Put-in-Bay School Acknowledges Student Achievements
From the desk of School Superintendent Steve Poe:
The Put-in-Bay Panther Basketball team finished up the 2014-15 season with a record of 5 wins and 10 losses. The season didn’t go their way in the win / loss column, but the team made great strides. This year’s team was lead by seniors Gunnar Auger and Elliot Kowalski. Gunnar was automatic from beyond the three-point line and Elliot had a knack for making steals. The future of the team is bright with the following underclassmen returning: Ian Pippert-Ladd, Meredith Engel, Jessica Krueger, Tom Chrysler, Tyler King, Ericson Booker, Erin Urge, and Jack Booker. With hard work in the off-season, there is no reason not to think next season can be a bounce back year. In early December, Mackinac Island will be returning to South Bass Island to compete vs. the Panthers.
On February 10th Hannah Lentz (7th grade), Elena Schroeder (6th grade), and Nora Ladd (6th grade) represented Put-in-Bay School at the annual Ottawa County Spelling Bee Competition. The spelling words were most difficult and half of the 29 Ottawa County contestants were eliminated in the first round, including Hannah and Elena. Nora, however, was able to spell “aqueduct” correctly to advance to the second round. In the second round she was eliminated from the competition when she spelled “dromedary” incorrectly. Katelyn Farmer of Oak Harbor won the Spelling Bee for the second straight year when she spelled, “isinglass” correctly. “Isinglass” is a type of gelatin taken from the bladders of certain fish. Congratulations to our three girls for qualifying for this event!
Science Olympiad has been a long-standing tradition at PIBHS since its inception by previous science teacher, Paul Genzman. New science teacher, Missi Kowalski, has ensured that the event will live on. As always, Science Olympiad is a day filled with fun science-related games and activities for students in grades Pre-K through 12, as well as fierce competitions between high school students. This year has included a blend of the beloved classic events such as bridge crusher and pop bottle rockets and has added a few new items to the mix, such as pinewood derby and a robotics challenge. Possibly the most exciting addition to the day was the science fair. All students in grades 5-12 participated and were judged by a team of local science scholars. We would all like to send out a huge thank you to Lisa Brohl, Justin Chaffin, Karen Goaziou, Valerie Kowalski, Jacob Market, Kristin Stanford, and Gene Zajac for their amazing work and hours of deliberation this year! Although ALL the students did a fantastic job on their first-ever science fair, special honors were given to the following students: 1st place – Meredith Engel, 2nd place – Alexandra Knauer, 3rd place – Elliot Kowalski, and honorable mention – Erin Urge, Ericson Booker, Jack Booker. Other honors this year were given to pinewood derby winner, Tom Chrysler. the winner of the coveted “Newton Award” was Elliot Kowalski.
Congratulations to Elliot Kowalski and Gunnar Auger for being this year’s senior class Valedictorian and Salutatorian, respectively. This year’s graduation ceremony will take place at the Perry Victory and International Peace Memorial on Friday, June 5th at 7:00pm. This year’s keynote speaker is Jacqueline Boyed.
Jacqueline (Wilhelm) Boyed, the daughter of island residents Mark and Karen Wilhelm, is a 2005 graduate of Put-in-Bay School. She was Valedictorian of her high school class. Upon high school graduation, she attended the University of Findlay (UF) to study physical therapy. She graduated summa cum laude with her Bachelors of Science. She continued at UF for graduate school where she earned her Doctorate of Physical Therapy. She currently resides in Kettering, Ohio, with her husband Dustin Boyed and their dog, Skylar. She is an outpatient physical therapist for Miami Valley Hospital with Premier Health. She is elated to be speaking for the PIB HS Class of 2015.
