Taylor Parks' music director meets Dr. Jane Goodall

Tammy Keen, director of music at Taylor Parks Elementary School, was recently able to attend a lecture given by Dr. Jane Goodall, considered the world's foremost expert on chimpanzees. 

Keen and her husband, Joe, spend their summers at an exotic big cat rescue refuge in Florida. Both are animal activists and were very excited to be able to meet Goodall during the lecture and photo session.

Goodall is best known for her 45-year study of social and family interactions of wild chimpanzees in Gombe Stream National Park, Tanzania. Through her unyielding patience, she was able to win the trust and open a window into these sometimes strange and shy creatures. To this day, the public remains fascinated by her work. She is the founder of the Jane Goodall Institute and has worked extensively on conservation and animal welfare issues, inspiring support on behalf of endangered species (particularly chimpanzees).

"Meeting Dr. Goodall was a once-in-a-lifetime experience," Keen said.

Born in England in 1934, Goodall was given a life-like chimpanzee doll named Jubilee, and thus began a lifelong love for animals. In 1957, Goodall made an acquaintance of Louis Leakey, a Kenyan archaeologist and paleontologist, who believed that the study of existing great apes could provide indications of the behavior of early man. Four years later, Goodall became the first of "Leakey's Angels," a group of women funded by Leakey to study apes in their original habitat.

Goodall's work in Tanzania is best known for challenging two specific issues of the day: That only humans could construct and use tools, and that chimpanzees were vegetarians. Among other observations, she also noted an aggressive side to chimpanzee behavior, including the group hunting of smaller primates and violence between the chimpanzee troops.

In 1977, she founded the Jane Goodall Institute, which supports Gombe research. Among her awards: Named a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire and being named a United Nations Messenger of Peace.

To share her meeting, Keen donated a copy of Goodall's biography to the Taylor Parks Elementary School library.

For more on the Jane Goodall Institute, click here.

Get involved in your child's education if you want them to succeed!

One of the most important parts of education -- maybe even the most important part -- involves parental involvement.

According to the Michigan Department of Education's recently updated "Collaborating for Success" Parent Engagement Tool Kit, parents should take note of the following, among other issues.

Parent Engagement is vital to student achievement and personal success.

According to research, the most accurate predictor of a student's achievement in school is not income or social status, but the extent to which that student's family is able to:

• Create a home environment that encourages learning
• Communicate high, yet reasonable, expectations for their children's achievement and future careers
• Become involved in their children's education at school and in the community

These three seemingly simple steps require dedication and commitment from all students, parents and school personnel. The resulting benefit of this investment in time and effort is well worth the future aspirations and success of every child. Review the following list of Academic Benefits of Parent Engagement:

BENEFITS OF PARENT ENGAGEMENT

• Students achieve more, regardless of socio-economic status, ethnic/racial background or the parents' education level
• Students have higher grades and test scores, better attendance, and complete homework more consistently
• Students have higher graduation rates and greater enrollment rates in post-secondary education
• Educators hold higher expectations of students whose parents collaborate with the teacher
• Student achievement for disadvantaged children not only improves, but can also reach levels that are standard for middle-class children. In addition, the children who are farthest behind make the greatest gains.
• Children from diverse cultural backgrounds perform better when parents and professionals collaborate to bridge the gap between the culture at home and at the learning institution
• Student behaviors such as alcohol use, violence, and antisocial behavior decrease as parent engagement increases
• Students keep pace with academic performance if their parents participate in school events, develop a working relationship with educators, and keep up with what is happening with their child's school
• Junior and senior high school students whose parents remain involved make better transitions, maintain the quality of their work, and develop realistic plans for their future. Students whose parents are not involved, on the other hand, are more likely to drop out of school.

For more on parental engagement, go directly to the MDE's Web site by clicking here. Included in a downloadable PDF of the entire report.

House passes bill to ban welfare benefits for truancy issues, along with other votes

The News-Herald recently posted this breakdown of votes in the Michigan Legislature, via MichiganVotes.org. To access MichiganVotes.org, click here.

House Bill 4118, Require drug testing of welfare applicants: Passed 77 to 33 in the House

To require drug testing of state welfare benefit recipients or applicants if an "empirical screening tool" indicates a reasonable suspicion, and prohibit benefits for six months if a person tests positive a second time (or refuses "treatment" the first time). This would begin as a one-year pilot program in three counties.



Rep. David Knezek (D-Dearborn Heights) - N 

Rep. Douglas Geiss (D-Taylor) - N

 Rep. Andrew Kandrevas (D-Southgate) - N

 Rep. Paul Clemente (D-Lincoln Park) - Y 

Rep. George Darany (D-Dearborn) - N

 Rep. Bill LaVoy (D-Monroe) - Y

 Rep. Patrick Somerville (R-New Boston) - Y



House Bill 4388, Ban welfare benefits for truancy scofflaws: Passed 78 to 32 in the House

To require welfare recipients who have school age children to ensure the children attend school or else lose benefits, and require the state welfare agency to promulgate rules to make it so. If the child is age 16 or 17 he or she would be "removed" from the welfare "program group," meaning the family and/or household.



Knezek - N

 Geiss - Y 

Kandrevas - N

 Clemente - Y

 Darany - N

LaVoy - Y

 Somerville - Y



House Bill 4291, Require full tax audit details be given to audit target: Passed 110 to 0 in the House

To require the Department of Treasury to provide a person or business who has been audited with a complete copy of the auditors' working papers, findings, and all the correspondence and documentation which formed a basis for audit determinations. Also, to require such audits to conform with standards the department would have to establish within one year, covering audit evidence, understanding of the audited entity, documentation and much more. The bill is part of a package of reforms related to business complaints regarding state audit procedures.



Knezek - Y 

Geiss - Y

 Kandrevas - Y

 Clemente- Y

 Darany - Y

LaVoy - Y 

Somerville - Y



House Bill 4458, Prohibit TIFA "capture" of Detroit Zoo or Arts tax money: Passed 104 to 4 in the House

To prohibit the "capture" by a local Tax Increment Finance Authority (such as a Downtown Development Authority) of regional property taxes imposed to subsidize the Detroit Zoo and the Detroit Institute for the Arts.



Knezek - Y

 Geiss - N

 Kandrevas - Y 

Clemente - N

 Darany - Y

LaVoy - Y

 Somerville - Y



Senate Bill 97, Repeal child car seat penalty waiver provision: Passed 92 to 16 in the House

To repeal a provision of the law mandating child car seats that waives penalties for a violation if the driver gets a car seat and brings the receipts to court. The bill would allow a court to waive this fine, but unlike current law, does not require it to.



Knezek - Y

 Geiss - Y

 Kandrevas - Y

 Clemente - Y

 Darany - Y

LaVoy - Y

 Somerville - N



Senate Bill 288, Give NRC duty of designating huntable game species: Passed 72 to 38 in the House 

To give the state Natural Resources Commission (in addition to the Legislature) the power to designate a species as a huntable game species. The commission could not designate mourning doves as a game species, but potentially could designate wolves. Also, to allow members of the military to obtain hunting and fishing licenses for free.



Knezek - N

 Geiss - N 

Kandrevas - N

 Clemente - N

 Darany - N

LaVoy - Y

 Somerville - Y



Senate Bill 29, Mandate "bittering agents" in antifreeze: Passed 36 to 1 in the Senate

To mandate that antifreeze engine coolant sold at retail in Michigan must have a "bittering agent" added to make it unpalatable to children, dogs and other animals (who are attracted by the sweet taste of antifreeze, a deadly poison).



Sen. Tupac Hunter (D-Detroit) - Y 

Sen. Patrick Colbeck (R-Canton) - N

 Sen. Hoon-Yung Hopgood (D-Taylor) – Y



MichiganVotes.org is a free, non-partisan website created by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, providing concise, non-partisan, plain-English descriptions of every bill and vote in the Michigan House and Senate.

Assistant superintendent speaks at event

News-Herald Staff Writer Dave Komer recently covered National Day of Prayer observances in Taylor. This is his report.

Almost 200 people turned out for a National Day of Prayer observance at the Cameron G. Priebe Municipal Plaza recently, including Taylor School District Asst. Supt. Teresa Winnie, who spoke at the event.

A cadre of religious and city leaders took turns at the podium leading prayers for unity, peace and wisdom for the city and the world during the one-hour program.



The UAW Region 1A Honor Guard attended, as well as Gilead Baptist Church musical duo Jack Smith and Craig Brown. The two performed the national anthem and “God Bless America” to open the ceremonies and sang “God of the City” at the end of the program.



Prayers were offered for the country, President Barack Obama, America’s armed forces, life, marriage and moral issues, housing, business and the economy, and for state leadership and Gov. Rick Snyder and first responders, among others.



Featured speakers included Pastor Philip Nissley of the New Hope Assembly for God; Pastor Cliff Molnar of Victory Ministries; Bishop Gary Harper of Greater Grace Temple; Pastor Thomas Downs of Gilead Baptist Church; Pastor John Reilly of Beacon Baptist Church (he’s also the school board president); Linda Linden, director of Guiding Hands Pregnancy Refuge; John Carter, the Taylor Housing Commission’s executive director; City Council Chairwoman Cheryl Burke; Bishop J. Andre of Heritage Park Church of God; Pastor Ryan Bettinger of Northline Baptist Church; Pastor Bill Fix of Journey of Hope Community Church; and Jeremy Waechter, head of the Taylor substance abuse prevention task force.



Winnie spoke, praying to strengthen the school district’s administrators and students.



“In addition to educational knowledge and nutritious food for students, that the spiritual part would be fed with your word,” Winnie said. “Although our public institution cannot accommodate you, God, we teach from your word.”



The Rev. Leo Sabourin of Saint Constance Catholic Church prayed for the news media, arts and entertainment and unity.

“We are assembled here in the presence of God because we are one nation under God,” he said. “As a key community Downriver, we stand together. It matters not what culture, color, language, whether under the roof of a church or the blue sky. It matters not; we are children of God.”



To view the story and video on The News-Herald Newspapers’ Web site, click here.

Contact Staff Writer David Komer at 1-734-246-0866 or dkomer@heritage.com. Follow him on Facebook and @DavidKomer_NH on Twitter.

Healthy lunch ideas result in art kid winnings at Holland!

Nothing like a little creative competition to get the taste buds going! 

Eating healthy is an important topic in education today, and it's no different around Holland Elementary School.

Recently, pupils took part in a contest to win an art kit, compliments of the school's food service department.

Every child was given a lunch bag to decorate with their idea of a healthy lunch. They could use crayons, markers, colored pencils or colored paper to complete the project. According to school staff, the pupils did a fabulous job and created some really outstanding -- and healthy -- lunch ideas.

Holland's cooks had the difficult task of selecting one winner from each classroom.

Hats off to the winners of the competition at Holland. And many thanks to the food services department for supplying the wonderful art kits!

Moms and dads grab some treats at Holland!

Holland Elementary School recently hosted its "Moms and Muffins" and "Dads and Doughnuts" events, bringing families of pupils into the school building. Jackie Smith passed along these great photos of the events.

Blair Moody teachers donate to Children With Hair Loss

A couple of teachers are Blair Moody Elementary School got a haircut recently, and it was for a good cause.

Elaine Strugala (in the dark shirt) and Liz Shiroda donated hair to Children With Hair Loss, a charitable group. Elaine donated five braids of hair and Liz donated two ponytails.

The teacher chose the organization because any children who needs a wig can receive one for free from it. And it takes 20-30 ponytails to make just one wig!