By By JOANNA ARNETT / Niles Daily Star
NILES -- The highlight of the Brandywine Board of Education's Monday evening meeting was without a doubt the quarter-hour slide show, courtesy of Senior High Assistant Principal/Athletic Director Jim Boger, of the Brandywine Senior High School choir trip to Florida.
Under the direction of Choir Director Denise Boger, the students, along with a handful of their band contemporaries, traveled by coach bus on March 19 to strut their stuff at Disney World in Orlando, Fla.
The students sent an audition tape, as do hundreds of other high schools throughout the country, and were chosen to perform.
Also in attendance were a student from each grade, from first through eighth, that received recognition for their model behavior and academic success thus far. They are, from first grade onward, Blake Lerner, Christopher Ludwig, Mariah Srmek, Jordan Harper, Jake Weiger, Leah Kachur, Lauren Kachur, and Britney Shreve.
Each student received an award from the Board, presented by Board President Michael Shelton, which consisted of a $10 gift certificate to Barnes &Noble book store and a badge inscribed with this well-known folk tale, which Superintendent Gene Sweeney recited: "A man is walking along a beach, which is covered with starfish that have been washed ashore by the tide. Every time he comes to a starfish, he bends over, picks it up, and flings it back into the ocean. Another man comes along and says, 'What are you doing? You can't possibly toss them all back and they'll just get washed up again. Do you think that what you're doing really matters at all?' The first man picks up a starfish and flings it far into the ocean. 'It matters to that one,' said the man.
Also honored were the Spanish Honor Society inductees, who are Nick Barlow, Christine Dvorak, Rachel Eddy, Emily Harrison, Bridget Mitchell, Jackie Nickless, Judy Schlutt, and Katie Tuohy. French Honor Society students Brittany Bennett and Ashley Smith were also recognized, along with lunch staff member Lois Modlin for "going the extra mile with a smile on her face," as lunch attendant Margie Skinner cheerfully put it.
In other board news, the budget is still in somewhat of a debate, though Sweeney did throw out a number: $1,400,00 in cuts for the upcoming fiscal year. Mr. Sweeney was not available before press time for additional information.
Mr. Sweeney also mentioned that the Michigan House and Senate had approved of awarding Michigan schools $6,700 for every student that attends their school.
The Board voted 5-0 to approve the audit services of Gerbel &Co.
The Facilities Election Kickoff Meeting will be held on Tuesday, April 29 at 7 p.m. at the high school for those who are interested.
The junior and senior high school will be implementing a new online course system called NovaNet in about two weeks. NovaNet is an online curriculum that employs all regular required courses and every available elective for students to use. Students can read the directions and complete the tasks or tests the course requires. A teacher from Bell Alternative School will be overseeing the student's progress to make sure their assignments are completed.
The Childhood Development Program at Bell Alternative Education is proposing an outdoor recreation area/playground for Bell students' nursery children to play in during school hours. The coordinators for this project have offered to pay for the project entirely, including equipment and building costs, at no expense to the school. Sweeney said that this project sounds like a good idea and that it will definitely be further explored.
The next special meeting of the Board of Education will be held next Monday, April 28 at 6:30 p.m. at Bell Education Center.