SUPERINTENDENT

Congratulations to the Novi Esports League of Legends team for winning the MHSEL League of Legends Spring State Championship against Melvindale High School, in Kalamazoo last Saturday! They qualified after defeating Northville Esports in the semifinals. The Novi team includes juniors Nihal Dongari, Andy Li and Julia Lin, and seniors William Diaz, Robert Floros and Conner Kirkman.

"Congrats to Kavin Kukunoor for winning the Solo Broncos 1v1 Smash Tournament !" said Novi High teacher and Esports coach Chris White.

White stated, “This team meets together nearly every day to practice, prepare, and improve their communication and coordination, and I could not be more proud of them,”

“While Novi's League of Legends team might have the most visible success, they embody the same principles I see in dozens of others of players in Novi Esports. In our Spring 2023 season, every single team of Novi Esports (Valorant, Splatoon 3, Smash Bros, Rocket League, and Overwatch 2) made a deep run in their respective playoffs. All of our teams and players have displayed amazing commitment, sportsmanship, and teamwork. This opportunity to defend our MHSEL Fall Championship title last Saturday is a testament to the professionalism of Novi Esports as a whole and the unique talent of our Wildcats. GO NOVI!”

Sanjith Udupa became the third Frog Force 503 member from Novi High School to earn the FIRST Robotics Competition Dean’s List Award. The other two Novi winners were Arseniy Ilinich (2022) and Mitchel Huang in (2016).

Udupa was part of the FLL team “Techno Tadpoles”, the FTC team 6134 “Black Frogs” and the FRC team 503 “Frog Force” while going to school in Novi.

1. What does it mean to you to be recognized with the Dean's List Award?

“Being recognized as a Dean's List Winner means a lot to me. The award is given at multiple levels, with each team nominating two students at a district event to compete (via essays and interviews) to be selected as the "semi-finalist" and then all the chosen semi-finalists compete to be selected as 14 Dean's List Finalists at the Michigan State Championship. The finalists compete against the finalists from all other states and countries to be selected as the Dean's List Winners. Just being nominated by my team to compete at the District level means a lot because it shows that I have had a positive impact on the team's performance and outreach. Winning at the district, state, and eventually the world level is just further confirmation and validation of that, and makes me feel proud to represent my team. Of the 10 selected winners (out of ultimately thousands of students overall and about 100 finalists), generally, only one -- if any -- is selected from Michigan. Representing Novi and Frog Force as the sole winner from Michigan is a big honor.”

2. What are some of your favorite memories from your experience with FIRST Robotics and the teams you have been part of while going to school in Novi?

“I've been part of FIRST Robotics in Novi since 4th grade, and having gone all the way through the progression of programs through elementary, middle, and high school, I've made so many friends while learning very valuable technical and soft skills. Some of my best memories come from late nights working on the robots in the school workshop, hours after sunset, and just before the custodians finally kick us out for the night. We'd be scrambling to get our robot fully polished and I, being a programmer, would often find myself getting the robot last after the mechanical and electrical teams. Despite the exhaustion and stress, the energy and excitement you get from seeing our robot execute its precisely programmed actions at high speed and accuracy are impossible to be found anywhere else.”

3. Why would you recommend joining a robotics team?

“Joining a robotics team is one of the most rewarding choices you can make especially when you’re a younger student. Even if you don’t think you’re interested in STEM right now, the skills you’ll gain through robotics is far more than that. Competitions are about marketing yourself and your team, and public speaking and effective communication are a big part of that. Further, it’s impossible to build a good robot without dividing the work, delegating tasks, and cooperating as a team. All of this you’ll learn through both the STEM and non-STEM challenges on the team. And it goes without saying that you’ll learn all sorts of valuable technical skills along the way, all while having a lot of fun with your teammates.

“Besides, in Novi it is incredibly easy to join a team. In the same way you’d sign up for Parks and Rec sports, you can join a middle or elementary school robotics team through Community Ed, so it really is a no-brainer to join.”

4. What are your future plans/goals?

“I plan to go to college and study computer science. My time in robotics has really tuned me to enjoy fast-paced high-stakes work environments, with projects rapidly shifting. As a result, I think I would enjoy a career as a software engineering consultant or work at some company with new projects very often.”

5. What were your roles on Frog Force this year?

“On Frog Force, I was the assistant programming group lead and the lead of the Autonomous and Drivetrain software control subteam. I was in charge of writing the code to control our 125 lb “swerve” drivetrain, capable of driving 18 feet per second in any direction while spinning, to accurately track trajectories with inch-level precision. We worked to incorporate camera data using state-of-the-art computer vision techniques to further enhance accuracy and driving, giving the ability to perform some of the most challenging and high-scoring autonomous routines in the World, matched by only a few other teams. We also worked on writing driver enhancements to automate nearly every process during the driver-controlled period.

“I am also the student leader of an initiative called the Motor City Alliance, a nonprofit that we started to start and sustain over 90 elementary and middle school robotics teams in inner-city Detroit. I have been working with these teams since sixth grade, when we had just started 20 of them, and have since become a technical mentor working directly with the school district to provide resources to each of the teams. Through the Motor City Alliance, I organize biweekly workshops during the season for Frog Force students to help these teams build their robots as well as their actual competitions and numerous training events in the offseason.”

The Novi baseball and softball teams are in good hands these days, especially when one of the Bennett siblings pitches.

Senior right-handed pitcher Reganne Bennett is one of the top softball players in the United States and has committed to the University of South Carolina. You’ll remember that she was featured on WXYZ a couple years ago and struck out broadcaster Justin Rose.

Junior left-handed pitcher Brendon Bennett is as impressive on the mound as his sister is in the circle. He has verbally committed to Clemson.

Reganne said she enjoyed her recruiting experience. She had more time to develop and to be seen by college coaches before she began receiving letters as a junior. “Even though it was all at once, it allowed me to look at my options and figure out what I wanted,” Reganne said.

She said the coaches and people at South Carolina are amazing. She wanted to play at the highest level and said South Carolina has “a really competitive schedule in the SEC.”

South Carolina was also a good fit for Reganne because it “has a really good exercise science program, which is what I want to go into.” There was another bonus of going to college in Columbia, S.C.: “The weather is really nice. It’s a lot better than it is up here.”

Eventually, the Bennetts will be a little over two hours away from each other in college.

Brendon initially committed to the University of Michigan, but switched to Clemson after Erik Bakich went from the Wolverines to the Tigers.

“I think the program they are going to build here in the next couple of years is going to be really good and we’ll be very talented,” Brendon said.

The siblings are very complimentary toward each other.

“I would say Reganne is overall a very nice person,” Brendon said. “She’s got a little sense of humor. She’s not super outgoing, but she’s talkative.”

Reganne said Brendon is definitely more outgoing. “He’s very personable,” she said. “He always makes people laugh. He’s very caring. He always sticks up for the people he cares about.”

Reganne usually bests Brendon when they are playing card games. Brendon usually wins at backyard games like basketball.

They are currently competing to see who can raise their velocity first. Reganne said she has topped out at 71 and is trying to get to 72 m.p.h. Brendon has hit 94 and is trying to get to 95.

“Whoever hits it first gets owed Chipotle,” Reganne said.

Makayla Stewart, Aries Feldpausch, and Thea Fortin each earned recognition for their work in the The Wildcat Roar newspaper, by the Michigan Interscholastic Press Association.

Stewart earned a second place for photo story (Girls golf swings to victory), a third place for environmental portrait (Supt. Ben Mainka) and four honorable mentions (sports action photo, news story, informative feature and sports news story).

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“I am very honored to be awarded 2nd and 3rd place for my photography because my work has really come a long way,” said Makayla Stewart. “My freshman year I barely knew how to take photos and I’ve seen so much progress, which is really cool.

“Newspaper takes a lot of work and there’s not really much recognition… so MIPA is a nice way to highlight the hard work our staff puts in.”

Feldpausch earned five honorable mentions (news-feature photo 2x, photo story, news story and review).

Fortin earned honorable mention for follow-up news coverage.

The Novi High School Select Art Show runs from May 3rd through the 30th at the Novi Civic Center. A reception was held on May 4 from 6-7 p.m.

Novi High’s JoJo Curtiss’ won the poster contest for the Select Art Show.

“My poster idea was to represent the diverse community in Novi with all the different skin tones in the hands,” Curtiss said. “Additionally, I kind of also wanted to represent the different kinds of people for making hearts with their hands (using the full hand vs. using only the index and middle finger). The message I was trying to convey was that when you look around, it is a world full of color and it is very diverse too.”

Curtiss said she was shocked when told she won.

“I ended up waking up the next day questioning if it really happened because it was too good to be true,” she said.

Why should community members visit the Select Art Show?

“The Select Art Show shows off students of our school that are expressing themselves in beautiful ways that only they can express themselves in,” Curtiss said. “Not everyone expresses themselves the same way. Everyone is different.

“People should go to the Select Art Show because these students put their heart and soul (maybe even a little comedic relief) into their work, showing a little bit of themselves and leaving themselves a bit vulnerable to viewers, allowing viewers to feel the emotion of the piece and gaze in awe at the delicate brushstrokes, lines, and marks and even the harsh brushstrokes, lines, and marks. The students also show their improvement because everyone started somewhere, they didn't start out drawing perfect lines and circles... They continued to follow their passion, improving to what you will see at the art show.”

Curtiss said she enjoys art because it is fun. “It makes me excited to make art every day and I'm truly lucky to go to Novi where we have all these amazing art teachers and classes,” she said.

JoJo mentioned that she’s had a lot of guidance with her art, going all the way back to preschool with Mrs. Sheila. From there she learned from Mrs. Boehm at Parkview Elementary.

“When we had free art time she would let me express myself in whatever ways I wanted, even if it was simply just a "bowl" of macaroni and cheese made out of macaroni and a bottle cap or even 1 of probably 200 billion versions of a paper laptop,” Curtiss said.

“At Novi Meadows, I had Mrs. Garcia and Ms. Jones. They showed me new ways to do things and helped me learn how to use new materials I wasn't familiar with like paper mache.

Novi Middle School, I wasn't there long because of COVID, but I did take an art class there before we went into lockdown with Mr. Erskine before he permanently moved to high school ….
Mr. Erskine was someone who gave me tips on ways to improve my art and helped me express myself more, not only in art class but also he helped me in art club at the middle school.

“At the high school, I've had Mrs. Schnurstein, Mrs. Edmunds, and very soon Mr. Erskine and Mrs. Harbar. Mrs. Schnurstein and Mrs. Edmunds were probably some of the teachers that had the most impact on me because, in high school, you are kind of forced to really think about what you do in the future. They inspired me to pursue becoming an art teacher myself. All of my art teachers really helped me get where I am today with my art and I'm still improving every day, learning new things and new ways to do things.”

Local Scholarship Breakfast

Novi High seniors were awarded nearly $51,000 during the Local Scholarship Breakfast at the Novi Civic Center on Tuesday, April 25. Congratulations to the following seniors who received the following scholarships!

School Organization Scholarships:

National Honor Society: Carter Tarkanyi and Katherine Wang

Student Council: Alexander Daniel and Makayla Stewart.

PTO Alumni Scholarships:

Deerfield: George Kobrossy

Novi Meadows: Griffin Conway

Novi Woods: Makayla Stewart

Orchard Hills-Paul R. LePlae: George Elengikal

Parkview-Joseph Imrick: Neha Natarajan

Village Oaks: Sofia Pratt and Zhina Zabihian

Community Groups Scholarships

American Association of University Women Northville-Novi: Farheen Hirji and Zhina Zabihian

Band Booster: Pranay Yellapantula

Buffy Lind Band Booster: Katherine Youmans

Darlene Ephraim Ascension Providence: Amelia Chung and Julia Park

Davd Langham Memorial Band Booster: Kaitlyn Sheng

FUERST Scholarship-Novi Educational Foundation: Vitor Barros, Shriya Chandu, Sabrina Lu, Elle Louise Miller, Nhat Anh Nguyen, Lindsay Royston

Novi High School Athletic Boosters: Griffin Conway, Sydney Ruskin, Cole Shires, Makayla Stewart

Novi Police Officers’ Association: Thomas Dokic and Ava Moretto.

Novi Rotary/Interact Club: Sarah Cho, Do Young Kim, Somya Valecha

Northville Masonic: Amelia Chung, Meghna Reddy

OSTC Rotary Scholarship: Abigail German

Orchestra Booster #1: Somya Valecha

Orchestra Booster #2: Katherine Wang

Parents of African American Students in Novi: Lindsay Royston and Nicole Watts.

Memorial Scholarships:

Chip Switzer Memorial: Gavin Garcia

Class of 2008 Memorial: Shriya Chandu

David Langham Memorial: Samantha Jiddou and Bala Abinaya Parivakkam

Janet Ban Educational Scholarship: Kayla Ritchie

Kory Ernster Memorial: Luke Aurilia and Lucas Sabadin Zampieri

Nancy Okray Memorial-Novi Youth Assistance: Julia Park

Richard Erwin Memorial-Novi Educational Foundation: Gavin Garcia and Samantha Ryba

Local Businesses Scholarships:

Hino Motors U.S.A.: Cole Shires