TRUMAN HIGH SCHOOL: Connect to prom photos

The News-Herald Newspapers recently published a slideshow from the Truman High School Prom. 

Click here to view it.

CHRISTY'S LEGACY OF HOPE: Golf outing, run are on the schedule

This release is via Karen DePriest, of Christy’s Legacy of Hope:

The golf outing is only four weeks away!  Are you joining us?  If you don't golf, that's OK!  Come to the dinner.  It's only $20 per person and we are having something different this year.

Famous Dave's will be catering the event.  Our silent auction is full of great items again and we always have a great time!  The outing is June 13 so get registered as soon as possible.  Go to our website to register online.  Just click on the “DONATE” tab and the information is all there.

We just put our September 5K online, so you can register online for that is well.  The link is www.runsignup.com/Race/MI/Taylor/ChristysDanceinthePark

We have added a Family Walk this year so everyone and anyone can participate.  All the details are on the attached flyer.

We want to continue doing great things for orphans and we need a lot of help to get it all accomplished!  We have done so many wonderful things this year and can't wait to share with you at these events.

Hope to see you soon!

HOLLAND ELEMENTARY SCHOOL: It's spruce up time (with Home Depot)

Holland Elementary School Teacher Rhonda Danaj, her young students, some parents and the good people from Home Depot led by Rodney Harris visited Heritage Park recently and helped do some sprucing up around Coan Lake. 

Danaj had this to say about the day: 

"The Home Depot has been working with my class all year and they even help out our school. Rodney is the best! This particular project is related to our social studies and literacy project again. This unit is about Civics and Government. Our goal was to write a proposal to the city about improvements that are needed at Heritage Park. We took it a step further by working with our Home Depot partners and making some of those improvements ourselves. It gives the kids pride and ownership. They are responsible young citizens that can have a positive impact on their own community."

CLEANUP SCHEDULED: Goddard-Telegraph area to be spruced up May 16

Karen DePriest will once again spearhead a cleanup/spruce up of the Telegraph-Goddard intersection from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, May 16.

This is the second year in a row that DePriest has made the commitment, and is seeking volunteers to help out. The effort will focus on the areas between the flag poles which are located just to the north and south of the interaction, on the median. If you are interested in lending a hand, email DePriest at christyslegacyofhope@live.com or call (313) 291-0352.

The Telegraph-Goddard intersection was originally selected because it is a welcoming area in the community just blocks from City Hall and it also displays flags. 

SHRED DAY: Scheduled May 16 at City Hall

The City of Taylor's Shred Day has been scheduled for 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. May 16. Participants must be in line by 12:45 p.m. and need to enter the employee parking lot off of of Pine Street next to City Hall. The lot is on the west side of the building.

“Shred Day” is hosted by City Clerk Cindy Bower and Shred Legal LLC. Clerk Bower estimated that 300 vehicles passed through the parking lot last year. In all, about 3 tons of paper was shredded in the Shred Legal LLC truck on hand.

The event accepts paper materials to be shredded from both residents and non-residents. There is a 100-pound, or two or three small box limit. The shredding will be done in a completely secured area. All shredded materials will be recycled.

RELAY FOR LIFE: 13th annual at Heritage Park May 16-17

The 13th annual Relay For Life event in Taylor will be held in Heritage Park May 16 and 17.  

Since lace represents a 13th anniversary, this year's Relay for Life theme is "Lace 'Em Up - It's Time To Hit The Track." Teams can register at www.relayforlife.org/taylormi. Survivors, even if they aren't affiliated with a team, can register at that website as well. The relay is always looking for new committee members and new teams.  

Meeting dates for the Relay for Life in Taylor are April 9, 30 and May 14. All meetings are at the William Ford Senior Activities Center, 6750 Troy, in Taylor. Teams are not required to raise a minimum amount because the Relay for Life campaign believes that every penny counts, and you never know which dollar is going to be the one that finds a cure.

The event lasts 24 hours and kicks off early Saturday morning around Coan Lake. There will be parades, music, speeches, many fundraising booths, food and plenty of entertainment. The survivor walks officially kicks off the event. A DJ will be on hand during the entire event. At dusk on Saturday, May 16, all of the luminarias sold will be lined up around the lake and lit, which will set the stage for a silent memorial walk.

In 2014, the Relay for Life in Taylor raises approximately $140,000 to fight cancer.

For more information on the event, contact Sue Shufeldt at (313) 282-8757 or email sshufeldt32.aol.com.

MEETING: Help make Taylor a healthy community

Attention Taylor residents – we need your input!  Healthy Taylor, a partnership between the City of Taylor, Taylor Public Schools and Oakwood Healthcare System, would like to know what you see as health priorities for our community.  

A meeting is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. on May 13 at Ford Senior Center located at 6750 Troy Street, Taylor. 

Please attend and share your thoughts and ideas to promote health and wellness in our schools, in our parks and recreational programs, in our workplaces and in our community gathering places. Your input will help us target our resources and to seek out additional resources to address your community’s needs.  

MCDOWELL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL: Just clowin' around

There was lots of "clowning around" recently in Mrs. Farago's second-grade class at McDowell Elementary School!

KENNEDY HIGH SCHOOL: Mother-son dance a big success

On Saturday May 2, John F. Kennedy High School had its second annual Mother and Son Dance.  The dance was a huge success. 

The gym was set up and decorated with a Superhero’s theme that included a Superman phone booth, signs, character heads and balloons. 

The dance began with an “orange carpet” runway for the couples to enter and a photo taken of them.   

During the dance, the guests could eat at their leisure.  Food available included pizza, bread, drinks, doughnuts and fancy fruit table (courtesy of Regency Health Care).  The couples danced the night under the colored lights with a DJ taking special requests.   

Donations given for decorations and food were provided from Keck Real Estate, C&D Vending, Brothers Fine Jewelry, Taylor Jeep Chrysler, Taylor Ford and Meijer. 

Every son took home a gift bag that included donations from Texas Roadhouse, Taylor Ford, Skore Lanes, Taylor Jr. Football, Oakwood Family Dentist, Little Caesars, Taylor Petting Farm, Sky Zone, Great Clips, and ComicOasis. 

Every mother took home a carnation that was given to from their sons along with their photograph. 

WEST MIDDLE SCHOOL: Students visit Washington, D.C.

Eighth-grade students from West Middle School traveled to Washington, D.C. from April 28-May 1.  

There were 55 students and 19 adults on this trip.  

For three days, the group visited many memorials, museums and national landmarks, such as The White House, The Capitol Building, The Smithsonian, The Newseum, Iwo Jima Memorial, Pentagon Memorial, Arlington Cemetery, The Holocaust Museum, and many, many more.  

TOMMIE SAYLOR: Make the world a better place by starting with the person in the mirror

“I’m starting with the man in the mirror I’m asking him to change his ways

And no message could have been any clearer

If you want to make the world a better place

Take a look at yourself, and then make a change”

Michael Jackson, Man In the Mirror

By Tommie Saylor

Kennedy High School Principal

Lead by example.

The police allegedly commit a horrific crime in the birthplace of the Star Spangled Banner, the place where Francis Scott Key penned our very own anthem, the place where our freedom and way of life danced on the knife’s edge two centuries ago, and people lose their minds.

In their anger, in protest of the alleged crime committed by those who have sworn to protect us, the people lash out, engaging in crimes just as horrific as those they are protesting against. Looting, burning, destroying public and private property, beating any who cross their path, spreading pain and misery in a wide arc throughout an enraged city and exacting their vengeance upon the innocent. They become the very ugliness of which they are protesting against.

A student posts an unsubstantiated allegation on social media, a bogus retort about being bullied at school, and once again people lose their minds. The administration, who according to this student have neglected to insure her safety at school, are bombarded with phone calls and emails from as far away as Scotland and Australia, all saying horrible things.

An overly dramatic teenage girl portrays school supervision as uncaring ogres. People from all over the world feel empowered to take a cheap shot. It is all based on nothing more than one young person’s public ranting. It is done without fact checking or investigating, without listening to both sides of a story, or even a single ounce of evidence.

The public commits the very same crime they claim to be rallying against. They publically and personally bully the administration in social media, news feeds, phone calls and emails. The public becomes the ugly monster for which they claim to be fighting. They become the bully and the administration a voiceless victim for which there are no saviors.

Our kids see this. They see how we react when events don’t occur the way we envision. They see how we talk to each other, how we behave toward each other. They see how we dehumanize during disagreements. They see how we physically and verbally attack our oppositions.

Essentially, they see us bullying each other on a daily basis, as easily as we draw breath. Yet, when they mimic our very own behavior in school toward others that are different, we seem shocked and are quick to place the blame on the school staff for allowing this to happen.

The public does not consider that their children are only carrying out what they have been taught at home and what they see on the evening news.

If we want to stop bullying in our schools, we need to first stop bullying on our computers, on our streets, and in our homes.

You want to make the world a better place? Take a look into the mirror, see yourself for who you really are and make a change.

We all need to learn how to love our neighbor, forgive our neighbor and respect our neighbor as we wish to be respected. We need to become the people we want our children to be.

What starts here, changes the world. Making Kennedy the school of choice. Excellence by design.