Grand Marais Schools

The students are loose on the town!!!! As the capstone course for Civics and Economics, Burt Township High School students all take a Service Learning course and are working on several different projects.  Groups of students are developing their own Service Projects that they would like to implement to improve our community, as a class project we are also mapping out our Disc Golf Course and Ski Trails within the School Forest, and lastly, we are completing small, single day projects during the school day.

During class, students have been working hard developing their own Service Projects. They are developing the skills necessary to plan and implement a large-scale improvement project. There are five different groups that are exploring the following Service Projects; Burt Township Recycling Program and Styrofoam Reduction, Township Beautification Project, Raft-In-Bay Teen Recreation, and the Recreation Center and Community Activities. Each group will soon be submitting their proposals and action plans to our website soon, so stay tuned…..

In our digital day and age, it always surprises me when maps of certain areas don’t exist. Yet this is the case with our Ski Trails and Disc Golf Course within the School Forest. Both areas are well marked, yet without trail maps, many a tourist often find themselves lost within the 1,300 acres that comprise our School Forest. Therefore, as our large all year project, we have been working to fundraise and build a Ski Trail Kiosk and also to develop maps of both areas to better aid community members and visitors. This has been both an exciting and challenging project mainly due to technology. We have met some difficulties with our out-dated GPS units that don’t connect to our modern computers, but have been striving to overcome these challenges with our exciting new Ipads.

Filling in the gaps as we work on the above projects, students have also been completing smaller single class period Service Projects throughout the community. We have taken down old fences for people, helped the Historic Society get ready for the busy summer season, cleaned yards up, as well as garbage on Earth Day, and we have even taken on the role of caretakers for a neglected Apple Orchard within the National Park. If you have any suggestions or ideas for projects you would like to be done, please contact the school and let us know. You can contact me directly, or leave a message for me through Renee in the front office.

Elementary students were able to take a trip back in time and relive the past during a recent visit to Mackinaw City. Their first stop was Fort Michilimackinac where they met some interesting characters from the past. Soldiers described the danger of fighting for the king’s army and demonstrated firing a cannon and a musket. Students were able to see what it was like to cook over an open fire using a Dutch oven and to grind some corn flour. A blacksmith explained his craft and showed off some beautiful work.
Students’ second stop was at Historic Mill Creek where they learned about the ingenuity of the water powered sawmill. One lucky student learned first hand what it was like to work in “the pit.” Next up was an interesting presentation on native wildlife. Being able to feel the animal pelts made a big impression on the students. Some of the students are already planning a trip back!

Kindergarten through eighth grade students spent a fun filled day at Seney National Wildlife Refuge. While there students participated in a pond study and were able to see many interesting specimens up close while they collected data with Ranger Sarah. During the scenic driving tour many exciting animals were spotted. Ranger Sarah was able to share her knowledge with students as they saw beaver, muskrat, geese, swans, various songbirds, a sandhill crane, and an eagle.

Eyes on the Arts

Come join us  May 19, 2012,  in the Burt Township School’s gymnasium for our First Annual Community and School Art Show! The artistic endeavors of the area artists of all ages will be on display from 11a.m. through 5p.m.

This project is made possible by a generous donation from the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs, the untiring efforts of Kim Amthor, the support of Burt Township School’s administration and staff, the expert instruction and guidance of area artists, and the budding talent of the Burt Township School’s students.  This is an event not to be missed!

Friday, April 20^th, the Grand Marais Drama Class made the 200-mile road trip to Houghton for the First Annual Upper Peninsula Theatre Festival at Michigan Technical Univeristy. A total of 65 students from seven schools participated.  Norway attended with 16 kids, Houghton with 14, Powers with 3, Lake Linden with 6, L’Anse with 12, Hancock with 3, and Burt Township with 10. The attending students from Grand Marais were Dominik Kinlaw, Kelcie Lundquist, Cindy Rauff, and Jerry Connor (9^th graders), Nate Woodruff, Elizabeth Scaife, and Taurie Horst (10^th graders), and Michaela Bauknecht and Bryce Ward-Harbaum (both 11^th graders).

After spending the night in a local hotel, the Burt Township students arrived at MTU ready to perform. Each school that participated performed a scene that they had picked out for that occasion. They were scored on their ability to perform their selection in the amount of time specified. This time allotment included setting their stage, performing, and removing their equipment off the stage. Schools were also scored on overall professionalism and stage presence. Houghton HS certainly deserved their highest-ranking score with their rendition of Incognito, and for their efforts they were awarded a cash prize.

After the performances, the students even played a little game of “How Long Can You Keep the Ball in the Air?” It was a fun little game for everyone to be able to participate in, as well as a chance for the students from the different schools to have the opportunity to work together toward a common goal.

After everyone preformed their scenes and enjoyed a lunch, they attended different workshops that were provided. The workshops offered were How Color Works, Auditioning and Interviewing for College, Improvisation for Creativity, Dialectically Speaking, and Costume Adventures. The students attended two of the five workshops of their choosing. These workshops were a great way for the students to get a chance to learn more about specific aspects to theatre. It also allowed the students to expand their options for what they want to do that when they go to college.

After the students were finished with the workshops, they packed up all their things and made the long bus ride home. The festival seemed to energize the students because everyone, including our beloved bus driver, Lou Bailey, sang their way back home!

By: Cindy Rauff

On April 25, 2012, Burt Township School’s Excellence in Education Dinner took place in the school’s gymnasium. There were 15, 7^th -12^th grade students that achieved a 3.3 GPA or higher, which qualified them for recognition. That’s 7 more than the 2010-2011 school year! Additionally, 6 kids from the Burt Township School achieved a 3.6 GPA or better. That is 2 more than last year.

The honored seniors were, Rachel Bodak and Casey Brock (our valedictorian), both wonderful students that we will miss dearly. Casandra Somes, Jesse Ross, Miranda Potter, and Michaela Bauknecht were our honored juniors. The sophomores were also well represented by LeRoy Ward-Harbaum, Abigail Reimer, Elizabeth Scaife, and Robert Rauff. Then came the freshman, Dominik Kinlaw and Kelcie Lundquist.  Finally, Walton Reimer and Tyler Woodruff (both 8^th graders), and Molly Conner (7^th grade) represented the junior high.

Dawn Marx, a local resident, was the guest speaker. She shared her definition of success with the students, and encouraged them to participate in life.

A wonderful meal was prepared and served by school staff and board members.  The students would like to express heartfelt appreciation to Seth Hoopingarner, Dixie McCormick, Lois Kinlaw, Brian Prill and last, but most certainly not least, Penny Barney. Another thank you goes to all of the wonderful parents out there, whose love and support is invaluable to the success of the Burt Township Students!

By: Dominik Kinlaw

Each year, the Junior Class of Burt Township School hosts a Spring Carnival to assist in fundraising for their upcoming senior class trip.  Traditionally, each class chooses two or three fundraising activities or games to operate at the carnival. The classes purchase prizes, make signs, decorate the gymnasium, and spend the evening manning the concessions and games. As the population of the school decreases, the students sometimes wonder if the carnival will make or lose them money. While an official tally has yet to be announced, it appears that the 2012 Burt Township Spring Carnival was a complete success!

As always, the community turned out in great support of the students. The cakewalk was a big hit, and a couple of the cakes brought out the competitive spirit in the meekest of us. Of course the jail was set up in the southwest corner of the gym and many a good man spent at least a few minutes of incarceration.  Neither the young nor old could resist trying their luck at the fishing booth.  The sponge throw had the customers lined up for the chance to toss a wet sponge at a hapless volunteer.  The sophomore class got inventive and created an activity called Feel the Force which generated a lot of interest. A face-painting booth was tucked in the northwest corner, multicolored parachutes hung from the ceiling, and streamers were taped from railing to floor throughout the room. While time has moved on for the rest of the world, for a few hours, it stood still in the Burt Township School’s gymnasium Friday, April 13, 2012.

If creativity lives in the heart of a child, it blossoms in Ms. Kim Amthor’s art room. Paint, construction paper, crayons, and markers are transformed into something wondrous, something more than the individual parts that comprise the object.

Amthor’s classroom walls dissolve as the reality of multicolored fish swimming lazily across top of the black board emerges. A dangerous looking, big mouth piranha threatens to consume the moon, while nearby an eagle perches anxiously on a gnarled branch. White birch stretch across a blue sky, and a lone loon bobs gently on quite ripples. Moths and larks flit, werewolf women pose, a brightly dressed, male mallard strolls among the reeds, and on the sun-warmed sand a blue turtle bathes herself in evening light. Nurtured by Amthor’s gentle guidance, imagination and creativity merge.

But it is Amthor’s belief that expressions of the heart should not be confined to the walls of her classroom. Therefore, she and her students will be hosting a community art show, May 19, 2012, in the school’s gymnasium.  Community members will be allowed to enter the imaginations of the children and share their celebrations of self-expression. Final details of the art show are yet to be established, but mark your calendar!! This is an event not to be missed! When all specifics have been finalized, flyers will be posted throughout the community.

The Introduction of the Pilgrims

The Grand Marais Drama Club is gearing up for the First Annual U.P. Theater Festival hosted by Michigan Technical University in Houghton, Michigan. A group of eight students will be presenting the first scene of Lindsay Price’s adaptation of Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, April 21, 2012, at the festival. Three additional students will be attending to assist with costumes and make-up.

The students first performed this rendition of The Canterbury Tales for the Grand Marias community February 29, 2012, with great success. Community members lovingly embraced the drama club and assisted in countless ways. Melissa Carothers acted as voice coach for the students. Dawn Marx assisted in the sewing of costumes. Lisa Reimer painted scenery, Kim Anthor was our art advisor, and Dianna Bell acted as line coach. Most importantly, over seventy community members braved horrendous weather to attend the students’ performance.

As the students prepare to take the first scene of The Canterbury Tales to festival, community support continues. The Grand Marias Women’s Club has generously supported the students’ endeavor and offered up a substantial donation to help defray the cost of travel and lodging. Additionally, the Great Lakes Center for Youth Development has supplied a grant through the Excellence in Education Award Program. Without the assistance of these grants, this opportunity would have been out of the reach for many of our students.

While many of the original cast members are unable to attend the festival, new members are adding colorful and complex layers to the charming characters. We expect the event to be not only a wonderful learning experience, but a whole lot of fun!

At long last, the Rock Climbing wall is complete. After much hard work and three years of adding additional wall sections and climbing holds the project is finished. This year, the shop class gained experience in wall construction as they measured, cut and fastened the last sections of the wall, which completed the cave section of our wall.  The cherry on top of the project was the new unified safety mat that we purchased thanks to an Excellence in Education grant and a very generous donation from Grand Marais Women’s Club.  With this new mat our climbing wall is safe as ever and enters the realm of legitimate Bouldering walls. A special thanks is due to the graduated classes of 2010 and 2011 who volunteered their time to raise the initial funds for this project. Later this year, we will hold our first Bouldering Competition as students develop the skills, strength and agility needed to rock climb.