Tag Archives: Godfrey Lee High School

Lee football team grows in number; hopes to build off last year’s experience



By Ty Marzean

WKTV Contributor



Though the Lee Legends finished their first full season in the Southwestern Michigan 8-Man Football League (Tier 2) with an 0-6 record, they enter the 2023 season with a wealth of experience and understanding of the game.



The Legends return everyone but one player, graduate Elijah Beckwith. Worth noting, the team grew in numbers from 19 to 25 over last year.



In his second season leading the team, Lee Coach Lamar Marshall is excited to build off the experience they gained last year.

Lee quarterback Anthony Blok. (WKTV/Hayden Passig)



“They understand the game a lot better,” said Marshall, whose team finished 0-9 overall last season. “During chalk talk, they even correct me sometimes.”



Marshall has stressed the importance of execution to his players.



“If we don’t execute, we will be our own worst enemy this year.”



Junior Anthony Blok returns as the quarterback of the Legends, but has freshman Jayden Sanchez nipping at his heels.






“Anthony will bring a lot to our run game, and his deep ball is pretty good and has gotten even better during off-season workouts,” said Marshall, who had many positive thoughts about his freshman quarterback as well. “Jayden Sanchez is going to be the future of Lee football. He’s smart and can manage our short passing game.


Lee Football Coach Lamar Marshall. (WKTV/Hayden Passig)



“This quarterback battle has made them both a lot better.”



Sanchez isn’t the only newcomer to the Legends roster.

Fresh from the basketball team

Two of the new faces are from the basketball court. Clarence Lewis and Jaden Potts move to the gridiron after helping the Legends basketball team secure their first conference title in 43 years last winter.



Lewis jumps into his new role as the starting running back, while Potts makes his impact felt on the defensive side of the ball.



Marshall and defensive coordinator Damion Gregory have created a hybrid safety/linebacker position for Potts called the “Rebel” position.



“He can tackle with the best … he’s very smart, one of the smartest kids I have ever coached,” Marshall said. “He can play in the box and coverage both very well.”


Senior cornerback Kam’ron Washington. (WKTV/Hayden Passig)



Senior cornerback Kam’ron Washington and sophomore wide receiver Aiden Merriweather return to a Legends team that wants to continue the culture change at Lee.



“We are ready to change who we are as a school, change the way people see us,” Washington said.



The Lee Legends kick off the 2023 season on August 24 at Baldwin. 


WKTV Friday Night Highlights show is back next week!

Just like we did during basketball season, every Friday we’ll bring you many great high school football clips from the Wyoming and Kentwood area teams, highlight some top performers and their stats, give final scores, and show a snapshot of the latest conference standings in an exciting 30-minute program.

As a bonus, we’ll have a reporter on the field at the Game of the Week to interview coaches and players for the show and occasionally have them come into our studio for a live interview as well. 

You won’t want to miss all our great local coverage. Thanks for tuning in!

COVID-19 drives Lee middle and high schools to go virtual until late January

Lee Middle and High School. (WKTV)

By K.D. Norris

ken@wktv.org

Godfrey-Lee Public Schools announced today that due to confirmed COVID-19 cases among the Lee middle and high schools populations, and in consultation with the Kent County Health Department and the district nurse from Spectrum Health, the two schools would move to virtual learning and continue that way until at least Jan. 22, 2021.

In a Nov. 13 letter to middle and high school families signed by superintendent Kevin Polston and posted on the district website, it was stated that “today, we learned of additional students with confirmed positive cases of COVID-19 at Lee Middle and High School. This past week, we have had 4 staff/students with confirmed cases, 125 students in quarantine, 7 staff in quarantine.

“In addition, the rise in cases and positivity rate, as well as decreasing hospital capacity are causes for concern for the safety of all community members.”

In response to the situation, the letter continues, the district will shift to virtual learning at Lee Middle and High School (both schools share a building) starting Monday, Nov. 16 through Friday, Jan. 22, 2021.

At this time, the district will keep Godfrey-Lee ECC and Godfrey Elementary School open for in-person instruction. In addition, student meals will be available for curbside pick-up at Lee Middle and High School on Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. near the building’s gym entrance off of Havana Avenue.

Also, according to the letter, “any student that has symptoms consistent with COVID-19, such as fever, cough, difficulty breathing, headache, or fatigue, or has been identified as a close contact should quarantine and is eligible for a COVID-19 test kit at school. There is no cost to the family and results have been returned in 24 hours or less.”
 

Students that need a test can schedule an appointment by calling the district at 616-452-3296.

As far as athletics are concerned, high school athletics will continue practices as scheduled. But middle school Winter I athletic competitions are paused, while practices will continue.

“Please do not hesitate to contact Lee Middle and High School with any questions or concerns at 616-452-3296,” the letter concludes.

For more information visit Godfrey-Lee.org. To read a Spanish language version of the letter, fro the website click on Lee Update 11/13/20.



40 teams to compete at GVSU in FIRST Robotics event

Color coordinated fans are ready to cheer on their team at GVSU’s 2018 FIRST Robotics competition. (WKTV)

By Nate Hoekstra
GVSU


Teams from 40 West Michigan high schools will compete for robotic supremacy at the annual FIRST Robotics event hosted by Grand Valley State University. 

The teams will compete on March 22-23 at Grand Valley’s Fieldhouse Arena in a challenge where they will use the robot that they have designed and built to fill a cargo ship and rocket with elements from space. Teams will race the clock, as well as their opponents, to pick up as much cargo as they can. 

Grand Valley students and alumni will volunteer at the event to encourage students to pursue careers in STEM fields. 

FIRST Robotics is a unique competition model where students gain real-world experience designing, programming, creating and marketing a robot to win the competition. Many teams work hand-in-hand with industry mentors and gain experience and skills not available in a traditional classroom setting.

The competition will be live-streamed on Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/firstinmi03

For more information, visit http://firstinmichigan.us/FRC/

School News Network: Never too late to graduate

Ken Olson (School News Network)

By Bridie Bereza

School News Network

 

When Ken Olson was a junior, he left Lee High School to enlist in the Army, where he spent two years stationed at Fort Knox, Kentucky. While enlisted, he earned a GED which, he was told, he could bring to his alma mater in exchange for a high school diploma.

 

Years after his discharge, he went to the then-principal at Lee and said he was told no — you can’t get your diploma until you take 12th-grade English.

 

The years slipped by Olson settled in Lowell where he worked for CSX. He met and married his wife, Sherry. He retired from the railroad after 44 years. But he never did get that diploma.

 

Ken Olson’s basketball picture, taken his junior year of high school. (School News Network)

‘We’ll Help You With Yours’

 

Last summer, however, Sparta Adult Education opened a location at the Alpha Family Center in Lowell. During one of their outreach efforts, Sherry was talking to Tom Bratt, a teacher at SAE. She asked if he might help her husband get that diploma. They figured that he might just have to take the English course, and he’d be all set.

 

Bratt loves detective work, making connections and putting pieces together, so he got to work figuring out how to make this happen.

 

“We tell diploma-seekers, ‘Each student has their own story and we’ll help you with yours,’” he said. Although this story was certainly unique.

 

“This was a completely new scenario for us,” said Heather Holland, director of education for SAE. Nevertheless, Bratt and Ken began piecing together the information they needed.

 

Many of Olson’s service records were gone, casualties of a July 12, 1973 fire at the National Personnel Records Center in Minneapolis, which destroyed 16-18 million military personnel files.

 

Olson produced assorted discharge papers and records that he would have pitched, but that Sherry had kept stored away. They connected with the Department of Veterans Affairs and found a program that allowed service members who had enlisted during certain dates during World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War, and who had earned a GED, to obtain diplomas. Ken missed the timeline by two weeks, but the VA said if Olson could secure permission from his former high school’s district superintendent, that would work.

 

Godfrey-Lee Superintendent Kevin Polston presents Ken Olson with his diploma for the class of 1952. (School News Network)

Finally, the Diploma

 

When Bratt contacted Godfrey-Lee Public Schools, he immediately found an ally in Leela, executive assistant to Superintendent Kevin Polston. Her father, who served in World War II, had earned his diploma in his 70s, and she remembers him bursting with pride when he finally received it. The district just needed to verify that Olson attended Lee. The high school had no records of Olson, so Polston suggested checking yearbooks. It took just a few minutes to find all the evidence needed, and Leela got the go-ahead to order the diploma, complete with the likely graduation date: the Lee High School class of 1952.

 

On Nov. 12, Olson was invited to the Godfrey-Lee Public School District’s Board of Education meeting. There, at age 85, he received that piece of paper he’d been hoping for.

 

“It was great getting that diploma,” he said, adding that he was especially pleased that it made him a graduate of the class of 1952. “They gave me pictures of all my classmates from that year, and I remember a lot of them. It was just great.”

 

“Now what I should do is go and get a college degree,” he joked.

 

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Lee high girls soccer hosts ‘Copa Rebelde’ with eye on Latino heritage

At Lee High School’s Copa Rebelde and on other local fields, several local girls high school soccer teams will be in action this weekend.

By K.D. Norris

ken@wktv.org

 

The Lee High School girls soccer team, on Saturday, May 12, will host its first Copa Rebelde — Rebel Cup, for those of you not bilingual, which most of coach Gabriel Snyder’s team is.

 

And while the event should feature some great tournament soccer action, it will also be a community celebration of sorts.

 

“We are lucky to have a team and community that can embrace their cultural heritage as much as they do,” coach Snyder said to WKTV. “Copa is ultimately just a word but that word represents more than a tournament cup. It represents our small community’s strong ties with Latin America.

 

“This event also brings in a community of athletes and their families because baseball and softball are playing tournaments on the same day. It will be a great day to be a Rebel.”

 

The Copa Rebelde field will feature the Lee varsity team hosting teams from West Michigan Aviation Academy and Wyoming Potter’s House Christian High School.

 

The schedule has Potter’s House vs Lee at 10 a.m., WMAA vs Potter’s House at 11:30 a.m., and Lee vs WMAA at 1 p.m.

 

Each contest will be 60-minute games, 30-minute halves with a 10 minute halftime. There will be no overtime, with tie games decided by penalty shoot out. The tournament champion will be determined by record, then point differential/shoot out victory.

 

The tournament counts as one game date against each team’s schedule per MHSAA guidelines.

 

This is not the first time Lee has hosted the Copa Rebelde, but the first time it was not a boys team tournament.

 

“We have hosted a boys tournament in the fall the last several years and decided it was high time we held one for our girls as well,” said John Cain, assistant athletic director at Lee.

 

“To the girls, it is an opportunity to play competitive soccer in a different format,” Snyder said. “This year’s team has not found a lot of success on the field but has shown a ton of leadership on and off the field. For them it is just another opportunity to showcase that leadership. I am excited to finally give them an opportunity for tourney play at our home field.”

 

While the Lee varsity team has a “rely on everyone approach. We do have a couple of surprising standouts this year,” Snyder said. “Kristy Medina is our primary forward; she is fast and can make you miss. She is a calm leader.

 

“Our entire starting defense — Jazmin Pena, Karina Lopez, Yesenia Santos, and Vanessa Camargo — have played the hardest on our team this year. Long games of multiple shots, these four are bruised up and still tough.

 

“Lastly, our keeper, Jennifer Hernandez. She moved up from JV in the beginning of the year and has really improved as the season has moved along.”

 

Two local teams make it to state FIRST robotics competition

The state competition will take place tomorrow and Friday at Saginaw Valley State University.

Two local rookie teams, Lee High School’s Rebel Robotics and Potter’s House Tactical Hams, have qualified for the Michigan State Championship for FIRST Robotics set for this weekend, running through Saturday.

 

In a recent letter to residents and friends of the Godfrey Lee Public Schools, Superintendent Kevin Polsten noted that the Rebel Robotics finished runner-up “in both invitationals they have participated in. It goes to show the success that can be had when we provide opportunities to our students.”

 

Being first year teams, both teams receive grants from the FIRST Robotics organization. Polsten said the district is looking to identify a financial and technical partner to support the efforts of the program. Anyone interested in donating to the Lee Robotics team is encouraged to visit the district website at Godfrey-Lee.org .

 

 

Currently, there is a fundraising effort for the Lee robotics team to help them go to state which is at Saginaw Valley State University. The estimated cost is more than $8,000 to send the team. For more information, contact the administration offices.

 

To watch the state competition live, which is tomorrow and Friday, go to http://www.firstinmichigan.org/stream.php. To check out the WKTV coverage of the March 30 and 31 district meet at East Kentwood High School, click here.

 

To learn more about FIRST Robotics, go to firstinspires.org.

Wyoming vs. S. Christian hoops doubleheader on WKTV featured schedule

Last year, Godfrey-Lee Public Schools inducted six new members into their Hall of Fame prior to a boys basketball game at Lee High School. (WKTV)

 

WKTV Staff

sports@wktv.org

 

Key conference games, as well as Wyoming Lee’s annual Hall of Fame games, are on the schedule this week as WKTV’s sports crew will be on the road Jan. 12 with a doubleheader of boys and girls basketball at Wyoming High School when the South Christian Sailors challenge the Wolves in a pair of key early year OK Conference Gold games.

 

On the girls side, Wyoming enters with an 0-1 conference record, 4-3 overall, after opening up OK Gold play with a tough 49-46 road loss at Thornapple Kellogg Friday, Jan. 5, and before another road game Tuesday, Jan. 9, at Forest Hills Eastern. South Christian will enter 1-0 in conference after a 59-29 home win over Forest Hills Eastern Friday, 5-2 overall, before hosting Grand Rapids Christian Tuesday.

 

On the boys side, Wyoming enters with an 1-0 conference record, 4-2 overall, after opening up OK Gold play with a 67-37 win at Thornapple Kellogg and before a home game Tuesday, Jan. 9, against Forest Hills Eastern. South Christian will enter 1-0 in conference, 4-1 overall, after a 56-50 win Forest Hills Eastern Friday and before a road game at Christian Tuesday.

 

Wyoming Lee will host Kelloggsville on Friday in the school’s annual Hall of Fame game.

 

The remainder of the tentative January Featured Game broadcast schedule is:

Tuesday. Jan. 16 — Boys Basketball: West Ottawa at East Kentwood

Tuesday, Jan. 23 — Boys Basketball: NorthPointe Christian at Godwin Heights

Thursday, Jan. 25 — Boys Swimming: Grandville at East Kentwood

 

Currently, each Tuesday game will be broadcast that night on WKTV Comcast Channel 25 at 11 p.m. and repeat on Wednesday at 5 p.m. Each Friday game will be aired that night on WKTV 25 at 11 p.m. and repeat Saturday at 11 a.m. The games can also be seen on AT&T U-verse 99.

 

All games, as well as other high school sports and community events covered by WKTV, are available on-demand within a week of play at wktv.viebit.com.

 

For a complete schedule of all local high school sports action each week, any changes to the WKTV feature sports schedule, and features on local sports, visit wktvjournal.org/sports/

 

Local high school sports events this week are as follows:

Monday, Jan. 8

Boys/Girls Bowling

Kelloggsville @ Godwin Heights

Unity Christian @ Wyoming

Wyoming Lee @ Calvin Christian

Catholic Central @ Tri-Unity Christian

 

Tuesday Jan. 9

Girls Basketball

Godwin Heights @ Kelloggsville

Wyoming @ FH Eastern

Caledonia @ East Kentwood – WKTV Featured Game

Holland Black River @ Grand River Prep

West Michigan Aviation @ Martin

Zion Christian @ Holland Calvary

West Michigan Lutheran @ WMAES

Hopkins @ Tri-Unity Christian

Christian @ South Christian

Boys Basketball

Kelloggsville @ Godwin Heights

FH Eastern @ Wyoming

Wyoming Lee @ Calvin Christian

Caledonia @ East Kentwood

Covenant Christian @ Potter’s House

Holland Black River @ Grand River Prep

West Michigan Aviation @ Martin

West Michigan Lutheran @ WMAES

Hopkins @ Tri-Unity Christian

South Christian @ Christian

Girls Cheer

@ East Kentwood – Falcon Invite

 

Wednesday, Jan. 10

Boys/Girls Bowling

Godwin Heights @ Belding

Kelloggsville @ NorthPointe Christian

Wyoming @ Zeeland East

Potter’s House @ Wyoming Lee

Boys Wrestling

Godwin Heights @ Coopersville

NorthPointe Christian @ Kelloggsville

FH Eastern @ Wyoming

TBA @ Wyoming Lee

Hudsonville @ East Kentwood

Girls Cheer

Godwin Heights @ NorthPointe Christian

Kelloggsville @ NorthPointe Christian

Wyoming Lee @ NorthPointe Christian

Boys Hockey

Catholic Central @ East Kentwood

 

Thursday, Jan. 11

Boys/Girls Bowling

Wyoming Lee @ Tri-Unity Christian

Boys Swimming

West Ottawa @ East Kentwood

 

Friday, Jan. 12

Girls Basketball

Godwin Heights @ Hopkins

South Christian @ Wyoming – WKTV Featured Game

West Michigan Aviation @ Potter’s House

Holland Calvary @ Grand River Prep

Calvary Christian @ Zion Christian

West Michigan Lutheran @ Creative Technologies

Tri-Unity Christian @ Covenant Christian

Boys Basketball

Godwin Heights @ Hopkins

South Christian @ Wyoming – WKTV Featured Game

Kelloggsville @ Wyoming Lee – Hall of Fame Game

West Michigan Aviation @ Potter’s House

Holland Calvary @ Grand River Prep

Calvary Christian @ Zion Christian

West Michigan Lutheran @ Creative Technologies Academy

Tri-Unity Christian @ Covenant Christian

Boys Wrestling

Wyoming Lee @ Kelloggsville

Boys Hockey

East Kentwood @ FH Central

Rockford @ South Christian/BC/Wayland

Boys/Girls Bowling

Potter’s House @ Muskegon Orchard View

 

Saturday, Jan. 13

Girls Cheer

Godwin Heights @ Wyoming

Kelloggsville @ Allendale

Wyoming Lee @ Allendale

Boys Wrestling

Kelloggsville @ Fruitport

Wyoming @ West Catholic

East Kentwood @ West Catholic – Dunneback Invite

Boys/Girls Bowling

Kelloggsville @ Lowell

East Kentwood @ Rockford

Boys Swimming

East Kentwood @ Kalamazoo Loy Norrix

Boys Hockey

West Ottawa @ South Christian/BC/Wayland

 

Monday, Jan. 15

Boys/Girls Bowling

NorthPointe Christian @ Godwin Heights

Belding @ Kelloggsville

Wyoming Lee @ Hopkins

Wyoming @ East Grand Rapids

Girls Cheer

Kelloggsville @ Comstock Park

 

Several area schools have half days, cancel games due to heat

From the National Weather Service

Along with record highs for the month of September comes another first for the month: school closings due to the heat.

 

Several area schools announced half days due to the high temperatures that were expected to reach 92 degrees today, according to the National Weather Service. Among those schools closing early today were Godfrey Lee Public Schools, Kentwood Public Schools, and Wyoming Public Schools. Godfrey Lee Public Schools also cancelled its TEAM 21 program for today. Kentwood Public Schools cancelled Arch and after school day care todayalong with tonight’s soccer game at East Kentwood High School.

 

From Kentwood Public Schools’ Facebook the district stated  “The temperatures for this evening are again supposed to get down into the mid to low 60s which does cool off our buildings without air conditioning until around noon. We know this will provide some challenges for our parents but we needed to make a decision based on the safety of our students and staff.

 

From the National Weather Service

“We will again monitor the temperatures on Monday afternoon as the forecast for Tuesday is beginning to cool. We will try to make a decision for Tuesday by the same time tomorrow evening.”

 

According to the National Weather Service, temperatures for Tuesday are expected to reach 91 degrees with the weather starting to cool down on Wednesday.

 

School officials recommend residents and participants check with the school or district for delays or cancellations before heading out to attend any school-related function or event.

 

 

 

 

Game on: WKTV’s featured game for Friday, March 10

WKTV’s high school sports coverage crew was at Monday night’s tipoff of the opening round of the MHSAA district tournament at Godwin Heights. We will be there for the finals Friday. (WKTV)

WKTV Staff

 

This week WKTV’s featured Friday night high school sports event will be the finals of the boys MHSAA Basketball Basketball District 50 tournament at Wyoming Godwin Heights.

 

In Monday opening-round games, tournament host Godwin Heights had an easy time in a 80-32 win over West Michigan Aviation Academy, and (in WKTV’s covered feature game) Wyoming Kellogsville scored a 87-49 win over Kentwood’s Grand River Prep.

 

Tonight (Thursday, March 9) games will find Kellogsville (now 18-3) trying to avoid the upset by Wyoming-Lee (10-10) in the 6 p.m. game. Then Godwin Heights (20-1) will face off with Grand Rapids South Christian (10-10) at 8 p.m.

 

The winners of those games will play Friday, with WKTV cameras on hand, for the District title and a berth in the Region 11 Regional Tournament next week.

 

Th game will be aired that night on Live Wire 24 at 10:30 p.m. and repeat Saturday at 11 a.m. on WKTV 25 and AT&T U-verse 99.

 

For a complete schedule of all local high school sports action in January, see now.wktv.org/sports/

 

DVDs and Blue-Rays of each game are also available for purchase at $20 including shipping. For more information, visit WKTV.org

 

Game on: WKTV’s featured games for Feb. 14-17

This week’s WKTV featured sports coverage includes basketball.

WKTV Staff

 

This week in WKTV’s featured high school sport games, the coverage crew will be at Wyoming Lee for boys basketball game against Kelloggsville on Tuesday, Feb. 14, and then at East Kentwood for a hockey game against Grandville on Friday, Feb. 17.

 

WKTV videos and broadcasts several games each week during high school sports season.

 

Each Tuesday game will be broadcast that night on Live Wire Comcast Channel 24 at 10:30 p.m. throughout the Grand Rapids Metro Area and repeat on Wednesday at 5:00 p.m. on  WKTV Comcast Channel 25 and AT&T U-verse Channel 99 in Wyoming & Kentwood. Every Friday game will be aired that night on Live Wire 24 at 10:30 p.m. and repeat Saturday at 11 a.m. on WKTV 25 and AT&T U-verse 99.

 

For a complete schedule of all local high school sports action in January, see now.wktv.org/sports/

 

DVDs and Blue-Rays of each game are also available for purchase at $20 including shipping. For more information, visit WKTV.org

 

February brings beginning of high school winter championships

The East Kentwood High School’s boys basketball team will be one of the featured team in WKTV’s February coverage plans. (WKTV)

By Mike Moll

WKTV Sports

 

Some of the regular seasons of the winter schedules conclude in February leading to their respective championships late in the month as well as into March.

 

Girls Basketball tips off their District play Feb. 27 and into the first several days of March leading to the State Championships at The Breslin Center on the campus of Michigan State on Saturday, March 18.

 

Boys and Girls bowling are rolling into their Regionals Feb. 24-25, with State Championships March 3-4 at various sites. Girls cheer has Districts Feb. 17-18 followed by Regionals the following weekend, on Feb. 25, and then the championships March 3-4 at The DeltaPlex in Grand Rapids.

 

Boys ice hockey drops the puck on Regional play between Feb. 27 and March 4. Wrestling will hold both individual and team Districts Feb. 8-11, Regionals on the Feb. 15 and 18, with team finals on Feb. 24 and 25 at Central Michigan University and individual finals at The Palace of Auburn Hills March 2-4.

 

WKTV will continue to bring two nights of area games each week, with the following schedule, as well as bringing March Madness basketball matchups as games are announced and teams remain in the tournament.

 

Wednesday, Feb. 8 —Hockey, Reeths-Puffer @ East Kentwood

Friday, Feb. 10 — Hockey, Mona Shores @ East Kentwood

Tuesday, Feb. 14 — Boys basketball, Kelloggsville @ Wyoming Lee

Friday, Feb. 17 — Hockey, Grandville @ East Kentwood

Tuesday, Feb. 21 — Girls basketball, Hudsonville @ East Kentwood

Saturday, Feb. 25 — Hockey, FH Central @ East Kentwood

Tuesday, Feb. 28 — Boys basketball, Grand Rapids Christian @ Godwin Heights

 

Each Tuesday game will be broadcast that night on Live Wire Comcast Channel 24 at 10:30 p.m. throughout the Grand Rapids Metro Area and repeat on Wednesday at 5:00 p.m. on  WKTV Comcast Channel 25 and AT&T U-verse Channel 99 in Wyoming & Kentwood. Every Friday game will be aired that night on Live Wire 24 at 10:30 p.m. and repeat Saturday at 11 a.m. on WKTV 25 and AT&T U-verse 99.

 

For a complete schedule of all local high school sports action in February, see now.wktv.org/sports/

 

Godfrey-Lee schools induct new members into Hall of Fame

Godfrey-Lee Public Schools inducted six new members into their Hall of Fame prior to a boys basketball game on Jan. 20 at Lee High School. (WKTV)

By K.D. Norris

ken@wktv.org

 

Godfrey-Lee Public Schools inducted six new members into its Hall of Fame late last month, and while the most Rebel-rousing acceptance speech was given by — no surprise — long-time football coach and educator Thomas DeGennaro, the district’s hall of fame is for more than only athletic personalities.

 

The induction ceremony, which took place prior to a boys basketball game on Jan. 20 at Lee High School, also included a war hero, a university professor, a long-time school board member, a school band leader and a woman who gave back to the school system almost up to her last day.

 

Football coach and educator Thomas DeGennaro. (WKTV)

DeGennaro — who has served as teacher, principal and now, again, varsity football coach — was the final of the inductees to speak, and he spoke clearly about what it means to be a Lee High Rebel.

 

“I have been grateful to work with some of the toughest kids in the United States,” DeGennaro said. “To be a Rebel means you are willing to stand up against the establishment. You have to be willing to put yourself on the line when you stand up. Our kids here do this every day.

 

“They overcome obstacles that would unimaginable to surrounding districts. Many of our students are immigrants, or children of immigrants, much like my grandparents … These students overcome language, cultural and other challenges that stall most students learning process. Not only do they overcome these obstacles, they excel. … The establishment loves to keep these kids down, but they rebel. They are Rebels.”

 

DeGennaro’s history in the district includes taking a position on the Lee High faculty in 2002, teaching U.S. History and Geography as well as a variety of other elective social studies courses. But it is on the football field where he did most of his teaching. In 1998, he took over the Rebel football program and coached the first Lee football team ever to make it into the MHSAA playoffs, when his team went 8-2 in the fall of 2006. After an eight-year absence from the sidelines at Lee Field, he returned this past fall and has begun the process of rebuilding a program that has not experience much success since his last season in 2007.

 

Starting in 2007, the Rebel Hall of Fame selection committee, comprised of members of the Board of Education, district administration, faculty, alumni and the Godfrey-Lee community has selected alumni, staff and other individuals associated with Godfrey-Lee Public Schools in recognition of their achievements and contributions.

 

The six new members joined forty-two other individuals and one athletic team in the Hall of Fame. David Britten, superintendent of Godfrey-Lee School District, was master of ceremonies of the event.

 

This year’s inductees also included Staff Sgt. Daniel Hayes, Lee High School class of 2004; Dr. Carl J. Bajema, class of 1955; Dennis E. Groendyke, class of 1979 and Board of Education member from 1999 to 2016; Christine Vettese, district SIG Coordinator for 2010 to 2013; and Robert Hill, high school band director from 1967 to 1981.

 

Douglas Greenwold, class of 1960, was also selected but requested to delay participation in the induction ceremony until 2018.

 

Personal stories of dedication

 

Staff Sgt. Hayes is a veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan military operations where, with the 101st Airborne Division, he earned the Purple Heart for injuries sustained in combat in Iraq in 2006. He was later personally awarded the Silver Star, the third highest decoration for valor for gallant actions and devotion to duty, while serving in Afghanistan in 2010. In 2011, he sustained another injury and earned a second Purple Heart. His award was accepted by his aunt.

 

Dr. Carl J. Bajema, with his wife, Claudia.

Dr. Bajema, after graduating from Lee, earned his Ph.D. in zoology from Michigan State University and retired from Grand Valley State University with the designation of Professor Emeritus in 2007 following a forty-three year teaching and scientific research career. He was also the recipient of the 2009 Distinguished Volunteer Service Award from the Historical Society of Michigan.

 

And his wife, reading from a statement and speaking for him due to a medical condition that hampers his ability to speak clearly, revealed a little of Dr. Bajema’s own history.

 

“When I learned I was to receive this Rebel award, I dug into my archives for my report cards, I actually had all my report cards,” Claudia Bajema said, as Carl waved an old report card for the audience to see. “Well, I can assure you that anyone viewing those would not conclude that I would be given one of these prestigious awards.

 

“I left my mark on the high school in an unconventional way. For several years following my graduation … my lab mate and me were given as an example of how not to do experiments. … we were in a hurry and failed to read all the instructions on how to conduct an experiment … (and) a chemical reaction caused an explosion, a volcano of sorts, leaving a very nasty stain on the ceiling.”

 

Dennis E. Groendyke

Groendyke, Board of Education member from 1999 to 2016, is a lifelong resident of the district who chose to raise his own family of seven children here and watch them attend Godfrey-Lee schools, according to supplied material. He concluded his service this winter following 17 years, including four-and-one-half years leading the board as president. A strong supporter of athletics, he has provided many hours of volunteer coaching for baseball and softball, including weekend clinics for youth during the school year.

 

“I love this district, I love the people in it, most of all I love the children,” Groendyke said. “My heart will always be here.”

 

Robert Hill

Hill was Lee High band director from 1967 to 1981, where he yearly took a “sometimes unruly” group of teen musicians unifying them into well organized marching and concert bands, according to supplied material. A visible teacher and mentor, he could be seen leading his bands at every home football and basketball game, believing that the band was central to inspiring young athletes and building school pride. His musical talents also carried him to perform with the Grand Valley State University faculty orchestra.

 

“This high school has, and always will, have a very special place in my heart,” Hill said. “I will always remember the joy of teaching students.”

 

Roberta Burke, sister of Christine Vettese.

Vettese was district SIG coordinator from 2010-13. She died in 2015. When Lee High School needed help with academic improvement to get off a state list of low-performing schools, she came out of retirement from East Grand Rapids schools and applied her many leadership, curriculum, and personal relationship skills to serve as a principle leader in that effort, according to supplied material. Through her advocacy, guidance and dogged persistence, she helped secure grants in excess of $3.5 million dollars over the three years to support the work of teachers, administrators, and students.

 

Her sister, Roberta Burke, accepted the award.

 

“I know if she were here today, she would say … its all about the students, and how to get them to be the best they can be,” Burke said, pointing to the heavens. “I know she is looking down right now and saying ‘bravo’ ” for what the district has accomplished.

 

Game on: WKTV’s featured games Jan. 23-27


WKTV Staff

 

In WKTV’s featured high school sports games this week, the coverage crew will be at Godwin Heights for a boys basketball game against Godfrey Lee at on Tuesday, Jan. 24, and then a girls and boys basketball doubleheader at Byron Center Zion Christian against Grand River Prep on Friday, Jan. 27.

 

In the Tuesday game, Godwin Heights enters the week with a 10-0 record after an 81-20 win over Belding on Jan. 20 which pushed the team’s OK Silver Conference record to 4-0. Wyoming Lee enters the week with a 7-3 record (2-2 in conference).

 

In the Friday night games, the Zion Christian girls entered the week with a 5-3 record and Grand River Prep at 0-6.

 

WKTV videos and broadcasts several games each week during high school sports season.

 

Each Tuesday game will be broadcast that night on Live Wire Comcast Channel 24 at 10:30 p.m. throughout the Grand Rapids Metro Area and repeat on Wednesday at 5:00 p.m. on  WKTV Comcast Channel 25 and AT&T U-verse Channel 99 in Wyoming & Kentwood. Every Friday game will be aired that night on Live Wire 24 at 10:30 p.m. and repeat Saturday at 11 a.m. on WKTV 25 and AT&T U-verse 99.

 

Check here for this week’s complete schedule for Wyoming and Kentwood area high school varsity sports teams.

 

DVDs of each game are also available for purchase at $20 including shipping. For more information, visit WKTV.org

 

Runnin’ Rebels Encourages Teamwork and Camaraderie

Students and staff are invited to participate in Runnin' Rebels.
Students and staff are invited to participate in Runnin’ Rebels.

by Tom Rademacher

Forget everything you’ve ever read or heard about the so-called “loneliness of the long-distance runner.”

At Lee High School, you’ll find a unique running club in full swing, an after-school fitness party where students and staff are invited to come together and embrace not only running, but the benefits of belonging to something greater than themselves.

It’s entitled the “Runnin’ Rebels” running club, the brainchild of David Britten, superintendent of the Godfrey-Lee School District, to which Lee High belongs.

Where another educator might pack up for the afternoon and head home after the bell rings, Britten sees an opening to make a difference in the life of a student or staffer. All they gotta do is show up with a pair of sneakers and a little desire.

“It actually began when I was in Wayland, and working as a principal, and we had a running club for 5th- and 6th-graders called ‘Little Cats,'” says Britten. “When I came here in 2002, we began the running club, and it’s been in place ever since.”

The district probably couldn’t have found a better advocate for running than Britten. A 22-year veteran of the U.S. Army, fitness has been an integral part of the superintendent’s regimen his entire life.

Britten shares his love of running with students and staff in an after school running club.
Britten shares his love of running with students and staff in an after school running club.

He ran his first River Bank Run in 1985, the Chicago Marathon in 1990, and has graduated in the last decade or so to ultra-marathoning, with races of more than 62 miles under his belt.

On the day I visited the high school, though, the only goal was to do your best on a loop established throughout the high school hallways that measures one-seventh of a mile long.

Enter the school’s gymnasium from the west side, and you’re immediately confronted by blur after blur, as students and teachers pass by in a counter-clockwise direction, settled in for a 30-minute stint.

“I needed to change my lifestyle, knew I needed to join this club.”

Britten is usually among the group, but today, he’s taking the time to explain the genesis of the club, the rationale for keeping it intact, and the impact it’s had on participants.

“For one thing, a lot of these kids don’t have anything to do after school,” he explains. “This gives them an avenue; otherwise, they’re just going to be hustled out of the building.”

His method of recruiting more and more students into the Runnin’ Rebels is simple: “I just badger ’em enough where they eventually realize that they can do something they didn’t think possible.

“I would have hated to do my next career and just deal with adults,” he says of the transformation from the armed forces to education. “I did that in the Army. But I want to be with kids, and I found I could easily encourage kids to run.”

During the “inside” season, which includes 30 daily runs from November until March – or until the weather improves to allow jogging outside — the goal is to cover the loop as many times as possible within 30 minutes or so.

For those who choose to walk – like Guidance Counselor Betty Killoran, for instance — that translates to a mile or two. For the speediest in the group, it can mean up to three or four miles, even a bit more.

Those who show up for at least 20 of the 30 inside runs qualify for a T-shirt, and this year’s giveaway boasts a quote on the back from one of Britten’s mentors, ultra-marathoner Dean Karnazes, which in part urges people to “immerse yourself in something deeply and with heartfelt intensity,” and implores those same people to “continually improve, never give up – this is fulfillment, this is success.”

Britten, 60, leads the club with humility. Rather than boast about his running achievements and coaching record in cross-country and track, he’s more apt to point out a day in his life when he did his best and scored average.

“I was addressing the senior class after they bombed the MMEs (Michigan Merit Examinations),” he recalls, and shared with them in a parallel way how he was able to complete only 68 miles of a 100-mile run.

“You know what a 68 is?” he asked them.

“It’s a ‘C.’ I was supposed to run 100 miles and get an ‘A.’

Students run inside during the winter.
Students run inside during the winter.

Britten acknowledges that the lesson had some incidental “shock value,” because many of Lee’s students have never known anyone to run or even try to cover 100 miles at a stretch.

But what he wanted them to walk away with was the realization that if you’re capable of more, you can’t settle for average. “Be determined to do better next time,” he remembers telling them.

Britten’s philosophy is gaining momentum and drawing in more and more participants. In the beginning years, the club operated with a handful of runners. Today, it’s not unusual for dozens to turn out.

Among them is a social studies instructor, Tom DeGennaro, who has endured 14 knee surgeries. Just over a year ago, he weighed nearly 300 pounds and suffered from diabetes and high blood pressure.

Today, his weight is around 230 and he’s got his sugar and BP under control.

He began by alternately walking and jogging for intervals of three to five minutes. Now, he’s kicking out runs of up to six miles at a time. On the day I visited, he was celebrating his 124th straight day of running.

DeGennaro’s three daughters – ages 7, 11 and 13 – provide him extra inspiration: “I want to walk ’em all down the aisle some day.”

Lee High senior Jordan Lovett enjoys belonging to the club not only for health reasons, but because “I’ve made a lot of friends, and it helps relieve a lot of stress from high school. It gives us an escape from reality.”

Lovett hopes to study social work at Aquinas College, and compete for the school’s track and cross-country teams. “I probably wouldn’t be as good a runner as I am,” she says, had she not joined the Runnin’ Rebels.

Students run under motivational signs posted around Godfrey-Lee.
Students run under motivational signs posted around Godfrey-Lee.

Sophomore Hector Grande is into soccer and martial arts. The running club is a natural extension of both, providing him an aerobic activity that, same as Lovett, doubles as a mental outlet.

“There are stresses in life that you need to get past,” he says, “and sometimes, running is the answer to that.”

For senior Paulina Cabrera, running may help pave her way into the U.S Marine Corps, in which she hopes to enlist following graduation. “I’m tired,” she said after cruising the halls for 30 minutes, “but I feel better for it.”

The Runnin’ Rebels don’t limit their miles to schooldays. It’s an active group that involves even more amateur athletes in summertime, at nearby Pinery Park.

That’s where alumni and parents will join students and teachers in a walk-jog-run that helps bind the school family to one another, often celebrating two and even three generations of Lee faithful.

Most the time, participants in the Runnin’ Rebels simply find their own pace and rhythm, without the need for a lot of coaching.

Not so, however, for some of the fledglings who turn out, especially during summer months.

“The young ones have to learn how to run,” Britten says with a measure of sageness. “At a certain age, they think everything’s a sprint.”