St. Philip's homegrown paleontologists

St. Philip High School students Ellie Stewart, Maggie Hill and Abby Hill were working on a physics project last spring. They spotted two large bones in a bin near their workstation. There was an inscription, “Billy found 1955 Ark.” They asked their science teacher Stephanie Halbert a question.

“What are these?”

The bones predated Ms. Halbert’s time at St. Philip, so she posed a question back.

“Do you want to find out?”

They did.

The students named the bones “J.A.M.E.S.”, using the first initial of each investigative team member: Maggie, Abby, Ellie, then-senior Joshua Klavinski, and Stephanie Halbert. They thought the bones might be from an elephant.

Ms. Halbert contacted Laura Abraczinskas, Michigan State University Museum Vertebrate Collections Manager. The museum had elephant bones on display. On April 14th, J.A.M.E.S. and his team went to East Lansing.

“Ellie went into the elephant exhibit and compared our bones, and they were obviously different,” Maggie said.

Ellie comparing J.A.M.E.S. to African Elephant skeleton at MSU

Ms. Abraczinskas referred the team to the University of Michigan, which had mammoth remains. Ms. Halbert sent pictures to mammoth specialist Dr. Adam Rountrey, Research Museum Collections Manager at U of M’s Museum of Paleontology. Dr. Rountrey thought it might be from a cow, but Ms. Halbert, having grown up on a dairy farm, disagreed.

Summer came and went. The team reassembled in September, this time as an official science club. One of the new members, Miklo Hernandez-Mendez, discovered the bones fit together.

“I saw there was a connection,” Miklo said. “One was in, and one was sticking out.”

Miklo fits J.A.M.E.S. back together.

The team sent new pictures to Dr. Rountrey, who wanted to see the bones for himself.

On October 21st, the science club took J.A.M.E.S. to U of M, where it proved bigger than the mammoth bones.

Dr. Rountrey wondered if it could be from the tail of a glyptodont, an ancestor of an armadillo, or a ground sloth. He took 3D scans of J.A.M.E.S., which are now part of the University of Michigan Online Repository of Fossils. He sent the scans to Dr. H. Greg McDonald, an expert on sloths.

St. Philip Science Club members examing J.A.M.E.S. with Dr. Rountrey [l.]

“The coolest part was seeing Dr. Rountrey excited about it,” Ellie said.

A few weeks later, Dr. McDonald confirmed that J.A.M.E.S. is from a Harlan’s Ground Sloth, easily over 11,000 years old.

“This has been one of the most interesting identifications with which I have been involved,” Dr. Rountrey said. “It's the kind of ‘attic discovery’ kids dream of finding.”

The answer led to another question. Where was J.A.M.E.S. found?

If the bones are from Arkansas, it would be the first evidence of ground sloths in that state. If the bones are from Michigan, it would be the first evidence of ground sloths in the Great Lakes region.

Regardless of where he hails from, J.A.M.E.S. will now call Ann Arbor home.

“We do not have a sacrum from any ground sloth, so it would be an important addition to the collection,” Dr. Rountrey said.

The team will deliver J.A.M.E.S. to U of M in a formal ceremony this winter. The exhibit will include a plaque naming St. Philip High School as the donor.

“It started with one thing, and we got to see it evolve into something much bigger,” Maggie said. “It’s nice to know other people will see [these bones] and know St. Philip did this.”

St. Philip's homegrown paleontologists at U of M's Museum of Paleontology. Front row (from left to right): Miklo Hernandez-Mendez, Abby Hill, Lauren McIntyre. Back row (from left to right): Ms. Stephanie Halbert, Faith Scriber, Ellie Stewart, Jon Sonneborn, Maggie Hill, Stacie Sadowski.

Having fun makes MATHCOUNTS

Can you solve this math problem?

The sum of the digits of a two-digit integer is 12. The integer is equal to 15 times its units digit. What is the integer?

Need help?

Ask any of St. Joseph Middle School’s MATHCOUNTS club members. You’ll find them in math teacher Molly Williamson’s room after school on Fridays.

Mrs. Williamson introduced MATHCOUNTS this year, having participated in the program while teaching at St. Augustine in Kalamazoo. Founded by the National Society of Professional Engineers, the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics and the CAN Foundation, MATHCOUNTS is only for middle school students.

“There are a lot of kids in middle school who love math, and I really wanted to capture that,” Mrs. Williamson said. “I wanted them to have an extra-curricular place where they could play with math and have fun with it.”

The club took off, with over 20% of the middle school participating.

“They love it,” Mrs. Williamson said. “They just keep coming back.”

[l. to r.] Gigi Pontoni, Therese Campos, Gregory Garfield, Chris Adam, Nathan Pawlowicz

 Each week, Mrs. Williamson gives them a series of questions – some easy, some hard, some “really over the top, like college level.” The students try to noodle them out on their own, then again with the answers provided.

“Sometimes if you get an answer you can work backward,” Mrs. Williamson said. “There’s learning there.”

On MATHCOUNTS days, students gather after school to tackle the problems as a group, taking turns illustrating their solutions.

“I am not the sage on the stage,” Mrs. Williamson told club members. “I am not here to teach you. You are here to learn from each other.”

“People have really different methods,” eighth-grader Therese Campos said. “It’s cool to see the different ways that I could have solved it.”

Since MATHCOUNTS is middle-school wide, the teaching comes from all grade levels.

“It is interesting because [the older students] do math that I haven’t learned yet,” sixth-grader Adam Thome said. “It’s fun to watch them explain the answers they get.”

That doesn’t mean the eighth-graders have all the answers.

“It is surprising sometimes that the younger kids understand it better,” seventh-grader Gregory Garfield said.

[l. to r.] Jeremy Gallaway and Gregory Garfield

Having fun with math is translating into having courage in the classroom. Mrs. Williamson has noticed a drop in students skipping difficult problems and a rise in students sharing their solutions.

And the students have noticed a difference, too.

“I decided to do MATHCOUNTS because I thought it would help me in math class,” seventh-grader Merlina Montesino said. “And it did. I really like it.”

Although MATHCOUNTS could just be a club, Mrs. Williamson included the competition piece.

“I think the kids are event-oriented,” Mrs. Williamson said. “[The competition] gives their hard work a culminating event.”

In January, there will be a mini-competition to determine the ten students advancing to the regional competition in February. The top four of those ten will compete in the team portion.

“It will be cool to see who goes,” eighth-grader Alexis McCullin said. “We’re all good at different types of problems.”

The competition, however, is not the focus.

“This year my goal is just exposure,” Mrs. Williamson said. “Let them see other kids who also love math and realize they are a piece of something very big and very great.”

And for those still puzzling out the math problem, the answer is 75.

Saints with the intention to trick

St. Joseph Elementary and Preschool has a longstanding and very cute Halloween tradition – the annual costume parade. At the end of this year’s parade, a new tradition began.

Fr. Chris Ankley sent a letter to parents, sharing the Catholic roots of All Hallows Eve and the various traditions it inspired over the centuries. He extended an invitation for the children to dress as saints – saints with the intention to trick and receive a treat.

Who were they to trick? Fr. Chris and Fr. José Haro.

“They have to give us two clues about their mystery saint,” Fr. Chris wrote. “If we can’t deduce who they are, they get a prize. All the traditional Halloween activities of St. Joseph School will remain the same. If a child so chooses they do not have to dress as a saint. They should be aware, however, that the contest is only for those who dress as a saint.”

St. Joseph School Principal Sara Myers hung a large signup sheet by the office, pleased to have ten students willing to participate.

“We are a Catholic school, and we are always looking at ways we can add to our Catholic identity,” Mrs. Myers said.

Parents, students, and staff gathered in the cafeteria after the Halloween parade to see if Fr. Chris and Fr. José could name all ten saints. They got eight out of ten right.

Can you guess these Saints? [l. to r.] Mary Sui as Mother Theresa, Jennitzy Talavera as Saint Kateri Tekakwitha, Adriana Olsen as Saint Kateri Tekakwitha, Emma Rose Smith as Saint Philomena, Aaron Barraza Reyes as St. Aaron, Addisyn Lowe as St. Catherine of Sienna, Carson Brown as St Joseph, Jerome Bastian as Saint Emile Martyr, and Juan Mejia Lugo as John Paul II.

Who stumped our priests? Emma Rose Smith, who was St. Philomena, and Jerome Bastian, who was St. Émile.

Fr. Chris chuckled over his losses.

“The clues [Emma] gave me were, 'I'm a female saint and like babies’," Fr. Chris said.

As far as St. Émile, Fr. Chris could only deduce he was a martyr.

“[Jerome] had a very clever costume,” Fr. Chris said. “He had a ring of fire around his feet and a palm branch, which meant he was a martyr.”

The winners received a rosary. All the participants received a small crucifix and a sizable candy bar – so sizeable Mrs. Myers reported hearing a collective gasp. After that, the room was far from quiet.

“The students really loved when they were able to stump the priests,” Mrs. Myers said. “The kids were screaming and cheering.”

Fr. Chris is already looking forward to next year.

“Hopefully we will get more kids,” Fr. Chris said. “We gave out some really big candy bars. One of the teachers said the parents were already talking about it.”

The parents weren’t the only ones talking.

“I’m anticipating that we are going to have a longer list next year,” Mrs. Myers said. “At the end of the day, I heard kindergartners walking down the hall saying, ‘I’m going to be a saint next year!’”

Staff Spotlight: St. Philip High School Principal Vicky Groat

St. Philip High School Principal Vicky Groat has a no-nonsense demeanor, but her heart bleeds St. Philip red.

Vicky Groat giving blood at the last NHS blood drive.

“She really loves the school,” Mary Rabbitt, longtime St. Philip High School administrative assistant, said. “She will do anything to make sure it’s vibrant.”

Mrs. Groat graduated from St. Philip in 1985, the youngest child of celebrated St. Philip volleyball coach and teacher Shelia Guerra. She played on three of her mother’s nine state championship volleyball teams, before adding another ten state titles as a coach herself.

Vicky Groat has coached the Lady Tigers to ten state championships.

Although her mother saw her as an educator, Mrs. Groat had other plans. She earned a business degree from Central Michigan University. After staying home with her young son, Mrs. Groat took a job managing a kitchen cabinet shop.

When her mother died in 2006, Mrs. Groat left her job to grieve and think.

“I know my mom didn’t want me to do this,” Mrs. Groat said. “She thought I needed to get in the school. She always thought I should have gone into education. She thought I should be with the kids.”

St. Philip needed a student services director. Mrs. Groat applied for and got the job. Two years later, Terry Newton retired as St. Philip’s athletic director. Mrs. Groat applied for and got that job. Her son, her work, and her community were now under one familiar roof.

Vicky Groat and her son Blake at his St. Philip graduation.

Principal Tim May’s sudden death in 2014 plunged the school into grief and uncertainty. Mrs. Groat told Fr. John Fleckenstein, “Whatever you need me to do, I will do it.” He asked her to be interim principal.

Katie Reed, St. Joseph Elementary and Middle School assistant principal, was St. Philip’s social studies teacher at the time.

“She was a huge source of strength during a difficult time,” Ms. Reed said. “To have our own person – a home person – take the reins and get us through meant a lot.”

Mrs. Rabbitt, who has worked with 15 principals during her tenure, was impressed with Mrs. Groat’s approach.

“She has good instincts,” Mrs. Rabbitt said. “She will let kids know she is disappointed in something they did, but she also lets them know, ‘Okay, we’re done. Let’s move on.’”

"Vicky truly cares about the students and their success,” Fr. Fleckenstein said. “She demonstrates that she wants each graduate to walk out with a solid high school degree, with faith as it's foundation."

“She gets it,” Ms. Reed said. “She knows we are a family. It’s not just a school. It’s a family. You can tell, at the end of the day, every decision she makes comes from the heart.”

Although asked to consider the position permanently, Mrs. Groat declined. Being principal would mean earning her masters in administrative education while running a school, an athletic department, and a team. However, as the principal search stretched into its second year, Mrs. Groat changed her mind.

Why?

“Because it’s St. Phil,” Mrs. Groat said. “This place has a hold on you. My mom taught here for almost 30 years, I graduated from here – it’s a special place, and I want to be a part of it. It’s my family. There is no other place I would rather be.”

In other words, her mother was right.