The girls’ softball field on which former Monroe High School girls’ softball coach Vince Rossi spent countless hours during his 32-year tenure as head coach now bears his name.

     The Board of Education of Monroe Public Schools voted Tuesday night (August 11) to rename the MHS girls’ softball field, Vince Rossi Field.  While a number of facilities in the district are named after individuals with exemplary contributions to Monroe Public Schools, the renaming in honor of someone still living is rare at Monroe High School.  A dedication ceremony is being planned for next spring.

     “A committee of softball parents thought it was important to rename the field during Coach Rossi’s lifetime so he could enjoy this well-deserved honor,” said Monroe Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Barry Martin.  Per district procedure, the question of renaming the field was reviewed three times by the board before the final vote.  “Coach Rossi was that rare individual who not only could coach his teams to winning records but he also, as a Monroe High teacher, urged them to excel academically as well.”

     Although his school-record of 807 wins likely never will be matched and his coaching legacy of 22 league titles, 11 district titles, six regional crowns and three final-four appearances in the state tournament were enough to have him elected to the Monroe High School Athletic Hall of Fame and the Michigan High School Athletic Association, there was something that made him even prouder as a leader of student-athletes.

     “Vince was a stickler for good performance in the classroom, too, and 22 of his teams achieved academic all-state honors,” said Monroe High School Athletic Director John Ray.  In fact, a number of his former players became school teachers and entered other advanced professions.

     The field which has been renamed Vince Rossi Field also was developed during Coach Rossi’s tenure and under his leadership.  One of the finest fields in the region was built with a considerable number of individual and corporate donations as well as countless volunteer hours of “sweat equity.”

     But even more work is being done now, because the field is undergoing major improvements to the dugouts, field entry points for participants and the actual infield surface making it much easier to drain after rainfall.  Plans also are moving forward for a new scoreboard.

Monroe County residents will have two opportunities Saturday (August 8) to help “stuff the bus” with school supplies as part of the “Supplying Our Future” Backpacks for Kids in Monroe County. 

               School buses will be parked and set up to accept the school supplies donations at the Kroger store, 3462 Sterns Rd., Lambertville, and at Cricket Wireless, 1263 N. Telegraph Rd.  Collection times are 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. this Saturday in each location.

               The Back Pack Coalition expects to distribute 1,200 back packs to children in Bedford, Monroe and Dundee prior to the start of school.   Roughly 60 percent of all of the backpacks distributed will go to children who are Monroe Public Schools students, so please so by and stuff the bus if you can.  

Any school supplies donations will be accepted, including back packs, pencils, paper, rulers, crayons, and scissors. Think of it this way – the same kinds of materials you would purchase to prepare your own child to start school are the items which will be accepted. 

NashIcon 98.3 radio Monroe is a co-sponsor of the drives.  School buses were donated by Bedford and Monroe public schools.     

Monroe High School will be open to register new students from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., August 12 and 13. 

          When coming to school to register, you must bring these items

Your original birth certificate with the raised seal

Proof of residency, such as driver’s license, utility bill, etc.

A parent/guardian photo identification

Your transcript from your previous school which is needed so the counselors can schedule your classes. 

          Persons with questions should call Monroe High School at 265-3400.  

               Make sure you join your Monroe Public Schools family this coming week at the Monroe County Fair, where once again the district will host a booth.  The booth is in the air-conditioned MB&T Expo Center, next to the Monroe Bank & Trust booth, a fair neighbor for several years.

           Throughout the week, children will get a chance to “dig” Monroe Public Schools in the sand box as they search for various prizes.  The booth will feature award-winning projects from Monroe High’s Career and Technical Education program.  A 72-inch TV will scroll newspaper headlines about the many great things that have occurred at Monroe Public Schools over the last year.  Every afternoon, Monday through Saturday, visitors to the booth will get a chance to check out a virtual reality helmet.  The MHS competition robot will be displayed and robotics students will staff the booth several nights to talk about robotics at Monroe schools.

          This year, a number of new faculty and staff also will be in the booth so people can stop and say hello.  Here is the schedule:

Monday, Aug. 3 – 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., new Custer School principal Lisa McLaughlin and new district speech pathologist Emily Kressbach; 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., new Monroe High School Principal Sandy Kreps,

Wednesday, Aug. 5 – 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., Kaitlynn Arnholt, and 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., Rachel Dyer.  Both are new math teachers at Monroe High School.

Thursday, Aug. 6 – 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monroe Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Barry Martin; and 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. new Transportation Director Frank Henry and new elementary school music teacher Franny Valdez.

Friday, Aug. 7 – 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monroe Public Schools deputy superintendent Julie Everly and new Monroe Middle School assistant principal Nicole Shaughnessy.  MMS Principal Cindy Flynn also will be at the booth from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., that day.

          In addition, Orchard Center High School Principal Chantele Henry and Raisinville School Principal Mary Ann Cyr will be at the MPS booth from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., Tuesday, August 4.

Cathy McDonald has been appointed as a new assistant principal at Monroe High School.  Her appointment was affirmed Tuesday night (July 28) by the Monroe Public Schools Board of Education.

     Mrs. McDonald, who has her bachelor degree in Education from the University of Toledo, her Master of Arts Degree in teaching from Marygrove College and her Administrator Certificate from Concordia University, has since 2008 been a middle school language arts and social studies teacher at East Middle School, one of the top-performing schools in the Plymouth-Canton Community Schools district. 

     “We’re excited to have Cathy McDonald join our staff.  She comes from a top-performing school and has had a number of leadership roles already as a classroom teacher,” said Mrs. Julie Everly, deputy superintendent, Monroe Public Schools.  “She also has championed various educational initiatives which have been recognized nationally.  We have a tremendous amount of momentum going at Monroe High School and Cathy will be one of our major players in the continued shift to a college- and career-going culture.”  

     In her new assignment, Mrs. McDonald succeeds Kim Diven who retired at the end of the 2014-15 school year.

     While at East Middle School, Mrs. McDonald was head of the English Language Arts Department, served on the district’s recent Facility and Boundary Study Steering Committee as her school’s representative, was a leader in the professional learning communities and served on the Diversity Council. 

     She also has teaching experience at Harper Woods Secondary School and student taught at several Toledo- and Sylvania, Ohio-area schools.  In her career, she has made several presentations at national conferences of various groups in which she is active.

     A Monroe High School graduate is coming home.  Frank Henry, who has spent his 35-year career in the transportation field, has been appointed to head the Monroe Public Schools Student Transportation Department. 

     His appointment was made by the Monroe Public Schools Board of Education at its July 28 meeting.

     Mr. Henry, who also attended Monroe County Community College, has been transportation supervisor for the Lucas County Board of Developmental Disabilities for the last six years.

     He has been in various forms of institutional transportation working with major companies as his customers since 1979. 

     “We are pleased to have someone of Frank’s experience join our staff,” said Jerry Oley, executive director, Operations for Monroe Public Schools.  “He has led teams ranging in size from five to 250 people, both locally and on a regional basis.  He has considerable experience in developing, implementing and documenting policies, processes and procedures.  But his strong dedication to customer service is what stands out and is so important in pupil transportation.”

     In his career, Mr. Henry also was the Operations Truck Team Leader/Manager of the Highway Division for Alliance Shippers.  He was terminal manager for Nationwide Truck Brokers in Newport and served 11 years as Regional Manager for Huffy Corp., during which time the region was honored as the company’s region of the year in 1984.

     During his time in transportation, Mr. Henry earned recognition from his customers, including the Visteon Outstanding Achievement Award.  He also was nominated for the Visteon Corporate Horizon Top Award. 

     Mr. Henry succeeds Shelley Cormier who retired in June. 

Sandra Kreps, who in her nearly 35 years in education has been a classroom teacher, a middle school and high school guidance counselor, graduation coach and assistant high school principal, has been named principal of Monroe High School. 

     Her appointment was approved Tuesday night (July 28) by the Monroe Public Schools Board of Education.  Although Mrs. Kreps has spent the last three years as an assistant principal at Jefferson High School, her appointment is a “coming home” of sorts since she was a Monroe High School guidance counselor for 16 years.

     “Monroe High School has made remarkable strides in recent years and has a tremendous amount of momentum.  With her superior qualifications, experience and familiarity, Sandy Kreps is the ideal person to lead the continued transformation at Monroe High School,” said Monroe Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Barry Martin.  “She knows the people and the culture from her previous time at Monroe High School and has the administrator experience from her recent years at Jefferson High School.  We are glad to have her back.”

     Among Mrs. Kreps’ accomplishments during her three years at Jefferson which was named a Michigan Department of Education Reward School in the fall of 2014, were co-chairing the Curriculum Leadership Team, developing and implementing Parent Link, serving as a district liaison to county groups working to combat bullying and drug abuse, coordinating the school’s professional development, and developing/implementing Jefferson High’s core tutorial curriculum, a program she had previously developed and implemented at Monroe High School which is producing academic gains in algebra and geometry.

     She began her teaching career in 1981 with Jefferson Public Schools.  During her time she taught high school and middle school health and physical education, ultimately moving up to become a guidance counselor.  During her initial time with Jefferson, she also developed and implemented the K-8 Health Education curriculum. 

     In 1996, she joined Monroe Public Schools as a Workforce Readiness At-Risk Career Specialist. She was an MHS guidance counselor from 1999-2012, chairing it for four of those years. During her time with Monroe Pubic Schools she was a member of the committee which drafted a district bullying policy, the first in the county. She developed and implemented Parent Link and started a College Fair parent night in 2005.  She was a dual enrollment liaison for MHS with MCCC and EMU and was a member of the school’s improvement team for five school years. A charter member of the startup of the school’s freshman academy, she also was a member of the staff when MHS received its Blue Ribbon recognition, due in part to the freshman academy small learning community.

     Mrs. Kreps holds a bachelor degree in Education from Central Michigan University and a master degree in Counselor Education from the University of Toledo.  She has completed considerable education professional development and holds an Educational Leadership Specialist Degree from Oakland University.

Lisa McLaughlin, who led Waterloo Elementary School to win a nationwide contest to build a new playground and who led the efforts to make Waterloo the only STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) school in Monroe County, has been named principal of Custer Elementary School, the district’s largest elementary school.

     “Lisa has been an innovative education leader at Waterloo and has led the school during an unprecedented time of a growth in learning opportunities for her students and staff,” said Julie Everly, deputy superintendent, Monroe Public Schools.  “She is a participative leader, one who will lead another very strong staff and a large number of dedicated school parents who strongly support Custer School.”

     Mrs. Everly added that Mrs. McLaughlin strongly believes in “connecting” with students as part of the educational engagement process.

     “Lisa takes a personal interest in the success of all of her students.  Whether it is dressing up like the Cat in the Hat to stress the importance of reading, or creating gardens for her students to experience life sciences, Lisa understands the investment and dedication that creating a true community of learners requires,” Mrs. Everly said.

     Mrs. McLaughlin earned her Bachelor of Education Degree at the University of Toledo.  She also earned her Masters Degree in Education and her Educational Specialist Degree in Educational Leadership from Nova Southeastern University.

     Waterloo became the first STEAM school in Monroe County in the 2014-15 school year, under the leadership of Mrs. McLaughlin.  That dedication has continued over the summer as Waterloo has started its own summer learning camps, the only Monroe school which has such offerings for its students this summer.

     In her time at Waterloo, Mrs. McLaughlin has forged ties with the University of Michigan where U of M Hospital staff take a day hosting Waterloo students, talking to them about career paths that include college.  Several times in recent years, U of M football players came to Waterloo to speak with students about the importance of getting a good education.  She also led the charge to help Waterloo win a $25,000 playground improvement grant from Bridgestone Tires in a nationwide contest in the spring of 2014.  Under Mrs. McLaughlin’s leadership, Waterloo became the district’s first Green School for its environmental activism. 

     Interviews will begin shortly to choose a successor for Mrs. McLaughlin at Waterloo.

See what has been going on at Monroe High School this summer when the Summer Learning Academy “Goes Public” on Thursday, July 30.  Doors of the school will be open for the public viewing of summer projects and learnings from 8:45 a.m. until noon.  Stop out and appreciate all the students have done this summer.  The event is so big it takes the entire Monroe High School C wing to hold it.  We will “C” you there. 

Make sure you bring your “A game” for the first Monroe Boys and Girls Basketball Tournament August 8-9 in the Monroe High School gym.  Registration is $15 per person and players are encouraged to sign up as a three-member team.  Games begin at 10 a.m. each day and players who are under age 18 must have a waiver signed by a parent or guardian.  Persons with questions can contact either MHS varsity basketball coach Delmar Hoskins, 734-799-2488, or Darin Hoskins, 734-652-0050.  Registration and payment can be mailed to Coach Hoskins at 334 Conant Ave., Monroe, MI   48161.  The registration blank is attached to this document.  Registration deadline is July 27.