Mr. Beckeman's Blog

January 31, 2012

Valedictorian & Salutatorian Announced

Filed under: Archive,Community News,Parents,School Board,Staff,Students,Uncategorized — Mr. Beckeman @ 3:07 pm

Reeths-Puffer High School is proud to announce Stephany Zahl as Valedictorian of the senior class of 2012.

Stephany has a weighted G.P.A. of 4.214.  Her interests and involvement include:  4 years of marching band and wind ensemble, 3 years of STATS (Straight Talk About Tough Stuff), 10 years of Competitive Dance, 2 years of Children’s Theatre, 2 years membership in NHS, 4 years of academic tutoring, 1 year of IMPACT, member of the senior homecoming court and currently serves the senior class as Vice-President.  You will be able to see Stephany act in our spring musical: The Sound of Music coming in March too!

Reeths-Puffer High School is proud to announce Nick Baker as Salutatorian of the senior class of 2012.

Nick Baker is our Salutatorian with a G.P.A. of 4.205.  Nick has been a 4 year member of our marching band, 2 years serving as drum major.  Nick also competed on our tennis team for 2 years.  Nick is a member of IMPACT, 2 year member of NHS, a member of all three concert bands, member of the senior homecoming court and will perform as a pit-musician in our spring musical: The Sound of Music.

We’re very proud of our Valedictorian and Salutatorian as they have represented their families and school in many fine ways.  You will be able to hear from them as they will speak at our graduation ceremony at the L.C. Walker Sports Arena on Tuesday, June 5th at 7:00 p.m.

January 29, 2012

R-PHS Talent Show: Rich Diversity

Filed under: Archive,Community News,Parents,School Board,Staff,Students,Uncategorized — Mr. Beckeman @ 10:36 pm

The annual R-P Talent Show presented two acts of talent worthy beyond the price of admission last night in the Rocket Centre.  The audience enjoyed acts that included singing, dancing, magic, rap, opera, comics, and instrumental presentations.  A panel of judges comprised of students and teachers awarded cash prizes in solo, group and show-stopper categories.  The results were as follows:

Solo:

First Place:  Brendan Martin (Guitar Solo)

Second Place: Claire Krohn (Piano and Song)

Third Place: Elaina Burress (Guitar and Song)

Group:

First Place: All State Everything (Duo Rap)

Second Place: Gates Green & Tommy Grant (Guitar and Song)

Show-Stopper Award:  Jesse Dick (Dance performance)

The following photos were taken by R-P student, Morgan Fodrocy:

January 26, 2012

Healthy Kids Dental

Filed under: Archive,Community News,Parents,Staff,Students,Uncategorized — Mr. Beckeman @ 2:10 pm

A new dental program for Medicaid covered children will begin on February 1, 2012.  The program is called Healthy Kids Dental and is administered by Delta Dental for Medicaid covered children up to age 21.  Children who are enrolled in Medicaid will receive a Healthy Kids Dental card in the mail

which will need to be brought into the dental office at each visit.  Most of the dental offices in Muskegon county will accept this dental card for Treatment (contact your dental office to be sure). Along with sending the card in the mail, Delta Dental will send a handbook and a list of participating dental offices.

Children who are uninsured can be seen at Northwest Michigan Health Services in Shelby (231) 861-2139.  The office is open for dental services on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.  Please call ahead for an appointment.

January 21, 2012

Rocket Wrestlers Improve at GMAA City Tournament

Filed under: About Me,Archive,Community News,Parents,School Board,Staff,Students,Uncategorized — Mr. Beckeman @ 11:03 pm

The Rocket wrestling team had eleven wrestlers competing for medals today (Saturday) in the Greater Muskegon Athletic Association’s City Tournament.  Cody and Tyler Stenberg defended their City titles, living up to the billing the Muskegon Chronicle wrote about in Friday’s paper.

R-P earned a 3rd place finish with Whitehall winning their 7th straight city title and Holton landing in 2nd place. 

Click on the link below to view action photos of our Rocket wrestlers.

City Wrestling Photos

January 17, 2012

R-P Students Prepare for Mid-Term Exams

Filed under: About Me,Archive,Community News,Parents,School Board,Staff,Students,Uncategorized — Mr. Beckeman @ 6:37 am

It’s amazing how fast school years slip by!  We’re fast approaching the end of the first semester which means it’s EXAM TIME! 

The high school first semester exam schedule is as follows:

Wednesday, January 18th

7:50 a.m. – 9:20 a.m.:  1st Hour Exam

9:30 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.:  2nd Hour Exam

Buses will pick up students at 11:05 a.m.  No lunch will be served today.

Thursday, January 19th:

7:50 a.m. – 9:20 a.m.:  3rd Hour Exam

9:30 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.:  4th Hour Exam

12:30 p.m. – 2:10 p.m.: Zero Hour Exam and Make-Up Exam time

Buses will pick up students at 11:05 a.m.  No lunch will be served today.

Friday, January 20th

7:50 a.m. – 9:20 a.m.:  5th Hour Exam

9:30 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.:  6th Hour Exam

Buses will pick up students at 11:05 a.m.  No lunch will be served today.  This day ends the first semester!

December 22, 2011

Fun For All Ages at Holiday Skate

Filed under: Archive,Community News,Parents,School Board,Staff,Students,Uncategorized — Mr. Beckeman @ 11:39 am

I really enjoyed my time skating with the hockey team, Santa, students and community members at Lakeshore Ice Arena yesterday afternoon.  The video below captures some of the fun I refer to!  Merry Christmas!

December 15, 2011

Lexile Measures Improving at R-PHS

Filed under: Archive,Community News,Continuous Improvement,Documenting Results,Parents,School Board,School Improvement,Staff,Stakeholder Communications,Students,Uncategorized — Mr. Beckeman @ 8:15 am

As you read the title of this post, you might wonder what exactly is a Lexile measure.  I can help with this! 

The Purpose of Lexile Measurements are:

  • To assess the reading difficulty of texts
  • To assess student’s ranges of reading comprehension
  • To predict how well a student is likely to comprehend a particular text

If a student’s Lexile score and a textbook’s Lexile are the same (or very close to the same), you can expect the student to read and comprehend 75% of the material presented.

What is a Lexile and how is it determined?

A Lexile measure is an indicator of how difficult a text is to comprehend based upon:

  • Word Frequency (not frequency in passage but in English language)
  • Sentence length (best predictor of the difficulty of a sentence is its length)

What doesn’t a Lexile measure?

  • Content
  • Quality
  • Complexity (syntax, irony, symbolism, etc.)
  • Jargon
  • Interest
  • Design

What comprehension skills are tested?

  • Paraphrase information in passage
  • Drawing conclusions from a passage
  • Making inferences
  • Identifying supporting details
  • Making generalizations from passage

The data for the class of 2015, 2014, 2013 are presented in the links below:

9th Grade Proficiency Summary Report

10th Grade Proficiencey Summary Report

11th Grade Proficiencey Summary Report

A quick synopsis of the data informs us that 71% of our students assessed in these cohorts are reading at the proficient of advanced levels based on the Lexile measure.  The chart below will provide you with information on the percentile rank of readers by Lexile measure:

Lexile Percentile Table

As we move to the Common Core State Standards, the current Lexile ranges (also called bands) will be “stretched” to align with the associated rigor increases.   Grades 9 & 10 have been linked as seen below:

Current Proficiency Lexile Band                                    “Stretch” Lexile Band

9th & 10th:  960-1115                                                          9th & 10th: 1080 – 1305

11th: 1070 – 1220                                                                  11th: 1215 – 1355

The Common Core Standards advocate a “staircase” of increasing text complexity, beginning in grade 2, so that students can develop their reading skills and apply them to more difficult texts.  At the lowest grade in each band, students focus on reading texts within that text complexity band.  In the subsequent grade or grades within a band, students must “stretch” to read a certain proportion of texts from the next higher text complexity band.  This pattern repeats itself throughout the grades so that students can both build on earlier literacy gains and challenge themselves with texts at a higher complexity level.

December 14, 2011

CAD Students Perform Well at Baker College Competition

Filed under: Archive,Community News,Parents,School Board,Staff,Students,Uncategorized — Mr. Beckeman @ 3:49 pm

R-PHS sent four students to the annual Baker College competition for Computer Aided Design (CAD) earlier this week and our students represented our high school very well.  

Representing R-PHS were:  Tyler Brown, Kenny Kibbey, Clark Nelson and Justin West.

There are three divisions that students could compete in:  Drafting & Design (board drafting), AutoCad & 3D Modeling.

Tyler Brown took first place in the AutoCad division and second in the 3D Modeling division.  Clark Nelson took third place in the 3D Modeling division.

Click on the link to veiw photos of the Baker College Competition.

Baker Competition

December 5, 2011

Rocket Scholars Foundation Raffle

Filed under: Archive,Community News,Parents,School Board,Staff,Students,Uncategorized,Vision & Purpose — Mr. Beckeman @ 2:01 pm

 Most of the high schools in our county have endowments set up through the Muskegon Community Foundation.  These endowments are set up with the hope of growing and continuing to provide more and more kids financial assistance for post secondary education.  Four years ago, a very passionate group of community members set up the “Rocket Scholars Foundation” through the Community Foundation to support Reeths-Puffer students and graduates.

On January 19th at the Hilt Building, the Rocket Scholars will host a very fun “fund-raiser”.  Light hors d’oeuvres will be served and entertainment will be provided.  They will also be engaging in a “reverse” raffle with the top prize being $10,000.  Only 350 tickets are being sold to keep the odds strong.

Tickets are $100.  Tickets include the evening and the drawing.  

Possible Reasons or Ideas to Purchase:

  • To support RP Graduates with scholarship money
  • Odds of winning are good (1/350)
  • Stocking stuffers or Christmas gift
  • Anniversaries
  • Birthdays
  • You get a night out, contribute to R-P kids, and you get much better odds than in a lottery.
  • Families or co-workers could split the cost of a ticket (1-ticket allows two people into the event)

*In the event that we sell less than 200 tickets the raffle will become a 50/50 drawing. 

**There is also an option as the drawing comes to an end, that remaining present ticket holders could split the money, e.g. if the last five (5) ticket holders are present and agree to split the money, each would receive 1/5 or $2000.00 (all must agree).

***The Rocket Scholars Foundation is conducting various fundraisers throughout the year to begin supporting 2011-12 graduates.  They are currently looking at reimbursement to seniors who take and “pass” AP exams and providing several additional scholarships.

If you would like to purchase a ticket, I can assist you!  Please contact my office at: 719-3107 and I will be glad to sell you a ticket to this grand event!

November 29, 2011

What’s Your Sentence?

Filed under: Archive,Community News,Parents,Uncategorized — Mr. Beckeman @ 12:38 pm

As I begin writing this post, I’m creating sentences that you are reading. The sentences tell a short story of what’s going on in my mind. You’ll read the post, hopefully contemplate what’s written and move on with your day.

In 1962, Clare Boothe Luce, one of the first women to serve in Congress offered some advice to President John F. Kennedy. “A great man,” she told him, “is a sentence.”

The topic is simple. What’s your sentence? In most cases, or lives for that matter, a person’s legacy can be summed up in one sentence. Let’s give it a try. Can you name the following people based on a single sentence:

“He preserved the nation and freed the slaves.” Your guess? If your thoughts included Abraham Lincoln, you are correct!

Let’s try another:

“He lifted us out of the Great Depression and helped us win a war.” A little more challenging? If you guessed FDR (Franklin D. Roosevelt), you are right again!

One last sentence to guess:

“She tended to the poor, the sick and those others found unloveable.” Mother Teresa? Correct!

What would be a sentence that could be written about you? A sobering thought? An inspiring string of words to read?

It all starts with choice. Ultimately, we own the choices we make. Many of these choices start as early as kindergarten and continue on throughout our lifetime.

Pondering your present state, one way to orient your life toward a greater purpose could be to think about your sentence.

Maybe it would be, “He raised four kids who became healthy productive citizens.” Or “She taught three decades of children how to read.”

I’ve thought about the words that I would hope to have included in my sentence. I would hope to have words such as benevolent, family-oriented, man of faith and integrity included in my sentence.

For the most part, I control of how I spend my days knowing that the choices I make will shapre the legacy I leave. At the end of my days, my sentence will be written by someone else. With that being said, I have a much clearer sense of the direction my days must take to have such powerful words written about the way in which I chose to spend my time.

I believe that it’s our actions over time that define us. To realize a sentence written about me, with the words I would hope to have included, I must demonstrate their attributes every hour of every day I’m given.

I will choose to live a life that, when the time comes for family to scribe my sentence, it’s one that fills them with pride.

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