The Michigan Association of School Administrators (MASA) Executive Board has appointed Jeff Rehlander, Superintendent, Gobles Public Schools, to the Governing Board of AASA, the American Association of School Administrators, for a one-year term that begins in June, 2014. There are four school leaders from the State of Michigan who serve on the national governing board.

AASA, also called the School Superintendents Association, founded in 1865, is the professional organization for more than 13,000 educational leaders in the United States and throughout the world. The organization is a chief advocate for children in the country, and they work to provide the highest possible quality public education for all students, while also working to develop and support school system leaders.

As a member of the governing board, Rehlander will represent Michigan in national conversations about public education and leadership and development of school administrators, and also report back to school administrators in Michigan the work of the national Governing Board. AASA divides the nation into seven regions, and Rehlander and the other Michigan leaders serve in Region 3 with school leaders from Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.

In a year-end celebration of the 2013/14 school year, the Gobles PRIDE Committee recognized three teachers as teachers of the year, nominated and selected by a committee of their peers. The teachers recognized this year are early childhood teacher Ellie Lower, district music teacher and band director, Emily Cox, and Pam Westcott, in her role as a high school English teacher.

Lower was congratulated for her work and leadership establishing the district's Great Start Readiness Program, and getting the program off to an impressive start. Already after its first year, the program is recognized by parents and county officials as one of the very best programs for young children in all of Van Buren County and the Southwest Corner of Michigan. Great Start Readiness is a program for students too young for Kindergarten or even Young 5's, but who would benefit from a year of pre-school academic preparation.

Cox was recognized for her outstanding teaching and directorship of our band program, plus the quality relationships she builds with the young people she serves. Under her direction students have flourished in our band program, and our marching bands are recognized across Michigan for their quality and achievement.

Westcott was recognized for her lofty academic standards for high school English students, mixed with her genuine, care, concern, and commitment to the well-being of her students. Westcott also serves the district as MS/HS English Department Chair, and under her leadership the MS/HS English Department has begun several new initiatives, including events to showcase student writing, and an emphasis on K-12 development and continuity in reading instruction. Westcott was quick to credit and thank her mother (who was in attendance, Jean Westcott, herself a retired English teacher), for the example she provided for so many years as a role model of what a quality, caring teacher should be. 

Also honored during the program were the three Gobles Educational Heroes recognized earlier this week in a celebration at the Van Buren Intermediate School District. Recognized as Educational Heroes were Elementary Principal Terry Breen, Athletic Director/Dean of Students Chris Miller, and Administrative Assistant to the Middle School and Athletic Office, Jodi Winne.

Five staff people were honored for the occasion of their retirement, and they were Bonnie Bailey, Pat Mullins, Ellen Rebenstorf, Diane Stanton, and Laura Blink.

The first comment that junior Rachel Waldron had about sites she visited in Washington D.C. was to voice her surprise at the enormity of monuments and memorials that stand all over our nation’s capital. It was her first trip to the city, and she was there as part of a trip organized by Gobles United States History teacher Marc Kline.

“The monuments and memorials are bigger than I expected,” Waldron said. “But it makes sense. These buildings are dedicated to people who were so important to our history, and it’s important for us to keep that memory. Lincoln’s memorial was my favorite, and I saw that he continues to watch over the country from the National Mall.”

That was the impression Kline was going for when he decided to invite students to tour national and historic sites in Washington, D.C., that our nation’s history is huge and compelling, and as students and citizens we should get as close to our history as we can.

“This trip was planned to explore the curriculum of US History,” Kline said. “From the actual historic documents that frame our government, to the memorial and monuments, the trip gave students the opportunity to really visit with our history and bring back a new relationship with that history.”

“Two themes kept coming up in our conversations as we visited historic sites,” Kline said. “We talked about the duty we have as citizens to remember our history, especially to remember those who served and sacrificed. And that led us to talking about the price of freedom. What does it cost for us to live in a country that’s free?”

Though the trip was a return visit to D.C. for Ashley Cairns, she found this trip was different, because this time she went as a student, instead of as a tourist.

“This trip was more educational than just for fun,” she said. “Even though it was fun, I was there as a student because I was learning about the history of the memorials, their symbolism, and how that was significant.”
At the monument to Martin Luther King, Jr., she noticed the expression on the face of the civil rights leader, now cast in stone.

“The look on his face stood out to me. I couldn’t decide if he was showing how happy he would be with how far we’ve come (since 1968), or if he would still be waiting to see change. But his figure is carved into a mountain of hope, and I thought that was important.”

Moments can make a lasting impression and even lead to more learning. For sophomore Devon Gildea it happened at Arlington Cemetery.

“My favorite thing of all was our visit to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington Cemetery,” Gildea said. “I like the fact they have a guard there twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. The fact that we honor the soldiers who fought for us who we don’t even know is inspiring. It makes me want to learn more about what happened in those wars.”

For junior Michaela Scholte the next leg of the journey begins back home in Gobles as she thinks about her roles and responsibilities as a citizen. In her life and daily actions, history will touch the future.

“At the end of each day we would get together and reflect on what we saw,” Scholte said. “Since we visited so many war memorials we would see the word Freedom everywhere. We ended up talking about freedom a lot. Honestly freedom is something I have taken for granted in the past. I didn’t really have to think about it. But now thinking about freedom has to be part of the way I live my life. I will be old enough to vote next year. I have to know what I’m voting for; if people died to give me that opportunity, I have to do my part in our Democracy.”  

At the Division 4 State Golf Championship event at Bedford Valley Golf Course near Battle Creek, the 2014 SAC Champion Gobles Tigers team put in a good showing, finishing fourteenth; there were thirty schools represented at the tournament. Though the two-day championship event brings an end to a fantastic season, the future looks even brighter for the young team.

Gobles will graduate one senior from the program (Alex Goldsberry), but will return three students who are currently sophomores, Colton Burke, Nicholas Fenton, and Shane Henry, and also freshman Bradley Smith. 

The team is coached by Michelle Guritz who enjoyed watching her young squad turn a few heads over the course of the season.

"When we won the first SAC match of the season we kind of came out of nowhere for some of the teams in our league," said Guritz. "Brad Smith was the medalist that day, and that's pretty unusual to have a freshman win the first league event of the season. I know we caught a lot of teams by surprise who didn't expect us to be so good. But this team plays with a lot more confidence than people are used to from a group of mostly underclassmen." 

Guritz credits the leadership of her senior Alex Goldsberry. "Alex really helped us set a high bar for some of the younger players," she said. "Alex knows how to win, and he helped others learn."

"It was exciting for our young team to have this opportunity, and there's every reason to expect this team to return to the championships if they work to improve over the summer."

Guritz also credits her assistant coach Doug Haught who takes care of the jayvee team and a lot of the little details that golf programs need to be successful. 

As he wrapped up his farewell address and the 2014 graduation program, student speaker Jake Block told his classmates that he was interested in having a life of more than just success. He told them he was interested in "living a life of significance." Then he invited his classmates, the newly graduated Class of 2014, to look into the face of the future, and to walk out of the gymnasium to do the same.

The significant accomplishments and qualities of the Class of 2014 were on display at the 121st graduation ceremony from Gobles High School on Sunday, June 1, as fifty-five students were awarded a high school diploma or certificate of completion, many finishing with high honors, and several receiving scholarships to continue their educational careers at colleges and universities across the state and nation.

Student commencement speaker Jordanne Kovach reminded her classmates in a quote from the Apple corporation that though they may have been "the square pegs in the round holes," they were the ones with the skill and courage to "push the human race forward." 

Class president Taylor Cairns presented thanks and awards from the class to several significant people who supported her and her classmates over the years, recognizing teachers Bob Lisowski, Pam Westcott, Marc Kline and Veronica Peterson, school attendance secretary Theresa Matin, plus Mr. and Mrs. Larry Gilbert, parents who volunteered many hours to support the class.

Many student scholars were recognized for graduating with academic honors, especially class Valedictorian Nicole Wahmhoff and Co-Salutatorians Alyssa Chase and Michaela DeKilder. More than half the graduates finished high school with a cumulative grade point average higher than 3.0, earning Cum Laude, Magna Cum Laude, or Summa Cum Laude honors from the school.

During the ceremony and the graduation breakfast held earlier in the week, many students received commendations and special recognition, including local scholarships totalling more than $10 thousand to help support continuing education, plus three full-ride academic scholarships to Western Michigan University. 2014 scholarship recipients include:

Leslie R. & Naomi Ayres Scholarship: Nicole Wahmhoff
Jacob Baas Memorial Scholarship: Ian Cooper
Chad Ferry Memorial Scholarship: Brooklyn Wiseley
Glenn Osborn Memorial Scholarship: Shane Ampey and Ashley Boyer
Linda Westcott Memorial Scholarship: Amber Wallace
GEA/Mary Tomilo Memorial Scholarship: Taylor Cairns
Kenneth Zantello Memorial Scholarship: Ashley Boyer
Elementary Parent's Club Scholarship: Angela Healy
Perrigo Scholarship: Alyssa Chase and Michaela DeKilder
Van Buren Research and Development Scholarship: Ashley VanWelden
Van Buren Technology Center Physics-Tech Scholarship: Jacob Collins 
American Red Cross Scholarship: Taylor Cairns, Laura Rall, and Nicole Wahmhoff
Ramsdell Civic Award: Micaiah Grossmann and Nicole Wahmhoff
Kelley Benya Female Athlete of the Year: Michaela DeKilder
Clyde Crawford Male Athlete of the Year: Josiah Dickerson
WMU Incentive Scholarship: Megan Coffey, Jordan Harris, and Ashley VanWelden