Rudyard Area Schools

On Saturdays throughout the school year we feature one Rudyard graduate with something that we like to call the Alumni Spotlight. Alumni are nominated by staff, students, or the community as a whole, and we try to spotlight as many as we can each year. If you would like to nominate someone for this coming school year, please feel free to reach out to the school's Facebook page or email Mr. Folkersma: cfolkersma1@eupschools.org

Rudyard Jr/Sr High School is thrilled to announce a diverse array of new courses for the upcoming fall semester. As part of our ongoing commitment to engage students and support their academic abilities, these classes are designed to offer innovative, inclusive, and practical learning experiences. Twice a week throughout the month of July we will highlight some of the new offerings! Up next is: MHSAA Officials Training For students interested in sports officiating, this class will provide training to become certified officials through the Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA). The curriculum includes rulebook studies, on-field practice, and mentorship from experienced referees. This course is perfect for those looking to stay involved in sports and gain valuable leadership skills. If a student is interested in this or any other course they should contact Mrs. Edington- Guidance Counselor to enroll. (edington@eupschools.org) These new electives, alongside our existing diverse course offerings, exemplify Rudyard Jr/Sr High School’s dedication to providing a well-rounded education that caters to the needs and interests of all students. We are excited to see the positive impact these classes will have on our school community.

Rudyard Jr/Sr High School is thrilled to announce a diverse array of new courses for the upcoming fall semester. As part of our ongoing commitment to engage students and support their academic abilities, these classes are designed to offer innovative, inclusive, and practical learning experiences. Twice a week throughout the month of July we will highlight some of the new offerings! Up next is: E-Sports In response to the growing interest in competitive gaming, Rudyard Jr/Sr High School is introducing an E-Sports class in partnership with the Michigan Secondary Principal Association. This course will cover the fundamentals of gaming, teamwork, strategy development, and the ethics of e-sports. Students will also have the opportunity to compete in inter-school tournaments, promoting both collaboration and competition. If a student is interested in this or any other course they should contact Mrs. Edington- Guidance Counselor to enroll. (edington@eupschools.org) These new electives, alongside our existing diverse course offerings, exemplify Rudyard Jr/Sr High School’s dedication to providing a well-rounded education that caters to the needs and interests of all students. We are excited to see the positive impact these classes will have on our school community.

Rudyard Jr/Sr High School is thrilled to announce a diverse array of new courses for the upcoming fall semester. As part of our ongoing commitment to engage students and support their academic abilities, these classes are designed to offer innovative, inclusive, and practical learning experiences. Twice a week throughout the month of July we will highlight some of the new offerings! Up first is: Sculpture Art This hands-on course will allow high school students to explore three-dimensional art through various mediums, including clay, metal, and wood. Students will learn sculpting techniques, study historical and contemporary sculptures, and create their own unique pieces. This class aims to foster creativity and artistic expression. This course joins our traditional Art offerings throughout the school day. Hopefully they will be able to a little bit of Rudyard Clay to make a few projects! If a student is interested in this or any other course they should contact Mrs. Edington- Guidance Counselor to enroll. (edington@eupschools.org)

Congratulations to our Mechatronics classes. Today was the Square One competition for their underwater ROVs. Rudyard ended up with the following awards: Perfect Pitch, Underwater Drag Race, Performance Award 1st Place, Innovation Award, Engineering Award, and the Square One Award.

Tomorrow, May 7th, Rudyard Area Schools will have a bond proposal on the ballot. This NO MILL increase will be dedicated to enhancing the safety and security of our district. Polls will be open from 7 AM to 8 PM. Go Bulldogs!

Rudyard Area Schools will be on a 2 hour delay for today, Wednesday April 3, 2024 due to slick roads in the western part of our district. Buses will pick up students 2 hours later than normal.

This week's alumni spotlight is Briana (Kangas) Otten '07! Some of my favorite members were when we went to Turner Howsen for elementary school, of course we had to cross the ravine to get to the busses. I just loved crossing that ravine and looking for the little black and yellow caterpillars in the springtime. Sometimes I would carefully cup one in my hand and sneak it on the bus so I could play with it on the ride home. My senior year, we had a very small, close-knit group of students in my AP Biology class. After the AP exam we thought it would be a really great idea to have a sleepover at the school. We set up a tent in our science room, made smore's on the Bunsen burners, watched movies, and goofed off until school was about to start the next morning. We anxiously waited for our science teacher to show up so we could surprise her. Low and behold, she took the day off! I really loved my health/quilting class. One semester focused on health. The topic was just so relevant; it was the reason I decided to become a health teacher. The other semester was quilting. Who wouldn't want to spend an hour a day sewing? It was a dream. I was a nerd, still am, so I was involved in band, chorus/chorale, drama, and quiz bowl. For a few years we even had a show choir. Talk about a good time! There is really something to be said for Rudyard Schools offering so many outlets for students who may not necessarily be into the traditional extra-curriculars. I always felt part of the community and culture of the school while still being authentic to myself, and I am so grateful for that. My advice for students is don't be afraid to change your mind and take advantage of opportunities that present themselves to you. When I was younger, I had a one track mind of what I wanted to do with my life. It absolutely changed and I felt like a bit of a failure when my original plan didn't pan out. I realized that we are all a work in progress and it's totally ok grow and shift mindsets and to try new things. After high school I attended Northern Michigan University for Hospitality Management. I wanted to be a caterer because I loved cooking so much. A year into college, I changed my major to education. I really wanted to teach students how to cook. Northern didn't have a family consumer science program, so I opted to Major in Health Education with a Minor in Geography Education. I had a lot of hospitality credits, so I finished out some courses and received an Associate's in Food Service Management with my Bachelor's in Secondary Education. I worked at the EUP ISD for a few years implementing health grants, and then got a teaching job as a Family Consumer Science teacher at Pickford. While there, I decided to join the National Guard as a Bridge Crewmember. I served six years in the guard while also teaching and earning my Master's as a Reading Specialist. An opportunity to teach Special Education for the EUP ISD Learning Center fell into my lap. Teaching Special Education never really crossed my mind, but I thought I would try it out. It was a wonderful experience teaching 16-26 year old students in a transition class. A few years into teaching at the Center, my first son was born and I had the urge to teach at Rudyard. I wanted to be part of the same school community my family would become a part of. Rudyard had and opening for a Special Education Teacher and I took it! What a journey to get back to where I started!

This week's alumni spotlight is Jason Gerou '01! My best memory from RHS was waking across the graduation stage knowing I had made it and was ready to start the next stage of my life My favorite class was Anatomy and physiology with Mrs. Ewing! My favorite activity was traveling swim meets, and being with my classmates. My advice for students would be to study hard, learn lots and enjoy the small things, before you know it your time at RHS will be a distant memory. After high school, I went to Grand Valley State University, received my BS in psychology, then to Western Michigan University for MA in Counseling Education and Counseling Psychology. I am now working as a Clinical Director and counselor for a company in Detroit.

This week's alumni spotlight is Brittany (Hoolsema) Disterheft '09! I have so many good memories from high school - from pep band to cross country meets to Spirit week, it's hard to choose just one! One unique memory is from participating in the winter running group that the Jarvie's put on: my friends/siblings and I used to run all over town collecting pop cans that had been tossed out & turn them in to buy some little snack or treat at the Co-op. We sometimes ended up with several dollars worth of cans in one run! My favorite classes were Spanish & Biology because I enjoyed the subjects so much! I remember Mrs. Ewing talking about seeing her optometrist & getting to look inside his eye with one of his instruments, and that was part of what sparked my career choice! Cross Country was definitely my favorite activity; the coaches Mr. and Mrs. Jarvie encouraged such camaraderie on the team, it was fun to be a part of throughout middle & high school. My advice to students is to not be afraid of taking on a challenge. Several times during my schooling I chose to take on something that intimidated me and it ended up being so rewarding to see what I could accomplish or become more comfortable with. Right out of high school I went to Calvin College for pre-optometry with a minor in Spanish. After graduating, I was accepted into the Michigan College of Optometry and am now practicing in Indiana. My Spanish minor has opened new experiences to me in my career, as I've sometimes had Spanish-speaking patients and have been on optometry mission trips to Mexico, Peru & Honduras. It's been a blessing to communicate directly with patients rather than needing a translator. I also met my husband, Tim, on one of the mission trips and we just celebrated our daughter Audrey's first birthday!

The 2024 Career Day for Rudyard Jr/Sr High School is next week (March 14). Thank you for all of the community members that have signed up for the event, if you have any questions, you can call the high school office: 906-478-3771, or email lmorley@eupschools.org The Career Expo for presenters will take place in the high school gym, The first student group will be in at 9 am, setup time window is 7:30 to 8:50.

Special Thanks goes out to Michigan State Extension for their help and partnership with our Agriculture program to re-start the Maple Syrup project at the Rudyard School Farm. This was a large scale grant, fully funded by MSU! The goal is maple syrup education and learning platform that will be offered to students throughout the district. Cross your fingers we will be processing soon!

This weeks alumni spotlight is Samuel Otten '02 My best memories from Rudyard schools were working together with peers and teachers to put on some kind of performance, from middle school chorus concerts with Mrs Rathwell to the musicals with Mr Taylor or the basketball and cross country teams over the years. I especially remember JV basketball with Chris Reetz, Josh Oja, Jeremy Piippo, and Michael Christiansen in 1998-1999 because we went 16-4 and beat every team at least once, including a buzzer beater over St Ignace. I ended up becoming a math educator, so I have to say that I appreciated all the math I learned from Turner-Howson on up. But my favorite classes were probably science with Mr Kaminski and Mr Peterson and also English/Writing with Mr Fountain. My advice for students is to be kind to all the people around you (a smile or a kind word really can make a difference for people) and to find something interesting in all the different subject areas (it really is up to you to get interested rather than mentally checking out, and like Mr. Powers always said, "Only boring people get bored"). After I graduated from Rudyard High I continued working on the family farm every summer and I went to Grand Valley State during the academic year. I eventually went to Michigan State for grad school and since 2012 I've been a professor at the University of Missouri. I study math teaching practices and students' reasoning-and-proving, and I am currently the chair of the Department of Learning, Teaching, and Curriculum here at Mizzou. Go Tigers! I am a proud Rudyard alum from 2002, the same year as Principal Folkersma!

March 1st is the start of our Elementary Reading Month! Happy birthday Dr. Seuss - wear your red and white!

We are pleased to share that we have 15 students (7th-12th grades) with art work in this year's show at Sault Area Art Center (Alberta House) in the month of March. There is a reception Sunday March 3rd from 1pm-3pm to celebrate their accomplishments, please feel free to attend! This year's students with are in the show include: Esther Harrington 10th Watercolor and Ink Ashlynn Lawlor 8th Paper Mache/Plaster Lilian Girard 11th Clay (2) Jasmine Hickman 11th Color Pencil Amelia Goforth 9th Color Pencil Lila Tuzinowski 7th Graphite and paper mache (2) Melissa Kirschner 7th Watercolor and Ink Wesley Apotheker 12th Recycled Materials Maria Staricha 9th Recycled Materials Emily Pearsall 10th Recycled Materials Ella Moon 10th Recycled Materials Bryce Mitchell 8th Graphite Madisyn Besteman 11th Fiber/Birch / Clay (2) Grace Gregaitis 12th Clay/wire Kayla Bailey 7th Paper Mache Congratulations everyone, pictures to come soon!

Rudyard Area Schools will be closed today, Thursday February 29, 2024 due to weather.

Rudyard Area Schools will be closed today, Wednesday February 28, 2024 due to icy conditions. If you have to travel today, please be safe.

Due to a staffing shortage, Rudyard Area Schools will be closed tomorrow, Friday February 23. Band festival will continue as planned for our middle schoolers who should report by 8:30 am. If you need a ride for band festival, please contact Mr. Clark or Mr. McKee. If you are interested in becoming a substitute teacher, please contact Mr. McKee.

Rudyard Area Schools is proud of the arts, and is honored to host the regional band festival this Thursday and Friday.

This week's alumni spotlight is Scott Ehle '98! It is hard to pick a single memory as the best! In retrospect, it was probably all the little moments with friends that I took for granted. We had a lot of fun as a class, and we were close. A big reason for this was that we dealt with loss as a class more than once. Losing Jackie in fifth grade and Becky in ninth grade was beyond difficult, but really helped the class of 1998 appreciate each other and every day as a gift. I always looked forward to Spirit week, and cheering on fellow Bulldogs in every sport. My favorite classes were Mr. Rose's English class, where he brought writing we had already decided was "boring" to life for us. With Shakespeare, he would have to explain some of the jokes (which usually makes them less funny) but Mr. Rose's sharp wit was infectious. I also enjoyed yearbook with Mrs. Talentino. Also, the teacher who had the biggest impact on me was Mr. Fountain in middle school. I appreciate his love of reading and writing, and he introduced me to many authors like Kurt Vonnegut, who I still enjoy today. Advice I would have for students is to practice kindness toward others and yourself. As a minister, I see the pressure that many students are under to achieve. It is a good thing to try your hardest, but if your hardest produces a C, be proud of that C! As Teddy Roosevelt (might have) said, "Comparison is a thief of joy." After High School I attended Northern Michigan University with the intent of becoming a teacher. But during my college years I got involved in Lutheran Campus ministry and was a counselor at Fortune Lake Lutheran Camp during the summers. All of a sudden church went from a boring activity that my parents insisted upon to something quite exciting. I changed my major to History, and after receiving my Bachelor's degree, attended Wartburg Theological Seminary in Dubuque, Iowa where I received a Master's of Divinity in 2007. My first call was at Zion Lutheran in Fairwater, WI, and have been serving Bethel Lutheran in Menominee, MI since 2012. I was a bit of a class clown, so I think some of my classmates were surprised at my career choice, but there are a lot of opportunities for laughter in ministry! I'm married to Stefanie, who I met at Fortune Lake, and we are the proud parents of Mark and Lewis.