The Waterford School District honors these exemplary student achievements.

Kettering Senior Bobby Clemence has been chosen as a member of the Michigan All-State Choir.  The choir will be showcased has part of the Michigan Youth Arts Festival at Western Michigan University. The process to be chosen began in November when Bobby auditioned and was chosen as a member of MSVMA District Honors Choir.  He then auditioned for the State Honors Choir which performed, in Grand Rapids, at the Michigan Music Conference in January.  From this group of fine high school singers (approximately 260) they invited the top 120 to perform at the Michigan Youth Arts Festival.  This is an extreme honor and Bobby is the first Vocal-Choral student to be invited to participate in MYAF from Kettering. 

Pierce Middle School Student Becca Neal was featured in the St. Ignace News for a community service project, where she raised funds to purchase school supplies for students in need in the Les Cheneaux Community School District, which serves more than 300 students in the surrounding areas of her grandparent's hometown of Hessel, Michigan.

Kettering Senior Josh Roltsch is one of approximately 100 high school band students from across the nation to be selected to the 2010 U.S. Army All-America Marching Band. Roltsch was selected to be one of only eight marching baritone players. He will receive an all-expense paid trip to perform at the U.S. Army All-American Bowl in San Antonio, TX.

Kettering Senior Michael Lively has been named a semifinalist in the annual National Merit Scholarship Program. Less than one percent of the national's high school seniors were named semifinalists.

Cooley Elementary School has received the School Fitness Award, given by the Waterford School District. Now in its second year, the award recognizes the elementary school who has the highest percentage of students in the 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade who meet the fitness goals set for each of their grade levels.

Pictured are the 3rd - 5th grade Cooley students who participated this year, along with their Physical Education teacher, Mr. Petersen.

BestSource Credit Union recently awarded $1,500 educational scholarships to Mott Seniors Alyssa Osika, Steve Robenault and Jennifer Noble. A reception was held for the students and their families at the BestSource Credit Union Waterford branch on June 3rd to celebrate the success of all four recipients. (Pictured Left to Right: Alyssa Osika, Steve Robenault, Jennifer Noble)

Fifty-four students from automotive technicians training programs competed in the USA Skills VICA competition at Lansing Community College. Mott High School Senior Kyle Meadows won first place (gold) in the region 2-West and went on to win second place (silver) at the State level. Meadows was awarded $5,500 in scholarships and $100 in industry tools.

The Convergence Education Foundation awarded the CADD Engineering Class at Mott High School $1500 and an 1/8 scale RC car (valued at $500), which they converted the stock, gas powered vehicle into electric. The student’s had to come up with a design, order the parts and then start converting in order to compete in six different competitions such as, acceleration, breaking and agility. A competition was held last month at the RC raceway in Ann Arbor, MI. The team took 2nd place for “Innovative Engineering” out of the six teams that participated in the event.

Ninety-five students from automotive technicians training programs competed in the MITES State Auto Contest at the Calhoun County Career Center in Battle Creek Michigan last month. The contests included a written test an evaluation on performance. Mott High School Senior Adam Smith won first place (gold ) in the master tech and earned $45,000 in scholarships. Mott Senior Chris Schneider took first place (gold) in the quick service general service and earned $19,000 in scholarships. Their teacher is Chris Bonfiglio . The MITES contest is the largest automotive competition in the state.

Mott Senior Lindsay Trevethan was awarded a Congressional Medal of Merit from the United States Congress. Trevethan was one of 38 seniors from across the state who were recognized for their exemplary citizenship and academic excellence. She was also recently chosen as the representative from Mott High School to be among WXYZ Channel-7’s Brightest and Best graduating seniors, and is the recipient of a “Select 50” award from the Waterford Foundation for Public Education.

Kettering High School junior euphonium player Josh Roltsch, son of Paul and Caroline Roltsch, has been named to the 2009 Michigan Youth Arts Festival (MYAF) All-State Honors Band. Students were selected for the Honors Band based on their scores at the MSBOA State Solo & Ensemble Festival. Roltsch received a 94 out of a possible 100 points on his Proficiency Two Exam. Proficiency Two is the second-highest difficulty level offered to soloists, with the overall Exam consisting of: (1) Performance of a solo; (2) Major, Minor, and Chromatic Scales; and (3) Sight Reading.

Waterford Kettering High School junior euphonium player Josh Roltsch has been named to the 2009 Michigan Youth Arts Festival (MYAF) All-State Honors Band. This 125-member Honors Band is part of the Michigan Youth Arts Festival, held on the campus of Western Michigan University. Students were selected for the Honors Band based on their scores at the MSBOA State Solo & Ensemble Festival this past March. Josh received a 94 out of a possible 100 points on his Proficiency Two Exam.

The Riverside Elementary School Student Council raised $100 at their recent “hat day” fundraising effort. This money was given to the Focus Hope Food Program to provide emergency food boxes to low income seniors in need.

Congratulations to all of the Waterford School District Destination ImagiNation teams that competed at Central Michigan University. Four out of five competing teams placed in the top 10 in their division! Team managers Amy Beaupre and Rebecca Briggs led their Haviland team to 6th place in Vidio Lit Hits, Elementary Division, and Mike Haehn’s team, also from Haviland took 12th place. In A New Angle, Middle Division, the Pierce team, managed by Kelli McCormick, placed 7th and Crary placed 8th. Crary team managers are Mike Mitchell and Sally McGregor. Lastly, the Pierce Middle School team and manager Sophia Marcero, placed 9th in Instinct Messaging, Middle Division.

Mott Senior Lindsay Trevethan and Kettering Senior Matthew Harris were selected for WXYZ Channel 7’s Brightest & Best. Since 1980, the station has honored graduating seniors from public and private schools who have demonstrated excellence in academic, extracurricular and community pursuits. Trevethan is planning on attending Grand Valley State University in the fall and Harris will attend Grove City College in Pennsylvania.

Waterford Mott High School art students received top honors in the Southeastern Michigan Region, 2009 Scholastic Art Awards competition. Students from Oakland and Wayne counties submitted over 3800 pieces of artwork for consideration. About 1000 pieces are chosen for this exhibition and were displayed during the regional show at College for Creative Studies in Detroit. Gold Key Award artwork is forwarded to New York for national judging.

Winners include: Lauren Ward, Gold Key Portfolio; Amber Kirkland, Silver Key Drawing; Man kuan Lei, Silver Key Drawing, Silver Key Painting; Rachel Lytle, Silver Key Drawing; Derick Nabarrette, Silver Key Drawing & (2) Certificates Drawing; Lauren Ward, Silver Key Drawing.

The Waterford Mott Automotive Technician Training program students recently participated in the USA Skills regional competition. Kyle Meadows was awarded a gold medal for new car prep, Chris Schnieder won a bronze medal for new car prep, Nash Ogg took the silver medal in breaks and Adam Smith won a bronze in the Master Technician area. There were 75 students competing from 10 schools. Adam, Kyle, and Nash will compete at the State level. Congratulations to these students and their teacher, Chris Bonfiglio.

The Kettering Captains FIRST Robotics team took home the Cass Tech District Championship along with winning the Rookie Inspiration Award, celebrating the outstanding efforts of a rookie team. Congratulations to Andrew Thompson, Mitch Bailey, Alex Dengate, Mike Strong, Kevin Weishuhn, Mat Post, Josh Allison-Althoff, Joe Burns, Tyler Alexander, John Wilder, Spencer Allen, David Aurrichio, and their teacher, Steve Smitka and business partner
mentors, Jerry Budd and Tom Post. This win gives the team the opportunity to attend the State Regional Championship Tournament.

DECA students competed at the State Career Development Conference where they represented the top 12 percent of marketing students in the State of Michigan. Over 127 high schools were represented. Students were required to take a marketing occupational test, present a role play in their chosen occupational area, and/or defend their research project.
Kettering student Carly Puzniak will be completing at the international career development conference as a result of her 1st place finish in the competition. She will represent the top 2% of marketing students in the US, Canada, Guam, Puerto Rico, Germany, and the US Virgin Islands.

Congratulations to four of our Therapeutic Services students that competed in the regional career and technical student organization for HOSA. (Health Occupations Students of America). There were over one dozen technical schools and high schools represented and approximately 450 students. Courtnee Flury competed in Sports Medicine and placed 3rd overall. Sydney Gilpatrick and Ashley Currie competed in a visual display of specific career or career clusters in health care and placed in the top ten. Ashley Currie competed in medical terminology and also placed in the top ten. Parth Patel competed in medical math placing 3rd. Congratulations to these students and their teacher, Marilyn Floyd, and good luck at the State competition!

Two Waterford Kettering Band students recently auditioned and were accepted into the United States Army Band. Trumpeter Emery "Joey" Dubuis, a 2008 Waterford Kettering HS/Waterford Alternative HS graduate and Senior Percussionist Mike Sera were among a small group of instrumentalists who auditioned nationwide and were chosen for competitive positions as musicians with the U.S. Army Band. 

Recently, 150 Destination Imagination teams from throughout southeastern Michigan attended a competition held at Mott High School, resulting in a wonderful day of creativity. Waterford will have five teams advancing from the regional tournament to the State finals! The teams that will compete on April 4, at the Central Michigan are: Haviland, team managers Greg Heilman/Mike Haehn; Haviland, team managers Rebecca Briggs/Amy Beaupre; Crary, team managers Sally McGregor/Mike Mitchell; Pierce, team manager Kelli McCormick; and Pierce, team manager Sophia Marcero. Congratulations to all of our teams, and their managers!

Three Mason Middle School students have been named local winners in the 40th annual America & Me Essay Contest, sponsored by Farm Bureau Insurance. Katie Ward took third place, Christian Kettenbeil, was awarded second place, and Colette Verch placed first. As the first place winner, Colette will receive a plaque for display at Mason and her essay advances to the state level competition.

The Waterford School District, a co-sponsor of the Salvation Army Junior Bed and Bread Program, presented a check to Dick Purtan in the amount of $12,684.11 on February 27, 2009. The funds collected and donated by students, staff, and parents will be used to feed the hungry and homeless.

Pictured left of right: Major John Turner, Salvation Army; Zoe Makhool and Gabby Franklin, Fifth Grade Knudsen Students; Rhonda Lessel, Waterford School District; and Dick Purtan.

Mott graduate and Lawrence Technological University student Andrea Freile was named Miss Lawrence Tech. Along with her title, Freile earned $1,000 in scholarship money, received the People's Choice Award, and now has the opportunity to compete in the Miss Michigan pageant in June.

Congratulations to Mott and Kettering Varsity Hockey teams who united during their game at Lakeland for their first annual fight against cancer. The net proceeds of this event will benefit the American Cancer Society. Thank you to our student athletes, jersey sponsors, and all those who attended to support this important cause.

101 members of the Waterford Kettering Symphony Orchestra performed at the state-wide Michigan Music Conference, in Grand Rapids, on Friday, January 23. This is the first time that a Waterford School District performing arts group has been invited to perform at this prestigious conference, and was one of only two orchestras in the State to appear. Our students played an ambitious program of difficult music at DeVos Hall, and were rewarded with a
standing ovation. This is the tenth year we have offered high school orchestra, and Mr. Merlyn Beard has been the Kettering orchestra director since the onset.

Mott and Kettering Varsity Bowling Teams captured second and third place (respectively) at the Oakland County Boys Bowling Team Championship at Wonderland Lanes.

(Top, left to right: Stephan Miller, Alex Dengate Carl Boldt, Chris Craft, Joel Hartleroad, Adam Lessel, and Johnny Wilder. Bottom left to right: Kyle Kretz, Tyler Kitchen, Mike Papciak, Craig Cantrell, Jakob Fincannon, Phil Myers, and Rob Martinez.

Waterford Schools Career and Technical Education Marketing, Finance and Business/IT students represented their Career and Technical Education Student Organizations with outstanding performances in recent competitions. Kettering and Mott DECA students competed in the Career Development District conference with over 800 students. Those students qualifying for the State competition include: Mike Hernandez, Molly Ernoznik, Carley Puzniak, Felipe Navarro, Eric Cobb, Ryan Dodge, Rachel Groat, Rachel Trotter, Chad Martin, Jon Frizzle and David Else. Our Business Professionals Organization participants, from Kettering, included Greg Kabacinski who took second place in fundamentals of XHTML and will advance to State competition. Our web design team finished in second place and also advanced to State competition. Those students include Dean Smith, Greg Kabacinski, Audrey Heitsch and Kyle Adolph. Congratulations and good luck to all these students and to their teachers, Jennifer Karpushenkoff, Nancy Haller Michelle Weston, and Tony Miller.

The 21st Annual Crary Turkey Trot was held on Monday, November 24 and was a huge success. Crary students exceeded their goals by collecting 378 canned goods for the Waterford Goodfellows, $584 for the Crary Family Fund, and having 222 students participate. In honor of the students reaching their goals, Crary Principal, Craig Blomquist dressed in a turkey suit to lead the run as the honorary turkey. Thanks to Crary teacher, Jennifer Mayle, for organizing this event!

Waterford Mott has been selected to perform The Nerd at the Michigan Thespian Festival on Friday, December 5. Mott Thespians competed against eight other schools and were even selected for the best time slot to perform. Cast members include Zach Craft, Tom Quinn, Adam Sutherland, Jocelyn Cutean, Steven Drake (Beaumont Elementary), Hannah Matthers and Brandon Toncray. Marilyn Drake is the sponsor of the Mott International Thespian Society, as well as director of this show. Design was by Brian Drake, and Technical Direction by Scott Finn. Congratulations to these students and staff.

Three Waterford Kettering High School Band students were selected to perform with this year's CMU Honor Band in Mt. Pleasant, MI. They are:  Seniors Amanda Sams (Clarinet) and Chris Petersmark (Trombone), and Junior Josh Roltsch (Euphonium). Members of the CMU Honor Band were selected from a large group of students who submitted recorded auditions, with only half of the students selected who tried out. The group rehearsed on Saturday, November 15th and Sunday, November 16th, with a performance on the 16th at CMU's Staples Concert Hall. The band was conducted by CMU Director of Bands, John Williamson.

From Left:  Chris Petersmark, John Williamson
(CMU Director of Bands), Amanda Sams, Josh Roltsch

Eighteen Waterford Kettering High School Band students were chosen to participate in the Central Michigan University Instrumental Workshop, along with 450 other Michigan high school band students. The workshop featured performances by CMU's Faculty Jazz Combo, several student chamber ensembles, and concluded with the CMU Symphonic Wind Ensemble, conducted by John Williamson, Director of Bands. Students were also given the opportunity to work with CMU professors on each of the wind and piano instruments, learning various techniques and methods for individual improvement and growth.

From Left, Front  Row:  Chris Petersmark, Josh Roltsch, Garren Salk, Ally McKeever, Audrey Schult. Back Row:  Nick Cummins, Nolan Boyda, Alex Burns, Mary Schoenbach, Josh Williams, Trevor Lyon (continuing lower) Caroline Rabideau, Amanda Sams, Amber Hill, Maggie Schantz, Sarah Martin, Kyle Saffron, Scott Bridson

Christopher Petersmark, Senior from Waterford Kettering High School, was selected to perform in the 2009 Michigan School Band and Orchestra Association (MSBOA) All-State Band on Saturday, January 24, 2009, as a part of the state-wide music teacher conference in Grand Rapids—the Michigan Music Conference. Chris plays Trombone and was selected from a field of 80 trombone players from Michigan. Only 12 students were chosen on his instrument to perform with the All-State Band, and from this group Chris placed 1^st chair in the State.

Waterford School District's Robotics Team is taking the county competition by storm this season. They have been awarded the Beautiful Bot Award, The VEX Award, a second place finish in the Birmingham Seaholm tournament and a first place finish in the Holly High School Diversity Showcase tournament.

Waterford Kettering alum, Chelsea Harris’ art work is included in the 2008-2009 Governor's Traveling Exhibit. The show was displayed at the Michigan Art Education Association State Conference in October and will now travel to various sites throughout Michigan, including Waterford Kettering HS. Congratulations to Chelsea, and her instructors, Lori Groff and Frank Puddy.

Just prior to Halloween, students of the Mott Drama Club dressed in their Halloween costumes and stood outside Tenuta's to collect canned goods for the needy. This year they broke their record and collected 3,171 pounds of food, which was donated to Gleaners food bank and stays local. The International Thespian Society has confirmed that this was the largest collection by a local troupe in the State of Michigan.

The Kettering High School student newspaper, The Murmur, placed 6th in the National Scholastic Press Association‘s “Best of Show” competition. This is the second time that the newspaper has placed and it’s the highest finish ever for a Waterford Publication. In addition, two Kettering students received honorable mentions in the on-site writing and design competitions: Lauren Wamsley for “Inside Page Design” and Adam Crane for “Sports Writing.”

The Mason Mariner Chorus has been selected to perform at the Michigan Education Association’s Instruction and Professional Development Conference on Saturday, December 6, 2008 at the Dearborn Hyatt Regency. This state-wide conference is called, “Set the Stage for Learning,” and will be attended by several hundred Michigan educators, presenting a wonderful showcase opportunity for our talented Mason Middle School singers. Congratulations to Mason choir teacher, Jackie Thompson and these PAVA students.

31 Kettering and Mott High School students have earned the distinction of AP Scholar by the College Board in recognition of their exceptional achievement on the college-level 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, advanced placement, or both for successful performance on the AP exams.

Michael Lively, student at Kettering High School, scored a perfect score of 36 on the ACT. He took the test after he completed his 10th grade and a nearly perfect score on the ACT's pretest the PLAN. Lively is ranked the No. 1 student in his class of 405 students, holds a GPA of 4.12 on a 4.0 scale and scored a 5 on both the Advanced Placement Language and Composition and Advanced Placement United States History exams. He also plays the cello in the Chamber and Symphony Orchestras at Kettering. Lively is nearly deaf and uses a wireless microphone system and hearing aids. Lively has not made a decision about his career but is interested in music, physics and mathematics.

Congratulations to 2008 Kettering High School graduate, Cassie Nealis, who was recently announced as an honorable mention in the National Scholastic Press Association’s individual award competition. Her award is in the category of “yearbook page design” for a spread in last year’s book about Kettering alumni.

Mott High School running sensation, Shannon Osika, took the gold medal this summer at the AAU Junior Olympics in Track and Field. Good job Shannon!

At Crary Middle School, 165 students participated in the Summer Reading Program, Creating Active Readers Year-Round. Each student was given a summer reading list and each participant received one free book to get them started. This program was open to current students, exiting 8th graders, and incoming 6th grade students. On September 26, a celebration of the students success will take place at an assembly and recognition program. Thank you to Crary Literacy Coach, Mary Jacques, for her outstanding efforts in getting this program up and running.

Congratulations to 2008 Mott graduate, Erika McCracken who received one of three $1,000 college scholarships awarded locally from the Qdoba Mexican Restaurant on Dixie Highway in Clarkston. This is a great example of area business supporting the education of local youth.

Waterford Kettering High School Symphony Orchestra has been selected to perform at the next Michigan Music Conference in 2009. This is invitation only and many orchestras across the State compete for a performance invitation. The Michigan Music Conference usually has only 8 or 9 instrumental groups perform each year. This is the first time that any Waterford music ensemble has been invited to perform at Michigan Music Conference. The performance will be in January 2009 at the DeVos Hall in Grand Rapids.

Coty Hough, Kettering High School senior, was awarded $2,500 from the Matthew P. Frankfurth Memorial Scholarship Fund. This scholarship fund was established to honor and remember Kettering student Matt Frankfurth and was open to all Waterford School District seniors. Coty plans to utilize this scholarship for entrance in the fireman/paramedic academy through Oakland Community College.

Cooley Elementary School 5th grade flutist Cameron Halls had the opportunity to perform in a 200 member Tribute Community Flute Choir with Sir James Galway at the University of Michigan’s Hill Auditorium as a part of their 2008 Ford Honors Program.

Kettering Student Emily Balthrap was named a finalist in Google’s “Doodle 4 Google” Contest. She was chosen from thousands of students across the nation for her artistic merit. Bathrap's project was titled “What if we understood Autism?”

Autism first came to the public eye in the 1930’s. From then on it has grown at a rapid pace. Autism is a brain development disorder that impairs social interaction and communication, and causes restricted and repetitive behavior, all starting before a child is three years old. With every 1 in 150 infants showing signs of autism, concerned parents and well educated doctors are all asking the same question, “What causes this?”  Science has very little leads as to what causes autism including childhood vaccinations and genetic heritability, both however have very little evidence. Medications and programs are able to help people with autism but they are not the solution. In order to find a solution, we need to find the problem causing this disorder. Therefore, I propose a national Autism Awareness Day complete with is own Google title.

Kettering's newspaper, The Murmur, was awarded a Spartan as one of the top 25 newspapers in the State at the spring journalism awards conference. This is the third Spartan award for the Kettering student newspaper in the last four years and the staff is overjoyed that their hard work has resulted in such recognition. Numerous individual student and staff awards were also received for the student newspaper and the 2007 yearbook.

Students from the Kettering and Mott DECA chapters competed at the State Career Development conference where they represented the top 12 percent of marketing students in the State of Michigan. Over 127 high schools were represented. Students were required to take a marketing occupational test, present a role play in their chosen occupational area and defend their research projects. Based on their performance, Sarah Nagel, Hanna Langston, Nicole Derocher, Julie Harkins, and Jake Squier have qualified to participate in the international career development conference.

Cooley student Steven Seth was awarded the Young Courage Award from Red Cross at a Ceremony of Hero's Celebration of courage, hope, and inspiration. Former Detroit Mayor Dennis Archer spoke about Seth and told of his accomplishments.

Waterford Mott High School art students received top honors in the 2008 Scholastic Art Awards in the Southeastern Michigan competition. Students from Oakland and Wayne counties submitted over 3600 pieces of artwork for consideration. Only 1000 pieces were chosen for the regional exhibition at the College for Creative Studies.

Gold Key recipients include Jessica Smith – Portfolio, Marsaun Baugh – Drawing, and Kali Riley Video and Film, as well as Digital Imagery. Silver Key recipients include Laura Boehme – Jewelry, Alec Helwig, Amanda McCray, Jessica Smith – Drawing. Smith also received a Silver Key for Painting. Renee’ Ciennik is their art teacher.

Kettering Senior Alexandra McGregor and Mott Senior Miranda McIntyre have been chosen as Channel 7’s Brightest and Best. The Brightest & Best salutes outstanding graduating high school seniors. Since 1980, the station has honored graduating seniors from public and private schools who have demonstrated excellence in academic, extracurricular, and community pursuit. The program has recognized over 7,000 high school seniors, making it the longest-running program of its kind in the Detroit market.

Kettering High School Senior Andrew Brackins was named State Wrestling Champion. He is the first State Champion at Kettering in the sport of wrestling. Andrew finished his senior year with a 59-1 record for the season and 156-47 for his career.

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