Thursday's edition of the Monroe News contained the bus routes for this coming school year.  The routes also can be found here by clicking on the "Bus Routes" icon on this web site.  If you want to see the information published in the Monroe News, click on this link.  http://www.monroenews.com/news/2015/sep/03/monroe-schools-announces-bus-schedule/

Just as children are returning to school comes the return to Community Education with the release of the fall classes catalogue.  Some old favorites are back but the list of nearly 80 classes includes some first-time offerings which are bound to be very popular.

     “We are very happy with the classes we have this fall and we are confident the community will be, too,” said Amy Poley, Director of Community Education.  “It doesn’t matter if you want to keep fit with some of our exercise classes, learn a new hobby or want to check out some of our special programs, we strive to have something to appeal to almost every interest.”

     Among the nearly 80 classes that are available are 12 arts and crafts, 12 special programs, 10 fitness and recreation, 10 children’s-related offerings, eight sewing and needlecraft and six water-related classes.

     Back again this fall are belly dancing, digital camera and homemade herbal remedies, as well as kickboxing/bootcamp, Tai Chi, aqua dancercise, crocheting, knitting, sewing and a taste of preschool and other classes, too.  The drop-in swim at Monroe Middle School has been changed to make it even more popular, flexible and affordable.

     New offerings this fall term include simple ways to manage diabetes, CPR/AED and first aid, and a discover scuba diving experience.

     “The discover scuba diving experience is a one-night class which is offered five times during October so people who always have wondered about scuba diving can check it out to see if they might want to pursue it further,” Mrs. Poley said.

     All classes must be prepaid and there are various ways to register.  Phone registrations are accepted by using Visa, Mastercard or Discover only at 734-265-3170.  You can register by mail by completing the registration form in the catalogue and sending it with a check or money order made payable to Monroe Public Schools and mailing it to Community Education, 1275 N. Macomb St., Monroe, MI  48162.  Registrations will be taken in person at the Community Education office from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., daily.

     Persons who may not have received a catalogue can pick one up at the Community Education office at the Monroe Public Schools Administration Building.  It is also is displayed on line on the Monroe Public Schools website at http://monroepublic.cyberschool.com/files/user/506/file/MPS%20Fall%202015%20-%20revised(1).pdf

The Monroe High School Band will take its annual tour of the Monroe Public Schools’ elementary schools on Thursday, September 17.

     As in the past, the 95-member band will travel from school-to-school and give a 10-minute concert at each school, playing in the school’s parking lot, play ground or front lawn.  The marking band will perform three of its fall songs, ending the concert with the MHS fight song. 

     At each stop, teachers bring their students out to enjoy the “big kids” playing music in the band.

The bus schedules and routing information now are available on-line and will be printed in the Thursday edition of the Monroe News.  Check out the schedules here on our website.  Click on the bus routes icon and follow the prompts.  If you have transportation questions you may contact the Transportation office at 734-265-3300 between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.   

The courtyard at Arborwood South Elementary School has in the middle a pond with fish, several trees and shrubs and a mallard box in one of the corners and even a 12-foot by 6-foot wooden stage, and during the school year, it has all kinds of “Eagles” in and out of it.  But it now has a special Eagle.  As in Eagle Scout, that is.

          Fifteen-year-old Monroe High School sophomore Jarrod Kimble, who was an Arborwood Eagle when he was in elementary school, is responsible for building the stage and working long hours with family and friends to weed and mulch several nature areas inside the lush courtyard.  At 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, September 6, he will receive his Eagle Scout rank in Eagle Court of Honor ceremonies at St. Mary’s Church Parish Life Center.’

          Jarrod said that much of the work on the stage and on the weeding and mulching was done last year.

          “My grandfather is a certified professional engineer and he helped me to design the stage so it was nice and sturdy.  We also decided to clean up the area around the pond in the center of the courtyard.  We were surprised that we found fish in there,” Jarrod said.  To help the fish in the pond, he saw to it that a new pump and piping were installed.  Two of the areas that he cleaned up were so overgrown by underbrush that it was spreading and killing the grass.

          “We even built a Mallard house for ducks who are migrating, too” Jarrod said.  “It might not look like much but the Mallards seem to like it,” he said.

          Jarrod wanted to do something for his Eagle project that would have a positive impact for the youth in the area.  Because he had attended Arborwood as a child, he felt especially connected to the project.

          The whole project which has led to Jarrod’s Eagle Scout recognition cost about $1,300, all of which he raised.

          “We hope this project has made a positive impact for the students and staff at the school and that the stage will be used for years to come,” said Jeff Kimble, Jarrod’s dad.  “We really appreciate the support Jarrod got from the school administration who really helped our son to succeed and the help he received during the work.”

The entire stage is painted white with about 30 green fleur-de-lis, the symbol of Boy Scouts, adorning it.

          During the school year, it did get used a number of times.

          “My mom (Arborwood South Teacher Dawn Kimble) has brought her class out and the students have used the stage to act out some of the scenes in the books they have read.  You also can sit on it and read to your students sitting in the grass,” Jarrod said. 

          Jarrod is a member of Boy Scout Troop 519 sponsored by St. Mary’s Church and plans to mentor younger Scouts.  He also is active at Monroe High School on the wrestling team and as an active member of choir and drama.

          He is the second MHS student in less than six months to earn the Eagle Scout rank.  The other was Grant Prater whose Eagle Scout project was a clothes closet that benefited Monroe Middle School.

     For those of you who enjoy Monroe High School choral music AND plan ahead, have we got good news for you.

     Monroe High School Choir director Cate Windelborn has released a list of the award-winning choirs’ performance dates.  The list is so large, there are times she must feel almost like a travel agent as well as the choir director. 

Not only will the choir perform in such places as the University of Michigan and in New York City, but the schedule includes stops at Greenfield Village and Grand Rapids, Howell and Holt, too, and many other places in between.

     However, if you want to catch the Monroe High School vocal groups locally, there are five chances to do that, too, this school year and four of them are free.

     Here is the schedule of local performance dates:

Oct. 15 – Fall Vocal Concert, 7 p.m., MHS Auditorium.

Dec. 11-12 – Madrigal Dinners, 6:30 p.m., St. Paul’s Church (paid ticket required)

Dec. 20 – Holiday Concert, 3 p.m., MHS Auditorium.

March 10 – Pre-Festival Concert, 7 p.m., MHS Auditorium

May 24 – Spring Vocal Concert, 7 p.m., MHS Auditorium

You can hear all Monroe High School football games – home and away -- live this season on NashIcon radio 98.3 FM.  The radio station’s first broadcast is this Friday night from Bunkelman Field.  The pregame show starts at 6:30 p.m. with the kickoff at 7 p.m. 

With technology the way it is today, NashIcon also will live stream games during the season.  For the first game of the year, the Monroe High game will be broadcast and streamed live at the same time.  For the rest of the games in the season, Monroe High’s games will be broadcast live every Friday night.  At the same time, NashIcon will be live streaming the SMCC football games.  Now, after the live on-air broadcast, the MHS games will go onto the NashIcon website to be replayed via streaming and the replay at the SMCC game will be done over the air. 

That means that every Friday night, NashIcon will have two high school football games available over the air and on the internet.

The arrangement is similar -- with some technological advances made in the last 30 years -- to the football double headers that used to be broadcast on WVMO radio which at 98.3 FM occupied the same frequency that NashIcon is on. 

Meghan Gibson, who is entering her 12th year with Monroe Public Schools, has been named principal of Waterloo Elementary School.  Her appointment was approved Tuesday night (August 25) by the Monroe Public Schools Board of Education. 

     “Our district’s promise is to ‘help your child succeed’ and Meghan’s career with Monroe Public Schools is one that has many examples of her going the extra measure to help children learn and succeed,” said Mrs. Julie Everly, deputy superintendent, Monroe Public Schools.  “In fact, even in the summer, she was part of the Arborwood team that came in on their summer off-time and worked with children to ensure that their reading skills did not diminish over the summer.  She has worked on district projects over a number of summers.”

     From February 2014 to June 2014, she was an interim assistant principal at Arborwood.  Since 2008, she has been an elementary math coach, a math consultant and a School Improvement Coach, headquartered at Arborwood Elementary Campus for the last several years.  During that time, she was one of the leaders in implementing the DreamBox Learning math program now so popular with students and parents.  She has been a member of the District Elementary Math and Social Studies Committees. 

     Mrs. Gibson helped in the planning and implementation of Professional Learning Committees and School Improvement Program efforts at Manor, Waterloo and Arborwood elementaries and Monroe Middle School.  She also was a member of the teacher-led team which designed and implemented the MPS’ on-line Student Progress Monitoring Tool.  In addition, she helped prepare Manor Elementary School for its move into Title I status several years ago.

     For her first four years with Monroe Public Schools, Mrs. Gibson was a classroom teacher at the former South Monroe Townsite Elementary School.  She holds a Bachelors degree in education from Eastern Michigan University and a Master of Science in Educational Leadership Degree from Walden University.

A pilot program being offered to incoming freshmen at Monroe High School this fall will allow those students to explore health sciences while still having a comprehensive high school experience.

     Called the Health Science Pilot, the program is being offered to 110 students who – while eighth graders last year – demonstrated an interest in studying health sciences when they attended Monroe High School.  Those interests were determined through the students’ Career Cruising activities and conversations they had with their teachers. 

     “We have a core team of teachers – DJ Freese, Jenna Glab, Barbara Lafayette, Leah Morelli and Alka Pandya – who have been very passionate about developing this pilot and providing an educational experience which is not available anywhere else in Monroe County,” said Monroe High School Principal Sandra Kreps. 

     “A major advantage to this program is it allows these students to study in an area in which they have significant interest yet still enjoy the advantages of the rich campus life we have at Monroe High School,” Mrs. Kreps said.  

     Students entering the program make a two-year commitment to stay with it, with the option to leave after one year, and each will receive his or her own Chromebook to use during the school day.  Being part of the MHS Health  Science Team provides students with opportunities to learn from guest lecturers, take field trips to area medical facilities, be mentored by persons already working in the field and explore careers in health care and the medical field.

     Even if a student is not sure about the Health Sciences, they will be able to integrate their learning into their everyday lives now and in the future.  They also will be able to stay on track to be prepared for the rigorous testing schedule from the Michigan Department of Education which now includes the SAT.

     “National studies show that seven of the top 10 careers are in health science and with this pilot, we will be helping these students to succeed in their preparation for those careers,” Mrs. Kreps said.

     The daily schedule for the students will include subjects like English, Math, Biology and Trojan Family Time. The school day will include two classroom hours for “off-team” classes such as band or choir, a foreign language or other elective.  The afternoon has an hour set aside for project-based learning and a health-occupation elective through the MHS Career and Technical Education program. 

     “Health science is a broad field encompassing many different medical and health care disciplines, including biochemistry, biomedical engineering, pharmacology, physiology, radiological sciences, and many more,” said DJ Freese, one of pilot’s teachers.  “The opportunities vary so greatly that it doesn’t matter what your personality type is or what your interests are, there likely is a biomedical science career for you.”

     Students participating in the Health Science Pilot also will be able to participate in the Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA) student organization, which in Monroe County is only available at Monroe High School.  Over the years, Monroe High students have performed extremely well in state and national HOSA competitions with their peers from around Michigan and the USA.

     This is not the first health-science related program offered by Monroe High School that is unique to Monroe County educational institutions.  For the last three years, MHS also has offered a Certified Nurse Assistant (CAN) program where students work toward earning their state CNA certification. 

The make-up day for Monroe High School registration for students is set for Tuesday (August 25.)  Please come to MHS between 8 a.m. and noon on Tuesday if you were unable to register last week.  It is important to be registered before school starts since a number of time-consuming activities are taken care of to eliminate as many in-school interruptions as possible.  At the makeup registration, these materials will be collected before students will receive their schedules.
• Updated student registration form
• Free and reduced lunch applications
• Outstanding books, materials and fines (students may not get schedules if they still have outstanding books)
• Physical forms for athletics (if applicable)
• Student insurance information
• Dress code/hall sweep pass letter signed by parent.
After handing in these materials, students will be able to pick up their schedules, have their pictures taken and receive their MHS photo ID cards, receive their handbooks and locker assignments and buy their parking permits (for juniors and seniors only.)MHS