Michaela Foulkrod, who less than two weeks ago graduated from Monroe High School, will direct the upcoming presentation of The Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon, at the River Raisin Center for the Arts  (RRCA.)  It is the first all-student run show in RRCA history.  The cast, led by director Miss Foulkrod, is comprised of students aged 11 through 19, with a cast of 18 actors and 40 roles, meaning some of the kids play up to five different roles in the production. 

The show will be staged June 24-26 at the RRCA.  Curtain is 7 p.m. on June 24 and 25 and 3 p.m. on June 26.  Tickets are $12 for adults and $8 for students.  They are on sale at various locations.

Check out the attached news release for more information.   

Fifth-grade through eighth-grade students in Monroe Public Schools will find something new in their book bags each night when they go home from school next school year – a Dell Chromebook which is theirs to use at school during the day and take home at night.

     This “24/7 one-to-one initiative” -- which has been piloted for several years in Monroe Public Schools – will supply the Chromebooks to some 1,900 students and staff in all five of Monroe’s elementary schools and Monroe Middle School.  Importantly, there will be no cost to the students’ families for the devices or for insurance.

     “Over the past few years, we have had multiple one-to-one classrooms and students in those classrooms have been thriving,” said Julie Everly, deputy superintendent, Monroe Public Schools.  “The teachers and students in these classrooms have crafted a 21st century vision of learning that has grown and has been highly requested by others. 

     “Teacher leaders and administrators have worked hard on the initiative to bring us to this next very exciting step – extending these learning experiences far outside of the school day and the walls of our school buildings.” The rollout of this initiative also will have another benefit, this one at Monroe High School.  Since Monroe Middle School students will have their own Chromebooks next school year, 14 carts of Chromebooks which were used this school year at MMS, will be transferred to MHS, increasing by 50 percent the number of Chromebooks available to MHS students during the school day.

     The Monroe Public Schools Board of Education recently approved the purchase of 2,100 Dell Chromebooks and protective shells, the corresponding Google Management and GoGuardian licenses, and 200 power adapters. 

     “Getting 1,900 Chromebooks in the hands of students at the beginning of the school year and making sure everyone is properly trained, including our staff, are significant undertakings, but this is a major stride forward in learning for our children,” said David Payne, director, Technology, for Monroe Public Schools. 

     “This is just our first year of doing this on this scale.  Our plans are to include the incoming fifth graders every year after this which expands the number of grades having the Chromebooks each year of the program.  Ultimately, all fifth grade through high school students in Monroe Public Schools will have their own Chromebooks in school and at home,” Mr. Payne added.

     Mr. Payne said that the purchase is paid for with a combination of funds from state money and the county’s Technology millage which last month was renewed by county voters for five years.

     While the students will be able to use the Chromebooks individually for research and study in their classrooms and at home, teachers also will have the ability in class to change all of the screens in that classroom to the same lesson using a program called GoGuardian.

     As part of preparing for the “24-7 one-to-one initiative,” the school board also approved purchasing equipment to expand and upgrade the Monroe Public Schools Data Center. 

     “This expansion will give our students and staff the infrastructure needed to support our current and future technology demands,” Mr. Payne said. 

Included in the project are improvements to email and web filters, firewalls, network storage, phone system upgrades for all district phones, software and servers.

     Mr. Payne explained that when the phone portion of the project is complete, the system will be E911 compliant, meaning it will meet the emergency phone requirements of the new Federal law for public buildings of a certain size which goes into effect at the end of 2016.  With the new system, if someone in a classroom dials 9-1-1, the building’s top administrator is notified immediately, so in-building actions can take place quickly.

     “We cannot thank county voters enough for supporting the millage which helps us put the hardware and software in place to help our students succeed,” Mr. Payne said.
     “Thanks to the collective efforts of our community technology millage and our staff, our Monroe students will experience learning in way that no generation before them ever has,” Mrs. Everly said.

For more than 25 years, the Monroe High School Marching Band proudly represented the school and the entire community as it won numerous marching band performance awards wearing these uniforms.  This spring the band got new uniforms, meaning the old ones had to go.  For $25, you can own your own Monroe High School Marching Band uniform – complete with the coat and cape, pants, hat and plume, a uniform bag and a hat box. 

Was dad in the band?  Well Father’s Day is coming up and this would REALLY be a unique gift.  Or if there is that “person who has everything,” and you need to get them a gift, chances are good they do not have a genuine MHS Marching Band uniform yet. 

Persons interested in purchasing a uniform, should mail a check for $25 to the Monroe Instrumental Music Boosters Club to Monroe High School, 901 Herr Rd., Monroe, MI  48161, to the attention of band director Mr. James Nuechterlein.  A uniform will be randomly selected (unless otherwise noted) and placed in the MHS office for the purchaser to pick up during regular office hours this summer.

Monroe Public Access Cable Television will present in its entirety the re-broadcast of the Monroe High School graduation ceremonies.  Broadcast times this weekend are 3 p.m. on Saturday, June 11, and 8 p.m., Sunday, June 12.  Because channel numbers differ between cable providers, please check your on-screen channel guide for the correct channel number for MPACT.. 

Summer break time is approaching and you’d sure like to find that great book to read while relaxing in the backyard or maybe on the beach.  And not just for you – but for your high-school-aged child, too.

          You just might find that great American novel at Monroe High School and it is free.

          Starting Monday, June 13 and running through Friday, June 17, MHS is liquidating a large number of books which once were in the school library and is giving them away free to the public.  The books will be displayed on large tables in the commons area.  The school will be open during what would be regular business hours during the school year so people can come and choose books.

          Most books appeal to high school-aged students since they came out of the library, however there many authors who are popular with adults, too.  Numerous hard-cover and soft-cover books and some encyclopedias are available.  Parents looking for something for their child to read over the summer are urged to stop by. 

Some 5,500 Monroe Public Schools children – from the youngest to those entering their senior year in the fall – are being encouraged to keep up their reading and math skills throughout the summer months, and members of the Monroe business community have stepped forward to help make sure they do.

     Not only that, groups of Monroe Public Schools teachers will be fanning out to various public locations every Monday through Thursday from June 27 through August 4 to coordinate summer outreach reading programs. 

     Called the Monroe Public Schools Summer Learning Planner program, all students will receive their own 16-page planner at the end of school.  In it, they can write their summer goals for reading and math and then record their progress, including how many pages read, how much time spent on reading, and what types of books are being read.  When they complete their goals, there are “tickets” they fill out and drop off at participating businesses. 

     “We know that a lot of learnings from the previous school year is lost during the summer months when children are not in school.  This program addresses that.  Our reading outreach program also is a way for students to maintain some contact with their teachers and for our teachers to meet their incoming students in a non-formal, yet educational setting,” said Julie Everly, deputy superintendent, Monroe Public Schools.

     “The reception from the Monroe business community has been phenomenal.  We are very thankful to all.  Each participating place will have a container where the students can drop off their completed tickets,” Mrs. Everly said.  “Many of the businesses will be handing out surprises when students drop off their tickets, for example a donut at Tim Horton’s, a free copy of the newspaper at the Monroe News, free dessert at Dena’s Restaurant, a kid-appropriate gift at the pharmacy at Promedica Monroe Regional Hospital or different kid-friendly handouts at Monroe Bank & Trust locations in town.”

     In addition, a number of the participating businesses have contributed to grand prizes to be awarded to lucky participants at the end of the campaign.

     The summer outreach reading program will be at the Navarre Library and Monroe Charter Township Tot Lots at Ravenwood Park and Willow Green Mobile Home Park on Mondays; Monroe Charter Township Tot Lots at Meadowbrook Park Monroe Township Park and Oakridge Estates on Tuesdays; Dorsch Library and Monroe Charter Township Tot Lots at Willow Green Mobile Home Park and South Monroe Townsite Park on Wednesdays; and Ellis Library, and the Monroe Charter Township Tot Lots at Oakridge Estates and Meadowbrook Park on Thursdays.  All one-hour reading sessions begin at 1 p.m.

     Ticket drop off locations are at Broadway Market, Dena’s Family Restaurant, Education Plus Credit Union, Fifth Third Bank, Go M.A.D. Fitness, Herkimer Radio, Hungry Howies, Key Bank, Meemic Insurance, Monroe Bank & Trust (three locations), Monroe Charter Township Office and Concession Stand, Monroe News, Monroe Public Schools Summer Learning Academy and Administration Building, Oaks of Righteousness Church, Promedica Monroe Regional Hospital, Raymond James Financial, Rick’s Sports, Tim Horton’s (two locations) and Victory Lane Oil Change (two locations.)Busi

Thursday is the last day of the current school year and for students, it will be a half-day of classes.  Here are the release times for the various Monroe Public Schools buildings.  May you and your family have a safe and restful summer.

Monroe High School – 10:30 a.m.

Orchard Center High School – 10:14 a.m.

Monroe Middle School – 11:09 a.m.

Arborwood North – 11:43 a.m.

Arborwood South – 11:48 a.m.

Custer 1 – 12:14 p.m.

Custer 2 – 12:11 p.m.

Manor – 12:01 p.m.

Raisinville – 12:01 p.m.

Waterloo – 11:46 a.m.Your

Orchard Center High School announced its top students for the 2015-2016 school year at an assembly on (Friday) June 3.  OCHS freshman Arianna Paul was named the Carolyn LaVoy Student Achievement Award winner as the top student at Orchard Center High School.  She was introduced by acting principal Ryan Walentowski.  OCHS senior Da’Vonta McQueen was honored with the Dennis Rottenbucher Positive Mental Attitude Award.  A number of awards were presented Friday by teachers and administrators at OCHS.  Elishia Epps and Bailey Chenevare were presented with the Most Improved Awards for female and male, respectively.  Other students with top honors were the Academic All Stars – Jasmine Black, Joseph Hitt, Bailey Chenevare, Adam Armstrong and Teressa Wilkes.

Store written by and pictures taken by Bobb Vergiels  

Photos are attached

     Two Monroe High School seniors are this year’s recipients of the Sarkis H. Pashaian Memorial Scholarship. 

     Receiving the scholarship are Andrew Rabines and Jordan Golen.

     Andrew Rabines, a summa cum laude graduate, plans to attend the University of Michigan to study architecture.  At MHS, he also was a member of the National Honor Society, a DECA regional medalist and third-place finisher is this spring’s Monroe County home design contest.

     Jordan Golen, a cum laude graduate, plans to attend Ferris State University, Big Rapids, to study welding engineering design.  At MHS, he also was a member of the National Honor Society, president of the Art Club and vice president of the Welding Club.  During high school, he four times captured first-place honors in regional MITES (Michigan Industrial Technology Education Society) competitions. 

     The scholarships are offered in the memory of Sarkis H. Pashaian, former drafting teacher and founder of Monroe Environmental Corp.  The two $1,000 scholarships are awarded to a Monroe High School drafting or architectural drafting student who will pursue a drafting, engineering, or architecture career pathway during post-secondary education

Written and submitted by Bobb Vergiels

Due to popular demand – and a whole lot of fun by its campers – SurvivorKids Camp is back this summer at the Knabusch Math and Science Center in Bolles Harbor and is sponsored by Monroe Public Schools. 

     For four weeks this summer, camps will be offered to junior campers (first to third graders) in the morning sessions and senior campers (fourth to sixth graders) in the afternoon.  Morning sessions run from 8:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., and the afternoon sessions run 1:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

   Campers will learn skills they may need to survive in the wild. Topics covered will include: fishing, tracking, boating, identification, survival skills, archery, campfire cooking, and wetlands. Campers will tie-dye camp shirts, make a paracord bracelet, and compete in a group scavenger hunt. Note– grades 1-3 will not be participating in archery.   The camp is open to all children entering first through sixth grades regardless of where they attend school.

     Weekly sessions are from June 20-24, June 27-July 1, July 11-15, and July 18-22.  The cost is $95 per camper and scholarships are available by calling (734) 265-3080.

     Children who attended previous SurvivorKids Camps, including this year may also be interested in the Advanced SurvivorKids Camp which runs July 25-29.  Campers will continue to develop their boating, fishing, archery, and survival skills. Students will also learn orientation, fire-building, and conservation skills. Camp will end with a competition to see your skills, friends and family are invited!

     For a registration form; you can print the one attached below, stop at any Monroe Public Schools elementary school office, or visit the website at www.survivorkidscamp.weebly.com   More information is available by calling (734) 265-5250.