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
May 9, 2022 Volume 9 - Edition 38
Midland PS District Vision Statement
Lead with respect, trust and courage.
Ensure an equitable, collaborative and inclusive culture.
Enable all to achieve success.
"My Mother, my friend so dear
Throughout my life you're always near.
A tender smile to guide my way
You're the sunshine to light my day." (unknown author)
We hope our MPS Moms had a wonderful Mother's Day!
Jefferson Middle School Huskies' You Be the Chemist Team is the Michigan Winner!
Jefferson Middle School Huskies' You Be the Chemist Team is representing Michigan in Houston, Texas ... WOW!
One of Jefferson's You Be The Chemist Teams, in combination with a 2nd place test score and video presentation, was the YBTC Michigan winner. If that isn't amazing enough, five state teams compete in the National You Be The Chemist Competition during June in Houston, Texas and Jefferson's Team was invited! This team will represent Michigan and have to answer questions on stage from a live panel of judges about their video presentation and applications of chemistry. This is the first time to win the state title and attend Nationals in the history of Midland Public Schools.
(L-R) Kanusi Desai, Emma Huang, Louis Huang, and Seungjae (Ian) Koh
Final Our Schools for 2021-22 School Year
The print and on-line versions of this past Saturday's Midland Daily News included Midland Public Schools' quarterly Our Schools newsletter. This is a publication MPS has printed for the past nine years. This 8-page newsletter contains a section from each MPS school about the great things happening in their school as well as District information about points of pride, programs, staff retirements, and so much more. Click HERE if you would like to take a look at the fourth Our Schools of the 2021-22 school year.
Plymouth 3rd & 4th Graders Enjoy Flight Night at Barstow Airport
On Friday, April 29, Plymouth Elementary 3rd and 4th graders participated in Flight Night at the Jack Barstow Airport. This event was sponsored and organized by Barstow Airport and Chief Science Officers (CSO) Ava Nelson (HH Dow High), Preston Komara (Jefferson Middle School), and Braeden Oehring (Freeland). Students participated in a variety of flight-related stations including a flight simulator, Bernoulli model, drawing layers of the atmosphere, and measuring weight on different planets. Many pilots volunteered their time and their planes for students to explore.
MPS Welding Students Use American Welding Society Certified Weld Inspection Equipment
On April 22, Midland PS was invited to the Greater Michigan Construction Academy (GMCA) to utilize American Welding Society (AWS) Certified weld inspection equipment. The AWS has academic as well as hands-on weld performance/testing requirements for students to earn weld certification through their Schools Excelling through National Skills Education (SENSE) programs. Weld bend testing is one of these requirements. GMCA Welding Instructor Mr. Steven Hilliker is an AWS Certified Welding Inspector and a Certified Welding Educator with 15 years of experience inspecting and supervising the testing. MPS Welding Instructor Mr. Christopher Wall assisted. Combined, these two gentlemen have 33 years of experience as Instructors and 77 years of overall welding experience in education/industry.
MPS and GMCA have a partnership that students can begin welding training at MPS working toward the AWS limited Level 1 Certification program and finish full level 1 at GMCA with the opportunity to continue on for additional levels of AWS training, up to and including pipe welding. From there, students have a multitude of welding career/post-secondary options, such as direct local employment, apprenticeship opportunities, and/or continuing on to post-secondary education.
(L-R) GMCA Instructor Steven Hilliker and MPS Instructor Christopher Wall. The 12 sets of bend tests are shown in the foreground.
Midland PS Distinguished Service Awards Nomination Window is Now Open!
This award recognizes the significant contributions made by MPS SUPPORT STAFF members.
The MPS Distinguished Service Awards (DSA) were established to honor and recognize the effort put forth by outstanding MPS support personnel (Administrative Assistants/Office Professionals, Managers, Maintenance/Grounds, Paraprofessionals, Technicians, Transportation, etc.). Please nominate a support staff person who you believe does an outstanding job each and every day for MPS students, staff, families and community. (Please do not nominate an administrator or teacher. They are not eligible for this award.) The DSA Nomination window closes Tuesday, May 24, 2022.
2022 DSA Info & Past Winners: https://www.midlandps.org/News/2022-dsa
Online DSA Nomination Form: https://forms.gle/YVCH8xrX9C4EKVjg9
These awards are made possible because of the generosity and financial support of the Rollin M. Gerstacker Foundation.
THANK YOU, MPS TEAM!
For the second year in a row, MPS & MCEA brought Olvera's BBQ Food Truck to each of the MPS Schools and Administration Center and invited team members to have lunch as a heartfelt gesture of thanks and appreciation for their dedication and hard work this school year.
We also send a huge thank you to the Midland City Education Association (MCEA), Meemic Insurance: Longuski-Carter Agency, and MESSA (the District's health insurance provider) for their financial support that made this year's food truck event possible. This fun event is such a treat for the MPS staff members, and the smoked & BBQ smell wafting through the air brings a smile to all.
MI Backpack Home (COVID) Test Program
This winter, MPS forwarded a letter to you from MDHHS regarding a MI Backpack Home Test Program. If your family signed up online for a Home Test, we apologize that you did not receive the test. The good news is the MI Backpack Program COVID tests arrived last week from MDHHS. Unfortunately, we have no way of knowing who signed up online to receive a home test. We have sent tests to each MPS school. MPS families and staff are welcome to go to their school's main office or to the Administration Center to pick up a test. Families are also welcome to call or email your school office staff and ask that a test be put in your child's backpack to take home. Again, we are sorry for the inconvenience and confusion associated with this program. We are just glad we have finally received the tests and interested families will now be able to have a COVID test for their home.
Please come and enjoy these MPS Spring Concerts performed by our talented middle and high school student musicians!
May 9 – Jefferson Choir Concert at Central Auditorium – 6:00PM
May 10 – Jefferson 7th Grade Band at Central Auditorium – 7:00PM
May 10 – Jefferson 8th Grade Band at Central Auditorium – 7:45PM
May 11 – Northeast Orchestra Concert at Central Auditorium – 7:30PM
May 12 – Jefferson Orchestra Concert at Central Auditorium – 7:30PM
May 17 – Jefferson 6th Grade Band Concert at the Jefferson Gym – 7:30PM
May 18 – Northeast Band Concert at Central Auditorium – 7:30PM
May 21 – MSBOA Middle School Solo and Ensemble at Jefferson Middle School
Looking for FUN SUMMER CAMPS for your elementary, tween or teenage 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. 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 20-22
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
A few other opportunities to check out on our Student flyer Board:
Summer Reading Program at Grace A Dow Memorial Library
Power Up: It's a mother-daughter thing! May 18 from 5:30-8:30 pm
Check them out!
Check these and more great spring and summer opportunities out on our MPS Student Flyer Board! https://sites.google.com/midlandps.org/studentflyers/
Registration is now open!
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 is now open!
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.
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:
Congressional Art Show at the MCFTA runs through June 5
May 9 – Jefferson Choir Concert at Central Auditorium – 6:00PM
May 10 – Jefferson 7th Grade Band at Central Auditorium – 7:00PM
May 10 – Jefferson 8th Grade Band at Central Auditorium – 7:45PM
May 11 – Northeast Orchestra Concert at Central Auditorium – 7:30PM
May 12 – Jefferson Orchestra Concert at Central Auditorium – 7:30PM
May 14 – Prom at Great Hall "A Night in the Enchanted Forest" – 7:00-10:00PM (tickets available for purchase now)
May 17 – Jefferson 6th Grade Band Concert at the Jefferson Gym – 7:30PM
May 18 – Northeast Band Concert at Central Auditorium – 7:30PM
May 21 – MSBOA Middle School Solo and Ensemble at Jefferson Middle School
May 25-27 – High School Final Exams
May 25 – High School Graduation at Dow Diamond (DHS at 4:00; MHS at 7:15)
May 26 – Rain Date for High School Graduation
May 27 – Last Day of School for Students for the 2021-22 School Year
"Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body."
--Joseph Addison
