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
February 28, 2022 Volume 9 - Edition 29
Midland PS District Vision Statement
Lead with respect, trust and courage.
Ensure an equitable, collaborative and inclusive culture.
Enable all to achieve success.
TRANSPORTATION NEWS & NOTES
Late last week, the CDC lifted masking mandates on school buses.
Students/staff are welcome to wear face masks, but masking on
Midland Public Schools' buses is no longer mandatory.
Midland Public Schools Transportation Parent Portal
If your child(ren) ride an MPS school bus and you haven't yet had a chance to check out our school district's smart phone app, now is a great time to explore this great transportation tool.
The app, called EDULOG PARENT PORTAL LITE, allows parents/guardians to see real-time information about the location of your child’s school bus and to receive notifications when the bus is getting close.
Your child’s safety and security are most important to MPS, and we want you to have peace of mind knowing that the bus arrived at school or at the bus stop in the afternoon. We know that a family's time is precious in the morning, and you need to know when the bus is approaching. The app does this.
Our school buses are now equipped with GPS to help our transportation department locate buses as necessary for routine maintenance and to provide assistance in the event of traffic or weather-related issues. That same GPS signal reaches the app so you have information about your child’s bus.
You can set alert zones at the school and surrounding your neighborhood to receive notifications on your phone when the bus arrives in that area. The size of the notification area, the time period when you want notifications and the number of alert zones is up to you.
Here are a few links you may find helpful regarding the MPS Transportation Portal:
Edulog Parent Portal Lite – Frequently Asked Questions
Loading and Using the App - Step By Step Instructions
Portal info on the MPS website: https://www.midlandps.org/Content/transportation-parent-portal#
4-minute video about EDULOG PARENT PORTAL LITE: https://youtu.be/SdQZhiw_AE4
Need assistance with the app or anything else transportation-related? Contact the MPS Transportation Department at 989.923.5041
A group of Midland High Chemics accompanied MHS Teacher,
Johnny Chatman, and MPS DEI Director, De'Ondre Hogan, to the Charles H. Wright African American History Museum in Detroit on February 12.
Reflections from three Midland High students who visited the Charles H. Wright Museum
“The trip to the Charles H.Wright Museum was very informative and fun. I was able to bond with the other students in the Black Student Union while learning about generations of African Americans who fought for freedom, justice, and equality. If I had to take anything back to Midland High, it would be that the history of Black Americans is more than slavery and the history is worth learning about because of its contributions to today’s society.”
“I will use this experience for the knowledge of knowing and seeing the history of Africans in America. I will use this experience to talk to people about the history of Africans that is not often shared.”
“The trip to the Charles H. Wright Museum was a fun learning experience. A few girls and I learned all about African American history. We read articles and did hands-on activities. While learning about the sufferings of African Americans throughout history, we also learned about their perseverance in obtaining freedom. African American history is not just about slavery and hardships. There is a lot more to African American culture. African American History and culture should be included more in the curriculum.”
Kudos to the Jefferson Huskies 7th Grade Basketball
Team & Coach for Their Community Service during last Friday's Snow Day
Retired MPS Music Teacher, Jan Wollner, sent the following message and picture to our office this past Friday:
Just an official shout out to the Jefferson Middle School 7th grade basketball team who is spending their snow day shoveling driveways! What a giving and caring way to use a day off - and the neighborhood really appreciates it!
It was also so much fun to hear them as they made their way down the block - happy voices and fast workers - they made my day!
We also heard from Karen & Gary Kozerski, who wrote:
Just want to recognize your 7th grade boys basketball coach and team for their community service on today’s (Friday) snow day. Heard a knock on my door. ... It was coach and his team asking if they could shovel our driveway and sidewalk. What an awesome surprise! Kudos for having an excellent coach to inspire a bunch of boys to get out on a cold day and work.
Way to go, Huskies!!!
YOU BE THE CHEMIST
Two teams from Jefferson Middle School recently competed at the Chemical Educational Foundation Eastern Michigan Regional Qualifier for the You Be The Chemist organized by the Mid Michigan Chapter of the American Chemical Society this past weekend.
Students independently prepared by studying a variety of Chemistry resources such as the Periodic Table, Energy and Matter, Chemical Bonding, Radioactivity and Nuclear Reactions, Chemical Safety and real-world examples. Top teams are chosen through a school qualifier and then the teams study the regional qualifier. At Bay City Western, students competed among 10 other area schools in a live timed question and answer event.
Both teams are finishing the competition cycle by creating a video of states of matter in space. Testing and video scores determine which team in Michigan will move on to the National competition in Houston, TX.
Team 2 earned special recognition by placing 2nd and earning Eastern Michigan Regional medals and prizes.
Team 1 (L-R): Sanvi Patel, Viktor Pangburn, and Raymond Chai
Team 2 (L-R): Kanushi Desai, Ian Koh, Louis Huang, and Emma Huang
Congratulations to the approximately 60 H.H. Dow High Band and Orchestra students who participated in MSBOA District 5 Solo and Ensemble Festival. The festival was a hybrid event where students could submit recordings of their pieces during the week of February 7 or participate in an in-person event on February 12. A total of 58 events from Dow High were featured at the event. Students were scored on a scale of 1 to 5 with first division ratings becoming eligible to participate in State Solo and Ensemble next month. Of the 58 Dow High events, 53 earned first division ratings and 5 earned second division ratings.
The Midland High School Student Council attended the Michigan Association of Student Councils and National Honor Societies annual state conference that was held in Grand Rapids this past weekend. This is the first time that the conference has been held since March of 2020. Two student groups received awards for their presentations at the regional event and again presented their student showcases two additional times to audiences of fellow attendees. One showcase was Uniquity Part 2, presented by Lauren McGuirk, Carin Hoevemeyer, and Zander Pellegrino. This presentation featured various unique activities that Midland High School Student Council puts on for the student body as a way to instill school pride and provide fun and unusual activities including Milk Week, the Oreo Pineapple Festival, and unique lunchtime activities just to name a few. The second showcase featured the creation of the "Diversity Begins with I" video in addition to the lesson that accompanied the video and was shown in third-hour classes in December. The student presenters were Mallory Fenskie, Erin Quinn, and Claire Volmering. Other attendees at the conference were Janelle Harris, Emmy Mackenzie, Emily Northrup, Sam Ringgold, Bella Sullivan, Jordan Warner, and MHS Student Council Advisor & Leadership teacher, Monique Albright.
Saginaw Valley League (SVL) Teacher of the Year Nomination Window is Now OPEN
The Saginaw Valley League Teacher of the Year Award was established to recognize excellence in teaching. This award is presented annually to one teacher from each of the Saginaw Valley member high schools. Any teacher who has taught for at least five years and whose current teaching assignment is full or part-time in grades 9-12 is eligible to receive this award. Click on the links below to nominate a Dow or Midland High teacher.
SVL Teacher of the Year Information: https://www.midlandps.org/News/647#sthash.YtpSwFlE.dpbs
Dow HS Info: https://www.midlandps.org/docs/district/2022/HHDSVLFORM2022.pdf?id=6677
Midland HS Info: https://www.midlandps.org/docs/district/2022/SVLTOYMHS2022nomination form.pdf?id=6676
THE NOMINATION WINDOW CLOSES THIS WEEK--FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 2022
Adams' 3rd Graders Enjoy Strumming
Adams' 3rd Grade students recently enjoyed strumming ukuleles in their music classes. It was great fun seeing the smiles and hearing the sound of ukuleles being strummed in the 3rd grade hall this week. Kudos to Music Teacher Mr. Webber for spreading the joy of learning an instrument and to Adams' 3rd graders for trying something new.
Chinese New Year Culture Experienced by Woodcrest 5th Graders
Recently, Woodcrest Elementary 5th Grade classes watched a video presentation made by Jessica from Dow High, and Ricky and Angelina from Jefferson Middle School. These MPS students' families are originally from China and were willing to share Chinese New Year Culture with others. They talked about how people celebrate Chinese New Year and performed Chinese music with Sophie from Dow High by using Chinese and western instruments together. They took action to demonstrate DEI concepts. In addition, some Woodcrest Elementary students whose families are originally from China or have strong connections to Chinese culture shared presentations about how their families celebrate Lunar New Year. They also answered questions from their classmates after their presentations were completed. Those students not only practiced presentational skills but also demonstrated their cultural awareness.
Jessica from Dow High, and Angelina and Ricky from Jefferson Middle School
Su, Junzhe
Ms. Pintar's Class
Patti
Ms. Peavey's Class
Aloysius
Ms. Anderson's Class
Midland County Department of Public Health is Hosting a FLU and COVID Shot Clinic
TOMORROW -- Tuesday, March 1 from 4-6 pm
County Services Building, 2nd Floor (220 W. Ellsworth Street)
Appointment preferred; Schedule your appointment at:
https://www.co.midland.mi.us/HealthDepartment/COVIDVaccineInformation.aspx
To register for this free workshop, click on this link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZcvd-upqjIoHd1dVEQ2XRGrvki35Pum-qtI
MPS students with career goals that include college can now earn
60 college credits before they graduate
Midland Public Schools is excited to offer a new option for our high school students. MPS is launching an Early Middle College (MPS-EMC) program in the fall of 2022 for current 10th grade students. Starting with their 11th grade year, MPS Early College students will take some classes at Delta College or Davenport University to fulfill the general elective credits that are required for most Associate's/Bachelor's degrees. Students enrolled in the Early Middle College program will extend their high school years by one additional year, meaning they will have five years in high school. While this means an additional year of being an MPS student, students will spend 100% of their 5th year on the Delta or Davenport campus. In summary, this program will allow students to have half of their college expenses paid before transferring to a university for a Bachelor's degree. MPS Early Middle College students will be able to walk at commencement with their senior year class, however, they will not receive their diploma until after their fifth year is completed. Successful Early College students will graduate from high school with an Associate's degree or at least 60 transferable credits to the university of their choice. Applications for this exciting new Midland Public Schools Early Middle College program are available from the student’s high school counseling department.
For those interested, here is some additional info about the Early Middle College program from the Michigan Dept. of Education:
An early middle college (EMC) is a Michigan Department of Education approved five-year program of study. EMCs work closely with postsecondary partners to provide students with an opportunity to earn a high school diploma and one or more of the following: 60 transferable college credits, an associate degree, a professional certification, the Michigan Early Middle College Association (MEMCA) technical certificate, participation in a registered apprenticeship.
A professional certification is any certificate or industry-recognized credential in which the pupil prepared for by taking course work provided by a Michigan public or private college or university.
https://www.michigan.gov/mde/0,4615,7-140-81351_51178---,00.html
Registration Window 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 Info & Paperwork: https://www.midlandps.org/content/guide-to-enrollment
3-Year-Old Tuition Preschool
5 days a week / sensory, play-based curriculum / competitively priced tuition / follows school year calendar
Offered at Carpenter Pre-Primary Center, 989-923-6411
4-Year-Old Tuition Preschool
5 days a week / research-based, child-focused curriculum / competitively priced tuition / follows school year calendar
Offered at Carpenter Pre-Primary Center, 989-923-6411
4-Year-Old GSRP Preschool
4 days a week / Great Start Readiness Program / free for income qualifying families / research-based
Offered at Carpenter Pre-Primary Center, 989-923-6411
Great Start Readiness Program (GSRP)
Regional Preschool Partnership
844-492-7707 ∙ 989-631-5892 ∙
Developmental Kindergarten
5 days a week / year one of two-year Kindergarten program / register soon! Space is limited for this program.
Offered at Carpenter Pre-Primary Center, 989-923-6411
(In the past, this program was known as
Young 5’s Kindergarten)
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. Call your neighborhood school for information or Becci at 923-5024.
Schools of Choice applications for the 2022-2023 school year are now available on the MPS website. This includes applications for non-resident students and in-district transfer students.
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:
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 14: Prom
May 25: High School Graduation at Dow Diamond (DHS @ 4:00; MHS at 7:00)
May 26: Rain Date for High School Graduation
Two Colin Powell quotes to ponder ...
"Success is the result of perfection, hard work, learning from failure, loyalty and persistence."
"I think whether you're having setbacks or not, the role of a leader is to always display a winning attitude."
