Nearly 20 Monroe High School musicians earned either Division 1 or Division 2 ratings in the District XII Solo and Ensemble Festival at Ann Arbor Pioneer High School on January 30. Participants in the festival came from Monroe, Washtenaw and Wayne counties, minus the City of Detroit.
Students performed as soloists or in small groups for experienced adjudicators from around Michigan and were rated on a scale of 1 to 5, against a standard of excellence. “1” is the best score a musician can receive. Students who earned First Division ratings are eligible to compete at the state solo and ensemble competition in March.
All of the Monroe School representatives were students of either MHS Band Director James Nuechterlein or MHS Orchestra Director Ann Felder.
Students receiving Division One ratings were: Nicholas Howerton, flute solo; Dallin Bowie, piano solo; Brooke Pridemore and Morgan Kline, violin duet; Morgan Kline, violin solo; Jacob Foulkrod, cello solo; Brianna Finley, trumpet solo; and Kyle Huisman, Jacob Foulkrod, Maggie Pasko and Eleni Wohl, cello quartet.
Students receiving Division Two ratings were: Natalie Lake, alto saxophone solo; Adria Slowinski and Brooke Pridemore, violin duet; Brandon McClure and Jessica Skeens, violin duet; Jessica Skeens, violin solo; Keiara Dehner, violin solo; Maggie Pasko, cello solo; Abigail Snow, trumpet solo; Abigail and Nicholas Howerton, flute duet; and Grant Prater, trumpet solo.MHS
Ten Monroe Middle School singers turned in strong performances at the Michigan School Vocal Music Association District 12 Middle School Solo and Ensemble Competition which was held January 30 at Monroe Middle School. The performances capped several months of after-school preparation by the soloists and those performing in duets.
Earning an Excellent rating (Division One) was the duet of Faith Avritt and Rosario Mexicano. Earning Good (Division Two) ratings were soloists Joleena Gurley and Malachia Hart. And the duets of Natasha Dempsey and Raini Owens, and Dayonna Evans and Shaelynn Stanfill. Notable performances also were given by soloists Calista Byrd and Nova McClain.
Because Monroe Middle School hosted the competition, some 60 choir students helped Friday and Saturday in setting up for and running the festival, leading the judges to comment on how well the students helped run the performance rooms.
Monroe High School will hold its annual open house and information night for eighth graders and their parents on Tuesday, February 16. The event runs from 6 p.m. until about 8 p.m. at Monroe High School.
Eighth graders from Monroe Middle School and their parents as well as those attending private or charter schools or being home-schooled are invited to attend.
The schedule for the night’s activities:
6 p.m. – 8 p.m. – Club Festival., Commons Area (optional)
Parents and students who want to learn more about MHS’ clubs and campus activities are invited to the Clubs and Organizations Festival in the Commons. In addition, building tours will run continuously from the Commons. Refreshments will be served in the Learning Commons, formerly known as the Media Center.
6:30 p.m. – 6:55 p.m. – Overview of MHS and student life, Auditorium
7 p.m. to 8 p.m. – Informational sessions, throughout the school
Participants may choose to attend four different 12-minute sessions covering topics such as curriculum, extracurricular activities and career preparation.
Persons with questions can contact the assistant principals’ office at 265-3460.
To help out the people of Flint throughout their water crisis, the Monroe High School Student Council has kicked off its Flint Water Drive at MHS.
“The people of Flint will be without water for quite some time, so we are approaching the people of our community to donate water,” said MHS Student Council Member Harrison Carter who is heading the drive up with classmate Keegan Drager. “We’re sure that the students and staff at Monroe High School will bring a good amount of water. But we want to broaden the amount of people able to donate to the drive, rather than only sticking to our fellow students. The more the merrier, right?”
Water will be accepted at Monroe High School during the regular school day the rest of this week and through next week, and delivered to Flint the week of February 15. Please note that Monroe High School will be closed on Friday, February 12, so no donations can be accepted that day. Persons donating water can visit campus where they will be directed to Monroe High School’s administrative offices to drop the water off.
The Flint Water Drive at MHS will accept commercially packed water, but no loose bottles, please. Commercially sealed containers of water one gallon or larger will be accepted, too, but all containers must have an expiration date of at least six months in advance.
Canned water, carbonated water, flavored water, containers with open or broken seals and water that is past or below six months from expiration will not be accepted.
Voters will go to the polls on May 3 to vote on the Monroe County Educational Technology Renewal. The renewal request is for slightly less than 1 mill, and is not a new tax, since it is a renewal For more information, please see the fact sheet which is attached to this posting.
Six former Monroe High School athletic standouts and two very successful MHS wrestling coaches will be honored Friday night (Feb. 5) when they are inducted into the Monroe High School Athletic Hall of Fame. The latest inductees will be introduced and recognized at half time of the boy’s basketball game.
This year’s class members are: Amanda Thompson, swimming, 2003-2007; Ashley McLaughlin, swimming, 2000-2004; Ben Notario, baseball, 2005-2009; Bob Butler, wrestling coach, 1971-1992; Dave Strini, wrestling coach, 1972-1978; Cole Sanseverino, track, 2003-2007; Neil Watts, swimming, 1958-1960; and William Stoner, track, 1927-1930.
Monroe Public Schools' Transportation Department will conduct bus evacuation drills this week.:
Tuesday, February 2 – Elementary Schools – a.m. drop only.
Wednesday, February 3 – Monroe Middle School – a.m. drop only.
Thursday, February 4 – Monroe High School – a.m. drop only.
Students must know what is expected of them, so they may respond to the driver’s instructions quickly and in an orderly and safe fashion. All drills will take place at the appropriate schools where students would be dropped off in the morning.
If you have any questions or concerns, please call (734) 265-3300.
Monroe High School senior Jacob Traver has been selected for the prestigious Chick Evans Scholarship, a full, four-year housing and tuition college scholarship awarded to golf caddies. Jacob will attend Miami University of Ohio in Oxford, Ohio, in the fall to study business.
Jacob is believed to be the first Monroe High School recipient of this prestigious national scholarship in at least two decades.
He was among 26 students who were selected for the scholarships in Ohio and Southeast Michigan.
Evans Scholars, like Jacob, are chosen based on a strong caddie record, excellent academics, leadership skills, demonstrated financial needs and outstanding character. Only some 900 caddies supported by the Evans program are attending colleges across the nation now.
“Jacob is well deserving of this prestigious honor,” said Mrs. Sandra Kreps, Jacob’s principal at Monroe High School. “His service to his school and golf community are just a few of the areas that Jacob excels in and were noted by the selection panel.”
Jacob is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Traver of Monroe. At MHS, Jacob played varsity football and baseball and also is active in Business Professionals of America, DECA, the Calculus Club and the National Honor Society. He also has earned top honors in the Trojan Pride academic excellence program. He has been caddying at the Inverness Club in Toledo for three years.
Created in 1930, the program was founded by famed Chicago amateur golfer Charles (Chick) Evans Jr.
The roof over the swimming pool at Monroe High School will be repaired, after action taken Tuesday night (January 27) by the Monroe Public Schools Board of Education. While those repairs are underway, the Monroe High School swim team will have its practices at the Jefferson High School pool.
The 45-foot by 75-foot pool roof at Monroe High School was damaged in December by winds that topped 40 miles per hour and the pool has not been able to be used for swim practice, swim meets or for swim classes during the school day since that time.
The school board approved having work done by Nordmann Roofing of Toledo for a base price of slightly less than $16,000, which includes removing roofing down to the metal deck, installation of and fastening down insulation, and installing a rubber roof. However, the bid also included several alternatives totaling more than $4,000 that might be added to the cost of the project, depending what added work might have to be done once the existing condition of the roof is fully known.
“We won’t know the full extent of work until the roof repairs begins. For instance, the structural steel and wood that is part of the roof have to be inspected for us to get a full picture of just how much work is needed,” said Jerry Oley, director, Operations for Monroe Public Schools.
Mr. Oley said that materials are expected to be delivered to Monroe High early next week because the manufacturer has put the project on a fast track for the district. Work is expected to take about seven days, Mr. Oley said, but he said that is dependent in large part to the extent of repairs needed which won’t be fully known until disassembly begins.
The board thanked the swim parents for their understanding and were especially thankful to Jefferson Schools for making their pool available to the Monroe swimmers while repairs were ongoing.
The Monroe Public Schools Board of Education is seeking public input on the sale of vacant property.
To provide the opportunity for public input, the Board of Education will hold a hearing as part of its regular board meeting on Tuesday, February 9, at the school’s Administration Building, 1275 N. Macomb St.
“School district property is public property and before the district would make any decisions as to whether to sell any vacant property or not, it is important to hear any public thoughts or opinions regarding such a sale, no matter what the intent of the sale would be,” said Monroe Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Barry Martin. “No decisions will be made by the board that night but the public input is valuable for us as we go forward.”
In all, Monroe Public Schools owns five parcels comprising approximately 27.5 acres which currently are not being used for any instructional purposes.
The Feb. 9 school board meeting starts at 7 p.m. and the hearing is scheduled during the actual business meeting.