SJHS Blog May 15 - 19, 2017
SJHS Blog 5/15/17 - 5/19/17
Seniors: Graduation News
Seniors,
Reminder that mandatory Graduation practice begins at 10:15 a.m. in the
auditorium on Thursday, June 1. We will be done at approximately 2:00 pm -
please plan accordingly. Wear your cap and gown. Be sure to check the calendar
that was given out at the senior meeting for all dates and times for all end of
the year activities.
Ren Baldwin Technology
Festival:
The
Ren Baldwin Technology Festival will be held Friday, May 19 at SJHS. This open house event will be held from
6-7:30. Students can show their projects
off to family and friends. The high
school Film Club and the Robotics team will be showcasing their work. Award ceremony starts at 7:30pm followed by a
door prized raffle. Prizes include gift
cards from Forever Books, Best Buy, Target, and Celebration Cinema. Project participants have a chance to win an
iPad Mini or Chromebook.
Senior Service Project:
Parents,
you’re invited!
2017
Senior Service Project Showcase
St.
Joseph High School
Tuesday,
May 23rd | 8 a.m. - 11 a.m.
The
class of 2017 invites you to the annual Senior Service Project Showcase hosted
at St. Joseph High School. Current seniors enrolled in the 21st Literature and
Writing English class have been busy designing and implementing community
service projects. On Tuesday, May 23rd, seniors will present their service
project outcomes and research to a panel of community member judges. Join them
in celebrating their learning and service to our local communities.
For
more information, please contact Mrs. Tracy Becker, the senior service project
coordinator: tbecker@sjschools.org
Honor Graduate Program:
Congratulations
to the 91 Seniors who were recognized this past Mon. 5/8 by the SJPS Board of
Education. These Seniors have maintained
a 3.5 cumulative GPA throughout their high school career. Students were presented with an honor
graduate pen and their honor cords which they will proudly wear at
Graduation.
NHS Induction:
Welcome
and congratulations to our newest members of the National Honor Society. Students were recognized and inducted into
NHS this past Tuesday, 5/9. We look
forward to seeing the impact this newest group of NHS inductees will have on
SJHS!
Performing Arts Hall of Fame News:
The first class of inductees into the Performing Arts Hall
of Fame for St. Joseph High School will take place at 7:00 pm on Wednesday, May
24, 2017 during the Spring Band Concert and Awards Ceremony.
Inductees are Robert W. Brown, Conductor of Bands
(1963-1993); Dennis Bowen, Choir Director (1960-1987); John Ellis Newton
Howard, Band Director (1948-1963); Steve Reed, Orchestra Director (1977-2010);
and Elizabeth Theisen, Drama, Musical, and Play Director (1947-1987). Biographies are attached.
A reception will be held following the Band Concert and
awards distribution.
Robert W. Brown
(1963-1993)
Robert W. Brown,
affectionately known as RWB, moved to St. Joseph in 1963 when he accepted the
position of Conductor of Bands. Over the
next 30 years he taught many musical groups including symphonic band, concert
band, marching band, varsity band, orchestra, and jazz band. During his tenure, the symphonic bands and
marching bands each received Division I ratings every year. Soloists and ensembles also received high
ratings at festivals. Under Robert’s
direction, the bands received invitations to perform at places like Hope
College, Western Michigan University, neighboring school districts, the Pontiac
Silverdome, Disney World, and in 1972, a three-week band tour in Europe,
culminating in performances at the International Music Festival in Vienna,
Austria. The jazz band even played for
Doc Severinson of the Tonight Show for a stage band competition, which SJHS
hosted.
Robert encouraged his
students to develop their performance acumen with extracurricular activities
such as festivals, musicals, concerts, the Variety Show, school ceremonies,
Blossom Parade and band camp. He himself
enjoyed keeping up his “chops” by giving
private lessons, accompanying his students at solo festivals, playing in and
guest conducting the Municipal Band, gigging with a local big band and various
local dance band groups, and having the occasional jam session with students. Along with Vito Tenerelli, his former band
colleague at Upton Middle School, he co-authored the music method series,
“Super Switcher.”
After retiring in 1993,
Robert continued developing young band musicians at Trinity Lutheran Schools in
both St. Joseph and in Sawyer. Robert
passed away in October 2012.
Dennis Bowen
(1960-1987)
Dennis Bowen led the choirs
at St. Joseph HS from 1960 – 1987.
During that time the program grew to include several performance choirs,
including the Concert Choir, Show Choir, the women’s chorus, Musettes, and the Choraliers.
In the mid 1960s, through a
collaborative effort with Drama Teacher Betty Theisen and Band Director Robert
Brown, Dennis directed the Variety Show production, a relationship that he
continued until his retirement in 1987. Dennis was known for making students
work like professionals, demonstrating proper theater skills and
etiquette. These productions often had
over 200 student participants.
Dennis established the St.
Joseph HS musical in 1961. These annual
shows included Carousel, South Pacific,
Funny Girl, Oklahoma, Hello Dolly! and Camelot. His very first musical in 1961, Brigadoon, was also the last show he
cast prior to retiring in 1987.
In 2014 and 2016, Dennis
returned to St. Joseph HS, this time as Producer of “Encore,” an alumni variety show.
Former graduates from all over the world returned to the St. Joseph HS
stage to honor their fine arts teachers and help raise funds for the St. Joseph
Public School Foundation.
The school Alma Mater was
Dennis’s inspiration during lunch back in 1961, a song all students and alumni
still sing today.
Since retiring from the
school district, Dennis was employed by Lakeland Hospital as the first
Executive Director of the Foundation for one year and Director of Volunteers
for 12 years. He then began his
volunteer activities as the Coordinator/Instructor at SeniorNet Computer
Learning Center, and most importantly, as Secretary of the St. Joseph Public
School Foundation Board of Directors.
John Ellis Newton
Howard (1948 – 1963)
In 1947 John E. N. Howard
moved from Wayne, MI to St. Joseph to begin his instrumental teaching
career. Beginning as Assistant Band
Director at the high school, John also shared directing responsibilities at the
St. Joseph Municipal Band with HS Band Director Herschel Wallace. When Wallace left the school district and
Municipal Band at the end of the 1948 summer season, John took over until his
retirement in 1963.
During his tenure as Band
Director at St. Joseph Public Schools, his ensembles earned thirteen area
Division 1 ratings and eight state level ratings at the Michigan School Band
and Orchestra Festivals. By his final
year teaching, the instrumental music membership in grades 6 through 12 grew to
more than 300 band members.
John and his wife Dede
founded a scholarship fund for music students through the Berrien Community
Foundation. This scholarship fund has
helped many St. Joseph HS graduates pay for both under graduate and graduate
studies in music.
John and Dede are significant
contributors to the arts and recreational venues in and around St. Joseph. Andrews University, Hillsdale College, and
Hope College have received substantial gifts from the Howards towards
construction of superb Fine Arts facilities.
The “crown jewel” of these contributions is the John and Dede Howard
Auditorium at St. Joseph High School, completed in 2014.
Elizabeth Theisen (1947 – 1987)
Known as “Miss T,” Betty
began her teaching career and became the founding mother of the drama
department at St. Joseph HS in 1947. A
teacher of business, speech, and drama courses, she took over Troupe 584 of the
National Thespian Society, one of the oldest in the country.
In addition to building the
Thespian troupe, Miss T created feeder programs to promote membership into the
senior class drama honor society. She
was proud to watch many of her students go on to perform in college, movies,
commercials, television, and on Broadway.
Throughout her teaching
career, Betty was one of the Directors of the annual All School Play. She singularly directed the Senior Class Play
from 1947-1972 and the Junior Class Play from 1948-1959. Starting in 1950, she also Co-Directed the
Thespian One Act Plays with senior students.
Betty was also the Director
of the Spring Play from 1948-1959, and Co-Director for another 31 years. The Spring Play grew into the Variety Show,
now known as Showtime. Betty Co-Directed the St. Joseph HS musical
with Dennis Bowen from 1961-1987.
When she retired in 1987,
Miss T had directed 76 major productions at St. Joseph HS. Betty passed away in April 2011.
Steven Reed
(1977-2010)
After 35 years of teaching music, Steve Reed retired
from SJPS in 2010. Steve is also former
director of the Lake Michigan Youth Orchestra, a position he held for 27 years.
Steve was hired in St. Joseph as the Assistant Conductor of Bands,
which included beginning brass classes, high school band, and Jazz
Ensemble. The annual Winter Jazz Concert
featured the St. Joseph HS Jazz Ensemble along with guest artists including
Buddy Rich, Thad Jones, Louis Bellson, the Count Basie Band, the Woody Herman
Band, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, and many others. The group also toured the state performing at
jazz festivals on a regular basis.
In the early 1980s Steve was also assigned beginning strings and high
school orchestra. Steve took a
struggling orchestra program and grew it into three performing groups at the
high school and three grade level orchestras at the middle school, totaling 325
members. A turning point came in 1994
while playing venues throughout Michigan.
Its reputation slowly building, an invitation was extended to perform at
the International Youth and Music Festival in Vienna, Austria. That invitation got the orchestra
noticed. The trip made such an impact
that similar trips were made every four years to such places as Montreal,
Quebec, Italy, Austria, Switzerland, and Germany, culminating in 2010 with a
trip up the east coast with venues including Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall
in New York City and the National Cathedral in Washington D.C.
Steve’s peers were also
impressed. He was named Michigan
Orchestra Teacher of the Year in 1997 by the Michigan School Band and Orchestra
Association. The Michigan American String
Teachers Association named him Teacher of the Year in 2004, and in 2009 he
received the National String Educator’s Award from the American String
Teacher’s Association.
Steve remains active as a
professional musician with the Southwest Michigan Symphony Orchestra, Director
of the Lake Effect Jazz Big Band, and leader of the jazz quintet, Jazzmin II.
Key Club News:
Kiwanis,
St. Joe Key Club and Lakeshore Key Club are beginning to plan our 2nd Annual
Kiwanis Family Fall Festival. This is a fun event open to all foster
families in Berrien County. It is held in the fall at Kiwanis Park.
Last night we were awarded a Heart of Cook grant that with help the clubs rent
bounce house for the event.
Hospitality Management
Class News:
The
Hospitality Management class took a field trip to Four Winds Casino Resort this
week. Our tour guide was Tim Adams, director of events and
catering. Chef Brandon made a wonderful burger bar for our lunch
and did a Culinary Demonstration. The class was able to tour all the
restaurants and learn more about how such a large operation operates.
These trips take what we are studying in class and make it real.
Athletic News:
Monday:
9:00
JV Golf @ Portage
4:00 VAR/JV Tennis vs. Sturgis
4:00
Boys/Girls JV Track @ Portage Central JV Invite
4:30
9th Baseball @ Cassopolis
4:30 VAR BB vs. Benton Harbor
4:30
JV BB @ Benton Harbor
5:00 JV/VAR Soccer vs. B.C. Lakeview
Tuesday:
4:00 JV BB/SB vs. Niles
4:00
VAR BB/SB @ Niles
Wednesday:
10:00
VAR Golf @ SMAC Tournament
5:00 JV/VAR Soccer Crossover SMAC Game
Thursday:
4:00 JV BB/SB vs. Gull Lake
4:00
VAR BB/SB @ Gull Lake
Friday:
8:30
Tennis Regionals @ Portage Northern
1:00
Boys/Girls Track at Regionals/Sturgis
6:00
Varsity Soccer @ Paw Paw
Saturday:
No Events
Upcoming
Events:
5/17 – 1 Hr. Late Start
5/22 – Sr. Athletic Awards Program – 6pm – SJHS
Auditorium
5/22 – Sr. Academic Awards Program – 7pm – SJHS
Auditorium
5/24 – SJHS Band Spring Concert and Awards – 7pm –
SJHS Auditorium
5/25 – SJHS Orchestra Spring Concert and Awards –
7pm – SJHS Auditorium
5/26 – Last Day for Seniors!
