Midori Visit to Andover Inspires Student Musicians

Before her performance at the Berman Center, the world-renowned violinist and once child prodigy offered valuable advice to members of the Andover High School orchestra.

  Cuthbert Sun is one of more accomplished musicians and soloists in the Andover orchestra. And he's smart enough to know that when one of the world’s best at anything offers constructive criticism, you embrace it. “I can already tell that the music sounds better after listening to her," the senior said following his 20-minute session of performing and a detailed critique by renowned violinist Midori during a “Master Class” event Tuesday afternoon at Andover High School. “I’ve got some technical things to work on, and I know her insights will really help me as a musician.” Sun was just one of the students that left the auditorium with a smile following performances by Hieja Kim and the school's orchestra ensemble. Students from Lahser High…

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Black Hawks Football Preparations Kick-off This Week

Members of the inaugural Bloomfield Hills High School football program are invited to participate in early team-building experience.

  March Madness won't start until Thursday for most college basketball fans. Unless they're football players in the Bloomfield Hills Schools this week. Coaches and staff of the new Bloomfield Hills High School will get a jump on the inaugural season of Black Hawks football with a series of early-morning gatherings for players and those interested in joining the varsity, junior varsity or freshman squads next fall. Students are welcome to meet at Lahser High School at 6 a.m. today for an hour gathering, dubbed 'March Madness.' The events are scheduled to continue between 6-7 a.m. on the following Tuesdays and Thursdays: The program hosted its first official meeting for interested students and parents last month at the Andover Media Center. …

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Be Part of Andover's Choir Reunion Celebration

With merger to the Bloomfield Hills High School coming next fall, Andover is calling out to choir alumni for one last concert.

Andover Skiers Earn All-State Honors

Nine Barons received the special designation after successful final seasons.

We recently told you about the memorable performances by the members of the Andover High School boys’ and girls’ ski teams this year, and their strong finishes in the State Finals. This week, the MHSAA announced that nine Barons and Jordan Paige (1st team in giant slalom) from Lahser High School earned earned All-State recognition. The special designations added to an already special season for both teams given the merger with Lahser to the new Bloomfield Hills High School next fall. Here are the recipients from the respective schools: Jean Klochko-Bull – 1st team in both slalom and giant slalom Elli Thomas – 2nd team in slalom Sammy Swiss – 2nd team in slalom Grace Klochko Bull – Honorable Mention Pria Shoha – Honorable Mention J. T. …

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Andover Girls Make Final Basketball Season Memorable

The Lady Barons prove they too can break records in the program's final season with merger pending; but fall in the district playoffs.

  Earlier this month, we told you about the record-setting performance by the Lahser Lady Knights 78-38 rout of Hazel Park. Not to be outdone, the Andover Lady Barons had their own record-setting week to close the regular season of their own. The team set a combined 12 records during the season. Among them: Team Rachel Rea Shannon Wilson Andover won the initial 'Battle for Bloomfield' with a 59-48 win over cross-district rival Lahser at a special game at the O'rena on the Oakland University campus in January. The results the second time around weren't much different. Andover beneffited from a 13-0 spurt at the start of the second half and consistent shooting from its top two scorers to win 53-46 in the first round of the playoffs at Marian…

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Andover Boys, Girls Ski Teams Finish Strong at State Finals

The Baron boys finished runners-up, and the girls took third overall at the Division 2 finals on Marquette Mountain Monday. Marion skiers took fourth overall in Division 1.

  The Andover Barons finished a memorable 2012-13 season with strong runs at the Division 2 State Finals on Marquette Mountain Monday. The boy's team finished second overall behind Petoskey, and 10 points better than third-place Houghton/Hancock, according to MHSAA.com. They were runner-up state champions in both slalom and giant slalom events, said Coach Rob Brown. J.T. Stewart led the team with third-place finishes in both the slalom and giant slalom events. Braden Cleary (12th) and Ryan Stewart (13th in giant slalom, 18th in slalom) also helped pace the Barons. The Andover girl's team won the state championship in slalom and finished third in the giant slalom event, earning third place overall, behind Harbor Springs and Petoskey. …

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BHS School Board Remembers Recent Graduate Emily Stillman

Board President Ingrid Day took a moment Thursday night to remember the former Andover student who died of bacterial meningitis Sunday.

  Before getting down to business at just the third board meeting of the year, members of the Bloomfield Hills Schools Board of Education on Thursday paused for a moment to talk about Emily Stillman. With feelings still raw from attending the 19-year-old West Bloomfield native's funeral Tuesday, Board President Ingrid Day described the girl she got to know through her own daughter's involvement in forensics. It was one area, among many, that Stillman excelled at, she said. "The Andover students and community were rocked pretty hard this past weekend," Day said. "Emily was a person that was full of life, it just exuded from her." Stillman, who graduated in 2011 and attended Kalamazoo College, died Sunday in Kalamazoo from complications …

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Emily Stillman's Funeral Tuesday; Fund Established in Andover Graduate's Memory

Friends and family will gather to remember the Kalamazoo College student that died of Bacterial Meningitis Sunday.

  The family of former Andover High School student Emily Stillman will establish a fund to help research and develop a cure for bacterial meningitis. Stillman, of West Bloomfield, died Sunday after a brief hospitalization from the disease in Kalamazoo, where she attended Kalamazoo College. She was 19. Family and friends will gather for a funeral service followed by burial at 10 a.m. Tuesday, at the Dorfman Chapel, 30440 W. 12 Mile Rd., Farmington Hills, according to the Chapel's website. Among them will be a bus-load of Kalamazoo College students that left campus early Tuesday morning, Mlive.com reported.  The family is in the process of establishing a special fund to find a cure for bacterial meningitis, according to Stillman's obituary. …

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High School Transition Forums for BHS Parents Resume

The final sessions for each current grade level affected by next year's merger of Andover and Lahser high schools begin tonight.

Though second semester just got under way in the Bloomfield Hills Schools, there's already a significant level of focus from parents, teachers and administrators on the fall of 2013 and the official start of the new Bloomfield Hills High School. And understandably so. The district's transition plan has the current Lahser High School housing students in 10th through 12th grades in what will become known as the 'main' Bloomfield Hills High School campus. Ninth grade students will be at Hickory Grove, or the 9th grade campus. To help parents navigate the transition to the new high school facility, which won’t be completed on the current Andover site until 2015, the Bloomfield Hills Schools scheduled a series of forums broken up by student …

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Funeral for Student who Died from Bacterial Meningitis Complications Set for Tuesday

Kalamazoo College sophomore and former Andover High student Emily Stillman to be buried at Dorfman Chapel in Farmington Hills.

Emily Stillman, a sophomore at Kalamazoo College, has died due to complications from bacterial meningitis, college officials said Sunday. A West Bloomfield native and campus resident at Crissey Residence Hall, she became ill in the early morning hours Friday and was diagnosed with bacterial meningitis at Kalamazoo's Bronson Methodist Hospital, according to a Friday email sent to the college community. Kalamazoo College President Eileen Wilson-Oyelaran said that Stillman died Sunday morning "with her family members by her side," in a subsequent email to the college community. Stillman's funeral is scheduled for 10 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 5, at the Dorfman Chapel, 30440 W. 12 Mile Rd., Farmington Hills, according to the Chapel's website. …

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