The Highlighter - October 2023

• Bond Community Forum - October 24th (5:30pm) Oakview Elementary
• 7-12th Gr. Orchestra Fall Concert - October 24th (7:00pm) SJHS
  
• MS/HS Choir Concert: Fall - October 26th (7:00pm) SJHS
  
• November 10-12 HS Theatre Production of Mean Girls (Showtimes/Tickets)
• Mental Health Series - Depression - You're Not Alone - November 15th (6:30pm) Online

David Hufnagel is an essential member of the grounds team behind the scenes. His typical day involves mowing, cleaning up, maintaining ball fields, weed-whipping, and engaging in outdoor hard work. During the winter, part of his job becomes plowing snow to ensure parking lots and walkways are ready for students and staff. Every sporting event requires a lot of clean-up, which is a significant part of his role, as he ensures that the fields are ready for the next game.

Despite the hard work, David enjoys working outside, alongside a good group of people. He finds satisfaction in knowing that they are preparing and taking care of the fields and events that the community and students enjoy. David has been doing this for around four years and has been with the district for 15 years. He is a Redwing alumnus, graduated from St. Johns in 1982. David has worked in food service and custodial positions before joining the grounds team, and he continues to be a valuable asset to the team.

“He’s a great guy to have on staff! Every outdoor stadium and the parking lots are spotless because of David. He takes great pride in making sure things are in tip top shape.” Justin McConnell (Head of Grounds)

Click photos to follow links

Last week was National School Lunch Week! President John F. Kennedy created National School Lunch Week (NSLW) in 1962 to promote the importance of a healthy school lunch in a child’s life and the impact it has inside and outside of the classroom.

The SJPS theme of the week was Level Up. Kids love video games, so the food service team linked nutritious foods and video games for the week. "In so many video games, when a character is low on energy or health, what do they do? They power up by finding food items (Remember, it's the mushrooms that make Mario grow big and strong!)" There was also lucky trays during the week, where students had a chance to win prizes.

The highlight of the week may have been the guest servers, as Principals, teachers and even Superintendent Berthiaume were invited to serve lunch to students. Well done staff!

Each year the Redwing Marching Band honors Individuals that go above and beyond in their support of the band. Thank you to last night's honorees Alex Parsons and the founders of Uncle John's Cider Mill (Official Page), John and Carolyn Beck for all you do in support of our students.

Students in Mrs. Parker's class celebrated Constitution Day by writing the preamble with quill pens, antique looking paper, and by candlelight (battery powered candles). What a great way to make the preamble come to life!

The middle school book fair is always a great time! Thanks to Mrs. Slamka for organizing the event.

Homecoming Court

Freshman Homecoming Representatives: Akio Yang & Oakley Davis

Sophomore Homecoming Representatives: Nolan Koenigsknecht & Rachel Jackson

Junior Homecoming Representatives: Gabe D’Valentine & Miranda Bourne

Senior Homecoming Representatives:

Parker Beebee, Mark Bendele, Ryan Dimmick, Chris Kus & Jackson Wiseman

Myah Blanchard, Isabelle Branch, Josie Heystek, Payton Hutchinson & Lily Sackrider

We are thrilled to extend congratulations to our high school students on their outstanding performance in last year's AP testing! St. Johns High School students outperformed the national average with 81% of them achieving passing scores (3 or above), compared to 59% nationally. Keep up the fantastic work!

Principal Dobson was excited to present Senior Isabelle Branch with an award recognizing her as a Commended Student in the 2024 National Merit Scholarship Program! Isabelle plans to continue her education after high school and study Clinical Neuropsychology. "I really want to help people who are struggling with mental disorders and brain injuries". Isabelle hopes to attend Saginaw Valley State University for her undergraduate studies and the University of Michigan for her doctorate.

Click photos to follow links

The Redwings are your varsity volleyball CAAC Red Conference Champions! The team clinched the championship and were presented with the trophy tonight (Wednesday) at home after a 3-0 win over Eastern. The Redwings will travel to the Williamston Invitational on Saturday. Go Redwings!

"Schafer augmented a dominant season by finishing as the girls individual champion at the Greater Lansing Cross Country Championships on a rainy Saturday morning at Ledge Meadows Golf Course. She finished with a time of 18:32.5, which was just under 18 seconds ahead of runner-up Meghan Ford of Mason." Click the image to read the full article from the Lansing State Journal.

“We did it! St. Johns finished 3rd at their regional tournament and will be advancing to the State Tournament at Forest Akers East in two weeks!”

Leea Gorman makes par on the final hole to secure the teams spot and finished 4th individually (90). Sunni Devereaux’s (93) was good for 6th overall! Full Results

"Great Win... All sides of the team contributed to the success. Special Teams - Recovered 3 fumbles, Defense - 1 INT, only gave up 3 first downs all game, and a shutout 42-0, Offense put up our largest scoring output of the season." Coach Miller

38th - 200 Medley Relay 2:00.76 (pictured: Longoria, Schafer, Howell, Ott)

3rd - Ella Schafer 200 Freestlye 1:53.26 (broke own school record)

56th - AJ Longoria 50 Freestyle 26.32

54th - AJ Longoria 100 Freestlye 57.43

3rd - Ella Schafer 500 Freestyle 5:11.99

36th - 200 Freestyle Relay 1:46.80

The Redwings place 4th overall with Ty Wardin earning a silver medal at #2 singles and Cole Wardin and Elijah Schultz earning bronze at #2 doubles.

A shootout wasn’t enough to break the 2-2 tie in Grand Ledge. Parker Beebee makes the save, then Wes Schultz puts away the game winner in sudden death! Redwings win the CAAC Bronze Cup 3-2!

Redwings News (HS) - English department launches new course: Sports Literature Lead by Instructor, Barry Palmer, SJHS is offering a new elective in ELA. Per the syllabus, through the use of sports literature and other media forms, the primary objective is to develop a greater sensitivity to the world of sports and understand the relationship of sports and society.
The Middle School Minute - Buddy's Pals: SJMS has the opportunity to have educational assistance pets come in once a week to classrooms that sign up for having trained dogs come into the classroom.

Gateway North Newsletter - Redwing Rave Kickoff The Day of Awesomeness has a new name and the fundraiser will be lead by the Gateway/Oakview PTO.

The Eureka Elementary Orbit - Fun Run Fundraiser: Students will be participating in the Eureka Elementary School Fun Run Fundraiser. Each student will participate during their PE class and get the chance to run through an obstacle course Mr. Matulis has created.

Oakview South Newsletter - We are planning our first academic celebration for Tuesday, October 31st. The celebrations will take place right before the Halloween parties. This is an opportunity for you to engage in some math activities and games with your child and to learn more about what they are working on at school.