Monroe High School’s automotive training program has received confirmation of its second accreditation by the National Automotive Technicians Education Foundation (NATEF) and the National Association for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE.) Monroe High School was accredited in Maintenance and Light Repair.
The Monroe High School auto tech program already was accredited in Electrical/Electronic Systems.
“We are delighted to have received this accreditation of our Maintenance and Light Repair training program,” said Bryan Zamorski, automotive tech teacher at Monroe High School. “During the past few months, we have worked closely with NATEF to ensure that our program would meet strict industry standards.
“Students can be assured of a quality education and shop owners can be assured of getting quality job applicants,” Mr. Zamorski said. “We work closely with local vehicle dealers and automotive shops and are proud to be able to present them with a very highly trained and prepared future work force.”
As part of the accreditation process, Monroe High School’s automotive training program underwent a rigorous NATEF-sponsored inspection. Nationally accepted standards of excellence in areas such as instruction, facilities and equipment were used in evaluating Mr. Zamorski’s program sequence.
Donald Seyfer, NATEF chairman, said, “As a result of the quality education provided by Monroe High School, the motoring public will benefit since better repair technicians will join the work force. This is great news for automotive-minded young people and their parents. It can increase the cooperation between local education and industry leaders, providing added assurance that Monroe High’s graduates will be employable entry-level technicians.”
Mr. Zamorski, the auto tech teacher, spent five years as an auto mechanic early in his career and worked on prototype vehicles for auto racing giant, Roush Industries. He holds six certifications each in ASE and state licenses.
“Superhero” will be the theme of the 2016 Monroe High School Winterfest, running Monday, Feb. 22, through Saturday, Feb. 27.
The court assembly and introduction of the candidates will be held Monday morning, Feb. 22, and the student body will vote on Tuesday, Feb. 23. The popular food court is set for Thursday, Feb. 25, and as the school day nears an end on Friday, February 26, the school will have a pep assembly.
A new twist this year is the tussle between the Trojan Family Time classes promoting their teachers as superheros. On Tuesday, students will bring in superhero clothing and accessories for their teachers and dress them like a superhero. Pictures will be taken and the top two teachers in each grade level will be featured in photos posted on the Monroe Public Schools Facebook page, where people will be encouraged to “like” their favorite.
The pictures also will be posted in the Commons during lunch periods on Thursday and Friday of Winterfest week. Students will vote for their favorite superheros by placing monetary votes in a container for each grade level. The class with the most money collected and Facebook likes will win bragging rights and the money collected will go to that class to defray their prom costs.
On Friday night, Bedford will provide the opposition as the MHS girls and Bedford girls basketball teams meet at 5:30 p.m. and the MHS and Bedford boys basketball teams meet at 7 p.m. Half-time crowing of the Winterfest Queen and Mr. Legs will take place at half time -- freshmen and sophomores during the girls game and juniors and seniors during the boys game. The week concludes with the Winterfest Dance at 7 p.m., Saturday, where the royalty will be honored.
Winterfest royalty candidates are: 9th grade – girls, Kaylyne Ford, Mikayla Freeman, Celeste Milligan and Delaney Salenbien; boys, Blake Amato, Mitchell Carter, Toryn Johnson, and Maleik Linton. 10th grade – girls, Jaclyn Clark, Juliza Jiminez, Riley Oetjens, and Kalani Sweat; boys, Jack Bailey, Mahmud Bakr, Ashton Bowman and Cameron Knapp. 11th grade—girls, Celena Bakr, Claire Burke, Maiya Hegyi and Emma Kimble; boys, Mikal Farris, Brandon Matthews, Omar Montague and Cameron Tubbs. 12th grade – girls, Cassie Complo, Dorothy Gilbert, Kennedi Kane, and Kelsey Pabin; boys, Dawson Kopp, Tevin Nickols, Mitchell Sweat and Jacob Traver.
Monroe High School students will have what is called “an unbelievable opportunity” to take free Geographical Information System (GIS) training at MHS which will lead to a paid summer internship in the Monroe community. MHS is the only county school offering this opportunity.
Geospatial technologies include such disciplines as Geographical Information Systems (GIS,) Global Positioning Systems and Remote Sensing. MHS has access to this unique opportunity due to the involvement of one of its science teachers in a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant. This initiative provides teachers and students access to those geospatial tools.
“ESRI, the nation’s leading designer of mapping software, has made available to us free access to their professional-grade software and on-line-training,” said Monroe High School science teacher Russell Columbus. “This is an unbelievable opportunity. This is equivalent to a major software company offering all of its technologies and trainings to design apps for free.
“This is the geospatial software that nearly all professionals in the field use now, and it also comes with the promise of a paid internship. For our Monroe High kids, this is pretty incredible, really,” Mr. Columbus said.
Mr. Columbus will hold an informational signup meeting for Monroe High School students who are interested in applying after school on Thursday, Feb. 18, in the Learning Commons. Mr. Columbus will help interested students enroll in the program with the assistance of grant administrators and then mentor them as they complete training. Successful candidates will be placed in summer internships this summer, paying them as much as $10 per hour for eight to 12 weeks of work of 20 hours per week in their internships.
The NSF grant-funded GRACE project is a collaboration involving various organizations including Eastern Michigan University and Michigan Virtual University, with which Monroe Public Schools works closely on various ventures. The objective of this grant is to expose students to this technology which serves a fundamental role in providing emergency services, transportation and urban planning, environmental hazard management, resource exploitation, military operations and the conduct of relief organizations.
Parents or students who have questions prior to the informational meeting can contact Mr. Columbus via email or call him at 734-265-3524.
Fifteen Monroe Middle School instrumentalists earned either Division 1 or Division 2 ratings in the Michigan School Band and Orchestra Association's District XII Solo and Ensemble Festival at Ann Arbor Pioneer High School on Saturday, Feb. 6. Students performed as soloists or in small groups for experienced adjudicators from around the State of Michigan. The students were rated on a scale from 1 - 5 (1 is best) against a standard of excellence.
Those students receiving First Division ratings were: Kaylee Faulk, trumpet solo; Danielle Snow, baritone solo; Jordan Zarecki, violin solo; Ethan Harbaugh, trumpet solo; Clifton Williams, violin solo; Adyn Hallahan and Jordan Zarecki, violin duet; and Lauren Custer and Megan Phillips, clarinet duet.
Earning Second Division ratings were: Jessica Foulkrod, string bass solo; Lauren Wagner, string bass solo; Jade Karacson, violin solo; Blake Lambert, tenor saxophone solo; Morgan Spooneybarger, violin solo; Carolyn Taylor and Jade Karacson, violin duet.
The students are led by either Chris Morelli, MMS Band Director, or Ann Felder, MMS Orchestra Director.
District XII, in which the students competed, encompasses Wayne, Washtenaw, and Monroe counties, minus the City of Detroit.
Five of Monroe Public Schools’ buildings will have enhanced computer equipment in their classrooms thanks to a $206,089 purchase approved Tuesday night by the Monroe Public Schools Board of Education. The purchase helps continue the proliferation of iPad technology throughout Monroe Public Schools, even down to the youngest students.
“This purchase helps us to further integrate technology into the teaching of our curriculum for our students,” said David Payne, Technology director for Monroe Public Schools.
Included in the purchase were two classroom sets of Dell Chromebooks and bags for Manor Elementary School; one classroom set of iPad Airs and bags for Raisinville Elementary School; six iPad mini-carts and 12 iPad Pros for Arborwood Elementary Campus; six iPad Airs carts and two Mac PowerBook pros for Monroe Middle School; and one set of iPad Airs Cases for Waterloo Elementary School. The iPad products being purchased are lighter and have more functions than original iPads and some even have screens upon which a stylus can be used to write or draw, which can be saved.
The purchases are made through a Federal Title I grant. Mr. Payne explained that while the grant was used to purchase the hardware, the software and program licenses needed for the equipment are purchased through the countywide technology millage.
The Head Start preschool program operated by the Monroe County Intermediate School District (ISD) will be housed at the Monroe Public Schools’ Arborwood North School for the 2016-2017 school year. The program has been located in South Monroe Townsite School for the last several years. The move was approved by the Monroe Public Schools Board of Education Tuesday night (February 9.)
“We asked the ISD to make this move so we can provide additional support for preschool services at Arborwood. The move also allows us to assist in the transition of pre-school students, many of whom will attend Arborwood, into kindergarten,” said Dr. Barry Martin, superintendent, Monroe Public Schools.
Dr. Martin explained that Arborwood North, which once was known as Hollywood School, will have sufficient capacity to meet the needs of the current Head Start program and provide sufficient space to house many existing Arborwood North classrooms, too. Also, having Head Start located in an active elementary school setting will be a benefit for that program as well as Arborwood Elementary School.
“The ISD appreciates the partnership with Monroe Public Schools to provide early childhood programs to our youngest learners,” said Dr. Stephen McNew, superintendent, Monroe County ISD. “There are two important factors to remember about these learners. Brain development is the most significant from birth to age three. The brain’s capacity develops 90 percent before a child reaches five so it is crucial that we continue to work together to educate these students in a clean, safe environment so they are prepared to learn when they get to kindergarten.”
Dr. Martin said that in coming weeks the board will discuss the future of South Monroe Townsite School. Also to be determined in the near future is where the district will house its successful Monroe Virtual High School, the longest running virtual school in Monroe County.
Both schools on the Arborwood Elementary Campus are Title I schools. Title I provides federal funding to schools to help students who are at risk of falling behind academically. The funding provides supplemental instruction for students who are economically disadvantaged or at risk of failing to meet state standards.
“One of the ways a Title I school’s effectiveness is evaluated is by having a successful plan to transition preschool children from programs like Head Start to local elementary school kindergarten programs,” Dr. Martin said. “With this move, we are aligned with the federal requirements and are confident this will help strengthen our overall instructional program at Arborwood, as the students move from preschool to kindergarten.”
Lincoln Elementary School may have been closed since 2009 but students who attended the school and are graduating from Monroe High School this spring have a chance to take a part of the old school to college with them this fall. Applications now are being taken for the Lincoln Scholarship for former students. Students can qualify for a $500 scholarship. When Lincoln closed, its staff wanted to make sure that students who had attended the school had a chance to earn a scholarship like they did when the school was open. Enough money was set aside so as long as there were children in the Monroe Public Schools system who attended Lincoln School they could be considered for a scholarship when they graduated. Check below for a link to a scholarship application form.
The Monroe High School boys basketball game against Saline Thursday night will be broadcast live over MonroeCountyRadio.com, Monroe's local internet radio station, Monroe County Judge Jared Calkins and local attorney, Jeff Yorkey, husband of one of the Monroe Public Schools teachers, will be mike side for the game. The broadcast is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m., depending on the length of the JV game.