St. Johns Public Schools - November 2009 Spotlight

St. Johns Spotlight Learning Today ... Leading Tomorrow

November 2009

Inside the Spotlight

Gateway 5th-grader at Eagle Village ropes course

School Funding... 2 Meet Your School Board... 3 Advanced Academics... 4 East Olive... 5 Eureka... 6 Gateway... 7 Oakview... 8 Riley... 9 St. Johns Middle School... 10 St. Johns High School... 11 St. Johns Alternative School... 12 School Nurse... 13 Alumni... 14 Community Connections... 15 District Calendar... 16

www.stjohns.edzone.net • 501 W. Sickels • PO Box 230 • St. Johns, Michigan 48879 • (989) 227-4001

School Funding Dear Parents, Guardians, Staff and Community: This year’s State Aid budget imposes a $165 per student reduction in funding for St Johns Public Schools. We are also looking at an additional $127 per student cut from the State effective December 1st for this budget year. There is speculation of an additional cut from $300 to $1,000 per student for next year. The school funding mechanism in Michigan is broken and must be fixed, but this does

School Board President Bill Tennant

not change our current situation. A plan will be taken to the Board of Education to cut $292 per student or $950,000 overall. Because these cuts are coming four months into the budget year that began July 1, this is equivalent to a $1.2 million shortfall. SJPS has already faced difficult times by cutting its operating budgets by $6 million since 2002. These new cuts will impact classrooms in St Johns schools. While everything will be done to minimize the impact on children, it will still be very disruptive. There is absolutely no area that can be held harmless in these tough times. To put these budget cuts into perspective, the $950,000 recently cut from our budget is equivalent to:

Superintendent Ken Ladouceur PhD

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Compensation for 12 teachers

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4 times our general fund allocation for athletics

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2/3 of our transportation budget

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More than our entire annual energy costs

The future of our children still rests in our hands. We still owe them an excellent education. Our children will still compete in a global environment so they must have an excellent education in order to succeed. None of this can deter us from our goals.

Sincerely, William Tennant, Board President and Ken Ladouceur PhD, Superintendent

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www.stjohns.edzone.net • 501 W. Sickels • PO Box 230 • St. Johns, Michigan 48879 • (989) 227-4001

Meet Your School Board Nick Koenigsknecht Local dentist Nicholas Koenigsknecht is in his fourth year on the SJPS Board of Education. Nick is a 1997 graduate of St. Johns High School and a life-long resident of St. Johns except for his eight years attending college and dental school. Nick and his wife Erin were married in 2008. Nick “became extremely interested in joining the school board after participating in the Strategic Planning process.” Nick adds that he was “inspired by the many people in the district who do all they can for our schoolchildren.” As Nick sees it, “the key issue facing SJPS is the same one facing the entire state of Michigan -- the budget. Until the State’s funding of K-12 education is fixed, we’ll continue to face difficult decisions while striving to provide a quality, well-rounded education for all our children in our St. Johns district.”

Please Share Your Opinion About School Funding Please consider contacting the decision makers in Lansing to express your opinion about these recent events. Your reaction to these reductions will be very significant in the coming days.

State Government Contacts: •

Governor Jennifer Granholm: phone: 517-373-3400 http://www.michigan.gov/gov/0,1607,7-168-21995---,00.html

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Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop: phone: 517-373-2417 http://www.senate.michigan.gov/gop/senators/contact.asp?District=12

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House Speaker Andy Dillon: phone: 517-373-5976 http://017.housedems.com/contact/

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Senator Alan Cropsey: phone: 866-305-2133 Toll Free http://www.senate.michigan.gov/gop/senators/contact.asp?District=33

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Representative Paul Opsommer: phone: 877-859-8086 Toll Free http://www.gophouse.com/welcome.asp?District=93

www.stjohns.edzone.net • 501 W. Sickels • PO Box 230 • St. Johns, Michigan 48879 • (989) 227-4001

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Advanced Academics at St. Johns Public Schools Advanced Placement St. Johns High School offers six Advanced Placement level classes, more than any other public school district in Clinton County. These college-level classes include AP American History, AP Biology, AP Calculus, AP Chemistry, AP English, and AP Psychology. College credit may be earned for grades of 4 or 5 on the individual Advanced Placement exams taken during April and May. Admission policies at selective colleges also look more favorably on students who have taken Advanced Placement classes.

Other advanced classes St. Johns High School offers seven other advanced level classes, including Art Portfolio, Honors Algebra I, Honors PreCalculus, Honors Biology, Honors Chemistry, Honors Physics, and Advanced Science Lab. St. Johns Middle School offers a Pre-Algebra class to its seventh graders and Algebra 1 to eighth graders (for which they can earn high school credit). The Middle School also offers two advanced technology classes to our seventh and eighth graders, Advanced Computers 7 and Advanced Computers 8.

Science Olympiad The Science Olympiad competition is comprised of a series of team events requiring knowledge of science concepts, process skills and science applications in biology, earth science, chemistry, physics and technology. Interest in this year’s Science Olympiad program is expected to be greater than ever among our St. Johns High School students and families. The Science Olympiad reflects a passion to devote free time to learning more about the world around us.

Differentiated Instruction Teachers in all grade levels throughout our St. Johns Public Schools system provide differentiated instruction, teaching to individual student levels and challenging each student as much as is possible and practical. Our district aims to provide an educational environment and professional development to enable more differentiated instruction to occur, adapting to individual learning styles and learning levels.

Important College Information TThe ACT and SAT school code number for St. Johns High School is 233-375.

ACT test dates 2010:

February 6, March (for juniors as part of the Michigan Merit exam), April 10, June 12,

September 11, October 23, and December 11. For more information visit http://www.actstudent.org.

SAT test dates 2010:

January 23, March 13, May 1, June 5, October 9, November 6 and December 4. For more

information visit http://www.collegeboard.com.

Financial Aid: Most colleges request you to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form, as soon after January 1st as possible. For more information visit: http://www.fafsa.ed.gov. Both students and parents will want to obtain a PIN number from the US Department of Education to complete the FAFSA application; go to http://www.pin.ed.gov.

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www.stjohns.edzone.net • 501 W. Sickels • PO Box 230 • St. Johns, Michigan 48879 • (989) 227-4001

East Olive Elementary School Family Fall Festival East Olive was filled with smiling faces for our annual Family Fall Festival, an event sponsored and coordinated by East Olive PTO. Children delighted in having their hair and faces painted bright colors! Former students returned for the evening, many of them running games and handing out prizes for the younger children. Dinner was served and families had the opportunity to enjoy relaxing together on a hay ride. Students entered their creative pumpkins and cakes in a variety of contests. The grand finale highlighted the evening! TV news anchor and East Olive parent Jason Colthorp announced the winners of a wide variety of raffle prizes, including the grand prize of a gas card packaged with a gift certificate to The Great Wolf Lodge. Whether winning a prize or not, everyone walked away a winner from our evening of family fun.

After-School Math Plus at East Olive East Olive’s partnership with the Capital Area Science and Math Center and Impression 5 Science Center is providing our fourth and fifth grade students with a new opportunity to expand their horizons in the areas of math and science. Instructors from Impression 5 will guide students in their work both at East Olive and on location at the center. Students will work in a team to design a scale-model of their community using acquired math skills. Later, they will meet with teams from four other Lansing area schools selected for this special pilot program. Together, they will build one large exhibit showing all five combined communities. The exhibit will be placed on display at Impression 5! www.stjohns.edzone.net • 2583 E. Green Rd • St. Johns, Michigan 48879 • (989) 227-4800

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Eureka Elementary School Eureka’s New School Rules The entire Eureka staff met together on August 31 and decided on our new school mascot, the Rocket Stars, along with our new school rules: vStay safe vTry your best vAct responsibly vRespect yourself and others

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Eureka PTO

… Students can move in and out of each reading group depending on their growth.

Literacy Terms

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Our new Eureka PTO officers are President Kris Clark; Vice President Stephanie Dyer; Secretary Laura Hyde; Treasurer Shannon Coombs; and Hospitality Sandy Jury and Michelle Sample. Lots of exciting events are planned! In addition to our Spring Carnival, the Eureka PTO would like to host a family assembly one evening in the spring. Your suggestions are welcome, please become an active partner and volunteer to help as much as you can! Meetings are usually the third Thursday of the month at 6:30pm in the library.

All of our students have been given the DIBELS (Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills) test to assess where they are in their reading skills. Our first and second grade teachers are working together to provide instruction to every student based on his or her need. Our literacy groups are meeting every afternoon for 40 uninterrupted minutes. We’ll have three groups of students, and students will be placed into a group based on need. Students can move in and out of each reading group depending on their growth. Every trimester the teacher will teach a different group of students, so all students will benefit from the expertise and experience of each of these teachers. This is best practice in action!

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www.stjohns.edzone.net • 7550 N. Wellington Rd • St. Johns, Michigan 48879 • (989) 227-4900

Gateway Elementary School Initiatives for Success – Rigor, Relevance and Relationships A new school year at Gateway North Elementary has ushered in a few new initiatives and a new principal. Christopher Smith joins St. Johns after two years at St. Therese School in Lansing. Smith replaces Mrs. Gretchen Baarman, who after serving Gateway for the past eight years, left to be closer to family and accepted a position in Greenville. Smith is enthused by the staff’s and students’ strong start and commitment to student growth, especially demonstrated with two new initiatives at Gateway – “bucket filling” and non-graded instructional groups.

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Our goal is clearly to be ‘bucket fillers” in what we say and how we treat others.

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“Bucket Fillers” “Bucket filling” is a school climate initiative to strengthen relationships and student behavior based on Carol McCloud’s book Have You Filled a Bucket Today?. Each person has “an invisible bucket” which is filled by being kind and demonstrating respect to those around you. When we are unkind or rude, one is “bucket dipping,” which also empties your own bucket. Our goal is clearly to be “bucket fillers” in what we say and how we treat others. We have student assemblies throughout the school year to reinforce this practice.

Instruction to Individual Student Levels Academically, Gateway’s schedule this year has been designed to more effectively deliver instruction to what each individual student needs. As educators, we determine if learning is taking place based on student growth in curricular areas. While students are traditionally distributed by grade level groups base primarily on age, our new schedule allows us to deliver instruction to students according to their individual level and need rather than what grade they’re in. Depending on where students are instructionally, students in grades 1 and 2 receive instruction from one of five teachers in reading and math, and from their grade level classroom teacher for science and social studies. Consequently, more targeted instruction can be delivered, resulting in more individual student growth. The initiative aligns with our district’s Response to Intervention program, which allows us to provide additional support to students as needed.

www.stjohns.edzone.net • 915 N. Lansing St • St. Johns, Michigan 48879 • (989) 227-4600

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Oakview Elementary School

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Our SWAMP groups will help our students feel that they have special people, in addition to their teachers, who are interested in helping them be successful in school and life.

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SWAMP Groups We have started a new program at Oakview called SWAMP groups -- “Success With All Mentoring Program.” Most of the Oakview staff have a SWAMP group. Students from kindergarten through fifth grade are assigned to groups that meet with a staff member, and do interesting and fun activities together. There are about 12 students in each SWAMP group. They meet on Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons for about 20 minutes. The purpose of these groups is to give students the opportunity to make connections with students and staff members who are not part of their grade-level team. The first few group sessions involved activities that helped everyone to get to know one another this month. Activities now focus on character building, social skills and team concepts – all designed to help students be successful.

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www.stjohns.edzone.net • 1400 S Clinton Ave • St. Johns, Michigan 48879 • (989) 227-4500

Riley Elementary School Big Lesson Many students in our building will experience a “Big Lesson” at some point in their elementary careers. Both second and fourth graders will participate in “Annie’s Big Nature Lesson,” while the fifth graders will experience “The Big Zoo Lesson.” These special week-long field trips provide our students with lifelong lessons, real-world experiences, hands-on activities with experts, and time to journal and reflect on what they are studying. The Nature Lessons are generously funded by a grant from the Ann Mason Family, with our PTO graciously helping to defray the cost of transportation. Students loved the pond-dipping experience -- observing, sketching, and identifying organisms they had never seen before. Journal writing and daily observation time was priceless.

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Students became true scientists, uncovering new ground, looking closely, and recording their thoughts and wonderings.

Riley PRIDE continues

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Raccoon PRIDE tickets continue to be handed out by our staff to promote positive behavior, have consistent school-wide expectations and provide an atmosphere that is positive and safe. Students are taught the expected behaviors in every area of the school, and receive a Raccoon Pride Ticket when observed “showing pride.” • Raccoon PRIDE Tickets offer the students an opportunity to be acknowledged for doing something good. • Raccoon PRIDE Tickets are given by all Riley staff members throughout our building. • Three students from every classroom are honored each month, receiving some type of “prize.” It varies from month to month so students are eager to hear about the prize of the month. • All Raccoon PRIDE Tickets are sent home monthly so they can be proudly displayed at home! • A postcard is sent home to the students who were honored each month.

www.stjohns.edzone.net • 5935 W. Pratt Road • St. Johns, Michigan 48879 • (989) 227-5100

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St. Johns Middle School A More Relevant Science Program Our Middle School Science department is happy to be using a new inquiryand problem-based science program. Students work in teams on a daily basis to actively participate in solving scientific problems to better understand the concepts. As students increase their problem-solving skills based on evidence, they improve their critical thinking skills. All of this makes science a more meaningful and relevant experience in our middle school classrooms. This new science program is known as SEPUP -- Science Education for Public Understanding Program – and was developed by Lab-Aids and Lawrence Hall of Science with support from the National Science Foundation. It is aligned with the State of Michigan Grade Level Content Expectations for Science.

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Science concepts and the accompanying process skills are taught and learned in the context of an issue that relates to students’ everyday lives.

” September Students of the Month Sebastian Balde, Madison Ballinger, Nick Barks, Olivia Bouck, Shawn Deering, Kaylee Foster, Courtney Garlock, Mitchell Gazda, Mackenzie Graff, Joshua Hafner, Wes Holen, Kallie Iler, Eli Joy, Josh Minsky, James Moreau, Zack Palmer, Summer Palomo, Rachel Perkins, Collin Rosendale, Traven Schneider, Christine Shoup, Matt Soros, Jordan Thelen, Nick Weber, Cheyenne Watson. Missing from picture: Carlie Smith and Kevin McCorvie

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www.stjohns.edzone.net • 900 W Townsend Rd• St. Johns, Michigan 48879 • (989) 227-4300

St. Johns High School St. Johns High School Orchestra St. Johns High School is very pleased to have added Mr. Justin Valla as its Director of Orchestra. Mr. Valla brings a wealth of experience with him, directing the orchestras for Marshall Public Schools and Lansing Public Schools. Mr. Valla earned a bachelor of music in music education and a bachelor of music performance from Michigan State University. He is a double bass player, and has performed in numerous pit orchestras. Judging from their spectacular performance in our first concert this Fall, we’re looking forward to many more as the St. Johns Orchestra continues its high quality tradition.

St. Johns High School Music Calendar November 6 11 20-22

HS Band Varsity Night HS Band Veteran’s Day Parade, at 11am HS Musical

December 15 16 17

HS Orchestra Concert, 7:30pm HS Band Concert, 7:30pm HS/MS Choir Concert, 7:30pm

February 2010 6 18 20

HS Vocal S/E Festival HS Orchestra Concert, 7:30pm HS Band and Orchestra S/E Festival, at Owosso

March 3 8 27

HS/MS Choir Concert, 7:30pm HS Band Concert, 7:30pm HS State S/E Festival

April 3-10 16-17

HS Band Hawaii Trip State Vocal S/E

May 24 25 27 30

HS Band Concert, 7:30pm HS Orchestra Concert, 7:30pm HS Choir Concert, 7:30pm Memorial Day Parade, 6pm

www.stjohns.edzone.net • 501 W. Sickels • St. Johns, Michigan 48879 • (989) 227-4100

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St. Johns Alternative School Meeting Today’s Math Challenges

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More than ever before, our students recognize the importance of achieving the higher level math goal.

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The State of Michigan Department of Education has set a new standard for all students requiring a minimum of 4 credits of math, including Algebra 2. It is exciting to witness the expectations that will propel students to be competitive in the math and science fields. At the Wilson Center these requirements present a unique circumstance. Students arrive with gaps in their education due to a plethora of reasons: absences, relocation, health issues, and math curriculums varying from one district to another to name a few. The Wilson Center staff uses a blended approach to address each student’s needs. We begin with Plato, a web based computer program, to help identify and assess the gaps in the student’s math skills. Plato allows our staff to pinpoint specific trouble spots and build a curriculum that helps each student review and master their identified weaknesses. The classroom instruction is then tailored and combined with Plato to provide a team approach to maximize each student’s potential. Success breeds confidence, so that more than ever before, our students recognize the importance of achieving the higher level math goal. Conversations among students in the hall and after recent testing reflect their increased desire to be successful in math. The Wilson Center staff embraces the challenge and rewards of these new higher standards, and is encouraged by our students’ growth.

www.stjohns.edzone.net • 101 W Cass St • St. Johns, Michigan 48879 • (989) 227-5200

School Nurse The Ever-Evolving School Nurse St. Johns School District Nurse Karla Palmer, RN, BSN, wears many hats. No two days are ever the same, and every day brings a mix of opportunities to treat and prevent health issues. Karla says “It’s a little of everything. You can’t imagine the variety.” A school nurse’s role to keep kids healthy takes on so many forms. The most obvious is the treatment of illnesses and injuries as they occur during the school day. This not only involves evaluating conditions and providing first aid as needed, but also training staff in each building to provide care to injured students. Children also come to school today with chronic conditions such as asthma, diabetes, seizure disorders, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, autism, and food allergies. School nurses help make school successful for them. A treatment sometimes involves serious procedures such as catheterizations, tube feedings and insulin shots. Mark Horak, assistant principal at St. Johns High School says, “Having a school nurse in the building certainly makes this a safer place for both students and staff. Karla is very quick to respond to all situations and really gives an extra sense of security when we don’t have to make medical judgment calls for which we are not trained. She works very closely with parents and always communicates effectively.” “Karla has been a life saver on so many occasions! Her knowledge and calming presence is a true benefit to St. Johns Public Schools,” says Stephanie Kingsbury, Secretary for Athletics and Clinic at St. Johns Middle School. Barb Feldpausch states, “As a parent of a son with diabetes, I am comforted in sending him off to school everyday, knowing there is a skilled nurse in the building with the knowledge of how to treat him. She is available to assist our son with any concerns he faces on a daily basis when we, his parents, are not able to be there for him.” continued on page 14, Alumni News

www.stjohns.edzone.net • 501 W. Sickels • PO Box 230 • St. Johns, Michigan 48879 • (989) 227-4001

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Alumni News Alumni Profile We want to use this space to recognize a St. Johns High School alumnus, someone who you feel deserves to be acknowledged for making life better for the rest of us – whether it’s for our community, or their family, or their neighbors and friends, or their business or profession. Please email us your information, including a point of contact, at [email protected].

St. Johns High School Alumni Visit the web site http://www.alumniclass.com/stjohns to reunite with old classmates and discover reunion information.

Alumni Information on the Web Visit the web site http://www. alumniclass.com/stjohns to reunite with old classmates and discover reunion information. This web site is not affiliated with St. Johns Public Schools and is not responsible for any of its content or information, but is providing this link for your convenience.

School Nurse continued... Prevention and information to help kids and families make healthy choices is also vital. Karla says “When I am able to see students coming in with a health concern, I use the visit to educate them about ways to keep from getting sick again.” And it’s not just medical attention. Emotional support is also part of the school nurse’s job as a health care professional, whether it is the death of a loved one or stress over an upcoming test. During her years as a school nurse, Karla has observed a growing pressure felt by students, “They have a lot of expectations, and they see me as a safe haven.” School nurses perform many other activities -- reviewing physicals, monitoring vision and hearing screenings, performing scoliosis screenings; reviewing and documenting immunizations, preparing, monitoring and administering prescription and non-prescription medications, and identifying and reporting communicable diseases to the Health Department. Some are mandated by state law or required by district policy. Karla has been a nurse for 11 years, and a school nurse for six years. Before joining the St. Johns school district, she worked various positions in the hospital setting and in health care insurance. “I love it,” she said. Nursing is such a wonderful profession. One of my greatest goals in school nursing is to inspire others to go into this awesome profession.”

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www.stjohns.edzone.net • 501 W. Sickels • PO Box 230 • St. Johns, Michigan 48879 • (989) 227-4001

Community Connections Christmas Festival and Parade The St. Johns Santa Parade of Lights and community tree lighting ceremony is Friday evening, December 4th. Call 989-227-1717 for more information. The annual Christmas Festival returns Saturday, December 5th, again sponsored by the Clinton County Chamber of Commerce, at the CC RESA Building at 1013 S US 27 in St. Johns. It includes Breakfast with Santa (8-10:30am), Festival of Trees & Craft Show (8am-3pm), and Children’s Craft Corner (12-3 pm). Groups, individuals, businesses, and others may still enter decorated full-size or table top trees in the Festival of Trees. For questions or more information, please contact Brenda Terpening at 989-224-7248 or visit the Chamber’s web page at http://www.clintoncountychamber.org/Christmas.php.

Youth Programs Toys for Tots We ask for your generous support for the Clinton County Toys for Tots campaign. For questions or more information about the Toys for Tots campaign, please contact Brenda Terpening at 989-224-7248.

Please let us know if you would like your organization listed on our district’s web site and community events reported in this Spotlight newsletter. Please email us your information, including a point of contact, at CommunityConnections@ stjohnsedzone.net.

St. Johns Public Schools enthusiastically supports our children’s involvement in extracurricular activities. Several organizations providing youth sports, recreational and enrichment programs are listed along with their contact information: St. Johns Youth Athletic Association: www.sjyaa.org football (Terry Gimmey) girls basketball (Mike Maloney) boys basketball (Matt Martens) volleyball (John Cheeney) cheerleading (KC Gimmey) flag football (Rick Peters) wrestling (Jennifer Dominguez) Sea Lions: www.sjsealions.com City of St. Johns Recreation Department: Bill Schafer 989-224-8944, x227 Youth Baseball: www.sjyba.com

Soccer: AYSO at http://www.ayso862.org/ USSF at http://www.caslsoccer.org/ St. Johns Soccer Club at http://www.stjohnssoccerclub.org/

www.stjohns.edzone.net • 501 W. Sickels • PO Box 230 • St. Johns, Michigan 48879 • (989) 227-4001

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District Calendar November 23

7pm, Board meeting – Wilson Center

24-25

High School and Alternative School – Exams, students released at 12:10pm

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Thanksgiving recess

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Teacher record day, end of first trimester – no students

December 14

7pm, Board meeting – Wilson Center

21- Jan 3

Holiday recess

January 4

School resumes

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7pm, Board meeting – Wilson Center

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Dr. King Day – no school

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Evening conferences -- all schools

22

Morning conferences and afternoon release time – no students

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7pm, Board meeting – Wilson Center

St. Johns Public Schools District Office 501 W. Sickels Street St. Johns, MI 48879 Phone: (989) 227-4001 Fax: (989) 227-4099

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www.stjohns.edzone.net • 501 W. Sickels • PO Box 230 • St. Johns, Michigan 48879 • (989) 227-4001