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Carrollton Public Schools P.O. Box 517, 3211 Carla Drive Carrollton, MI 48724

ECRWSS Postal Customer

Nonprofit U.S. Postage Paid Carrollton, MI Permit No. 6

www.carrolltonpublicschools.org

Community Connection Volume 28, Issue 3

Inside this issue...

Superintendent’s Corner Be involved Homecoming Court Partners in Education

CHS News Fall sports Flu Clinic Wrestling

CMS News STEM field trip Love of poetry Human Geography

CES News Empowering yourself Creative pumpkins Being thankful

Omni News Staffing changes Count day fun Positive recognition

November 2014

NHS Welcomes 15 New Members

By Shawn Thelen High School Principal On Monday, October 20, the Carrollton High School National Honor Society Chapter inducted 15 new members.

To become a member of the National Honor Society, students must demonstrate four key characteristics in the areas of leadership, scholarship, character, and service. They also must go through a rigorous application process.

NHS students must hold a high scholastic standing. All students are required to have a minimum cumulative grade point average of a 3.3. NHS students must also demonstrate good character and leadership in their school and community.

Five letters of recommendation are required to validate each student’s exemplary citizenship, and at least two letters must be from adults outside of our school system.

Lastly, NHS students must be willing to serve others. All members must complete 10 additional hours of community service above the 10 hours that are required for all high school students each year.

We salute our new members this year,

Substitute Teachers Wanted Carrollton Public Schools is searching for qualified substitute teachers. We have raised our substitute teacher pay rates. A whole day is $75 and a half day is now $45. To apply, please visit pcmiservices.com.

Contact Numbers Superintendent 989-754-1475 Administration Office 989-754-1475 Omni 989-753-3477 High School 989-753-3433 Middle School 989-753-9704 Elementary/JB Griffin 989-754-2425 Check us out on the Web: www.carrolltonpublicschools.org

The 2014-2015 National Honor Society of Carrollton High School. as well as our returning members, for your outstanding efforts to demonstrate your excellence academically, through good character, and in serving your community.

The returning National Honor Society Members are: Alyssa Chesney, Madeline David, Caleb Gallant, Madison Kubczak, Marilyn Laski, John Luth, Rebecca Sova, Bailey Schwerin, and Alexa Sumption.

Welcome to the new NHS Members: Kelcey Case, Logan Fisher, Delfina Garcia, Noah Keller, Connor Lewicki, John Luna Jr., Jeffrey Luth, Madison May, Alyshia Meininger, Nathan Naples, Lily Reyes, Jessica Rick, Katharyn Rosales, Gabryelle Sandefur, and Heather Tuck.

Congratulations to all of our NHS Members. You make us very proud.

The CHS Boys’ Cross Country Team recently finished up a great season.

From left: Coach Paul Pack, Bailey Schwerin, Noah Keller, Michael Johnson, Brandon McDonald, D’Anthony Goodwin, Jalen Krenz, and Coach Marcos Salinas.

Back-to-Back State Finalists

By Marcos Salinas Cross Country Coach The Carrollton Boys’ Cross Country Team ran in the State Finals for the 2nd consecutive year.

The team of Noah Keller, D’Anthony Goodwin, Michael Johnson, Bailey Schwerin, Brandon McDonald and Jalen Krenz raced in the State Finals at Michigan International Speedway on November 2. The team finished 22nd in the state, 3 places better than last year.

The team qualified the prior weekend by finishing 3 points ahead of Hemlock to earn 3rd place at the Regional Meet. Keller and Goodwin earned a place on the AllRegional Team. Keller finished 3rd overall and Goodwin finished 10th.

The team had several other highlights.

The boys started the season by finishing in 2nd place against Hemlock at the Michigan Sugar Invitational.

The Cavaliers knew it was going to be a season long battle with Hemlock to earn

a spot to the State Finals. Hemlock defeated Carrollton 3 times in September before the boys stepped on the gas in October andovertook them in 4 races; The Heritage Invitational, TVC Overall Meet, Saginaw County Meet, and Regionals.

The team also finished in 3rd place at the Birch Run Invitational and in 3rd place in the Tri Valley Conference West Division.

Three runners earned All-Conference Recognition this season. Noah Keller and D’Anthony Goodwin earned a spot on the 1st Team All-Conference while Michael Johnson earned a spot on the 2nd Team.

Keller also earned 1 st team All-county while Goodwin earned 2 nd team Allcounty.

It was truly another amazing season.

The boys were determined to make it back to the State Finals. They were focused and dedicated to performing their best.

In the end, all of their hard work paid off.

They got to see their names scrolling up the tower at MIS and knew they belonged there with the state’s best runners.

Jason Kowalski

Welcome Mr. Kowalski Carrollton Public Schools is excited to introduce our new Assistant Principal, Jason Kowalski.

Mr. Kowalski will be working as the Assistant Principal in both the Elementary and Middle School.

He comes to us with over 17 years of experience in education and has a strong passion for children.

Please feel free to call or stop by any time to introduce yourself.

Welcome to the Cavalier family, Mr. Kowalski.

Be involved in your child’s education

CARROLLTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS SUPERINTENDENT Tim Wilson

Dear Carrollton Community, One of the things I miss most about my kids no longer being in school is being involved in their education on a daily basis. Whether it was reading to them and helping them with homework when they were very young, or as they grew older it was quizzing them for tests, taking them to a practice, watching them play in a game, attending a PTO meeting, or whatever I needed to do to help them be successful and independent.

It all took much of my time and effort. Sometimes I wondered how I would get everything done in a day, but time sure flies and I miss it.

One of the most important things we can do with our time as parents is spend time with our children and be involved in their education. To help our kids be successful, we need to be involved in their education. There are many studies that prove that parent involvement has a positive impact on a child’s education and their success in life.

Not only does your involvement help your child, it also helps improve the quality of our schools. Here are some suggested ideas that you can do to be involved and hopefully you are doing many of them with your child already. · Ask questions about what your child learned at school today and set up a quiet place in your home for your child to do schoolwork. · Read everything that is sent home from school or emailed to you. · Consistently check your child’s grades online. · Attend school meetings, join the PTO, contact your child’s teacher or principal and ask them if they could use your help on a volunteer basis. · Attend events your child participates in. · Encourage your child to read at home no matter

what age they are. If they are too young to read on their own, read to them. · Do daily checks on their homework, make sure it is completed and that they don’t just rush through it. · When a teacher or principal calls or sends a note home about a concern or praise regarding your child, take the concern seriously and acknowledge your child for the praise.

These are just a few of the things you can do to be involved in your child’s education. The important thing is that you are involved and you are helping to give your child a much better chance to be successful in school and in life.

By being involved you also help to improve the quality of our schools.

If you aren’t involved, or you would like to be more involved, today is a great day to start.

Tim Wilson, Superintendent

Free Family Movie Night Tuesday, December 9 Cavalier Center 6 - 7:30 p.m.

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Carrollton High School’s 2014 Homecoming Court, from left: Ashley Fairley, Adam Main, Asia Donald, Noah Keller, Queen Nicole Ackerman, King Caleb Gallant, Keke Montgomery, Austin Morley, Jeanee’ Daniel, and Brett Carter.

Showing “Shrek the Halls” Christmas crafts and refreshments Visit with Santa!

(Parents – bring your camera!)

For any questions please contact Susan Howard, SSW, at showard@carrollton.k12.mi.us or 989-399-8802.

Guest speaker visits the Transitions Center

Jacob Dupuis (left) and Houston Smith work on grouping pumpkin seeds by tens before getting a grand total.

Pumpkin math and science day Mrs. Bowen's second grade class celebrated the fall season by having a pumpkin math and science day. First the students learned about the life cycle of the pumpkin plant.

Next, they measured the height, circumference, andweight. After, they counted and compared the seeds of a large orange pumpkin to those from a small white pumpkin.

After gathering data on six pumpkins, the students graphed the results.

By Lynn Puia Transitions Center Teacher We had a special speaker, Roger Reichmann, at the Transitions Center on Tuesday, October 28. He spoke to both the Basic Art class and the Advanced Art class. Mr. Reichmann spoke about his art designs and how he creates them. He calls his art "found art". He looks for used items at garage sales, antique shops and resale shops.

Roger puts together items that follow a certain theme.

Sometimes he paints his art but sometimes he leaves it in the condition he finds the items.

Mason Schimmoller, Ms. Sharon Fritz Mr. Reichmann sells his art all around Michigan. He and Special Guest Speaker, Roger was a very interesting speaker and the students enjoyed Reichmann displaying his art work. his presentation.

Backpack program in need of help For the fifth year, Carrollton Elementary School is pleased to participate in the food backpack program.

This program, coordinated by the Food Bank of Eastern Michigan, provides students with backpacks filled with easy-to-prepare foods for the weekend.

Each week, students take home a backpack filled with cereal, granola bars, ravioli, and other snacks.

The students receive the food backpacks each week throughout the school year starting in October.

2014 - 2015 Board of Education Phillip Abney, President Loren Fischer, Treasurer Anthony McDonald, Trustee

Gregory Morley, Vice President Troy Lapine, Secretary William Feriend, Trustee Stephen Schwerin, Trustee

In compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Americans with Disability Act of 1990, and the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act of 1977, it is the policy of the Carrollton Public School District that no person shall, on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin or ancestry, sex, disability, height, weight, or marital status be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to, discrimination during any program, activity, service or in employment. For information, inquiries, or to file a complaint, contact the Superintendent of Carrollton Public Schools at PO Box 517, Carrollton, MI 48724, 989-754-1475.

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Unbelievably, the cost to sponsor a child for one year is only $100.

For further information about the program, visit the Food Bank of Eastern Michigan website.

For further information about sponsoring a Carrollton Elementary student for the 2014-2015 school year, please feel free to contact Susan Howard, School Social Worker at 989-399-8802, 989-754-2425, or showard@carrollton.k12.mi.us.

The Community Connection This newsletter is published and distributed to residents of Carrollton and to Schools of Choice families. We welcome your comments, questions, and ideas.

If you live outside the distribution area and would like to subscribe to The Community Connection, send your name and address, along with $3 to: Community Connection P.O. Box 517 Carrollton, MI. 48724 or, contact Kelly Baker at: kskania@carrollton.k12.mi.us