Ella Laupp, a Harper Creek High School Freshman, is the winner of the annual Harper Creek Optimist Club Essay Contest and will be awarded with a $500 check for her accomplishments. Her winning essay will be turned over to the Optimist District contest where she will compete with others from the state for a $2,500 scholarship. This year’s topic was “How Optimism Has Paved My Road to Success”. Three other students also presented very respectable essays and will also be financially awarded for their compositions. The essay composed by Harper Creek Junior Aurora Arendsen was selected as 2nd place and she will receive a $300 award. Harper Creek Senior twins Finnegan and Grace Mahoney will each receive $100 for their 3rd place finish in the competition. Special thanks go out to this year’s judges for the event: Seth Berry, who is Editor of the Marshall Chronicle; Revered Lawrence Bacik, pastor of the St. Elias Eastern Orthodox Church in Battle Creek, and Shelly Kehrle-Sulser, former Executive Editor of the Battle Creek Shopper News. Dr. Craig Miller was again Chairperson for the event. The contest was open to the Battle Creek community for all students who had not reached the age of 19 by October 1, 2024.
Please check our social media pages or www.harpercreekoptimistclub.com for future events and opportunities
Harper Creek Middle School STEAM Teacher Grant Recipient May 20, 2025
Seventh-grade students at Harper Creek Middle School are getting hands-on engineering experience thanks to a mini-grant awarded to STEAM teacher Erica Jenkins.
Harper's Heroes - Jim Robinson May 14, 2025
Jim spent much of his childhood as a Harper Creek Beaver. After graduating from high school, he left Battle Creek for a few years. When he returned, he began a career in the trades but also devoted some of his time to the Harper Creek Community. He eventually joined Harper Creek as a full-time employee. He has a unique combination of skills that have allowed him to contribute his time and efforts to our school district in the last twenty-plus years.
Harper's Unsung Hero - Becky Gardner April 24, 2025
As a child and a student, Becky was involved in many activities, making her a well-rounded child and helping her to hone many skills that would help her as an adult and a teacher for Harper Creek Schools. She seemed to thrive with this model. It has served her well with the variety of roles she has filled during her time at Harper Creek, starting in 2001.
