FPS School Matters - Apr 08.pmd

Administration

Figuring State Funding

This is an intriguing story of our times and the fascinating ways we continue to pay for public education.

Back in 1993, with the passage of Proposal A, many people believed that schools would no longer be funded through property taxes. Why, then, are we

asking our Fremont residents to approve a property tax

millage renewal on May 6?

Because of a quirk in that 1993 law.

Funding for school districts did change significantly in 1993-1994 when Proposal A was passed by Michigan voters. Proposal A requires the State to pay the majority of the cost, but in order to receive full funding, schools must levy 18 mills on non-homestead property in their district.

If a school district’s voters do not support these 18 mills, the state does not make up the revenue.

The awkward thing about this millage vote is that, while homeowners vote on the tax, the tax is not applied to them. Primary residences are exempt. The tax is applied only on non-homestead properties. It is paid only by people who have second homes in the school district and by certain businesses: apartments, rental homes, vacant land, and commercial and industrial properties.

Our challenge, since this renewal vote only takes place once every five years, is to make sure everyone understands that the 18-mill renewal is a tax applied only to businesses and second homes and not to their own home.

The revenue generated for Fremont schools from the 18 mills is more than $2.5 million annually, which is more than 10 percent of our budget. The balance of our funding for general operations comes from the state on a per-pupil basis - what is called our Foundation Allowance. Through this allowance, we now receive $7,204 from the state for each student.


	Student Count	2,471
	Foundation Allowance	$ 7,204
	Total Allowance	$17,801,084
	Less Non-Homestead Tax	$ 2,566,138
	Total State Payment	$15,234,946

By law, in order to obtain the total Foundation Allowance, we must collect a non-homestead millage for a portion of our budget. The State reduces its payment by this amount and pays only the balance. It is critical to note that the state always assumes we will collect these 18 mills; their payment to us will always factor in this money.

Yo u can see why it is critical that we continue to collect these 18 mills on non-homestead property in the school district and why we are telling our story once again.

Smart Money

We recently had the opportunity to refinance a portion of our long-term building debt. In the process - and this is where you, the taxpayer, comes in - we will save slightly more than $940,000.

It’s like refinancing your house - that’s what we did with the Pathfinder bonds, which were sold in 1998 to raise money for the school’s construction. This was the first opportunity to, in effect, resell those bonds at a more favorable interest rate to us. The original bond sale locked in the interest rate for a certain period of time, so the bond purchasers, the investors, could count on receiving a certain rate of return for a fixed number of years.

The original interest rate on the bonds was 4.75 percent; our new rate is 3.41 percent. When we maintain our same monthly payment over the next 13 years, based on our current millage rate – the taxes you pay – we will have cut down the total number of years left on the debt. The net result: a savings to you of almost one million dollars.

I must point out that what we are discussing is our debt fund, not the operating fund. We cannot, by law, use money collected for building debt payments to run our schools, such as to pay heat, lights, utilities, or wages.

We are very pleased with the results of this bond sale. It is another way we are working to maintain the financial integrity of our school system.

PEAK Performers

You may recall from some of my earlier writings in this space that we at Fremont schools are constantly mining our best thinking to create innovative learning programs that will prepare our children for a 21st Century world.

Today I want to highlight one of our core values that learning is enhanced when instruction is based on quality research and best practice information with the focus on what is best for all students.

Last summer eight of our staff, from the middle school, high school and Quest, participated in “PEAK” training -Performance Excellence for All Kids - over five days at Reeths-Puffer schools. They were joined by teachers from throughout the Midwest.

PEAK compiled the best practices from many theories on how to motivate students, how to teach, how students learn, how to keep kids engaged, and, ultimately, how to tap higher level thinking skills.

Teachers who attended last summer’s training now meet monthly to discuss strategies and assess their classrooms’ progress in incorporating these new techniques.

The training and supplies last summer were funded entirely from a federal grant. A second federal grant, for this summer’s program, has been approved for 12 teachers and administrators. Our goal is to continue the process each year until each of us at Fremont schools is performing at our PEAK.

These are steps each of us can take to build an exceptional educational experience for our children. Another step we are taking is to continually update the class offerings themselves – just take a look at the ‘Introduction to e-Commerce’ article on page 5.

- John D. Kingsnorth, PhD, Superintendent (231)924-2350 - jkingsnorth@fremont.net

On the Cover…

Kindergarten students at Pine Street Primary

Center recently visited Fremont City Hall to get an

inside look at city services, including the city’s fire

department! Students are pictured here exploring

one of the city’s fire trucks. For more on this Pine

Street visit, see page 9.

District Contacts

School Closings & Delays

To inquire about school closings, delays, or other school emergency situations, please call (231) 924-7317.

Budget Preparation

As we begin preparing the district’s 2008-09 budget, we once again face the many unknowns so important in developing an operating budget…

Five key factors a school district needs to know include:

• Is there an increase in foundation allowance? If so, how much?

• What is the retirement rate for the upcoming year?

• Will insurance rates increase significantly?

• Do we expect a decline in our student enrollment?

• What wage increase can we expect in contract settlements?

There are many other expenditures that make up our budget, such as utilities, supplies, gas prices, repairs, etc., but since salaries and benefits account for approximately 85 percent of a school district’s budget, any increases in these areas can significantly affect our bottom line.

Five out of the past six years, Fremont Public Schools has realized a decline in enrollment. Each lost student equates to a loss of $7,204 to the district, so losing 50 students (our five year average) would mean a loss of nearly $360,000. It might seem that as we lose 50 students, we could reduce two teachers. Unfortunately, all the students don’t leave one or two grades. These departing students are spread out over the entire district, making reductions in staff a difficult process.

A reduction in our retirement rate – from 16.72 percent to 16.54 percent is expected for 2008-09. Although we welcome this news, it still means that for every $100 paid in wages, Fremont Public Schools pays out $16.54 in retirement costs. This is one of the reasons Fremont, and many other districts, now contract employees, such as substitutes, coaches and custodial help through a third party.

Initial reports on our foundation allowance for the 2008-09 school year were that we would receive an increase of $216 per student. However, state revenues are lower than originally anticipated, so once again we wait for the unknown…

Until we have a better idea of our increases or decreases, we will need to prepare for a potential budget reduction.

Fremont Public Schools currently is offering a voluntary severance package. If some employees take advantage of this offer, it will help close our anticipated budget gap.

Although we once again face potential budget reductions, we are proud that we have maintained great programs despite reducing our budget over $6 million since 2002. We will continue to use our funds as effectively as possible while providing the best education for the students of Fremont Public Schools.

- Bing Hanson Lake Director of Financial Services

Meet Ryan Ergang

Director of Operations Rod Burkle retir ed in December. The district then went through a search process for his replacement. After a thorough search, Mr. Ryan Ergang was selected as the district’s new director of operations. The position is expected to expand to include the oversight of at least one other school district in Newaygo County.

Ryan lives in Kent City with his wife Becky and their

two sons, Ben and Steven. Ryan is looking forward to

moving to

Fremont after his youngest son, Steven graduates from Kent City next year.

Ryan most recently served as director of operations for the Wayland Union School district. Before that, he worked in operations with Cornerstone University and Grandville schools.

We are excited to have a man with his experience and character join our school district family.

People : The Heart of Energy Reduction

Fremont Public Schools has energy conscious people who strive to make cost-reduction and environment-saving practices an every day ritual. They are the real heart of the FPS Energy Program.

From the School Board members approving the Energy Guidelines, to staff members, principals, coaches, custodians, maintenance and community members – we all have important roles in the district’s E nergy Savings Program. We work together to put our money towards education rather than utilities. We consume less and conserve more.

As Energy Manager, I visit buildings at various times of the day or at night to monitor systems’ start-up and shutdown, gathering information on how the buildings’ lighting and HVAC systems are operating, tracking down the big “Energy Hogs” - motors, circulating pumps and exhaust fans that do not need to be running at certain times - and entering utility usage in sophisticated software to compare data from previous months and even years.

We all are aware that utility rates continue to increase and yet, the district is still saving money. For example, when comparing January 2006 to January 2007, the district experienced an electrical savings of 15.1 percent. When comparing January 2007 to January 2008, that savings increased to 20.4 percent! Natural gas savings in January 2007, compared to January 2006, were 4.3 percent. Savings in January 2008, compared to January 2007, were 15.8 percent!

We cannot control rates, but we can focus on behaviors by turning off, unplugging, and utilizing night set-backs.

As for the “Energy Star Award,” a national symbol for energy-efficiency in America, all six school buildings qualified. I am just waiting for the engineer to verify the data.

- Rose Stariha, Energy Manager/Educator

School Election: May 6, 2008

Fremont Public Schools will be holding its annual school election on May 6, 2008. Two issues will be on this year’s school election ballot: the non-homestead millage (for more information, see ‘Figuring State Funding’ on page 2) and two, four-year positions on the Fremont Public Schools Board of Education, with three candidates running for these positions (Jim Featherstone, Phil Harmon and Ty Miller).

For more information on these issues, please refer to the Newaygo County website at http:// www.countyofnewaygo.com/Clerk/ClerkHome.htm, then click on the election icon found on the right hand side, or stop by the FPS administration office located at 220 W Pine Street.

Introduction to e-Commerce

The Internet is rapidly changing the size of and accessibility to the world around us. In theory, the Internet knows no geographical boundaries, political boundaries, or time boundaries. It has “leveled the playing field” so to speak. As a small business owner, one can work wherever he/she may live - urban, suburban, rural or remote. Simply stated, all that is needed is to be “connected,” meaning Internet-ready. Information, people, places, and things become just a click away as the boundaries diminish.

The exponential growth of computerization and connectivity is offering another dimension to business in the form of e-Commerce, which means using the Internet to assist in the trading of product and services. Entrepreneurs all over the globe look to the Internet and e-Commerce as another avenue to create, cultivate or expand their ideas - electronically. Utilizing the Internet to conduct business (sometimes referred as a “click & mortar”) offers the possibility to reach a much larger market base than exclusive “brick & mortar” businesses. The world can potentially become your storefront - a truly leveled playing field.

Many of us view our computers as an essential part of our daily routines, both within our personal and our work lives. Given their exponential growth around the globe, with new and innovative ways of utilizing computers popping up daily, they offer a readily available medium with which to conduct business.

Exploring the topic of e-Commerce is the intent behind the new course under development at Fremont High School. This course explores using the Internet to demonstrate how basic business concepts apply to the world of e-Commerce. It covers personal topics such as retail purchasing, online banking, and consumer education, in addition to business topics such as marketing, advertising, security, communication, financial principles, money management, banking, inventory and more.

This course offers high school students a chance to take a closer look at business through the world of e-Commerce. With online sales growing rapidly, coupled with the growing innovativeness of today’s youth, this course is sure to offer a unique learning experience for our students.

Introduction to e-Commerce is to be offered at the FHS starting with the 08-09 school year.

Spotlighting the Exceptional

Breaking Ivy League Records

At the Boys Swim and Dive team awards banquet held earlier this week, Mary Pekel shared great news from Carol Jones about the continued swim success of Bill and Dan Jones (Co-Valedictorians, FHS 2005) on the Harvard swim team.

Bill recently won the 100 Butterfly at the EISL Championship Meet. He set both a new pool and school record! Dan earned fifth place in the same race.

Bill also qualified for the Olympic Time Trials, which will be held in July. Dan is VERY close and will try again to qualify.

At the EISL Championship Meet (Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Cornell, Columbia, Brown, Dartmouth, and Navy)...

■ Harvard beat Princeton by over 300 points

■ Harvard won 13 of 19 swim events

■ Harvard won all of the relays (Bill was on all but one of the relay teams)

■ Seven records were broken

■ Bill’s 100 Butterfly time was 47.29 – The fastest time in Ivy League history, NCAA ‘B’ cut (47.19 for A cut).

■ 200 Butterfly... Bill took school, meet and EISL records in second place. Dan placed sixth with a personal record

■ 50 Freestyle... Bill set a new personal record with a time of 20.74

■ 200 IM... Dan set a new personal record with a time of 1:51.63

Kesteloot Honored by DOD

Airman 1st Class Molly Kesteloot, daughter of FPS Special Education Teacher Kay Kesteloot, was recently recognized for several high honors.

First of all, she was named the 2007 Air Traffic Controller of the Year for Moody Air Force Base.

Second, and to her stunned surprise, she won the nomination for the 2008 Department of Defense (DOD) African American History Month Recognition Award due to her “outstanding service and professionalism while deployed to Iraq.” Originally, she’d won the Air Force (AF) nomination, representing the entire Air Combat Command group (including over 120,000 airmen) and then later she won the AF nomination representing the entire Air Force.

This is a very big deal, as she received a personal letter of recognition for each nomination from General John D.W Corley Commander of Air Combat Command for the USAF (he’s a biggie – a 5-Star general). The letters praised her for her dedication and leadership to the US Air Force.

As if that wasn’t enough, from there she was selected as THE DOD winner of this award, beating out candidates representing the other branches of armed services, including the Army, Navy, Marines and Coast Guard. She was shocked and the air traffic controllers at Moody were thrilled!

Molly continues to impress and amaze everyone with her knowledge, work ethic, and professionalism - and she just turned 22 on Saturday! Congratulations Molly! You make us proud!

Check out even more of Molly’s accomplishments…

1/23/2008 - COLUMBUS AFB, Miss. – “I was offered an amazing opportunity in May of 2007... I was to act as the Chief Controller for Balad’s Combined Enroute Radar Approach Control, the Department of Defense’s busiest airfield operation. I’m a fairly confident individual but Balad is legendary in the Air Traffic Control profession as a make you or break you type of location and I was apprehensive but excited about the challenge. “Upon arriving it was clear that Balad CERAP would live up to its legend. It was extremely busy and complex. However, what really impressed me was how the Airmen responded to the challenge. Airmen like Airman 1st Class Molly Kesteloot who had less than three years in the service but was on her second deployment to Iraq. Airman Kesteloot achieved a full facility certification only eight days after arriving at Balad. This remarkable feat is admirable for a seasoned seven level controller much less an Airman with less than three years service. Airman Kesteloot is just one example of many from my initial experience at Balad that reinforced my belief that our United States Air Force produces the world’s best and most qualified personnel.”

- Chief Master Sgt. Frederick Soechting, 14th Operations Group Superintendent

Stariha Qualifies for Nationals

John Stariha II of Fremont recently competed for the Grand Valley State University wrestling team at the NCWA North Central Conference Championships held in Columbus, Ohio.

Stariha placed second at the championships, losing in the championship finals by 6-4 in overtime. That placement qualified him for the NCWA National Tournament held on March 13-15 in Lakeland, Florida. There, Stariha competed in the 184 lb. weight bracket. He pinned his first-round opponent in less than a minute (0:55). He pinned his second around opponent in 6:17. In his third round, though, Stariha met his match, loosing to the second-place tournament champion. Congratulations John!

A Packer Backer Investment

We are pleased to announce that the Packer Backers have agreed to purchase a new electronic scoreboard for the

A NBFI-' theme contest was held by the Fremont Area Chamber of Commerce back in early January. With close to 100 entries it was a tough decision on what theme to choose. There were so many creative entries, it was nice to see them all wanting to participate in something that is such a big pail of their community.

The festival committee chose a combination of two entries that were received. Connor submitted the winning theme, "America the Beautiful" along with some great ideas on characters for this theme. Brandi 's theme was very close to the same one that was chosen, so it was decided to use her character ideas that would also represent the theme. Both of the winners will receive two free wristbands that they may use for our "Pay One Price" day during the festival.

swimming program.

This state-of-art board has all the ‘bells and whistles,’ is upgradeable, expandable, and also displays dive scores at the touch of a button. Its program is linked statewide instantly with all other venues and we have agreed to purchase a new laptop to go with

Water Rescue & Safety Demonstration Free Admission

Fremont Lake City Park & Beach

Monday, May 19, 2008

7:00 – 8:00 p.m.

Sponsored by: Gerber Memorial Health Services & the Fremont Lake Association

Life Saving & First Aid Demonstrations by: Gerber

Memorial Health Services, Life EMS Ambulance Services,

Fremont Fire Rescue & the Fremont Police Department.

Boating Regulation Demonstrations by: The Newaygo County Sheriffs Department & the DNR.

Police and Sheriff Officers will distribute coupons from Lake

Side Swirl for a FREE SMALL CONE to all children (with

adult purchase) after attending the demonstrations.

it.

It is a very fun new toy that was somewhat painful for our bank account ($10,300), but much needed and well worth it. We were just thrilled to have the funds available to help out. Thanks to Mary Pekel, Tom Palmer and Scott Sherman for their help.

The swim scoreboard was actually the second big purchase of the season. The first purchase was a ball machine for the tennis program - it does everything I am told, but play the game for you. Our tennis program is certainly on the rise and we were very happy to be able to buy this machine.

Soccer should be another premier sporting event in our town now. I am very interested in our new soccer field and its progression. We are currently examining existing structures and working to figure out what the Packer Backers would need to do to get a working concession stand ready. Anyone wishing to help with this soccer project, please call (231) 924-2350 for more information!

Thank you for continuing to support our Fremont Packers!

Pine Street

Primary Center

Pine Street Celebrates Reading

March was reading month and Pine Street students celebrated the many ways reading enriches our lives.

The students’ reading focused on the books of Leo Lionni. Also throughout the month, teachers performed ‘teacher plays’ with familiar childhood stories: Goldilocks and the Three Bears, The Three Little Pigs, and Little Red Riding Hood. These stories were chosen for their familiar content, repetition, and high interest. Students became a part of each book as the story and characters came to life. Watching adults have such a great time with dramatization promoted the students’ interest in books, reading and re-enacting familiar short stories.

On March 21, students participated in “March Around and Read.” The students began this special day with the video “Swimmy” and then they proceeded to various rooms for morning activities, crafts and prizes based on other books by our featured author, Leo Lionni.

Reading can take many forms from studying a cereal box at breakfast to cuddling while reading a bedtime story. Enjoying books and being able to read well are two goals we have for every student.

P/T Conferences & Book Fair

Pine Street Parent/Teacher conferences will be held April 21-April 24. We encourage your attendance and input – our goal is 100 percent attendance.

Our Scholastic Book Fair is also scheduled during this time and we are thrilled to offer this educational experience to our students. This year’s theme is “Reading Road Trip.” We invite your entire family to visit us during the book fair. Yo u and your child will get the chance to purchase bestsellers, award winners, picture books and other great items.

We look forward to seeing you at Parent/Teacher Conferences and our book fair!

A Journey to City Hall

After a six-week unit of study on ‘Health Helpers’ in their Michigan Health curriculum, kindergarten students at Pine Street Primary Center visited Fremont City Hall for the ninth year in a row. The students had the opportunity to meet the mayor, visit the fire department, see a police car, and tour Council chambers.

The city hall trip provides a hands-on experience for students to learn about our local government, meet the people behind the scenes and see emergency equipment up close.

Pine Street’s staff would like to thank Mayor Rynberg, Mr. Yonker, Mr. Blake, Chief of Police Phil Deur, Officer Hendrie and Firefighter Bell for taking time out of their busy schedules to educate our children!

This trip is always a memorable and meaningful experience for all!

A Visit to the Post Office

Kindergarten students at Pine Street have been busy learning about their community. Many professionals that help run and form our community visited our school this winter.

In mid-February, Pine Street students had the oppor tunity to visit the Fremont Post Office to witness postal workers first-hand. Students were given a tour of the facility and were able to hand cancel a special Valentine they mailed home.

Pathfinder Goes Global

Pathfinder third-grade students recently participated in World Math Day - a global celebration of numbers. There were 150 different countries participating in real time.

During this event, our students completed mental math problems, competing against two or three other students from around the world. Each student logged in and created their own Avatar (their ID during the competition).

The goal of the World Math Day was for students around the world to answer 50,000 questions in the 48 hours that make up March 8^th around the globe. Problems were answered by over 1 million students.

The Pathfinder students answered 9,181 questions correctly in the 589 minutes that they were on-line. The average improvement in mental arithmetic by our students was 58.9 percent!

As the students competed and earned points, they were able to buy things for their Avatars. One student was able to buy green hair for his Avatar! How exciting! The top student in our class answered 1,341 questions. The student with the top improvement experienced a 286 percent improvement!

We are so grateful for the new Mobile Computer Lab that Pathfinder received this year through a technology grant. Without a laptop on every student’s desk, we could not have competed. Thank you FTD! The third graders really loved this opportunity!

Second-Grade Sled Champions

One of the monthly homework projects for Mrs. Dawson’s students is to create a sled that is no bigger than 12x12x12.” Once constructed, the students race their sleds down the sledding hill at Pathfinder Elementary.

The project is designed to help kids think about the properties different materials have that make them more or less useful for speeding down the hill and going the farthest distance. It is great to see the kids get so excited about their inventive ideas.!

This year the three winning sleds belonged to: Logan (left) – second place with his sled named ‘Red Ride,’ Nakita (middle) – first place with her sled named ‘Flying Dinner’ and Natalie (right)- third place with her sled named ‘Pinky Bear.’

Great job second graders!

Books, Games & Pajamas?!

Climbing to New Heights

Pathfinder students are taking physical education class to new heights – literally.

Pathfinder students were able to experience the thrill of climbing a new rock wall recently during gym class.

Red Pod students recently wore their pajamas and slippers and brought blankets and stuffed animals to school in an attempt to beat the doldrums of winter.

Teachers Tammie Campbell and Lynda Tuuk played PJ Bingo (a language arts skill game) and “Brain Quest” (a quiz bowl type game) with their excited first graders before watching a Winnie the Pooh movie as part of celebrating author A. A. Milne’s January birthday. A “bed-time snack” of milk and chocolate chip cookies was followed by a familiar “bedtime” story.

Pictured above are Zayne and Heather from Mrs. Deuling’s first-grade class.



	PEAK Performers You may recall from some of my earlier writings in this space that we at Fremont schools are constantly mining our best thinking to create innovative learning programs that will prepare our children for a 21st Century world. Today I want to highlight one of our core values that learning is enhanced when instruction is based on quality research and best practice information with the focus on what is best for all students. Last summer eight of our staff, from the middle school, high school and Quest, participated in “PEAK” training -Performance Excellence for All Kids - over five days at Reeths-Puffer schools. They were joined by teachers from throughout the Midwest. PEAK compiled the best practices from many theories on how to motivate students, how to teach, how students learn, how to keep kids engaged, and, ultimately, how to tap higher level thinking skills. Teachers who attended last summer’s training now meet monthly to discuss strategies and assess their classrooms’ progress in incorporating these new techniques. The training and supplies last summer were funded entirely from a federal grant. A second federal grant, for this summer’s program, has been approved for 12 teachers and administrators. Our goal is to continue the process each year until each of us at Fremont schools is performing at our PEAK. These are steps each of us can take to build an exceptional educational experience for our children. Another step we are taking is to continually update the class offerings themselves – just take a look at the ‘Introduction to e-Commerce’ article on page 5. - John D. Kingsnorth, PhD, Superintendent (231)924-2350 - jkingsnorth@fremont.net	On the Cover… Kindergarten students at Pine Street Primary Center recently visited Fremont City Hall to get an inside look at city services, including the city’s fire department! Students are pictured here exploring one of the city’s fire trucks. For more on this Pine Street visit, see page 9.

	District Contacts

		School Closings & Delays
		To inquire about school closings, delays, or other school emergency situations, please call (231) 924-7317. 3



	People : The Heart of Energy Reduction Fremont Public Schools has energy conscious people who strive to make cost-reduction and environment-saving practices an every day ritual. They are the real heart of the FPS Energy Program. From the School Board members approving the Energy Guidelines, to staff members, principals, coaches, custodians, maintenance and community members – we all have important roles in the district’s E nergy Savings Program. We work together to put our money towards education rather than utilities. We consume less and conserve more. As Energy Manager, I visit buildings at various times of the day or at night to monitor systems’ start-up and shutdown, gathering information on how the buildings’ lighting and HVAC systems are operating, tracking down the big “Energy Hogs” - motors, circulating pumps and exhaust fans that do not need to be running at certain times - and entering utility usage in sophisticated software to compare data from previous months and even years. We all are aware that utility rates continue to increase and yet, the district is still saving money. For example, when comparing January 2006 to January 2007, the district experienced an electrical savings of 15.1 percent. When comparing January 2007 to January 2008, that savings increased to 20.4 percent! Natural gas savings in January 2007, compared to January 2006, were 4.3 percent. Savings in January 2008, compared to January 2007, were 15.8 percent! We cannot control rates, but we can focus on behaviors by turning off, unplugging, and utilizing night set-backs. As for the “Energy Star Award,” a national symbol for energy-efficiency in America, all six school buildings qualified. I am just waiting for the engineer to verify the data. - Rose Stariha, Energy Manager/Educator School Election: May 6, 2008 Fremont Public Schools will be holding its annual school election on May 6, 2008. Two issues will be on this year’s school election ballot: the non-homestead millage (for more information, see ‘Figuring State Funding’ on page 2) and two, four-year positions on the Fremont Public Schools Board of Education, with three candidates running for these positions (Jim Featherstone, Phil Harmon and Ty Miller). For more information on these issues, please refer to the Newaygo County website at http:// www.countyofnewaygo.com/Clerk/ClerkHome.htm, then click on the election icon found on the right hand side, or stop by the FPS administration office located at 220 W Pine Street.	Introduction to e-Commerce The Internet is rapidly changing the size of and accessibility to the world around us. In theory, the Internet knows no geographical boundaries, political boundaries, or time boundaries. It has “leveled the playing field” so to speak. As a small business owner, one can work wherever he/she may live - urban, suburban, rural or remote. Simply stated, all that is needed is to be “connected,” meaning Internet-ready. Information, people, places, and things become just a click away as the boundaries diminish. The exponential growth of computerization and connectivity is offering another dimension to business in the form of e-Commerce, which means using the Internet to assist in the trading of product and services. Entrepreneurs all over the globe look to the Internet and e-Commerce as another avenue to create, cultivate or expand their ideas - electronically. Utilizing the Internet to conduct business (sometimes referred as a “click & mortar”) offers the possibility to reach a much larger market base than exclusive “brick & mortar” businesses. The world can potentially become your storefront - a truly leveled playing field. Many of us view our computers as an essential part of our daily routines, both within our personal and our work lives. Given their exponential growth around the globe, with new and innovative ways of utilizing computers popping up daily, they offer a readily available medium with which to conduct business. Exploring the topic of e-Commerce is the intent behind the new course under development at Fremont High School. This course explores using the Internet to demonstrate how basic business concepts apply to the world of e-Commerce. It covers personal topics such as retail purchasing, online banking, and consumer education, in addition to business topics such as marketing, advertising, security, communication, financial principles, money management, banking, inventory and more. This course offers high school students a chance to take a closer look at business through the world of e-Commerce. With online sales growing rapidly, coupled with the growing innovativeness of today’s youth, this course is sure to offer a unique learning experience for our students. Introduction to e-Commerce is to be offered at the FHS starting with the 08-09 school year. 5



	Spotlighting the Exceptional

	Breaking Ivy League Records At the Boys Swim and Dive team awards banquet held earlier this week, Mary Pekel shared great news from Carol Jones about the continued swim success of Bill and Dan Jones (Co-Valedictorians, FHS 2005) on the Harvard swim team. Bill recently won the 100 Butterfly at the EISL Championship Meet. He set both a new pool and school record! Dan earned fifth place in the same race. Bill also qualified for the Olympic Time Trials, which will be held in July. Dan is VERY close and will try again to qualify. At the EISL Championship Meet (Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Cornell, Columbia, Brown, Dartmouth, and Navy)... ■ Harvard beat Princeton by over 300 points ■ Harvard won 13 of 19 swim events ■ Harvard won all of the relays (Bill was on all but one of the relay teams) ■ Seven records were broken ■ Bill’s 100 Butterfly time was 47.29 – The fastest time in Ivy League history, NCAA ‘B’ cut (47.19 for A cut). ■ 200 Butterfly... Bill took school, meet and EISL records in second place. Dan placed sixth with a personal record ■ 50 Freestyle... Bill set a new personal record with a time of 20.74 ■ 200 IM... Dan set a new personal record with a time of 1:51.63	Kesteloot Honored by DOD Airman 1st Class Molly Kesteloot, daughter of FPS Special Education Teacher Kay Kesteloot, was recently recognized for several high honors. First of all, she was named the 2007 Air Traffic Controller of the Year for Moody Air Force Base. Second, and to her stunned surprise, she won the nomination for the 2008 Department of Defense (DOD) African American History Month Recognition Award due to her “outstanding service and professionalism while deployed to Iraq.” Originally, she’d won the Air Force (AF) nomination, representing the entire Air Combat Command group (including over 120,000 airmen) and then later she won the AF nomination representing the entire Air Force. This is a very big deal, as she received a personal letter of recognition for each nomination from General John D.W Corley Commander of Air Combat Command for the USAF (he’s a biggie – a 5-Star general). The letters praised her for her dedication and leadership to the US Air Force. As if that wasn’t enough, from there she was selected as THE DOD winner of this award, beating out candidates representing the other branches of armed services, including the Army, Navy, Marines and Coast Guard. She was shocked and the air traffic controllers at Moody were thrilled! Molly continues to impress and amaze everyone with her knowledge, work ethic, and professionalism - and she just turned 22 on Saturday! Congratulations Molly! You make us proud! Check out even more of Molly’s accomplishments… 1/23/2008 - COLUMBUS AFB, Miss. – “I was offered an amazing opportunity in May of 2007... I was to act as the Chief Controller for Balad’s Combined Enroute Radar Approach Control, the Department of Defense’s busiest airfield operation. I’m a fairly confident individual but Balad is legendary in the Air Traffic Control profession as a make you or break you type of location and I was apprehensive but excited about the challenge. “Upon arriving it was clear that Balad CERAP would live up to its legend. It was extremely busy and complex. However, what really impressed me was how the Airmen responded to the challenge. Airmen like Airman 1st Class Molly Kesteloot who had less than three years in the service but was on her second deployment to Iraq. Airman Kesteloot achieved a full facility certification only eight days after arriving at Balad. This remarkable feat is admirable for a seasoned seven level controller much less an Airman with less than three years service. Airman Kesteloot is just one example of many from my initial experience at Balad that reinforced my belief that our United States Air Force produces the world’s best and most qualified personnel.” - Chief Master Sgt. Frederick Soechting, 14th Operations Group Superintendent
	Stariha Qualifies for Nationals John Stariha II of Fremont recently competed for the Grand Valley State University wrestling team at the NCWA North Central Conference Championships held in Columbus, Ohio. Stariha placed second at the championships, losing in the championship finals by 6-4 in overtime. That placement qualified him for the NCWA National Tournament held on March 13-15 in Lakeland, Florida. There, Stariha competed in the 184 lb. weight bracket. He pinned his first-round opponent in less than a minute (0:55). He pinned his second around opponent in 6:17. In his third round, though, Stariha met his match, loosing to the second-place tournament champion. Congratulations John!



		Pine Street Primary Center
Pine Street Celebrates Reading March was reading month and Pine Street students celebrated the many ways reading enriches our lives. The students’ reading focused on the books of Leo Lionni. Also throughout the month, teachers performed ‘teacher plays’ with familiar childhood stories: Goldilocks and the Three Bears, The Three Little Pigs, and Little Red Riding Hood. These stories were chosen for their familiar content, repetition, and high interest. Students became a part of each book as the story and characters came to life. Watching adults have such a great time with dramatization promoted the students’ interest in books, reading and re-enacting familiar short stories. On March 21, students participated in “March Around and Read.” The students began this special day with the video “Swimmy” and then they proceeded to various rooms for morning activities, crafts and prizes based on other books by our featured author, Leo Lionni. Reading can take many forms from studying a cereal box at breakfast to cuddling while reading a bedtime story. Enjoying books and being able to read well are two goals we have for every student.


8	P/T Conferences & Book Fair Pine Street Parent/Teacher conferences will be held April 21-April 24. We encourage your attendance and input – our goal is 100 percent attendance. Our Scholastic Book Fair is also scheduled during this time and we are thrilled to offer this educational experience to our students. This year’s theme is “Reading Road Trip.” We invite your entire family to visit us during the book fair. Yo u and your child will get the chance to purchase bestsellers, award winners, picture books and other great items. We look forward to seeing you at Parent/Teacher Conferences and our book fair!



	A Visit to the Post Office Kindergarten students at Pine Street have been busy learning about their community. Many professionals that help run and form our community visited our school this winter. In mid-February, Pine Street students had the oppor tunity to visit the Fremont Post Office to witness postal workers first-hand. Students were given a tour of the facility and were able to hand cancel a special Valentine they mailed home.



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	Second-Grade Sled Champions One of the monthly homework projects for Mrs. Dawson’s students is to create a sled that is no bigger than 12x12x12.” Once constructed, the students race their sleds down the sledding hill at Pathfinder Elementary. The project is designed to help kids think about the properties different materials have that make them more or less useful for speeding down the hill and going the farthest distance. It is great to see the kids get so excited about their inventive ideas.! This year the three winning sleds belonged to: Logan (left) – second place with his sled named ‘Red Ride,’ Nakita (middle) – first place with her sled named ‘Flying Dinner’ and Natalie (right)- third place with her sled named ‘Pinky Bear.’ Great job second graders! Books, Games & Pajamas?!

	Climbing to New Heights Pathfinder students are taking physical education class to new heights – literally. Pathfinder students were able to experience the thrill of climbing a new rock wall recently during gym class.	Red Pod students recently wore their pajamas and slippers and brought blankets and stuffed animals to school in an attempt to beat the doldrums of winter. Teachers Tammie Campbell and Lynda Tuuk played PJ Bingo (a language arts skill game) and “Brain Quest” (a quiz bowl type game) with their excited first graders before watching a Winnie the Pooh movie as part of celebrating author A. A. Milne’s January birthday. A “bed-time snack” of milk and chocolate chip cookies was followed by a familiar “bedtime” story.

	12 Pictured above are Zayne and Heather from Mrs. Deuling’s first-grade class.



	A Valentine’s Day Tradition Each year on Valentine’s Day, Cheryl Heyboer, third-grade teacher at Pathfinder Elementary has a special treat for her students. Rather than the hearts and candy one would expect, Mrs. Heyboer takes her class to Branstrom Park in Fremont for a sledding party This year was no exception! Mrs. Heyboer’s students spent the afternoon of February 14^thsliding down the hills, enjoying the cold winter weather, and warming up in the lodge by the fire with hot cocoa and treats. There was one difference this year, however, from all of her previous Valentine’s Day outings; after thirty years of service to Fremont Public schools, Mrs. Heyboer is retiring at the end of this school year. This year’s outing was the end of one tradition that will be missed by parents and students alike!