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| LMS student, Dylan Latham, intervened in an emergency |
I hope everyone is having a great Friday and looking forward finally to some nice weather!
Yesterday was an exciting day for sure…we had a Blackhawk Helicopter land on the practice grounds so students and staff could get an up close and personal look at this incredible technology. In addition, our military guests brought their own climbing wall. Students got a workout and an education on the Blackhawk Helicopter. Despite the copter being from the late 80’s it appeared more than ready for action. Check Twitter for the video of it landing and many pictures of students and staff aboard the Blackhawk. Thank you to our own Michael Schenck for organizing.
Also yesterday, Lakeside hosted as an AVID National Demonstration site several groups from schools across NJ. Showcasing their school wide approach to incorporating the AVID strategies, visitors were impressed with our staff as well as the students who addressed the large group of adults. The students explained to the audience, clearly and concisely, what AVID has done to help them advance. Judging by my conversations after with several visitors, the students and staff of Lakeside AVID left a lasting impression on the group. Kudos to Kim Hallenbeck and others for representing our District so well. A BIG SHOUTOUT to Rita Pettit for her comments to the AVID visitors yesterday during the debrief. I was extremely impressed with how passionately she articulated the value in using the AVID strategies as a ’non-avid’ teacher. By ’non-avid’ I mean not officially teaching the elective but Ms. Pettit is most certainly an AVID teacher. She uses the strategies in her classes and actively promotes the advantages her students have because of it. Thank you for being a leader among your peers!
These are just two of an endless list of amazing happenings across the MPS District!
One Amazing MPS Student caught being Phenomenal!!!
Subject: Student Dylan Latham
Good Afternoon Dr. Cook,
I wanted to share with you a moment that Dylan and I experienced last night. We, unfortunately, witnessed a horrific accident. An SUV was in front of us and went to turn onto a side road. Upon doing so, an explosion happened in the front of her vehicle as is ripped it around almost in a circle. Dylan and I noticed that the explosion was a motorcycle. We ran out and just wanted to find the person. The lady who hit him told us to look in the woods while she called 911. Dylan found him and went right to him without any fear and held his hand and with such a soothing voice, spoke as calmly as she could to the guy. He was wrapped around a couple of trees. I just tried to untangle some of the mess while trying not to cause any additional pain.
Dylan got him talking and found out his name and tried to keep him focused on the little boy that he kept asking us to find (should he not make it) and tell him how much his daddy loved him. She told him he could do that himself and told him he was NOT going to die. I heard him finally talk in a normal voice and asked Dylan, “Your not lying to me, right?”. And Dylan spent the rest of the time she had with him letting him know that he’s going to live and that she would never lie about something like that.
She showed such tenderness and bravery for a 13 year old. And our intentions was to NOT let him die alone. And she was prepared for that. Somehow.
It took some time and effort for the shock to wear off once we were home. She asked me, “what do we do now?”. And I responded that she didn’t need to worry about what to do next except to know that she made a difference just being there and to know that she may have saved his life by keeping him from going into shock. She kept him calm and spoke so sweetly that you would think she was professionally trained to do so.
I was able to find out that he made it.
I am so proud and ever so shocked at the ability of a child to think and react in pure chaos. Dylan is that child. She’s constantly amazing me! Yes, I’m partial. But, I thought that those who are around her and know just how special she is too would like to share in this moment.
This was received from the motorcyclist...
“Hi there, I’m so thankful for you and your daughter the both of you kept me together. I’m very lucky. Your daughter really gave me hope, how she handled herself talked to me, she kept me thinking. I thank her for that. Just thank you for the hands I could hold onto.”
All My Best,
Tina Latham
SHOUT-OUTS!!!!
"Kim Hallenbeck, Beth Benfer, and Sandy Lokuta did a phenomenal job with organizing an AVID Site visit at Lakeside Middle School. We hosted over 20 educators from area schools as well as from North Jersey and Pennsylvania. Thank you for your hard work!"
~Spike Cook, Principal
"A big Bacon shout out and thank you to Stephanie Muhlbaier for pulling together Hoops for Bacon (along with her team), the yearbook, and the Walk-a-Mile events. Stephanie, thanks for all your hard work and dedication to keeping Bacon active and keeping our Bears involved. I appreciate the time and effort it takes to make these things happen. Thank you!"
~Mike Coyle, Principal
"Clara Lowers and Tammy Tozer were able to provide over 200 chicken eggs to be used throughout the district. These eggs will be incubated and hatched in over 20 classrooms for the students to witness and learn from. Thanks Clara and Tammy!"
~Bobby Barber, Supervisor
"A BIG shout out to our two school nurses, Karen Chamenko and Lee Tamagni, for their attention to detail and receiving a 100% compliance on all of our Child Family Center student records from the county health department. The registration process and the record keeping for our 600 children is a monumental task!"
~JoAnn Burns, Principal
"Audrey Muller, Jackie Eppright, Ali Prevard, and Ish Jimenez: Your enthusiasm and efforts to work with our students with special needs is inspiring. Thank you for being the light in their lives and the lives of their families."
~Steve Matusz, Executive Director
"A big shout to Marie Celestin. Thank you for another successful Reality Fair at Memorial High School. Once again Marie prepared, organized and implemented this wonderful event for our students. This fair is a great opportunity for our students to experience some of the financial challenges they will face when they start living on their own. Thank you for your hard work and dedication to the students and staff at Memorial High School."
~JoAnne Colacurcio, Supervisor
"Kristin Phelan, Patti Atkinson, Courtney Fry, Tammy Elliott, Jessica Pacana, Juanita Douglas, and Jessica Kauffman: Today, three of our high school special education classes are presenting break out sessions at the annual Dare to Dream Student Leadership Conference at Cumberland County College. The sessions are entitled "Finding Yourself in Your Strengths" and "What Does Your Future Hold?" Thank you to the teachers and paraprofessionals that have worked with these students over the last few months to prepare them for this special day. This is an opportunity for students with disabilities to realize they have bright futures!"
~Debby Sukinik, Supervisor
"Thank you to Mike Schenck for coordinating the Blackhawk Landing at MSHS yesterday. Both students and teachers were impressed with every aspect of its visit."
~Kristin McManus, Vice Principal
Have an amazing weekend!!!
Warm Regards,
Dr. G.
Dr. David N. Gentile
Superintendent of Schools
“Lead Learner”
@drgentile_mps (Twitter)
856-327-6001
#MPSWC (MPS World Class)
#greatdaytobeabolt
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