Dexter High School Will End German Program Beginning 2013-2014 School Year

Students can take French or Spanish to fulfill their foreign language requirements beginning next year.

Editor's note: This article was republished with permission from the Dexter High School Squall. By Scott Rogers Dexter High School Squall As a result of declining enrollment in German classes during the past few years, German 1 will no longer be offered at Dexter High School beginning in the 2013-14 school year. Principal Kit Moran said he made an administrative decision that the German program is no longer sustainable. "I'm not making the decision because I don't like German," he said. "It's just that, when people don't take the classes, we stop offering them." Moran added that without students enrolled in German 1, it is unlikely that any other German classes will last long. "It's probably going to be the end of the German program," he …

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UPDATED: Dexter's Kerrigan Baird Commits to Grand Valley State University for Lacrosse

The DHS junior was scouted by seven colleges before deciding to attend Grand Valley State University.

Editor's note: This story was re-printed with permission from the Dexter High School Squall. It has been corrected to accurately report that Kerrigan Baird has verbally committed to Grand Valley State University. By Aman Mandair Dexter Squall Staff Dexter High School Junior Kerrigan Baird has long held a passion for lacrosse, joining the team her freshman year, playing for two years. And now Baird has committed to playing college lacrosse at Grand Valley State University (GVSU). She committed to GVSU at the beginning of the school year. “Grand Valley fit exactly what I was looking for in a college experience,” she said. “They have an incredible sports history and culture, paired with rigorous academics.” Baird was also approached by a …

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Dexter Students Question Editorial Cartoon in High School Newspaper

A group of International Baccalaureate students say a cartoon published in The Squall promotes bullying.

A recent Dexter student newspaper cartoon depicting one student beating up another is causing administration to work more closely with the newspaper editorial board to discuss future editorial cartoons. The cartoon accompanied an unsigned editorial, published in the Nov. 16 edition of The Squall, addressing the newspaper staff's concerns with the district's implementation of an IB program, which they argue funnels thousands of dollars away from other programs in the district, including Advanced Placement (AP) classes. "This year, 49 students are enrolled within the IB program, 26 of which are diploma candidates. Those 26 students are undoubtedly intelligent and thinking about their futures. But ultimately IB is not worth it. Not worth the …

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Daniel Lai

9:01 am on Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Check out this story. Dexter resident Brent Courson is reaching out to the community to gauge interest in a virtual sailing program for special needs students, http://patch.com/A-1DHD   more ›

Dexter Journalism Teacher Receives National Education Award

Rod Satterthwaite is the recipient of the National Scholastic Press Association's "Distinguished Adviser" Award.

For more than a decade, Rod Satterthwaite has led Dexter High School's journalism program to countless awards. On Saturday, Satterthwaite himself will be recognized by his peers at the Journalism Education Association/National Scholastic Press Association convention in San Antonio. Satterthwaite, the faculty adviser for The Squall, the high school's student newspaper, was nominated for the Distinguished Advisor Award through the Dow Jones Newspaper Teacher of the Year competition. “I think it's a great honor because the judging panel is a pretty prestigious group of people,” Satterthwaite said. “I'm sure there are a lot of great advisers who applied, so to be classified as distinguished is pretty exciting.” He said he was encouraged to …

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Dexter Media Teacher Matt Martello Steps Down After 10 Years

The media literacy, video production, and speech teacher said he needs time to re-evaluate his career goals.

By Jacob Rich Dexter High School Squall Following the 2011-2012 school year, Media Literacy, Video Production, and Speech teacher Matt Martello decided to take a one-year leave of absence. While much student speculation has taken place as to the exact reason for his departure, the reason for the departure was simply that Martello needed a change. “There were many good times, but a lot of negativity crept into my daily routine in the past couple of years,” he said. “I have become frustrated and disillusioned with the teaching profession. Suffice it to say, I do not believe teaching is for me anymore. My attitude could certainly change throughout the year, but currently, that’s where I’m at right now.” Martello’s current location is in Las …

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Dexter Journalism Students Win Awards at Summer MIPA Conference

Four Dexter High School students were recognized for editorial writing and design of a high school newspaper at Michigan State University on Aug. 2.

Dexter High School journalism students Katie VonTom, Lauren DeHaan, Abby Mesaros, and Erin Lashbrook were recently honored by the Michigan Interscholastic Press Association (MIPA) for their contributions to The Squall student newspaper. The students attended a week-long MIPA conference July 28 through Aug. 2 at Michigan State University along with schools across the state to learn how to design, edit, and publish a newspaper. "The workshops were really informative," Lashbrook said. Lashbrook, a senior at DHS, was recognized for her opinion columns, and will serve as the Squall's opinion/feature editor and business manager in the fall. "I was really surprised to win an award," she said. "Our newspaper staff works hard to receive recognition…

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Dexter High School Freshman Ian Bejster Joins Cast of 'On Golden Pond'

The Dexter student will be featured in the upcoming show at the Purple Rose Theatre in Chelsea beginning June 21.

Culver's Restaurant Opening Franchise June 4 on Jackson Road

The Wisconsin-based fast food restaurant specializes in hamburgers and frozen custard.

Dexter Board of Education Approves Six-Year Term Lengths

Board members cite leadership stability as the main reason for switching from four-year terms.

Members of the Dexter Community Schools Board of Education can now be elected to a six-year term following an unanimous decision by the board at its meeting on Monday. The decision comes after Gov. Rick Snyder signed House Bills 427 and 4005 in 2011, which standardizes school board elections across the state. The law requires school districts to hold elections during the general elections in November of even-numbered years. Previously, school districts were allowed to hold elections independently of state and national elections. The change is expected to save some school districts upward of $8 million over a two-year election cycle according to the governor's office. President Larry Cobler said the new requirement has the potential to …

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Barbara Read

12:21 pm on Wednesday, May 9, 2012

You can watch the board discussion and vote in favor of 6 year terms online here. Skip to 1:04:23 at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJjlaJxFcUU. The actual vote takes place at 1:19:10 after 15 minutes of discussion, and the only community member to speak against the longer terms can be seen just before the discussion period at 1:03:08.   more ›

Dexter Schools Show Their Support for Earth Day

Trees donated from Lodi Farms were planted at each of the schools on April 22.