Christmas Spirit has city singing
The Ann Arbor News
By Pamela Appea
Special guests add talents to 25th annual ‘Christmas Sing.’
Michael Rudy remembers growing up in a New York-area orphanage in the later 1940s and 1950s, when each year the Kiwanis and other community groups made Christmas special.
Now Rudy, the newly elected Western Kiwanis Club president, is giving back to his community in the same way.
More than 1,200 parents and children packed into the Michigan Theater, anticipating the chance to sing traditional Christmas carols like “Silent Night,” “Frosty the Snowman” and “Jingle Bells,” Kiwanis members said.
Performances including the comedy/singing group Three Men and a Tenor, and sing-along time was led by Kiwanis members Jeff Crause and Charlie Phibbs. Also leading the group was Jacqui Colston, this year’s Miss Washtenaw County a University of Michigan junior.
During the event, Lucy Ann Lance of Kool 107 FM walked around the auditorium with a microphone, giving children a chance to spotlight their talent and tell the crowd their name, the school they attend and what they’re hoping for this Christmas.
One science-lover said that he just wanted anything to do with electricity. Pokemon was also a big hit. And one girl shared that since the family dog ran away, she was hoping for a new pet Dec. 25.
But most of all, children anxiously awaited the start of the show-Santa, who made a special visit in downtown Ann Arbor.
After Santa’s arrival on the stage, children got to sit on his lap and each received a candy canee.
“It’s a family activity and there’s not a lot of family activities of this nature,” said Jim Szumko, past president of Kiwanis and current member.
“The kids can squirm and talk and sing,” he said of the free event.
Rudy said the Kiwanis tries to put the children in the spotlight and leave them with good memories. During the pre-show Christmas trimming and while singing all the songs many know by heart, people really began to get into the spirit of the season, group members said.
“This is a community tradition,” said Mayor Ingrid Sheldon, who read “The night Before Christmas” at the event.
“To get grandmas and grandpas; sons and daughters and babies all together is wonderful.”
Four generations of her own family were also present,” Sheldon said.
Outside the theater, children were anxious to get The Three Men and a Tenor’s picture or to go home and write out a Christmas list. A few were humming their favorite songs.
“It was good. I liked ‘Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer’ mostly,” said Zach Brooks, 9, of Ann Arbor.
“I sort of liked everything,” said Megan Chu, 6, who hails from Boulder, Colo. Mgan came with her sister, Kristina, 4, and her dad, Jeff Chu, who grew up in Ann Arbor.
Anthony and Michelle Garcia, 6-year-old twins, have been coming to the Christmas sing for five years.
“I liked ‘Frosty the Snowman,’ Anthony Garcia said.
Anne Garcia, their mother and an Ann Arbor resident, said she looks forward to the Christmas Sing each year.
“It is special because I see people from all over Ann Arbor--people from (my children’s soccer and basketball teams, church. It makes it fun,” she said.
Garcia added that the event is not just for people of one religion, but that anyone can enjoy the songs and the community spirit.
That was echoed by the Kiwanis members.
I just want the Ann Arbor community to know that we’re sp happy they bring the children to this event” Rudy said.
“We’re just delighted that they would help us to keep the special holiday (spirit) alive.”
Photo Caption: Eighteen-month-old Charlie Bassett-Kennedy of Ann Arbor checks out the decorations on a Christmas tree in the lobby of Michigan Theater Sunday afternoon. The tree was decorated to visitors to the 25th Annual Western Kiwanis Christmas Sing.
Photo Caption Two: Jacqui Colston, Miss Washtenaw County 1999, leads the audience in one of the songs Sunday during the 25th Annual western Kiwanis Christmas Sing at Michigan Theater.
Photo Credit: Elli Gurfinkel
Originally published Monday, November 29, 1999
Monday, November 29, 1999
Friday, November 26, 1999
Milan looks to restore old fire barn
Milan looks to restore old fire barn
The Ann Arbor News
By Pamela Appea
Milan, Michigan—The old, red brick Milan Fire Barn has served as the town prison, village office, public library, Jaycees headquarters and fire station. Many Milan community members, said Bonnie Jurgensen, president of the Milan Area Historical Society, have a father, uncle or grandfather who was a firefighter, or they recall meeting at the Fire Barn themselves.
When the City of Milan gave the Fire Barn to the Milan Area Historical Society in 1983, the community saw the building as a focal point for the city’s historic preservation efforts. But time had taken its toll.
Located at 153 E. Main St. in downtown Milan, the 112-year-old building in recent years had fallen into a state of disrepair, with damaged brick work and burst water pipes.
Currently the barn stands empty, save for the town’s antique 1938 red Ford fire truck.
But town residents are working to do something to make the building habitable for community use again.
Led by Jurgensen, the Milan Area Historical Society has been the driving force for the past four years to raise enough funds for a total restoration of the Fire Barn. The Old Milan Fire Barn Committee hopes to raise $236,000 to cover projected renovation costs.
A lifelong Milan resident, Jurgensen said the group has raised $60,000 for restoration so far. An architect who drew up a master restoration plan estimated total costs will top $200,000. So, committee members plan to raise the total amount—$236,000—by themselves.
The Fire Department did some construction work on the barn that ended up saving the group around $4,000-$5,000, Jurgensen said. But that amount, in addition to other donations, was still not nearly enough.
In the past year, board members started brainstorming for new ways to raise money, Board member Isabelle Schultz said.
Fund-raisers have not had much luck with corporations or larger grants, though.
“It’s been slow getting funding,” Jurgensen said.
The committee has planned a Saline Fiddler’s Philharmonic concert for January, and an all-town garage sale for May.
Barbara Gaines, a member of the Old Milan Fire Barn Restoration committee, said the group has started selling engraved bricks for the sidewalk near the building. The idea came from the success of similar brick pavers outside Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor and elsewhere.
So far, Gaines estimated half of the pavers have been bought in memory of someone who has died. Others have bought brick pavers—at $75 a piece—to celebrate the birth of a child or a wedding anniversary.
Jurgensen said she can’t imagine Milan without the Fire Barn. She said she hopes to see a time soon when people can begin using it again.
“It would leave a big void if it wasn’t there,” she said.
For information on the Milan Fire Barn, call Bonnie Jurgensen at (734) 439-7522.
Originally published Friday, November 26, 1999
Photo Caption One: The Milan Fire Barn, built in 1887, was at one time used as a fire station, a prison and a community meeting place. Milan citizens are trying to restore it and hope it will one day be the home of the Milan Chamber of Commerce.
Photo Caption Two: Birds find a resting place near the cupola of the old Milan Fire Barn.
Photo Credit: Leisa Thompson
Wednesday, November 24, 1999
Free meals are their way of giving thanks
Free meals are their way of giving thanks
Campfire restaurant owners will give Thanksgiving dinners to seniors, needy
The Ann Arbor News
By Pamela Appea
Milan, Michigan—Mashed potatoes. Green beans. Rolls with butter. Turkey with gravy. And of course, a slice (or maybe two) of pumpkin pie. The road to a good Thanksgiving meal for many is just a quick trip to the supermarket or to a relative’s house. But others don’t have any place to go during the holidays.
This Thanksgiving, Campfire Family Steakhouse will once again open its doors offering a free meal for seniors, the homeless and others in need. Owned by George and Laurie Koukountzis, the steakhouse has offered perhaps thousands a good place to eat over the past 16 years.
George Koukountzis, 53, doesn’t really think Campfire’s Thanksgiving dinner is a big deal. Growing up in Greece, Koukountzis learned from his mother to always give and not expect much in return. For him, giving a free dinner every year is just the right thing to do.
Putting on an free Thanksgiving dinner, he said, is a way of paying his customers and the community back for supporting the restaurant.
According to Sandi Ellis, assistant manager at the restaurant, the community has given the Campfire staff a lot of positive feedback for the event. Each year, she said, the dinner becomes a bigger production since people spread the news by word of mouth.
It wasn’t easy, though, when Koukountzis began the dinner back in 1983. Now a longtime member of the Rotary and Kiwanis club in Milan, Koukountzis called every church and community organization he could think of that year.
“From Ypsilanti to Belleville to Saline to Tecumseh. We had to call all of those people to let them know there would be a Thanksgiving dinner,” he said.
And with the help of pastors and community leaders, the first dinner attracted around 150 people. Now over 450 people come to Campfire Restaurant each year for a free
meal--and plenty of paying customers also come to enjoy the more elaborate Thanksgiving meal too. (It includes roast beef, ham and tossed salad with the basic turkey and potato dishes.)
Laurie Koukountzis said it’s nice seeing the same faces coming every year.
“It’s too sad to be home alone. At least they have a friendly waitress to make them smile and to make them feel special,” she said.
She said that Campfire has been ironing out the logistics of the dinner since Nov. 1 and always makes sure to have enough staff on board for the dinner.
George Koukountzis can’t see any reason not to have the Thanksgiving dinner in the years to come.
“I’m not going to stop now. As long as I’m alive, I’m going to do it.”
Originally published Wednesday, November 24, 1999
For more information about the Thursday dinner, call George or Laurie Koukountzis at (734) 439-8889. The dinner starts at noon and ends at 5 p.m. For shut-ins and others not able to make it to the restaurant, Campfire will prepare a free meal to go, but will not deliver. Please call in advance for meals to go. Campfire Family Steakhouse is on 1035 Dexter Road, Exit 27 off US-23
Photo Caption: George Koukountzis has been giving a free Thanksgiving meal for the last 16 years to seniors, homeless and others at his Campfire Family Steak House in Milan.
Campfire restaurant owners will give Thanksgiving dinners to seniors, needy
The Ann Arbor News
By Pamela Appea
Milan, Michigan—Mashed potatoes. Green beans. Rolls with butter. Turkey with gravy. And of course, a slice (or maybe two) of pumpkin pie. The road to a good Thanksgiving meal for many is just a quick trip to the supermarket or to a relative’s house. But others don’t have any place to go during the holidays.
This Thanksgiving, Campfire Family Steakhouse will once again open its doors offering a free meal for seniors, the homeless and others in need. Owned by George and Laurie Koukountzis, the steakhouse has offered perhaps thousands a good place to eat over the past 16 years.
George Koukountzis, 53, doesn’t really think Campfire’s Thanksgiving dinner is a big deal. Growing up in Greece, Koukountzis learned from his mother to always give and not expect much in return. For him, giving a free dinner every year is just the right thing to do.
Putting on an free Thanksgiving dinner, he said, is a way of paying his customers and the community back for supporting the restaurant.
According to Sandi Ellis, assistant manager at the restaurant, the community has given the Campfire staff a lot of positive feedback for the event. Each year, she said, the dinner becomes a bigger production since people spread the news by word of mouth.
It wasn’t easy, though, when Koukountzis began the dinner back in 1983. Now a longtime member of the Rotary and Kiwanis club in Milan, Koukountzis called every church and community organization he could think of that year.
“From Ypsilanti to Belleville to Saline to Tecumseh. We had to call all of those people to let them know there would be a Thanksgiving dinner,” he said.
And with the help of pastors and community leaders, the first dinner attracted around 150 people. Now over 450 people come to Campfire Restaurant each year for a free
meal--and plenty of paying customers also come to enjoy the more elaborate Thanksgiving meal too. (It includes roast beef, ham and tossed salad with the basic turkey and potato dishes.)
Laurie Koukountzis said it’s nice seeing the same faces coming every year.
“It’s too sad to be home alone. At least they have a friendly waitress to make them smile and to make them feel special,” she said.
She said that Campfire has been ironing out the logistics of the dinner since Nov. 1 and always makes sure to have enough staff on board for the dinner.
George Koukountzis can’t see any reason not to have the Thanksgiving dinner in the years to come.
“I’m not going to stop now. As long as I’m alive, I’m going to do it.”
Originally published Wednesday, November 24, 1999
For more information about the Thursday dinner, call George or Laurie Koukountzis at (734) 439-8889. The dinner starts at noon and ends at 5 p.m. For shut-ins and others not able to make it to the restaurant, Campfire will prepare a free meal to go, but will not deliver. Please call in advance for meals to go. Campfire Family Steakhouse is on 1035 Dexter Road, Exit 27 off US-23
Photo Caption: George Koukountzis has been giving a free Thanksgiving meal for the last 16 years to seniors, homeless and others at his Campfire Family Steak House in Milan.
Tuesday, November 23, 1999
Building Model Unveiled
Building Model Unveiled
The Ann Arbor News
By Pamela Appea
A miniature model of Tecumseh’s new high school was unveiled Monday at Herrick Elementary School.
Seeing the final three-dimensional model for the first time were residents, teachers and school board members, said Gary P. Jelin of TMP Architecture.
Jelin said the high school--slated to pen in 2001 at a cost of $35 million--will have light copper-colored brick and green glass windows.
The green tint was chosen, he said, to help control the heat level inside the school. When sunlight comes through green colored glass, it tends to filter out infrared light and ultimately retains the heat, Jelin said.
Since Tecumseh’s new high school will have full air-conditioning, the tinted windows were used to help the district save money on energy costs.
“We think it’s a prudent thing for the district. If we can save the district money, then they use the additional funds to put back in educational programs,” he said.
The architects also gave a virtual reality tour of the future school’s main corridor, showing carpet and tile samples to be used in the interior. The property has been cleared and the concrete base for the building has been poured, officials said.
The interior of the high school will have muted colors like light brown tile and gray carpeting, so that student artwork and trophies can be prominently displayed through the main corridor of the high school, Jelin said.
The new school will beat 760 Brown St., half a mile west of the current high school.
The firm also said they plan to build skylights on the roof so that specialty classrooms, like the applied technology and the three art studio classrooms, can benefit from extra sunlight.
Landscaping for the high school is in the final stages of planning, officials said. The school will have 600 parking spots--100 for staff on the north end of the school and 500 for students and visitors for extracurricular events on the south end, TMP representatives said.
Plans for school parking, said Eric R. Sassak, a TMP associate, were designed so that student buses will enter and exit on the north end of the school and student drivers will use the south entrance and exit.
The three-dimensional model should be available for public-viewing in two weeks.
“They’ve been very involved,” Jelin said of school officials. “They have given us input that was very helpful (such as) the fact that the community wanted some reference to the historic buildings in the district.
“I think they feel it’s a special building for Tecumseh.”
Originally published Tuesday, November 23, 1999
The Ann Arbor News
By Pamela Appea
A miniature model of Tecumseh’s new high school was unveiled Monday at Herrick Elementary School.
Seeing the final three-dimensional model for the first time were residents, teachers and school board members, said Gary P. Jelin of TMP Architecture.
Jelin said the high school--slated to pen in 2001 at a cost of $35 million--will have light copper-colored brick and green glass windows.
The green tint was chosen, he said, to help control the heat level inside the school. When sunlight comes through green colored glass, it tends to filter out infrared light and ultimately retains the heat, Jelin said.
Since Tecumseh’s new high school will have full air-conditioning, the tinted windows were used to help the district save money on energy costs.
“We think it’s a prudent thing for the district. If we can save the district money, then they use the additional funds to put back in educational programs,” he said.
The architects also gave a virtual reality tour of the future school’s main corridor, showing carpet and tile samples to be used in the interior. The property has been cleared and the concrete base for the building has been poured, officials said.
The interior of the high school will have muted colors like light brown tile and gray carpeting, so that student artwork and trophies can be prominently displayed through the main corridor of the high school, Jelin said.
The new school will beat 760 Brown St., half a mile west of the current high school.
The firm also said they plan to build skylights on the roof so that specialty classrooms, like the applied technology and the three art studio classrooms, can benefit from extra sunlight.
Landscaping for the high school is in the final stages of planning, officials said. The school will have 600 parking spots--100 for staff on the north end of the school and 500 for students and visitors for extracurricular events on the south end, TMP representatives said.
Plans for school parking, said Eric R. Sassak, a TMP associate, were designed so that student buses will enter and exit on the north end of the school and student drivers will use the south entrance and exit.
The three-dimensional model should be available for public-viewing in two weeks.
“They’ve been very involved,” Jelin said of school officials. “They have given us input that was very helpful (such as) the fact that the community wanted some reference to the historic buildings in the district.
“I think they feel it’s a special building for Tecumseh.”
Originally published Tuesday, November 23, 1999
Monday, November 22, 1999
On the job learning/Teacher tries new techniques
On the job learning
Teacher tries new techniques
Milan educator not content to use the same old methods
The Ann Arbor News
By Pamela Appea
Milan, Michigan--Comfortable is one word to describe Mary Mehringer’s multiage classroom at Paddock Elementary in Milan. The TriMaP program, which stands for the triple multiage program, has 67 students in the three interconnected classrooms from the first through third grades.
Mehringer’s homeroom, which has 22 students, starts out a recent morning TriMaP class meetings with a hand-jive dance. And the class enjoys dancing to a variety of songs, including Aretha Franklin’s “Respect,” which also happens to be the class’s motto.
At 9:25 a.m., the class begins with a brief version of Show and Tell; reads the highlights of what each student wants to share with the class.
Charlie said he’s lost his eighth tooth so far, after Mehringer asks for the tally. Eric shares that he went behind the scenes of his mother’s business. Maura said she did a back-flip off a trampoline. And it’s William’s birthday today.
A teaching veteran, Mehringer, 58, said she has taught in a multiage classroom for the past three years. She loves the new approach to teaching and watching students grow over the years--an opportunity she feels she never got when teaching students for just one year.
The curriculum is the same as other classrooms, including math, science, language arts, music and Spanish. But in TriMaP the students often have lessons a group. Mehringer will write different questions on the board--at different levels of difficulty--and then all will be given a chance to work out the questions.
Mehringer--the Milan School District’s longest serving teacher-- has taught in the district for 35 years. She’s not the kind of teacher who just pulls out an old planner every September with antiquated ideas and yellowed exercise sheets, said TriMaP teaching colleague Molly Jeppsen.
“She gets very annoyed with people who take the easy way out,” Jeppsen said, adding that Mehringer and others at Paddock make it a priority to learn about New Math or going to teaching workshops. Jeppsen said Mehringer could have retired by now, but chose not to--at least not yet.
And Mehringer also says she loves teaching at Paddock Elementary on Marvin Road, minutes away from downtown Milan. The best thing about teaching, Mehringer says, is that she tries to learn as much from the students as they learn from her.
Because of her determination and devotion to her kids, Mehringer didn’t even let breast cancer slow her down. After surgery Sept. 23, Mehringer was back in school full-time within seven weeks.
Back in 1963, some area school districts didn’t even really want Mehringer and others to fill out an application, she said. The lack of enthusiasm wasn’t because Mehringer, a University of Michigan graduate, wasn’t qualified or because she didn’t have student teaching experience.
At the time, Mehringer said, some school districts didn’t want women teachers with children under age 2 to teach for fear they would take too many sick days.
But Milan didn’t have the no-child rule.
Mehringer didn’t get the job right away. But after a teacher decided to retire mid-year, the Milan superintendent at the time called Mehringer back and brought her on board, and she finished up the school year teaching a fourth-grade class.
“I would never have found that I loved teaching like the way I do. I really feel fortunate that it all worked out,” she said.
When Mehringer first started out, though, she wouldn’t have even been able to imagine multiage teaching.
“When I came in all the kids were in the same reading group reading the same fourth-grade textbook,” she said.
Now her class is divided up into cooperative sub-groups with an equal mix of girls and boys, faster readers and slower readers and leaders together with those who sometimes have trouble paying attention, Mehringer said.
Thinking about her own mother, Rosalie Keelean, who taught in a one-room school house for years for off and on for nearly two decades in central Michigan, Mehringer sees some parallels to the kind of teaching she’s doing now.
“Parents come to know the teachers. Teachers come to know the children over the years,” she said noting that both had a family feel and a tightly-knit closeness.
As for retirement, Mehringer has been thinking of retiring at 65. But she may even follow in her mother’s footsteps, since Keelean continued teaching in Florida after her retirement.
“I’ve not finished everything I wanted to learn yet,” Mehringer said.
Originally published November 22, 1999
Photo Caption: Mary Mehringer, a teacher at Paddock Elementary School in Milan, helps first-grader Elizabeth Wysocki with her spelling during journal writing in her multi-age classroom.
On the left is second-grader Kerry Ashline and on the right, second-grade Patrick Chizek.
Photo Credit: Elli Gurfinkel
Teacher tries new techniques
Milan educator not content to use the same old methods
The Ann Arbor News
By Pamela Appea
Milan, Michigan--Comfortable is one word to describe Mary Mehringer’s multiage classroom at Paddock Elementary in Milan. The TriMaP program, which stands for the triple multiage program, has 67 students in the three interconnected classrooms from the first through third grades.
Mehringer’s homeroom, which has 22 students, starts out a recent morning TriMaP class meetings with a hand-jive dance. And the class enjoys dancing to a variety of songs, including Aretha Franklin’s “Respect,” which also happens to be the class’s motto.
At 9:25 a.m., the class begins with a brief version of Show and Tell; reads the highlights of what each student wants to share with the class.
Charlie said he’s lost his eighth tooth so far, after Mehringer asks for the tally. Eric shares that he went behind the scenes of his mother’s business. Maura said she did a back-flip off a trampoline. And it’s William’s birthday today.
A teaching veteran, Mehringer, 58, said she has taught in a multiage classroom for the past three years. She loves the new approach to teaching and watching students grow over the years--an opportunity she feels she never got when teaching students for just one year.
The curriculum is the same as other classrooms, including math, science, language arts, music and Spanish. But in TriMaP the students often have lessons a group. Mehringer will write different questions on the board--at different levels of difficulty--and then all will be given a chance to work out the questions.
Mehringer--the Milan School District’s longest serving teacher-- has taught in the district for 35 years. She’s not the kind of teacher who just pulls out an old planner every September with antiquated ideas and yellowed exercise sheets, said TriMaP teaching colleague Molly Jeppsen.
“She gets very annoyed with people who take the easy way out,” Jeppsen said, adding that Mehringer and others at Paddock make it a priority to learn about New Math or going to teaching workshops. Jeppsen said Mehringer could have retired by now, but chose not to--at least not yet.
And Mehringer also says she loves teaching at Paddock Elementary on Marvin Road, minutes away from downtown Milan. The best thing about teaching, Mehringer says, is that she tries to learn as much from the students as they learn from her.
Because of her determination and devotion to her kids, Mehringer didn’t even let breast cancer slow her down. After surgery Sept. 23, Mehringer was back in school full-time within seven weeks.
Back in 1963, some area school districts didn’t even really want Mehringer and others to fill out an application, she said. The lack of enthusiasm wasn’t because Mehringer, a University of Michigan graduate, wasn’t qualified or because she didn’t have student teaching experience.
At the time, Mehringer said, some school districts didn’t want women teachers with children under age 2 to teach for fear they would take too many sick days.
But Milan didn’t have the no-child rule.
Mehringer didn’t get the job right away. But after a teacher decided to retire mid-year, the Milan superintendent at the time called Mehringer back and brought her on board, and she finished up the school year teaching a fourth-grade class.
“I would never have found that I loved teaching like the way I do. I really feel fortunate that it all worked out,” she said.
When Mehringer first started out, though, she wouldn’t have even been able to imagine multiage teaching.
“When I came in all the kids were in the same reading group reading the same fourth-grade textbook,” she said.
Now her class is divided up into cooperative sub-groups with an equal mix of girls and boys, faster readers and slower readers and leaders together with those who sometimes have trouble paying attention, Mehringer said.
Thinking about her own mother, Rosalie Keelean, who taught in a one-room school house for years for off and on for nearly two decades in central Michigan, Mehringer sees some parallels to the kind of teaching she’s doing now.
“Parents come to know the teachers. Teachers come to know the children over the years,” she said noting that both had a family feel and a tightly-knit closeness.
As for retirement, Mehringer has been thinking of retiring at 65. But she may even follow in her mother’s footsteps, since Keelean continued teaching in Florida after her retirement.
“I’ve not finished everything I wanted to learn yet,” Mehringer said.
Originally published November 22, 1999
Photo Caption: Mary Mehringer, a teacher at Paddock Elementary School in Milan, helps first-grader Elizabeth Wysocki with her spelling during journal writing in her multi-age classroom.
On the left is second-grader Kerry Ashline and on the right, second-grade Patrick Chizek.
Photo Credit: Elli Gurfinkel
Thursday, November 18, 1999
New Tecumseh school to relieve crowding
New Tecumseh school to relieve crowding
The Ann Arbor News
By Pamela Appea
Plans for Tecumseh’s new high school are well under way, with 100 percent of the property cleared, 90 percent of initial site work completed and construction bids presented to the school board last week, said Richard Fauble, new superintendent for the Tecumseh school district.
School officials say the current high school is bursting at its seams with 976 high school students. Adding to the crowding problem are 260 eight-graders housed at the high school building for some of their classes because of similar space concerns at Tecumseh Middle School.
Although teachers and administrators said the high school is coping with its present student population, many add the age of the facility and a rapidly growing community have pushed Tecumseh High School to its limits.
Rodney Jenkins, principal of Tecumseh High School, said the school would ideally be comfortable housing no more than 1,000 students.
“We are so overcrowded and I knew that is true of a lot of districts in the Ann Arbor area. Some of the our programs are limited because we don’t have room to do what we need to do,” said French teacher Jan Wilson, a 25-year veteran at Tecumseh High School.
With an expected opening date of August 2001, the new high school will have a planned capacity of 1,200 students.
The new facility will be at 760 Brown St., half a mile west of the current high school, district officials said.
At 208,000 square feet, the new high school will have two floors, 50 teaching stations and a submerged bottom level that will house the school gymnasium.
Along with the shift to a new building, Tecumseh High School will greet the first year of the millennium with two full student-access computer labs, a computer in each classroom and rommier classrooms for group projects, Jenkins said.
Art department director Ron Frenzen said plans have been made to enlarge or enchance the space for elective classes like art, band and gym.
For example, Frenzen said, art classes will take place in three classrooms in the new building up from two rooms at the current high school.
Rooms will be specialized Frenzen said. He said the new high school will house a clay and sculpture room, a two-dimension design and drawing room and a jewelry and photography room, in additino to an outdoor area for art projects.
“At the high school we are absolutely ecstatic to move to a facility that we regard as a palace. We e are very pleased that the community has been so favorable to support the high school endeavor,” Jenkins said.
Community residents such as James Elliott, 85, have been active in the new school project since 1998.
Elliott, who lives across the street from the former 90-acre cornfield site, at first opposed the idea. He didn’t like the thought of hearing hundreds of cars and dozens of buses going past his house each day.
But during a public meeting in Tecumseh in September of 1998, Tecumseh School District Business Manager Tom Emery asked Elliott to be part of a community committee for the new high school.
Elliott agreed. Now the Saginaw native and retired post office worker is an active committee member working closely with architects on design and landscaping plans.
“It involves a lot of community effort,” Elliott said.
The entire project is expected to cost $33 million dollars school officials said.
Tom Emery said taxpayers will balance the financial load for the next 21 years, making the length of the levy a total of 22 years.
Emery said a Tecumseh homeowner with a home worth of $100,00- dollars may pay up to $200 more on his or her annual taxes to fund the new school.
Emery noted the district must stay within the budget for the new high school. “The total cost can’t get bigger. With the bond issue, that’s all we have,” he said.
Looking ahead, the principal said school administrators have thought it essential to plan past the next five or ten years--especially since Tecumseh is one of many areas in Lenawee and Washtenaw countries that has rapidly expanded in recent years.
“The way our new building is built, we are prepared for even more growth,” Jenkins said.
Likening the new plan to a “giant Lego,” Jenkins said it would be easy to add an additional eight classrooms if students and teachers at the new high school face overcrowding concerns again.
Plans are being made for Tecumseh Middle School to shift over to Tecumseh’s current high school in 2001, relieving space concerns at that level.
Originally published Thursday, November 18, 1999
The Ann Arbor News
By Pamela Appea
Plans for Tecumseh’s new high school are well under way, with 100 percent of the property cleared, 90 percent of initial site work completed and construction bids presented to the school board last week, said Richard Fauble, new superintendent for the Tecumseh school district.
School officials say the current high school is bursting at its seams with 976 high school students. Adding to the crowding problem are 260 eight-graders housed at the high school building for some of their classes because of similar space concerns at Tecumseh Middle School.
Although teachers and administrators said the high school is coping with its present student population, many add the age of the facility and a rapidly growing community have pushed Tecumseh High School to its limits.
Rodney Jenkins, principal of Tecumseh High School, said the school would ideally be comfortable housing no more than 1,000 students.
“We are so overcrowded and I knew that is true of a lot of districts in the Ann Arbor area. Some of the our programs are limited because we don’t have room to do what we need to do,” said French teacher Jan Wilson, a 25-year veteran at Tecumseh High School.
With an expected opening date of August 2001, the new high school will have a planned capacity of 1,200 students.
The new facility will be at 760 Brown St., half a mile west of the current high school, district officials said.
At 208,000 square feet, the new high school will have two floors, 50 teaching stations and a submerged bottom level that will house the school gymnasium.
Along with the shift to a new building, Tecumseh High School will greet the first year of the millennium with two full student-access computer labs, a computer in each classroom and rommier classrooms for group projects, Jenkins said.
Art department director Ron Frenzen said plans have been made to enlarge or enchance the space for elective classes like art, band and gym.
For example, Frenzen said, art classes will take place in three classrooms in the new building up from two rooms at the current high school.
Rooms will be specialized Frenzen said. He said the new high school will house a clay and sculpture room, a two-dimension design and drawing room and a jewelry and photography room, in additino to an outdoor area for art projects.
“At the high school we are absolutely ecstatic to move to a facility that we regard as a palace. We e are very pleased that the community has been so favorable to support the high school endeavor,” Jenkins said.
Community residents such as James Elliott, 85, have been active in the new school project since 1998.
Elliott, who lives across the street from the former 90-acre cornfield site, at first opposed the idea. He didn’t like the thought of hearing hundreds of cars and dozens of buses going past his house each day.
But during a public meeting in Tecumseh in September of 1998, Tecumseh School District Business Manager Tom Emery asked Elliott to be part of a community committee for the new high school.
Elliott agreed. Now the Saginaw native and retired post office worker is an active committee member working closely with architects on design and landscaping plans.
“It involves a lot of community effort,” Elliott said.
The entire project is expected to cost $33 million dollars school officials said.
Tom Emery said taxpayers will balance the financial load for the next 21 years, making the length of the levy a total of 22 years.
Emery said a Tecumseh homeowner with a home worth of $100,00- dollars may pay up to $200 more on his or her annual taxes to fund the new school.
Emery noted the district must stay within the budget for the new high school. “The total cost can’t get bigger. With the bond issue, that’s all we have,” he said.
Looking ahead, the principal said school administrators have thought it essential to plan past the next five or ten years--especially since Tecumseh is one of many areas in Lenawee and Washtenaw countries that has rapidly expanded in recent years.
“The way our new building is built, we are prepared for even more growth,” Jenkins said.
Likening the new plan to a “giant Lego,” Jenkins said it would be easy to add an additional eight classrooms if students and teachers at the new high school face overcrowding concerns again.
Plans are being made for Tecumseh Middle School to shift over to Tecumseh’s current high school in 2001, relieving space concerns at that level.
Originally published Thursday, November 18, 1999
Monday, November 15, 1999
Electronic translator not needed for friendship
Electronic translator not needed for friendship
The Ann Arbor News
By Pamela Appea
Clinton family hosts Japanese student in exchange visit
It has been a whirlwind autumn for 13-year-old Steven Denuyl.
After being accepted to the Lenawee Intermediate School District’s Japanese Exchange program in late September, the Clinton Middle School seventh-grader and his family began plans for hosting a Japanese exchange student.
Junjii Matsuo, 14, from Moriyama, Japan, arrived in late October and stayed for a week with Steven’s family.
Despite the facto that Junji didn’t know much English and Steven doesn’t know Japanese, the two teens hit it off right away.
Armed with his electronic translator, Junji made green tea and miso soup for his host family after taking a day or two to bounce back from the 13-hour time difference. Steven and many of his five brothers and sisters have learned how to say thank you (arigato) in Japanese along with several other greetings.
Steven said he plans to really buckle down to study Japanese before his trip in next May, since he now has a better idea of the language barrier in Japan.
Described as being “kind and generous” by several Clinton Middle School teachers, Steven was one of the first Clinton students selected to be one of eight “ambassadors” for the program.
“He’s so concerned about making up for the work already,” said Ann Dunham, his English teacher.
Legally blind, Steven does not spend time feeling sorry for himself or feeling insecure, said Bridget Kelley, Steven’s mother, a part-time nurse for Saline Community Hospital.
Originally published Monday, November 1999
His condition is called Stargardt’s disease, a juvenile form of the untreatable macular degeneration, which Steven has had since the third grade.
Steven says having limited vision does get frustrating at times. But he can see well enough to read and write with a special pair of glasses. Steven’s central vision is most affected and the progressive effect is a roughly circular area of blindness. To read, Steven must hold a book as close as two-three inches away from his face. In school, teachers say, Steven goes up to the blackboard to take notes.
Junjii arrived at Clinton Oct. 26 and left Nov. 1. Bridget Kelley said the whole experience was better than what the family expected. She said the night Junji arrived, the family was surprised by the number of gifts Junji had brought.
“Half of his suitcase had food in it (to give away),” Bridget Kelley said.
“And the other half was filled with presents … I don’t know where he fit his clothes,” Steven said.
Described by the Kelleys’ as a friendly and polite boy, Junji loves playing games, making origami and—at least while in Clinton—eating super-sized McDonald’s meals. According to Junji, Bridget Kelley said, in Japan the largest size a person can order for French fries or a soda would only be considered a medium here in the United States.
“We’ve figured out that Junji is really a ham,” said Mike Kelley, Steven’s stepfather.
The Kelley-Denuyl family found explaining Halloween to Junji wasn’t an easy task. Junji liked the novel experience of trick-or-treating at different houses, but Mike Kelley said Junji kept on offering money in exchange for the candy to people at each door.
“They don’t celebrate Halloween in Japan, so it was a new thing for him,” Steven said.
The family also took their Japanese visitor to the haunted house at Wiard’s Orchads in Ypsilanti, Michigan Speedway in Brooklyn and to the Pighopper’s Farm in Clinton, where Junji saw farm animals for the first time.
Nina Howard, coordinator for Japanese programs for the Lenawee Intermediate School District, said Junji is thoroughly “a city boy,” like the other Japanese exchange students who are all from the same state.
The exchange group going to Japan next year will include other middle school students from participating towns in Lenawee County, including Adrian, Tecumseh and Hudson. All students will stay with the families of the students they hosted.
According to a bilingual tourist brochure given to each U.S. host family, Moriyama in Shiga Prefecture has grown in the past 20 years from a town of 35,000 to 60,000 people. The city is about a 60-minute train ride to Kyoto, Howard said.
Moriyama also is one of several cities in Shiga Prefecture to have a sister-city relationship with cities and towns in Michigan, including Adrian.
Steven and the other students were picked to participate in the program, said Howard, to learn more about cultural differences and to form relationships with people from other cultures.
“We’re looking for students who are curious and open to other cultures and students who will be good ambassadors to the U.S.,” Howard said.
Bridget Kelley said Steven has saved up $250 so far for the trip and they will be sure to give him plenty of film and presents for his trip to Japan next year—and an electronic translator just like Junji’s.
Photo Caption: Japanese exchange student Junji Matsuo, 13, left, stayed at the home of Clinton Middle School student Steven Denuyl, 13, in Clinton for a week. Steven will head to Junji’s hometown in May.
Originally Published Monday, November 15, 1999
The Ann Arbor News
By Pamela Appea
Clinton family hosts Japanese student in exchange visit
It has been a whirlwind autumn for 13-year-old Steven Denuyl.
After being accepted to the Lenawee Intermediate School District’s Japanese Exchange program in late September, the Clinton Middle School seventh-grader and his family began plans for hosting a Japanese exchange student.
Junjii Matsuo, 14, from Moriyama, Japan, arrived in late October and stayed for a week with Steven’s family.
Despite the facto that Junji didn’t know much English and Steven doesn’t know Japanese, the two teens hit it off right away.
Armed with his electronic translator, Junji made green tea and miso soup for his host family after taking a day or two to bounce back from the 13-hour time difference. Steven and many of his five brothers and sisters have learned how to say thank you (arigato) in Japanese along with several other greetings.
Steven said he plans to really buckle down to study Japanese before his trip in next May, since he now has a better idea of the language barrier in Japan.
Described as being “kind and generous” by several Clinton Middle School teachers, Steven was one of the first Clinton students selected to be one of eight “ambassadors” for the program.
“He’s so concerned about making up for the work already,” said Ann Dunham, his English teacher.
Legally blind, Steven does not spend time feeling sorry for himself or feeling insecure, said Bridget Kelley, Steven’s mother, a part-time nurse for Saline Community Hospital.
Originally published Monday, November 1999
His condition is called Stargardt’s disease, a juvenile form of the untreatable macular degeneration, which Steven has had since the third grade.
Steven says having limited vision does get frustrating at times. But he can see well enough to read and write with a special pair of glasses. Steven’s central vision is most affected and the progressive effect is a roughly circular area of blindness. To read, Steven must hold a book as close as two-three inches away from his face. In school, teachers say, Steven goes up to the blackboard to take notes.
Junjii arrived at Clinton Oct. 26 and left Nov. 1. Bridget Kelley said the whole experience was better than what the family expected. She said the night Junji arrived, the family was surprised by the number of gifts Junji had brought.
“Half of his suitcase had food in it (to give away),” Bridget Kelley said.
“And the other half was filled with presents … I don’t know where he fit his clothes,” Steven said.
Described by the Kelleys’ as a friendly and polite boy, Junji loves playing games, making origami and—at least while in Clinton—eating super-sized McDonald’s meals. According to Junji, Bridget Kelley said, in Japan the largest size a person can order for French fries or a soda would only be considered a medium here in the United States.
“We’ve figured out that Junji is really a ham,” said Mike Kelley, Steven’s stepfather.
The Kelley-Denuyl family found explaining Halloween to Junji wasn’t an easy task. Junji liked the novel experience of trick-or-treating at different houses, but Mike Kelley said Junji kept on offering money in exchange for the candy to people at each door.
“They don’t celebrate Halloween in Japan, so it was a new thing for him,” Steven said.
The family also took their Japanese visitor to the haunted house at Wiard’s Orchads in Ypsilanti, Michigan Speedway in Brooklyn and to the Pighopper’s Farm in Clinton, where Junji saw farm animals for the first time.
Nina Howard, coordinator for Japanese programs for the Lenawee Intermediate School District, said Junji is thoroughly “a city boy,” like the other Japanese exchange students who are all from the same state.
The exchange group going to Japan next year will include other middle school students from participating towns in Lenawee County, including Adrian, Tecumseh and Hudson. All students will stay with the families of the students they hosted.
According to a bilingual tourist brochure given to each U.S. host family, Moriyama in Shiga Prefecture has grown in the past 20 years from a town of 35,000 to 60,000 people. The city is about a 60-minute train ride to Kyoto, Howard said.
Moriyama also is one of several cities in Shiga Prefecture to have a sister-city relationship with cities and towns in Michigan, including Adrian.
Steven and the other students were picked to participate in the program, said Howard, to learn more about cultural differences and to form relationships with people from other cultures.
“We’re looking for students who are curious and open to other cultures and students who will be good ambassadors to the U.S.,” Howard said.
Bridget Kelley said Steven has saved up $250 so far for the trip and they will be sure to give him plenty of film and presents for his trip to Japan next year—and an electronic translator just like Junji’s.
Photo Caption: Japanese exchange student Junji Matsuo, 13, left, stayed at the home of Clinton Middle School student Steven Denuyl, 13, in Clinton for a week. Steven will head to Junji’s hometown in May.
Originally Published Monday, November 15, 1999
Tuesday, November 09, 1999
Clinton star recovers after collision
Clinton star recovers after collision
By Pamela Appea
The Ann Arbor News
It’s been nearly three weeks since Clinton High football star Ryan Stoianowski took his first step without the aid of a wheelchair or crutches.
Photo caption: Ryan Stoianowski, 17, is back on his feet again following a serious traffic accident eight weeks ago that put him in a wheelchair temporarily.
They were big steps for the football star and academic standout who had to watch part of his team’s winning season from the sidelines, grateful to be alive after a crash with a semi truck.
The crash happened while Stoianowski was driving back to his Irish Hills home after a homecoming event Sept. 22. After stopping before turning left onto US-12 from a side road, the teen looked to see if the way was clear, but two trees obscured one side of the road. He turned and the truck slammed into Stoianowski’s car.
“To this day, he didn’t even see the semi,” said Laurie Stoianowski, his mother.
It was Laurie and Michael Stoianowski’s 20th wedding anniversary that night. A driver and witness to the crash called the couple and put Ryan on the cell phone after he came to.
“We were so grateful that he was alive,” Laurie Stoianowski said.
He apologized for the car and said, “I’m hurt real bad,” she recalled.
The Stoianowskis reached the site of the crash within 10 minutes and then went on to the hospital, she said.
Injuries from the car accident were serious, but not life threatening. With a compound fracture in Stoianowski’s left leg, a broken right arm, a gash above his eye with some muscle and nerve damage near his eyebrow, doctors advised that Stoianowski sit out school for a few weeks.
“He missed quite a bit of school with the accident,” his mother said. “The most important thing for him was to keep his 4.0 (grade point average). And he was able to maintain it.”
As the football team captain who scored 13 touchdowns in the first four games of the season, Stoianowski had played for years. And for as long as he can remember, he and his father would go to the back yard and throw a ball around, Stoianowski said.
Football, he said, was not just a pastime but almost a way of ife.
The wreck changed that. Now Stoianowski, 17, says he has no plans on playing sports in college.
Sitting at the sidelines, Stoianowski saw his team go on to win three games without him, including advancing into the playoffs until losing to Addison.
He was proud of the team for winning.
“He’s a team player. And the team is more … than just Ryan and he would tell you that,” said Jim Pittman, athletic director at Clinton High School.
In addition to scoring an impressive number of touchdowns, Stoianowski also averaged well over 150 yards a game, Pittman said. But he added that the teen has never been the type who would think he’s the team’s only valuable player.
Ryan Stoianowski bounced back sooner than doctors predicted. His leg cast came off before schedule. His arm cast should be coming off before Dec. 1. Along with physical therapy, Stoianowski said he will have regular check-ups to keep tabs on the damage done to his eye.
Ron Schaffner, a math and sciences teacher at Clinton High School, said Stoianowski plans to become a civil engineer and is now trying to decide where he wants to go to school in fall 2000.
Stoianowski also recently began driving again. With money saved up from working in his father’s building business, Stoianowski said he plans to buy a car from his mother in a few weeks.
And Stoianowski said he will be joining the baseball team in the spring.
He has a message for the people who took the time to care for him after the crash.
“I’d like to thank my family and my friends and the teachers at Clinton, (and) my girlfriend and her family for their support,” Stoianowski said.
“And thanks for all the cards that everyone’s given me and the cards they’ve sent and most of all for keeping me in their thoughts and prayers.”
Originally published Tuesday, November 9, 1999
By Pamela Appea
The Ann Arbor News
It’s been nearly three weeks since Clinton High football star Ryan Stoianowski took his first step without the aid of a wheelchair or crutches.
Photo caption: Ryan Stoianowski, 17, is back on his feet again following a serious traffic accident eight weeks ago that put him in a wheelchair temporarily.
They were big steps for the football star and academic standout who had to watch part of his team’s winning season from the sidelines, grateful to be alive after a crash with a semi truck.
The crash happened while Stoianowski was driving back to his Irish Hills home after a homecoming event Sept. 22. After stopping before turning left onto US-12 from a side road, the teen looked to see if the way was clear, but two trees obscured one side of the road. He turned and the truck slammed into Stoianowski’s car.
“To this day, he didn’t even see the semi,” said Laurie Stoianowski, his mother.
It was Laurie and Michael Stoianowski’s 20th wedding anniversary that night. A driver and witness to the crash called the couple and put Ryan on the cell phone after he came to.
“We were so grateful that he was alive,” Laurie Stoianowski said.
He apologized for the car and said, “I’m hurt real bad,” she recalled.
The Stoianowskis reached the site of the crash within 10 minutes and then went on to the hospital, she said.
Injuries from the car accident were serious, but not life threatening. With a compound fracture in Stoianowski’s left leg, a broken right arm, a gash above his eye with some muscle and nerve damage near his eyebrow, doctors advised that Stoianowski sit out school for a few weeks.
“He missed quite a bit of school with the accident,” his mother said. “The most important thing for him was to keep his 4.0 (grade point average). And he was able to maintain it.”
As the football team captain who scored 13 touchdowns in the first four games of the season, Stoianowski had played for years. And for as long as he can remember, he and his father would go to the back yard and throw a ball around, Stoianowski said.
Football, he said, was not just a pastime but almost a way of ife.
The wreck changed that. Now Stoianowski, 17, says he has no plans on playing sports in college.
Sitting at the sidelines, Stoianowski saw his team go on to win three games without him, including advancing into the playoffs until losing to Addison.
He was proud of the team for winning.
“He’s a team player. And the team is more … than just Ryan and he would tell you that,” said Jim Pittman, athletic director at Clinton High School.
In addition to scoring an impressive number of touchdowns, Stoianowski also averaged well over 150 yards a game, Pittman said. But he added that the teen has never been the type who would think he’s the team’s only valuable player.
Ryan Stoianowski bounced back sooner than doctors predicted. His leg cast came off before schedule. His arm cast should be coming off before Dec. 1. Along with physical therapy, Stoianowski said he will have regular check-ups to keep tabs on the damage done to his eye.
Ron Schaffner, a math and sciences teacher at Clinton High School, said Stoianowski plans to become a civil engineer and is now trying to decide where he wants to go to school in fall 2000.
Stoianowski also recently began driving again. With money saved up from working in his father’s building business, Stoianowski said he plans to buy a car from his mother in a few weeks.
And Stoianowski said he will be joining the baseball team in the spring.
He has a message for the people who took the time to care for him after the crash.
“I’d like to thank my family and my friends and the teachers at Clinton, (and) my girlfriend and her family for their support,” Stoianowski said.
“And thanks for all the cards that everyone’s given me and the cards they’ve sent and most of all for keeping me in their thoughts and prayers.”
Originally published Tuesday, November 9, 1999
Sunday, November 07, 1999
Warm the Children purchases uniforms for Cheney students
Warm the Children purchases uniforms for Cheney students
The Ann Arbor News
By Pamela Appea
Students at the New Cheney Academy of Math and Sciences in Ypsilanti Township started out this school year with something completely different from most Washtenaw County public schools--uniforms.
But before classes began in late August, Leslie Rosenwasser, a social worker at the K-7 academy in the Willow Run district, found herself with a last-minute problem to solve.
Some parents, she learned, couldn’t afford the cost of a $25 uniform. For a few parents with more than one child at Cheney, the cost automatically jumped up to $50 or $75, plus the price of shoes.
“What we never wanted to do was to exclude any student because they couldn’t buy the uniform,” Rosenwasser said. “Everyone should come in with the same advantage.” So Rosenwasser approached the Warm the Children Fund to make sure all Cheney students had uniforms.
Warm the Children dipped into the emergency and special cases funds for money to help buy uniforms for students. Warm the Children also approached Kmart on Rawsonville Road in Van Buren Township to help pick up some of the cost, Rosenwasser said.
“We decided to donate $100 worth of merchandise,” General Manager Mark Kerns said. He estimated that Kmart gave Cheney Academy students about 7-8 uniforms since the pants and shirts were being sold at a reduced price then.
Then the Warm the Children Fund provided the school with an additional 12-15 uniforms, saving parents a total of $500-$600.
“I think it’s a wonderful program. It helps less fortunate people as well as people who may not be able to afford uniforms at a time of need,” said Lisa Watkins, a parent of three Cheney academy students and a paraprofessional for Thurston Early Childhood Development Center.
Watkins also said she’s glad that Cheney has the new uniform dress code in place. She said several of her friends wish their children’s schools would require uniforms as well.
“It’s a good thing financially for parents because you’re not worried about buying a whole lot of different things,” she said.
Looking at it from a Cheney student’s perspective, Watkins said. Uniforms make everyone equal and help build self-esteem.
“No one knows if you have one uniform or 10 uniforms,” she said. “This way, you don’t have the competition, ‘Well you have designer clothes and you don’t’ ”.
Many of the older students in the six5th or seventh grades who attended the school before Cheney became specialized were not used to wearing uniforms and balked at the idea initially, Principal Teresa Wilson said. But now, most of Cheney’s 335 students have come to like the camaraderie that comes with wearing a color-coordinated uniform like everyone else.
With white shirts and navy blue pants, skirts and jumpers as the uniform, even teachers, the school custodian, secretary and parents have started coming to Cheney dressed in support of the school’s official colors, Rosenwasser said.
Rosenwasser believes Cheney is a stronger school and stronger community because of the uniforms.
“We’re kind of all in this together. It’s just like we’re all alike in some ways, the teachers too,” she said.
Originally published Sunday, November 7, 1999
The Ann Arbor News
By Pamela Appea
Students at the New Cheney Academy of Math and Sciences in Ypsilanti Township started out this school year with something completely different from most Washtenaw County public schools--uniforms.
But before classes began in late August, Leslie Rosenwasser, a social worker at the K-7 academy in the Willow Run district, found herself with a last-minute problem to solve.
Some parents, she learned, couldn’t afford the cost of a $25 uniform. For a few parents with more than one child at Cheney, the cost automatically jumped up to $50 or $75, plus the price of shoes.
“What we never wanted to do was to exclude any student because they couldn’t buy the uniform,” Rosenwasser said. “Everyone should come in with the same advantage.” So Rosenwasser approached the Warm the Children Fund to make sure all Cheney students had uniforms.
Warm the Children dipped into the emergency and special cases funds for money to help buy uniforms for students. Warm the Children also approached Kmart on Rawsonville Road in Van Buren Township to help pick up some of the cost, Rosenwasser said.
“We decided to donate $100 worth of merchandise,” General Manager Mark Kerns said. He estimated that Kmart gave Cheney Academy students about 7-8 uniforms since the pants and shirts were being sold at a reduced price then.
Then the Warm the Children Fund provided the school with an additional 12-15 uniforms, saving parents a total of $500-$600.
“I think it’s a wonderful program. It helps less fortunate people as well as people who may not be able to afford uniforms at a time of need,” said Lisa Watkins, a parent of three Cheney academy students and a paraprofessional for Thurston Early Childhood Development Center.
Watkins also said she’s glad that Cheney has the new uniform dress code in place. She said several of her friends wish their children’s schools would require uniforms as well.
“It’s a good thing financially for parents because you’re not worried about buying a whole lot of different things,” she said.
Looking at it from a Cheney student’s perspective, Watkins said. Uniforms make everyone equal and help build self-esteem.
“No one knows if you have one uniform or 10 uniforms,” she said. “This way, you don’t have the competition, ‘Well you have designer clothes and you don’t’ ”.
Many of the older students in the six5th or seventh grades who attended the school before Cheney became specialized were not used to wearing uniforms and balked at the idea initially, Principal Teresa Wilson said. But now, most of Cheney’s 335 students have come to like the camaraderie that comes with wearing a color-coordinated uniform like everyone else.
With white shirts and navy blue pants, skirts and jumpers as the uniform, even teachers, the school custodian, secretary and parents have started coming to Cheney dressed in support of the school’s official colors, Rosenwasser said.
Rosenwasser believes Cheney is a stronger school and stronger community because of the uniforms.
“We’re kind of all in this together. It’s just like we’re all alike in some ways, the teachers too,” she said.
Originally published Sunday, November 7, 1999
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