This Is My Country."

Board of Education President William Laidlaw thanked the community for the passage of the 2007 and welcomed a bright future for the Lapeer Community Schools with the eventual completion of two new middle schools in the fall of 2010.

The Board of Education members, William Laidlaw, Peggy Bush, John Nugent, Denise Becker, Michael Keller, Michael Nolan and Gary Oyster then official broke ground for the new school.

Following the Board were student participants from several elementary schools that will eventually feed into the new school. Participating were: Logan Morys and Anthony Tholl, of Schickler Elementary; McKenna Carr and Ryan Klingler, of Maple Grove Elementary; Olivia Petrie and Jessica Creason, of Mayfield Elementary; Allison Ciak and Matthew Gizinski, of Lynch Elementary; Billy Irvine and Blake Clements, of Seaton Elementary; Martin Flores and Brooke Soroka, of Murphy Elementary; and MacKenzie Putnam and Brianna King, of Turrill Elementary.

It was "Jazz for Lunch" at Lapeer East High School today

Students had a little jazz jammin' with their peanut butter and jelly sandwiches today at Lapeer East High School.

"Jazz Fest" was put on during four lunches for the enjoyment of the East student body by students of Mrs. Lyniece Fenner.

This group of "zero hour" students committed to an extra hour of school in order to make the jazz band a reality.

To see additional pictures of the "groovy" lunch performance, go to the District photo gallery.

Wendy Byard writes a new inspirational book for teachers, book signing Saturday, May 30

Wendy Byard, a Lapeer resident, Mott College English professor, and former North Branch High School teacher has a new book available.

It's an inspirational book for teachers titled Teach and Reach for Classroom Miracles! Lessons on Teaching With Love. The book was edited and reviewed by Dr. Shirley Harris of the Lapeer County Intermediate School District. Her review appears in the book.

Wendy will be signing her books at the Book Shelf in Lapeer on Saturday, May 30 from 1-4 p.m. For more information visit wendybyard.com.

There are links on her website to articles written about her and her book.

Seaton hosts Art Show and Ice Cream Social event to highlight accomplishments

Hundreds of students and their families and friends enjoyed a wonderful night of art and ice cream at the Art Show and Ice Cream Social event on Thursday, May 14th.

The entire school was turned into an art gallery that included a student dressed and portraying famous artist Vincent van Gogh. There were tours of an art garden and a gymnasium gallery.

In this photo first-grader Donavan Mingee shows off his special artwork on display in the Seaton gymnasium.

To see more pictures of the event go to the District photo gallery.

Zemmer Junior High students to study in the great outdoors next week at Skinner Lake

Natural classroom lighting will take on a whole new meaning for Zemmer Junior High School students who will gather at the R. Michael Supernault Outdoor Education Center at Skinner Lake for a full day of classes in a variety of subjects all next week, beginning Tuesday.

Students will work on math, English, art and even fishing skills – part of the physical education program – during their school day at the center.

The center is an 80-acre District owned property in a beautiful, rural setting in Oregon Township. It is primarily used for science field trips for students from Lapeer and other area districts.

There will be eight stations that students will rotate through during the school day. Four of the stations will involve science subjects including, water quality testing, macro invertebrate collection, classification and observation in a lab setting.

For English, students will write about their surroundings, using their senses.

Math will involve using trigonometry functions to measure the height of a tree.

An outdoor art class will have the students drawing what they see around them.

Fishing rods, received through an outdoor health and physical education grant, will be used as part of the outdoor education and physical education class for that day.

Lapeer East art student draws winning poster in Easter Michigan Fair contest

Lapeer East junior Dawn Wesley won the Eastern Michigan Fair Poster contest and a $200 first prize. Her design will be used to advertise the fair this summer, and she will be on hand during part of the fair autographing posters for fair goers.

Wesley’s poster, which depicts a Ferris wheel, a teddy bear, cotton candy and popcorn was chosen from entries from throughout the county.

Eastern Michigan Fair manager Ian Kempf holds the winning poster.

Lapeer bus drivers finished third in the Region 10 Bus Road-e-o on Saturday

A total of 24 drivers, 8 from Lapeer Community Schools, participated in the Region 10 Bus Road-e-o on Saturday, May 16th at Lapeer West High School.

Of the eight Lapeer competitors, four were driving for the first time in the event.

Lapeer’s top three drivers from last year’s competition did not compete and for the first time in five years, Lapeer did not win the team trophy. Winner of this year’s event were the drivers from the Genesee County Intermediate School District.

The Lapeer transportation team placed third, just 34 points behind drivers from North Branch, who took second. Four Lapeer drivers placed in the top 10.

“We want to thank all of the people in our department and district wide responsible for making the event a success,” said Jerry Podzikowski, Director of Transportation. “We especially want to thank Kevin Walters, Tim Zeeman and their staff for the great hospitality at West. Thanks also to Craig Irish for his help in getting us setup in the morning and cleaning up after we were finished. A special thanks to Vance Holmes who served us well by providing grills and cooking fine ‘tube’ steaks and Superintendent Debbie Thompson for supporting our event.”

“We appreciate all the community businesses and district vendors that contributed gifts and equipment to make the event a success,” Podzikowski said. “Each person who participated and all of the people who helped by judging and assisting us in some way were sent home with a gift that was contributed to us.”

The Lapeer County Road Commission helped by providing road signs for the course.

The Lapeer District will pass the event to another school in Region 10 next year, but the equipment acquired during the past two years will be used by the Transportation Department in future driver training.

While the event is fun and competitive there is a serious point to Road-e-o and that is supporting bus driver training and proficiency.

Lapeer East students visit grave of Lt. Cmdr. Victor A. Prather II, space hero

The Arlington National Cemetery grave of local space hero, Navy Lt. Commander Victor A. Prather II, a 1943 Lapeer High School graduate and a member of the original class inducted into the Lapeer High School Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame, received a visit from Lapeer East High School eighth graders during their recent Washington, D.C. trip.

Lt. Commander Prather drowned in the Gulf of Mexico after an extreme high altitude balloon flight to test new astronaut suits for the space program.

A number of East students researched Prather's record-breaking high altitude flight and subsequent tragic end as part of their preparation for the annual trip to Washington, D.C.

The work they did was featured on a WJRT-TV, Channel 12 broadcast.

Several photos of their visit can be found on the District's photo gallery.

New 2009 Lapeer Junior Golf League seeks players

A summer youth golf program – The 2009 Lapeer Junior Golf League - is in the process of forming and invites young people between the ages of 10 and 17 who live or go to school in Lapeer County to sign up for the program.

It is a fun and inexpensive way for young people to play and improve their golf game.

Depending on the number of entries, the LJGL will be divided into four divisions. Participants will be eligible to play four qualifying rounds of golf all leading up to a season ending tournament. The only cost for the program, including the golf, is a $50 entry fee.

The qualifying rounds will be played on Friday mornings, June 19, 26, July 10 and 17, with the tournament to be played on Friday, July 31. In the event of rain, the tournament will be held on Friday, August 7.

Tee times will be from 6:45 a.m. to 7:45 a.m. New participants and at least one parent or guardian should attend one of two preliminary rules meetings at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, June 2, or Tuesday June 9 at Lake Nepessing Golfland, 1125 Lake Nepessing Road.

Registration forms may be picked up at Lake Nepessing Golfland, 1125 Lake Nepessing Road or the Lapeer Country Club, 3786 Hunt Road, both in Elba Township. For more information call Mr. Steve Stearns at (810) 667-2418, ext. 3114.

Lapeer East art students score well in 2009 Michigan Junior Duck Stamp Art Contest

Lapeer East senior Travis Cushaway took third place in the 2009 Michigan Junior Duck Stamp Art Contest for the senior high age group with this artwork.

A copy of the entry is currently on display at Gallery 194 in downtown Lapeer.

East senior Camerin Levi, East junior Devin Verhulst and East junior Dawn Wesley received honorable mention in the same age group for the Statewide contest.

Lapeer West student Charles Verbeke wins OU Music, Theatre and Dance scholarship

Lapeer West High School senior Charles “CJ” Verbeke danced his way to a large scholarship to the Oakland University Dance Program following a recent audition at the school.

The scholarship is one of the largest, talent-based scholarships from the Oakland University Department of Music, Theatre and Dance.

Charles, who has been dancing since he was 3 years old, has been part of the opening acts for the Jonas Brothers, Radio Disney Dance Team, The Raven and a number of other celebrities as part of his repertory dance group from Deborah’s Stage Door Center for the Performing Arts in Rochester Hills.

Since 2004, Charles’ dance team at Deborah’s Stage Door has won consecutive national championships at an annual “Showstopper” competition at Myrtle Beach.

On Wednesday, May 13th, Charles was performing at another audition for the “Wannabes,” a television series to be shot in Michigan.

Charles is proficient in a number of dance disciplines, tap, ballet, modern, jazz, hip-hop and contemporary.

“Looking into the future I want to be a professional dancer,” Charles said.

When he’s not working on his dancing, Charles likes to run, bike and play basketball and “hang out” with his friends.

Charles lives with his mother and father, Pam and Charles Verbeke, in Elba Township.

“He’s just inspiring to watch and his stage presence has wowed a lot of judges,” said his mother, Pam Verbeke. “He has always loved dancing.”

Eddie West concert on May 29th to benefit Mayfield kindergartner Sydney Gavan

An Eddie West benefit concert, the first in more than a year, will help raise money for bone marrow drives in honor of Sydney Gavan, a Mayfield Elementary School kindergartner who was recently diagnosed with leukemia. Sydney is currently awaiting a bone marrow transplant, but to date there is currently no match.

The concert will be at 7:30 p.m., Friday, May 29th, at the Lapeer Country Club, 3786 Hunt Road, in Elba Township. Admission is $10 and will include the concert, a chance at some door prizes and a 50/50 raffle. All money earned will go to the SPG Fund (Sydney Page Gavan) for the National Bone Marrow Registry.

Eddie West is a group of musicians composed of current and former staff and students of Lapeer West High School, friends, and family members. The band performs songs from Motown, classic rock, to current hits.

Tickets are available at the Lapeer West High School office, the Mayfield office or from Eddie West band members. Checks should be made out to “Be the Match.” For further information call Kari Briggs at (810) 577-6778 or Paul Fernandez at (810) 441-6533.

Lapeer West's Troy Hillman wins Congressional Art Award

Lapeer West High School senior Troy Hillman said he “was more than excited to find out” he won first place in the U.S. Congressional Art Show.

“Troy’s piece will be matted, framed and be on display in the Cannon Tunnel at the U.S. Capitol for the next year,” said Nancy Barry, Hillman’s teacher. “When next year’s eight graders travel to Washington, D.C. they will be able to see his artwork on display there.”

“I made the piece using charcoal pencils,” Troy said. “I love the contrast you can create with the pencils while also having subtle grays to smooth out the piece. The medium can also be quite messy, but it’s exciting to take your time and be careful with the drawing.”

U.S. Representative Candace Miller is flying Troy to the Capitol for the awards ceremony.

Troy plans to attend the Art Institute of Chicago, School of the Arts, next fall.

“I’m not exactly sure of what I want to pursue there, but as long as I’m creating artwork, I’ll be happy,” Troy said. “It makes me feel good as an artist to have people enjoy my artwork as well as being recognized for it.”

Lapeer East, Lapeer West industrial arts students take home many MITES awards

Lapeer East and Lapeer West High School industrial arts students brought home a number of honors from the Michigan Industrial & Technology Education Society (MITES) convention and student competition last week at the Kellogg Arena in Battle Creek.

Lapeer East students won 16 first place awards and Lapeer West students won 14 first place awards in the Region 10 industrial arts contest. East students won nine second place awards and West students won seven in the regional contest.

In statewide judging, Lapeer East won two first place awards and West won one first place. East students’ projects won second place awards in two categories and two West projects won second place awards. East students had one third place and West two third place projects in statewide judging.

A total of 35 East students and 30 West students won regional and/or state awards in the competition.

Students with first place awards in regional competition were: Lapeer East, Jordan Morris, Andrew Rydell, Nicole Medellin, Amber Mauk, Joel Meyers, Josh Poole, Jake Crateur, Rodney Fulcher, Ryan Dixon, Chris Iloncai, Kyle Woolner, David Barrett, Alec Mihm, Will Smith (2), Tyler Lemieux, Scott Henry, Daniel Pierce and Chris Gonzalez; Lapeer West, Adrianna Allen, Tom Blanton (2), Kyle Stoutenburg, Zach Brown, Kyle Dickson, Joey Gingiloski (2), Dennis Makowski, Jamie Discher, Alex Kooistra, Kaitlyn Becker, Clinton Cranick and Jacob Stone.
Second place winners were: Lapeer East, Korey LaCroix, Daniel Pierce (2), Will Smith, Zachary Sehn, Mat Gonzalez, Kyle Stickney and Lexie Crisp; Lapeer West, Kris Bauroth, Zach Brown, Jamie Discher, Garrett Kitts, Adam Pfeiffer, Dan Raymond and Sarah Clinton.
Third place regional winners were: Lapeer East, Joe Gibbons, Michael Fales, Corey Smith, Josh Strong and Jordan Fejedelem; Lapeer West, Kris Bauroth, Jon Boal, Joey Gingiloski, Jon Morelli and Adrianna Allen.

Statewide winners were: East, Will Smith (first - Pictorial Illustration- exploded assembly drawing) and Jordan Morris (first-architectural drawing – working drawing single family residential); West, Tom Blanton (first – fish sculpture); East, Will Smith (second - Pictorial Illustration- exploded assembly drawing) and Amber Mauk, Josh Poole and Joel Meyers (second – architectural presentation drawing – group); West, Kaitlyn Becker (third – Intarsia cat) and Jon Morelli (third – minibike).

In addition to architectural drawings, the variety of projects submitted by the students was impressive and included a model train, guitar racks, gun racks, bowls, three-dimensional drawings, wood furniture and wood and metal projects.

Pictured here is Kaitlyn Becker, a freshman, who made this Intarsia cat. Intarsia involves the cutting and shaping of a variety of woods into a solid wood sculpture. For more photos from the show go to our photo gallery.