Dowagiac Union Schools recognized six November Students of the Month in the middle school cafeteria Monday night with Chieftain Hero T-shirts.

 

Jasmine West

Justus Gage third grade

 

Jasmine, a third grader in Cari Soderbloom’s class, lives with her parents, Melissa Blanchard and Dustin West, and brother, Austin, a kindergarten student in Jamie Pilch’s classroom.

Her favorite subjects are social studies and math. She likes the former because she is learning about Michigan and its settlers. She enjoys the latter because she is learning multiplication.

After school, Jasmine enjoys watching movies. The last film she watched was “The Grinch.”

She would like to be a teacher when she grows up because she thinks it will give her more opportunities to help others.

According to her classmates, Jasmine is helpful, kind, caring and smart — all desirable qualities for a future teacher.

 

River Planck

Sister Lakes third grade

 

River is the daughter of Caleb and Janelle Planck. She has two sisters, Natalie and Nevada, and one brother, Jude.

River is known as a very responsible and helpful student. Always working diligently, she can focus on tasks at hand and finish them to completion.

Art is her favorite school subject. Being a kindergarten helper is her preferred job.

At recess, River enjoys a friendly game of tag.

At home, her responsibilities include doing the dishes.

River plans to become a hair stylist when she grows up.

 

Jessica Burns

DUHS freshman

 

Jessica, daughter of Bill and Audra Burns, is involved in many things at the high school.

She was nominated by her teacher, Amy Hackett, who said, “Jessica exemplifies what an involved student should look like, even at her young age. She is a student who gives 110 percent all the time, no matter what she is doing.”

Jessica’s extra-curricular activities include drama, Rotary Interact and choir.

Her favorite thing about school is learning new things.

Science and English are her favorite subjects. She loves choir and Spanish.

After high school, Jessica would like to study meteorology at Valparaiso.

She has two cats, Ozzy and Snowflake, and a dog, Kipper.

 

Jonathan Stockwell

DMS sixth grader

 

Jonathan, 12, is the son of Denise and Gene Stockwell. He has two sisters, Elizabeth, who attends DUHS, and Olivia, 4.

Jonathan enjoys hunting and fishing. His favorite subject is English. He loves to read. Some of his favorite authors are J.K. Rowling and Roland Smith.

After high school, he would like to be a news or sports broadcaster.

Jonathan likes ESPN and thinks that would be his dream job.

When asked why he was selected, Jonathan replied, “I have had really good grades all year in all of my classes.”

Teacher Chris Haack wanted to share that Jonathan goes beyond the call of duty in all of his school work. “He consistently scores five to 10 points higher than the rest of his classmates on his assignments by going that extra step in finding additional information that may even be ancillary to the actual assignment. He has been at the top of my social studies classes all year and currently carries a 109-percent average.”

Haack also noted Jonathan exhibits great decision-making abilities and is looked on as a leader by his peers. He has great presence for his age and accentuates his mental talents with quiet wisdom and a gentle sense of humor appreciated by students and teacher alike.

 

Malina Holz

Kincheloe third grade

 

Malina is the daughter of Larry and Jaclyn Holz. She has a sister, Tessa, 11, who attends DMS.

Malina loves school and is known as an enthusiastic, curious learner, resulting in her high achievement. She frequently asks, “What are we going to learn today?” Teacher Robin Winters is more than happy to oblige her with more core curriculum.

Reading the social studies monthly newspaper third graders receive, which focuses on Michigan history, is a subject Malina enjoys. This knowledge will serve her well when she grows up and becomes a teacher.

When not at school, Malina likes to play outside and loves family vacations. Most recently, they visited Gettysburg, Pa.

 

Andrew Kirschbaum

Patrick Hamilton third grade

 

Andy, a student in Gloria Staten’s class, reads constantly and is learning German.

He eagerly shares new information that he discovers with his classsmates.

Andy does very well in all subjects, but science is his favorite. He particularly enjoys hearing about animals and the Earth. He’s considering becoming a paleontologist when he grows up.

Andy lives with his parents, Shirra Reed and Alan Johnson, and his 5-year-old sister, Saniah.

Andy is often seen mediating arguments on the playground and attempting to resolve any conflicts he observes.

In his spare time, Andy plays video games on his Xbox with his dad.