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Oxford Schools Supplement Sherman Publications Week of May 12, 2010 1



2 Week of May 12, 2010 Oxford Schools Supplement Sherman Publications

OxfordSchools – Thank you for your

commitment to educating

the youth of Oxford. We, at

Oxford Bank, are proud of the

work you do. Congratulations

on another outstanding

school year!

Addison-Oaks586-752-4555

Clarkston248-625-0011

Davison810-658-1500

Dryden810-796-2651

Goodrich810-636-6900

Lake Orion248-693-6261

Ortonville248-627-2813

Oxford248-628-2533

By Andrew Moser Oxford Community Schools (OCS) received some high

praise from Michigan State Superintendent Mike Flanagan.After spending a day touring the district last October,

Flanagan said that OCS was a model school district for pre-paring students to compete successfully in a global worldand that he wants other school districts pattern themselvesafter Oxford.

That kind of acclamation reinforces the ideas and goalsthat Oxford Superintendent Dr. William Skilling has for the

district.One reason for the praise is the new language arts pro-

gram, where beginning in kindergarten, every student in thedistrict’s five elementary schools and middle school will learneither Mandarin Chinese or Spanish.

“We created a language proficiency program . . . that bythe end of eighth grade, our students will already be highlyproficient at a world language and have a level of compe-tency that could not be achieved in a traditional four-yearhigh school program,” Skilling explained.

Another area that is attracting parents is a strong empha-sis on the arts.

Starting in kindergarten, students are taking lessons inguitar and classical violin. According to Skilling, Oxford isthe only district in the area to offer this type of instrumentalprogram.

He added that, “from an academic standpoint, kids thatare involved in a music program from a young age perform

much higher than students that are not involved in a musicprogram or a program that is not as extensive as ours.”

The reasoning for starting instructing kindergartners inforeign languages and musical instruments is because chil-dren at a young age are able to learn up to three languages just as easily as they can learn one.

“Music is a language, and like any language, the linguis-tic part of the brain is being developed when you learn mu-sic, just like the linguistic part of the brain is being devel-oped when you learn English, Spanish or Chinese,” Skillingsaid.

After instituting the programs last year, Skilling saw thekindergarten class swell by 107 students in one year.

In addition to language and arts, Oxford Schools has be-

gun offering a pre-engineering course beginning at themiddle school level. “We have what we believe is the onlypre-engineering program that is required of all sixth, sev-enth, and eighth-graders,” Skilling said.

His goal for the program is not to have everyone gointo engineering, but to make sure “students have theawareness how to do problem-solving, work as membersof teams (and) develop technical skills.”

Oxford Community Schools prides itself on being afamily-friendly district.

Students, often when accompanied by adults, do nothave to pay admission fees to attend sporting events,musicals or plays, nor are they charged to participate inthe schools numerous athletic programs.

“In our district, we value the arts, academics and ath-letics equally,” Skilling said. “We don’t charge you to takean English class, so therefore, why would we charge youto play athletics?”

The school district saw a net increase of 257 studentslast year between the two count days on Sept. 30, 2009and Feb. 11, 2010 due in part to the fact that Oxford hasbeen increasing the number of student programs as op-posed to cutting them like so many other districts.

Skilling added that the biggest advantage that theschool district has is the focus on preparing their stu-dents to compete beyond the borders of the United States.

“One thing that we understand really well at OxfordCommunity Schools is that the competition we have to

face is not going to be local, state and nationwide as muchas it is going to be global,” he said.

Being global means caring about the environment, tak-ing an active role in its preservation and teaching kids tobe good stewards of Mother Nature.

Recently, four schools – Oxford High School andLakeville, Clear Lake and Daniel Axford Elementaries –earned Evergreen status (the highest level possible) inthe Michigan Green Schools Program.

From recycling and adopting endangered animals tosolar cooking and establishing native plant gardens, allfour schools have demonstrated superior ecological re-sponsibility.

Over the last three years, teachers within the district

Oxford Schools: Growing, global, greenhave undergone a great deal of professional development andtraining, which has led to Oxford having some of the highestMEAP scores in the county.

Skilling boasted that “Oxford Schools spends more time inprofessional development than any other district.”

The state average is five days a year whereas Oxford has 12days for all staff, 18 for teacher leaders, plus others.

“I don’t think you’ll find any district anywhere with thatlevel of commitment,” he said.

Three of Oxford’s seven schools have been recognized as

Michigan Blue Ribbon Exemplary Schools. They are Leonard,Lakeville and Clear Lake elementaries.

“We exist to provide the very best education possible for ourstudents and opportunities (that allow them to) compete suc-cessfully in a global world that is changing 24/7,” Skilling noted.

To learn more visit www.oxfordschools.org .

Photo by Scott Huller

Photography.




By C.J. Carnacchio Leader Editor

When Oxford High School’s AdventureClub takes its whitewater rafting trip onPennsylvania’s Youghiogheny River May14-16, the students, staff and volunteers willprobably take some time to celebrate thestate award they just won.

The after-schoolclub was one of 27 hon-orees statewide who won an EducationalExcellence award from the Michigan Asso-

ciation of School Boards and SET SEGSchool Insurance Specialists.

“We’re very, very proud of it,” said OHSteacher Ray Sutherland, who founded theAdventure Club in 1998. “Yes, it does take alot of work, but it is so worth it.”

The Education Excellence awards honorthe top three local school district programsin each of eight categories and the top threeintermediate school district programs. OHSwill receive a trophy and a metal sheet signproclaiming it an “Education Excellence Win-ner” in the “Before and After School Pro-grams” category.

Winners will move on to the second roundof judging to determine “Michigan’s Best”and the recipients of a cash prize to help fur-ther the goals of each program.

To develop and teach life skills, includingcooperative learning, is the Adventure Club’sgoal. By participating in a number of non-competitive activities, students learn to de-vise plans and solutions to problems thatexist outside of their everyday world.

The kids are also given the opportunityto build friendships, resolve disagreementsandwork closely with others of diverse back-grounds. “Relationship isn’t just a word wethrow up on a sign at Oxford,” Sutherlandsaid. “We want the relationships between thekids and the teachers, and the kids and thekids. Without that, you cannot teach at thelevel we want to teach. They have to respectus. They need to realize that we are humanbeings and we want what’s best for them.”

Every year, the Adventure Club takes four,three-day trips, both in and out of state, thatinvolve challenging outdoor activities such

as rafting, canoeing, kayaking, camping, hik-ing, rock-climbing, snow-shoeing, skiing andtaking on man-made challenges such asropes courses and zip lines.

“It’s amazing to have this much fun with-out being high, without being drunk, with-out using cigarettes,” Sutherland said. “Ourtrips show you do not have to be high to be

high on living – to really appreciate life.”The idea for the club was spawned by

Sutherland in Mexico while he was teachingthere from 1994-97. When he returned to Ox-ford, he decided to start a similar club here atthe high school.

“We’re really the only true AdventureClub in the United States,” Sutherland said.“We are doing something that nobody elseis doing.”

Unlike the trips other school districtstake, which usually involve only one groupof kids such as honor students, award win-ners or at-risk students, Adventure Club

trips include students from all backgroundsand social groups.

“What’s unique about us is we take fromthe honor roll to the at-risk, from the hacky-sacker to the football player,” Sutherland ex-plained. “Everybody comes together with no-body having a large group that could domi-nate or intimidate another group. Everybody

must blend in.”“When they find out they don’t have this

network that they’re used to, this clique, whathappens is they blend and they find out thatall people have value,” he noted. “Everybodyis generally nice, if you give them a chanceand if you’re nice to them.”

Sutherland recalled how a relationshipdeveloped between an at-risk kid and anHonor Society student during one trip.

“They didn’t get along at all (prior to thetrip). By the second day, they were playingspoons (a card game) together and havingthe greatest time,” he said. “It takes 30 to 36

Join the adventure, learn everyone’s valuehours for the kids to meld.”

One would think taking large groups of diverse students on overnight trips wouldresult in a lot of problems. But Sutherlandinsisted that’s not the case.

“We have over 200 kids participate in ayear and I don’t think we’ve had an argu-ment in three years,” he said, noting therehave only been two instances in the club’s12-year history in which the OHS office had

to be informed of problems.Sutherland recalled the club once took 102people on a trip to the Pine River.

“We sent 42 canoes down the river andhad a great time – no problems,” he said.

Sutherland freely admits he couldn’t do thiswithout the support of his fellow teachers likeJoe Swoyer, Dan Sargent, Molly Darnell, ScottCouch and Kelly Bowman along with parents.“It wouldn’t work if we didn’t have all theteachers and parents who volunteer their time,”he said. “Everybody has their own little nicheand everybody takes ownership of it.”

“They donate the equivalent of six 40-hour weeks free, no payment, because theywant to work with the kids,” Sutherlandnoted. “Can you imagine someone workingsix weeks for nothing?”

The individual cost to participate in Ad-

venture Club varies from trip to trip, butSutherland noted the most expensive trip isthe river rafting trip to Pennsylvania, whichcosts $185. For those students who can’t af-ford to pay the entire cost, scholarships areoffered and families pay what they can af-ford. This school year alone more than $5,000in scholarships have been awarded.

“We have no rules on it. It’s a total honorsystem,” Sutherland said. “I can honestly sayif we’ve been taken advantage of one or twotimes, that might be the limit. People havebeen so honest and so fair.”

Nobody in the club’s history has everbeen denied the opportunity to go on a tripdue to financial reasons. “We have a firmbelief – the day we have to tell somebodythey cannot do it because of money is theday I am done,” Sutherland said.

By Andrew Moser Oxford Community Schools’ require-

ment that K-8 students learn either Man-darin Chinese or Spanish is turning headsboth inside and outside the district.

“You look around our local districts, andno one is offering what we are offering,”said Dr. Jim Schwarz, assistant superinten-dent of curriculum.

Schwarz indicated he gets calls dailyfrom parents of children outside of the dis-trict expressing interest in enrolling theirchildren in Oxford Schools because of the

Fifth Core world language program.“I think our foreign language program

creates a draw for families,” Schwarz said.“Right now, the way the economy is, par-

ents are looking for ways to give their chil-dren an edge to compete in jobs they feel aregoing to be scarce in the future,” he added.“So when you have economic times like this,it creates more parents who are shopping forschools that have opportunities that they feelare going to give their children the edge.”

According to the district’s websitewww.oxfordschools.org, the goal is to place stu-dents in the best possible position to competefor jobs both nationally and internationally.

Within the Fifth Core program, studentswill not only learn how to speak either Man-

Chinese or Spanish? Oxford offers both K-8darin Chinese or Spanish, they will also de-velop a greater understanding of the Chineseand Spanish cultures in order to better work and socialize in other countries.

Beginning with the 2009-10 school year,students in kindergarten had everyday ex-posure to either Spanish or Chinese, whilestudents in fourth and fifth-grades took two30-minute sessions of foreign language aweek.

Schwarz said there is a plan in place tobegin to phase in foreign language instruc-tion five days a week.

“Next year, the kindergarten, first and thirdgrade classes (will) have foreign language

everyday. We are also making it manda-tory for all six and seventh graders to haveeither Spanish or Chinese.”

Grades four and five will also have lan-guage everyday.

He added that at the elementary level,the ratio of students taking Chinese toSpanish is 60/40 because threeelementaries, Oxford, Daniel Axford andClear Lake are teaching Mandarin, whileLakeville and Leonard elementaries areteaching Spanish.

In middle school, students will continue

to study the language they had during theirPlease See LANGUAGE on Page 4

Join Oxford’s AdventureClub and you could findyourself rafting down a

raging river.




By Andrew Moser The music programs offered at Oxford

High School and Middle School strive to givestudents the best possible experience in allareas of instrumental and vocal endeavors.

Each of the three main components of themusic department – band, choir and orchestra– is experiencing a growth in both numbersand varying degrees of success.

“I try and give these kids the opportunityin all aspects of instrumental music. They can

play in concert band, jazz band, marching band,pit band for musicals and attend solo and en-semble festivals,” said Jim Gibbons, who isthe director of the band program at OxfordHigh School.

“I’m really about making sure that the kidslearn music and (develop) an appreciation andunderstanding of music that will benefit themfor the rest of their lives.

The band program gives students at Ox-ford High School three different opportuni-ties for musical success, each with their ownunique opportunities.

According to Gibbons, the concert bandplays four concerts a year in addition to at-tending a band festival.

Gibbons stated that while they play tradi-tional band music, he also likes to expose hisband members to a wide variety of genres.

“We will play orchestral transcriptions,music that is specifically written for bands andwe’ll do music that is written for movies andother pop type music,” he added.

Students in the jazz band will learn tradi-tional jazz, but also study improvisation tech-niques and the overall jazz style.

Students will go to Jazz festival and do sev-eral concerts and performances throughoutthe school year.

Members of the marching band will not onlywow the crowds at halftime during footballgames, but they will also participate in theMichigan Competing Band Association,which OHS began participating in this pastyear.

“We learned a great deal (this year) andwhen we go forward into next year, we’re con-tinuing to make improvements in the structureof how we deliver our instruction to give thekids a better opportunity to improve,” saidGibbons.

Gibbons thinks that the variety of the pro-gram is the driving force behind it’s attractive-ness.

“It’s a very diverse program. We work togive kids lots of experiences and lots of expo-sure to different types of music, and at the

same time we work hard to try and make it funand rewarding for them,” he said.

One of the rewards is going on a year-endtrip to either New York City or Disney World.

Currently the band is preparing for itsSpring Concert May 17.

Another area that has seen success thispast school year has been the choir program,which is under the direction of Chris Card.

As reported in earlier issues of the Oxford Leader , the choir program sent all six of theirchoirs to the state festival after each receivedsuperior ratings at the district festival in March.

“The road we are on is just exciting as faras how we are doing and what we are doing.Just about every day you see kids working sohard without excuse,” said Card.

Within the choir program at OHS are sev-eral vocal ensembles, which is the most thechoir program has had since Card took overthree years ago.

“The program has grown by 30-50 percentin the last three years. We are at the pointwhere we have a large concert choir with 65girls and a women’s choir made up of 40 up-perclassmen girls. We have a men’s choir with30 men in the choir and an advanced women’sensemble, Caritas, that got superior ratings atboth festivals they went to,” said Card.

He noted that there are two choirs that meetoutside of school hours: men’s ensemble anda mixed chorale. “Kids come in before school

to do that,” Card said.Card added that having success at the dis-

trict level was great, but he wants the programto continue and have success at the state and

national levels on a consistent basis.“At the state level, we’re building that tra-

dition in order to build a framework for a na-tional standard (that allows us to) sing withany other choir program around the countryand relate to them,” he explained.

Card noted that one of the things that makesthe OHS choir program special is that every-thing they put on is for the community.

“When parents put students in our choir,they are representing the school and the com-munity, and they get this exposure and par-ents love that,” said Card.

“The parents are proud of their kids to be-gin with, but to see them in a professionalsetting, they are really fulfilled by that and itmakes them want to see their kid stay with it,”he added.

Not only are there opportunities for suc-cess in music at the high school, but the or-chestra program at the middle school is takingoff just as well.

“It’s a brand new program that started lastyear and it has done very well as far as therecruitment of students,” said NadyBenyamine, who teaches orchestra at OxfordMiddle School along with Lakeville andLeonard elementaries.

Oxford is alive with the sound of music

Currently, teaching orchestra at OHS is Jui-Chao Wang.

Three different orchestra classes are of-fered at OMS – a concert orchestra, varsity

orchestra and a symphony orchestra.While in the classroom, Benyamine is

teaching the students not only classical mu-sic, but also “rock, jazz, fiddling or world mu-sic.” He wants to “get the students exposedto all sorts of multi-cultural, multi-stylisticsounds from all over the world.”

OMS students recently participated in theMichigan Band and Orchestra AssociationDistrict Festival, where they received excep-tional ratings and comments from the judges.

According to Benyamine, the current num-bers at the elementary and middle school levelsuggest that the future is bright for the or-chestra program at the high school.

There are 130-140 students participating ineither the first or second-year groups at thefourth and fifth-grade levels.

Benyamine said that one of the great fac-tors about the orchestra program is the flex-ibility where you can take band, choir and or-chestra at the same time, any time you want.

“Oxford is definitely a great place to havean orchestra program, especially since pro-grams are getting cut everywhere in Michi-gan. To have a new orchestra program in adistrict is something very rare to find and I amlucky to be part of it,” he noted.

elementary years.Upon entering high school, it will be up to the students

to choose if they want to continue studying the language.Schwarz indicated that the student instruction in the

program is not just a lecture format, it’s activity-based in-struction as well.

“The teachers are doing activities with food, art projectsand things like that, so children are learning the languagethrough those types of projects,” said Schwarz.

In the Chinese classrooms, students are able to gain ac-cess to Zon (created by the Confucius Institute), a virtualrole-playing game that supplements the instruction in theclassroom. Students get to create a character and have tonavigate theat character around different settings and places

like an everyday tourist would do.“It helps to learn or reinforce the language or culture you

are learning,” he explained.Schwarz said the main reason for choosing the Chinese

and Spanish languages was that economists are predict-ing that China, Brazil, Panama and many other Spanish-speaking countries are on the rise on the world stage aseconomic powers. These are the countries the kids of to-day will be doing business with as the adults of tomorrow.

“Whether right or wrong, those are major economies

that are going to exist in this generation of children’s fu-ture,” Schwarz said.

LanguageContinued from Page 3

Oxford High School’sSymphonic Band is the

gem of the district’smusic program.




Adding Chocolate to Milk Doesn’t Take Away ItsNine Essential Nutrients All milk contains a unique combination of nutrients important for growth and

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sugar intake in children ages 6-12 and less than 2% in teens.

Reasons WhyFlavored Milk Matters

KIDS LOVE THE TASTE!Milk provides nutrients essential for good health and kids will

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NINE ESSENTIAL NUTRIENTS!Flavored milk contains the same nine essential nutrients as

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HELPS KIDS ACHIEVE 3 SERVINGS!Drinking low-fat or fat-free white or flavored milk helps

kids get the 3 daily servings* of milk recommended by the

Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

BETTER DIET QUALITY !Children who drink flavored milk meet more of their nutrient

needs; do not consume more added sugar, fat or calories; and are

not heavier than non-milk drinkers.

TOP CHOICE IN SCHOOLS!Low-fat chocolate milk is the most popular milk choice in schools

and kids drink less milk (and get fewer nutrients) if it’s taken away.

©National Dairy Council 2009®

REFERENCES:1. NPD Nutrient Intake Database; 2 years ending Feb. 2009.

2. Johnson RK, Frary C, Wang MQ. The nutritional consequences of flavored milk consumption by school-aged children and

adolescents in the United States. J Am Diet Assoc. 2002;102(6):853-856.

3. National Dairy Council and School Nutrition Association. The School Milk Pilot Test. Beverage Marketing Corporation for

National Dairy Council and School Nutrition Association. 2002. http://www.nutritionexplorations.org/sfs/schoolmilk_pilottest.

asp (Accessed January 4, 2009).

4. NICHD. For Stronger Bones….for Lifelong Health…Milk Matters! Accessed Sept 7, 2009 via http://www.nichd.nih.gov/

publications/pubs/upload/strong_bones_lifelong_health_mm1.pdf

5. HHS, Best Bones Forever. Accessed Sept 7, 2009 via http://www.bestbonesforever.gov/

6. Frary CD, Johnson RK, Wang MQ. Children and adolescents’ choices of foods and beverages high in added sugars are associated

with intakes of key nutrients and food groups. J Adolesc Health 2004;34(1):56-63.

7. American Academy of Pediatrics, Committee on School Health. Soft drinks in schools.Pediatrics2005; 113152-154.

8. United States Dept. of Health and Human Services, United States Dept. of Agriculture and United States Dietary Guidelines

Advisory Committee, 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans . (6th ed. HHS publications, 2005, Washington D.C.)

9. Greer FR, Krebs NF and the Committee on Nutrition. Optimizing bone health and calcium intakes of infants, children and

adolescents. Pediatrics2006; 117:578-585.

10. Murphy MM, Douglas JS, Johnson RK, Spence LA. Drinking flavored or plain milk is positively associated with nutrient intake and

is not associated with adverse effects on weight status in U.S. children and adolescents. J Am Diet Assoc 2008; 108:631-639.

11. Johnson RK, et al. Dietary Sugars Intake and Cardiovascular Health. A Scientific Statement From the American Heart

Association. Circulation. 2009; 120:1011-1020.

12. ENVIRON International Corporation. School Milk: Fat Content Has Declined Dramatically since the Early 1990s. 2008.

13. Patterson J, Saidel M. The Removal of Flavored Milk in Schools Results in a Reduction in Total Milk Purchases in All Grades, K-12.

J Am Diet Assoc. 2009; 109,(9): A97.

www.nationaldairycouncil.org/childnutrition

* DAILY RECOMMENDATIONS - 3 cups of low-fat or fat-free milk or equivalent milk products for those 9 years of age and older and 2 cups

of low-fat and fat-free milk or equivalent milk products for children 2-8 years old.

These health and nutrition organizations support 3-A-Day of Dairy, a science-based nutrition education program encouraging Americans to

consume the recommended three daily servings of nutrient-rich low-fat or fat-free milk and milk products to improve overall health.

1-800-241-MILK (6455)

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By C.J. Carnacchio Long before Oxford Schools decided its

mission was to provide a global education,teacher Jan Flynn was bringing the world tostudents via the universal language of music.

Using drums, marimbas, bells and rattlesof Latin and African origin, Flynn has beenleading the World Music Drumming En-sembles at the middle school since she es-

tablished the program in 2002-03 as a way toexpand the general music curriculum.“It is accessible (to all students) because

it’s percussion,” she explained. “We’re notinvolving pitch so much, it’s more rhythms.”

Within the program, there are three groupsof drum/marimba ensembles – Wildcat Drum-mers (six-grade beginners), Drumfire Drum-mers (seventh-grade intermediate), and Thun-der Drummers (eight-grade advanced).

All three groups perform “authentic mu-sic from African and Caribbean traditions,”according to Flynn.

“There are some pieces that I teach that Ilearned from a master drummer from Ghana,”she noted. “A lot of this music is from Ghana,which is considered West Africa.”

Most of the students play cylindrical-shaped tubano drums ranging in diameter

from 10 to 14 inches.“They all have a purpose in an ensemble,”

Flynn said. “Each drum has a specific rhythmand they blend in layers, one on top of theother.”

The program also has a Ngoma drum

Drumming to the global rhythmern Africa and Central America – and variousethnic bells and rattles, each with its ownexotic name and unique sound. “When wecan, we add a vocal,” Flynn said.

Over the years, the program has been verysuccessful in teaching students all the ba-sics of musicianship. “We talk about blend,balance, how to incorporate melodies andharmonies,” Flynn said. “They’re solving

musical problems as they work with the pieceand as they learn how to play it.”By the time students reach the Thunder

Drummer level as eighth-graders, they are “acommitted group who is really devoted tomusicianship.”

“The energy that comes from this is sig-nificant,” Flynn said. “They are able to work together as teams, but they are also able todo solo work. It’s a growing process.”

The program also teaches students howto focus whether they’re playing in the en-semble or learning in the classroom.

“They learn how to focus on what they’redoing at the time; to tune out the extraneousnoise behind them and around them, so theycan concentrate on their work,” Flynn said.

Whenever they get the opportunity, thedrummers love to “spread some sunshine”

by playing at various events, like the annualRelay for Life, and performing for differentgroups such as scouts and the Rotary Club.

“Over the years we’ve had a lot of sup-port from the community,” Flynn said. “Peoplereally enjoy it.”

Future web designers at workBy C.J. Carnacchio

While many teens are busy using theinternet to watch videos on YouTube andupdate their Facebook pages, some techsavvy students at Oxford High School arecreating web sites for local businesses and

non-profit groups.“People hear that we do design work, sothey contact us,” said Maria Wolbert, whoteaches beginning, intermediate andadvanced web design classes at OHS. “Wehave more requests than we can actuallyfulfill. There’s so much need; so many peoplecontact us.”

Wolbert’s students have designed websites for companies like the Lapeer-basedCreative Asphalt (www.creativeasphalt.com)and non-profits such as the Northeast OaklandHistorical Museum (www.orion.lib.mi.us/ nohm) in downtown Oxford.

“The students used a number of differentskill sets to create the (Creative Asphalt) site.It’s very professionally done,” she said.

Her students have been working on a sitefor the K-9 Stray Rescue League, an Oxford

group that rescues dogs and finds adoptivehomes for them.

“I want to help students understand thebenefit of giving back,” said Wolbert, who’sbeen with the district since 1997.

The web design program startedapproximately six years ago with a class forbeginners and grew from there based on

rising student demand.Now, OHS offers Web Design I and IIalong with a Webmasters class for advancedstudents. Wolbert wrote the curriculum forall three courses.

In Web Design I, students gain anunderstanding of web design concepts andtechniques that are essential to planning,creating, testing, publishing and maintainingweb sites.

Web Design II teaches students how tocreate professional quality web sites andbusiness documents utilizing effective webdesign principles, planning and practices.

Students in the Webmasters courseinteract with actual clients at all stages of web production in order to developprofessional, quality sites for them.

The knowledge and skills garnered from

taking all three classes are a definite benefitfor students who wish to attend college and

pursue a career in web design.“It sets the stage nicely for them,”

Wolbert said. “They definitely have a leg up.”Those who successfully complete the

Webmasters class receive four credits for itat Oakland Community College.

“Even if a student isn’t looking to be aweb designer, these classes teach them somuch about the internet and computers andcopyright laws and basic design principles,”Wolbert noted. “It teaches students how tothink analytically.”

These days technical knowledge isbecoming more and more essential for collegestudents as traditional term papers arereplaced by web-based assignments andcavernous lecture halls give way to on-lineclassrooms.

Students who learn computer and internetskills in high school will “be that much fartherahead” in college, according to Wolbert.

In addition to the web design classes,Wolbert also teaches a course in Animation& Digital imaging, which is dedicated tomanipulating images and creating web

animations, and a class called Digitools,which exposes students to a variety of

emerging mediums such as voice recognitionsoftware, hand-held computers, vector imagedevelopment and video creation software.

To learn more about Wolbert’s classes andview examples of student-designed web

pages, please visit www.ohspress.com/ wolbert/index.html.

that’s 48 inches high with a 16-inch diameterand a Djembe drum, which is goblet-shapedand used for solo work. The Ngoma drum

was donated by the Rotary Club of Oxford.In addition to drums, the students play

marimbas – a type of xylophone from south-

Meet the Thunder Drummers – Eric Giese (seated from left), Lewis Marshall, Hannah Exand Lily Dickens. Rachel Mantel (standing from left), Elizabeth Schonfeld, Rachel Tiska,Zack Woloszyk, Kimi Matsumoto and teacher Jan Flynn.

OHS teacher Maria Wolbert shows seniorShelby Stockard a thing or two aboutdesigning a web page.



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R E D U C E D

BRANDON

$297,900• Newer Oxford Colonial• On over 6 acres plus, In-ground pool• Geo-thermal heating and cooling• Heated 32x48 pole barn • Oxford Schools• MLS #29004302 Ask For Lee

LAKE ORION

ALL SPORTS LAKE • $309,000• Lakefront on all-sports Lake Orion• Almost 3000 sq. ft. & on double lot• Finished walkout bsmt • Lake Orion Schools• In-law apartment and much more!• MLS #210012725 Ask For Lee

ADDISON

$495,000• Over 56 acres with horse farm!• Also with a 2nd guest home• Addison Twp. & Oxford Schools• Close to Polly Ann Trail• MLS #28179134 & 28179154 Ask For Lee

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OXFORD

LIGHT INDUSTRIAL • $99,900• Rectangular light industrial V/L• Sewer, water, gas & electric at paved rd.• Office has staked survey• Land contract terms available• MLS #210003132 & 210003148 Ask For Lee

ORION

COMMERCIAL • $184,900• Commercial property w/132’ of frontage• Almost 2 acres of land• 25’x25’ buidling built in 1980’s• Zoned OP-1, ideal for office space• MLS #29087854 & 29087879 Ask For Lee

FOREST HILLS LOTS

Boulders at Forest Hills is a 23 unit develop-ment in the Oxford School District. All lots havebeen perked and surveyed. Roads are pavedwith gas and electric underground. Lots varyfrom flat with some trees to hilltop setting with60% trees.Some lots are perfect for walkoutbsmts! Beautiful development! A definite mustsee! Prices from $89,000. Land Contract termsavailable.

GOODRICH

$574,000• 2 Large buildings, 9800 sq. ft. & 8400 sq.ft.• Several pole barn style buildings w/heat• Loc at north end of Village of Goodrich• Special financing available• MLS #210050659 Ask For Lee

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Oxford!


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