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 new house at 447 Michigan Ave., Monroe, which was celebrated today, is the 10th house built by the Construction Technology Class of Monroe High School. It is believed that Monroe High School has built more Habitat houses than any other high school in Michigan.
“This partnership between Habitat for Humanity of Monroe County and Monroe Public Schools has been successful for a decade,” said M. David Graves, interim President/CEO of Habitat for Humanity of Monroe. “Not only has it provided solid affordable housing for local families but it also has meant real-world, hands on experience for well over 200 students in the last 10 years.”
“Our construction students and Mr. Nathan Nestor, their teacher, are extremely thankful for the opportunities to build these homes but they also are very proud of the work they have done over the years. I speak for our Board of Education and administration of Monroe Public Schools in saying congratulations to our students and to Habitat for Humanity in forging a partnership where so many people in our community have benefitted,” said Dr. Barry Martin, superintendent of Monroe Public Schools.
This partnership is made possible through the financial support of several prominent business and community partners, including the United Way of Monroe County, State Farm Insurance, and the La-Z-Boy Foundation.
A family to live in the house has not yet been selected since the home is partially completed. It is expected to be finished this summer.
The costs for this 5-Star Energy Plus Habitat home are kept to a minimum because the Construction Technology class provided so much of the labor required. This home will be sold at no profit with affordable monthly mortgage payments. These payments are placed in a revolving account and used to build Habitat homes for more local, hard-working families. Thus, the labor of the students and the support of the community partners keeps on giving, said Mr. Graves.
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 2015 Monroe High School Baccalaureate Service will be held in the MHS Auditorium at 7 p.m., Thursday, May 28. All 2015 graduates from Monroe High School and from any other Monroe County School are invited to participate.
This year’s keynote speaker will be Pastor Tony Lynn of CrossPointe Church. Special songs will be sung by Myrna Allen, Jillien Mills and Senior Sydney Stewart, who also is the class president of the 2015 class. Graduates Kyla Smith and Tyler Peterson and Dean of Students Stephannie Cherry will address the Class of 2015.
All graduates who will participate should line up in the hallway outside of the auditorium at 6:30pm., wearing their caps and gowns.
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.
Monroe High School junior Darian Reed was a top-10 nationalist finalist in the Business Professionals of America (BPA) National Leadership conference held recently in Anaheim, Cal. Darian, who also is president of the Monroe High School BPA chapter, earned his national finalist medal in Access Database. Active in robotics at MHS, he also plans to run for state BPA office next year. “Darian is a fine young man and did a wonderful job in the national competition to rank as highly as he did. We’re very proud of him. He was a fine representative of Monroe High School,” said his BPA advisor and MHS teacher Mrs. Joni Weaks.
Monroe High School will host its MHS Senior Awards Ceremony at 7 p.m., Wednesday. The ceremony is the annual event where the school celebrates the students for the effort, hard work and integrity it has taken for them achieve such a great accomplishment. The ceremony will take place in the MHS Auditorium with overflow seating and a large-screen theater-type screen in the commons. A number of different awards will be presented and the evening includes the announcement of the Class of 2015’s Top 100 and the initial distribution of the Top 100 books.
2015
2nd ANNUAL MONROE GIRLS’
BASKETBALL CAMP
JUNE 15 through JUNE 18
AT
MONROE HIGH SCHOOL 
******CLICK HERE for FLYER with MORE INFO****** /files/user/545/file/2015%20Kids%20Summer%20Camp%20Brochure.pdf
Please register by June 9, 2015.
HOW TO ENROLL
Please complete and return the registration form, release form, and a check made payable to:
Monroe Girls’ Basketball
Send to:
Monroe Girls’ Basketball
Attn: Larry Nocella
901 Herr Road
Monroe, MI 48161
QUESTIONS
Call Coach Nocella at 734.693.0178
Save the date:
July 19, 2015 Monroe Girls’ Basketball
Golf Outing
If you are interested in golfing or supporting the outing in any way please contact Larry Nocella,
693-0178 for more information.
Next week, the Monroe Public Schools Transportation Department will conduct its final bus evacuation drills of this school year. On Monday, May 18, we will practice the drills in the morning drop only for the elementary schools. On Tuesday, May 19, evacuation drills will be performed at the morning drop for Monroe Middle School buses. The evacuation drill for Monroe High School buses will be held Wednesday, May 20, in the morning drop only. Students must know what is expected of them so they can respond quickly, in a safe and orderly fashion. All drills will take place at the schools where students are dropped off in the morning. Parents with questions can call 734-265-3300.
Congratulations to the Monroe High School Expressions and the Generations of Sound both of which received good ratings when they competed recently at the State Choral Festival at Central Michigan University. “What a great group of kids we have in the choirs at Monroe High School,” said MHS’ Director of Vocal Music Cate Windelborn. “They gave beautiful performances. We were honored to be invited and to participate in this very prestigious festival. We had an amazing day.” To hear recordings of the choirs performing at various times, please click on this link. http://mhswindelborn.weebly.com/performance-recordings-2015.html