Shorian Nation eNews
January 11th, 2021
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Newsletter Overview
Within this Shorian Nation eNews, you will review mental health matters week, current building schedules, positivity project, CDC reminders, and stories highlighting inspiration, innovation, and celebration.
We are committed to keeping you informed as we confront COVID-19 together. If you have any questions regarding COVID-19 as it pertains to school and your needs, please email covid19help@lsps.org.
Mental Health Matters Week
Our 1st inaugural Mental Health Matters Week, running January 11th-15th, is where Lake Shore Public Schools and our local partners teamed up to spread awareness about the importance of mental health and to celebrate the resilience in you.
To kick off our week, Senior President Lexi Batayeh and members from Lake Shore High School’s Class of 2021 and Student Council leaders from Violet Elementary give pieces of advice through powerful lawn signs that will rotate in front of buildings.
Click here to view a week's worth of activities.
As an added bonus, we will be giving away smoothie gift cards by following these rules:
• Be a fan of our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/myLSPS
• Tag someone and share something positive about him/her
That’s it! You have 5 chances to win by participating everyday so begin brainstorm people to tag and compliments to give.
BONUS: Smoothie King is sponsoring a BOGO deal! LSPS will purchase the first smoothie for the winner and SK will gift the second to the tagged person! It truly a buy one, gift one deal.
Building Schedules
To access building-specific schedules, including start and end times, reference this link and follow the current schedules linked below:
Lake Shore High School
Hybrid and Virtual Schedules
North Lake High School
S1 Overview
Hybrid Schedule
Virtual Schedule
Kennedy Middle School
Masonic Heights, Rodgers, Violet Elementaries
Hybrid Schedule
Positivity Project
Under the guiding principles of our districtwide initiative, the Positivity Project, the #PositivityinAction mindset is our top priority. These past two weeks we focused on the character strengths of SELF CONTROL and OPTIMISM.
People with the character strength of self control have the ability to control their emotions and behaviors. They think before they act.
Creating responsible gun owners and avid fans of Michigan's great outdoors is exactly what Trap Club affords our students. This team consistently measures their progress, learns how to manage stress, prioritizes things, and forgives themselves for mistakes and moves on. These are ways to improve self control and achieve ambitious goals.
The Trap Club, which includes 20 participants, 3 from Kennedy Middle School, visits Richmond Sportsman Club in Columbus to practice shooting shotguns. The goal is to hit as many targets (pigeons) as possible. Seniors Alena Lowry and Sierra Bonser have shot several perfect scores; The current team has a 6th grader who is finding success, too!
People with the character strength of optimism expect the best from the future and work to achieve it.
Optimism is a happiness magnet. If you stay positive, good things and good people will be drawn to you. On average, children laugh 400 times a day, while adults laugh about 15 times. The implication is that somehow people become too serious and lose the ability to laugh while growing up. We truly enjoy working with our youngest learners who choose joy and hope you will, too, as we continue to stay hopeful and flexible in 2021.
Congratulations to 4-year-old Ava as she has been selected to be featured on our banner advertisement, located on Harper.
2020 is throwing a lot of challenges our way. Tapping into our positive relationships and our character strengths, by demonstrating #PositivityInAction, will be critical in helping us be resilient and successful in the face of these tough times.
Looking forward, our upcoming character strengths are PRUDENCE (1/10-1/16) and PERSEVERANCE (1/17-1/23).
CDC Reminders
Take steps to care for yourself and help protect others at Lake Shore Public Schools and our community by practicing healthy habits to help slow the spread of COVID-19:
- Wear a mask
- Wash your hands for at least 20 seconds
- Clean and then disinfect frequently used surfaces
- Stay home if you’re sick
- Avoid touching your face
- Put space between yourself and others
Learn more about staying safe and healthy by visiting the CDC website.
Inspiration
Meet the Minor Family
DeShawn and Dana Minor and their two children Erin and DeShawn II are a Christian family that lives their life through optimism. From the virtual learning environment and the IEP process to SACC, lunch distribution, and community opportunities, their 9-year-old son DeShawn II is thriving in this new normal.
DeShawn II is a 4th grade student in Ms. Waldman's class at Masonic Heights Elementary. Additionally, he receives small group instruction with Ms. Materna and Mrs. Seeley to address gaps in learning. Utilizing the kitchen table as his learning space and surrounded by motivational posters and organizational schedules, DeShawn II works with little distraction.
His mom, Dana, is the best educational advocate for him. She keeps records and gathers information through regular communication, has built relationships with administrators like Dr. Lewis, Mr. Barranca, and Mr. Osterland to share DeShawn II's strengths and interests as well as get the support he needs. She claims that she doesn't want to seem like a commercial, but that everything has been done remarkably well for her child.
She proceeds to tell the story of how she chose Lake Shore as DeShawn II's School of Choice. "At Kindergarten Roundup, 5 year ago, we were impressed with the welcoming environment. The 5th graders were giving tours, the staff was knowledgeable about specific needs, and the feeling of comfort made this decision an easy one," she said.
Even though DeShawn II misses Mr. Osterland's in-person gym class, whole school assemblies, and conversations with classmates Blake and Nevah, he had a permanent smile from the positive, can-do moments. Examples include hikes on a local trail, hugs from his mom, and soccer and dance lessons at Rhythm-n-Jump Dance Academy. He was also proud to show off the district-provided instructional bag materials and DTE energy gadgets.
Thank you, Minor Family, for your refreshingly positive outlook on life. We are so fortunate to have DeShawn II as part of our Lake Shore family thanks to the open enrollment sticker you saw inside the local newspaper.
Serving Shorians
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:
Gratitude Letters for Believe Campaign
$1,084
https://www.facebook.com/myLSPS/posts/3938862702796344
Holiday Cards for Air Force Guardsman
392 cards
https://www.facebook.com/myLSPS/posts/4177958928886719
Adopt A Family
15 families, 41 children
https://www.facebook.com/myLSPS/posts/4185950411420904
Toys for Tots Drive
https://www.facebook.com/myLSPS/posts/4129161320433147
LSPS Free Santa Shop
https://www.facebook.com/myLSPS/posts/4189140054435273
Sending #myLSPSMascotMail Postcards
https://www.facebook.com/myLSPS/posts/3899266976755917
Giving Tree Winter Clothing Drive
https://www.facebook.com/KMSClippers/posts/4150891411606908
Bell Ringing
https://www.facebook.com/rodgerselementary/posts/428473088515380
Operation Gratitude Candy Donations for Troops
https://www.facebook.com/myLSPS/posts/3994086413940639
Blessing Bags and Nonperishable Food Items for Goodfellows
1,519 items inside 250 bags
https://www.facebook.com/myLSPS/posts/4126129427403003
In spite of the difficulties we have encountered, we want to remind you that your life is filled with blessings and your life is a blessing to others. More so than you will ever know. Perhaps this year more than any, take a moment to inventory all you have done for others and know that there is no greater gift than that of service, kindness, and generosity.
Innovation
Lake Shore Early Childhood Center Reopens
Built in 1950, our Lake Shore Early Childhood Center, formally known as Shores Child Care, has reopened its doors this week after months of renovations.
Let Your Child's Career with Lake Shore Begin with Us is the slogan we like to use as we welcomed families to our newly renovated childcare facility.
Upon entry, visitors feel connected to Lake Shore Public Schools and Saint Clair Shores because of the nautical themes in both the soft shades of blue color scheme, artifacts such as a piece of drift wood found in Whitefish Pointe, and thematic room names. This reflects the local city lifestyle and honors the schools inside Shorian Nation.
For example, the room names are as follows:
Infant room: Mini Clippers
Transition/Young Toddler room: Shorianettes
Toddler room: Maritime Mates
3-year-old Preschool room: Saint Clair Skippers
4-year-old Preschool room: Junior Mariners
Even our own Interior Design class at Lake Shore High School helped to decorate the lounge!
To learn more about the expansive facelift, visit https://www.facebook.com/myLSPS/posts/3876572142358734 or contact our Early Childcare Coordinator Kelly Biondo at kbiondo@lsps.org or (586) 285-8570 to enroll.
Band Performances Make Us Happy
Our Band students at Kennedy Middle School, under the direction of Mr. Bays, are rehearsing "Happy," an arrangement of the Pharrell Williams song.
At this early stage, they are focused on learning the correct notes and rhythms. This involves hearing specific instrument sections play by themselves, or even individual students playing by themselves, before putting it back in context with the whole group. They are also talking about the role each section has at any given time, whether they are the melody, a counter-melody, a harmony part, or accompaniment.
CELEBRATION
Celebrate the Small Win
Celebrating accomplishments, however small, is an important skill in life. Many of us are goal-setters and achievers. We recognize that these accomplishments are important, and it takes hard work to make them happen. After all, capturing small wins every day enhances motivation.
Our mascots are requesting that you submit a video clip of small victories. Examples may include:
-Earned black belt, or any color, in martial arts
-Learned how-to ride bike without training wheels
-Ran first 5K
-Lost first tooth
-Threw winning touchdown pass
We want to celebrate you. Please make sure we are informed the next time you reach a milestone by emailing social@lsps.org. We celebrated Alena Lowry, a 12th grader at Lake Shore High School. She won 1st place female in our conference for the Michigan High School Clay Target League Fall 2020 season!
Wellness is the act of practicing healthy habits on a daily basis to attain better physical and mental health outcomes, so that instead of just surviving, you're thriving. What small win have you accomplished lately?
P.S. When we reflect on wellness, we are always celebrating the accomplishments of our own. Alto Reed, the saxophone player for the Silver Bullet band (Bob Seiger and the Silver Bullet Band) passed away on December 30th. He was a 1966 graduate of Lake Shore High School. His real name is Thomas Cartmell.
Slurpee Surprises
Slurpee Surprises will be delivered to the Shorian Nation in 2021.
We continue to collaborate to improve the culture and climate by constantly recognizing individual students and staff for one or more character strengths.
Throughout the month, staff will nominate students for exhibiting P2 character strengths. Nomination forms and collection boxes are located inside the main office. In addition, students may nominate staff, too! Virtual teachers and students may email nominations to social@lsps.org.
On the last Monday of the month, randomly selected students and staff will be recognized with a Slurpee Surprise, our home delivery service.
Exhibit January's P2 character strengths of optimism, prudence, perseverance, and supporting others when they struggle. By doing so, you may earn yourself a Coke, Wild Cherry, or Blue Shock Mountain Dew flavored slurpee.
Miscellaneous
eNews
Connect With Shorian Nation
Email: social@lsps.org
Website: http://lakeshoreschools.org
Location: 28850 Harper Avenue, St. Clair Shores, MI 48081
Phone: (586) 285-8481
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/myLSPS/
Twitter: @myLSPS