Mar Lee Food Tent returns to the County Fair

Fair Week has begun and along with it, the Mar Lee Food Tent has begun raising money for the 7th grade trip to Washington, DC.  The tent is open daily from 7am to 9pm, serving breakfast, lunch and dinner. Many people say Mar Lee has some of the most reasonable prices at the fair.

Mar Lee Drama Club puts on Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

A cast of 24 Mar Lee students ranging from 5th to 8th grade performed the medieval story of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight at the Herrick Theatre in Albion in the last week of May. Volunteer drama leaders Ian MacInnes, Amity Reading, and Travis Trombley rewrote the 14th-century poem as a play with parts for all.

Mar Lee School responds to heightened security concerns in wake of national tragedy

The following letter was sent to the Mar Lee community by the Superintendent, Randy Davis.

December 20, 2012
Dear Parent/Guardian,

​This past week, following the horrific event in Newtown, CT, has been one of shock, sadness, and concern for our nation. I know you join me and the world in keeping the families and the innocent lives affected at Sandy Hook Elementary in our thoughts and in our hearts.

From all reports, the elementary school administrators and teaching staff made heroic efforts in following their lockdown procedures to keep their students safe; in many ways at their own peril. We honor our colleagues and their sacrifice. Without their efforts, many more young lives could have been lost.

This week we, like every other school district in America, have been thinking through the current safety measures we have in place and whether more needs to be done in securing our building. We have completed our walkthrough at Mar Lee and audited our procedures and protocols. Incidents like Sandy Hook create an increased awareness of our need to be mindful and focused at all times to the safety and security of our teaching and learning environment.

​You will notice upon returning from the holiday break some subtle, but important practices in our building that need your support. Our staff will be wearing school district IDs during the school day. We will continue to keep external doors locked for entrance from the outside, except for the main entrance doors that are monitored for visitors. We will continue to study the east entrance and annex to create a more secured and monitored situation. Also, every visitor to our buildings while classes are in session must follow our existing procedures to check in at the office for a visitor's pass. We realize these measures can be a bit inconvenient, especially for those who routinely visit our school. We are asking for your patience and cooperation.

​If you have any questions, or need support in working through your concerns in the aftermath of this recent tragedy, please don't hesitate to contact our school administration or our school counselor. Incidents like Sandy Hook are stark reminders of the evils in this world. They also serve as reminders for us all to be ever vigilant. We will be doing just that. As always, thank you for your continuing support.

Sincerely,

Dr. Randy Davis
Superintendent

School-wide Celebration for Positive Behavior

First year principal Chad Holt always goes to the wall for his students. Recently, he did this quite literally. As a part of Mar Lee School's Positive Behavior System, Mr. Holt granted each student that had earned 80+% of their points for meeting the School Wide Expectations a piece of duct tape. Over 300 students earned this right. Then it was time to see if students could tape Mr. Holt to the wall. 300 plus pieces of tape later and Mr. Holt was stuck to the wall. When asked why PBS and these types of celebrations are important to Mar Lee, Mr. Holt responded "it's important for schools to teach positive
behavior and set high standards and then to make sure students are celebrated when they achieve their goal." Next time students will need to earn 85% of their points to earn
the next mystery celebration.

Fredonia Grange presents dictionaries to Mar Lee students

Every student in teacher Tina Rocco's 3rd grade classroom at  Mar Lee School received a gift of a personalized dictionary from the Fredonia Grange.  The generous donation is part of a project to deliver 570 dictionaries to 3rd grade students throughout Calhoun County. " The students and staff of Mar Lee School are greatly appreciative of the efforts of these fine folks," said Chad Holt, school Principal. The Grange raised the money through donations and an auction. 

Pancake Tent at the County Fair earns record sum for Washington D.C. trip

Kara and Kirsten Hall in front of the Pancake Tent

Mar Lee middle school students planning their annual 7th grade trip to Washington D.C. can look back with pride on their fundraising effort this summer at the Calhoun County Fair.  With help from parents, Mar Lee faculty and staff, the Mar Lee Pancake Tent grossed over $11,000, the largest amount yet. Mar Lee teacher Chris Henke notes that several local sponsors helped out as well. For example, Crystal Flash donated propane for the entire week.

The next fundraiser for the trip is a carwash at Autozone Marshall on Sept. 15 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Mar Lee Band To Broadcast Live

This year the Mar Lee Band will be broadcasting their spring concert live via the web!  Beginning at 6:50 p.m. on May 30th, viewers may tune in to http://www.ustream.tv/channel/mar-lee-band-concerts to view the 5th-8th grade students perform. 

Band director Dustin Stoner said he is excited to be able to share the concert this year with family and friends of students that could not make it to the school. Bailey Hoffman, 6th grade tuba player, is happy because more of her family can see her play. “My family from Detroit can now watch my concert via the Internet.” Other students have family farther afield who will be tuning in. Case Miller, 6th grade saxophonist said, “I have family in Florida that will be able to see me play for the first time.”