Kudos: Anne Prill and Wyatt Stephens are ‘excellent educators’

Wyatt Stephens and Anne Prill.

On Friday, students from Rolland-Warner Middle School made a presentation to the Green River Summit and Kettering University in Flint. After the presentation, students answered audience questions about their findings, demonstrating a depth of knowledge and a command of their material.

A special thanks is in order for two teachers, Anne Prill and Wyatt Stephens. They are among the District’s most popular teachers, and for good reason. It would be hard to find two more involved and dedicated staff members. In addition to their involvement in the Green River Summit, they coach cross country, track and softball at Rolland-Warner. They have chaperoned the school’s popular Washington D.C. trip, are advisers to the student council and chaperone students to the Leelanau Outdoor Camp for leadership.

Lapeer Community Schools Board of Education Trustee Wendy Byard has seen their work up close, including at Friday’s event.

“I’ve found them to be caring and wise with the students,” Byard said. “They are simply excellent educators.”

Kudos to Anne and Wyatt for taking their passion for teaching outside of the classroom and helping to make so many positive memories for students. Keep up the great work!

Kudos: Lapeer East’s Jeremy Mason reaches out to vital community partner

Lapeer East head custodian Jeremy Mason.

In life, some people just get it. They see the bigger picture, find their place in it and do the very best they can even when no one else is looking. Jeremy Mason, head custodian at Lapeer East High School, is one of these people — and this is not the first time we’ve recognized him for his effort.

Last week, Jeremy donated more than 10 hours of his time to work at the  Kiwanis Club of Lapeer Kapers event at the East Auditorium. This annual event raises money to support a wide array of local projects and organizations. Kiwanis International is a Worldwide Service Organization that encourages people to get personally involved in strengthening their communities. The Kiwanis Club has been active in Lapeer for more than 60 years.

Last year, for instance, the club donated nearly $40,000 to programs that benefit young people in our community.

Kudos to Kiwanis and Jeremy Mason for their support of not only our school community, but all of Lapeer. LCS needs the support of organizations like Kiwanis to be a world-class school district. We must continue to do our part, just as Jeremy did, to support the work they are doing.

Kudos: Two preschool teachers from Kids and Company speak at MIAEYC

Over Spring Break, two preschool teachers from Kids & Company — Maureen DelCampo and Robin Hoeffel — spoke at the Michigan Association for the Education of Young Children conference in Grand Rapids.  The pair spoke about ways to integrate hands-on science activities into the early childhood classroom. This was a great opportunity to not only show off what our district has to offer, but for a couple of great teachers to share their passion for teaching.

The pair’s workshop, called S.M.I.L.E. (So Many Interesting Little Explorers), was attended by more than 45 teachers.

And here’s the best part: They did this voluntarily because they love kids and want to share with others some of the things they are learning about teaching our youngest every day.

Kudos to Maureen DelCampo and Robin Hoeffel for taking the time to share your love of kids with teachers from across the state. Great job!

Kudos: West graduate wins bronze medal with UM Synchronized Figure Skating team

Erica Miller (tall girl, middle of back row), is a 2011 Lapeer West graduate.

As many of you know, we try our best to follow our graduates as they move on to college and beyond. We’ve profiled recent graduates who are finding success in sports, in academics and, of course, as volunteers in their communities.

Recently, Erica Miller, daughter of Sue Miller, a teacher at Lapeer West High School, won a bronze medal at the 2013 United States Synchronized Figure Skating Championships earlier this month. Erica, who graduated from Lapeer West in 2011, is a member of the University of Michigan’s Synchronized Figure Skating team.

She has been a competitive figure skater since the age of six. Erica was one of the top graduates from West in 2011; she earned a 3.98 G.P.A., was the vice president of National Honors Society and was also a section leader in the marching band. Congratulations to Erica, her team and her family.

We are very proud to call you an alumnus of Lapeer Community Schools.

Go Blue!

Kudos: West High School wrestling team gets high marks for sportsmanship

I was pleased to receive a letter recently from the Flint Metro League that confirmed something I already knew: We have some impressive student-athletes in our district.

A great example of this is at Lapeer West High School, where the wrestling team earned top honors in the league for sportsmanship. The team was selected by four opponents as having displayed the best sportsmanship in the league for the winter season.

Other LCS teams selected by at least two opponents were:

• West Competitive Cheer
• East Girls Basketball
• West Girls Bowling
• West Boys Bowling

Congratulations to these fine student-athletes and their coaches. You make us proud!

Kudos: Speech Pathologist at Mayfield is a great teammate

Shannon Florshinger, Mayfield Elementary

In every school building there are many important staff members who, at times, can get overlooked. Identifying those people and, hopefully, encouraging them to continue doing a great job for our students is the purpose of this blog. We have great employees in this district, and it’s important to share this fact with our community  from time to time.

Shannon Florshinger’s role at Mayfield Elementary is extremely important as she helps develop the vital capacity in young students to communicate effectively. She is the school’s speech pathologist, but she also supports the development of behavior plans, with the LINKS program and autism support.

Speech Pathology in schools is nothing new, but it’s important to remember that strong communication skills are pivotal in the development process for all students. Improved speech can enrich the overall experience of being a student, mentally, emotionally and socially.

Here’s what Mayfield Principal Traci Chouinard said about Shannon: “I would like to give a kudos to Shannon for being a great teammate.  She has a wealth of knowledge that she shares with the staff and goes above and beyond to help with scheduling and meeting deadlines.  She is a great part of the LINKS team as well.  Thank you Shannon for doing an excellent job!”

Keep up the great work Shannon!

Kudos: Mayfield teacher shows leadership, positive attitude every day

Lisa Loachridge

Every day I’m reminded about the importance of leadership. Organizations large and small succeed or fail based on the ability of  people to lead. In a school district, leadership starts at the top but it doesn’t end there — far from it. We need great leaders in every classroom, at every level, in order to be the best district we can be. We need those leaders to teach our young people the leadership skills they will need to be successful in life after school.

Recently, Mayfield Elementary Principal  Traci Chouinard described one of her school’s teachers using terms that, taken together, best describe an effective leader.

Lisa Loachridge, a special education instructor, understands that to be an effective leader you must be able to see the bigger picture without losing the all-important attention to detail.

Here’s how Traci described Lisa: She goes above and beyond to help meet individual needs and have great communication with her teams and parents.  Lisa works very hard to be sure every child receives a valuable education.  She continues to be a life- long learner and applies it in her every day work.  Lisa models a great attitude and dedication, we are lucky to have her on the Mayfield team!

Kudos to Lisa for being such a great asset to Lapeer Community Schools. Keep honing your leadership skills for the benefit of all students.

Middle School Year-Round Information Night a success

On Monday evening I, along with several parents, teachers and administrators, had the opportunity to engage members of the community in a discussion about the prospect of a year-round program at the middle school level. At least 30 people came out to Zemmer Middle School to learn more about what a year-round program would look like at the middle school level and to hear some success stories from Turrill Elementary, our district’s Year-Round Elementary School.

Our discussions on this matter stem from a question, not a declaration: Is this the kind of choice you want for your student?

The feedback I received last night was very positive. Many parents expressed to me their desire to inform others on the real and potential benefits of a balanced academic calendar for students at all levels. There’s no better marketing than word-of-mouth; “this is how the program helped my student” testimonials do more for the perception of an academic program than any study ever could.

The most rewarding aspect of our discussion came when two parents addressed the group in support of the balanced calendar and, even more importantly, expanding educational opportunities for the students of Lapeer Community Schools. We need parents like these to be ambassadors in the community, articulating our vision in ways I never could.

Thank you to everyone who participated. For those of you who couldn’t make it, please take a few minutes to read our brochure and the text of the presentation made at the meeting.

Year-Round MS Presentation

Year-Round MS Brochure

Kudos: AP Calculus instructor designs lesson to remember

Put simply, the fundamental theorem of calculus is one that links the concept of the derivative of a function with the concept of the integral. To Mary Boomer, the Math Department Chair at Lapeer East High School, it’s a big deal.

Now her students  have a better idea of just how big of a deal it is.

Boomer designed a lesson to demonstrate to her students how everything they’ve learned is connected to this particular theorem. Ultimately the students earned a ticket to attend a graduation ceremony where they received a diploma –and even some cake to celebrate the occasion.

Boomer has been putting on the ceremony for three years. She says her students call it, “graduating from Baby Calc.”

What an awesome example of making the classroom experience memorable for students. Obviously students will not remember everything they learn in high school, but we can rest assured they’ll remember the hard work it took to graduate from “Baby Calc.”

Excellent job!

Kudos: Focusing on collaboration at Lynch Elementary

Most of the time the subject of this blog has to do with the extraordinary efforts of individual employees. These are the men and women who really make this district a dynamic place for our young people to learn.

Every now and then I hear stories that outline the spoils of teamwork, putting our means together to accomplish an end that none of us could achieve on our own. I love these stories because I’ve been a part of some great teams, so I’m well acquainted with what can happen when we work together.

When collaboration becomes a part of a school’s DNA, you can’t hide it.

Lynch Elementary is a great example of this. Lynch Principal Michele Bradford told me about some great work being done in her building by staff members who understand the power of collaboration. Five teachers recently volunteered to  facilitate an SIP meeting in the area of math –Kasie Allen, Amber Weidinger, Amber Dillard and Chris Prill.

In addition, last week, when Michelle had to miss PD because of a funeral, her ESC team stepped up in her absence to facilitate PD for the entire building.  The team of Nichole Hayden, Aneta Lawrence, Allison Brown, Crystal Woodley and Amber Weidinger made it happen!

Kudos to the staff at Lynch for harnessing the power of their peers for the betterment of our students. Keep up the great work!