Summary for the Gwinn Board of Education Meetings Held in April

GWINN AREA COMMUNITY SCHOOLS

GWINN, MICHIGAN 49841

SPECIAL MEETING SUMMARY

APRIL 3, 2014

The Board reviewed their visit and inquires into the final two candidates for the Superintendent position.

SPECIAL MEETING SUMMARY

APRIL 17, 2014

The Board took action on the following:

• Approved a motion to hire Mr. Dru Milliron as Superintendent of the Gwinn Area Community School District as of July 1, 2014.

STUDENT DISCIPLINE HEARING

APRIL 22, 2014

The Board took action on the following:

• Suspended Student G through the 1^st semester of the 2014-15 school year for assault of another student while on school property.

REGULAR BOARD MEETING SUMMARY

APRIL 28, 2014

The following Gwinn Middle School students were named “Students of the Month” for April: Caleb Anderson & Greta Wiedenhoefer (6^th); Seth Aho & Morgan Micheau (7^th); and Garrett Foreback & Louise Roberts (8^th).

Ms. Brooke Luokkala was named Gwinn High School’s “Student of the Month” for April.

Mrs. Amy Laitinen, English teacher at Gwinn High School, was honored as the District’s “Teacher of Year for the 2013-14 school year. Superintendent Piereson congratulated and presented her with a plaque recognizing her outstanding accomplishments.

Public Comment

1. Bobbie Jacobson – commented on the Teamsters recent participation in Bowl for Kids Sake and the custodial RFP

Claims in the amount of $598,727 were approved for payment.

District News

KI Sawyer Elementary School

• April 30^th at 7:00 p.m. is the day and time set for the GACS Celebration of the Arts. The KI Sawyer Elementary Choirs and Bell Choirs will be performing. We will also have student art work on display.

• Congratulations to the following “Students of the Month: Adryan King, Evelyn Rice, Rylei Aho, & Payton Schultz (Kdg.); Logan Jandreau, Marissa Leidenfrost, Kira Kooy, Kiley Baysore & Rachel Tamminen (1^st); Natalie Babieczko, Rayna Quayle & Marty Knuutila (2^nd); Bella Lorens, Anna Styczynski & Lilly Kruhlik (3^rd); Victoria Paquin, Dakota Gereau & Grace Ritari (4^th); Delaney O’Keefe, Jimmi Larson & Tia Nordeen (5^th).

• Countdown to Kindergarten was held on April 24^th with 31 incoming kindergarten students in attendance. Our next session is scheduled for May 16^th and includes a free lunch and bus ride for families.

• Kindergarten Registration is scheduled for May 14^th and 15^th. Parents should call the school for an appointment.

• The PTO is sponsoring our next Family Movie Night this Friday, May 2^nd, at 7:00 p.m.

• Several classes will be attending the Young Authors program at NMU next week. It is exciting to see our budding authors share their work with peers from other schools in the area.

Gwinn Middle School

• Congratulations to Kristy Gollakner who has been named the Gwinn VFW 2013-14 Teacher of the Year.

• Sixteen GMS students and their teacher Heather Hollands were invited to a pizza dinner at the Gwinn VFW in March to honor the students for entering the VFW Patriot’s Pen Essay Contest. Congratulations to 7^th grade students Bryce Mattson and Emily Wasilewski who each received $100 for their winning essays. The other students each received $25.

• Our 6^th grade students will participate in their salmon release on Friday, May 9^th. We have 115 chinook salmon that have been raised from eggs and will be released in the Carp River. 

• Our 6^th and 8^th graders recently participated in the Water Challenge. The challenge, in which students made paper beads that will be used to generate funds to dig water wells for people in Northern Tanzania, produced a total of 5,858 paper beads. For every 20 beads made, it provides access for one more person to one of the 41 wells being funded. Therefore, our students have potentially given access to clean water and saved the lives of 292 people in Tanzania, Africa!

• On Friday, May 2, 2014, GMS students will have the opportunity to “Stand4Change” and sign an anti-bullying pledge.

• The GMS Student Council will be hosting a dance on Friday, May 9^th for all GMS students.

• The 8^th graders are getting excited for their May 16^th trip to Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, Illinois.

Gwinn High School

• Spring athletics are in full swing. The track and softball teams have competitions tonight, and tennis will compete tomorrow.

• Congratulations to the entire cast and crew of “Little Shop of Horrors”. Their production over the weekend was fantastic.

• The Youth Advisory Council will host a “PS I Love You” walk on Saturday, May 17^th to support suicide awareness.

• The National Honor Society will hold its 2014 induction ceremony on Thursday, May 14^th at 7:00 pm in the library.

• Congratulations to the following musicians on their outstanding performances at the recent Menominee River District Solo & Ensemble Festival: Starred One Rating (advances to WSMA State Festival): Gwinn High School Chorale, vocal jazz ensemble, Naria Ford-Thompson, musical theater; Ben Hafer, musical theater; Ben Hafer, bass solo; Liz Jandreau, soprano solo; Luc Ledy-Lepine, tenor solo; Bobby Proulx, tenor solo (Perfect score); Bobby Proulx, musical theater; Mara Westman, soprano solo; Mara Westman, musical theater; Division One Rating: Gwinn High School Jazz Band; Alec Mayo, bass solo; Division Two Rating: Brea Fisher, alto solo; Naria Ford-Thompson, alto solo; Liz Jandreau, musical theater; Alec Mayo, musical theater; Division Three Rating: Brea Fisher, musical theater; Class C Division Two Rating: Paula Vincent, clarinet solo.

• Congratulations to the following students for being selected as finalists in the Albion College Charles Crupi Memorial Poetry Contest: Samantha Bell, Payton Luokkala, Isabella Wedig, and Rachel Wood. Their poems finished in the top 25 out of 750 entries.

• As part of the annual Marquette Community Holocaust Remembrance, Dr. Michael Meyer Professor of Jewish History, spoke with students and staff at GHS on April 11, with personal recollections of what it was like to be a boy in Germany as he was gradually isolated and outcast from his peers before his family immigrated to the United States. 

• Congratulations to Payton Luokkala who was selected as a finalist in the River of Words Poetry Contest, an annual contest sponsored by Saint Mary’s College in affiliation with the Library of Congress. One of the judges, Robert Hass, is a former U.S. Poet Laureate. This year, student poets from 35 states and 18 countries entered the contest and Payton’s poem was selected from thousands of entries.

• Congratulations to our girls varsity basketball team for being selected as an honorable mention in this year’s Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan’s Academic All-State Selections!  Way to go student-athletes!

• The GHS Prom will be this Saturday, May 3^rd at the Marquette Regional History Center. The Grand March will be in the cafeteria at 4:00.

• The Senior Awards Reception will be held on May 21^st in the cafeteria at 6:00.

• The GHS Jazz Band will perform an afternoon concert on Sunday, May 18^th at 2:00 in the HS cafeteria.

• Our “Celebration of Arts Festival” will be held on April 30^th at 6 pm in the cafeteria and gymnasium.

• The National Honor Society induction ceremony is tentatively set for Wednesday May 14^th in the GHS library.

• GHS was recently notified that they were named a “Bronze Award Recipient” in the US News and World Reports 2014 listing of the Best High Schools in America. This is the 2^nd consecutive year GHS has been recognized.

Superintendent Piereson presented the Board with minutes from the recent Building & Site, Athletic, Personnel and Finance Committee meetings. Dr. Piereson also updated the Board on the following: an upcoming MASB CBA course to be held at MARESA, a slight change to the 2014-15 fall parent-teacher conference dates due to the November 4, 2014 General Election, the status of the snow day “make up” days, and GHS’s recent bronze medal ranking on the 2014 US News & World Report listing of best high schools in America.

 

The Board agreed to again host a reception following the graduation ceremony on May 25, 2014.

The Board took action on the following:

• Authorized the Building & Site Committee to begin work and move forward toward the goal of a centralized K-12 campus.

• Approved the move of the District’s 5^th grade students to the GMS/GHS complex for the 2015-16 school year.

• Designated bus purchases to fall under the umbrella of the Board Finance Committee.

• Approved the recommendation from the Athletic Committee to hire Darren Sinnaeve as the JV Football Coach.

• Authorized the Personnel Committee to negotiate a contract with incoming Superintendent Dru Milliron.

• Authorized the Administration to purchase used busses at a cost not to exceed $90,000.

• Tabled a motion to go forward with a Bond Issue/Sinking Fund ballot.

• Approved a request from the Class of 2014 to use GHS as the site for their Senior Lock-In.

• Approved the following student trips as a Board-sponsored activity:

1. GHS French Class – trip to Montreal, Quebec, Canada, on June 12-17, 2014

Accepted, with great appreciation, the following gifts and donations:

1. Donors Choose – 44 copies of Michael Somers’ book “Starved” (valued at $508.16) for Amy Laitinen’s English classes at GHS

2. Dr. Scott Sather – hand crafted electric guitar donated to the free after-school guitar lessons program run by 3^rd grade teacher Mr. Greg Sandell, KI Sawyer Elementary School

Public Comment

1. Dale Throenle – commented on the KI Sawyer Community Alliance, bussing and technology

2. Mary Jo Paris – commented on the vision of a K-12 campus and the custodial RFP

3. Bobbie Jacobson – commented on the purchase of used busses

Board Member Comments

1. Bill Nordeen – commented on working with Forsyth Township and their recreational millage that may help us upgrade our tennis courts

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