Sara Davis signs her college letter of intent last month with Lawrence Technological University volleyball coach Larry Wyatt by her side.

BY DAVE MERCHANT

trentontrib.com

     Trenton Trojans senior volleyball star Sara Davis has had something to smile about these last few weeks. Davis officially signed her letter of commitment to Lawrence Technological University for a scholarship to play volleyball at the college level.

     At 5-foot, 6-inches tall, she played outside hitter at the high school level and for her club team. In college she will play libero, a specialized position generally reserved for smaller players who have exceptional defensive skills.

“I have been playing volleyball for the last six years,” Davis said on the phone from Chicago, where she was playing a tournament. “I have been on the varsity for three years and played club for five years.”

     Davis has had Lynn Oakley as her varsity coach for the Lady Trojanettes for her entire three years on varsity. Davis said her most exciting time in volleyball in high school was her junior year when they beat Riverview and Wyandotte to win the district title. Unfortunately, they met powerhouse Bedford in the regionals and the season was ended.

     This year, Davis said the team did not win districts. She also plays for Team Detroit Volleyball Club, which she said is “an awesome club and has helped me shape the athlete that I have become.”

     At Lawrence, Davis said she plans to study broadcasting. “I would like to work for ESPN or a news channel doing sports,” she said.

     Her favorite athletes that she really looks up to are J.J. Watt of the Houston Texans professional football team and Lauren Carlini, the University of Wisconsin’s setter on the volleyball team.

With a 3.2 grade-point average, Davis will be living at LTU because athletes must stay on campus.

     Her parents are Craig and Laura, and she has an older brother named Aaron.

     She had some advice for younger players working their way up.

     “Don’t let anybody tell you that you are not good enough,” she said. “Don’t let people influence you into doing things you don’t want to do.”

     Dave Merchant is a freelance writer for the Trenton Trib and can be reached at dmerchant1970@yahoo.com.

 BY MARIA HEDGES & NINA BALDWIN

Backstage at the Talent Show: Above, Nina, Erika, Veronica, Aubree and Nadia pause for a photo after their act.

Sam, Grace, Clara, LaQuarre, and Mars get ready to perform.

     Thursday, Feb. 18, was a night of fun and fiasco at Trenton High School’s 10th Annual Talent Show, which featured about 20 acts including, dancing, singing, and a mock “Ted Talk.”

     The night did not quite go down without a flaw, but it did leave a memorable experience for both the audience and the performers. Starting out the night was Linda’s School of Dance (LSOD) dancing to “Do Mah Thang.”

     “We all just have fun doing our thang,” LSOD member and THS senior E.E. Brower laughed after her performance.

     There were many laughs and a few technical difficulties. The senior girls recreating the Jingle Bell Rock dance from the movie Mean Girls experienced a slight issue in their performance. All five girls were able to make light of the situation which gave the audience comedic relief.

     “I was actually really confused when the music wasn’t right, but the show must go on,” said Aubree Baker. “Overall, it was an awesome memory to add to senior year.”

     Despite the few technical difficulties there were some very talented individuals of this show, one of them being Mikayla Hubbard, she sang and played guitar to “Lost Boy.” Mikayla is very passionate about her music and has performed in THS events as well as in the choir.

     “Doing something just to do it isn’t really worth doing at all,” Mikayla said. “Doing something you love could change yourself and others around you and that is why I love to sing and play guitar because I love it and it makes not only myself but the people around me happy.”

     While there were many amazing acts only few could win, among those being LaQuarre, Joe and Sam Corless, Linda’s School of Dance and Hannah Myrabo. Jenna Perugi performed “Kindergarten Love Song,” which landed her the award for “Most Unique Act.”

     When asked about how she felt when she won, Jenna said, “I was not expecting to win at all, I didn’t even hear my name until someone told me to go out.”

     Each contestant was scored by the four judges of the night who are members of the THS staff, Mr. Chad Clements, Mr. Bill Miller, Ms. Whitney Weaver, and Mrs. Janet Stanley.

     THS student council members had a great time putting the show on with the help of the participants and other members of the school. It will always to a favorite event to showcase all of the talent that THS has to offer.

     Student correspondents Nina Baldwin, and Maria Hedges are seniors at Trenton High School.

By Mia Moberly

  What’s up at AMS

      Hopefully when you read this, winter will almost be over. It’s a long stretch between Christmas break and spring break, but Arthurs Middle School students have kept busy and productive.

     The AMS seventh- and eighth-grade bands are headed to MSBOA Band and Orchestra Festival on March 3. They will play a selection of prepared songs, as well as songs they’ve never seen before, for judges. The ratings are on a scale of one to five, with one being the highest score you can get. If a band is awarded ones in both categories, they are eligible to go to the State Band Festival.

     Mr. Kopera has set up a workshop with the Grosse Ile Middle School band and their director to help prepare both schools for the festival. Last year, the seventh-grade band received a two on their prepared songs, and a one on their sight read songs. The eighth-grade band received a one on their prepared songs and a two on their sight read songs.

     “Band Festival was a great experience all around. Sight reading was my favorite part, though it was pretty easy in all honesty,” shared Chase Halicki, who is now a ninth grader at Trenton High School. “I’m glad Mr. Kopera gave our band the opportunity to go both years.” Wish us luck this year!

     Last month, representatives from the Schools to Watch Initiative were at our building to evaluate our performance as a school. Schools to Watch is a national initiative to identify middle schools across the U.S. that are high performers in three categories: academic excellence, developmental responsiveness, and social equity. In 2012, AMS became a Schools to Watch designee and now we have applied to be re-designated.

     Some of the positive things that the representatives noticed in 2012 were our community service projects, such as Arthurs Closet and the Goodfellows can drive, elective classes that are made available for students to explore different interests, and the positive and encouraging messages that can be found posted throughout the school.

Sometimes the Schools to Watch representatives will just walk up to students and ask them random questions about the school, so we have to be ready! We will know the results in about a month, and hopefully we will keep our title.

     We have recently spread out into the frontier of social media. AMS has an Instagram account! At random dates and times during the school year, an announcement will be made over the loudspeaker, and staff will have the opportunity to “knight” students. In order to be knighted, you have to be respectful, responsible, and safe. The chosen students will meet in the lobby and get a picture with the school’s mascot. Their picture will be posted on Instagram, where they are named the Knights of the Round Table. This gives students a chance to be recognized for their good deeds. Follow us on Instagram: @ArthursMiddleSchool!

     School correspondent Mia Moberly is an eighth grader at Arthurs Middle School.

BY HALEY EBLIN

trentontrib.com

     The city of Flint has been plagued by lead-contaminated water, leaving many residents functioning without a basic human necessity. Members of Grosse Ile High School’s National Honor Society are responding to the city’s outcry with tenacious ardor. A water drive for citizens in need was held during the month of February. The students of GIHS are determined to make a positive difference in the Flint community.

     Katie Williams, a senior member of the National Honor Society, commented, “NHS decided to participate in aiding Flint because we felt it was our duty to as their neighbor. We are lucky to have such a wonderful, safe and generous community and lending a hand is the least we can do in their time of need.”    She added, “By touching the lives of individual families with something as simple as water, we hope to not only aid the citizens of Flint but also take the time to appreciate how lucky we are.”

     Jilly Drzinski and Olivia Reckley are leading this committee of students, but it is the community that serves as the driving force behind this effort.   The leaders set ambitious goals of receiving 1,600 gallons of water to deliver to Flint residents, and were hoping to see donations surpass this number. The NHS collected cases of water from Feb. 11-24, and dropped them off at a Flint church the following weekend. The club encouraged high school students as well as community members to bring water to one of the collection sites throughout the month. Water was also accepted at Park Lane and Meridian Elementary, and at Grosse Ile High School and Middle School.

     It is encouraging seeing students rally around their neighbors in such a desperate crisis. Even in the face of adversity, Flint and Grosse Ile have found strength in the values of empathy and community. The crisis has served as a testament to the character of both cities and their residents.  (Haley Eblin is a student at GIHS)

The event will once again be held at Grosse Ile Golf & Country Club.

     Since 1996, the Grosse Ile Educational Foundation has been committed to funding lifelong educational experiences for the students and families of Grosse Ile.

     This year, GIEF will be hosting its fifth Make a Million Gala on Saturday, March 12, at the Grosse Ile Golf & Country Club. Make a Million celebrates GIEF’s achievement of granting more than $1 million in financial support toward creative and exemplary educational opportunities throughout Grosse Ile.

     Sponsorship and attendance to the Make a Million Gala will help GIEF make new strides toward the next million-dollar goal. Grosse Ile is proud of its schools’ and community organizations’ commitment to education. GIEF enhances their curriculum with enrichment programs that may not have been possible without the GIEF and its supporters.

     In 2015, GIEF was able to fund nearly $75,000 in educational grants! Last year sponsorships and ticket sales allowed the GIEF to purchase more than 70 Chromebooks for the schools, 18 iPod Touches with headphones and read-aloud books, ceramic kiln and supplies, high school SAT prep for students and staff, project-based learning conference for middle school teachers, robotics Club registrations and materials, K-12 enhanced learning materials and much more!

     The Make a Million Gala is a rousing party filled with the best of vintage Vegas and special musical performances by “Liberace & Marilyn.”   Grosse Ile Golf & Country Club becomes a full-scale casino complete with blackjack, slots, craps, entertainment, dancing and more.

     Gamblers can take a break from the action by dancing in the Rat Pack Lounge or relaxing in Liberace’s Piano Lounge. Guests can sip a cocktail at the 007 Martini Bar or hop in the Gorno Ford Millionaire Maker to win even more casino cash or try their luck on the Lucky Big Wheel.

     The house will be bursting with excitement as Lady Luck hopes to send just-for-fun gamblers home with a $5,000 raffle ticket or one of the thousands of dollars in  showcase prizes.

     Everyone is welcome to attend. Tickets are $100 per person. For information on sponsorships and tickets to the party contact Jackie DeSana at (734) 934-4786 or Julie Moretti at moretti89@comcast.net.

Andrew Wolsek

 Swimming, Senior

 As one of the focal points of the Trenton High School varsity swimming team over the past four years, senior Andrew Wolsek has developed into a leader, and as Coach Jim Lawrence says, he’s a big help for the younger swimmers on the team. “Kids start out freshman year not really knowing anything and being immature, but he’s matured quite a bit over the years. He’s really stepped up his training and has become a team player and he helps out the younger kids. Working with the younger kids not only helps them get better, but he also improves because of it so it’s helped the team tremendously. He’s done really well and I’m really proud of him.” His development has paid off in numerous accolades throughout his swimming career, including being named MVP of the team last year as well as being named to the All-League and All-State teams. Also a member of the Marching Band for four years, Wolsek currently carries a 2.96 grade-point average. While he is undecided as to where he’ll be attending school, he hopes to continue his swimming career. Wolsek plans on majoring in business administration, with the ultimate goal of eventually opening his own small business. His parents, Christine and Robert, look forward to seeing what’s next in store for him.

  Trenton High School senior Julie Kurilko was among 24 high school seniors from Michigan recently presented with a Chick Evans Scholarship, a full, four-year housing and tuition college scholarship awarded to golf caddies, following a recent selection meeting in the state of Michigan. Kurilko plans to attend Michigan State University in the fall.

     Evans Scholars are chosen based on a strong caddie record, excellent academics, demonstrated financial need and outstanding character. The scholarship is valued at more than $80,000 over four years. The recipients will begin college this fall at either the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor or Michigan State University in East Lansing.

     “Each of these deserving scholars epitomizes what our program has been about since its creation in 1930,” said WGA Chairman David Robinson. “Their dedication, hard work and sacrifice is inspiring, and we are honored to be able to help them pursue their dreams.”

     The Michigan selection meeting is one of more than a dozen such meetings the Evans Scholars Foundation is holding across the country through the spring, with more scholarships to be awarded.

     The Western Golf Association, headquartered in Golf, Ill., has supported the Chick Evans Scholarship Program through the Evans Scholars Foundation since 1930. It is the nation’s largest scholarship program for caddies.

     Currently, 910 caddies are enrolled in colleges across the nation as Evans Scholars, and more than 10,000 caddies have graduated as Evans Scholars since the program was founded by famed Chicago amateur golfer Charles “Chick” Evans Jr.

     “Based on their excellence in the classroom and their service to their schools and communities, there is little doubt that these young men and women have earned this life-changing opportunity,” said John Kaczkowski, WGA president and CEO. “We welcome them to the Evans Scholars family.”

     Scholarship funds come mostly from contributions by 27,600 golfers across the country who are members of the WGA Par Club program. Evans Scholars Alumni donate more than $8 million annually, and all proceeds from the BMW Championship, the third of four PGA TOUR Playoff events in the PGA TOUR’s FedExCup competition, are donated to the Evans Scholars Foundation. Visit www.wgaesf.org for more information.

Dr. Michael Doyle

Principal’s Corner

     I often hear this question from people throughout the community: “What is professional development and what does staff do during professional development time at the high school?’

     I thought I would take the time to try to answer that question.

     The high school has staff in two different professional learning community teams. One is the department PLC team. The other is the cross-curriculum PLC team. Teachers work with either other staff from the same department or reach across to other departments to work collaboratively on student achievement.

     PLC is an acronym for “Professional Learning Community.” The mission and vision is to get teachers out of isolation and have teachers working as a team. Time is set aside throughout the school year for teachers and administrators will spend time working in PLC teams with the ultimate goal of improving student achievement. PLCs allow for teachers to work in a collaborative environment on items such as common assessments, reviewing data, examining test results, then working as a team to make changes in the curriculum to improve student learning

     During professional development time, THS staff will ask four basic questions:

     1) What do we want students to know? We answer this question by aligning our curriculum to the standards and benchmarks per the state of Michigan Merit Curriculum.

     2) How do we know if students know the curriculum? This second question is answered by THS staff using common assessment. This is also done by looking at our standardized test scores.

     3) What do we do with a student who does not know it? We answer this by setting up interventions for kids who are not doing well with either the academic portion or behavior aspects of learning in a high school.

     4) What do we do with a student that already knows the curriculum? This is where the strength of Trenton High School’s curriculum is important as THS offers 11 Advanced Placement courses. AP courses allow students to earn college credit by passing a nationally standardized test proved by the College Board.   THS students take AP course at the high school to prepare for the exam.

A more specific example of how Trenton High School staff use professional development time includes recent work with Google Classroom. This professional development time was presented by THS staff Melissa Lambert and Chris Crews. Google Classroom is a tool designed to help teachers manage classes by allowing them to create and collect assignments paperless, post announcements and class information, and share multimedia resources effortlessly with an entire class. Classroom works similarly to Edmodo, Moodle and Blackboard but is connected to each teacher and student’s school Google account.

     With Google Classroom, teachers have the ability to make a copy of a Google doc for each student with one click and create Drive folders for each assignment. Students can keep track of what’s due on the Assignments page while teachers can see who has or has not completed the work and provide feedback and grades right in Classroom. Teachers can create classrooms by going to classroom.google.com. They can invite students to join a class or share the class code with students so they can join on their own.

     Another recent specific example of THS Staff using professional development time to work on examining student data is what staff has done with data. With data, it is helpful to use experts such as Cindy Taraskiewicz from Wayne County RESA, who worked with staff prior to winter break. One of the keys to professional development is to avoid having a “one hit wonder,” meaning just working on something once, them moving on and abandoning the idea or program.

In order to avoid this, we have worked with the county several times to keep the focus on data moving forward. Prior to meeting, Cindy Taraskiewicz was able to pull last year’s scorecard for Trenton High School and staff was able to drill down on the data. Trenton High School did not receive PSAT data until January 2016. The February professional development time was used to look at PSAT data.

     PLC teams have also been working on using formative assessment in the classroom. Formative assessment is a district initiative. Another district initiative is vocabulary. Trenton Public Schools Curriculum Director Ann Deneroff has presented to THS staff on use of vocabulary throughout all subject areas of Trenton High School.

     We have also used recent professional development time to have all staff understand the importance of writing out the objective each day for students on the board in order for them to understand. Dr. Robert Marzano’s research shows a strong correlation between writing out the objective for students and an improvement in student achievement. Staff is writing out the objective for each class at the start of each period.

     I hope this helps with an understanding of what goes on during professional development time at Trenton High School. Should you have any questions, call me at (734) 692-4531.

     Dr. Michael Doyle is principal at Trenton High School.

BY KATHY KANE

trentontrib.com

The Downriver Career Technical Consortium is made up of nine school districts including Trenton, Grosse Ile, Carleton Airport, Huron, Flat Rock, Riverview, Southgate, Carlson and Woodhaven.

Jacob Kowalski (above) with mentor Juliann Haverlock and others from Brown Elementary.

  It was founded 50 years ago with two schools, two programs and the ideal of giving students educational choices. Their purpose is to provide academics, career and technical experiences to prepare high school students for college or highly skilled trades. Students in the program can now also earn advanced placement credits and up to 29 credit hours at Henry Ford College and Schoolcraft College.

     The group held an appreciation breakfast in January for its 10^th-grade job shadowing program that was held last year over several weeks at 21 businesses, schools and police and fire departments in the Downriver area. Students who were chosen for the program had to compete by writing and interviewing for the opportunity to job shadow.

     Two Trenton businesses that participated in the job shadowing were Mithoff Vision Center/Dr. Susan Mithoff-Quade and Trenton Trib/Kathy Kane. Counselor Stacy Marcum and Principal Dr. Michael Doyle, Asst. Principal Ronald Diroff and Superintendent Rodney Wakeham from Trenton Public Schools also were present at the ceremony.

     Trenton students involved in the program included Shelby Fox, who worked at Grosse Ile Nursing, Kelsey Bitner, who experienced Homespun Furniture, McKenna Tanguay, who rode along at Wyandotte Police Department, Haley Hallenbeck, who learned the ropes at the Woodhaven High School Dental Program and Jacob Kowalski, who job shadowed at Brown Elementary.

     Students were expected to keep journals of their encounter and report back to their counselors. Those students who spoke about their career duties at the event enjoyed the career exploration and really engaged with the programming.

     The DCTC also offers 20  two year,  (junior and senior year) programs, including criminal justice and EMT, agriscience, architecture, auto body, aviation, cabinet and furniture, construction, cosmetology, dental, digital media, engineering, graphic arts, health, hospitality, heating and cooling, information technology, education, marketing, megatronics and welding.

Interested students should check with the participating high schools counseling office for more information.

BY BRIAN RZEPPA

trentontrib.com

A “Comet of the Week” earlier this season, Megan Dossey, is flanked by several teammates here.

 In addition to league championships, the Trenton High School varsity swim team has continued to produce highly talented swimmers that have gone on to do great things in their collegiate career.

     Megan Dossey, a 2012 graduate, has been able to add her name to that list as she completes her fourth season swimming for Olivet College. Earlier this year, she was named “Comet of the Week” by the university, a testament to the hard work and dedication that she has shown throughout her career both in high school and in college.

     Coming from a family that produced two other varsity swimmers under Hall of Fame Coach Jim Lawrence, Dossey seemed destined to end up on the team at some point.

     “I started swimming in sixth grade and I liked it, but when I came to high school I had to choose between volleyball and swimming because of the seasons overlapping. After knowing Coach Lawrence because of my brothers and talking to some of the girls on the team, I knew swimming was what I wanted to pursue,” Dossey said.

     As her career at Trenton continued on, she began to catch the eye of colleges throughout the state. Though the thought of swimming in college hadn’t occurred to her during her early days of high school, she began to start considering her options.

     “A few college swimmers that I knew from Downriver had contacted me and told me to look into swimming in college, but at that point I was really too afraid. By my junior year, I started getting recruited by different colleges, so I put a bit more thought into it. When my senior year came, I really buckled down and made the decision to actually continue because I knew it was something that helped keep me structured all around.”

     Her focused efforts throughout her senior year paid off in a big way, with the team going undefeated and capturing the league title. Her committed approach to the season was a personal one, but it was done under the influence of Lawrence.

     “Coach Lawrence had an immense impact, not only on my swim career, but just my life in general,” Dossey said. “I was a hardheaded teenager but he never gave up on me. He is an incredible coach who pushes you both inside and outside of the pool. His knowledge of the sport really helped us get to where we were during my senior year and to be able to be undefeated and take the title in our own pool was the best ending to my high school career. He is hands-down the best coach I’ve ever had.”

     With her high school career over she had a few different options available to her, but the decision of where to continue her swimming career was ultimately relatively easy due to the fact that she had found a seemingly perfect match.

     “I chose Olivet because of what they could do for me,” she said. “The coach was clear in how he could help me improve as an athlete, and the school offered two of the careers that I was interested in, so I knew it met the academic standards that I was seeking. When I visited, I fell in love with the campus and the small class size; I knew that I wasn’t going to just be another number in the classroom.”

     There were some transitions to be made in the jump from high school to college, but Dossey has managed to have a strong four-year career with the Comets. While she has excelled in the pool, she is most proud of her development outside of it.

     “The highlight of my time here has been the lessons learned and the relationships built,” she said. “My junior and senior years have really been quite amazing, from swimming to class to just life in general. I’ve grown as an individual and become more of the person that I want to be and should be and I’ve created bonds with people from all different places that I will never forget. College is supposed to be a time of when you find out about yourself and I feel like I’ve been able to do that here.”

     The success that she has had comes as no surprise to her former head coach, Lawrence, as she had shown many great qualities throughout her time under his tutelage.

     “Once you take ownership of what you want to do, it’s amazing what you can accomplish and it’s clear that Megan has done that,” Lawrence said. “She improved every year that she was here and she was always willing to do anything we asked. We’re very pleased with the success that she has had.”

     A graphic design major who just recently was named to the Dean’s List, Dossey hopes to work with a magazine publisher or with a marketing team once she graduates in the spring. It’s taken years of hard work, but her success can be traced back to the experiences she had while in Trenton.

                “Being from Trenton, with hockey and football getting a lot of the attention, helped me to understand that hard work doesn’t always need recognition. As long as you as an individual, no matter what you are doing, are working hard and doing everything in your power to better yourself, you have every right to be proud of what you have earned for yourself.”

BY DENISE SOBH

www.trentontrib.com

     Robert Douglas, a physics and chemistry instructor at Trenton High School, has been named Trenton Public Schools’ newest recipient of the Golden Apple Award. 

     “Mr. Douglas is well respected by students, parents, and faculty. He has high standards and expectations for all students,” said Rod Wakeham, superintendent of Trenton Public Schools. “He is an integral piece of the science department, and, is a major contributor to their success,”

     At the Trenton School Board Meeting on March 7, Douglas was presented with his award.

     “I am honored to receive this award, and I appreciate the nomination,” he said.

     His nominators said he works tirelessly to prepare lessons and laboratory activities that challenge science students and provide them with the best experience possible. Douglas’s “input, feedback and guidance, have helped the science department to adapt to changes in curriculum and to teaching practices that best prepare THS students for standardized assessments and their college education.”  

     Not only is Douglas a physics and chemistry teacher, but he was also a Quiz Bowl coach/advisor, has appeared in two Trenton High School musicals, and developed principles of technology to approach the concepts of physics applied to everyday experiences.

     The Golden Apple Award was approved by the Board of Education back in 1993 to recognize volunteers and employees for their outstanding contributions of time, talent and efforts towards the support of the students, parents and staff of the Trenton Public Schools. 

     “Some qualities a nominee might include are a positive attitude, dedication, dependability, self-motivation, helpfulness, and a list of other outstanding qualities,” said Robin Miles, administrative assistant to the superintendent.

     Since 1993, 62 employees and 32 volunteers have been recognized by the Trenton School Board, and awarded the Golden Apple Award.

     Information requested on the nomination form includes building(s) or area(s) where nominee works or volunteers, and requests for examples of how the nominee is a positive representative of the district, is a positive role model for others, is innovative and seeks new ideas or methods, is self-motivated, plus any other information the nominator thinks is relevant.

     Nominators may be students, district employees, parents/guardians, citizens, PTO volunteers, or pretty much anyone familiar with the schools. Nomination forms are currently submitted to the Superintendent’s Office for review by the superintendent and Board of Education.

Dr. Michael Doyle

 Principal’s Corner

   With the NCAA Basketball Tournament, we hear the phrase “strength of schedule” when the Selection Committee chooses teams for the annual NCAA. The committee will evaluate a team’s “body of work” and if that team challenged themselves with the team’s schedule. Before I get to strength of schedule for high school students, there are a few things we strongly emphasize at Trenton High School.

     At Trenton High School we encourage students to do two things to be successful. The first: Give your best, whether it is in the classroom, doing your homework, a special project, getting to school on time, staying “off the radar,” getting to school early or staying late to get help from a teacher.

     The second: Get involved in something. All students at THS need to take advantage of the many programs offered by the high school, such as athletics, the arts, musical productions, student council, National Honor Society, or any other of the number of activities offered.

     The research shows that there is a strong correlation between students who get involved in the school and academic success. Extra-curricular activities force students to better manage their time. Students can find themselves with too much time on their hands. They also miss opportunities during that four-year span of high school that they cannot get back.

     One of the most common remarks I hear from former students is the fact they wish they would have been more involved in school. Graduates often return to THS and openly question why they did not take advantage of the large number of programs THS offers. The grads regret not getting more involved in both the challenging academic program and the large number of extra-curriculum activities offered at THS.

     As for strength of schedule, this opportunity for choice extends deep into the academic realm of THS. Trenton High School is on a trimester system. This allows students to take 15 courses a year. Universities look for students who will be successful at the university.  The bottom line is the fact that all universities want to be successful and part of their success is linked to their graduation rate.

     As part of the accreditation process, universities are evaluated on their graduation rates. Acceptance and success at any university begins with the rigor and relevance of courses (strength of schedule) taken by the student while in high school. When deciding on admission, a strong university wants to see that the student took challenging courses while in high school. The admissions office looks at the strength of the core classes. This strength of schedule extends through the senior year (body of work).

     As examples, universities want to see strength in English, math, science, and social studies. With THS offering 12 Advanced Placement courses, the University of Michigan, Michigan State University, and others want to see how many AP courses a student completed. AP courses also offer a student a chance to get AP credit.

     A student can take an AP course at Trenton High School, pass the exam with a 3 or better on a 5 point scale and receive college credit. A student who has passed several AP exams can earn college credit through this process offered at THS. This can be a tremendous savings to parents on the college tuition bill.

     While certainly not every student is college bound, Trenton High School provides the opportunity for students to choose from more than 20 career-technical courses during their junior and senior years.

     These courses offer college credit and career training. THS is part of the Downriver Career and Technical Consortium, which allows THS students to travel to other high schools in the Downriver area to take academic and/or career programs that a particular high school may offer. Again, this is an excellent opportunity of choice for THS students.

     Dr. Michael Doyle is principal at Trenton High School. He can be contacted at (734) 692-4531 or doylem@trenton schools.com.

Rodney Wakeham

     Trenton Public Schools completed a five year journey, once again earning a recommendation for accreditation by the AdvancED External Review Visiting Team. AdvancEd is the largest non-profit, non-partisan organization that conducts rigorous on-site visits to help school districts review and provide a pathway to improve their goal of student achievement.  Trenton Public Schools first achieved district-wide accreditation in 2011 with all individual schools being accredited previously.

     From the 2011 AdvancED review, Trenton Public Schools was commended for its communication with district stakeholders and was encouraged to continue the work of fully implementing Professional Learning Communities (PLC) in all of its buildings.

     Through the diligent work of the District Accreditation Team over the past five years, Trenton Public Schools has sustained its excellences in communication and has active PLC groups in all four buildings.  PLC’s in an educational setting work to answer four essential questions: What do we want students to know? How will we know when they know it? What do we do when they don’t? What do we do if they already know it?

After stakeholder surveys in 2012 and in 2015, an extensive self-assessment, and a two day on-site visit, the External Review Team identified the following as powerful practices at Trenton Public Schools:

• The collaborative nature of the staff and the dedication of professional development time to discuss curriculum, assessment, and teaching practices.
• The communication of learning and achievement to the students, their parents, and the community. 
• The protection of the autonomy of the district leadership by the Trenton Board of Education to make decisions to meet the needs of the students.
• Its inclusive process to review, revise, and communicate the district’s purpose and direction in the areas of facilities and services, district mission, and strategic planning.

     These practices were identified by reviewing district collected evidence, observing 40 classrooms, and interviews with 160 stakeholders, including students, parents, teachers, administrators, support staff, community members, and members of the School Board.

     The AdvancED team recommended two targets for the next five year cycle of improvement. The first was identifying the best instructional strategies to boost student learning and implement those strategies in all K-12 classrooms. The second was to evaluate the strategies for differentiating instruction and supporting the emotional and social needs of all students.

     Trenton Public Schools exceeded the national average in all three AdvancED Indexes of Educational Quality (IEQ) — Teaching and Learning, Leadership Capacity, and Resource Utilization. A full report from AdvancEd will be received within 30 days. The district is committed to continuous improvement and meeting its mission of “Inspiring Students Today for their Success Tomorrow.”

     For more information contact Rodney Wakeham, superintendent of schools, at (734) 676-8600.

Kelsi Hackney

 Cheerleading, Senior

Through her four years of high school, Trenton High School senior Kelsi Hackney has managed to be as involved as anyone. A member of the Christian Impact, Interact and Spanish Clubs, the National Honor Society and Spanish Honor Society, the Homecoming, Snowball and Prom Steering Committees, serving as Class Treasurer, performing in the school musical and participating in tennis and cheerleading (where she was named All-League), Hackney has still managed to hold a 3.88 grade-point average. This well-roundedness that she has displayed is something that has made her stand out to cheerleading coach Michelle Maci. “She does very, very well academically and is really involved with the school. She keeps herself involved in all aspects of her life, which is what I love. The things that she learns and what she expects from herself definitely come into play when we’re at practice, she’s the girl we can count on that will have something that will get them fired up. She’s very good at reading the team and she’s also very talented.” Despite all of the activities that she is involved in, Hackney has also managed to find time to teach third grade catechism at St. Timothy’s. She is currently undecided as to where she’ll be attending school or what she’ll be majoring in, but in whatever career she ends up in she would like to work with children. Her mother, Jennifer Liparato, admires how devoted, intelligent and caring that her daughter is and looks forward to seeing what the future holds for her.

With family members on hand at his school, Trenton senior Dylan Wilson hears the surprise announcement that the Make A Wish Foundation had granted him is dream trip to the Bahamas.

BY BRIAN RZEPPA

     Senior year in high school is supposed to be about all sorts of exciting events and spending time with classmates that will inevitably go their separate ways at the end of the school year.

     While this is the case for many high school seniors, it did not go that way for Dylan Wilson, a senior at Trenton High School. Diagnosed with cancer prior to the school year, Wilson was forced to miss out on all of the experiences.

     Though the experience was naturally a tough one, Wilson fought every step of the way and was recently diagnosed as cancer-free. While this was a big step on its own, another set of good news wasn’t far away.

     At lunchtime April 15, Wilson sat in the cafeteria, surrounded by friends that had missed his presence for half of the school year. As Principal Michael Doyle took the stage to make an announcement, Wilson stayed engrossed in the conversation that he was having.

     This wasn’t any run of the mill announcement, however, as Doyle introduced Beverly Jager from the Make A Wish Foundation of Michigan.

     Jager noted the influence that Wilson had on her in the months that they had known one another and, as a surprise, announced that Wilson and the rest of his family would be leaving on a week-long trip to Atlantis Paradise Island in the Bahamas on the following Monday.

     In a time where information can spread to thousands of people within the click of a button, it was a miracle in itself that the Wish was able to remain under wraps, but Wilson had no idea that it was coming.

     “I wasn’t really paying too much attention when they came up on the stage, so it came as a big surprise to me,” Wilson said.

     The decision to go to the Bahamas was motivated by selflessness by Wilson, and a testament to the type of character that he’s been able to keep throughout the entire grueling process.

  


   “Throughout all of this, he’s been so caring for his family. He chose this trip because his family helped him through this whole process and he wanted time for them to be able to relax,” Jager said.

     Jager, a volunteer who played an instrumental role in organizing the event, noted that Wilson served as an inspiration to her.

     “He’s a great kid and very motivated and he’s inspired me through the process because of what he’s gone through. No child should have to go through what he has been through, but he never gave up and never complained.”

     While there are quite a few parts that go into the planning of putting these events together, one of the key portions, according to Jager, was that they were able to do it at school.

     “A big part of organizing the wishes are the environment that they’ll be in. Given that he’s missed half of his senior year, we felt that him feeling better and being with his friends in this environment would be the perfect place to do it.”

     Given the tough situation that he was dealt over the past year, Wilson deserved the opportunity to have his wish become a reality.    

     “I’m so excited for the trip and I really can’t wait. I’ve been looking forward to it for so long and I’m glad that it’s finally happening.”

Brooke Teska:  Student Athlete of the Month, Soccer, Senior

A captain on the Trenton High School Girls Soccer team, as well as with her travel team, the Michigan Rush, senior Brooke Teska has spent the last four years bolstering her resume both on and off of the field. She has seen her point totals increase in soccer each year that she’s been on the team and all the while has maintained a 3.7 grade-point average in the classroom. Her work on the pitch has not gone unnoticed, as she’s been the recipient of All-League honors for two years and All-District for three. Away from the field, she’s also the historian for the Interact Club, secretary for the French Club and a member of both the National Honor Society and French Honor Society. For her work in the classroom, she was given the Phi Beta Kappa Certificate of Recognition, which is awarded to students that display academic excellence, good citizenship, an interest in the community and knowledge that is valuable to society. She will be attending Adrian College in the fall to continue her playing career, as well as to pursue a degree within the business field. Her parents, Dave and Kellie, appreciate the effort and compassion that she puts into any activity that she is involved in and are excited for her to be able to pursue her future dreams at Adrian.

 BY SAMANTHA ELLIOTT 

     Being a part of the National Honors Society is a special privilege to Trenton High School students. Being involved, going above and beyond and a want to help others are the traits that resonate throughout the members. There are also some specific requirements to get in.

     Students must maintain a 3.3 cumulative grade-point average as well as prove participation in community activities or community service, prove their leadership abilities and personal responsibility and provide a letter of recommendation.

     Lori Holcomb has been the advisor for the Trenton NHS since the 2005-2006 school year and says having the ability to teach how to give back to the community and expose her members to different types of charitable organizations makes her role worth it.

     Throughout the year, the current members have participated in a host of activities to give back to their community and help others in need.

     Most recently, Holcomb and her group have been collecting pillowcases for the “Little Dresses for Africa” program, and they have joined with the Interact Club to collect cereal for the DMC Children’s Hospital summer lunch program.

     Juniors Angie Davis and Elyssa Moody have both wrapped up their first year on NHS this spring and both know the importance of giving back.

     “I think NHS is very important at our school,” Davis said. “It is such an amazing feeling to give back to the great community we live in and even other communities.”

     Each trimester, members must complete three hours of tutoring, five hours of service to the school and six hours of service to the community, although many participate more.

     “Being a part of NHS really is rewarding to me,” Moody said. “I love giving back to the community and being able to participate in these awesome events. Seeing how grateful people are with such a small gesture makes it all worthwhile.”

     The Trojans sure have been involved in some big events this school year. The group meets once a month and anyone can come forward with an idea.

     Holcomb said most of the ideas come from the executive board, but some come in from other organizations and the groups join up.

     Events the Trojans have been involved with this year include a sock drive for the Wayne County homeless, a food drive for Thanksgiving and Christmas; and they have also prepared meals for “Kids Against Hunger,” babysat for PTO members during meetings, collected pet supplies for the Michigan Humane Society, made fleece tie blankets for “Spread the Love” at Beaumont Trenton hospital, distributed newspapers for Goodfellows and provided free tutoring to any Trenton High School student.

     Holcomb was pleased with her students this year and is already looking forward to next year’s group.

     “I think we have a very active NHS chapter compared to other schools,” she said. “I would like to see our chapter try to think of more things to do within our school building to make improvements and be helpful, as well as continue to serve all the charitable organizations.

Parker Dukas

 Baseball, Senior

 A three-sport varsity athlete, Parker Dukas has been able to make a name for himself on the diamond, the ice and the court, as well as in the classroom, all within his four years as a Trojan. An All-League and All-District player for the baseball team last year, Dukas has followed up his strong season by placing in the top five in steals, runs and walks amongst Trojans. For the hockey team, he was named to the All-Downriver League and in tennis he was a three-time All-Regional player. Perhaps more importantly, Dukas also carries a 3.9 grade-point average, is a member of both the National Honor Society and Interact Club, was a Senior Scholar and was accepted into the Detroit Association of Phi Beta Kappa. For his efforts in the classroom, he was named to the All-Academic teams in both baseball and hockey. While he has contemplating continuing either his hockey or baseball careers at the collegiate level, his path is more than likely going to lead him to Michigan State University to concentrate on his studies. He is currently undecided as far as his career, but he knows that he will be choosing to major in engineering once he makes the jump to college. His parents, Kari and Gary, look forward to continuing to see him excel as a student and as a person.

Dr. Michael Doyle

Principal’s Corner

As the 2015-2016 school year comes to a close, we have much to be thankful for in Trenton. On Wednesday, April 27, 108 seniors from the Trenton High School Class of 2016 received over $2.2 million in scholarships from local, state, and national committees.

     The amount was one of the largest in years. The community of Trenton is always so generous with scholarships. The number of scholarships continues to grow with so many people in the community increasing both the number of scholarships and the amounts of each scholarship. The Trenton Educational Foundation, John McKay Hockey Scholarship and the Trenton Rotary Club all have increased the number of scholarships handed out each year.

     My goal next year is to see Trenton High School students for the Class of 2017 award over $3 million in scholarships. The areas of choices among our students, be it university, military or a career choice in the world of work are all filled with THS students. Our students have been prepared by an excellent staff for that next journey in their lives. They are thoroughly prepared to compete at the university level, community college level, and world to work level, military service and the business world.

     One of my favorite parts of the job as principal of Trenton High School is the graduation ceremony. We will have almost 240 Trenton High School students, who have all earned 28 credits, walk across the stage on June 10.   The event is always one of many highlights of the school year. Each year the ceremony seems to get better and better. We have moved indoors to help with sound, lights, comfort and ability to see the graduates.

     I’m always disappointed when a radio or TV show will encourage students to commit a prank at the school. The students will pull a prank, then call the radio station or mail the video to the TV stations so all can laugh at the school. I wonder how many radio stations or TV shows would laugh if, for example, I showed up and pulled a prank on them? How funny would the radio station think it was if a prank was being committed as they were working? Believe me, I can think of plenty of ideas that would cause the radio or TV station to rethink their encouragement of pranks.

     We are very proud of our graduation ceremony. The ceremony usually lasts about 60 minutes. We have speeches from three students with a 3.7 or above selected by the THS School Improvement Team, the superintendent and myself. The goal is to keep the focus of graduation on the seniors. No outside speakers. Again, keep the focus on the kids. 

     We have great kids at Trenton High School, along with a great staff, community, and support. The Class of 2016 accomplished so much in such a short period of time. Hard to believe in four years what this group did in the classroom with academics, on the athletic field, the “Grease” musical that included Trenton staff, the work of the THS Student Council, the number of students in the National Honor Society, the World Language National Honor Society, the MITES program, the dances, Honors Night, Court to School, Challenge Day, Black out Bullying, as well as 145 of our high school students taking 226 Advanced Placement tests in 12 different Advanced Placement tests, and many other positive things at Trenton High School.

     And as Mrs. Janet Stanley will say on June 8 at about 2:15 p.m., “Class of 2016” out to the sounds of Green Day singing, “You had the time of your life!” Great job Class of 2016!

     Dr. Michael Doyle is principal at Trenton High School. He can be contacted at (734) 692-4531 or doylem@trenton schools.com.

BY ERIC HOSHAW

     Anderson Elementary School students are starting their summer off right with a new set of wheels after recently participating in a raffle to “win” a bicycle. The idea all started months ago when Michel DeJulian, social worker and team leader for the school’s PBIS program, connected with Trenton Police Officer Rick Tanguay about taking impounded bikes from the DPW and having the students enter a raffle to win one.

     “So far, we have given away about a dozen bikes,” said Doug Mentzer, principal. “This week, we will give away nine more. Even better, Al Petri didn’t hesitate to step up and help repair the bikes. In fact, not only did he volunteer his service, he also covered all of the costs associated with repair parts.”

     The raffle was based on students who entered by writing a paper explaining why they needed a bike. Then, papers were examined for effort and validity and placed into a bucket. The names were drawn by office personnel.

     “It was an extension of our PBIS program,” explained Mentzer. “So, if a student’s behavior was not good, they were automatically ineligible for the drawing.”

     Mentzer went on to express how much of an asset Michel DeJulian is to the Trenton Public Schools. DeJulian has a number of different titles, but in this endeavor, she was in her role as PBIS Leader.

     “She works tirelessly to make our schools a better place for all kids,” Mentzer said. “Through her efforts, she was able to work with Officer Rick Tanguay and secure a great number of bikes for our kids. Last count was around 15. It’s all about working together for the kids.”