TCS News to Know

This week is National School Counselor Week! In honor of this, we want to give a HUGE shout out and thank you to our amazing Tekonsha Student Support Team! We are excited to continue to see this staff grow within our district, to better help meet the needs of our students!

• Mrs. Brenda Tew is our MS/HS School Counselor. This is her fourth year at Tekonsha Schools! Mrs. Tew does so much more than her title implies. She is the go-to person for our students' social, emotional, and academic needs. She serves as an important support to our high school students as they navigate the transition from high school to their next steps! This year, Mrs. Tew is also helping to coordinator our middle school and high school CARE groups, where students are working on building positive peer relationships and focusing on some character development mini lessons with their teacher mentors. Mrs. Tew is our district homeless liaison, and is a valuable resource for connecting students and families with outside services and agencies when there is a need.

• Mrs. Jenn Westra is our Elementary Behavior Interventionist. This is Mrs. Westra's second year at Tekonsha Schools, and our second year with this valuable position. Mrs. Westra has been a huge support for our elementary students and their social and emotional needs, as well as providing social emotional learning to all students in the elementary. This year, Mrs. Westra has also been able to work on a more regular basis with all of our classes, providing some character building and social emotional classroom lessons.

• Mrs. Caitlyn Wood is our CISD School Mental Health Specialist. As a licensed social worker, Mrs. Wood provides clinical mental heath support to students in need. This is Mrs. Wood's first year in our district, and she has made some great relationships with students.

• Ms. Meredith Line is our CISD Special Education Social Worker. Ms. Line provides social work services to meet students' IEP needs. Even though she is only in our district one day a week, she goes above and beyond to make sure that all of our students have her full support!

We are so grateful to have this amazing student support team! They do such a great job of caring for all of the students at Tekonsha Schools! If you or your student has a need, please do not hesitate to contact your child's building office to be connecting with any of our support staff.

On Monday, February 3, 2025 from 6:30-7:30 pm, Tekonsha Elementary School will be hosting "Jammies & Juice." This is a Title I Family Engagement activity. All elementary students are invited to come to the elementary school in their jammies, get a snack and a free book, and find a corner of the multipurpose room to read their book with their own parents or guardians. This is a chance for families to have a special "read-in" with their own students!

Governor Whitmer is challenging Michigan’s K-12 students to come up with a creative design for the 2025 State of the State program cover following the theme, “Think Michigan”.

During her State of the State address, Governor Whitmer will share her vision for Michigan and plan to address key issues like creating jobs, lowering costs, continuing our record investments in education, and so much more.

Students should be as creative as possible and are welcome to use crayon, marker, paint, or any other material. To submit a design, please follow the instructions at the link below. Submissions will be accepted exclusively through the online system and must be received by no later than 11:59PM on Friday, February 14.

Tekonsha Community Schools is excited to be participating in the Calhoun County Girls on the Run (GOTR) program for our second year! GOTR is not just about running - it's so much more! The program, for girls in 3rd - 5th grade, focuses on teaching life skills, such as handling stress, building confidence, decision-making, and empowerment! Meetings will begin the first week of March. Each girl that participates will also receive a new pair of running shoes and be registered to run in a culminating 5K held at Harper Creek. We are so grateful for the full sponsorship of this program by Keep & Martinson Lumber, to make this opportunity free to our Tekonsha students! Thank you for your support of our school and students!

On Thursday, January 30th, Tekonsha High School held its third annual Senior Athlete Staff Appreciation Night! Between the girls varsity game and the boys varsity game, all Tekonsha senior athletes were acknowledged for all of the sports teams in which they have participated in high school, as well as celebrating their plans for after graduation. A highlight of the evening also included the recognition of each athlete's most influential staff member. Staff recognized were current and former Tekonsha teachers, coaches, staff, CACC teachers, and BCAMSC teachers. The variety of individuals honored shows the connections and impact that our staff have on our students. If you missed the program, a video of the program is available on the Tekonsha Community Schools' Facebook page! Thank you to all of our honorees for making a difference in the lives of our students! Special shout out to Aryn Henry for coordinating this program!

Congratulations to the following on their recognition:

• Bo Begley - Mr. Dustin Orns
• Haley Eisenberg - Mrs. Heather Layne-Fouty
• Dylan Griffith - Mrs. Stephanie Barron, CACC
• Reagan Henry - Mrs. Jessica Newland
• Wyatt Metcalf - Mr. Robert Miller, CACC
• Kimi Nill - Ms. Trisha Blashfield
• Vayda Nyland - Mr. Scott Hansen, BCAMSC
• Hailey Owens - Mrs. Vickie Runyon
• Preston Pombier - Mrs. Stephanie Barron, CACC
• Emily Rizo - Mrs. Aryn Henry
• Brandon Sammons - Mr. Robert Miller, CACC
• Chloe Smith - Mrs. Michele Stuart
• Bo Veenkant - Mrs. Heather Layne-Fouty

The Tekonsha Board of Education voted unanimously at a special board meeting on Monday, January 27th to appoint Mrs. Danielle Willerick to the vacant trustee seat left open. Mrs. Willerick is a 2009 graduate of Tekonsha Community Schools, and now lives in Tekonsha with her husband Ethan and son Clayton. Clayton is currently a 1st grader at Tekonsha Elementary. The full term seat will be filled by Mrs. Willerick through the general election in November of 2026, at which time the remainder of the full term position will be posted for the remaining four years of the term under regular election procedures.

We are so excited to welcome Danielle Willerick to the Board of Education and appreciate her willingness to service our community and students!

President - Brandie Aldrich

Vice-President - Brad Runyon

Secretary - Sara Griffith

Treasurer - Cheryl McKean

Trustee - Adam Shedd

Trustee - Roy Henry

Trustee - Danielle Willerick

Michigan State Police Trooper Zoe Feighner was back on campus twice this week, to present a second time to Tekonsha Middle School students and also to present to Tekonsha High School students. Trooper Feighner was first at Tekonsha in November, to speak to middle school students about bullying and cyberbullying. She returned on Wednesday, January 29th, to speak with the students on the topic of Respect, Responsibility, and Accountability. Trooper Feighner returned again on Thursday, January 30th, to speak to all high school students about the important topics of internet safety, cyberbullying, sexting, and sextortion. She shared legal definitions for students to understand what these topics really covered, and the impact that these issues have had on students across the country.

The Tekonsha Indian Cheer Team is hosting a cheer clinic for any elementary student in grades K-5. Notes were sent home with students last week to sign up for the program. Participating students will meet for one practice on Saturday, February 15th from 10 - 11:30 am in the HS gym. All participants will then get the opportunity to cheer at a Tekonsha High School basketball game on Wednesday, February 19th, during halftime of the JV game! The total cost for the clinic is $15, and each participant will receive a cheer shirt! Be sure to return the registration form no later than February 7th to the elementary office if your child is interested in participating!

Music education for all students is so important, and Mrs. Hall is always looking for new ways to engage students at Tekonsha Elementary School. Last week, students had fun playing a music center game called "Solfa Snap!" Students practiced reading a solfege pattern on a game card, clipped a clothespin to the correct answer, then checked the answer on the "Cheat Sheet."

Tekonsha Community Schools is also excited to announce that we were selected as a recipient of an MDE competitive grant for K-5 music education, and we have been awarded $14,500 toward additional musical instruments, curriculum, and technology for our elementary music program! We can't wait to see these new resources in action with our kids!

Tekonsha Community Schools is always seeking ways to improve students' experiences at our school. Parent/guardian opinions are important to us, so we are asking each parent to take a moment and complete a short parent perception survey. Your input and feedback are valuable as we evaluate our current programs and look to make plans for the future as part of our continuous improvement process. We have two different surveys, one for the elementary and one for the junior/senior high. The questions are the same, however, if you have students in both buildings, we are asking you to fill it out separately for each building. This will allow us to collect data and feedback specific to each building to help us guide our work. Although these surveys are anonymous, if you have additional feedback that you would like to share, you can always contact Mrs. O'Keefe directly at okeefej@tekonsha.k12.mi.us or leave comments in the comment box at the bottom of each weekly newsletter! Thank you so much for your continued support of our students, staff, and school!

Last week was a great week of victories for our basketball teams. On Wednesday, January 29, the Tekonsha Jr. High Girls team won in an exciting overtime finish. Even better, the stands were filled with high school students cheering them on and even creating a spirit tunnel for them at the end of the game! We love seeing our students support each other!

Breakfast and lunch menus for both the elementary and the MS/HS are now available on the website! Click on the links below to access these. Breakfast is available for FREE for all students and is served in the elementary from 7:50 - 8:25 am (times vary by grade) and in the MS/HS from 7:50 - 8:00 am. Lunch is also available for FREE for all students, served from 11:00 am - 12:10 pm in the elementary (times vary by grade). In the HS, lunch is served from 10:45 - 11:11 am and from 11:41 - 12:06 pm for the MS.

• Elementary Menus
• MS/HS Menus

USDA Non-Discrimination Statement

Website: www.tekonshaschools.org
Location: 245 South Elm Street, Tekonsha, MI, USA
Phone: 517-767-4121
Facebook: facebook.com/TekonshaCommunitySchools