News

Coalition Announces 2008 Citizen of the Year

The Coalition is proud to present Josh Wenning as its selection for 2008 Citizen of the Year.

Joshua O. Wenning is the Principal at Waterford Kettering High School and was nominated by a parent of a Kettering student. He and his wife have three children. He also serves as a member of his church worship team as a bass guitarist.

Born in Spokane, WA, Josh earned a B.S. in Secondary Education/Social Studies from Indiana University in a M.Ed. in Curriculum, Design, and Instruction from Wesleyan University in Indiana, where he was selected as “Outstanding Professional” by his classmates. Having earned an M.A. in Educational Administration from Michigan State University, Josh is currently pursing his Educational Specialist Degree from Oakland University and expects to complete this in 2009.

Sports have always been an important part of Josh’s life, serving as a member of the Men’s Basketball Team at Grossmont Community College, El Cajon, CA, where he earned an A.A. in General Studies. He held the position of Assistant Coach for the State Championship Basketball Team and Assistant Football Coach at Bloomington High School in Indiana where he taught Social Studies.

He continued teaching Social Studies at Eastern Hancock Middle and High School in Charlottesville, Indiana,where he served as both Assistant Football, Basketball and Golf Coach. Josh continued supporting his commitment to youth and sports as the Head Boys Varsity Basketball Coach, while teaching Social Studies at Oxford High School. While there, he was selected as “Whose Who Among American Teachers.” in Mr. Wenning began his successful career at Waterford Kettering as Assistant Principal and Athletic Director and became a registered Athletic Administrator with the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association and has now served as Principal at Waterford Kettering High School since 2004. He has been a member of the Board of Directors for the Michigan Association of Secondary School Principals since 2004, serves as a member of the National Association of Secondary School Principals, a member of the Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development and is a member of Phi Delta Kappa at Indiana University.

Josh takes great pride in the many accomplishments of Waterford Kettering High School, which demonstrate the collaborative efforts and support of students and staff; Challenge Day, Rachel’s Challenge, Captains Crew, Seminar Period, Professional Learning Communities, Holiday Collage Concert, the growth of their advanced placement offerings and their award winning band, orchestra, choir, yearbook, journalism, DECA, and robotics student groups.

The individual who nominated Mr. Wenning says it is because of “his true commitment to Waterford families.” “He is a wonderful citizen and role model for our community. Josh is kind, caring, honest and sincere. His integrity is above reproach and he is an excellent communicator. He appreciates people and their attributes and utilizes those attributes to attain more for the students. Josh has hope for all students and conveys this message positively to each one of them. He attends almost every function at Kettering and is always showing his support and respect for those he leads. He always has a good word and a smile for everyone. He is an excellent example for young men and women in our community.”

Congratulations to Mr. Josh Wenning. We value and honor your commitment to promoting a safe, healthy and positive way of life for our youth.

Coalition Announces 2008 Student Group of the Year

Pierce Middle School F.O.R. (Friends of Rachel) Club

Yvonne Dixon, Principal & Tanya Blaine, Assistant Principal

This year the Coalition honored the members of the Pierce Middle School F.O.R. Club as their selection for Youth Group of the Year.

In November, 2007, The Waterford Coalition For Youth, in collaboration with the Waterford School District hosted a week-long conference for all middle and high school students, entitled “Rachel’s Challenge.” The program was created a result of the tragic events at Columbine High School on April 20, 1999. The first student killed that day was Rachel Scott. The diaries she left behind, in addition to the countless stories of her positive life choices, inspired a national educational program, designed to equip and empower students to embrace new values of kindness and compassion within their schools and their communities. A quote of Rachel’s, found in one of her diaries after her death became the inspiration for this program. “I have this theory that if one person can go out of their way to show compassion, then it will start a chain reaction of the same.”

As a result, F.O.R. Clubs (Friends of Rachel) were formed at each middle and high school and the groups set out determined to develop goals and aspirations for their newly formed collaborative teams. One of the most important parts of the F.O.R. Clubs is its all-inclusiveness. Everybody is invited and encouraged to participate. Each school’s group meets regularly and discusses new ideas and ways to help other students feel accepted and welcomed, as well as new ways to encourage others to participate in the process and create ways in which to carry that kindness out into the community.

Some of those ideas include sitting with somebody you don’t know at lunch and introducing yourself or simply smiling and saying “hi.” It’s about breaking down the barriers of feeling like you need to act, look or behave a certain way to be accepted and instead focusing those efforts on being kinder and more accepting of others for who they are.

The person who nominated this group says The F.O.R. Club (Friends of Rachel) at Pierce Middle School has been working steadily since Rachel's Challenge came to Waterford Schools. This club is made up of 6th through 8th graders who volunteer their time and efforts in keeping a positive environment here at Pierce Middle School. It is open to every student that would like to participate. Kindness and compassion is their challenge here at Pierce and in our community.

They have taken this and focused in on four areas that they have been working on to meet these challenges. The 4 areas are:

• Welcoming Committee
• Theme of the Week Committee
• Commercial Committee
• Favor for a Neighbor Committee.

Congratulations to the Pierce Middle School Friends of Rachel Club. We value and honor your commitment to promoting a safe, kind and welcoming environment for all students and peers.

Way to go Pierce Middle School F.O.R. Club!