The first week back to full-time face-to-face learning for elementary schools in the district started off with excitement, smiles behind masks and the reunion of students in one cohort with friends in another.
“We’re all good to go,” said Mason Principal Roy Bishop before heading out the door to greet students and their families at morning drop-off. “We’re excited to have kids come back. Our staff has been working so hard. Our community is so awesome. March 1st — it’s here. We’re ready for the opportunity.”
Shelleyann Keelean, principal at Monteith, agreed teachers were prepared and excited to have full classes again.
“We’re looking forward to a little bit more normalcy in our lives,” she said. “We’re very happy to be back.”
With some families joining in-person learning from the OneGP Virtual program and to remind all parents about safety protocols in place, Keelean said she sent out a video to parents the night before to let them know, “It’s almost like a first day again. It’s OK to have those butterflies in your stomach and we’re here to help.
“The motto at Monteith is ‘kindness matters’ so this is one of those times we really want to see that shine with our students and staff,” she added.
Bishop participated in a town hall for parents the week before to address concerns and answer questions.
“We’re trying to be as transparent as possible — things that we can do, things that we can’t do,” he said. “But also, let’s collaborate. Nobody here has ever been through COVID before. It’s a new experience for everybody. We’re open to hearing feedback, to collaborating and brainstorming together how we can make our environment as safe as possible for our students.”
Opening doors to virtual tours
What’s almost as good as being there? Touring the building in 3D from the safety and comfort of your home. Click here to begin your virtual visit.
Our new 360-degree tours allow you to visit classrooms, labs, auditoriums, gyms and athletic facilities from every angle. For example, check out the performing arts center, planetarium and innovation lab at Grosse Pointe North; historic Cleminson Hall and the natatorium/pool at Grosse Pointe South; TV production and life skills rooms at Brownell; the science lab, art room and newly renovated auditorium at Parcells; and the choir and band rooms at Pierce, among other highlights.
Brownell sixth-grader honored at state awards day
The assignment — to submit an entry to the Daughters of the American Revolution essay contest — was voluntary, but 15 of Shelley Garland’s sixth-graders in her language arts class at Brownell participated.
Even though classes were fully remote when the essays were due, Garland said she had more students participate this year than ever before. Students had to put in extra work on their own time doing extra reading, writing and drafting. Each met with her one-on-one during afternoon support time.
The results of this extra time and effort showed. Of the five sixth-graders recognized by the Louisa St. Clair Chapter of the Daughters of the DAR, four were from Brownell.
Each year the DAR of Michigan selects a state representative among grade-level winners. This year Brownell sixth-grader Makenzie Waterson earned this recognition and will be honored at the State Awards Day virtual event April 13.
The essay topic is tied to a historical event. This year’s theme was the Boston Massacre, in recognition of the 250th anniversary March 5, 2020. Students were charged with imagining they lived in Boston in 1770 and witnessed the event. They were to describe their family’s discussion about the Boston Massacre and what role it played in organizing the Colonists against the British King and the Parliament.
“…The colonists have started lobbing sticks, snow, and ice at the soldier on duty. The soldier collapses after getting hit one too many times. A few colonists hop over his body and go into the building,” Makenzie wrote in her award-winning essay.
“Apparently, the guard called other soldiers to come because I see seven soldiers and their officer come around the Custom House and take up a position in front of the colonists. They pull out their guns and are waiting for the order to shoot. The colonists start jeering louder, but of mixed things. The majority are taunting the British soldiers, daring them to shoot. A few of them were begging the British soldiers not to shoot. But still, they all kept lobbing things at the soldiers, some hesitant though. The British soldiers are keeping quiet, waiting for their officer’s orders.”
Garland said she partnered with social studies teachers on the historical part of the project and received support from English department colleagues, including those in the OneGP Virtual program, and school librarian Sherry Martin, who made sure the students had access to resources online.
Families played a big role, too, she said.
“It’s very much a team effort and a shared success,” Garland said.
Even though the contest is outside the curriculum, it ties into what Garland teaches daily to reinforce her students’ writing skills: the importance of reading, researching and revising.
All the students who placed in the competition were “big readers,” she noted. Moreover, they conducted extensive research to make sure the details they included were authentic and worked hard on revising and polishing their final drafts.
Garland said she is proud of all the students who participated. Even if their essay wasn’t selected for recognition, all students benefitted from the process and developed the skills and tools to make them effective communicators in a variety of arenas.
“I’m grateful to give them the opportunity to (write for) another audience, test out their skills and validate their work beyond our school walls,” she said.
2020-21 Louisa St. Clair Chapter of the DAR American History Essay Contest winners
Sixth grade
1st place – Makenzie Waterson – Brownell Middle School
2nd place – Lydia Prysak – Brownell Middle School
3rd place – Russell Warner – Brownell Middle School
Honorary – Jack Leonard – Brownell Middle School
Honorary – Phoebe Caine – Pierce Middle School
Seventh grade
1st place – Lauren Euper – Brownell Middle School
2nd place – Lorelai Carr – Brownell Middle School
3rd place – Genevieve Hardy – Parcells Middle School
Eighth grade
1st place – Isabella Rondini – Brownell Middle School
2nd place – Mikala Smolen – Brownell Middle School
3rd place – Aliana Ritter – Brownell Middle School
School librarians unite in virtual world
Last March, elementary school librarian Amy Hermon was at a conference and the keynote speaker was unable to attend; she was stuck in New York because her child’s school closed due to the new coronavirus.
“A year ago at this time, the idea of going to a conference and having your speaker be broadcast in was unthinkable,” Hermon said. “Now it’s the norm.”
The conference was disappointing in other respects as well, Hermon added. For example, she had spent months preparing her own session and ended up presenting to an audience of seven.
Since then, conferences have adapted to the virtual approach, increasing their reach to audiences and even including “virtual hallways” in an attempt to recreate virtual equivalents to face-to-face spaces.
Hermon has jumped on the band wagon.
In mid-February, she presented at the California School Librarian Association annual conference, held virtually.
Hermon’s topic for the CSLA conference was: “You Know More Than You Think: And Other Observations.” The CSLA president contacted Hermon to give this session because of the reputation and reach Herman established with her podcast, School Librarians Unite.
Next week she is the opening keynote speaker at the New Jersey School Librarian spring conference. Her focus will be on how podcasts help school librarians refresh and rebuild their profession.
In its third year, Hermon — producing from her own home on her own time — has posted 115 episodes, which have been downloaded in all 50 states and over 105 countries, including Nepal, Madagascar and Iceland. Moreover, Hermon has interviewed school librarians from 24 states, the United Kingdom, Canada and New Zealand.
The biggest benefit to hosting the podcast is hearing how school librarians across the country and world are navigating shared challenges, Hermon said. It also has allowed her to build a professional learning network on social media.
“When you are crowd-sourcing these sorts of challenges, people step up and say: ‘I’d love an episode on that,” she said. Finding weekly content, as a result, hasn’t been an issue.
“We don’t all have to have the answers, but podcasting is free, customizable and convenient,” Hermon added. “The listening community can benefit from it because it’s completely free. It’s convenient because you can listen any time. And it’s customizable because you can scroll through all those episodes and binge listen — like a Netflix TV series — or pick and choose and listen to the things that you identify with and that support your immediate needs.”
Many episodes are universal and maintain their relevancy over time, while others are topical, including 12 recent episodes on supporting school communities virtually.
“The nice thing about the podcast is it was already pandemic proof,” Hermon said.
For example, Hermon was able to repurpose the presentation she gave to seven people at the live conference last March into a podcast episode, expanding her reach from a live audience of seven to 1,500 listeners across the country.
Athletes in the news
Several Division 1 colleges waited in anticipation for Grosse Pointe South junior Will Johnson, the top-ranked football player in the state for the class of 2022, to make his decision. Johnson committed to the University of Michigan, the alma mater for his father, Deon Johnson, who played for the Wolverines in the 1990s.
Also highlighted in the news are Class A Michigan High School Athletic Association Scholar Athlete award recipients Madeline Kohler from Grosse Pointe North and Jacob Harris from Grosse Pointe South, who were among only 14 scholar-athletes in the state to receive scholarships through the MHSAA/Farm Bureau Insurance Scholar-Athlete Award program.
Madeline is in her fourth season of varsity basketball and will play her third season of varsity soccer this spring. She earned multiple all-conference and all-state honorable mention honors in basketball and helped that team to multiple league and district titles and a regional championship and MHSAA semifinals appearance in 2018. She earned all-league scholar-athlete honors in both sports and academic all-state in basketball. She also was the captain of the basketball team.
Jacob played four seasons of varsity tennis, is playing his second of varsity basketball and will play his second season of varsity baseball in the spring. He made the MHSAA finals and earned multiple all-state honors in tennis. He earned all-state academic in baseball and served as varsity captain in all three sports.
Each of the scholarship recipients will be honored during an online ceremony later this winter. Commemorative medallions will be given to the finalists in recognition of their accomplishments.
COVID testing
There is still time to sign up for high school COVID testing next week. Testing will now take place over the course of two days — one at Grosse Pointe South and one at Grosse Pointe North.
Grosse Pointe South — Monday, March 8 (practice gym)
COHORT A: 8:55-10:40 a.m. (2nd and 3rd periods)
COHORT B: 11:35 a.m.-1:20 p.m. (4th and 5th periods)
Grosse Pointe North, Tuesday, March 9 (third floor)
COHORT A: 9:50-11:35 a.m. (5th and 4th periods)
COHORT B: 12:30-2:15 p.m. (3rd and 2nd periods)
Students will be called in groups of 15 to 20 to the testing area in alphabetical order. Testing should take approximately 20 minutes.
If you already signed up and your day changed, there’s no need to resubmit.
BOE meeting returns to in-person format
The regular meeting of the Board of Education will take place in person at the Brownell multipurpose room Monday, March 8, at 7 p.m.
According to the new State of Michigan restriction changes, indoor entertainment venues, such as auditoriums, are allowed to be at 50 percent capacity up to 300 people. Brownell’s multipurpose room normally seats 837, allowing the district to host up to the full state cap of 300 occupants for an auditorium.
A link to the livestream is available at gpschools.org.
School Pointes is a publication of the Grosse Pointe Public School System. To submit story ideas or Pointes of Pride, email info@gpschools.org.