Superintendent's Column
Administration Building
432 N. Main St.
517-589-8277
Updated June 23, 2008
Thanks for a great year
LHS choir students travel to ‘Big Apple’
Another school year is history. I want to thank
the community for the warm welcome and ongoing
support provided to me during my first year
as your superintendent.
While I may have the title, no one ever does
this job alone. Without a strong administrative
team, dedicated teachers and support staff, and
involved parents, the district could not provide a
quality educational experience. We also partner
with the city of Leslie and the townships in many
ways.
You’ve heard, “It takes a village to raise a
child.” We are very grateful for the many successful
partnerships that exist within our community.
In this issue of Leslie Highlights you will find
a summary and analysis of the community phone
survey that took place earlier this year. The Board
of Education will be formulating a plan to address
our physical plant needs with this information.
The board has also been involved in a strategic
planning process for the district. Short- and longterm
goals will be developed from the carefully
considered feedback received from stakeholder
responses.
The future of Leslie Public Schools is bright.
In the coming months you will also see plans for
continued improvement in student achievement,
communication with stakeholders and enhanced
parent involvement.
Lots of good things are happening in the district.
Perhaps one of the more exciting projects
involves an initiative originating at the middle
school to provide a two-year scholarship for atrisk
students to Lansing Community College. In
the August issue of Highlights you will find an
article written by middle school teacher Laura
Fenger introducing the concept, as well as some
of the partners who will be involved in making
this a reality for our students.
We have also completed two very successful
transition orientations: one for our Woodworth
fourth graders who are going to the middle
school; the other for our eighth graders who are
advancing to Leslie High School. Students and
their parents were recently treated to power-point
presentations, information, resources and a building
tour. There were also panel discussions with
current students and, at the high school, a video
glimpse of “a day in the life of a freshman.”
Our administrators and teachers recognize that
transitions can be stressful for both students and
their parents, so they created these programs to
ease the impact of the transition. Fourth graders
also received a “Class of 2016” T-shirt.
It seems like only yesterday we were all discussing
the impact Y2K might have on us; now
we are talking about 2016.
As the demands for a more rigorous curriculum
increase, Leslie Public Schools is responding.
We are adding opportunities for students,
particularly at the high school, to develop solid
study skills to prepare them for the ACT/MME
test administered during the junior year of high
school. Freshman can select study skills course
and juniors can enroll in an ACT/MME/Work
Keys preparation class.
Even though school has just finished, planning
is well underway for the coming school year.
Leslie Public Schools is partnering with
Stockbridge Community Schools and Dansville
Schools through a collaborative agreement with
the Ingham Intermediate School District for routing
software for our transportation department.
This package will identify efficiencies in the routing
of our school buses. We expect savings in the
operation of the department as a result of those
efficiencies.
Intermediate school districts have been
charged with identifying areas of collaboration
and cooperation between local school districts.
This is just the first of those collaborative efforts.
It’s all about efficiencies and cost reduction while
providing the highest quality of services to our
students and families.
Summer programming is underway in the district
and I would like to thank the Kiwanis Club
for its generous donation of $750 to the Leslie
Area Educational Foundation for after-school
programming. The LAEF has been a valuable
partner in providing educational and enrichment
opportunities for the students of Leslie.
Have an enjoyable and restful summer. The
first day of school for students is a half day on
Tuesday, Sept. 2. It promises to be an exciting
school year.
Corey Netzley
Superintendent
Leslie Public Schools
Leslie High School
4141 Hull Rd.
517-589-9500
The Leslie Blackhawk Athletics Annual School Sports Physicals will be held on Friday, June 6th starting at 3 p.m. at the High School Gym. The cost is $20. Students must have money and completed physical forms on the day of the physical. Please make checks payable to: Dr. Jeffery DeWeerd. Physicals are first come first serve. Physicals must be complete and on file with the athletic department before your athlete can tryout for a high school or a middle school sport.
Middle School Choir Concert Wednesday, May 21, 7 pm at the LHS Auditorium
TENNIS RESULTS: Great job to the Varsity Girls’ Tennis team They won the Albion Invitational and are currently number one in the league!
Interested in Video Gaming design, video/film tech/audio tech or 3D graphics? Check out the MSU Media Arts and Sciences Summer Camps for students 14 and up! When, Where, How Much and Enrollment Information is posted on the bulletin board outside of Student Services!
CADET FIREFIGHTERS: The Eaton Rapids Fire Department is offering a new program for Cadet Firefighters. You will have the opportunity to learn basic fire prevention, basic firefighting, fire science, ground communications and first aide. The Cadet program is $65 per student which covers course materials and provides an ERFD Cadet Program T-Shirt. This is an afterschool weekend program. Pick up contact information from Student Services.
Any student age 16-19 , who is interested in Criminal Justice, Ferris State University is offering a summer Crimnal Justice Camp. See Ms. Vallillee for details.
Attention all young men ages 17-18 years! Do you want to keep your driver’s license, be eligible for college loans, job training and government jobs? Then make sure you register with Selective Service within a month of your 18th birthday. Federal law says you must register. If you don’t you miss out on all these opportunities and more. Don’t let that happen toy ou! It’s quick and easy to register. Go on line to: www.sss.gov or you can register at the post office!
Parents of LHS senior please go here
Leslie Middle School
400 Kimball St.
517-589-8218
The Capital Area Career Center is hosting Summer Camps in Career Exploration for students entering 8th or 9th grade next fall. Camps are held June 16-19 from 8:30 - 11:30 am. There are 2-day and 4-day camps for $15 or $30. Interested students can visit http://www.inghamisd.org/cacc/index.html or stop in Student Services for more information.
Did you know that there are several ways to help Leslie Middle School while you shop? Find out more
here.
Woodworth
212 Pennsylvania St.
517-589-5151
Woodworth Elementary’s Spring Mileage Club’s seven week program finished with almost 10,400 miles this year! Nearly 99% of Woodworth children completed at least one card (4 miles) during the program and over 200 mileage “clubbers” earned their Mileage Club Water Bottles plus had their pictures taken for the “Wall of Fame” by completing at least five cards!
Playground Supervisor and Mileage Club Coordinator Jim Hanson said, “This is the eighth year that I have headed this program, and every spring I am astounded by the enthusiasm that Woodworth children have for this event. Mileage Club, thanks to our teachers and staff, has become a big, big happening here at our school and one that is healthy for our students as well.” Added Hanson, “I especially enjoy it when I see the older 3rd and 4th graders still (voluntarily) involved in this program during recesses after four and five years of doing the Mileage Club!”
This year, thanks to RE/MAX Riverwood of Leslie, the top two mileage students in every grade were treated May 29th to a tethered hot-air balloon ride in front of the whole school! Leading the “pack” this year were fourth graders Gracie Carroll and Haley Dack who both completed 31 cards (124 miles) during recesses this spring! Fourth grader Melissa Thornton was next with 24 cards finished, third grader Andrew Cowan had 22 cards, and first grader Britney Medcoff completed 21 cards!
Also, thanks to our Leslie PTO, the winning class in every grade was treated to a Pizza Party while the “runners-up” all won some candy left over from the PTO Carnival this spring. “Pizza and candy as rewards for running miles may sound a little strange, but I think all these kids easily burned off enough calories on our track this spring to justify it,” Hanson said. “And children were especially fired up to win that classroom pizza party!” he added. In addition, the “Top Five” (or more) children in every grade were awarded special “Surprise Prizes” (also funded by the PTO) at lunch in front of their entire grade by Mr. Hanson.
Mrs. Procopio’s 2nd grade class led the entire school this year with 1,048 completed miles, from their classroom alone!!! Mrs. Freeman’s 3rd grade room was close behind with 958 miles. Other pizza classroom winners were the 4th graders of Mrs. Monroe, Mrs. James’ 1st graders, and the K-Club (pre-kindergarten) class of Mrs. Sterle!