Sodexo, food-service provider for Monroe Public Schools, held its first Future Chefs competition in the Custer cafeteria and crowned Custer 2 student Willow Johnson the winner. Elementary school students across the district were invited to submit their favorite after-school snack recipe. From a large number received, they were whittled down to five recipes as finalists. The six future chefs who submitted them were invited to come in and work with a Sodexo kitchen staff member to put together their recipes which were taste-tested by a group of judges. Willow’s “Apple Nachos” was judged the winning recipe. She won a large box of kitchen-related prizes and will represent Monroe County in Sodexo’s regional competition. Other participants were Lilly Currier and Hayleigh Byrd, Custer 1; Quinstella Penick, Raisinville; Harrison Tyner, Manor; and Addyson Marlow, Waterloo. .
The Monroe Public Schools Board of Education voted March 22 to seek bids for the demolition of South Monroe Townsite School.
In early February, Monroe Pubic Schools and the Monroe County Intermediate School District announced that the ISD’s Head Start program, which had been housed at Townsite School for the last several years, will move to Arborwood North Elementary School with the beginning of the 2016-2017 school year.
The other educational entity housed in South Monroe Townsite School – Monroe Virtual High School, the first virtual school ever established in Monroe County – will move to the Riverside Early Learning Center, 77 N. Roessler St., over the summer and start hosting its classroom sessions there in September.
Since the announcement of the Head Start move, the board of education has discussed at great length the future of the Townsite building. During that time, few public comments were submitted. However some neighbors have expressed a concern about having a vacant building in their neighborhood. SMT was closed as an elementary school in June 2009.
Two other schools which were closed at the same time – Christiancy and Lincoln elementaries – were demolished in 2011.
The honors keep amassing for the Monroe Public Schools music program with the latest accolades coming to the instrumental music program at Monroe High School.
The most recent group to garner state honors was the Monroe High School Jazz Band, under the direction of Mr. Jim Nuechterlein, which earned a Division One rating – the best achievable – at the Michigan School Band and Orchestra Association’s (MSBOA) State Jazz Festival. This is the fifth Division One rating the band has earned in the last six years.
The Jazz Band also had two members earn soloist awards at the recent Northview High School Jazz Festival in Sylvania, Ohio. They are Dallin Bowie, piano, who won the Outstanding Soloist Award, and trombonist Kyle Henderson, who was an Honorable Mention Soloist.
With a flute solo, MHS’ Nicholas Howerton received a Division One rating in Proficiency 1 at the MSBOA Solo and Ensemble Festival at Chelsea High School. Students perform before a judge who specializes in that particular instrument. Ratings range from one to five with a one rating being the best. Solo proficiency levels range from 1 to 3 with 3 being the hardest.
Rounding out the March competition performance schedule were the Monroe High School Concert Band and the Wind Ensemble who earned Division Two ratings for their performances at the MSBOA’s District 12 Band and Orchestra Festival in Woodhaven. They are directed by Mr. Nuechterlein. Ratings range from Division One to Division Five with Division One considered an outstanding performance.
Just before the spring break began, students at Monroe Middle School collected 1,250 personal care items as part of the personal care supply drive sponsored by the MMS National Junior Honor Society.
“This is an overwhelming number of personal care items,” said Mr. Scott Hoppert, the MMS NJHS advisor. ”This says a great deal about the kind of school community we can be when we respond to the needs of others in such a resounding way. This not only makes us proud of our school, but motivates us to keep this spirit alive in all that we do here at MMS.”
Mr. Hoppert explained that the donations now will be taken to the Education Center of the Monroe County Intermediate School District where students with significant disabilities will put them into care packages to be delivered to local support agencies who then will make sure they are delivered to local homeless and disadvantaged families.
The group that collected the most supplies was Mrs. Kristi Roecker’s Trojan Family Time class which collected 323 items. The group will receive ice cream treats for their generosity.
The Monroe Public Schools Board of Education Tuesday night (March 22) approved more than $1 million in summer work projects to improve the physical condition of four schools.
“We have an extremely energetic work schedule this summer on our buildings,” said Jerry Oley, director, Operations. “What was approved Tuesday night was about half of what we will ultimately have done this summer. We are still receiving and considering bids on a several other large projects.”
The building repairs and improvements are paid for by the district’s sinking fund, a special fund supported by a voter-approved tax designated for building repairs and thus separate from the general fund which is used for education-related spending.
The biggest project approved is the complete replacement of the Arborwood South Elementary School roof at a cost of $345,409, which was under original budget estimates. The project will include removal and replacement of nearly 50,000 square feet of roofing which is all between 18 and 22 years old. The new roofing system will come with a 20-year warranty. The successful bidder was William Molnar Roofing of Riverview, the lowest of four bidders.
Two bids totaling nearly $420,000 were approved for work at Monroe High School. One of the projects was to replace the roofs over D-Wing and F-Wing which was a low bid of $291,899 by William Molnar Roofing. The project includes replacing more than 14,000 square feet of roofing, some of which is about 30 years old. The replacement roofing system comes with a 20-year full-system warranty.
The second Monroe High School project was for cleaning and repairs to masonry on the north wall of D-wing, and three walls each for F-wing and G-wing. Each summer, masonry repairs are scheduled on different walls of MHS until all outer walls have been completed. The successful bidder among the five that were submitted was Ohio Building Restoration of Toledo at $126,261.
When students return to Raisinville School in the fall, they will find a different looking school because of the original aluminum non-thermal broken, single-glazed windows will be replaced on all sides of the building. The new windows will be a combination of fixed and double-hung windows, insulated glass and insulated panels, similar to what was installed at Monroe Middle School and the district administration building last summer. Monroe Glass Co. was the successful bidder at $237,536, which was under the original estimate for the job.
The last project approved Tuesday was a new roof over the Monroe Middle School gym this summer. Successful bidder among four submitted was Advanced Roofing of Westland at $53,500. The project will include removing and replacing about 7,000 square feet of roofing.
Perhaps Monroe High School Choral Director Cate Windelborn said it best this way. “Overall a great week for the MHS choirs.”
All four school choirs participated in the district choral festival last weekend and two of them – Expressions and Generations of Sound – received excellent ratings and will participate in the State Choral Festival in Holt, April 21. In fact, Generations received a perfect score in sight reading.
The Concert Choir and Mixed Chorus earned good ratings and the concert choir received a sight-reading score of 28 out of 30, which is superior.
Three MHS entries also earned top ratings in the State Solo and Ensemble Festival in Howell on the same weekend. Freshman soloist Madison Miller, the senior duet of Brittnee Avritt and Jenna Bolster and the student-led ensemble Momentum, all received Level 1 ratings, or excellent, at the state level.
But the choirs won’t be slowing down anytime soon because in the next two months, they have the state choral festival (April 21), a performance trip to New York City (April 27-May 11,) the A Capella Festival (May 6) and the Pops Concert (May 24.)
(Written by Community Foundation of Monroe County)
The Community Foundation of Monroe County is pleased to announce that through the generous support of “The Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation” they have awarded grants to six area high schools to assist in building a college-going culture and improve college enrollment outcomes.
Of the applications received the following high schools were awarded $5,000 each: Airport Community School, Jefferson School, Mason Consolidated School, Monroe HighcSchool, Ida Public School, and Whiteford Agricultural School. The funds will be used to enhance the Monroe College Access Network initiative whose mission is to increase the post secondary educational achievement of Monroe County graduates to 60% by 2025. It is our vision that by 2025 Monroe County Schools will provide comprehensive college access activities that create a college going culture.
Each school will:
- Establish a Postsecondary Advisory Council (PAC), a team of dedicated professionals to lead the school’s strategy to improve and monitor their baseline data.
- Participate is a triad of College Access events: College Application Week, College Cash Campaign and College Decision Day.
- Post secondary asset mapping – research based survey to set up tools to help schools determine what is needed for their school.
“We are so grateful for this opportunity from the “Ralph Wilson Jr. Foundation” to be able to enhance this important project that will help students and families break down barriers to succeed with post secondary education“ ,says Kathleen Russeau, executive director.
The Community Foundation has over 38 years experience of improving the conditions for people in the county through its charitable and philanthropic work. Our mission is to enhance the quality of life of the citizens of Monroe County.
Starting today (March 17,), Monroe Public Schools will ask its primary stakeholders – staff, district parents and students – to take a short on-line survey as part of the district’s ongoing School Improvement efforts.
To take the parental survey, please use this link --
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/855VVGG
The district does this annually. The survey and its results are very important to Monroe Public Schools as part of effective two-way communications with those involved in the school system. The survey provides a great picture of the thoughts and perceptions of Monroe Public Schools’ stakeholders.
The anonymous survey results will be analyzed so that district leadership can better understand the district’s strengths as well as identify areas where improvements are needed. It is the third year that district parents, staff and students are taking the survey so results can be compared with a baseline of information measuring the progress that has been made so far.
Although the survey will be kept open until Friday, April 8, parents are urged to take the survey as soon as possible. Staff members are being asked to take the survey prior to spring break. Students will take the short survey next week during either their computer lab time or during Trojan Family Time at Monroe High School and Monroe Middle School.
In recent years, Monroe Public Schools has spent considerable time and effort on school improvement activities. The anonymous survey results provide valuable information to further target the district’s work to improve student learning and achievement.
Because this is an on-line survey and not all parents may have access to a computer, all schools will have hard copies of the surveys available at their main reception desks starting Friday, March 18. Hard copies in Spanish will be available on Monday, March 21. The survey concludes April 8.
The use of technology in Monroe Public Schools classrooms is far-reaching, including the youngest students in kindergarten all the way up to Monroe High School and Orchard Center High School seniors. To get a good appreciation of a small portion what Monroe Public Schools uses technology for, please click on this link to view an informative video produced by the Monroe County Intermediate School District.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/ktsxvzzphx8szaf/MONROE.mpg?dl=0
It took 6,250 digits of PI and some 225 Monroe Middle School students to do it but the students were able to encircle their school this morning (March 15) with an unbroken chain, signifying just how long Pi -- 3.14 -- actually can stretch. Here students celebrate hooking chains signifying 3.14 with the 6,248th, 6,249th and 6,250th digits in the Pi sequence. This exercise is done every several years at the school but this is the first time that the students have actually been able to go all around the school and reconnect the first digits with the last digits. The unbroken line stretched four city blocks around the school, and the students did it with about 35 feet in the chain to spare. While a number of teachers participated and helped keep the line of “chains” in as good a condition as possible, the event was headed by MMS math teachers Mrs. Katie Oberdorf and Mr. Kevin Pilgrim. On Monday, which is considered Pi Day – March 14 or 3.14 the mathematic representation for Pi – the students used their math class time to put together the paper links earn bearing a digit of Pi.