Was it in the main gym first hour with the stapler by Rita Book?
Or was it in Room 100 after school with the Bunsen burner by Telly O’Scope?
During an afterschool Clue Party, fifth graders worked together — with a little help from their eighth grade WEB leaders — in teams of three or four to solve the mystery of who kidnapped Parcells Principal Ken Milch on Friday, Oct. 8.
Their challenge was to discover who did it, with what weapon, at what time, and in what room. Team members could ask two yes or no questions about any of those four categories. The suspects, stationed in classrooms throughout the first floor, each knew two facts about the crime. Students kept track of the answers on a worksheet and collaborated with their teammates to determine the best questions to ask next.
Much like the actual game of Clue, the students figured out the correct answer by the process of elimination, said Marci Charuba, who organized the activity along with WEB team co-advisers Alexis Lecznar and Steve Chevalier.
Teachers served as suspects. For example, Mr. Jim Nasium (Jon Clark), stationed in the main gym, was a “hard-driving gym teacher determined to win the conference title by scheduling extra practice,” according to descriptions of each of the suspects the students were provided. “He’s been furious ever since Mr. Milch let the chess club use the gym, cutting into practice time.”
Or possibly it was the “sweet and caring counselor” Ms. Carmen Courtesy (Samantha Lamberti-McGrath), who “won’t stand for a lack of manners. When Mr. Milch forgot to tell her ‘good morning’ for two days in a row, did she finally lose her legendary patience?”
Another top contender for the dastardly deed was Ms. Cy Berspace (Courtney Hughes), a software expert who “wants the job of Parcells principal. She may have coded an algorithm to make Mr. Milch disappear into cyberspace, so she can take over the school.”
Even the head of the school lunch program, Mr. Pete Zaman (Jamie Winowiecki) wasn’t above suspicion. He knew so much about good nutrition, he “was outraged when Mr. Milch suggested adding deep fried Twinkies to the menu.” Might he have “a new recipe … for evil?”
Weapons ranged from a graphing calculator, paper cutter and broom to a globe, graphing calculator, hardcover book and whiteout.
Not only was the turnout great, but the kids “had a great time,” said Charuba. “They were so excited. It was a nice way to get them into another part of the building they’re not familiar with. They had a chance to see into some of the classrooms and get excited about the years to come here at Parcells.”
In fact, getting the fifth graders familiar with the building and interacting with the WEB leaders were the two most important goals of the activity, she said.
As for the kidnapping victim, the winning team of Jace Crowe, Charlie Fry and Cindy Lexzczynski solved the mystery: Mr. Milch was kidnapped by Ms. Ally Gebra (Erika Stout-Kirck) in Room 106 at 4th hour with the hockey stick.
Apparently the “eccentric mathematician” was so crazy about geometry, when she heard that Mr. Milch was cutting back on her supply of protractors, “she was seen calculating some very suspicious measurements. She may have figured out an angle for revenge.”
Her protracted plan failed, however, thanks to the deductive reasoning powers of the winning students.
When Mr. Milch came out of his office, “the kids were very excited to see him and happy they saved him,” Charuba said.
Vocal and instrumental teacher work in harmony
Combined, Carolyn and James Gross represent nearly half a century of music education with the Grosse Pointe Public School System.
Carolyn, in her 26th year as a vocal music teacher, has spent all of her time at Brownell Middle School. In the early years, she also traveled to Trombly and Mason elementary schools.
James is in his 22nd year with the district. He started out as an elementary instrumental teacher, teaching at the four north end schools — Ferry, Mason, Monteith and Poupard — and Defer.
Another teacher in the music department, Dean Doss, introduced them in 2001.
Carolyn had already caught James’ eye at a holiday assembly at Mason Elementary, where the Brownell choir was performing Christmas carols.
James admits he was more interested in Carolyn than the “carolin’.”
Their first date was at a Thai restaurant in Birmingham. For their second date, Carolyn recalled she “dragged him along to a musical, of which he is not a fan.”
They dated for about nine months before getting engaged and were married in the summer of 2003. Carolyn and James have three children, Eliana, a senior, Daniel, a freshman, both at Grosse Pointe South, and Nolan, a seventh grader at Pierce. They live in the Park.
While the two teach at Brownell now, this wasn’t always the case. After his first years as an elementary instrumental teacher, James taught for a year at Pierce and Parcells middle schools, then his fifth year up until today he shared his time between Pierce and South. Five years ago, he added Brownell to his schedule.
James starts each day at South with a JV and varsity orchestra, then heads to Brownell to teach an orchestra class there.
When their paths cross at Brownell, “some days this is the only time we see each other,” Carolyn said. “Some days it’s ‘high five, can’t talk.’ Other days we have 15 minutes.”
While working in the same building was at first an adjustment — Carolyn confesses she can be “stubborn and territorial” — now she says “it’s the best.” Besides the fact James occasionally brings her coffee and a treat, he also is a great resource.
“He’s been so gracious as to allow his students to come over and accompany my students,” she said. “Once he brought the chamber orchestra over so we could do the Vivaldi Gloria, which is a great work for choir and orchestra. If I have a song that needs instrumentalists, I know who to go to.”
James sees the benefits to the music department as a whole, which works more in harmony now.
“When I first came on board, there was an ‘us’ vs. ‘them’ — vocal/instrumental — power struggle,” he said. “I think to some level it’s more peaceful now than it was 20 years ago when I first came on or even before I was involved. In the history of our department, there were some contentious times between the vocal and instrumental artists.”
“I feel like we get each other,” Carolyn added. “Because I respect him as a teacher, he makes me a better teacher because of how he is. He has elevated my teaching since I met him. And probably I light a little fire under him too. We’re always trying to be better than we were before.”
Some of the tension exists, she acknowledged, because vocal and instrumental teachers are vying for the same students for their electives. Working together all these years has opened their eyes to what the other does, increasing their compassion and empathy.
“But because he sees how hard I work, I see how hard he works, there’s respect between us and then we can represent those feelings of empathy to the rest of our department so there aren’t those contentious feelings,” Carolyn said.
In addition to this mutual respect, the two share the same sense of reward that comes from building lasting relationships with their students.
“For instance, there’s a young man who was in my first fourth-grade class 22 years ago who has stayed in contact with me and updates me on his life successes and progress,” James said, adding he got a message from a former student just the other day who said he was getting married.
Teaching both middle and high school, James gets to know some of his students and their families over six or seven years.
Carolyn, too, has fostered relationships and enjoyed support from both parents and students.
“We get wedding invitations from former students or birth announcements,” she said. “It’s been wonderful working here for long and being here to see kids year after year and watching them grow.”
Look for more GPPSS couples in future editions of School Pointes.
Ferry Day of Awesomeness
Ferry Elementary School’s second Day of Awesomeness was, according to Principal Jodie Randazzo, well, awesome.
The event is part of Ferry’s PTO-sponsored annual fundraiser, with Chelsea Brozo serving as fundraising chair.
“Many kids shared it was the best day of their lives,” Randazzo said.
All grade levels had an hour outdoors on the playground full of inflatables as a celebration to their fundraising efforts.
“We're so appreciative to the Ferry families and community for their support and generosity,” Randazzo said. She also thanked the administrators who joined in on the fun.
Alumni Through the Decades
Our 100th anniversary series on GPPSS alumni continues
Carly Piper
Grosse Pointe North High School
Class of 2001
Carly Piper Ryan first dreamed of going to the Olympics when she was 7. She had just won a trophy at a summer swim meet in Dearborn and was on her way home to Grosse Pointe Woods with her father when she turned to him and told him her goal.
It wasn’t until college that the dream began to seem achievable, and during her second time at the 2004 Olympic Trials — her first was in 2000, when she was still a student at Grosse Pointe North High School — it became real.
She knew to be an alternate in the relay in the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, she had to place between first and sixth.
“When I touched the wall and realized I made fifth, I knew I could make it,” she said. “I got out of the pool and ran over to my teammates and was celebrating.”
Carly, along with those teammates, Natalie Coughlin, Kaitlin Sandeno and Dana Vollmer, went on to win gold in the 4x200M freestyle race at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. They also broke a world record.
That moment on the podium was one Carly will never forget.
“After the final swim, it was awesome,” she said. “USA had seats right across the pool. My coaches at UW were on the left side of me and my parents were on the other side of me. Everywhere I looked I knew somebody.”
After the Olympics, she finished her senior year at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she earned Big Ten Conference swimmer of the year accolades in 2003 and 2005.
Carly has been swimming “from birth, basically,” she said. Her parents — her mother also was a swimmer — put her in the pool when she was just a baby. She began swimming competitively when she was 7 and swam with Pointe Aquatics, the Grosse Pointe Woods Warriors in the summer, and Grosse Pointe North.
After her success at the Olympics, Carly continued training through 2008. While she went to the trials again, she didn’t make the team. After that she “bounced around a little bit,” she said, adding, “The swimming world moved me to a lot of different places.”
After some time in Tennessee and then back in Grosse Pointe Woods, where she coached for a time with her former coach, Mike O’Connor, she settled in Wisconsin. She and her husband, Shane, have two daughters — Piper, 5, and Harper, nearly 3 — and own the Madison Aquatic Club, which offers classes for all ages and abilities, from parent-child swim classes up to high school and collegiate level training. Carly also works part time at Group Health Cooperative coordinating patient referrals.
Similar to her own parents, Carly and Shane — also a collegiate swimmer — put their daughters in the pool when they were just weeks old, continuing the family tradition.
Vote early and often for adaptive PE grant
Pierce Middle School is eligible for a grant from Michigan Schools and Government Credit Union for equipment for physical education instructor Greg Wolff’s adapted PE program. Click here to help Mr. Wolff get a $700 grant.
Voting is from now until Oct. 25. Voters must use the register link with an email or a text. A code will be sent which can be used up to five times a day from each email address or phone number.
According to the grant proposal, students with autism and other developmental disorders often have a weak proprioceptive system, which affects spatial awareness and balance. By providing experiences using balance beams, Bosu balls and other activities to improve balance and coordination, the proprioceptive system can be strengthened. Strengthening the proprioceptive system improves independent movement throughout daily activities and the lifespan. Grant money will be used to purchase Bosu Balls, a Wavy Tactile Balance Beam and a modular balance course.
“Last year we were gifted with money to buy a large tricycle that our adaptive PE kids love,” Wolff said.
He encourages parents to share the link with others to help out the program.
School Pointes is a publication of the Grosse Pointe Public School System. To submit story ideas or Pointes of Pride, email info@gpschools.org.