SCHOOL BOARD SHOUT-OUTS, DECEMBER 2023 Paw Paw Public Schools Board of Education At the end of each regular Board of Education Meeting, the board members each take a moment to share some of the great things they see in the district while serving on the Board. Here are this month's points of Pride & Progress. “I’d like to give a shout-out to our bands. They recently hosted the Michigan School Band and Orchestra Association (MSBOA) All-Star Bands, which was a big win! Also, kudos to the PEP Band and the student section at Friday’s basketball game. They all sounded great! I attended the last Senior Citizens Luncheon. If possible, I encourage you to attend one of the luncheons. I’d also like to recognize the PPHS Students of the Month: Abigail Goodwin in September, Billy Webster in October, and Molly Goodwin in November. On another note, the digital photography class worked with the yearbook staff to inform seniors, who still need photos taken, that we have student photographers who can help, allowing as many seniors as possible to have photos in the yearbook. Lastly, we have both a boys and a girls wrestling team at the High School this year!” Brent McNitt “At the Central Office, I heard we had a good financial audit, which is great news! Nice work by the whole team to make that a success. It’s also great to see all the Strategic Plan work that is coming out of the Central Office in the areas of goals and objectives to not only implement the plan, but also to improve upon it. For the Transportation Department, it was awesome to see their Dr. Suess “Whoville” Christmas Theme on display in the Christmas Parade. Nice teamwork there!”  Dale Pease “At the Middle School, under the Core Value of Integrity, 17 students on the Robotics Team competed and placed 8th and 11th overall in a regional competition, which represented a lot of sacrifice and teamwork. The previous placement was close to 30th, so this showed amazing growth and improvement! In the area of Kindness at the MS, the new Friendship Lunch Group, made up of 13 students from all grades, is a seven-week program designed to create, nurture, and enhance friendships. Lastly, kudos to MS Band Director Kevin Cort on a successful day of Solo and Ensemble, another fantastic way to bring other schools into our district, to be an example, and to show off our Core Values.”  Ray Martin  “I want to congratulate the supervisors in their new positions. I also want to recognize PPPS staff and others who are not PPPS employees, for going out of their way to help fix things when they break down. I was excited to learn that the custodial department is now fully staffed! When I met with Transportation Director Angela Vasquez recently, she was interviewing someone for a bus driver position, so hopefully that comes through. If anyone knows of someone who might be interested in a driver or substitute driver position, please have them reach out to angela.vasquez@ppps.org.  On another note, thank you to the band for a great performance! Lastly, I met with Food Service Director Korrie Perkins, and she was nice enough to walk me through her vision of the new addition to the High School Cafeteria. It’s going to be nice!” Nate Mitchell   “At the Early Elementary, students and staff are participating in several exciting holiday events and community initiatives throughout the month of December: the Lions Club Christmas Basket Program, a hot chocolate sale, the Senior Citizens Luncheon, Listen to Reading at the EE, a dental screening and a Holiday Drive-Through event on Tuesday, December 19th from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Families are invited to drive through the bus loop, wave to EE staff, and grab a sweet treat for the holidays!” Tom Baney  “The Cedar Street Campus is doing their first pop-up shop for charitable donations, which I think is a great idea! They will be offering socks, winter jackets, among other items that will help families get through the winter. The shop is open to those in need, and they can come by to pick up anything they might need or want. To learn more, please contact Cedar Street Director Beckah Chartier at beckah.chartier@ppps.org.” Jon Vick

Paw Paw Public Schools Board of Education

At the end of each regular Board of Education Meeting, the board members each take a moment to share some of the great things they see in the district while serving on the Board. Here are this month's points of Pride & Progress.

“I’d like to give a shout-out to our bands. They recently hosted the Michigan School Band and Orchestra Association (MSBOA) All-Star Bands, which was a big win! Also, kudos to the PEP Band and the student section at Friday’s basketball game. They all sounded great! I recently attended the Senior Citizens Luncheon. If possible, I encourage you to attend one of the luncheons. I’d also like to recognize the PPHS Students of the Month: Abigail Goodwin in September, Billy Webster in October, and Molly Goodwin in November. On another note, the digital photography class worked with the yearbook staff to inform seniors, who still need photos taken, that we have student photographers who can help, allowing as many seniors as possible to have photos in the yearbook. Lastly, we have both a boys and a girls wrestling team at the High School this year!” Brent McNitt

“At the Central Office, I heard we had a good financial audit, which is great news! Nice work by the whole team to make that a success. It’s also great to see all the Strategic Plan work that is coming out of the Central Office in the areas of goals and objectives to not only implement the plan, but also to improve upon it. For the Transportation Department, it was awesome to see their Dr. Seuss “Whoville” Christmas Theme on display in the Christmas Parade. Nice teamwork there!”  Dale Pease

“At the Middle School, under the Core Value of Integrity, 17 students on the Robotics Team competed and placed 8th and 11th overall in a regional competition, which represented a lot of sacrifice and teamwork. The previous placement was close to 30th, so this showed amazing growth and improvement! In the area of Kindness at the MS, the new Friendship Lunch Group, made up of 13 students from all grades, is a seven-week program designed to create, nurture, and enhance friendships. Lastly, kudos to MS Band Director Kevin Cort on a successful day of Solo and Ensemble, another fantastic way to bring other schools into our district, to be an example, and to show off our Core Values.”  Ray Martin     

"Congratulations to the supervisors in their new positions! I also want to recognize PPPS staff and others, for going out of their way to help fix things when they break down. I was excited to learn that the custodial department is now fully staffed! When I met with Transportation Director Angela Vasquez recently, she was interviewing someone for a bus driver position, so hopefully that comes through. If anyone knows of someone who might be interested in a driver or sub driver position, please have them reach out to angela.vasquez@ppps.org.  On another note, thank you to the band for a great performance! Lastly, I met with Food Service Director Korrie Perkins, and she was nice enough to walk me through her vision of the new addition to the High School Cafeteria. It’s going to be nice!”  Nate Mitchell

“At the Early Elementary, students and staff are participating in several exciting holiday events and community initiatives throughout the month of December: the Lions Club Christmas Basket Program, a hot chocolate sale, the Senior Citizens Luncheon, Listen to Reading at the EE, a dental screening and a Holiday Drive-Through event on Tuesday, December 19th from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Families are invited to drive through the bus loop, wave to EE staff, and grab a sweet treat for the holidays!” Tom Baney

“The Cedar Street Campus is doing their first pop-up shop for charitable donations, which I think is a great idea! They will be offering socks, winter jackets, among other items that will help families get through the winter. The shop is open to those in need, and they can come by to pick up anything they might need or want. To learn more, please contact Cedar Street Director Beckah Chartier at  beckah.chartier@ppps.org.” Jon Vick