MPSConnect is a convenient communications tool for you to connect with me. Every message comes to my desktop. Either I or another MPS staff member 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
March 7, 2022 Volume 9 - Edition 30
Superintendent Communiqué
Midland PS District Vision Statement
Lead with respect, trust and courage.
Ensure an equitable, collaborative and inclusive culture.
Enable all to achieve success.
February Shining Stars
Congratulations to these Midland Public Schools' staff members for being named February Shining Stars:
Melinda Coyle, Northeast Middle School Science Teacher
Mark Burns & Chris Kisser, Groundskeepers, Grounds Department
Ms. Coyle, Mr. Burns and Mr. Kisser received their Shining Stars at the February 28 Board of Education Meeting. Kudos to these very deserving Shining Stars for making MPS a better place for students!
Melinda Coyle
Mark Burns
Chris Kisser
Congratulations to HH Dow High Teacher, Sarah Pancost,
who has been awarded the
2022 International Baccalaureate School of Michigan
Jean Ramseyer Excellence in Approaches to Teaching and Learning Award
Our office just received word this morning that Ms. Pancost is this recipient of this prestigious award.
Stay tuned to next week's Communique for more information!
Don't miss the talented Dow High Charger Drama Department's presentation of
The Sound of Music at Central Auditorium
Thursday, March 10 @ 7:00 pm
Friday, March 11 @ 7:00 pm
Saturday, March 12 @ 7:00 pm
Sunday, March 13 @ 2:00 pm
Tickets: $8 for child/student/seniors; $10 for adults
Click on this link for tickets: https://centralauditorium.ludus.com/index.php?step=seats
On February 22, the MHS Student DEI group had a 3-hour work session to develop action plans to help educate, inform, and incorporate better understanding of diversity, equity, and inclusion, not only at Midland High but throughout MPS. Several Dow High Chargers joined the Chemics for the afternoon of idea sharing, brainstorming, and collaboration.
On February 25, the Midland High Pom teams hosted their annual Future Pommer Clinic. Sixty future Chemic pommers learned a routine, made posters and hair bows, ate pizza, and then performed in front of a large home crowd for the varsity basketball game. Fun was had by all and the future of MHS Pom is bright!
Ready Set Interview -- Dow High Chargers
HH Dow High students in Mr. Baczewski's Computer Technology 2, Ms. Williams' HealthCare Technology, and Mrs. Royalty's Marketing classes traveled to Davenport University's Midland Campus to participate in the ESA Ready Set Interview mock interview event.
Prior to the interview, students prepared by learning about how to interview and dressing professionally, and they prepared portfolios featuring their resume, work samples and awards. This was a great opportunity for students to network with local community professionals and develop skills that will help prepare them to be the workforce of tomorrow.
The Gerstacker Nomination Window is NOW OPEN!
Now that March is upon us, it is time to set our sights on nominating MPS educators for the 67th Annual Midland Public Schools' Gerstacker Awards for Excellence in Teaching. Two elementary educators and two secondary educators will receive this prestigious award at the opening meeting of the 2022-23 school year in August.
Nominate a deserving MPS teacher today for a 2022 Gerstacker Excellence in Teaching Award before April 22 when the nomination window closes.
For Gerstacker Award nomination information go to www.midlandps.org.
Here is the link for the 2022 nomination form: https://forms.gle/GHzCuoTFpKbY9AC67
Last week, students from HH Dow High Student Leadership 1 and 2 attended the MAHS/MASC State Leadership Conference. This is the first time the conference has been held in two years and provides an incredible opportunity for our student leaders to interact with their peers from throughout the state. The Student Leadership Executive Board (Ethan Houk 12, Brooke Seymour 12, Ellyana Tierney 12, Caleb Kaiser 11, Wil Kup 11, & Taylor Neuman 11) earned the chance to share their Student Showcase Presentation about the growth of our program and Charity Week. Jessica Chai (9) competed in the Michigan Student Voice Competition and won by popular vote. Seniors Brooke Seymour and Ellyana Tierney were also honored for all of their hard work in the Leadership program. Brooke was recognized with the Unsung Hero Award and Ellyana was nominated for the Student of the Year Award. All members in attendance had opportunities to network and listen to presentations from a variety of Michigan schools. We look forward to implementing some of the activities learned at Dow High!
[Note: Pictured in the photo with the $1,000 big check is DHS Student Leadership member, Jessica Chai, with MAHS/MASC Director Matt Alley and members from the State Board of Directors.]
Jefferson Huskie Science Olympiad Team Shine at Tournament
The Jefferson Huskie Science Olympiad team took second place in the Region 4 tournament. Science Olympiad is a national program where students build, study, experiment, create, practice and collaborate on a variety of life, earth, physical and engineering topics in 23 events.
The team earned top 3 places in all of the events in which they participated. The first place events for Jefferson were Codebusters, Solar System, Anatomy and Physiology, Disease Detectives, Dynamic Planet, MouseTrap Vehicle, Green Generation, Electric Wright Stuff, and Write it Do it.
The students are pictured at the awards ceremony. (L-R) Cathy Huang, Raymond Chai, Joylin Brillhart, Sanvi Patel, Christine Cai, and Coach Christine Brillhart. The 6th- 9th grade competing team consisted of 14 members. Those not pictured are: Sahbia Kaur, Jashwanth Thamminana, Olivia Dejeu, Tanisha Hasan, Sydney Ma, Ashwin Vemury, Tanay Janmanchi, Dhwani Madduri, Aarush Vemury.
This Week's MPS Connections Podcast
This Thursday (March 10), we will be releasing MPS Connections Episode #15: MPS Building Trades' House. Here are some pictures that were taken during the taping of the podcast. Tune to the podcast on Thursday to hear about the great work and skills these student carpenters are learning and accomplishing in their Building Trades class. Our Building Trades Teacher is Kevin Dodick.
This month's State of Michigan StayWell video offerings focus on "Cultivating Joy."
Each episode explores action-oriented ways to move beyond pandemic struggles and reclaim personal joy. A new video will be released each week. Check them out!
Episode 1: Positive Psychology (Premiered week of 2/28/22)
Episode 2: It’s OK to not be OK (for now!) (Premiered week of 3/7/22)
Episode 3: Joyful Activities (Premieres week of 3/14/22)
Episode 4: How do we heal? (Premieres week of 3/21/22)
Episode 5: Can boundaries help create joy? (Premieres week of 3/28/22)
Episode 6: Gratitude and Joy (Premieres week of 4/4/22)
March is Women's History Month
Please allow us to share a few snippets about three very impressive STEM Role Models who also happen to be Women Innovators.
These beautiful posters were taken from the following website and have been illustrated by very talented women artists.
https://womenyoushouldknow.net/downloadable-stem-role-models-posters/
Dr. Hayat Sindi was born in Makkah, Saudi Arabia and is one of the world’s leading biotechnologists. She is the Founder and President of the i2 Institute and a co-founder of Diagnostics For All.
Mae C. Jemison is an American engineer, physician and NASA astronaut. She became the first African American woman to travel in space when she went into orbit aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour on September 12, 1992.
Dr. Cynthia Breazeal is an Associate Professor of Media Arts and Sciences at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where she founded and directs the Personal Robots Group at the Media Lab. She is also founder and Chief Scientist of Jibo, Inc.
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.
Information regarding the Early Middle College has been posted on the MPS website. Click here to check it out!
https://www.midlandps.org/Content/mps-early-middle-college
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
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
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
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 10-13: Dow High Drama presents The Sound of Music at Central Auditorium
March 25: 1/2 day of instruction; PM staff professional development
March 28-April 1: NO SCHOOL -- Spring Break
April 4: Classes Resume
April 8 & 9: Midland High Drama Department presents Beauty and the Beast at Central Auditorium
April 15: NO SCHOOL -- District Holiday
May 14: Prom at Great Hall
May 25-27: High School Final Exams
May 25: High School Graduation at Dow Diamond (DHS @ 4:00; MHS at 7:00)
May 26: Rain Date for High School Graduation
Dr. Mae Jemison is one of the women innovators we highlighted in our March is Women's History Month in this Communique.
Here are several very wise words from Dr. Jemison:
"I like to think of ideas as potential energy. They're really wonderful, but nothing will happen until we risk putting them into action."
"Science provides an understanding of a universal experience. Arts provide a universal understanding of a personal experience."
"I'm not somebody who gets teared up or anything, but I still look up at the stars, and it gives me hope, and it gives me energy. I think one of the things that we have to think about it is, we are all a part of this universe."
