MPSConnect is a convenient communications tool for you to connect with me. Every message comes to my desktop. Either I or another MPS staff members will do all we can to reply to your message within the next work day.
Michael E. Sharrow, Superintendent
MPSConnect Link: https://www.midlandps.org/content2/706
January 31, 2022 Volume 9 - Edition 26
Midland PS District Vision Statement
Lead with respect, trust and courage.
Ensure an equitable, collaborative and inclusive culture.
Enable all to achieve success.
Black History Month is an annual celebration of achievements by African Americans and a time for recognizing their central role in U.S. history. Also known as African American History Month, the event grew out of “Negro History Week,” the brainchild of noted historian Carter G. Woodson and other prominent African Americans. Since 1976, every U.S. president has officially designated the month of February as Black History Month. Other countries around the world, including Canada and the United Kingdom, also devote a month to celebrating Black history. ...
... Today, Black History Month is a time to honor the contributions and legacy of African Americans across U.S. history and society—from activists and civil rights pioneers such as Frederick Douglass, Sojourner Truth, Marcus Garvey, Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X and Rosa Parks to leaders in industry, politics, science, culture and more.
The Black History Month 2022 theme, “Black Health and Wellness,” explores "the legacy of not only Black scholars and medical practitioners in Western medicine, but also other ways of knowing (e.g., birth workers, doulas, midwives, naturopaths, herbalists, etc.) throughout the African Diaspora. The 2022 theme considers activities, rituals and initiatives that Black communities have done to be well."
Source: https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/black-history-month
5-Year-Old Traditional Kindergarten
5 days a week. Inquiry-based, proven, highly effective, robust Kindergarten program to provide a firm educational foundation. Offered at all six MPS elementary schools.
MPS KINDERGARTEN ROUNDUP FOR 2022-23 IS TOMORROW EVENING (2/1/22) AT
ALL ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS
FEBRUARY 1, 2022 KINDERGARTEN ROUNDUP TIMES & LOCATIONS
Adams Elementary -- 6:00 pm -- Cafeteria
Central Park Elementary -- 6:00 pm -- Cafeteria
Chestnut Hill Elementary -- 5:30 pm -- Media Center
Plymouth Elementary -- 5:00 pm -- Cafeteria
Siebert Elementary -- 5:30 pm -- Cafeteria
Woodcrest Elementary -- 5:30 & 7:00 pm -- Media Center
If you have questions about 2022-23 Kindergarten Roundup, contact your child's school.
School phone numbers are located on the "District Details" page of this Communique.
The Midland High Drama Department presents THE HELLO GIRLS February 3-5 at Midland Public Schools Central Auditorium. Performances begins at 7:00 pm with the doors open at 6:30 pm. Tickets are available at centralauditorium.ludus.com ($12 for adults, $8 for students & seniors).
"THE HELLO GIRLS chronicles the story of America’s first women soldiers in this new musical inspired by history. These intrepid heroines served as bilingual telephone operators on the front lines, helping turn the tide of World War I. They then returned home to fight a decades-long battle for equality and recognition, paving the way for future generations." (Excerpt from Theatrical Rights Worldwide website)
On Tuesday, January 11, members of the Dow High & Midland High Student Leadership classes traveled to Frankenmuth to attend a Michigan State Student Council regional event. This event is largely student-led and allows opportunities for attendees to present individually or in small groups on topics related to their lives and leadership.
Dow High Freshman, Jessica Chai presented in the Michigan Student Voice category. This brief (Ted Talk-style) presentation format allows students to present on any topic about which they feel passionate. Jessica competed against several students from throughout the state. The competition winner is voted on by the schools attending the conference. Jessica received the prize of top presentation at this regional event and will now have the opportunity to present at the state conference in February. Ethan Houk, Wil Kuper, Taylor Neuman, and Brooke Seymour presented a Student Showcase presentation on behalf of Student Leadership 2. Their focus was on the growth of the leadership program at Dow High and a variety of the projects the class completes. Student Showcase groups will also have the opportunity to present at the state conference.
Midland High presented three showcases. Zander Pellegrino, Carin Hoevemeyer, and Lauren McGuirk presented Uniquity Part 2, a showcase that highlighted how to infuse fun into the school environment by holding unique and out-of-the-ordinary activities such as Milk Week, Pineapple Oreo
Festival, and Motivational Mondays. Mallory Fenskie, Claire Volmering, and Erin Quinn shared how to create a meaningful diversity and inclusion activity in the school by creating a video representing the various stereotypes that high school students experience. The video entitled, Inclusion Begins with I, was chosen as the first social media entry for MASC/MAHS new “Feature Friday” where schools can share their projects with their leadership peers across the state. Zander Pellegrino, Jordan Warner, Carter Albright, and Bella Sullivan shared the MHS annual Student Council Emergency Food Pantry event and provided the methods and logistics so other schools can implement a similar event in their communities. As with the Michigan Student Voice event, the schools in attendance voted on the top student showcases of the day. Midland High School was recognized as having the two top showcases with Uniquity Part 2 and Inclusion Begins With I. The Chemics will present both of these showcases at the state conference in Grand Rapids at the end of February.
Midland High Student Council's 2nd Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service Food Drive Update
The Midland High School Student Council would like to thank the Midland Community for the generous nonperishable food donations for the 2nd annual MHS Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service Food Drive. The drive was held on Monday, January 17 with over 1,300 items being donated. Thank you to everyone who donated food and a big kudos to the MHS sports teams who donated the lion's share of the items received. The following teams were the winners of the food drive competition:
1. Girl's basketball (by a landslide, almost 400 more items)
2. Football
3. Pom (only a few items behind football)
Way to make a difference right here in our community, Midland High!
Congratulations to DHS debaters Christine Cai and Evelyn Wang who broke to finals and took second overall at the Detroit Urban Debate League Junior Varsity State Championship this past weekend. Additionally, Evelyn placed 2nd and Christine placed 1st overall speaker. Thank you and congratulations to Corrine Cai for coaching the team at the tournament.
Christine Cai
Evelyn Wang
Corrine Cai
Scholastic Art & Writing Awards
Congratulations to these Midland High School student artists who placed awards in Scholastics, which is one of the nation’s longest running, most prestigious recognition programs that celebrates creative teens locally and nationally with awards, exhibitions, publications, and scholarships. Gold Key entries are automatically considered for national awards.
Aliah Carrigan (Gr. 12) Gold Key
Drawing/Illustration, “Tree Sorceress”
Kennedi Kickbush (Gr. 10) Gold Key
Drawing/Illustration, “Lunch With Hannah”
Sadie Thomas (Gr.12) Gold Key
Drawing/Illustration, “Self Portrait"
Cameron Slawnyk (Gr. 11) Gold Key
Design, “Design”
Garett Perez (Gr. 10) Silver Key
Drawing/Illustration, “Towering Above”
Emily Jankins (Gr.12) Silver Key
Painting, “Clouds Over Gatlinburg”
Emily Jankins (Gr. 12) Silver Key
Drawing/Illustration, “Still Life”
Congratulations to the H.H. Dow High School Symphony Orchestra for their amazing performance at the Michigan Music Conference on Friday, January 28. Every year, eight bands and orchestras are chosen from all over the state of Michigan to be featured ensembles at the Michigan Music Conference where they will perform in front of community members as well as hundreds of Michigan music teachers and college professors. Being selected as a featured ensemble is the equivalent of winning a state title in a sporting event, and the 78-member orchestra represented Midland Public Schools admirably with their beautiful performance.
Congratulations to these very impressive MPS student musicians for their performances in the Michigan All-State Bands and Orchestras on Saturday, January 29. These students were selected for these honors ensembles from approximately 1900 auditionees from across the State of Michigan.
HH Dow High Orchestra:
Zaky El-Nachef, Abigail Yoo, Sarah Li, Audrey Fanning
Midland HIgh Orchestra:
Quinn McMath
Midland High Orchestra:
Elijah Skutt
Northeast Orchestra:
Penelope Lemon
Jefferson Band:
Matt Lee, Louis Huang, Ricky Wang, Lei Johnson
Jefferson Orchestra:
Kanushi Desai, Ian Koh, Mia Bayardo, Emma An
Last Week's Virtual Learning Days
Great job to MPS staff and students for a successful two days of virtual learning last week!
In these photos, Plymouth students and staff enjoyed their transition to virtual learning. Teachers used creative methods to foster a seamless transition from in-person learning to virtual learning to keep students engaged. One creative strategy the lower elementary teacher used was gross motor skill movement to increase student participation. Classroom Chromebooks also allowed paraprofessionals to participate in the virtual classroom setting.
ALL ARE WELCOME HERE!
For the second year, Midland Public School’s DK-3rd grade classrooms were provided with Colors of the World crayons, along with a district-approved book and activity guide. This effort began spring of 2021 with a generous donation from the Islamic Center of Midland. Last spring, volunteers from the Islamic Center of Midland donated Colors of the World crayons to all MPS students in grades DK-3rd, as well as the book, “The Colors of Us.” The Islamic Center collaborated with the MPS elementary curriculum office to develop a lesson plan to accompany the books and crayons. This collaboration gave students the opportunity to learn the importance of celebrating diversity, and the part they play in creating a welcoming environment for all. This year's book is “All Are Welcome” in which readers follow a group of children through a day of school where everyone is welcomed with open arms no matter their race, religion, or background.
The district team was able to purchase 2,640 crayon packs and 104 books. MPS will consider ways to make this a sustainable experience for our DK-3rd grade students each year. This year, all DK-3rd grade teachers received copies of the book "All Are Welcome," along with an activity and enough Colors of the World crayons for their entire class to utilize. The Midland County Inclusion Alliance (MCIA) MPS Parent Engagement team that brought this wonderful resource to us, partnered with Dow ERG’s (Employee Resource Groups) in preparing a video to accompany the book and activity. Dow ERG’s provided much excitement, time, and skills to help us create the video. This video is well done and really drives home the message MPS, and the MCIA Parent Engagement Team, is working to emphasize across the district--ALL ARE WELCOME HERE! Check out the video: https://youtu.be/ASKXXZARqRQ
Have a 2022 Graduate in your family? Looking for scholarship information?
Here are a couple of great local resources:
Midland Area Community Foundation sponsors over 250 scholarships. Here is the link to their website with 2022 scholarship information. https://www.midlandfoundation.org/scholarships/. This year's scholarship application deadline is February 15, 2022!
The H.E.L.P.S. (Higher Education Loans, Planning and Scholarships) booklet is graciously compiled by the Midland Branch of the AAUW each year. This year's amazing booklet includes 25 pages of varied scholarship opportunities for students. You may pick up a H.E.L.P.S. booklet in your MPS high school Counseling Department. In addition, the electronic version is available on our Student Flyer Board: https://sites.google.com/midlandps.org/studentflyers/
The registration window is now open for
Midland Public Schools 2022-23 youngest learners
3-Year-Old Tuition Preschool
4-Year-Old Tuition Preschool
4-Year-Old GSRP Preschool
Developmental Kindergarten
Traditional Kindergarten
For Preschool & Kindergarten enrollment information & paperwork click on this link: https://www.midlandps.org/content/guide-to-enrollment
Schools of Choice (SOC) applications for the 2022-2023 school year will be available beginning TOMORROW (2/1/2022) on the MPS website. SOC application window for 2022-2023 is February 1 - March 30. Forms will be available on the MPS website under the enrollment section.
Non-resident SOC applicants are asked to turn all enrollment documents and SOC form into Becci Longstreth at the MPS Administration Center (600 E. Carpenter). Families currently living in the MPS district should turn their enrollment documents and SOC form into their home attendance area school (their neighborhood school based on their address).
Enrollment documents for all new MPS students include the following: Pre-registration packet, original birth certificate, immunization record, and proof of address (lease agreement, utility bill, mortgage statement).
Please contact Becci Longstreth at longstrethra@midlandps.org or 989-923-5024 with questions.
We name MPS Shining Stars every month during the school year. If you know of an MPS team member who goes above and beyond to make MPS a better place for students, please consider nominating them for a Shining Star. Here is the link to the nomination form:
https://www.midlandps.org/Content2/shining-star-nomination-form
In this space each week, we include fun events and happenings around the District that MPS families and community members may like to attend. If you have any questions about these events, please call the school office. Phone numbers for all of the school offices are located on the District Details page of this Communique.
Here are some upcoming events in the District:
February 18 & 21: No School
March: Dow High Drama is presenting The Sound of Music as their spring musical
April 8 & 9: Midland High Drama Department presents Beauty and the Beast
May 25: High School Graduation at Dow Diamond (DHS @ 4:00; MHS at 7:00)
May 26: Rain Date for High School Graduation
“For there is always light,
if only we’re brave enough to see it.
If only we’re brave enough to be it.”
-- Amanda Gorman
