Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Where Are They Now?

Joe Harner is a Plymouth High School graduate of the Class of 2000. In high school, Joe excelled in speech and debate and was an active member of FFA. Recently, Joe auditioned for OUT OF THE WILD: THE ALASKA EXPERIMENT an eight-part Discovery Channel series that looks at our fascination with and the exploration of one of the most inhospitable terrains on earth. Forty thousand tapes were submitted to the producers. After emails and telephone interviews, 27 people were sent to Hollywood for 1 week (all expenses paid). From that group, 12 were sent to Anchorage, Alaska for a week. (again FREE) Nine were finally selected for the show and stayed in Alaska for taping. All gear was provided and Joe was paid for his time. The show will premier on April 14, 2009 at 10:00 p.m. EST on the Discovery Channel. Below is a link for more information about the show. Joe is the one with the beard! Joe and his fiancée, Cari Manson, also a Plymouth graduate live in Ashland Wisconsin.

http://realitytvwebsite.com/RealityTVNews/Discovery-Channel-Announces-Series-Premieres-Of-OUT-OF-THE-WILD-THE-ALASKA-EXPERIMENT.html

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Blog Bits

Nominations are now being accepted at Plymouth High School and until April 17, 2009, for the PHS Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame Award which will be presented at the 2009 Alumni Association Banquet on June 19, 2009.

After all nominations are received, the committee will review the nominations and select a PHS alumnus who has made a significant contribution in his/her field or has been of exceptional service to his/her profession either locally, statewide, and/or nationally.

A nomination form may be obtained at PHS, Marshall County Historical Society, WTCA, Plymouth Library, Chamber of Commerce, Marshall County Convention and Tourism Bureau or from any committee member. A form also appears in THE PILOT-NEWS.

The Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame committee members are James Condon, PHS Principal; Larry Pinkerton, retired PHS principal who originated the award in 1984; Jack Greenlee, Class of 1947; Sally Johnson Greenlee, Class of 1966; Larry Holloway, Class of 1962; Beverly Kelso Brummett, Class of 1965; Mary Lee Williams Rudd, Class of 1951; Karen MacLain Liedtky, Class of 1977; and Jane Faulstich Nelson, Class of 1985 and Laura Jeffirs Kruyer, Class of 1988, PHS teachers and co-chairpersons.

Previous winners of the award are Major General Larry N. Tibbetts, Class of 1952; James L. Parsons, Class of 1933 and Dr. Foster and Louise Link Montgomery, Class of 1930; Commodore Schuyler F. Heim, Class of 1902; Mearl D. Strombeck, Class of 1918; Walter A. Glaub, Class of 1932 and Charles O. Glaub, Class of 1935; Noble E. Kizer, Class of 1919; Lt. Col Lewis L. Hawkins, Class of 1948; Donald R. Minix, Class of 1940; Florence Hoham, Class of 1922; George F. Stevens, Class of 1920; Dr. Edith Boyer Schuman Tackitt, Class of 1923; Dr. Ruth Mangun Holland, Class of 1942; C. Arthur Thomas, Class of 1926; Dr. M. Sue Pifer, Class of 1957; Marshall F. Kizer, Class of 1925; Dr. James Harley Kellar, Class of 1939; Frederick C. Morrow, Class of 1941; Robert L. Hileman, Class of 1940; Scott Skiles, Class of 1982; Lester D. Read, Class of 1943; Francis Wilson Johnson, Class of 1933; Clifford Linedecker, Class of 1950, Don Aker, Class of 1949; Fred Kehoe, Class of 1946, and Steve Yoder, Class of 1958.

A display of Hall of Fame winners is visible in the North Lobby at PHS.

There are many PHS graduates who qualify for the award. Please consider someone and submit the nomination. Nominations not selected are kept permanently to be reviewed for the following years.

For further information, call:
Laura Kruyer or Jane Nelson, PHS, (574) 936-2178

Monday, March 16, 2009

Birmingham Bound

Seven Plymouth High School students qualified for the NFL National Tournament that will be held in Birmingham, Alabama this June. To qualify for the national tournament, students needed to finish first or second in the national qualification tournament that was dominated by Plymouth and Munster. Plymouth won the tournament with a total of 107 points to Munster's total of 80. Elkhart Central was a distant third with 17.

Duo - Richard Elm and Andy Sanchez (2nd place)
USA Extemp - Declan Fox (1st place)
Humor - Andy Langdon (1st place)
International Extemp - Rebecca Moberly (1st place)
Drama - John Patrick (2nd place)
Original Oratory - Cam Robertson (2nd place)

Friday, March 13, 2009

2 Hour Delays and More

Many county roads were flooded this week due to the flood. In addition Garro Street was closed Wednesdy - Friday and Jefferson was down to one lane Thursday afternoon. It was very difficult to safely navigate the roads in the morning due to daylight savings time taking away our sunny skies.

So, my first intent is to insure that students are safe. Thus, the two-hour delays allowed for busses, parent drivers, and student drivers to navigate roads in the daylight.

My second intent is to keep students in school if possible. We used the staggered release from the high school on Thursday to create safer roads on Jefferson and Baker.

So, in final reflection, I'm not sure if the staggered release was perfectly executed, but it did allow us to be in school on Thursday and I believe it was safe. It might have been inconvenient for some families, but that's a sacrifice I was willing to accept.

Hopefully, we are now done with snow, fog, ice, wind chills, and floods for the year. The only thing we have to worry about now would be swarms of locusts. Have a good weekend.

Alternative Meeting Place for Boys and Girls Club

Due to the current flood conditions, the Boys and Girls Club of Marshall County will be using Washington Elementary School for their meeting place on Monday, March 16, 2009.

Please pick your students up at Washington Elementary by 6 p.m.

Spring Break Reminder

Monday, March 23, 2009, through Friday, March 27, 2009 school will not be in session due to Spring Break.

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Friday, March 13, 2009 - 2 Hour Delay

Plymouth Schools will operate on a 2 hour delay for Friday, March 13, 2009, with no morning preschool.

Staggered Early Release - Thursday, March 12, 2009

Current flood conditions warrant a staggered early release for the Plymouth High School today.

At 2:45 p.m., Plymouth High School students who are being picked up, who walk, or who drive will be released and ask to leave campus safely, but quickly.

This will allow the students to leave the high school and clear the intersection of Baker and Michigan before the buses leave the school at 3:25 p.m.

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Staggered Early Release

If Jefferson Street is covered Thursday afternoon before school is out, the high school will use a staggered early release. At 2:45 p.m., students who are being picked up, who walk, or who drive will be released and ask to leave campus safely, but quickly. This will allow the student to leave the high school and clear the intersection of Baker and Michigan before the buses leave the school at 3:25 p.m.

The danger we encounter by releasing all at one time is the huge bottle neck of cars and buses using Baker and Michigan. Last year we experienced such back ups that emergency vehicles would have had a difficult time to navigate an emergency on the east side of the river.

Why didn't we use this last year? Quite honestly, we didn't think about it as a possibility. Over the summer we were involved in reflection on the flood, what we did right, and what we did wrong. Keeping kids in school, but safely in school is always our mission.

Boys and Girls Club - Thursday and Friday Schedule Changes

Due to the current flood conditions, the Boys and Girls Club of Marshall County will be using Washington Elementary for their meeting place on Thursday and Friday after school. Please pick your students up at Washington Elementary by 6:00 p.m.

Thursday, March 12, 2009 - 2 Hour Delay

Plymouth Schools will operate on a 2 hour delay for Thursday, March 12, 2009, with no morning preschool.

If Jefferson Street is closed at the end of the school day on Thursday, we will initiate a staggered dismissal at the high school Thursday afternoon.

Flood Update

Current flood conditions DO NOT warrant a staggered early release for the Plymouth High School today, Wednesday, March 11, 2009.

Academic Teams Excel

Speech
The speech team won another sectional tournament last weekend. Plymouth finished in 1st place with 227 points while Canterbury finished in 2nd place with 64 points and Concord finished in 3rd place with 61 points. Thirty-five entries qualified for the state tournament. Sectional champions included Andy Langdon in Drama and Humor, Ricky Elm and Andy Langdon in Memorized Duo, Cam Robertson in Original Oratory, Rebecca Moberly in International Extemporaneous, Bryt Hiatt in USA Extemporaneous, Chad Griewank in Scripted Duo, Nick Houin in Scripted Duo and Original Performance, Zach Wendt in Poetry, and Declan Fox in Impromptu. The team will compete in the national qualifying tournament this weekend at Plymouth and the following weekend at State in Indianapolis.

BPA
The BPA Chapter competed successfully at the State Leadership Conference and now will advance the following students to the National Leadership Conference in Dallas, Texas. Students advancing to the National Leadership Conference include Tom Young and Gage Egierski in Fundamental Accounting, Stephan Baird and Kasey Greer in Payroll Accounting, Stephan Baird in Spreadsheet Analysis, Doug Booth and Ben Kraszyk in Entrepreneurship, Tim Gordon in Extemporaneous Speaking, Doug Booth, Baily Capper, Tim Gordon, and Ben Kraszyk in Small Business Management Team, and Evan Skirvin in Economic Research Project.

Yearbook Orders
Please visit the Plymouth High School website to order your yearbook. New this year is a link to purchase a yearbook and pay with your credit card. http://www.plymouth.k12.in.us/phs/index.html

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Wednesday, March 11, 2009 - 2 Hour Delay

With the flood waters now expecting to crest at 15'2" at 2:00 a.m. on Thursday, Plymouth Schools will operate on a 2 hour delay for Wednesday, March 11, 2009 with no morning preschool. There is the possibility that we will initiate a staggered dismissal at the high school Wednesday afternoon.

We are working with the city and emergency services to stay in school as long as possible, but maintain safety for all students and staff.

The footbridge behind Riverside Intermediate is closed and the footbridge across from Plymouth High School is also closed.

Monday, March 09, 2009

Blog Bits

On Friday, March 6, 2009, 34 students from Plymouth High School attended the ASCE 30th Annual Bridge Bust Competition at Purdue University.

PHS had three teams that ranked in the top 1/3 out of 87 teams. Cody Benjamin and Josh Phillips came in 12th (196.93 structural efficiency), Santiago Ibarra and Jeff Overmyer came in 15th (189.54 structural efficiency), and Logan Woodward and Sean McClellan placed 30th (129.58 structural efficiency).

For the Aesthetics portion of the competition, the students were judged using a 5 point scale, where 5 was a perfect score. The three categories were Appeal, Structure, and Design. Joel Hartung and Josh Obracta's bridge scored 4 out of 5 placing them with the 3rd highest score given. Santiago Ibarra and Jeff Overmyer scored a 3.67, scoring them with the 4th highest score. Nikkie Chalk and Shani Horvath scored a 3.17 placing them with the 7th highest score.

Blog Bits

This past weekend, the PHS Jazz Ensemble and Jazz Combo both earned the top honors (Gold Awards) at the annual ISSMA Jazz Contest @ LaPorte H.S. Both groups gave great performances and represented our music department at PHS well.

Also over the weekend, our Winter Drumline competed against 14 other schools at the Warsaw I.P.A. Winter Drumline Contest. The group placed 5th out of all participants.

This coming weekend, the Winter Drumline will compete at the State Prelims in hopes of another trip to the I.P.A. State Finals.

Also this weekend, the PHS Winter Color Guard will compete in the IHSCGA Divisional Finals with expectations of a great final performance of the season!

Friday, March 06, 2009

Blog Bits

The PHS Boys' Swim team experienced the most successful season they've had in a long time this year. They topped off a great 7 - 5 season with a hard-fought second place finish in the Warsaw sectional.

Advancing from there to the State Swim Meet were Senior Alex Eads in the 100 Butterfly and the 200 Medley Relay Team of Seniors Alex Eads, Jesse Sullivan, Josh Scott, and Rick Wise, Juniors Riley Senter, Kevin Garrity, and Joe Portteus, and Sophomore Poaolo Palmitessa.

Blog Bits

Congratulations to all ISSMA State qualifiers! This past Saturday PHS took 8 soloists and 4 ensembles to Indianapolis to compete at the State Solo and Ensemble Competition.

In the solo division the following students received a Gold rating: John Patrick, Tayler May, Matt Slaydon and Shelly Ortiz. Shelly received a PERFECT SCORE! Finishing with a Silver rating was Nicole Beguin, Scott Read, Angelina Jung and Kayla Clemons.

In the ensemble division we took 2 Golds and 2 Silvers.

The following students received a Gold rating in the large ensemble: Heather Rohr, Serena Constable, Courtney Harris, Angelina Jung, Tayler May, and Diane Sarna. The following students received a Gold rating in the small ensemble: John Patrick, Nicole Beguin, and Heather Rohr.

The following students received a Silver rating in the large ensemble: Nicole Beguin, Serena Constable, Kendall Cooper, Jessie Gibbs, Courtney Harris, Angelina Jung, Tayler May, Amy McLiver, Nicole Menser, Shelly Ortiz, John Patrick, Scott Read, Heather Rohr, Diane Sarna, Matt Slaydon, Tyler Switzer. The following students received a Silver rating in the small ensemble: Nicole Beguin, Shelly Ortiz, and Diane Sarna.