The Waterford School District honors these exemplary student achievements.

2008 Waterford Foundation Select 50

Kettering High School

Mott High School

1st Row: R. Sebastian, A. McGregor, T. Honer, D. Buckley, C. Koziara, J. Harkins, D. Williams, S. Nagel, S. Tatu, Counselor, S. Asciutto  2nd Row: A. Scarber, A. Harness, Principal, J. Wenning
3rd Row: B. Weston, A. Petrusha, B. Dorr  4th Row: J. Ford, L. Reynolds, J. Bush  5th Row: L. Stephens, K. Jasina, J. Weston, C. Curnutte, J. Masek  Not Pictured: T. VanLoozen, M. Shedlowsky, N. Cherup

1st Row: N. Moua, E. Sutherland, Counselor, M. Bryce, Principal, R. Nester, C. Szabo, M. Bellemare, A. Ciennik, K. Lewis Jr., R. Rossi, C. Carro, J. Lapinski  2nd Row: A. Maas, K. Ledezma, K. Marks  3rd Row: K. Polmear, J. Tabeek, L. Fournier, M. McIntyre  4th Row: S. Abraham, A. Jackson, T. Greiser, D. Sweet  Not Pictured S. Long, A. Chocianowicz, C. Comps, D. O'Connell, A Helwig

Chelsea Harris' art work was accepted into the "Governor's Traveling Show" from the Michigan Youth Arts Festival competition. Each educator, who is a member of the Michigan Art Education Association, is allowed to enter five student works of art. Each region hosts their own show and from that show the art work is juried into a statewide competition where it is then juried into the final "Governor's Traveling Show". Only 18 pieces are given this prestigious honor.

Kettering girls bowling team recently earned 3rd place at the Division I Team Regional competition with a total score of 3,747. Individually, Kettering students, Holly Broadwater finished 1st in Division 1 Individual Bowling and Adam Lessel finished 5th. Mott students Kristy Kaer placed 6th and Stu Leser placed 3rd in individuals. All students qualified for State finals.

All 11 Destination Imagination teams participated in the regional competition. Three teams scored well enough to be moving on to the state competition, which will be held on April 19 on the campus of Central Michigan University in Mt. Pleasant. They are: Waterford Mott HS, challenge Hit or Myth / Pierce MS, challenge DI've Got a Secret / Haviland Elem, challenge Obstacles, of Course

Mott High School senior, Miranda McIntyre was a Finalist in the National Merit Scholarship Program. Out of the original field of one million students, only 16,000 students have met all of the requirements to advance to this standing. All finalists will be considered for National Merit Scholarships. More than 1.4 million students in over 21,000 U.S. high schools entered the 2008 Merit Program when they were juniors by taking the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT), which served as an initial screen of program entrants. Less than one percent of the nation’s high school seniors were named semifinalists.

The final 30 Pierce Middle School spellers came together for the All School Spelling Bee. After 133 words, seventh-grade student, Zach Ewing won the spelling bee. Ewing will represent Pierce Middle School at the 2008 Regional Spelling Bee, which is organized by The Oakland Press.

The Pierce Middle School Friends of Rachel Club was named the 2008 Youth Group of the Year by the Waterford Coalition for Youth. The F.O.R. Club was recognized for their self-directed leadership and their commitment to promoting a safe, kind, and welcoming environment for all students.

Cooley Elementary students Ernest Vespie and Emma Kay Wikle and Adams Elementary student Sophie Ross, were selected for publication in Kaleidoscope 2008, a collection of student writings assembled by the Michigan Reading Association. the student's pieces are titled Helping the Environment. In addition to becoming a published author, both students are also invited to attend a special luncheon at the 52^nd Michigan Reading Association Annual Conference on March 16, 2008, Cobo Center in Detroit. This year’s luncheon will feature nationally known authors and musicians John Archambault and David Plummer.

Mott Senior Kevin DaJuan Lewis, Jr. is the recipient of a $6,000 Talented Scholar Scholarship Award in addition to a $4,000 Michigan Merit Scholarship. Lewis has a 4.0 G.P.A. and is a leader in the Positive Peer Intervention Program, a member of the Leadership Class, and National Honor Society.

Jude Sundquist was named winner of the 2008 Mason Middle School Geography Bee contest. Sundquist will move on to take a written test to be submitted for competition at t he State level.

Fourteen Waterford DECA students have qualified to complete in the State Career Development conference. Over 700 students, from 22 area high schools, competed at the district level. The competition involved completion of a written test and role play in a chosen occupational area. Representing Waterford Schools in the State Competition are Kettering students Josh Magnan, Allan Roltsch, Jared Weston, Julie Harkins, Molly Erznoznik, Sarah Nagel, Allison Hubbell, Hanna Langston, Jessical Dinger, and Jennifer Sulick and Mott students Amanda Mass, Rob Wood, Teddy Drussel, and Aaron Radin. Their teachers are Jennifer Karpushenkoff, from Kettering, and Nancy Haller, from Mott.

Waterford Kettering student Chris Dupuis was named in the 2007 All-County Robotics Team. The All-County Robotics Team consists of the most valuable players from each of the 25 teams that participated in the Oakland County Competitive Robotics Association Competitions. The players were selected by their teammates, coaches, and mentors and were presented with medals and certificates. The Waterford Team won the Beautiful Bot Award for their unique design.

In a celebration of the National Middle School Association’s Month of the Young Adolescent, the Center for Excellence in Education (CEIE) sponsored a Young Writers Contest for students at middle schools across the state of Michigan. Five essays were selected for publication in the October newsletter for CEIE. Each winning essayist was awarded a $25.00 gift certificate to Barnes & Noble Booksellers. Crary student, Jenna Priest, was one of the five winners and was awarded a gift certificate.

Kettering’s yearbook, Kismet, took ninth place nationally in the 275-324 page category. This is the fourth time that Kismet has placed nationally. Kettering took home State awards in: Newspaper Layout, Excellent; Yearbook Copy/Captions Sports, Excellent; Yearbook copy/captions Student Life, Honorable Mention; Yearbook layout: Theme, Honorable Mention; Yearbook cover/endsheets, Superior; and Computer design: advertising, Superior.

Kettering award winners were: Starr Sexton, Newspaper Layout, Excellent; Kaitlyn Kent, Yearbook Copy/Captions Sports, Excellent; Emily Kuusisto, Yearbook Copy/Captions Student Life, Honorable Mention; Nikki Plaza, Yearbook layout: Theme, Honroable Mention; Lauren Wamsley, Yearbook cover/endsheets, Superior; and Cassie Nealis, Computer design: advertising, Superior.

Mott High School cross country runner and freshman Shannon Osika earned a state title and completed a perfect season. Osika finished off an unbeaten season and secured the Division 1 individual cross country title, finishing the 3.1 mile course in 17:35.8, the top time of all competitors in the four competing divisions at the Michigan International Speedway track in Brooklyn Michigan. Osika is the only freshman in the state since 2003 to capture the title.

The following students auditioned and are playing in the Flint School of Performing Arts Philharmonia and String Orchestra. Amanda Martin (grade 8) – String Orchestra Briana Reed (grade 7) - Philharmonia Orchestra Ocean Pappas (grade 8) – Philharmonia Orchestra Jennifer Leitner (grade 8) – Philharmonia Orchestra Drew Hale (grade 6) – String Orchestra Kristen Moody (grade 6) – String Orchestra Zack Carter (grade 6) – String Orchestra Gou Oishi (grade 6) – String Orchestra Davin Torre and Alesia Byrd, directors, came to Mason for the auditions in early October. Congratulations to these student musicians and their teacher, Shana Roberts.

Congratulations to Karima Ledezma for being awarded the Ric Gonzalez Memorial Scholarship. This scholarship of $2,500 is awarded students of Hispanic heritage based on academic achievement as well as a written essay. The scholarship has been available for 3 years and a Waterford School District student has been a recipient for 3 years.

Merit Scholarship Semifinalist – Officials of National Merit Scholarship Corporation announced that Waterford High School Senior, Miranda McIntyre, was named a semifinalist in the 53rd Annual National Merit Scholarship Program. More than 1.4 million students in over 21,000 U.S. high schools entered the 2008 Merit Program. Less than one percent of the nation’s high school seniors were named semifinalists.

Eighteen Kettering and Mott High School students earned the designation of AP Scholar by the College Board in recognition of their exceptional achievement on the college-level Advanced Placement Program (AP) Exams. The College Board’s Advanced Placement Program offers students the opportunity to take challenging college-level courses while still in high school, and to receive college credit.

The United States Department of Education has announced that 2007 Kettering graduate Jessica VanFleteren's artwork has been selected for display in our nation's capital. VanFleteren's artwork was recognized in the Scholastic Art Awards of 2007 by the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers and is one of 50 in the nation selected for this prestigious exhibition. The exhibition is held at the United States Department of Education in Washington, D.C. To celebrate this amazing achievement, the U.S. Department of Education and the Alliance invited VanFleteren to cut the ribbon as we unveil work from two extraordinary exhibitions: selected national award recipients of The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards of 2007, and selected Gold Key recipients from the Miami-Dade County Region. VanFleteren's art teachers were Lori Groff and Frank Puddy.

AMVETS Against Drug and Alcohol Abuse sponsored an annual writing competition for school aged children. This years theme was "Stop Abuse, Don’t Use." Participating students were required to write a poem or an essay, no longer than 250 words, on the subject. The following Crary students were recognized in their grade division as winners of the local contest: Jennifer Piatkowski, 1st place, Katherine Mondock, 2nd place, and Cait Kelley, 3rd place. First and second place winners went on to the State competition where Jennifer Piatkowski placed first and Katherine Mondock placed second. Piatkowski's entry will move on to the national competition where the winner will receive a certificate and savings bond.

The Waterford Foundation for Public Education selected the 2006-2007 Dittrich Scholarships recipients. Mott Student Stephen Bazner and Kettering Student Jessica Milner were named the recipients of the 2006-2007 Waterford Foundation/Al Dittrich Scholarship. Each will receive $2,500.

Mott Student Stephanie Barnett was also selected by the Waterford Foundation to receive a $1000 scholarship from the Michigan Schools and Government Credit Union. Mott Student James Ciennik and Kettering Student Aaron Hensler each received a $500 scholarship from M3 Investments.

Chief McCaw, Waterford Police Department, honored twenty Crary Middle School students and their families. The students were selected for their outstanding citizenship throughout the year. Each student had his/her picture taken with Chief McCaw and was later presented with a plaque that included the picture.

Mott Senior, Tyler Scarlett, has been offered over $411,000 in combined art scholarships and grants from around the nation. Just some of the prestigious institutions from which Tyler has received awards include Cleveland Institute of Art, Rhode Island College of Art & Design, Columbus College of Art & Design, Maryland College of Art, Kendall College of Art & Design, and College for Creative Studies in Detroit. Tyler has chosen to attend CCS, where he will major in Illustration.

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