At this time of year, it feels most appropriate to share feelings of gratitude and admiration for the daily miracles and acts of kindness that take place in our community. This year, like so many others, we have witnessed these things day in and day out. We are blessed to be a part of something bigger than all of us, that collectively, we should all take pride in.

Watching our students, parents, and staff support one another when times are tough and taking great pride in celebrating our accomplishments when things are at their best is the Lake Shore way. You don’t have to look hard to find great examples of what it means to be a part of Lake Shore.

Giving back to the community is important to the Shorian Nation. These are several examples of ways our students and staff displayed generosity during this holiday season:

DISTRICT

• Gratitude Letters for Believe Campaign
• 1,993 letters totaling $3,936 for Make a Wish Michigan

• #ShinefromtheShores Tunnel of Lights Goodwill Messages

• Toy Drive/Cops for Kids
• Collected new, unwrapped toys

• Operation Gratitude Candy Donations
• 250 pounds of candy for Vietnam Veterans

• Nonperishable Food Drive for Goodfellows
• 2.5 tons or over 5,500 pounds collected

• Management Team Collected Donations for Goodfellows

• Holiday Community Performances
• 11 different groups sharing their musical talents

• Seasonal Cleanup
• 50+ lawns were raked with several "gifted," not signed up

• Free Thanksgiving Meals Delivered by Community Effort

The Shorian Nation came together to ensure the magic of the holidays were not lost for 146 children! Business members, alumni, civic groups, staff, and anonymous donors purchased gifts, gift cards, winter gear and grocery items for students and families that may have gone without this holiday season.

LAKE SHORE HIGH SCHOOL

• Big Family Foster Care
• NHS shopped and wrapped holiday gifts

• Lake Shore Community Closet
• 400 various toiletry items and 100 articles of clothing collected

KENNEDY MIDDLE SCHOOL

• The Lighthouse Outreach Program
• $3,460.43 cash donations to purchase 200+ toys

The Lake Shore Public Schools' Board of Education approved a $66.7 million no tax-rate increase bond proposal for the May 3rd, 2022 ballot and it passed!

Upgrades are coming to Lake Shore Public Schools classrooms. New furniture will be delivered this Summer and ready for the 2023 school year!

Lake Shore has a strong legacy of being excellent stewards of the community’s resources. We are committed to provide you with bond updates as we continue to prioritize our students' future.

• Bond Overview and Schedule
• Bond Updates
• Project List

To learn more about the bond proposal, please visit the Lake Shore Public Schools' website.

Under the guiding principles of our districtwide initiative, the Positivity Project, the #PositivityInAction mindset is our top priority. These past three weeks we focused on the character strengths of KINDNESS, OPM - Supporting others when they struggle, and SELF-CONTROL.

People with the character strength of kindness are generous to others and never too busy to help out. They enjoy doing good deeds for other people.

As goodwill effort, the Shorian Nation collected canned goods to donate to St. Clair Shores Goodfellows. Goodfellows is a longstanding Civic Organization with a mission to provide to St. Clair Shores residents who may find themselves in need.

We delivered these goods to the SCS Fire Station at 13 Mile and Greater Mack.

Earlier this month, Mr. Kelley, Spanish teacher at Lake Shore High School, was serenaded for 1 hour inside the cafeteria by a Mariachi Band for his birthday.

The entire lunch room erupted in applause. The $500 celebration was paid for through a month-long bake sale. Cecilia Beaver, Alfredo Caicedo, Ruby Fetko, Addyson Jackman, Megan Morell, Haley Perez, and Brooklyn VanHollebeke orchestrated this profound act of kindness.

In unison, they said the following: "Mr. Kelley has a special relationship with all of his students. He's our friend and his dad jokes are the best."

The fact that some of these students aren't actually his and have yet to take a Spanish class may be the most interesting part. Mr. Kelley has made a positive impact on everyone, in the hallway or in the classroom.

These same students supported Mr. Kelley at our Family Feud event, too!

People with the character strength of supporting others when they struggle means that when they see other people struggle, they help them if they can.

Assistant Principals Dr. Stevens and Mr. Gaffigan, with support from Dean of Students Mr. Puvalowski are known for the implementation of disciplinary actions, but they serve in a much larger capacity than this negative generalization.

Building relationships with students and staff is Priority #1. They are the voice behind a supportive phone call, the patience behind a tough conversation that explores the whys of a behavior, and the perspective we all need to experience when sharing important information. In addition, they constantly point out successes, focusing on praise rather than failure. This empathic approach is a proven method to inspire others to see their own potential.

Thank you, Dr. Stevens, Mr. Gaffigan, and Mr. Puvalowski for the scheduled meetings, messages on Schoology, and quest for zero disciplinary issues. You are the difference!

People with the character strength of self control have the ability to control their emotions and behaviors. They think before they act.

Meet Skylar Smith.

She's a Senior at North Lake High School who went from being unfocused in her education to buckling down and turning everything around. This description, provided by Mrs. Karwowski, is the reason why the leadership team selected her for this highlight.

Skylar describes herself as a chill person who doesn't allow drama into her life. But sometimes being too easygoing creates an appearance of not caring about school.

This put her in a credit deficient situation at a local district. She knew that she needed something different. Her mom, Sara Lutzky, took the initiative to contact NLHS and enroll her in this alternative high school. Sara also enrolled several year prior in this type of school and went on to receive her diploma. She knew her daughter could find similar success.

The small environment and caring teachers have made the move worth it. Skylar said, "Mrs. Pearl is such a good listener. I really enjoy her Science class and our conversations about Interior Design."

Because of Skylar's newfound drive, she can no longer be seen in the halls at North Lake. Instead, she is finishing just two classes online and will graduate in May.

Senior friend Josh Schnieder is so proud of Skylar. "She's caring, she'd be there for anyone, and she even chose Summer School to make sure she got the credits she needed to graduate. She makes the right choices when she needs to."

It is clear that her peers look up to her as she was named Prom Queen earlier this year.

Looking forward, our upcoming character strengths are Optimism (1/2-1/6) and Prudence (1/9-1/13).

It's not about having time. It's about making time. Sometimes giving isn't about the gift of things, but simply the gift of your presence.

Strong reading skills are a critical component of future success. The foundation we build in our elementary core reading instruction prepares students for success in college and career. Our district strives to assist all students with their development of essential reading skills through a process that builds independent readers and effective communicators.

Ms. Buzun-Miller, Mrs. Chauvin, Mrs. Fergusson, Mrs. Kemner, Ms. Parenteau, Mrs. Tharme's students from Lake Shore High School sleighed their way over to Masonic Heights Elementary, Rodgers Elementary, and Violet Elementary. Why? To read their favorite holiday stories and spread the season's cheer!

Our high school students enjoyed the chance to reminisce on their time in elementary. Thank you to Ms. Maher, Mrs. Kiefer, Ms. Domagalski, Ms. Habrowski, Mrs. Manor, Mrs. Wiseman, Ms. Lynch, Mrs. Salem, and Mrs. Stasyk's classes across the district for being such good boys and girls!

The 1st grade students were able to enjoy some of their favorite books! One student, Joseph Quinn, enjoyed talking to the kids. "It was a change of pace and a chance to read my favorite holiday books." The high school and elementary students were all able to enjoy wonderful holiday stories.

Junior Ayden Heuer enjoyed this visit. He said, "It was festive and I loved indulging in my childhood." His partner, Amelia Watkins, was engaged the entire 45 minutes.

Once finished, elementary students wrote the book titles on a chain to track all of the 154 books they were able to collectively accomplish! When the 7 members of our Board of Education meet, they will see this impressive chain!

A special thank you to District Elementary Librarian Mrs. Kraus for assisting with the organization of this annual event.

We wanted to share our Wax Museum at Masonic Heights Elementary, an exhibition of wax dummies, typically representing famous people and fictional characters, to the community. We are forever fans of these current and historical people and these incredible 4th graders.

Requirements were similar for the research and speech portions which included the name of person, date of birth, place of birth, and date of death if passed on, a famous quote, family and childhood information, major accomplishments, and interesting information.

Students presented their biographical speeches to a live audience, sharing their research and wardrobe in-person.

There was a beautiful variety of people including Mozart, Lucille Ball, and George S. Patton. The stories behind the selections were interesting, too. Marissa Scaramuzzino loves singing and dancing which prompted her Mozart selection. Maevaly Smith is a fan of the I Love Lucy American sitcom and could rattle off several facts about Lucille including that her hair isn't really red. Weston Krywko's favorite subject in school is History and his interest in WWI and WWII contributed to his selection of General George S. Patton. In his speech, he quoted Patton: "If a man does his best, what else is there?"

We asked Weston if he always gave his best and his answer was honorable. "Of course!"

His parents, Matthew and Ashley Krywko, were in attendance. They shared, "It had to have taken him atleast 10 hours of creating the speech and board, and practicing. He really worked hard and learned how-to research. To see him sharing his speech with everyone was amazing."

The best part may have been something that may have never been shared or celebrated at all. That is until his parents informed us about Weston's trouble with speech.

"He was part of our Speech class since Kindergarten. Speech teacher Ms. Catenacci provided the instruction and confidence needed graduate from the class and create such a high-caliber presentation," they said.

Ms. Catenacci is so proud of Weston. She described him as dedicated to progressing, to be better and do better. We also believe Ms. Cat, as staff and students refer to her, is an accomplished teacher who uses narrative language retelling and teaches social language through small group activities and games.

Relationships are at the core of everything we do.

In Mrs. Bloomhuff and Mrs. Thomas' classes at Masonic Heights Elementary, students read the book titled The Best Part of Me by Wendy Ewald and discussed their "best parts" and reasons for those selections.

Students chose many different body parts. Anthony "AJ" Anderson selected his skin because it is a reminder of his mom and dad. Zoey Winbigler appreciates her grayish blue eyes that she inherited from her grandmother. Xavier Richardson picked his mouth for two reasons. First, he loves to talk, but more importantly, he wouldn't be able to eat his leftover Big Mouth Burger from Chilis, which he was looking forward to devouring at lunch.

Awarded the titled of Personal Best was Audrey Palmer for her heart. She described herself as very nice and caring, perfect characteristics for our #OtherPeopleMatter mindset. Audrey said, "It is not what you look like that's important. It is how you act." Big thoughts from this elementary kid!

Opinion writing is an important part of 4th grade and we are convinced that the authors have some very special qualities!

Bonus: The following Shorians from Lake Shore High School had the opportunity to participate in the 2022 MSBOA District XVI Honors Band hosted over at Dakota.

Christina Cantin – Trombone

Jason Carr – Percussion

Lilly Benson - Clarinet

Alexis Gress – Trumpet

Mariah Swanson – Trombone

These student-musicians rehearsed at Dakota High School with students from around Macomb & Oakland Counties in preparation for a Concert.

The best part of them? We cannot decide because they are fantastic, but their aptitude for music would certainly be a top choice.

We learned about open hunting season through Declan Haggart, a 4th grader at Rodgers Elementary. We cannot make any promises that Rudolph wasn't injured in the process.

During Ms. Champine's morning meeting, Declan shared his love for hunting, proudly displayed by the jacket he wore. In his first year of this discovery, Declan enjoyed how excited he got when his dad, Alex, shot a buck. "It gets my blood pumping!"

But before this encounter in the woods occurred, there's preparation. He would wake up at 4:30am, drive an hour and a half to their hunting property in Jackson county. "We would find a quiet, peaceful spot, climb into the tree stand and wait," he said. It could take 5 minutes or 5 hours to spot a deer, but that part didn't matter. He remained optimistic that he would see one.

He enjoys eating all kinds of venison including beef jerky, beef sticks, and burger patties.

But he loves something even more than both venison and hunting: His dad. "He is a private boat captain and takes me hunting. He is the best."

Students reveal information about themselves in a fun way that require both active listening and speaking skills during their morning meetings. We love how our students, at all levels, use this informal activity as a way to share their passions (and weekends) with friends like those in the additional photos from Violet Elementary.

We are inspired by this next generation's efforts to build a future where people and nature thrive. How does Lake Shore put in the work to create a better world?

Mrs. Boren, Ms. D'Ambrosio, and Ms. Hoover's Kindergarten classes raised money to help protect the future of nature. Their symbolic wombat named French Fry, elephant named Eddie, and Snowy Owl named Bella are "class pets," secured by donations to the World Wildlife Fund to protect these animals and their habitats. Students enjoyed keeping track of their monetary donations through a graph, meeting their goal, and hugging their stuffed, mail-ordered friend.

These animals will spend their weekends with a student. Upon their return to school on Monday, presentations will be shared about those Saturday and Sunday adventures which may include new people he meets, places he travels, and things he does.

What a great way to meet comprehension, collaboration, and presentation of knowledge and ideas benchmarks!

Bonus: Mrs. Fain's MiCI students help make the world a better place by running a weekly recycling of aluminum, plastic, and fiber at Lake Shore High School; We are currently ranked #5 in Michigan for our Recycling Rally program through Pepsi Co. Currently, our school has recycled enough energy to power a house for an entire year!

Animals, nature, and the environment are all important in our district. Check out the many Lake Shore schools that made Macomb County's Green School list.

Bonus: Students at Rodgers Elementary are putting the I in KIND. They continue to make this world a better place!

We are appreciative of Mr. Mazzola's Building Renovations students for solving a problem.

Science lab equipment allows students to interact directly with the data gathered. They get a first-hand learning experience by performing various experiments on their own. In Mrs. Kemner's Forensics class at Lake Shore High School, students used microscopes to magnify an object to look at it in detail.

In the Forensics field, they can use a comparison microscope to compare bullets found at a crime scene with bullets that are test fired from weapons collected from persons of interest.

Mrs. Kemner said, "At $1,000 or more per device, they are a bit too expensive to have for just one unit of study. So, doing any ballistic comparisons are often simulated."

She continued, "I belong to a Forensics Teachers group on FB and one of the teachers there created a device to simulate a comparison microscope. Mr. Mazzola and Luke Baier, Chris Celli, and Mason Darling were kind enough to work on creating devices for our students to use."

Senior Reijah Taylor observed, "I noticed that zooming in at different magnifications, from 40x to 100x, resulted in my natural black hair color turning brown and auburn."

High school students looked at human hair, animal fur, and clothing fibers under microscopes to see similarities and differences. They also conducted fiber burn tests to see how various natural and synthetic fibers react to a flame.

Junior Cayden Stacy enjoyed this lab because he had the opportunity to play with fire and see how natural and synthetic fibers reacted to it.

Bonus: At North Lake High School, students displayed their plant and animal cell projects!

We want to know what kind of Geologic Island you would create.

In Mr, Gillick and Mr. Pellerito's classes at Kennedy Middle School, 6th graders chose an island and built their own vacation retreat. But first, they researched the various islands and their geology to ensure their selection would last.

They had the choice of creating it in Google slides or a poster and sharing the following project requirements: a map, evidence with supporting facts of the type of plate boundary, seismic and volcanic activity, where freshwater is located, the type of soil, and more.

We encountered Lilo Iloway, Kangaroo Island, and Island HelZ'el. The groups described these islands as tropical, had the best bedrock, and built based on earthquake considerations. Mason Mertien loved this project. "I get to work with my friends and be creative."

In addition to building the island itself, teamwork counted as a grade. Treating others with respect, meeting deadlines, and contributing ideas are all important parts of this project, too!

Our Lake Shore Night at Blossom Heath's Tunnel of Lights was a success thanks to the attendance of our students, families, and community. We enjoyed listening to our 3rd graders from Violet Elementary perform, visiting our #ShinefromtheShores media station featuring mascots and recording feel-good messages. These messages will be released, in video compilation, on New Years day!

Bonus: We also appreciate our selfless helpers from across the district.

Senior Carlie Chamberlain recorded seasons greetings at Blossom Heath! We had several others who dressed as our mascots for the evening.

Fourth graders assisted their 1st grade friends from Violet Elementary with a turkey project. Seasonal assignments need more helping hands.

Recruiting elementary and middle school students for Lake Shore High School choir with a Choir Tour Day was our mission today. Every child who wants to learn music should get the experience and Lake Shore offers robust programs.

Students need to be shown choir, told about its activities and benefits, and convinced that music is an option for them by giving the kids a chance to see it in action while witnessing performances. By listening to musicians sing popular songs in front of a live audience, everyone was able to learn more about these exciting exploratory classes.

Sophomore Lauren Maciejewski loved being a part of today. She commented, "Doing the choir tour means so much to me because this is something that I have been wanting to do since I was in Kindergarten. The reason why I joined choir was to do what I am doing right now, touring the different elementary schools and hopefully encouraging more students to join choir. Singing and performing during this time feels like Christmas to me. "

Please enjoy a few holiday songs from the assembly such as This Christmas, A Very Merry Christmas, Run Rudolph Run, Last Christmas, In Winter, and Carol of the Bells.

In addition, these 27 Choir students made a special stop at American House to share their voices with residents.

Our three encore choir performances at American House were a huge hit!

We appreciate Mrs. Fain, Mrs. Elkins, and Mrs. Wischmeyer's students from Lake Shore High School and Masonic Heights Elementary for sharing your love of music with residents. Even Senior Maria Mitchell's friends' parent and resident, Mrs. Yandell, was able to watch!

Life Enrichment Coordinator, Rae Smith, reflected on what these performances have meant to her residents. "It is just so special! The residents really look forward to seeing the kids and being able to singalong to the Christmas classics! It is both exciting and nostalgic," she said.

Lake Shore Public Schools finds creative ways to connect with American House every year. From trick-or-treating on Halloween and participating in Bingo on 100s Day to caroling around the holidays and asking for life advice from Seniors, our students continue to build relationships with our elderly friends.

Our Advanced Art class shined a light on women's issues by participating in the American Association of University Women Grosse Pointe's Listen to Women, a juried art contest and exhibit. Participation was open to artists ages 13-19, 2D and 3D works welcome. Tresa Baldas, a journalist for 34 years covering legal and social justice issues at many papers, served as the juror.

Congratulations to the following students who placed in this competition and enjoy reading through these descriptions of their pieces:

Julian Smith

1st Place: Women Life Freedom - $200 cash prize

Medium: mixed media

Description: I made an art piece directed towards the theme “Listen to Women”, my art piece is about the protests happening in Iran. The box is to symbolize the connection between what is happening in Iran and the rest of the world, the government has turned off Iran’s internet so they could no longer contact the outside world for help. The bloody hand prints on the outside of the box represent the women who have died because of this massacre.

Faith Lowry

3rd Place: Magic Number - $100 cash prize

Medium: ink and watercolor

Description: My piece ‘Magic Number’ focuses on the disregarding of young women's identities when they turn 16, with many interpreting the age of consent law as an invitation to label girls as objects of sexual desire for men. In order to see the girl’s identity you must look past the label she has been given.

Honorable Mentions: Ava Edalski, Gillian Fortune, and Elisa Henry

Congratulations to our December Smoothie Surprise Positivity Project Honorees:

Lake Shore Early Childhood Center

1. Dylan Jemison: Love

Masonic Heights Elementary

1. Jax Davis - Being Present and giving others my attention

2. Michael Patterson - Love of Learning

3. Ava Scott - Open-Mindedness

Rodgers Elementary

1. Hannah Livings - Leadership

2. Layla Foster - Kindness

3. Erin O’Shee - Friendship

Violet Elementary

1. Lauren Adkins - Bravery

2. Riyan Bonner - Love

3. Raymond Rush - Creativity

Kennedy Middle School

1. Nicko Pliva - Honesty

2. Josephine Zimmerman - Enthusiasm

3. Cade Molesworth - Gratitude

4. Mateo Vasili - Humility

Lake Shore High School

1. Sam Holloway - Kindness

2. Jayvon Jernigan - Kindness

3. Josiah Toma - Teamwork

4. Destiny Herod - Funny

5. Cali Herod - Perseverance

6. Logan Kutschke - Kindness

North Lake High School

1. Rainna Hatton - Kindness

Thank you, building principals, for your sweet deliveries! Because of Store Owner Tony Zarife's generosity from EOS Cafe and Coffee House, these are FREE smoothies! Yes, you read that correctly. A naughty Elf escaped from Santa's shop and stole all of the Slurpees, but EOS is our hero and replaced them with smoothies!

We have built a new online home for our athletic department. Our goal is to bring our athletic programs to life by sharing schedules, scores, and social media while ensuring our athletes get the promotion they deserve. Visit the Shorian Sports website for 24/7/365 access to the information you have always wanted and follow along with our sports action.

Enjoy this story featuring our Unified Hockey team!

We have partnered with Kroger to help fund our athletics. Please read this letter from our Athletic Coordinator Rich Bowers.

We are proud to share that all headshots for Winter sports have been uploaded to the website!

Congratulations to AOTW Brendan Dreisbach, goalie for our Saint Clair Shores Unified Hockey team. Coach Nick Radjewski shared these standout-stats with us:

"Brendan is 2-0 with only one goal allowed so far early on in the season. Brendan helped us defeat Bishop Foley 8-0 and Grosse Pte North 6-1. He’s made 27 saves on 28 shots against."

Congratulations to AOTW Madison Foster, member of the KMS Competitive Cheer team at Kennedy Middle School. Coach Alyssa Belanger shared her contributions with us:

"Madison has been apart of the program now for 3 years! She has been nothing but a ball of light to the team as well as an astonishing leader to her peers! With this year being her last with me as her coach I can see her willingness to do just about anything she puts her mind to and doesn’t let anything get in her way!"

Congratulations to AOTW Isobel Wharff, member of the Varsity Wrestling team at Lake Shore High School. Coach Stephen Hendershot shared his reason for her nomination with us:

"Isobel is currently ranked 10th in the state in the 125 class in the girls division for wrestling."

Congratulations to AOTW Joshua Sewell, member of the 7th grade Basketball team at Kennedy Middle School. Coach Bob Plotkowski shared these standout-stats with us:

"Josh scored 12 points in our opening game win and then followed up by scoring 13 points in our second game of the season."

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Lake Shore Public Schools will provide an exceptional education for all 3,339 students in a safe and nurturing environment.

Our guiding principles, Inspiration, Innovation, Celebration, are woven into the fabric of everything we do and will be the focus of every update. Expect an eNews email biweekly update as a reliable way to communicate with our stakeholders.

Email: social@lsps.org
Website: http://lakeshoreschools.org
Location: 28850 Harper Avenue, St. Clair Shores, MI 48081
Phone: (586) 285-8481
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Twitter: @myLSPS