St.

Johns Spotlight
Learning Today ... Leading Tomorrow

November 2009

Inside the Spotlight

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
Gateway 5th-grader at Community Connections... 15
Eagle Village ropes course 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
not change our current situation. A plan will be taken to the Board of Education to cut
School Board
$292 per student or $950,000 overall. Because these cuts are coming four months into
President
the budget year that began July 1, this is equivalent to a $1.2 million shortfall. SJPS has
Bill Tennant
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:
• Compensation for 12 teachers
• 4 times our general fund allocation for athletics
• 2/3 of our transportation budget
Superintendent
• More than our entire annual energy costs
Ken Ladouceur
PhD
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

2 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

• Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop: phone: 517-373-2417

http://www.senate.michigan.gov/gop/senators/contact.asp?District=12

• House Speaker Andy Dillon: phone: 517-373-5976

http://017.housedems.com/contact/

• Senator Alan Cropsey: phone: 866-305-2133 Toll Free

http://www.senate.michigan.gov/gop/senators/contact.asp?District=33

• 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 3
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 Pre-
Calculus, 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.

4 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 5

 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

“
Eureka PTO
Our new Eureka PTO officers are President Kris Clark; Vice President
… Students can Stephanie Dyer; Secretary Laura Hyde; Treasurer Shannon Coombs;
move in and Hospitality Sandy Jury and Michelle Sample. Lots of exciting
and out of each events are planned! In addition to our Spring Carnival, the Eureka
reading group PTO would like to host a family assembly one evening in the spring.
depending on their Your suggestions are welcome, please become an active partner and

”
growth. volunteer to help as much as you can! Meetings are usually the third
Thursday of the month at 6:30pm in the library.

Literacy Terms
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!

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

6
 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.
“ Our goal is
clearly to be ‘bucket
fillers” in what we
say and how we treat
Gretchen Baarman, who after serving Gateway for the past eight

”
years, left to be closer to family and accepted a position in Greenville. others.
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.

“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 7

 Oakview Elementary School

“ SWAMP
Our

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.

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.

www.stjohns.edzone.net • 1400 S Clinton Ave • St. Johns, Michigan 48879 • (989) 227-4500
8
 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.
“ Students became true
scientists, uncovering new
ground, looking closely, and
recording their thoughts and
wonderings.
Riley PRIDE continues

”
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 9
 St. Johns Middle School

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

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

St. Johns High School St. Johns High School

Orchestra Music Calendar
St. Johns High School is very pleased to have added
Mr. Justin Valla as its Director of Orchestra. Mr. Valla November
brings a wealth of experience with him, directing the 6 HS Band Varsity Night
orchestras for Marshall Public Schools and Lansing 11 HS Band Veteran’s Day Parade,
Public Schools. at 11am
Mr. Valla earned a bachelor of music in music education 20-22 HS Musical
and a bachelor of music performance from Michigan December
State University. He is a double bass player, and has 15 HS Orchestra Concert, 7:30pm
performed in numerous pit orchestras. Judging from 16 HS Band Concert, 7:30pm
their spectacular performance in our first concert this 17 HS/MS Choir Concert, 7:30pm
Fall, we’re looking forward to many more as the St. February 2010
Johns Orchestra continues its high quality tradition. 6 HS Vocal S/E Festival
18 HS Orchestra Concert, 7:30pm
20 HS Band and Orchestra S/E Festival,
at Owosso
March
3 HS/MS Choir Concert, 7:30pm
8 HS Band Concert, 7:30pm
27 HS State S/E Festival
April
3-10 HS Band Hawaii Trip
16-17 State Vocal S/E
May
24 HS Band Concert, 7:30pm
25 HS Orchestra Concert, 7:30pm
27 HS Choir Concert, 7:30pm
30 Memorial Day Parade, 6pm

www.stjohns.edzone.net • 501 W. Sickels • St. Johns, Michigan 48879 • (989) 227-4100 11

 St. Johns Alternative School
“
More than
ever before, our
students recognize
the importance of
achieving the higher
level math goal.
”
12 www.stjohns.edzone.net • 101 W Cass St • St. Johns, Michigan 48879 • (989) 227-5200
Meeting Today’s Math
Challenges
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.
 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 13
 Alumni News
Alumni Profile Alumni Information
We want to use this space to recognize a St. Johns High School on the Web
alumnus, someone who you feel deserves to be acknowledged for
Visit the web site http://www.
making life better for the rest of us – whether it’s for our community,
alumniclass.com/stjohns to
or their family, or their neighbors and friends, or their business or
reunite with old classmates and
profession. Please email us your information, including a point of
discover reunion information. This
contact, at AlumniProfile@stjohnsedzone.net.
web site is not affiliated with St.
Johns Public Schools and is not
St. Johns High School Alumni responsible for any of its content
Visit the web site http://www.alumniclass.com/stjohns to reunite or information, but is providing
with old classmates and discover reunion information. 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.”

14 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.

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.
Youth Programs
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 15
 District Calendar

November
23 7pm, Board meeting – Wilson Center

24-25 High School and Alternative School – Exams, students released at 12:10pm

26-27 Thanksgiving recess

30 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

11 7pm, Board meeting – Wilson Center

18 Dr. King Day – no school

21 Evening conferences -- all schools

22 Morning conferences and afternoon release time – no students

25 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

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