Proud of Our Students
I want to give praise to the accomplishments of a young man at Whitmore Lake High School. Caleb Henning recently received a commendation from the National Merit 
Scholarship Corporation. Caleb, like most students at WLHS, went through a battery of tests provided by SAT during his underclassmen years. One of those tests was a PSAT, which serves as the National Merit Scholarship qualifying test. Caleb scored in the top 3% of all students in this nation and internationally on the PSAT! Approximately 1.5 million high school students take this qualifying test each year. Caleb is active in many aspects of his school, and it is with great pride that I share this accomplishment.
In the past several weeks I’ve watched many WLPS students in a variety of contexts – 2nd grade students impressing the heck out of our Northfield Township Library, 5th and 6th grade students working on real-world project-based learning, a fantastic fan section at the regional final volleyball game, a volleyball team competing in that regional final with an average GPA over 3.6, and a great play put on by our WLHS Drama Club.
Caleb’s accomplishments are the highlight of weeks worth of pride that has been building inside me. A great day to be a Trojan!
Trojans Become FINactics
Hockey. Movie stars. Behind-the-scenes tours. Exploring a prospective career path. High school seems like a lot more fun than back when I was a student.
It sure was for our Trojan Sports Management class, taught by Jen Taylor, as they headed to Toledo yesterday to attend the Sports Management Career Day and a Walleyes game at the Huntington Center.
Throughout the day our students learned about all aspects of operating a sports, event and entertainment company, including sales, marketing, public relations, video production, graphic design, event management, tv/radio broadcasts, social media, and much more!
They started the day with a panel of speakers who shared their educational backgrounds, their paths to working for the Toledo Walleyes as well as what each of their jobs entails. The students heard from people within TV production, communications, social media managers, ticket sales, photographers, as well as overall management. After the speaker presentations, they went into the ice arena to watch the game, and the day kept getting better!
Whitmore Lake was selected as one of the schools to get a personal tour of the facilities. During the first intermission, our students were led “behind the scenes” of the stadium.
They got to see the Zamboni, a locker room, the management areas, take in some cool ice-level views, walk into the room where radio and TV broadcasts were taking place, and then they got to go into the TV production room.
They also got to sit down with their tour leaders and ask questions about sports management careers, learning about their experiences with internships and current jobs with a minor league team.
“The students asked a lot of great questions about the best way to get an internship with a minor-league team, what they should study in college, etc. I also think it was great for them to see how many different types of careers are involved with running a sports organization,” Ms. Taylor said.
There were also other educational activities taking place during the game. At each intermission, the Imagination Station did some on-ice science demonstrations, and there were some booths around the stadium for kids to participate in activities as well.
The Trojan Sports Management class is a new elective taught within our business department. The course focuses on increasing school culture and support for sports at WLHS both as fans and as athletes, with the hopes of increasing participation at both levels, all while studying the business side of managing sports teams and franchises.
Students should have a lot to bring back home with them on how to make the game atmosphere a lot more engaging and fun with all the chants, dancing in the stands and various promotions that happened throughout the Walleye game.
We talk about this all the time. That having the chance to get the students out of the classroom and bring what they are learning to life in the real-
world is invaluable. And oftentimes, the cost of doing so makes it a real challenge. Luckily, we have resourceful teachers who don’t let that deter them.
Having learned that many of our students had never attended a minor-league game before, Ms. Taylor started doing research on options both in Michigan and Ohio and found that the Toledo Community Foundation provides a grant to cover the cost of transportation to a Mud Hens or Walleye game. It just so happened the Walleyes were hosting a Sports Management Day as well, and the rest is history. With students paying for the deeply discounted ticket prices to the game, the transportation grant and Career Technical Education (CTE) grant funds, the field trip was on!
And to top it all off, our students just MIGHT be actors. A brand new series by Seth Meyers called “AP Bio” was filming at the game since the show is set in Toledo, and they wanted authentic Walleye footage. The pilot is set to air this March, so we will have to tune in to see if any of our Trojans made it onto the big screen!
Ms. Taylor currently has two grant applications in the works with hopes of taking next semester’s Trojan Sports Management students to the Mud Hens’ game in May. Meanwhile, you can stay updated on their work by following TroZone on Facebook, here: https://www.facebook.com/WLTroZone. You can also check out more photos from the event HERE.
WLFEE Awards Fall Grants
Please join me in congratulating the recipients of the Fall 2017 Whitmore Lake Foundation for Educational Excellence (WLFEE) grants. WLFEE’s mission is to provide financial support and public relations support for programs and projects within WLPS that enhance the educational opportunities available to all students within the schools and that provide students with exceptional educational opportunities.
WLFEE is primarily funded by staff contributions. Below are ways you can support the group’s efforts as well.
- AmazonSmile: Choose “Whitmore Lake Foundation for Educational Excellence” as your organization of choice, and any shopping you do through the site, WLFEE will receive .5%. https://smile.amazon.com/
- #TrojanPride Signs: Purchase a #TrojanPride sign HERE, and all proceeds go towards WLFEE.
- FlipGive: Similar to AmazonSmile, by signing up for FlipSide to benefit WLFEE, a percentage of your online shopping at stores like Kohls, Dick’s, Lowes, etc. goes towards WLFEE if you join their team. For more details on to join their team HERE.
- Tax-Deductible Donation: Or you can simply donate to WLFEE by mailing check or cash to WLFEE, 8845 Main Street, Whitmore Lake, MI 48189. WLFEE is a registered 501(c)(3).
Stay tuned to their Facebook page for upcoming events such as restaurant fundraisers, the May Zumbathon and more. For more information, head to wlfee.org.
