Mona Shores Public Schools
Encyclopedia
Mona Shores Public Schools is a public school district
located in Michigan
, United States
, in the western side of the state near Lake Michigan
. The district includes most of the city of Norton Shores
, which is just south of Muskegon
.
Michigan School Band & Orchestra Association named Mona Shores High School orchestra director Timothy Staudacher as the 2011 Orchestra Teacher of the year. The Mona Shores Orchestras, under his direction, have earned consistent first division ratings at MSBOA festivals and have represented Michigan in the 2007 National Orchestra Festival. Mona Shores Orchestras have been featured performers in the Michigan Music Conference in 2000 and 2008. Mr. Staudacher is the founder and director of the Mona Shores Fiddlers, an extracurricular alternate styles ensemble, which performs throughout the Muskegon community. Mr. Staudacher has also established international performance tours with his high school group. In 2005 the high school orchestra traveled to China, and in 2008 to Ireland and England.
The district is also well known for its choral program under the current direction of Shawn Lawton (Mona Shores High School) and Katherine Bourdon (Mona Shores Middle School). Former directors include: Larry Gray, Larry Rueger and Skip Frizzell. In 2002, a number auditioned members of the Mona Shores Singers (the top choir at the time) were invited to perform at the White House for the president and his staff. The choir also presents many annual concerts including Pop go the Sailors and The Singing Christmas Tree (which is claimed to be the largest in the United States).
Mona Shores has also become a powerhouse in ice hockey
in the past decade. The team won a state title in 2000, and has consistently made trips to the Frozen Four. In the 2006-2007 season, the team came up short, losing in the championship game to another strong team, Grosse Point South, 4-3 in overtime, on March 10, 2007.
The basketball team has been on-again and off-again, with the 2006-2007 squad winning the District Championship under the leadership of third-year coach Jeremy Andres.
The Baseball team has also enjoyed a recent rise to power in the Muskegon Area. Under the direction of fourth year head coach Walt Gawkowski the Sailors won the 2006 GMAA, District, and OK-Green
titles. The 2006 squad won the first district title in 26 years. The Sailor Baseball program has continued to support local Universities by turning out college players nearly every year.
Mona Shores is also known for its outstanding debate teams having won Novice State Championships in 1982,1983,1984,1986,1989 and 2007 and Varsity State Championships in 1986 and 1990. The team consistently qualifies as a quarter finalist,semifinalist, or finalist in the Novice and Varsity State Tournament. The team was coached by John H. McKendry Jr from 1978 to 1990, coached by Brent Green from 2000 to the 2009-2010 season, before it was handed off to Green's assistant coach Mandi Garvey.
Also they have an exceptional competitive cheer program, who has become very close to making it to the state championship two years in a row.
was reported to be investigating the case.
Robert Remenar - President, Nexteer Automotive
School district
School districts are a form of special-purpose district which serves to operate the local public primary and secondary schools.-United States:...
located in Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, in the western side of the state near Lake Michigan
Lake Michigan
Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America and the only one located entirely within the United States. It is the second largest of the Great Lakes by volume and the third largest by surface area, after Lake Superior and Lake Huron...
. The district includes most of the city of Norton Shores
Norton Shores, Michigan
Norton Shores is a city in Muskegon County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 22,527 at the 2000 census.-Overview:Norton Shores is located on the shores of Lake Michigan in Muskegon County...
, which is just south of Muskegon
Muskegon, Michigan
Muskegon is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 38,401. The city is the county seat of Muskegon County...
.
Background
The district was formed in 1959, when the residents of the existing districts of Churchill, Hile, Lincoln, Maple Grove, and Mona Beach (all K-8 districts) voted to unite into a single K-12 district.Sports and extracurricular activities
The school is well known for its band program which includes outstanding Concert Bands, Jazz Ensembles and Marching Band. The Marching Band won state titles in 1993, 1995, 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2003 as well as a USSBA National Championship in 2006. Current directors of the Mona Shores band program include: Jason Boyden, Rodney Schaub and Gregory Nimtz. Former directors include: John Butterfield, Jack Cooke, Jack Adams, Douglas Hostetler, Susan Veenstra and Timothy Staudacher.Michigan School Band & Orchestra Association named Mona Shores High School orchestra director Timothy Staudacher as the 2011 Orchestra Teacher of the year. The Mona Shores Orchestras, under his direction, have earned consistent first division ratings at MSBOA festivals and have represented Michigan in the 2007 National Orchestra Festival. Mona Shores Orchestras have been featured performers in the Michigan Music Conference in 2000 and 2008. Mr. Staudacher is the founder and director of the Mona Shores Fiddlers, an extracurricular alternate styles ensemble, which performs throughout the Muskegon community. Mr. Staudacher has also established international performance tours with his high school group. In 2005 the high school orchestra traveled to China, and in 2008 to Ireland and England.
The district is also well known for its choral program under the current direction of Shawn Lawton (Mona Shores High School) and Katherine Bourdon (Mona Shores Middle School). Former directors include: Larry Gray, Larry Rueger and Skip Frizzell. In 2002, a number auditioned members of the Mona Shores Singers (the top choir at the time) were invited to perform at the White House for the president and his staff. The choir also presents many annual concerts including Pop go the Sailors and The Singing Christmas Tree (which is claimed to be the largest in the United States).
Mona Shores has also become a powerhouse in ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
in the past decade. The team won a state title in 2000, and has consistently made trips to the Frozen Four. In the 2006-2007 season, the team came up short, losing in the championship game to another strong team, Grosse Point South, 4-3 in overtime, on March 10, 2007.
The basketball team has been on-again and off-again, with the 2006-2007 squad winning the District Championship under the leadership of third-year coach Jeremy Andres.
The Baseball team has also enjoyed a recent rise to power in the Muskegon Area. Under the direction of fourth year head coach Walt Gawkowski the Sailors won the 2006 GMAA, District, and OK-Green
Ottawa-Kent Conference
The Ottawa-Kent Conference is an athletic league located in West Michigan. It has member schools from Allegan, Barry, Ionia, Kent, Montcalm, Muskegon, and Ottawa Counties. It has 51 member schools that partake in athletics. According to the MHSAA they have the main offices located at Grandville...
titles. The 2006 squad won the first district title in 26 years. The Sailor Baseball program has continued to support local Universities by turning out college players nearly every year.
Mona Shores is also known for its outstanding debate teams having won Novice State Championships in 1982,1983,1984,1986,1989 and 2007 and Varsity State Championships in 1986 and 1990. The team consistently qualifies as a quarter finalist,semifinalist, or finalist in the Novice and Varsity State Tournament. The team was coached by John H. McKendry Jr from 1978 to 1990, coached by Brent Green from 2000 to the 2009-2010 season, before it was handed off to Green's assistant coach Mandi Garvey.
Also they have an exceptional competitive cheer program, who has become very close to making it to the state championship two years in a row.
Homecoming controversy
In September 2010, the district drew nationwide press attention when it prohibited transgender senior Oak Reed from being crowned homecoming king, despite being elected to that position by the student body. After winning the student vote, the school administration told Reed on September 20, 2010 (homecoming was scheduled for the following weekend) that he could not serve. News reports about the controversy began spreading on September 26. Reed was in a rage and thought he wasn't being allowed to serve as king because of the fact that he was homosexual. The principal of the school later admitted that he was sorry that he wouldn't let him serve because he had a "fiery hate" for homosexual persons. The ACLUAmerican Civil Liberties Union
The American Civil Liberties Union is a U.S. non-profit organization whose stated mission is "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States." It works through litigation, legislation, and...
was reported to be investigating the case.
Notable alumni
- Justin AbdelkaderJustin AbdelkaderJustin Abdelkader is an American ice hockey forward currently playing for the Detroit Red Wings.-College career:On April 7, 2007 Abdelkader scored the game-winning goal in the 2007 NCAA Championship Game against Boston College, securing the NCAA Division 1 National Championship for Michigan State...
- Detroit Red WingsDetroit Red WingsThe Detroit Red Wings are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League , and are one of the Original Six teams of the NHL, along with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, New York...
ice hockeyIce hockeyIce hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
player. - Brendan GielowBrendan GielowBrendan Gielow is an amateur golfer for the Wake Forest Demon Decons.- Personal life :Gielow was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, the son of Eric and Renea Gielow. He graduated from Mona Shores High School in 2006, after moving as a child from Grand Rapids. In his tenure at Mona Shores, he played...
- Wake Forest UniversityWake Forest UniversityWake Forest University is a private, coeducational university in the U.S. state of North Carolina, founded in 1834. The university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina, the state capital. The Reynolda Campus, the university's main campus, is...
GolfGolfGolf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
er. Named "Mr. Golf" in the state of Michigan two times during his high school career. Helped lead team to state title in 2006. - Carly Jibson - BroadwayBroadway theatreBroadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
actress known for playing the role of Tracy Turnblad in the musical HairsprayHairspray (musical)Hairspray is a musical with music by Marc Shaiman, lyrics by Scott Wittman and Shaiman and a book by Mark O'Donnell and Thomas Meehan, based on the 1988 John Waters film Hairspray. The songs include 1960s-style dance music and "downtown" rhythm and blues...
. - Rick JohnsonRick Johnson (musician)Rick Johnson is an American musician who is best known as the bass player of Grand Rapids, Michigan's Mustard Plug. He also has worked with Bomb The Music Industry! and released solo material as "The Rick Johnson Rock And Roll Machine."-Early life:Rick Johnson grew up on the west side of the...
- Punk Rocker - Mustard Plug - John BeyrleJohn BeyrleJohn R. Beyrle , a career Foreign Service Officer and specialist in Russian and Eastern European affairs, is currently Ambassador of the United States to the Russian Federation.- Biography :...
- United States AmbassadorAmbassadorAn ambassador is the highest ranking diplomat who represents a nation and is usually accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization....
to RussiaRussiaRussia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
(2008-)
Robert Remenar - President, Nexteer Automotive