NEWS
SJ5K Supports Honorees
By: Genevieve St. Jean and Natasha Pietruschka
News editor and Art Director
The SJ5K opening Ceremony was held before the race on May 1. For the story on the race, look for the May Print Edition of The Perspective on May 20.
Torrance Johnson:
You can’t meet Torrance Johnson without feeling the need to smile. Full of joy and happiness, he continues to be a positive force for his family. Torrance attends Erickson Elementary, his siblings also attend schools in the Plymouth-Canton school district, and his mother, Katrina Johnson, is a paraprofessional at Plymouth.
Torrance is fighting Spinal Muscular Atrophy Type II. At age 10, he is wheelchair-bound and has undergone eight surgeries. On top of these adversities, Torrance’s father is experiencing kidney failure. Due to his condition, he had to stop working. He is currently going into dialysis three times a week, and is on his way to getting a new kidney.
Torrance’s mother said that she admires Torrance’s spirit and how he is always happy. She also wanted to thank everyone for their time, patience and kindness towards her family.
Terri Saenz:
Terri Saenz has built her family in the Plymouth-Canton community. Her sons, Braydn and Joshua, graduated from Salem. Saenz was very involved; she acted on the PTO board and served as vice president of the Plymouth-Canton Music Boosters.
In January 2015, Terri and her family discovered a life-changing disease that was to shape their lives and their community. Terri was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. ALS is a nervous system disease that causes rapid muscle weakness. Currently, there is no cure for the disease, but Terri continues to fight every day and prepare herself for the many difficult years to come.
Saenz said, “We are used to being the givers and it's humbling to be the recipient. It has allowed us to experience the very best in human kindness.”
Ann Slomkowski:
As a teacher in the district for 30 years and the owner of a farm and horse-training business, Ann Slomkowski is a well known and hard working woman in the Plymouth-Canton community. Her son Grant is a Canton alumnus, graduating in 2015.
Ann was diagnosed with breast cancer two years ago, but continued teaching. However, after going into remission for a period of time, she then found out that the cancer had spread to her spine and brain, and she had to take time off from teaching. She continues to fight with the support of her son and the community.
Chris White:
Chris White’s life changed his second year at Central Michigan University. Already experiencing headaches and nausea for several years, he started to experience double vision. A CAT scan indicated that he had developed a brain tumor. An initial surgery proved to be a success, but after a final surgery to completely remove the tumor in his cerebellum, Chris lost some of his physical abilities.
Wheelchair-bound, Chris is training six hours a week with a trainer at Barwis Methods to regain his walking strength. He has begun achieving goals of standing up and walking short distances.
His mother, Karen White, says, “Chris is an extremely hard worker who never complains and never gives up.” Chris has had great support from his family and friends, who provide comfort and company.
Sharon Laing:
Sharon Laing is a familiar face as she is a math teacher and student counselor adviser at Plymouth. She also plays the violin in the Dearborn Symphony Orchestra. Laing said about violin: “I have played since I was four years old and it has always been very therapeutic for me. I am a very emotional player - playing helps me escape from the real world and really engulf myself in the music and emotion.”
Laing was diagnosed with stage two breast cancer and will have to have chemotherapy, surgery and radiation.
She said, “I have truly felt lifted by everyone and their encouragement has given me more reason to fight this and not give up. My sister, in particular, has been an angel. My colleagues have rallied around me and refuse to watch me fail.”
Updated Tuesday, May 17, 2016
Tuesday, May 17, 2016
APES Classes Release Salmon into Rouge River
By: Genevieve St. Jean
News Editor
The AP Environmental Science classes released the chinook salmon that had been raised by Derek Kendall, one of the APES teachers, and his students. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources provided 200 fish for this class, and approximately 50 survived to be released into the Rouge River on May 6. The students in Kendall’s and fellow APES teacher Denise Zarate had the opportunity to strap on their boots, put a fish in a bag from the buckets they had been transported in, and open the bag to let this endangered species go down the river. This is the first year of introducing Salmon, but Kendall plans on continuing next year with a new batch.
Photo by Bonnie Bowden
Photo by Bonnie Bowden
Photo by Genevieve St. Jean
Photo by Genevieve St. Jean
Pick up for the yearbook will begin Wednesday, May 11, immediately after school in the Plymouth cafeteria until 2:45 p.m. Books also may be picked up after school on Thursday and Friday, May 12 and 13, from 2:20 p.m. - 2:45 p.m.
Students who ride the bus will need to make other transportation arrangements.
Books also will be available in Plymouth room 401, May 16 - 19, Monday - Thursday, during all three lunches. Room 401 is located across the hall from The Den. Books will not be available for pick up in the Plymouth General Office the week of May 23.
On Friday, May 13, cash sales begin. Books will be available for $95.
“Please make every effort to pick up books the first two weeks while we have student staff members to assist. In recent years, students have counted on picking up books from the general office, but we lack the staff to support that. Therefore, it’s important that students take advantage of the after school and lunch opportunities this week and next week,” said Leola Gee, Plymouth teacher and yearbook adviser.
Park Wide Yearbook Distribution this Week
By: Lena Bobo
Features Editor
Tuesday, May 10, 2016
Photos by Ally Schwinke
Left: One of the salmon is in a plastic bag about to be set free into the Rouge River after over seven months of being raised in a tank.
Below: Atharva Kharkar releases a salmon into the Rouge River.
Left: APES students use teamwork to get their fish to a natural habitat. Below: The APES classes crowd around the bank to catch their last glimpse at the salmon swimming downstream.
Every single person lives in a watershed. A watershed is the natural drainage system created by geography. Every drop of water that rains down has to go somewhere, and will eventually reach one of the oceans. Water can sometimes travel thousands of miles before it reaches its destination, and it picks up debris and bacteria along its way and deposits them as it goes. If water flows through one contaminated area, it can carry those contaminates and their effects with it, affecting numbers of unsuspecting people. Studying watersheds helps keep track of the contamination and the health of ecosystems as a whole.
Everyone in the Plymouth-Canton area lives in the Rouge River watershed, which means that any precipitation that falls on this area eventually makes its way to the Rouge River, and then goes on flowing from there through a system of rivers and lakes until it reaches the Atlantic Ocean.
Ecology classes here at The Park study Willow Creek, the creek that runs through campus and drains into the Middle Rouge. This study is done in partnership with the Friends of the Rouge program, and findings made by these classes are sent in for further analysis and data logging by the program to keep track of the health of the local ecosystem.
Friends of the Rouge Project at the Park
By: Lauren Flynn
Photo Editor
Tuesday, May 17, 2016
Students gather water from willow creek to conduct tests and evaluate the condition of the creek.
Student sifts through mud from the bottom of the creek, looking for small organisms.
Photos 1, 5, 7 and 8 are particpants at the SJ5K. Photo 2: Singers from PCEP sing the song "Stand By You" to start off the race. Photo 4: Charlotte Clark makes her opening ceremony speech. Photos 6 and 8: Family members of the SJK5 honorees speak to the crowd.
Plymouth Seniors Nadine Salamey and Naomi Diamante observe a frog found in Willow Creek.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Small organisms are placed in trays to be counted and logged before being returned to the creek.
Mud and rock samples from the bottom of the creek are brought back to Mr. Debear’s classroom for further examination.
Plymouth senior Julia Laflair searches for and collects small organisms from mud and water samples.
Crayfish found in Willow Creek are examined.
The P-CEP Prostart Culinary team travelled to Dallas, Texas from April 29 through May 1 for the National Restaurant Association’s National Prostart Invitational. The team placed second and defeated eight other top ten multi-million dollar high schools that specialize in culinary training.
“They executed with precision,” said Diana Woodward, team leader. “Their 63 page menu development plan and costing calculations were perfect and got the highest score here.” She also mentioned that she is very proud of the team for all of their hard work, and they were “nothing short of perfect.”
The National Prostart Invitational is the United States’ premier high school competition focused on culinary arts and restaurant management. There are teams from all over the country that come, and each team that is invited is a state champion. Some of the states represented this year include Missouri, North Carolina, Florida, South Dakota, West Virginia, Rhode Island, and Michigan.
Students that attend the event have a chance to win thousands of dollars in scholarships. P-CEP won prizes including books, knives, medals, and $96,000 in scholarships. According to Woodward, this brings the team’s total throughout the year to $155,000 in scholarships per student.
Taarika Singhal, Salem senior says “My favorite part of the competition was basically the whole experience. From the nervousness and stress to the excitement of being in that environment. I came to this country two years ago and for me especially this meant so much because I had never imagined to accomplish so much so quickly.”
Mitchell Bates, sophomore at Plymouth is currently taking the culinary 1 class. He said, “I’ve really enjoyed the class this year and I’d like to pursue this as a potential career in the future.” He also said that he will consider joining the team in the future and possibly take the advanced class where you can work in the Rock Café. “I think it’s really cool that the team did so well against people from all over the country. They’re very talented” Bates added.
Culinary Team Places Second in Texas
By: Miriam Sponsler
Editor-in-Chief
Friday, May 20, 2016
An estimated total of 1,758 students (665 from Plymouth, 493 from Canton and 600 from Salem) at the Park had excused absences on June 14. This comes after the school district added an extra half day to the schedule for grades 9-11 scheduled after finals for hours 1 and 6. According to an email sent from do_not_reply@pccsk12.com to all Park students and teachers on May 25, P-CEP did not meet the number of instructional minutes because the 2015-2016 SAT testing schedule was released late from the state of Michigan. The district had to make modifications to the schedule that did not allow all students to be in school.
Salem junior Adrienne Yancy left school after taking her finals. “I left because I felt like there was really no reason to stick around. I mean, I already finished the finals I had today, and I knew that teachers probably wouldn’t plan something for us to do for the brief time we were in class. I felt like being at home and studying for my next finals was a better use of my time than sitting in a class for a half an hour doing nothing.”
“I went to class because my parents wouldn’t pick me up,” said Justin Coats, Salem junior.
“About one-third of my students showed up to class today,” said Johnathan Rase, Plymouth English teacher. In Rase’s sixth hour, seven out of 17 students currently enrolled in his class were present.
In the Plymouth cafeteria, about 275 lunches were served. Normally, the cafeteria serves around 600 lunches each day. Lunches that were not served today were tossed. A full staff worked during the three lunches, serving less than half of the normal number of people.
Editor’s Note: This story will be updated with more precise numbers when they become available. The number of students not in attendance will only include those who had excused absences, not students with unexcused absences.
Absences Fill Additional Half Day
By: Hannah Saad
News Editor
Tuesday, June 14, 2016
Students line up to get passes from the Salem attendance office between the first and second exams.