Due to icing conditions on the secondary and back roads, Monroe Public Schools, Parochial Schools, Kids Club and Preschool will be closed on Tuesday, January 29, 2019.
Additionally, due to the weather forecast and wind chill warnings, Monroe Public Schools, Parochial Schools, Kids Club and Preschool will be closed on Wednesday, January 30 AND Thursday, January 31, 2019.
Again, Monroe Public and Parochial Schools will be closed Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday due to the unsafe winter weather.
We look forward to seeing everyone back in school on Friday, February 1. Please be careful, stay safe, stay warm, and have a great night!
Monroe High School 8th grade Open House
November 8th from 6-8 p.m. (Click to see attached flier for ALL of the details.)
All MPS students in grades Y5-12 may apply to participate in the Summer Learning Academy!!! Just like an athlete needs to exercise regularly to stay at the top of his game, so do students! During summer months students need to continue to exercise their brains, to keep the new connections made during the school year. The MPS Summer Learning Academy is designed around your child’s interests and academic needs; stretching every child’s reading, writing and math levels. It will be an opportunity for students to spend extended time in literacy or math to get a jump start for the upcoming school year.
Y5-8th grade Students in Summer Learning Academy will:
Choose 3 interest camps that they will participate during a portion of the day
Be part of a book club and write your own book
Solve fun and challenging problems with friends
Engage in DreamBox and math games
Receive small group and individualized instruction
High School students:
Have an opportunity to recover up to 1.5 credit hours
Receive small group and individualized instruction
Participate in a research project of their choice
Fill out the attached application or click here to apply!
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March 5, 2018 Dear Monroe Public Schools Family, Over the recent weeks, school safety has been at the center of our hearts and thoughts. It is in these moments where we hold our children closer, give them extra reminders, and inquire more to those whom we trust to care for and guide them when we, as parents, are not present. Thank you for entrusting your child’s safety and learning to us. We understand that this trust is one of the biggest honors that a person can offer to another, and that with this honor comes a high level of emotion, accountability, and expectation. Thank you for your questions, comments, ideas, and support over the recent weeks.
We have gathered some common points from our conversations with families to include in this letter. Monroe Public Schools has adopted an aggressive set of measures to maintain safety as a priority. We are proud of what is in place thus far, and we will continue to monitor, refine, and add new techniques to continuously improve the safety of our schools. Please feel free to review this information with your child, as there can never be too many conversations regarding school safety.
Police Presence: Currently, Monroe Public Schools has two police officers stationed in the district every day. We refer to them as School Resource Officers or Police Liaisons. Officer Brian Winsjansen, or Officer Winnie, is a member of the City of Monroe Police Department, and he mainly services our schools located in the City of Monroe: Arborwood, Manor, Monroe Middle School, Orchard High School, and the Learning Bank. Deputy Joe Hammond is a member of the Monroe County Sheriff Department, and he serves the schools outside of the city limits: Custer, Raisinville, Waterloo, and Monroe High School. Both of our officers assist each other and our staff, however and whenever needed.
ALICE Training: Our staff and students have been trained in ALICE, and we will continue to refresh these trainings. ALICE stands for: Alert: Make everyone aware of a threat immediately. A speedy response is critical. Lockdown: If evacuation is not a safe option, barricade entry points to the room in an effort to create a semi-secure starting point. Inform: Communicate information over every channel possible in real time, keeping everyone informed. Counter: Create noise, movement, distance, and distraction with the intent of reducing the shooter’s ability to shoot accurately if the shooter invades your space. Counter is NOT fighting and is intended to be a last resort. Our elementary schools have taught the ALICE techniques through a method called PAL (Pause, Adult, Listen). In short, we ask students and staff to do the following whenever there is a safety threat of any nature in a school building: 1. Listen carefully to the location and type of event. Safety Equipment: To enter any of our schools, all visitors need to be buzzed in by staff in the school’s main office. Staff in the main office have a camera and voice feed to the prospective visitor, who is asked to present their identification. Staff verify that the person is able to enter the building. All visitors to our schools who wish to visit spaces beyond the main office have their identifications run through the Raptor Visitor Management System, which screens that individual for prior crime offenses and sex offender registries. Volunteers and chaperones also authorize us to perform a Michigan Criminal Background Check. Once that individual has passed that screening, he or she is given a badge with their name and photo to ensure all staff that they have been cleared to enter the building. Our district has over 700 cameras, offering our security personnel and administrators surveillance from their computers and mobile devices.
We are continually thankful for our community’s safety, which is not possible without the support and strength of our community. As we look to the future of education and the conversations surrounding school safety, the thoughts, ideas, and opinions from our stakeholders are as important as ever. I am thankful for all that we are able to accomplish when we are working with each other. Now more than ever, we are stronger together. Together, we are Monroe. Believe. Engage. Excel. As Always, .bmp)
Julie M. Everly |
Two Trojans place in state-wide MEWDC Welding Contest
Monroe High School seniors Tyler Lemerande and Jacob Smith were named winners of the 2017-18 Michigan Energy Workforce Development Consortium Career in Energy Week High School CTE Welding Contest. Lemerande took second place and Smith took a share of fourth place in a competition that saw 55 entries from over 100 applicants from across the state.
“We are so incredibly proud of Tyler and Jacob,” Monroe Public Schools Superintendent Julie Everly said. “Their accomplishments are yet another example of the excellent Career and Technical Education programs and teachers we have at Monroe Public Schools. Glenn Zorn is a great example of educators in the CTE program who go above and beyond to help prepare students for careers and opportunities after graduation. It really goes to show the great deal of dedication our faculty has to our students and the future of this community.”
Zorn is the welding instructor at Monroe High School. He was instrumental in orchestrating the students’ submissions, taking time after school to help guide Lemerande and Smith with their projects.
“I am just so appreciate of all of the work that Glenn put in to prepare these two for this competition,” Monroe Public Schools CTE Director Bill Ferrara said. “He, like so many other teachers, put in so many extra hours supporting these students. This is a great honor for these students and for Glenn.”
Lemerande, who submitted an ornate windmill piece, won a Maxstart stick package welding unit, a bag of welding equipment and accessories, $250 in cash, and $750 for the Monroe High School welding program. Smith’s submission of a landscape with added circuitry earned him a Miller Thunderbolt stick welding unit. The two seniors have been invited to the March 20 meeting of the MEWDC at Jackson College to receive their awards.
The MEWDC Welding Competition was hosted by DTE Energy, Consumers Energy, and the Lansing Board of Water and Light during the fourth annual Careers and Energy Week in October 2017. High school welding students were asked to submitted metal creations centered around a theme of Michigan and energy. The entries were judged by professional welders.
Monroe High School HOSA students excel at Regional Conference
Students from Monroe High School’s Health Occupation Students of America (HOSA) group competed in the HOSA Region 3 Leadership Conference Saturday in Adrian with great results, including one first place, one second place, and two top-ten finishes. Over 600 students from schools throughout Monroe, Lenawee, Washtenaw, and Wayne Counties attended the conference.
“I am so proud of this group,” HOSA Advisor and Monroe High School teacher Leah Morelli said. “They are extremely committed. None of the prep work is done during class time; they prepared for this and practiced after school and it absolutely shows.”
Juniors DeSean Rouser, Noah Boudrie, and Stephanie Britton took first place in the Creative Problem Solving competition, in which the students had to carefully orchestrate a presentation with a solution to a unique medical or health issue. Junior Madison Winkelman took second place in Sports Science.
The team of juniors Jordan Younglove and Montana Smith landed in the Top 10 in Forensic Medicine, while Julia DePealsmaker and Breanna Norum, also juniors, finished in the Top 10 in Health Career Displays.
With their great showing, each of these students qualified to compete at the HOSA State Leadership Conference in March.
“This is amazing!” Monroe Public Schools Superintendent Julie Everly said. “I am so proud that we have these important opportunities for our students within MPS. The advisors and our CTE Team are an essential part of the success of the HOSA students. Congratulations to all of them!”
Along with Morelli, Kari Arnold and Alka Pandya advise HOSA students at Monroe High School.
The HOSA students’ success is another example of Monroe Public Schools’ commitment to Career and Technical Education for its students. Health and medical education is one of a long list of career pathways that students can follow to prepare for post-secondary education or career readiness.
Former superintendent Bottom passes away at 92
Monroe Public Schools is saddened to report the loss of former superintendent Ray Bottom, who passed away his morning at the age of 92.
“We are saddened to hear of Mr. Bottom’s passing,” Monroe Public Schools Superintendent Julie Everly said. “Mr. Bottom was a pillar of the Monroe Public Schools community for a number of years, both at a building and district level. His work paved the way for the growth of the district in the decades after his time as superintendent as we are thankful for his service. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family.”
Bottom spent 7 years teaching in Kentucky and Ohio before joining Custer Junior High School in 1958. He went on to be the principal of Waterloo, South Monroe Townsite, and Lincoln before joining central administration in 1969 as the Director of Comprehensive Education and then Administrative Assistant of Elementary Education in 1971. Bottom was named assistant superintendent in 1973 before taking over as superintendent in 1978.
“I have tried to do my best as your Superintendent with the talents given to me,” Bottom wrote in his letter to the Board of Education announcing his retirement in 1985. “I am proud that our school district is in good health and in the position to grow even stronger.”
Bottom’s wife, Linda, also taught in Monroe Public Schools, spending 1968-1973 at Lincoln Elementary.
Monroe Public Schools recognizes Board of Education as officers are confirmed
Monroe Public Schools recognized the Board of Education in honor of Board of Education Appreciation Month Tuesday at the first general meeting of the calendar year. The Board members were presented with certificates of appreciation and a gift card as a token of gratitude. Lawrence VanWasshenova, Floreine Mentel, Cynthia Taylor, Cheryl Sweeney, Robert Nichols, Matthew Bunkelman, and Rosalie Pasko were all celebrated for their efforts in supporting and guiding the districts initiatives.
“We have an amazing board,” Superintendent Julie Everly said. “These individuals have provided exceptional leadership to the community and have been instrumental in creating policy, developing budget priorities, and supporting student achievement initiatives in our district. They are a pleasure to work with and are dedicated to our students and staff. We have accomplished so much together already and I am excited to see what the new year brings.”
The celebration come the same evening as the Board’s Organization Meeting, in which the members’ positions on the board are decided. All the Board of Education members retained their positions from the previous calendar year. VanWasshenova keeps his place as President on the board as Mentel remains Vice President. Taylor and Sweeney also retained their positions as Secretary and Parliamentarian, respectively.
Good Evening Monroe Public Schools Family,
This evening we have received reports of a threatening post circulating on social media. We have learned that school districts throughout many states that have schools with the initials “MHS” are experiencing similar reports. At this time, the origin of the photograph has been traced to a school district out of Michigan. Law enforcement officials in that area are aware of this photograph and are currently investigating the matter.
We were made aware of this post by a number of concerned members of our Monroe Public Schools community. We have been in contact with the Monroe County Sheriff’s Department and learned that local law enforcement has also received multiple reports regarding this same social media post. We cannot express enough gratitude to our Monroe students, staff, and families. Your vigilant watch and reporting is so important in keeping our school community safe. The safety of our students and staff is our top priority.
Local law enforcement assures us that they will continue to monitor the situation. From this point, all indications are that this social media post is regarding an out-of-state school and the law enforcement officials in that area are addressing the matter.
As a point of reassurance and cooperation, our partners at the Monroe County Sheriff’s Department will have a presence at our high school tomorrow . If you have any further questions or concerns, feel free to contact us or local law enforcement.
Together, we are stronger. Together, we are Monroe!
As always,
Julie M. Everly,
Superintendent