Local Reporters Sweep News Category By Patrick Linabury

Bath City Beat continues a decade-long tradition of excellence in Community News reporting. At the Orchard Lake Student Film Festival, reporters Hannah Smith, Jamecia Webster and Nancy Berggren swept the News Category, winning first, second and third place, respectively.  Hannah Smith took home top honors with her story about the proposed International Trade Crossing in Detroit. Her story featured interviews with State Representatives Anthony Forlini (D-24) and Marilyn Lane (D-31) as well as Brad Williams, Vice President of Government Relations from Governor Snyder’s Office.

Jamecia Webster claimed second place with her story about a Grant Program from Michigan State University Extension that has helped residents in Mount Clemens repurpose unused land with community and youth gardens.

Nancy Berggren’s story about High-Definition Security Cameras installed in downtown Mount Clemens, placed third and it also placed third in the News category at the 2012 Michigan High School and College Broadcast Awards, sponsored by the Michigan Association of Broadcasters.  

The Macomb County pipeline to Oskaloosa continues to flow.

Oskaloosa, Iowa is the home of William Penn University, and yet another area football player has opted to join the Statesmen.

Mount clemens quarterback Aaron McFadden will follow Latham Donald of Lakeview and Travis Joseph of Lake Shore to the NAIA school.

William Penn linebackes coach Matthew Johnston grew up in St. Clair Shores and played football and basketball at Lutheran East in Harper Woods.

Macomb Daily Brief February 8, 2012

Zlia Wilson, left, and Rashaunah Pernell get ready to help customers open accounts at a new bank that opened Tuesday inside their school, the Washington Academy in Mount Clemens. Macomb Daily staff photo by David N. Posavetz

Students enrolled in the Mount Clemens High School Medical/Bioscience Academy are provide with a science intensive curriculum that prepares them for careers and post secondary education in the medical field.

Careers in the health care industry are explored through career related coursework, professional guest speakers, employer mentoring, job shadowing and field trips.

Partnerships with Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine, Macomb Community College and Career Advancement Studies in Healthcare Institute introduce students to a variety of career pathways.

Employment opportunities prior to high school graduation as a Nursing Assistant and Medical Assistant are available to Mount Clemens High School students upon successful completion of the coursework and passage of the state exam for certification.

Volunteers don’t get paid, not because they’re worthless, but because they’re priceless.  ~ Sherry Anderson

Thanks to our own priceless volunteers, we have been able to keep up our programming running at Operation: Kid Equip during the past 6 years.In 2011, we experienced tremendous growth and expanded our outreach. Our volunteers helped collect, organize and distribute more than $3.4 million worth of school day supplies, and we couldn’t have done it without their amazing support and dedication.  Jill Ellis, an OKE volunteer-Mount Clemens Seminole Academy teacher. This year, we hope to profile our volunteers on our website periodically.

One such volunteer who reached out to us is Jill Ellis, who has been volunteering with us for a year and is a teacher in Mount Clemens.  Her, along with a group from her district volunteer at OKE’s Teachers’ Annex at least once a month, and while they always work really hard, they always have fun, too.  We asked Jill why she volunteers and she had this to say: People generally volunteer for organizations that they feel passionately about, and I feel passionately about children and their well-being. 

Thank you Jill, for your dedication and helping to make OKE thrive. Looking to volunteer with Operation: Kid Equip in 2012? Be a Teachers’ Annex Ambassador. Simply sign up by clicking here.  This is a great opportunity for groups looking to volunteer or students in need of community service hours.

James Wagner,  Business Teacher

               Mount Clemens High School Business Department has several career-focused classes that allow students to choose one class that best suits their interests or future career goals.  One of the more popular strands is the MS Office Computer Applications career strand consisting of MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Access software packages.  These courses are mastered in three separate classes over a high school student’s career.

               Overall, Mount Clemens High School students are using technology to reinforce common math and English skills as well as prepare them for a career in the business world.  Currently, in MS Word students have spent the first quarter honing in on Business Communication Skills and writing letters to customers, vendors, parents or local newspapers on a variety of issues.  While learning the tips and tricks of MS Word and all of the little icons, the students are constantly editing and revising their own work; a real world skill and an important part of the writing process.  Next quarter, students will delve into more advanced techniques and business tasks prevalent in college and career.

John Bourdeau, Business Teacher

               The School Store or the "Clem Corner" is up and running daily in the High School!  The Retail Management and Advanced Business Management classes are responsible for the daily operation, inventory, cleaning and planning of this Mount Clemens hidden treasure.

               They are selling a vast array of items: coffee, giant kosher pickles, t-shirts, beef sticks, cookies, chips, and school bags.  The students are doing a good job and looking for ways to improve the store.  Currently we are trying many different products to see what is selling and profitable; the students in the class are really taking ownership of the store.  Profits from the store benefit the entire student body at the High School.

Maureen Cusenza, Art Teacher

               At Mount Clemens High School we embrace the arts by supplementing core areas through our interdisciplinary and global approach in art.  Students learn about various cultures, art history and aesthetics while making connections to other subject areas and the real world, as they produce beautiful art pieces.

                Students will complete a business type art proposal to paint murals in the high school and present it to our high school administration for approval. Students will use math to execute the budget proposal along with deciphering the percentage of enlargement of their sketches.  Students will be using writing skills to write their proposal. They will connect to history and the real-world by completing an online webquest comparing mural artists. The students are very excited about showcasing their art skills on a large scale. We must thank the Assistance League of Southeastern Michigan for granting us the funds to undertake this project.

               In addition to having art classes we also have a National Art Honors Society made up of students interested in the visual arts.  Students in NAHS use art as a focus to complete community service activities.

Terainer Brown,   Dance Teacher

               Touching the lives of nearly 100 students, the Dance Department in Mount Clemens Community School District has much to be proud of.  Some of our successes include, hosting two full evenings of dance featuring our students, guest performances from The Underground Dance Company, Wayne State University’s Department of Dance and Oakland University’s Dance Theatre.  Our students have also had the opportunity to attend and perform in the following dance venues: Oakland Dance Festival, University of Michigan’s MLK Symposium, and Joel Hall Center for Dance in Chicago, IL.  In addition, 7 of our students were awarded dance related and college scholarships during the 2010-11 school year.

               We continue to work toward building a sustainable college preparation dance program.  Currently the program offers Modern Dance, Jazz and also a Saturday Ballet class, free to the students in the district.  It is my honor to give students who really want to pursue dance beyond high school a chance at that dream.

               During the 2011-12 school year, the dancers will be provided with many of the same opportunities from last year, plus more.  In early November, internationally known dancer and choreographer, Ray Mercer of Broadway’s “The Lion King,” will be the department’s Artist in Residence.  In addition, students will have the opportunity to view live performances of Dance Theatre of Harlem, The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, and much more.

               Please come and enjoy our Winter Dance Concert January 13, 2012 @ 7:00 p.m., tickets are $5.00.  More information go to www.mtcps.org.

 Patrick Linabury, Senior Producer              

Mount Clemens High School offers a college-accredited television studio production course.  Bather Babble is the product of the Media Studies Production course and gives students hands-on learning opportunities.

Students work as the show’s news anchors, sports reporter, meteorologist, director, technical director, camera operators, audio technician, and they run the teleprompter.            

Other courses offered teach students to retouch and enhance images with Adobe Photoshop, to edit digital video with Adobe Premiere and to create Hollywood-type special effects with Adobe After Effects.

Darcy Ozar, Forensics Teacher

               The Medical Bioscience Academy was opened at the Mount Clemens High School in the fall of 2010.  Through a partnership with Michigan State University, classes were offered to students interested in pursuing careers in medical and forensic fields.

               The forensics class has expanded from a semester class to a year long class.  Science is sometimes intimidating to people; yet many are fascinated by shows like Criminal Minds, CSI, Bones and such.  By showing the connection between Chemistry, Biology and Physics, students see how science affects them in their own lives.