Grand Blanc High School
Newsletter ~ May 2016
Parental Support
A Message From Dr. Hammond
Dear Parents,
As the Class of 2016 makes preparations for the commencement ceremony I thought it fitting to share with you a graduation speech from 1995. I believe much of the advice still rings true today, 21 years later (well maybe not #4—you’ll have to google that one yourself). Congratulations to the Class of 2016, may you make this world a little better than how you found it!
"10 Ways to Avoid Mucking Up the World Any Worse Than It Already Is"
One: Bend down once in a while and smell a flower.
Two: Don’t go around in clothes that talk. There is already too much talk in the world. We’ve got so many talking people there’s hardly anybody left to listen. With radio and television and telephones we’ve got talking furniture. With bumper stickers we’ve got talking cars. Talking clothes just add to the uproar. If you simply cannot resist being an incompetent klutz, don’t boast about it by wearing a tee shirt that says ‘underachiever and proud of it.’ Being dumb is not the worst thing in the world, but letting your clothes shout it out loud depresses the neighbors and embarrasses your parents.
Point three follows from point two, and it’s this: Listen once in a while. It’s amazing what you can hear. On a hot summer day in the country you can hear the corn growing, the crack of a tin roof buckling under the power of the sun. In a real old-fashioned parlor silence so deep you can hear the dust settling on the velveteen settee, you might hear the footsteps of something sinister gaining on you, or a heart-stoppingly beautiful phrase from Mozart you haven’t heard since childhood, or the voice of somebody - now gone - whom you loved. Or sometime when you’re talking up a storm so brilliant, so charming that you can hardly believe how wonderful you are, pause just a moment and listen to yourself. It’s good for the soul to hear yourself as others hear you, and next time maybe, just maybe, you will not talk so much, so loudly, so brilliantly, so charmingly, so utterly shamefully foolishly.
Point five: Turn off the TV once or twice a month and pick up a book. It will ease your blood pressure. It might even wake up your mind, but if it puts you to sleep you’re still a winner. Better to sleep than have to watch that endless parade of body bags the local news channel marches through your parlor.
Six: Don’t take your gun to town. Don’t even leave it home unless you lock all your bullets in a safe deposit box in a faraway bank. The surest way to get shot is not to drop by the nearest convenience store for a bottle of milk at midnight, but to keep a loaded pistol in your own house. What about your constitutional right to bear arms, you say. I would simply point out that you don’t have to exercise a constitutional right just because you have it. You have the constitutional right to run for president of the United States, abut most people have too much sense to insist on exercising it.
Seven: Learn to fear the automobile. It is not the trillion-dollar deficit that will finally destroy America. It is the automobile. Congressional studies of future highway needs are terrifying. A typical projection shows that when your generation is middle-aged, Interstate 95 between Miami and Fort Lauderdale will have to be 22 lanes wide to avert total paralysis of south Florida. Imagine an entire country covered with asphalt. My grandfather’s generation shot horses. Yours had better learn to shoot automobiles.
Eight: Have some children. Children add texture to your life. They will save you from turning into old fogies before you’re middle-aged. They will teach you humility. When old age overtakes you, as it inevitably will I’m sorry to say, having a few children will provide you with people who will feel guilty when they’re accused of being ungrateful for all you’ve done for them. It’s almost impossible nowadays to find anybody who will feel guilty about anything, including mass murder. When you reach the golden years, your best bet is children, the ingrates.
Nine: Get married. I know you don’t want to hear this, but getting married will give you a lot more satisfaction in the long run than your BMW. It provides a standard set of parent for your children and gives you that second income you will need when it’s time to send those children to Connecticut College. What’s more, without marriage you will have practically no material at all to work with when you decide to write a book or hire a psychiatrist.
When you get married, whatever you do, do not ask a lawyer to draw up a marriage contract spelling out how your lives will be divvied up when you get divorced. It’s hard enough making a marriage work without having a blueprint for its destruction drawn up before you go to the altar. Speaking of lawyers brings me to point nine and a half, which is: Avoid lawyers unless you have nothing to do with the rest of your life but kill time.
And finally, point 10: Smile. You’re one of the luckiest people in the world. You’re living in America. Enjoy it. I feel obliged to give you this banal advice because, although I’ve lived through the Great Depression, World War II, terrible wars in Korea and Vietnam, and half a century of cold war, I have never seen a time when there were so many Americans so angry or so mean-spirited or so sour about the country as there are today.
Russell Baker
American columist, author, humorist, and political satirist who addresses a wide range of social and political matters in a good natured and humorous manner, Mr Baker won the Pulitzer Prize for commentary in 1979 and again in 1983 for his autobiography.
Connecticut College, New London, Connecticut USA
May 27, 1995
Upcoming Events : April & May
May 21st - Prom at Ford Field
May 23rd - Senior Final Exams 4, 5, 6 hours
May 24th - Senior Final Exams 1, 2, 3 hours
May 24th - Last Day for Seniors
May 26th - Extra Graduation Ticket Pick Up 8 am
May 30th - No School : Memorial Day
June 1st - Senior Check-out 8:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.
June 2nd - Graduation, Graduation Practice 8:30 to 10:00 a.m., Post Grad 9:00-3:00 a.m.
June 13th - Exams for 1st & 2nd Hour
June 14th - Exams for 3rd & 4th Hour
June 15th - Exams for 5th & 6th Hour
Post Grad Donations
Freshmen class: Water Donations
Sophomore class: Snacks: granola bars, chips, crackers, fruit roll ups, gluten free, etc.
Junior class: Breakfast & Deserts: muffins, donuts, cereal bars, candy bars, cookies etc.
Any donations would be greatly appreciated and can be dropped off at the main office at Grand Blanc High School.
Thank you,
Julie Parsons
Food Committee Chair
Post Grad
Parents of Successful Kids Have 13 Things in Common
Vaccine Information
Human Papillomavirus (HPV)
Genital human papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common sexually transmitted virus in the United States. More than half of sexually active men and women are infected with HPV at some time in their lives.
About 20 million Americans are currently infected, and about 6 million more get infected each year. HPV is usually spread through sexual contact.
Meningitis
Meningococcal meningitis is a bacterial infection that results in swelling and irritation (inflammation) of the membranes covering the brain and spinal cord.
Meningococcal disease is spread from person to person. The bacteria are spread by exchanging respiratory and throat secretions (saliva or spit) during close (for example, coughing or kissing) or lengthy contact, especially if living in the same household.
Click on the link below to learn more information about HPV and Meningitis.
Contact your healthcare provider about scheduling these vaccinations. You may also schedule an appointment through the Genesee County Health Department’s Immunization Program located at Burton Health Center at G-3373 S. Saginaw Street Burton, MI 48529. To schedule an appointment and for further information call (810) 237-4540. Additionally many local pharmacies provide Meningitis and HPV vaccinations as well.
HOW SICK IS TOO SICK FOR SCHOOL?
Genesee Opportunity: Proposal
Read more about Genesee Opportunity by clicking this link.
WANTED: AP CAPSTONE STUDENTS!
AP Capstone is an innovative diploma program from The College Board that equips students with the independent research, collaborative teamwork, and communication skills that are increasingly valued by colleges. AP Capstone is built on the foundation of two AP Courses – AP Seminar (Year 1) and AP Research (Year 2) – and is designed to complement and enhance the in-depth, discipline-specific study experiences in other AP Courses. In AP Seminar, students investigate real-world issues from multiple perspectives, gathering and analyzing information from various sources in order to develop credible and valid evidence-based arguments. In AP Research, students cultivate the skills and discipline necessary to conduct independent research and inquiry in order to produce and defend their scholarly work.
AP Seminar, the foundational course in The AP Capstone Program, taken in grade 11, provides students with opportunities to think critically and creatively, research, explore, pose solutions, develop arguments, collaborate, and communicate using various media. Students explore real-world issues through a variety of lenses and consider multiple points of view to develop deep understanding of complex issues as they make connections between these issues and their own lives. Students read articles, research studies, and foundational and philosophical texts; listen to and view speeches, broadcasts, and personal accounts; and experience artistic and literary works to gain a rich appreciation and understanding of issues.
This is incredibly exciting & valuable program! If you know any motivated, high-achieving sophomores, encourage them to apply today to take AP Seminar their junior year!
Application Link: tinyurl.com/GBHSSeminar
Grand Blanc Yearbook
Yearbooks will be distributed DURING ALL LUNCHES FOR THREE DAYS ONLY outside the commons at High School East. Monday, May 16 - Wednesday, May 18. It is all students' responsibility to take a moment from their lunch on one of these three days to get their yearbooks. Because of limited staff and limited volunteers, we cannot distribute yearbooks after school, before school, or on school days other than May 16 - 18. Yearbook students need to be in attendance in their classes for senior finals and to continue working on academic projects.
The yearbook has been split into 4 separate books that are a box set in a special case. All yearbooks include the spring supplement pages in book 3.
There are a limited number of books available to purchase for $80. Cash or checks payable to Grand Blanc High School are accepted - books cannot be purchased online after May 1.
Parents of seniors who ordered ads in the yearbook for your senior students: your photos are available for you to pick up from room 305. Please e-mail hsyearbk@grandblancschools.org attn: Sarah Hardenburg with any questions. If you do not request your photos specifically, they will be returned to your student after the yearbooks are released.