Lake Orion Community Schools hosted its first Teaching and Learning K-8 Parent Workshop in

October, designed to provide people with an in-depth look at several educational initiatives

underway at both the elementary and middle school levels. A total of 35 parents participated

in the inaugural half-day event at Scripps Middle School, hosted by the Teaching and Learning

Department.

The morning was split into three segments, with a number of breakout sessions. Participants

could choose from several subjects, including multiple sessions on the district’s new K-5 and

middle school math programs, new language arts instruction at the elementary and middle

school levels, and the Words Their Way phonics, vocabu-

lary and spelling program.

Other sessions focused on the district’s special education

program, the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program and

parenting in the digital age. In addition, there was a ses-

sion on Lake Orion’s award-winning kindergarten/first

grade early intervention reading initiative.

“Education is changing and this workshop allowed us to provide parents with a deeper look at what

is taking place, what the district’s big initiatives have been and why we’re excited about them,”

said Assistant Superintendent Heidi Mercer. See Parent Workshop, Page 3

Winter 2015

Taking advantage of a favorable interest

rate environment, Lake Orion Community

Schools is in the process of refunding a

block of existing bond debt issued in 2005

and worth $28.3 million. Lake Orion’s

Board of Education approved the

transaction earlier this fall.

Taxpayers will see a total savings of about

$3.6 million as a result of this transaction.

This includes direct savings of $2.3 million

and a cost avoidance of about $1.3 million

that the district would have had to borrow

from the state’s School Bond Loan Fund to

repay parts of the earlier bond.

“This process is essentially like refinancing

a residential mortgage,” said John

Fitzgerald, Assistant Superintendent of

Finance and Business. “The current market

interest rate environment is good relative

to our older bonds which enables us to

save our district taxpayers money.”

Lake Orion Community Schools completed

a similar bond refunding in 2012. At that

time, the district refunded $25.4 million in

existing bond principal, saving district

taxpayers more than $6 million in future

debt service tax levies.

The district’s total outstanding voted and

school bond loan fund debt is

$153,506,117. More than $58 million of

bond principal and interest will be paid off

by June 2018.

District Refinancing Block of School Bonds in 2015, Saving Taxpayers

District Hosts First Teaching and Learning Workshop for Parents

Winter Weather Girls Golf Middle School Concept

Page 3 Page 5 Page 10

35 parents attended the workshop.

Multiple sessions were offered.

2

Microsoft Office Now Available for Free The Lake Orion Community Schools district is now participating in the Office 365 Student Advantage Program. This gives stu-

dents in grades 3 through 12 free access to the full version of the latest Microsoft Office suite of programs, installed directly

from the Office 365 web portal on up to five Windows or Mac computers. Middle school and high school students have an

Office 365 log-in to gain immediate access; elementary students should have received their Office 365 account information

from their school earlier this fall, so parents can help them download the free software. Please

note elementary students will not have access to Office 365 email. For more information, visit

the school district’s website.

Record Number Attend Education Foundation Dinner A record number of people attended the Lake Orion Education Foundation’s

eighth annual “Evening for Education” event in November at Indianwood Golf &

Country Club. According to event chairperson Karen Appledorn, 160 people en-

joyed the dinner, silent auction, music, dancing and table games. More than

$9,000 was raised for the Foundation, which provides classroom grants to the

teachers of LOCS and funds the district’s Olweus Bullying Prevention Program. In

addition, the PNC Bank Foundation recently awarded $10,000 to LOEF, to be split

between the classroom

grants and the Olweus pro-

gram. This past year LOEF

was able to provide more

than $25,000 in classroom

grants and $23,000 to the

Olweus efforts. In addition

to the annual dinner, LOEF

hosts a 5K/10K walk/run in

the spring and a summer golf

outing. For more information, visit www.lakeorioneducationfoundation.org.

District News

Lake Orion Community Schools would like to

thank district voters for passing the ten-year

renewal of the non-homestead operating tax

levy in November. Funding generated by this

levy is used to maintain and grow our award-

winning curriculum.

District Thanks Voters

Supporters of the Foundation enjoyed table games after dinner.

Left to right: Webber principal Sarah Manzo with administrators Kerri Anderson, Heidi

Mercer and Marion Ginopolis.

Got a question, concern or com-pliment about Lake Orion Com-munity Schools? Starting in Jan-uary, School Board members Steve Drakos and Scott Taylor will be meeting with the public at Starbucks on Lapeer Road the last Friday of every month, from 11 a.m. to noon. Sit down with them, enjoy a coffee and good conversation about our public school district. The first gather-ing will take place on January 30, 2015. Other school board members will join them on a rotating basis.

Talk to the School Board

Board members Steve Drakos

(left) and Scott Taylor

3

Oh No! Time to Talk Weather-Related School Closings Winter’s icy breath came early this year with a November cold snap. At least we

were not alone, for most of the country was unseasonably cold. Unfortunately,

most weathermen expect another frigid winter for our region.

Hopefully it will not be a repeat of last year, but Superintendent Ginopolis and her

team recognize there will probably be at least a few days of missed school due to

inclement weather. The district recognizes the decision to open or close the district

in such situations has a big impact on families. Our top priority when making such

choices is the safety of our students and staff. A number of factors are considered

when making the decision to close our schools due to the weather conditions:

Road condition reports from our transportation and buildings-and-grounds de-

partments - careful consideration must be given to the most dangerous, often

rural, roads in the district;

Amount of accumulated snow and ice and whether or not it is continuing;

School building conditions (electricity, water and heat);

Parking lot conditions;

Temperature and wind chill, considering many of our children wait outside for a bus or walk to school;

Weather predictions, which we know are not always accurate but must be considered with other deciding factors; and,

What other school districts in Oakland County have decided.

The Superintendent makes the final decision, based on the above factors and recommendations from the Directors of Transportation

and Buildings-and-Grounds. In the event the district is closed, the goal is to make the decision and begin notifying families no later than

5:30 a.m. There are several ways to find out if the school district is closed:

Messages sent via School Messenger if you have opted-in to the service;

Postings on the district’s website and Facebook page; and,

Notices that are automatically sent to local television stations, plus WWJ 950 AM and WJR 760 AM radio stations.

Please note, the school district recognizes parents may not feel it is safe to send their child(ren) to school in inclement weather and de-

cide to keep them at home. They should contact the school to notify them of this decision. Parents also should contact their children’s

schools to update their contact information, if necessary.

Parent Nathan Tison has two daughters at

Carpenter Elementary School in third and

fourth grades. He thought the workshop

was well done and a missed opportunity for

others who may want to learn about how

Lake Orion teachers are teaching. “I’m a

traditionalist when it comes to math, but I

saw firsthand the alternative methods for

how it’s now being taught at the elemen-

tary levels and I think they have merit in

helping young students understand the con-

cepts,” Tison said. “I also attended writing

sessions and I like how they are focusing on

more than just creative writing, but also

how to write clearly with a purpose.”

In addition to being Principal at Orion Oaks

Elementary School, Ken Nuss is a parent in

the district. He said many of the parents he

spoke with said it is hard to keep up with

the changing curriculum and technology in

today’s schools and the workshop proved to

be beneficial.

“As a parent, I feel lucky to be in a district

where administrators and teachers under-

stand that educating our children is a com-

munity effort,” Nuss said. “Our staff is tak-

ing the time to educate parents so they can

truly be partners in their kids’ educational

experiences.”

All session materials from this year’s Teach-

ing and Learning workshop are available on

the district website.

Parent Workshop Cont’d from Page 1

Bad weather closed Lake Orion Schools 11

days last year.

Using technology in the classroom.

4

Being a member of the Board of Education can be a tough job. Some of the decisions made by the Board are easy to make, while

others require much thought and deliberation, especially considering the evolving nature of public education.

Our school board members certainly bring different experiences and perspectives to our meetings. While they may not always

agree with each other, their decisions are made with the best interests of Lake Orion students in mind and I appreciate their abil-

ity to work together to get things done and keep our district moving forward.

The school board recently met with an education consultant during a day-long board workshop to discuss the roles and responsi-

bilities of members and ways to effectively govern a school district. The consultant, who works with many school boards across

the state, praised our Board mem-

bers for their dedication to the

school district. She said no other

district she knows of conducts

three one-day workshops each

year plus our regularly scheduled

meetings, especially considering

all of our board members have full

-time jobs and families, besides

their district responsibilities. The

consultant said their commitment

is the exception rather than the

norm and it should be commend-

ed.

The Board recently updated the

strategic plan for the school dis-

trict, which illustrates their vision

for Lake Orion Community

Schools. The following are their

main goals and objectives:

Superintendent’s Message

Giving Credit Where Credit is Due

5

See us on

Facebook and

Twitter!

Winter Break December 22 – January 2

Start of Third Term (High School) January 26

Mid-Winter Break February 16-17

Spring Break April 3-10

Start of Fourth Term (High School) April 13

Homecoming 2014

Homecoming King and Queen, Grant Johnson and

Cheyanne Sloan.

Lake Orion’s student section embraced The Lion King

theme.

Students enjoy the Homecoming Pep Assembly fun,

prior to the football game.

Junior and Senior girls competed in the annual Powder

Puff game.

Key Dates

6

School News

Lake Orion Community Schools was named a "District of Distinc-

tion" by District Administration magazine for its Kindergarten

Reading Early Intervention Program, launched two years ago. It

pairs full-time reading interventionists with teachers in Lake Ori-

on's 24 kindergarten classrooms to boost early literacy of the dis-

trict's youngest students. Earlier this year, the reading program

was honored by The Oakland Press/Oakland Schools and Michi-

gan School Board Association. Congratulations to Julie Gutman,

Jillian Knapp, and Tammy Oberle for their outstanding work.

LO Schools Earns "District of

Distinction" Honors for Read-

ing Intervention Program

LOHS Teacher Named Marketing Educator of the Year

Earlier this fall, the Michigan

Marketing Educators Associa-

tion recognized Lake Orion

marketing instructor Julia Dal-

rymple as this year’s Dr. Louis

R. Graziano Outstanding Mar-

keting Educator Award winner.

This award annually recognizes

an educator who manages an

outstanding marketing educa-

tion program. Award recipients

have made significant contribu-

tions toward improving and

promoting marketing education

in their communities and through

professional association activities and leadership. She also

advises the high school’s DECA program.

Recognizing there are less fortunate in our community, students

and staff at Carpenter and Webber Elementary Schools conduct-

ed canned food drives at their schools in November to support

the food pantries at Remnant Project Ministries (Community of

Christ Church in Lake Orion) and Oxford/Orion FISH, respectively.

Combined, the two schools gathered more than 8,500 items for

the food pantries, to be distributed to families in need this holi-

day season. Both of the food pantries accept food and monetary

donations throughout the year.

Elementary Schools

Conduct Successful Food

Drives

Julia Dalrymple receives

her state award.

Carpenter Elementary’s student council spearheaded the

school’s food drive.

Pine Tree Math Night

Pine Tree Elementary partnered with Kroger this fall to host the school's second annual math night for students and families. The event provided opportunities to apply math skills and concepts in real-life situations and support parents' understanding of the math strategies their children are learn-ing.

7

Jon Gray’s 8th grade science students at Waldon Middle School have a special guest this year whose origins date back 36 million years. His classes are raising a baby sturgeon whose looks have not changed much since prehistoric times, according to biolo-gists. The threated fish specimen was delivered to the school in October by the Sturgeons for Tomorrow conservation group. Only seven schools in the state were selected to raise a sturgeon in their classrooms this year. This is the second year in a row that Waldon was selected to participate in the sturgeon program. The sturgeon was hatched in the spring, 15 cm long when Mr. Gray took over its care. Mr. Gray feeds the sturgeon blood worms a couple of times daily. The tank’s water quality is critical to the sturgeon’s health and students test it on a regular basis. He said this project is helping expose students to man’s impact on the environment, specifical-

ly how over-fishing, habitat loss and climate change can hurt sturgeon. The fish should grow another couple of centimeters during its visit, before it is picked up in May by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and released into Lake St. Clair or Black Lake. Sturgeon can live up to 100 years in their natural environment. Gray’s classes also are raising salmon fry, which will be released into the Clinton River this spring.

Waldon Middle School Raises Prehistoric Sturgeon

Santa Makes Early Stop to Visit Special Education Students

Special Education students from throughout the district enjoyed a surprise visit from Santa Claus in early December, thanks to the Lake Orion Lions Club. The service organization hosted it’s fourth annual holiday party for the kids, complete with food, Christmas carols and gifts for everyone. “We truly appreciate the Lions Club and their volunteers for their hard work in hosting the party again this year,” said Julie Gutman, director of Special Education. “The smiles on our student’s faces and their excitement when they had the chance to meet Santa were priceless.”

Science teacher Jon Gray and students, left to

right: Madalyn White, Mr. Gray, Madison Eaton, Felix

Partington and Thomas Darroch.

The young sturgeon visiting Waldon.

Jessica Loxley-Smith, Teacher Jamie

Pastwa and Evaline Paquette.

Teacher Brad Thomas and Kevin

McCloskey.

Gavin Marchewka receives a gift from

Santa Claus.

8

Fine Arts

Lake Orion senior Alexis Sargent was named to the

National Association for Music Education’s National

Honor Choir in October. She is one of only two stu-

dents from Michigan to be selected this year and the

first ever from Lake Orion High School. Sargent was a

member of the All-State choir last year. She per-

formed with the National Honor Choir in Nashville. In

related news, eight other high school choir students

were selected to the Michigan School Vocal Music

Association’s regional honors choir. They include Tyler

Dick, Julia Donaven, Philip Dunckley, Lindsey Eveland,

Athena

Gray,

Kathryn

Linehan,

Laura

Pavliscak

and

Spencer

Walters.

November was a busy month for the Lake Orion High School march-

ing band and flag corps. The group first competed in the D1 state

championships at Ford Field and finished in fourth place, less than a

half point out of second. After two weeks of practice, the Dragons

traveled to the Bands of America Grand National Championship,

held at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. The band’s performance

was considered to be its best of the year by director Mike Steele and

parents in attendance, but Lake Orion did not qualify for the semi-

finals. The band recently performed in Lake Orion’s Holiday Parade.

Marching Band and Flag Corps Compete in State Finals, National Competition

The U.S. Army All-

American Marching Band

selected Lake Orion sen-

ior Phoebe Holmes to

join its 2015 team. Army

representatives visited

the high school this fall

for a special ceremony to

recognize her achieve-

ment in front of family,

friends, band director

Mike Steele and fellow

students. Holmes, who will play the piccolo in the band, was picked from

among thousands of students around the country who auditioned during

their junior year to be a member of this very exclusive, 125-member en-

semble. This was the second consecutive year a Lake Orion senior was se-

lected. Last fall, senior Melanie Bryce was selected to perform with the

band’s color guard. The U.S. Army All-American Marching Band will per-

form at the 2015 All-American Bowl football game in San Antonio, Texas,

on January 3, 2015, at 1 p.m. It features some of the top high school senior

football players in the country.

Phoebe Holmes with U.S. Army Representa-

tives at Lake Orion High School.

Lake Orion Senior Named to Prestigious U.S. Army All-American Marching Band

National Honor Choir Selects Lake Orion Senior Alexis Sargent

Alexis Sargent with choir director Bryce

Thompson.

Band Members prior to their performance in Indianapolis.

9

Athletics

National Honor Choir Selects Lake

The eighth grade girls basketball team at

Oakview Middle School went undefeated

this fall, finishing with an unblemished 12-0

record. This was the second straight year

this group of athletes did not lose on the

court. According to coach Steve Roberts,

this was the first athletic team in the dis-

trict’s history to go undefeated two years in

a row.

Dragon Volleyball Team Finishes with Most Wins

The Lady Dragons, ranked No. 4 (Class A) in

the state at the end of the regular season,

completed the program’s best regular season

in school history, compiling a 59-11-2 mark.

After finishing second in the OAA Red to rival

Clarkston, the team lost to the Wolves in the

district finals.

Boys Soccer Team Enjoys Success

Oakview Girls Basketball Team Goes Undefeated for Second

Straight Year This fall, the Lake Orion boys’ soccer team

enjoyed its best season in several years,

finishing with a 15-3-1 record (9-2-1 OAA

White) before losing to Utica Eisenhower in

the first round of the MHSAA D1 State

Playoffs. The Dragons were led by senior

Richard Doll, who scored 16 goals.

Girls reigned at the college athletic schol-

arship signing ceremony in November,

with several inking national letters of

intent to play sports at the next level.

They included Lydia Mattar, swimming,

Saginaw Valley State University; Bethany

Abramczyk, swimming, Oakland Universi-

ty; Danielle Kudla, swimming, Wayne

State University; Rachel Dolland, softball,

University of Michigan - Dearborn; and

Katie Raker, lacrosse, Asbury College,

Kentucky.

Lady Dragon Athletes Sign Scholarship Letters

The 2014 Lady Dragons golf team fell just short of winning the MHSAA D1 State Title in October,

finishing in second place behind East Kentwood High School. Lake Orion was led by sophomore

Moyea Russell, who finished in eighth place overall. Earlier in the fall, the girls golf team cap-

tured county and first-ever regional titles. Individually, Russell was named to the 2014 All-State Team and Lauren Danielson received All-

State Honorable Mention honors. Sam Fox was named to the All-State Academic Team, while Torri Basso received All-State Academic

Honorable Mention recognition. Lake Orion took All-State Academic Team Honors with a team average 3.75 G.P.A.

Lake Orion Girls Golf Team Dominates Season, Finishes Second in State

Lake Orion’s girls swim team finished in

seventh place at the MHSAA D1 State

Swimming and Diving Championships in

November, the best showing in the

school’s history. The Dragons’ state

team included seniors Bethany

Abramczyck, Danielle Kudla and Lydia

Mattar; juniors Kirstyn Abbasse, Natalie

Zainea and Nicole Horvath; sophomores

Sarah Hennings, Amanda Keller and Zoe

Quinn; and freshman Eliana Ritt. Individ-

ually Abramczyk received All-State hon-

ors in the 200 and 500 freestyle, plus 400

freestyle relay. Mattar received state

honors in the 100 breaststroke and

placed 13th in the 200 individual medley.

Kudla received state honors in the 400

freestyle relay. Abbasse received state

honors in the 200 and 500 freestyle

events, plus 400 freestyle relay. Hen-

nings received state honors in the 100

butterfly and the 400 freestyle relay.

Girls Swim Team Sets New Mark

Lake Orion cross country runners once again

led the field this fall. After capturing its fifth

consecutive OAA Red league title and the

regional championship, the boys team par-

ticipated in the 2014 MHSAA State Finals at

Michigan International Speedway, finishing

in 19th place (Division 1). Senior Andrew

Lorant took eighth place overall. The Lady

Dragons finished in third place this year in

OAA Red league competition and qualified

for the state finals by taking third place at

the regional meet. The girls’ team finished

in 22nd place (Division 1).

LO Cross Country Teams Go to States

10

Spotlight

LAKE ORION’S MIDDLE SCHOOL CONCEPT

Middle school can be very challenging for a student, both from an aca-

demic and social perspective. That is why Lake Orion’s unique Middle

School Concept that focuses on making a big school seem small is so

beneficial to the development of the district’s adolescent students in

sixth through eighth grades.

The cornerstone of our Middle School Concept is its unique team ap-

proach. A group of 4-5 educators in the core subject areas of math,

science, social studies and English work closely together during the

year to coordinate teaching activities and explore cross-curricular

learning opportunities with approximately 100 students. The schools

also offer a number of extracurricular classes in world language, music

and the fine arts.

This team approach differs considerably from the traditional approach

of many middle schools that more closely mimic junior high buildings

where a group of teachers may be responsible for 600 or more stu-

dents with little personal attention. Lake Orion’s team-based approach

also helps staff more quickly identify students who may be

struggling academically or socially.

“Lake Orion’s Middle School Concept doesn’t allow kids to fall

through the cracks,” said Oakview Middle School Principal

John Bernia. “There’s at least one adult, usually more, that

really gets to know every student and advocate for their

needs.”

Scripps Middle School Principal Dan Haas concurred adding,

“When teachers work so close with a group of students every

day, they naturally gain a better understanding of how each

learns, as well as their emotional needs and concerns.”

In addition, all three middle schools offer students a curricu-

lum support period for math and reading, staffed by teachers.

It replaces an elective class on a student’s schedule.

“This curriculum support period is another unique part of our

schools that has proven to be very helpful to students who risk

falling behind academically,” said Waldon Middle School Prin-

cipal Randy Groya.

Principal Bernia noted that parents occasionally approach him

and explain how they struggled in middle school. They all

share their appreciation for how Lake Orion’s schools work

hard to help their children avoid the same fate.

The Middle School Concept also benefits students who excel in

the classroom, Bernia said. Teachers work together to adjust

the curricu-

lum as nec-

essary to

keep these

students

engaged and

motivated

throughout

the year.

Given the

age and ma-

turity differ-

ences of

Middle school students are separated by grade during much of the

Students listen to a classmate’s presentation.

11

sixth and eighth graders, all three middle school buildings are designed

to separate the students within reason. When Oakview opened in 2002,

it was designed to not only keep the grades apart, but also place the

teams of teachers and students together. Scripps and Waldon under-

went extensive renovations during this time, as well, to meet these

needs.

“We recognize there’s a big difference in sixth graders talking about car-

toons and some eighth graders looking for their first jobs,” Principal Ber-

nia said. “In a true middle school like ours, there aren’t a lot of opportu-

nities for older students to mingle with the younger ones. It’s a lot easi-

er for teachers to manage a hallway, rather than an entire school.”

If a student does get in trouble, the relationships forged between a

team’s teachers and their students play an important role in helping kids

learn from their mistakes and not repeat them.

“If a student makes a poor decision or starts to stray, we’re

structured in such a way that they do not get lost,” Principal

Groya said. “Our teams notice what is going on and we have

conversations with the students much earlier. We’d rather

see a student make a mistake here than in high school.”

To Principal Haas’ knowledge, there are no other middle

schools in the county that offer a middle school program

quite like Lake Orion’s and he appreciates the district’s com-

mitment.

“To execute our Middle School Concept effectively takes

time and resources, primarily additional staffing,” he said.

“Our administration’s willingness to continually support it

does not go unnoticed. Fortunately, I think we’re making a

big, positive difference in these students’ academic and so-

cial experiences as they prepare to thrive in high school.”

Standardized test results support this approach. In 2014, all

three Lake Orion middle schools scored higher than the na-

tional average on the EXPLORE/ACT assessment in every

testing category (English, math, reading and science).

Lake Orion’s middle school principals (left to right): Randy Groya, John Bernia and Dan Haas.

Band is an elective class at the middle school level.

All three middle school offer world language classes.

Technology is integrated into many classes.

12

Around the District