There will be no school for Monroe Public Schools students this Friday, October 30, so our staff can participate in the county-wide in-service day. In addition, there will be no Kid’s Club at Riverside or Custer on Friday and there will be no Rainbow Pre-School on Friday either. Once again – no school Friday for Monroe Public Schools students, no kid’s club and no Rainbow Preschool.
The Monroe High School Instrumental Music Department will present its annual fall concert entitled Band-O-Rama! The concert, which will present the Monroe High School String Orchestra, Chamber Strings and the Monroe High School Trojan Marching Band, will be at 7 p.m., Wednesday, October 28, in the Monroe High School Auditorium.
The Orchestra will kick off the concert with a variety of selections including: “John Williams Trilogy” and “Hopak” from “The Fair at Sorochnisk. The Chamber Strings portion will include ‘Allegro in D” by Vivaldi.
The last portion of the concert will feature the 96-member, Trojan Marching Band. The band will present a review of their recently concluded marching season entitled “Queen with a little bit of Styx,” including the songs “We Will Rock You,” “Another One Bites the Dust,” “Too Much Time On My Hands” and “Bohemian Rhapsody.”
The concert will be under the direction of Orchestra director Ann Felder and Band director James Nuechterlein. The Master of Ceremonies will be Craig Prater. The public is welcome and admission is complimentary.
Nearly 900 Monroe High School students earned Trojan Pride Cards for their 2014-2015 school year academic achievements. A Trojan Pride card is given to students based on the GPAs – 3.0 GPA and higher -- for the previous school year. This year’s cards were awarded at an October 20 breakfast for the recipients.
There are three levels of achievement based on a student’s GPA and each higher level qualified students for more and better rewards. For instance, recipients of the highest level – 3.8 or higher -- qualify for drawings for a free school yearbook, Winterfest tickets, or prom tickets. All student recipients also qualify for various “deals” at local merchants, such as a percentage off of purchases for foods, video games, clothing and flowers, for example.
“We are very proud of all Monroe High School students and we want to acknowledge those who have earned a 3.0 GPA or higher by working hard in class and doing so well. Our local merchants also are proud of these academic achievements and were eager to help support Monroe High School and our students,” said Monroe High School Principal Mrs. Sandra Kreps.
The MHS Parent Club holds an annual Harvest Party as its main fundraiser that is supported by parents, teachers and merchants. All of the profits go toward academic incentives for students.
“Our Parent Club works hard to support our students and to encourage them to strive to academically be the best they can be. They are just as excited for the students to receive their cards as the students are,” Mrs. Kreps said.
In a letter to her students. Mrs. Kreps encouraged them raise their GPA this year. Those who were at 4.0 were encouraged to maintain that level. For others, she said a bit more effort on homework, classwork or reading can help a student to raise his or her GPA,
“I also want to encourage our students to give back to their fellow students as a peer tutor or as a core tutorial student through their school counselor. By helping others learn, they strengthen their academic skills while fulfilling one of the MHS Guiding Forces which is ‘Taking Care of One Another, ’” Mrs. Kreps said.
She added that former core tutorial students felt they had improved their efforts on college entrance exams by tutoring others,
“As principal, a highlight for me is seeing students achieve while helping one another,” Mrs. Kreps said.
Monroe High School will hold its first Career and College Ready Day on Wednesday, Oct. 28, for all students. The 9th through 11th graders, will take the preliminary-SAT (PSAT.) Seniors will have individualized opportunities and personalized guidance in their career and college-readiness progress.
“At Monroe High School, we are committed to providing educational opportunities to help each student be career- and college-ready when they graduate from MHS,” said Monroe High School Principal Mrs. Sandra Kreps. “We look at this as helping prepare our students to succeed in the global market.”
At Monroe High School, two separate age-appropriate sets of tests will be given – one to the ninth graders and one to the 10th and 11th graders – on Career and College Ready Day. For the 12th graders, they will spend the morning of Oct. 28 at a computer doing such things as completing their college applications, completing a resume for job and scholarship opportunities, performing a career inventory, doing college and scholarship searches and completing specific career and college activities for their educational development plans,
Mrs. Kreps said that to help determine their readiness, College Board has re-designed the preliminary SAT assessment which is the PSAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test given to 10th and 11th graders and the PSAT 8/9 given to 9th graders. For the 10th and 11th graders, the PSAT-NMSQT is an assessment that shows students where they may need academic work so they are career- and college-ready when they graduate from Monroe High School.
“This also gives students a chance to prepare for the SAT which all 11th graders will take in the spring as part of the state assessment schedule. It also is the National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test,” Mrs. Kreps said.
The freshmen will take the PSAT 8/9 test which is designed to help students and their teachers define the curriculum essentials that need to be focused on so students are career and college ready when they graduate. It also will develop a baseline measurement of readiness so they can see their improvement as they progress through school while giving them a chance to preview the SAT and PSAT/NMSQT and connect them to AP courses.
Mrs. Kreps said that students will get their test results in December and will be able to connect with two educational resources to get free SAT study recommendations, helping them to know what to focus on in their MHS classes as they prepare for the SAT.
Congratulations to the Monroe High School Trojans football team which has earned a spot back into the playoffs. The Trojans visit top-ranked 8-0 Saline, a Southeast Conference foe. The selection was announced Sunday night (Oct. 25.) The Monroe-Saline winner will take on Ann Arbor Pioneer (6-3) or Belleville (8-1).
Come on out for the Halloween Bash and help support the Monroe Public School’s Promise Fund at the same time. The Bash runs from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Saturday (October 24) at Total Sports Monroe, 987 Stewart Rd., with trick or treating starting at 7 p.m. All proceeds and donations will benefit the Promise Fund which helps provide support to Monroe Public Schools’ homeless students and their families. For more information, check out the flyer which is attached. ,
A program on the growing problem of human trafficking will be presented by the Monroe Post of the Michigan State Police at the Monroe Middle School Auditorium at 6 p.m., Tuesday, November 10.
The program is free and open to the public.
“We are glad to partner with the state police to present this program,” said Monroe Middle School Principal Cindy Flynn. “We want our community to know just how big a problem this is and how they can help their children to steer clear of situations that may cause them harm.”
Registration is open now for Monroe Virtual High School for people from 9th grade through 19 years old who are not currently registered in high school but who want to earn their high school diplomas. There is no cost to register for classes.
MVHS, operated by Monroe Public Schools, is the county’s longest-running virtual school and has made it possible for nearly 50 students to earn high school diplomas who otherwise might not have gotten the opportunity. Monroe Virtual High School, which has been recognized by the University of Nebraska, started offering classes in 2010.
“For people seeking their high school diplomas after they had left high school, this is where those students can succeed,” said Monroe Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Barry Martin.
Students at MVHS do most of their school work on-line outside of the classroom at times and places that are most convenient for them. They are required to spend five hours weekly in the MVHS classroom with instructor Courtney Bodgen. While study and lectures are done on-line, all testing is done in the classroom in front of a proctor at the former South Monroe Townsite School. Students without internet-ready computers are assigned one when they register with Monroe Virtual
Monroe Virtual High School’s flexible schedule is the perfect choice for students who because of job, family considerations or other circumstances left school before earning their high school diplomas. All students who complete their graduation requirements at MVHS receive a high school diploma. In fact, a good number of them have participated in graduation ceremonies with the next high school class.
Persons interested in registering or talking with the instructor for more information are asked to call Mrs. Bodgen at Monroe Virtual High School at 734-265-5018.
News media: For more information – Bobb Vergiels 734-265-3185
In what might be the first time in the history of the Monroe City Council and the Monroe Public Schools Board of Education, the two bodies will have a joint workshop at 6:30 p.m., Monday, October 26, at Monroe High School.
Although no “official” business will be transacted at the workshop, the two governmental bodies have a number of similar issues which now will benefit from face-to-face discussion. The public is invited.
“Nearly half of our students attend school in the City of Monroe, so we have considerable interest in the issues which affect the city,” said Dr. Barry Martin, superintendent, Monroe Public Schools.
“Monroe Public Schools is one of the biggest land owners in the City and we want to ensure we have a continuing open dialogue on issues that are vital for our city and our schools,” said Monroe Mayor Robert Clark.
An agenda will be available soon.
For more information: Bobb Vergiels 734-265-3185
Girl athletes in grades four through eight will have an opportunity to learn how to play basketball and hone their skills in the Annual Trojan Hoops Basketball Fall League.
The league will begin with a two-hour clinic from 10 a.m. to noon, on Saturday, October 31. Players will be grouped according to ability and grade. Games will be played from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. on successive Sundays – Nov. 8, 15, 22, and 29, and Dec. 6 and 13. Before each game, there will be an instructional period. Coaches includes Monroe High School varsity coach Larry Nocella, his staff and players.
Registration is requested by Oct. 27. The cost is $50 if registered by October 27, and $55 if registered at the door on October 31. All participants will receive a 2015-2016 Monroe Girls Basketball Spirit Wear tee shirt at the end of league play. A registration blank is attached to this posting.
Persons with question can contact Coach Nocella at 734-693-0178.