If you were not able to make it out to the Monroe High School graduation -- or if you were and you would like to see it again -- check out this link.  Enjoy

https://youtu.be/H82uTTrtsx0?t=3m52s

Valerie Orr, who in her two years as Monroe High School principal led the change to a college-going culture at Monroe County’s largest high school, has been selected as the next superintendent of Whiteford Agricultural Schools.  The Whiteford school board voted Wednesday night to hire Mrs. Orr as its superintendent.

                “We are very happy for Val that she has been selected for the Whiteford position.  She has done a tremendous job at Monroe High School and we are thankful for the time she spent with us,” said Monroe Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Barry Martin.  “We wish her all the best at Whiteford.”

Graduation exercises will be held outside at the Monroe High School football field tonight at 6:30 p.m. as planned.  No tickets will be required for entry.  However, it would be wise to bring an umbrella and something like a towel or cushion to sit on since there is a possibility of scattered rain this afternoon.  Persons who do not care to sit outside can still view the ceremonies on closed-circuit television in the air-conditioned Monroe High School Auditorium.   The MHS parking lot will open for graduation parking at 5 p.m. today.  In addition, a shuttle will run starting at 5 p.m. from the north parking lot at Monroe County Community College to the MHS parking lot, and will take attendees back to the MCCC parking lot after the ceremonies.  

If you cannot make the ceremonies, please join us via YouTube by clicking on this link

http://mpactstudio.org/live/

The live stream will begin about 6:15 p.m. 

SURVIVORKIDS CAMP

SURVIVORKIDS CAMP

For the second year in a row, the Monroe High School graduation ceremonies will be streamed live over YouTube and can be accessed by clicking on this link.  http://mpactstudio.org/live/  Ceremonies start at 6:30 p.m., Friday, at Monroe High School and the live stream will be viewable about 6:15 p.m., EDT.  Last year's live stream was viewed in many states in the US and nearly a dozen foreign countries.  The ceremonies will be available on a recorded basis, too, on the same URL after commencement has concluded.  Monroe High School is the only Monroe County high school to live stream its graduation exercises.  The live stream is a joint production of Monroe Public Access Cable Television, the Technology and Communications Departments of Monroe Public Schools and Red Letter Productions.     

     Lunch prices will rise by 10 cents next school year, the Monroe Public Schools Board of Education has decided, but prices in MPS cafeterias still will be lower than most of the other Monroe County districts are this school year.

     Even with the adjustment, elementary lunch prices will be the lowest in Monroe County in the public school districts.  After the adjustment, secondary lunches still will be lower priced at Monroe than at four regional districts were this year. 

     For the 2014-15 school year, hot lunch prices were $1.95 per lunch for elementary and $2.70 for secondary grades 7-12.  Those prices will be adjusted to $2.05 and $2.80, respectively, next school year.  The 10-cent per lunch adjustment equates to $16.80 annually if a child were to purchase hot lunch at the school cafeteria every day of the nine-month school year.

     Katherine Eighmey, director of Finance, Monroe Public Schools said that the Federal Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 requires school food providers to adjust lunch prices annually based on an averaging formula provided in the act,meaning that the district was required to increase the lunch prices.  Monroe’s “weighted” average would be $2.41 per lunch, she said, based on the percentage of lunches for elementary students and secondary students.

When it comes to the Entertainment in the Park series for the City of Monroe, they have saved the best for first.  The Monroe High School Jazz Band will kick off this summer’s Thursday night music series with a concert at 7 p.m., this Thursday at St. Mary’s Park.  City Recreation Director Loretta LaPointe said of the MHS jazz band, “The talent of the youth in the jazz band is always phenomenal.  It is a pleasure to have them kick off our concert series.”  Admission is free so bring your lawn chair.

The food service staff members from Sodexo at Monroe Public Schools will hold a garage sale at the Riverside Early Learning Center, 77 N. Roessler St., Monroe, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, May 30.  Profits from the sale will go to the Gleaners Food Bank for its back pack food program which benefits a number of Monroe Public Schools students.  When attending the sale, please approach from either W. Elm Ave. or N. Roessler St., since the Roessler St. bridge is closed to through traffic.

The Empowerment Project, a 54-minute documentary about “ordinary women doing extraordinary things” will be shown at 6 p.m., Saturday, May 30, in the River Raisin Centre for the Arts on S. Monroe St., Monroe.  It is the first time the documentary has been shown in Michigan.

     The showing, which also includes a live question-and-answer time with the film’s two directors, is presented by Waterloo Elementary School and sponsored by the Monroe office of Old National Bank.

     “People in Monroe County are fortunate to have the opportunity to see this life-changing documentary,” said Waterloo Elementary School Principal Lisa McLaughlin, who led the efforts to bring the documentary and two of its directors to Monroe.  “Although the film is about women making a difference and is meant to be an inspiration to girls, there is something in the film for everyone.”

     Mrs. McLaughlin said that having the two filmmakers, Sarah Moshman and Debra Michelle Cook, in Monroe to speak with the audience after the documentary and to participate in discussions, makes the upcoming event even more memorable. 

     Student tickets are $2 and adult tickets are $5.  They are available in advance by stopping at Waterloo Elementary School, 1933 S. Custer Rd., or the Monroe Public Schools Administration Building at 1275 N. Macomb St.  They also can be purchased at the door, if they still are available. 

     Disappointed by the way the media portrayed women, in 2012 filmmakers Moshman and Cook and three fellow female filmmakers embarked on a 7,000-mile one-month trek across the U.S. from Los Angeles to New York City.  On their journey, they found women who had been successful, and then talked to them about how they had achieved success in their lives.  Their central question:  “What would you have done if you were not afraid to fail?”

     Over that time period they interviewed 17 different women, including an astronaut, a beauty pageant queen, a Navy four-star admiral, the founder of Girls on the Run, an architect, a pilot, a chef and a pro athlete, among others. 

     The fruits of their labors?  This documentary video and a sense of tremendous accomplishment.

     “The mission of this film is simple – girls of ANY age can do and be anything they may want.  We have only the limits we put on ourselves and if we start to support each other and showcase some strong female role models then I believe girls will truly know they are empowered and that we can start to change the conversation,” Ms. Moshman said.

     Children can learn skills they may need to survive in the wild at the SurvivorKids Day Camp and the Advanced SurvivorKids Camp, offered by Monroe Public Schools this summer at the Knabusch Math and Science Center in Bolles Harbor.  Classes are offered to students from 1st grade through 6th grade.

     Four one-week long sessions are offered starting June 22 with young students in the morning and older students in the afternoon.  An “advanced” camp also will be offered the week of July 27 with younger campers in the morning and older campers in the afternoon.

     “The Knabusch Center is one of the learning community’s gems and works perfectly for camps like these,” said SurvivorKids camp developer and leader Nicole Shaughnessy, who also teaches science at Monroe High School.  “We have put together a week of activities which includes instruction in fishing, tracking, boating, identification, survival skills, campfire cooking, wetlands and archery, which is offered only to the older kids.”

     The weeklong camps run June 22-26; July 6-10; July 13-17 and July 20-24.  Junior campers, or those in 1st through 3rd grades, attend daily from 8 a.m. through 11:30 a.m.  For the seniors campers, 4th through 6th grade, session run 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. daily. 

     Advance SurvivorKids Camp is designed for those who have gone through a previous SurvivorKids Camp, including this year.  Besides expanding on the basic skills shared with campers in the SurvivorKids Camps, the advance classes also include such skills as orientation, fire-building and conservation skills.  Those sessions run the week of July 27.  Junior campers attend in the morning, 8 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., with the senior campers attending 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

     Cost of the camp is $95 and the camps are open to any Monroe County student in that age group.  Need-based scholarships also are available for Monroe Public Schools’ students.  Registration forms will be available (starting May 26) at each of the Monroe Public Schools’ elementary schools or at the district’s Administration Building at 1275 N. Macomb St.  Parents with questions can call 734-265-3551.