Issue 18

Page 1

TOWER the

Wednesday, March 9, 2016 Volume 88 Issue 18 thetowerpulse.net

A WEEKLY TRADITION SINCE 1928

@thetowerpulse

Gross e Pointe S outh, 11 Gross e Pointe B oule vard, Gross e Pointe Far ms, Michigan 48236

SYDNEY STANN ’17 // Staff Writer This year’s annual Dodgeball Marathon is throwing a curveball. For the first time, Grosse Pointe North and South will come together as one to raise money for two charities personal to both schools. Former South Student Association (SA) president Eric Rentenbach died from muscular dystrophy in 1992, so part of the proceeds will be going to the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA), SA Treasurer John Bornoty ’16 said. Likewise, North has a connection with the Jacob Michael Davis Foundation. Jacob Davis, son of business education teacher Michelle Davis, passed away from leukemia when he was 7. “It’s not just about the competition. It’s about coming together, which we rarely can do, with both North and South to raise money for good causes,” Assistant Principal Steven Wolf said. North’s Class President Yena Berhane ’16 said her school is also excited to raise money for the two charities. “There will be North teams versing South, but the main focus is on charity and raising money for other people and doing something outside of ourselves,” Berhane said. The goal is to get 20 teams each from North and South to participate, in addition to at least 100 spectators per school, dodgeball marathon committee chair Grace Scott ’17 said. Due to the strong rivalry between the schools, the event is expected to draw a large audience. “It’s going to be a great event, and the Brownell students will be able to see their old friends and be able to reconnect with people from North,” SA Secretary Katharine Kuhnlein ’16 said. The proceeds will be added up and split equally between the two charities, so the more people who attend, the better. “I think that kids should buy tickets and come to the event for obvious reasons,” Wolf said. “Rarely do you have the option to throw balls at each other in an organized way where you would not get into trouble.” Kuhnlein said the top couple teams will get prizes from local businesses that they can split up however they want. “If you’re not that good at dodgeball, you can still win prizes for best dressed, so just look cute or funny and have fun,” Scott said. Tickets are $5 at the door and spectators are asked to arrive around 4:30 p.m., with the games scheduled to start at 5 p.m. The Marathon will be held at North on Saturday, March 12. “We have two great schools, that when together combined, are brilliant,” Wolf said.

MIND OVER MATTER: New mental health initiative to be implemented this year

I

RILEY LYNCH ’18 // Pulse Section Editor n addition to placing various hotline cards in bathrooms around the school, Students Electing to Respond to Volunteerism through Education (SERVE) director Alicia Carlisle and the Grosse Pointe Public School System (GPPSS) plan to create a new initiative on mental health. Carlisle said the initiative is a collaborative effort on the behalf of mental health experts, community leaders and school administrators to review mental health support in the community. They are looking for ways to provide awareness, education and help regarding mental health. “On behalf of our Superintendent Dr. Niehaus, Deputy Superintendent Dr. Dean and the Beaumont Health Coalition, I was given the opportunity to put together a group of experts who I thought would best be able to take on this huge issue,” Carlisle said. “Every person I asked said yes, not because the school district was behind it or any hospital. People said yes because they care about our young people and this community. They know that this is an opportunity to help the lives of many people.” According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, 20 percent of students ages 13-18 live with a mental health condition, and approximately 50 percent of these students drop out of high school. In addition, 90 per-

cent of individuals who commit suicide have an underlying struggle with mental health. “Mental health diagnoses affect about 20 percent of the population at any given time,” Carlisle said. “That means about one-fifth of the students at South will or have experienced a mental illness. Keep in mind that mental illness is a physical illness. It is treatable.” Students welcome the mental health support of the school and community, Abby Hurst ’18 said.

Mental health diagnoses affect about 20 percent of the population at any given time. Alica CARLISLE SERVE ADVISER

“I think that South does a good job making sure that students know they have support from the school and have options through the school, but I’m not sure that students find these people very approachable,” Hurst said. Hurst said she considers herself a mental health advocate, and participated in last year’s Suicide Prevention Walk. Counselor Troy Glasser agrees with Hurst and said students who are struggling should try to get the support they need, especially from influ-

ential adults who can help. “I think if teachers can build relationships with students, or counselors build relationships, or coaches build relationships, you can then get that message and support out along the way to support students, encourage them to do their best,” Glasser said. “And you know, parents sometimes fall victim to this, they focus on grades rather than behaviors, but not every kid has to go to Harvard or Yale or Michigan.” The new initiative includes approximately 60 people, Carlisle said, including several hospitals, Grosse Pointe Public Schools, Wayne State University, as well as local judges and psychologists. While she said it is hard to determine when the initiative will officially come into place, Carlisle said she wants to break down stigma about mental illness as soon as possible through education of staff and students. If students are dealing with suicidal thoughts, she said it is definitely time to seek adult or professional help. “There’s no shame in reaching out for help in a situation that is so overwhelming,” Carlisle said. “In fact, those who love you and care for you will be forever grateful that you took the brave step of searching for help before you did something that would take you away from them forever. Keep in mind that asking for help is what your friend or family member wants you to do – they want to you to get better.”

THIS WEEK AT SOUTH

11

march

march

09

The water collection for Flint is extended to Friday. Students can drop cases off in Room 297.

The boys varsity basketball team will play in the district finals at home at 7 p.m. this Friday.

16

march

#OneGP Dodgeball Marathon connects community

Grants allow for continued club growth, success GRIFFIN BROOKS ’16 // Staff Writer Allowing them to continue with their respective goals, Peer to Peer, the aerospace club and the Solar Car team received almost $7,000 combined in grants from the Grosse Pointe Foundation for Public Education (GPFPE). The GPFPE is a non-profit organization that raises and then allocates money to the public schools around Grosse Pointe so they are able to create programs that help the students, member of the GPFPE board of directors Kathy Fisk said. In order to obtain the grants, each group needed to submit an application to the GPFPE with a description of what they do, and what they would use the grant for, Peer to Peer facilitator Dori Martinuzzi said “We applied for the grant this year back in September,” Martinuzzi said. “We wrote what our program was about, and what we did here at South, what we did for all of the students in Peer to Peer, and we shared what our mission was.” Peer to Peer first received a grant in 2012, and with that help they were able to move the program from just South to every school in the district, Martinuzzi said. “The foundation has been incredibly generous to us,” Martinuzzi said. “They have provided Peer to Peer with a good amount of resources each year because they really do believe in it.” There are two cycles to receive grants in a year, one in October and the other by March, Fisk said. Once the grant is applied for, the board members and the superintendent meet and decide on which applicants qualify for their requested grants. Next, the Board of Education has to approve of the grant before the clubs can accept it. When a club gets the grant, they must use the money they got from the GPFPE within 30 days of receiving the grant, Fisk said. The GPFPE sometimes requires a progress report on how their money is being used, and to make sure the club is following the plan they originally sent in to the foundation. With the grant, the aerospace club is able to purchase more and better supplies for their rockets, aerospace club member Jacob Schwessinger ’16 said. “We sent the application in and described how we used the money to build our rockets,” Schwessinger said. “And they were really helpful with giving us the money we needed.” Sam Quinones, author of “Dreamland: The True Tale of America’s Opiate Epidemic,” visits the War Memorial on Tuesday, March 15 at 7 p.m.

FOR TICKET INFORMATION, CHECK THE TOWER PULSE.NET

The annual Grosse Pointe South Art Fest begins next Thursday. <see page 5>


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.
Issue 18 by The Tower Newspaper - Issuu