President Karan selected Chuck Dib to give The Pledge with Gary injecting some random melodies. He subsequently performed the national anthem with no surprises. Ed Mastry led Rotarians in “The Four-Way Test.” Sarah Lee did the invocation and blessed her brother, Robert Lee, on his birthday. She also hoped Tom Davies was well since he was not present at the lunch. Our lunch menu included an offering of chicken breast, fettuccine Alfredo, green beans, chicken and vegetable soup, green salad and rolls. Dessert included an assortment of chocolate chip and pretzel cookies.

 

President Karan thanked and complimented Dana Camphous-Peterson on setting up the private tour of the new McLaren Hospital Tower. Event was on January 23,  from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.  As noted in the previous bulletin at the lunch, light refreshments and special accommodations were included as part of the event.

 

Beth Pryor announced guests and visitors for this meeting.
Guests & visitors included:
Christine LaTour – Port Huron
Mei Ling Thomas – Speaker, CMPL Deposit Collection Program
Brittany Wesner – Speaker, CMPL Deposit Collection Program
Speakers were guests of Larry Neal

 

 

 

 

Julie Miller announced Rotarians with birthdays for the week.

Member birthdays included: Ken Steele and Robert Lee.
Club Birthday: Sam D’Angelo. He proudly announced his 57th club year? After some further clarification, we found out he has not been a member since birth, but he's been a member for eight years.

 

 

Ed Mastry to his girlfriend GiGi; Larry Neal to speakers, Mei Ling Thomas and Brittany Wesner; Robert Lee to Christine LaTour for being a visitor to the meeting; Gary Felts to Ken Steele and Ed Mastry for helping to set up for the meeting; Jeff Furest to Dana Camphous-Peterson for setting up private tour of new McLaren surgical tower.

 

Ken Steele had a repeat opportunity to select the music for the meeting. He chose some well known lyrics to #68- “You're a Grand Ole Flag” and #42- “All Hail to Rotary.”

 

 

No sunshine reports. No Goodwill

 

 

 

Dana Camphous-Peterson thanked all the Mount Clemens Rotarians that were able to sign up for the exclusive new hospital addition tour. There was still availability and she would need any last-minute interests to be given to her by the end of the lunch. Complimentary parking would be provided and guests needed to arrive by 5:30 p.m.

 

 

Jeff Furest announced that the Florist for the Party of the Century was selected for the event. Bellasario Florists will be providing the floral arrangements and the cost would be $3K to $4K for the event. To date, a total of $250K has been raised. Attendees will be “wowed” by the visual surprise of the party event and atmosphere. Based on what has been currently raised, two tickets will be available for decade sponsors. 23 decade sponsors are needed.  

 

Jeff also reminded the Rotarians of the April social event at the Jack Daniels Experience in Tennessee. The event is being covered by donors. A total of $750 per person will cover travel (Delta had best airfare) and other expenses for the trip. If extra money remains, it will likely be donated to the Rotary or put toward the Century Party event. Jeff Furest, Ken Steele, Don Carnaghi and Jeff Hosey are currently signed up for the event.

 

 

 

 

Sam D'Angelo once again had the honors of doing recognition. Bob Cannon was commended for attending, but was asked about the missing badge. Forgetting it cost Bob $1. Ray Glime was asked to share his “joke” with the Rotarians. “Why was the cannibal expelled from school?” Ray asked. After some awkward silence, he responded “Because he tried to butter up the teacher.”  After some groaning and given a “5" rating for bad, Ray was fined $1.

 

 

Gary was called out for his fingers slipping on the keyboard during the pledge and was fined $1.

 

Julie Miller was asked about the cookie crumbs on her before the meeting started. She was fined $1 for not sharing what she enjoyed just before the meeting.

 

Sam asked Dana Camphous-Peterson something critical was missing on her badge. Where was the wheel on her badge?  Since getting the wheel on the badge is Valerie Miller's responsibility, she was fined $2.

 

Sam called out all of the Rotarians that were going to the McLaren site visit. All nonparticipants were fined a $1.

 

Jeff Furest was asked about his “accident” at home.  His wife, Angela left a laundry basket in his “path to the door.” Jeff tripped over the basket and got his shoulder hurt and a concussion. His wife came back and after seeing his predicament, blames it on him for being in a rush. Jeff was fined $3 for the event and “lack of awareness.” 

 

Robert Lee was asked about his tardiness. Sam noted that we missed his usually prompt timing and was fined $1. Sarah Lee was fined $2 for not giving a quick enough answer for her brother's age.

 

 

 

Mei Ling Thomas & Brittany Wesner, “Clinton-Macomb Library Book Deposit Collection Program”

 

Larry Neal began the presentation by noting that the Clinton-Macomb Public Library (CMPL) district includes approximately 180,000 residents. This is a large district with a focus on growing readers, connecting and being successful for youth to meet mandated reading milestones. 

 

The 3rd grade reading mandates from the state and the crisis certain districts have on getting the students to be ready to meet those goals. With school librarians disappearing from schools, accessibility to reading media is more difficult, thus reading levels are down. The CMPL is looking to help a total of two school districts and four partial districts with the reading and literacy challenges.

 

Ms. Thomas and Ms. Wesner introduced themselves and began to discuss how the Book Deposit Collection Program has help local schools with accessibility to reading. The main goal and focus was equity and access to age-appropriate reading materials. The CMPL is cooperating with a total of 68 schools with this program.  Some of the students are not in the CMPL district, which makes access difficult. 

 

The CMPL has implemented a “Connect Ed” program, which utilizes a “Virtual Library Card” to access all digital media. Once a student comes into one of the branches with this card, they can get a full access library card as long as they are students. Other counties, such as Oakland County, have joined the program.

 

To add additional context, the presenters cited the 2016 mandate that 3rd graders must pass a measurable reading level or they will be held back a year.  The library and schools are trying to communicate the importance of the 3rd grade literacy standards and how the students are tested throughout the year. 

 

Lack of school resources is a problem in meeting those goals.   hey noted some exceptions to the “read/flunk” law existing.  Some of the exceptions include: demonstration of literacy through a student portfolio, student was previously held back, English is a second language, no defined reading plan in a previous school, etc.

 

The CMPL has a program in place to support early literacy (Kindergarten to 4th grade).  Book programs for each grade include:

·    Kindergarten Challenge – 100 preselected books for kindergarteners.

·    50 and First – 50 preselected books for 1st graders with a mix of picture and EZ readers.  Some chapter books

·    Critical Reading – 50 books where 2nd graders are encouraged to read aloud to enhance reading fluency

·    True 25 – 25 books for 3rd graders are shifting from “learning to read” to “learning to read.”  

·    Books Outside the Box – Books for 4th graders that cover a variety of different topics.

 

The lack of completers of this CMPL program is due to accessibility to the books.

The CMPL's Book Deposit Collection Program was specifically designed to provide the needed accessibility to these books for K-4 students. Bins of the books are prepared at the CMPL and delivered to the classroom. The bins are left in the classroom for one month and a new bin is added (total of eight different bins per year.)

 

A recent pilot program was performed with 2nd graders with only five bins and the reception was very positive.  Children loved the collections and quality of the reading material.

 

The Friends of the Library have raised sufficient donations and funds for a total of 16 bins. The Mount Clemens Rotary is also providing the support for this program.  There are now books in reserve now. A book plate with the sponsor's name is noted on each bin in this program.

 

The next steps of this program include hands-on literary activities and inclusion of an audio component.

 

This program is working effectively with the growing number of bins and support. The reading material is constantly reviewed and updated. At all times 12 bins are in circulation with four bins in review. The bins are set up so there are no repeats to students and the schedule stays fresh.  

 

Results of the program are premature at this time.Once test scores begin to be reported after this year's class, a measurable impact on this program can be better explained. Teachers and students have given numerous positive reviews on the program.

 

Several questions surfaced from this presentation.

 

 

Larry Neal concluded that youth literacy is a core focus for Rotary and $1,000 has been contributed from the Mount Clemens Rotary Club for the CMPL Book Deposit Collection Program. Previously, the Friends of the Rotary have contributed $13,000 of seed money to start the program. Donations for this cause make the choices on spending the money more flexible. The need for media specialists in the schools is imperative. That will best convey the subject content to the varying age groups.

Happy Birthday
1/20    Kenneth Steele

 

Celebrating a Club Anniversary
Salvatore D'Angelo (8)