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 21, 2022 Volume 9 - Edition 32
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.
This Week & Next:
Friday (March 25) -- Half Day for students (Check with your school for release time)
Have a wonderful Spring Break March 28 through April 1. (Classes resume Monday, April 4)
Hello
Spring!
Congratulations, March Shining Stars
Congratulations to Beth Haller and Tiala Warczynski, Midland Public Schools' staff members named MPS Shining Stars for March! They will receive their Shining Stars at tonight's Board of Education Meeting.
Kudos to these very deserving Shining Stars for making MPS a better place for students!
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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
Beth Haller
Siebert Elementary Paraprofessional
Tiala Warczynski Adams Elementary Classroom Teacher
2022 National Merit Scholarship Finalists
The National Merit Scholarship Program is a United States academic scholarship competition for recognition and university scholarships administered by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC), a privately funded, not-for-profit organization. The program began in 1955. Each year, about 1.6 million students take the fall PSAT/ NMSQT Test. Of the juniors who take the exam, about 16,000 earn scores that qualify them as Semifinalists (that’s around 1%). This group is narrowed down to 15,000, who become Finalists. Of this group, about 7,500 are awarded scholarships of about $2,500 a year that can be renewed each year they are in college. Six current Midland Public Schools' Seniors have been named National Merit Scholarship Finalists and will await the announcement of the 2022 year’s winners this spring.
Congratulations & Best Wishes
Kenneth, Taylor, Omer, Laura, Toluwani, and Millward!
Kenneth Gu, DHS
Taylor Huschke, DHS
Omer Khan, DHS
Laura Leiti, DHS
Toluwani Oshin, DHS
Stanton Millward, MHS
THE ROBOTS ARE COMING ... THE ROBOTS ARE COMING ...
FROM ALL OVER THE STATE OF MICHIGAN !! !! !! !! !!
ADMISSION AND PARKING ARE FREE, MARCH 25 & 26,
ALL ARE WELCOME
H.H. Dow High will once again host a very, very exciting FIRST Robotics competition March 25-26 in the DHS gym. Come for all or part of this very exciting FREE event.
EVERYONE IS WELCOME!!! Come and cheer on H.H. Dow High’s Team 2619 The Charge and Midland High’s Team 5509 Like a BOSS, who will be both be competing.
The 2022 competition is called FIRST RAPID REACTSM and the challenge requires two alliances of three robots each to collect and score cargo balls in the hub during the 2.5 minute matches. Human players assist with cargo ball retrieval and scoring efforts from within their terminal. In the final moments of each match, robots race to their hangar to climb and score additional points. For more information go to: http://www.first-glbr.org/
[Important Note: ALL volunteers and attendees (vaccinated or unvaccinated) at FIRST events this spring will be required to wear a mask at all times at the event.]
Congratulations H.H. DOW HIGH DECA!!!
The Michigan DECA State competition was held March 10-12 in Detroit. Dow High DECA was represented by 99 of their outstanding members. Members competed in areas of Marketing, Finance, Hospitality and Management. Overall an impressive 63 medals were earned.
The following members received medals for their Comprehensive exam: Lauren Burgard, Katherine Gray, Alexandra Little, Simran Kalra, Chloe Stafford, Drew Soto, Eleanor Hughes, Andrew Frickey, Vish Karthikeyan, Evelyn Johnson, Michael McGaugh, Tolu Oshin.
The following members received medals for their role play: Emma Schultz, Ellyana Tierney, Simran Kalra, Chloe Stafford, T'emi Oshin, River Penn, Abby McNally, Ava Nelson, James Toole, Sahiba Kaur, Ayesha Middha, Alex Price, Michael McGaugh.
The following members received overall finalist medals: Lauren Burgard, Katherine Gray, Alex Little, Joaquin Garcia Argibay, Rachel Ieuter, Mallory Matthews, Emma Schutlz, Ellyana Tierney, Simran Kalra, Maggie Nelson, Chloe Stafford, T'emi Oshin, Ellie Senkowski, Abby McNally, Ava Nelson, Cole Kinney, Danny Safadi, Tate Clerc, Kefir Klee, Abby Rey, Jessica Erickson, Eleanor Hughes, Logan Yu, Kylie Keefer, Ayesha Middha, Evelyn Johnson, Alexandra Kinney, Alex Price, Eddie MacNellis, Michael McGaugh, Abby Wilson, James Toole.
The following members will be representing Dow High DECA at the International Competition to be held in Atlanta Georgia in late April: Michael McGaugh, Simran Kalra, Alex Price, Eddie MacNellis, James Toole, Eleanor Hughes, Kourtney Fischer, Luciana Fabiano, Maggie Nelson, Ellie Senkowski, Joaquin Garcia-Argibay, and Tolu Oshin.
DECA is an international Business Club that prepares emerging leaders and entrepreneurs for careers in marketing, finance, hospitality and management in high schools and colleges around the globe
Congratulations, Chargers, on an excellent competition!
Midland High Hosted Human Library March 16
This past Wednesday, in a collaborative effort with MPS and the community, MHS hosted the very first Human Library.
The Human Library is an international organization that publishes people as open books. The goal is to create a safe place for dialogue and a place to ask questions about difficult subjects, thus offering the opportunity to challenge stereotypes and provide the opportunity to "unjudge" someone.
Human books represented our own community members that often are subjected to prejudice, stigmatization or discrimination. This could be due to lifestyle, diagnosis, belief, disability, social status, ethnic origin, etc. Both the books and readers (MHS/DHS Seniors) had the opportunity to create empathy and meet people who may seem different but actually share many things in common.
A student from MHS reflects about her experience: "The Human Library was a beneficial experience to not only my peers and I, but also to teachers and the participants in the event. Taking a break away from our daily routine of work and classroom settings, we were able to have a discussion with people of our community who have faced or are facing struggles of life. This experience to some was very eye-opening and rewarding in a way in which we can take what we learned from our new friends and apply it to our life and our challenges we face individually. Thank you to Midland High School for giving my peers and I this experience, and most importantly thank you to the Human Library participants for having the courage to not only face the challenges life can bring to you, but also for having the bravery to share your story with others in the community."
"THANK YOU for this opportunity and I hope this can become a tradition to Midland High for years to come!!!" - Tayleigh Niemiec
Thank you very much to our community members who were willing to participate in the MPS/Midland Community Human Library.
For more information about the Human Library, visit: The Human Library Organization: Unjudge someone @ https://humanlibrary.org
Human Library FAQ: https://humanlibrary.org/meet-our-human-books/the-human-library-book-faq/
Dow High Automotive Class Competes at Delta College
This past Friday, Automotive students competed in the Delta College Student Technical Solutions Competition. They competed in the Automotive MLR (Maintenance and Light Repair) Competition, taking both first and second place!
Congratulations to Madison Allen and Logan Mann who placed 2nd and Dominick Dickinson and Dawson Haller who placed 1st at the Delta College Student Technical Solutions Automotive Competition.
Kudos to our Automotive Technology students and their teacher, Lance Ransom!
Dow High Student Leadership Hosts Charity Week
During the week of April 18, Dow High Student Leadership is hosting their 3rd annual Charity Week. This year students have selected the Pardee Cancer Treatment to receive the funds earned. In addition to events like a coin drive, can drive, and other fun activities, students designed a Dow High Spirit shirt to correspond with the event. Shirts are $15 each and pre-order only. Pre-orders will be taken until Friday, March 25. If you are interested in purchasing a shirt, please have your students visit the table at both lunches or contact Chelsea Berg (bergca1@midlandps.org).
Midland High One Billion Rising Gallery Walk
On Thursday, March 10, 2022, the Midland High School Student Council hosted a gallery walk for the student body in the MHS Media Center in observance of the annual awareness campaign, One Billion Rising (OBR). OBR is the largest global movement to end violence against women. The gallery walk consisted of works of art and poetry created by members of the student body to express their feelings about violence against women, the struggles of women in society, and body positivity. Over 50 pieces of both artwork and poetry were submitted to the gallery. The voluntary walk also included t-shirts with written messages about personal experiences and butterflies with messages from the student body stating why the students stand up to speak out about violence against women and children. The gallery had educational exhibits about human trafficking, the meaning of consent, the warning signs of unhealthy relationships, and resources that are available in our community to assist survivors of violence. The Shelterhouse was also in attendance and distributed information and answered questions. This was an impactful event that shed light on a very important topic. We would like to thank the Shelterhouse for their attendance and art teacher, Mrs. Bishop, and English Language Arts teacher, Mrs. Dodick, who encouraged students to submit their artwork and poetry to the event.
Chemic Art in the Afternoon
On March 5, the MHS Student Council sponsored an "Art in the Afternoon" event in the MHS cafeteria. The student body was invited to attend this free event where rocks, canvases, drawing paper, and all painting supplies were provided, in addition to snacks. The dozens of students that attended had two relaxing hours to create art, enjoy a snack, and socialize with their peers.
Chemics Share Important Message with Vikings
Members of the MHS Varsity Student Leadership Class visited Northeast Middle School on March 9 to share with the 8th-grade students an anti-vaping presentation that was created by the high school students. The presentation included information about how vaping is detrimental to the success of high school students and can negatively impact academics, athletics, and relationships with both family and friends. The students were given lanyards and wrist bands with the "Get Your Head Out of the Clouds" logo created by former MHS Students. The lanyards and wrist bands were provided by The Legacy Center for Community Success.
Upcoming MPS Art Shows -- Don't miss the work of our talented student artists!
MPS Elementary Art Show at the Midland Mall - April 11-April 18: Reception is Tuesday, April 11 from 4:00-5:30
MPS Middle School Art Show at the Midland Mall - April 20-April 26: Reception is Wednesday, April 12 from 4:00-5:30
MPS High School Art Show at the Midland Mall - April 28-May 9: Reception is Thursday, April 28 from 4:00-5:30pm
DHS IB/AP Art Show in the DHS Media Center - April 11-15: Reception is April 11 from 4:00-5:30pm
MHS AP Art Show in the MHS Girls Loft - May 5: Reception will be during 1st & 2nd lunch and after school from 4:00-5:30pm
Congressional Art Show at the MCFTA: May 6 through June 5
HAPPY BIRTHDAY NELLIE!
Nellie, Central Park's therapy dog, celebrated her 1st birthday on March 19th!
Findings of October 2021 Survey of Midland County Youth
Profiles of Student Life: Attitudes and Behavior Survey of Midland County students in grades 6-12 was conducted in October 2021 by The Legacy Center for Community Success and Midland Kids First. Approximately 4,400 students were surveyed, measuring 40 developmental assets (positive attributes that students need in order to do well), 24 risk-taking behaviors and the factors that influence them. Families may find the results interesting and helpful as they relate to their tweens & teens. If you are interested in looking at the survey results, here is the link.
www.tlc4cs.org/youth-development-2/attitudes-behavior-study/
Looking for FUN SUMMER CAMPS for your elementary, tween or teen age child(ren)???
Midland Public Schools has been receiving amazing summer school/program flyers from our community partners, as well as some from the Great Lakes Bay Region this winter. Here are just a few examples:
Elementary & Middle School age students:
Chippewa Nature Center
Dow Gardens
Greater Midland Community Center
Midland Center for the Arts
YMCA Camp Timbers
The ROCK Center for Youth Development
High School age students (From ConneCTEd https://forms.gle/ztKWcEKA3JotAhsE9 ):
Full tank - Automotive Camp: June 20 - June 22
A Farm to Table Experience, Ag/Culinary Camp: June 28-30
Square 1 Skilled Trades Camp: July 11-14 & July 18-21
Operation Innovation -Michigan Means Business: July 26-28
Scrub Life - Healthcare Camp: August 1-3
Bytes- Information Technology Camp: August 8-9
Find Your Future: August 8-9
The ROCK Center for Youth Development
We just posted a flyer today about fun opportunities available for children through The Middle of the Mitt Miracle League's 2022 Inaugural Season. Check it out!
Check these and more great spring and summer opportunities out on our MPS Student Flyer Board! https://sites.google.com/midlandps.org/studentflyers/
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
Registration Opens 4/24/2022
Summer eLearning Opportunity
Once school has ended for the year, Midland Public Schools will again be offering the Summer eLearning Program. Through this program, online courses are available to high school students who wish to earn initial credit in select courses. If you are interested in Credit Recovery courses this year, please contact your building administration. While being onsite is not a requirement for daily work or quizzes, tests and exams must be monitored. This can be by appointment onsite or by appointment virtually. Appointments will be scheduled with the teacher on duty between the hours of 9:00 and 12:00 on Mondays - Thursdays, unless other arrangements are made. Students should expect to invest 45-60 hours to complete each course and may work on their course any place where they have an internet connection. Courses will begin on June 6, 2022, and must be completed by August 5, 2022. Students may only register for one course at a time. The cost for each course is $150 for Standard Edgenuity courses (EDG - Edgenuity on course list) and $235 for Edgenuity Instructional Services courses (EDGIS - Edgenuity Instructional Services on course list) for Midland Public Schools' students and $175 or $250 for students outside of the MPS district. If you would like additional information or to register for a course, please visit www.midlandps.org/content/Summer%20Program.
Registration opens April 24, 2022.
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 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)
This Week we Complete our look at Women's History Month
As you may remember, for the past two weeks we highlighted three impressive women in this section of the Communiques. Please allow us to share a few snippets about two more 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/
Rosalind Franklin was a pioneer of the study of molecular structures receiving recognition among scientists for her research on the molecular structure of coal, viruses, and DNA. Her X-ray diffraction images of DNA enabled the University of Cambridge’s Francis Crick and James Watson to identify the molecule’s double helix structure. For years her work on the structure went unnoticed as only Crick, Watson and Franklin’s colleague Maurice Wilkins received the Nobel Prize for the discovery in 1962. In 2003, The Royal Society established the Rosalind Franklin Award to bring attention to outstanding work of women in STEM.
Gladys West is an American mathematician known for her contributions to the mathematics underpinning GPS. Her contributions to GPS were only uncovered when a member of her sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha, read a short biography West had submitted for an alumni function.
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.
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 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
"The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep."
--Robert Frost
