Superintendent Communiqué Midland Public Schools

November 7th, 2022

Volume 10 Edition 15

Midland Public Schools District Vision Statement: Lead with respect, trust and courage. Ensure an equitable, collaborative and inclusive culture. Enable all to achieve success.

Parent information committee

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Vikings For Volmering!

Northeast Middle School staff and students participated in events during October to show support for staff member Christy Volmering and Breast Cancer Awareness month. The culmination of the celebration was the staff vs. student volleyball game, which was a fundraiser for Cancer Services of Midland. Thanks to all who participated and supported this event and a great cause!

To see more amazing Vikings for Volmering support, scan the QR code below!

IB and Ap testing fee waiver

At the October 17 meeting, the Midland Public Schools Board of Education took action to eliminate testing fees for MPS students enrolled in MPS International Baccalaureate (IB) and Advanced Placement (AP) titled courses. This fee waiver is in effect for the 2022-2023 school year. The intention of this action is to provide financial relief for families and to increase the number of students who take these assessments, which can lead to college credit with qualifying scores.

If a student has already registered for a spring 2023 IB and AP assessment and is enrolled in the corresponding IB or AP course, they will not be invoiced for the cost of the assessments. If a student has not yet registered and is now considering taking the assessment, they must register by October 28, 2022. Below is a link to the registration form.

Dow High School 2023 IB & AP Registration Form

Midland High School 2023 IB & AP Registration Form

Students registering for an IB or AP assessment are expected to attend the assessment session and give their best effort. Students who cancel their registration after the deadline or do not attend the assessment session will be invoiced for the cost of the assessment.

If you have questions about registering for an IB or AP spring assessment, please contact your school counselor.

Gerstacker Fellowship celebration event at SVSU

Pictured above from left to right: Margaret Doan, Penny Miller-Nelson, Superintendent Sharrow, Sarah Cooper, Jen Servoss, and Joseph Amabile. Individual photo: Jessica Brunsell.

Congratulations to the recent graduates of the Gerstacker Fellowship, and to Jessica Brunsell who was inducted as a member of the 2023 cohort! Superintendent Sharrow joined the celebration held at SVSU on November 7. Sarah Cooper, Central Park Elementary teacher, completed the program as a member of the 2022 cohort. Margaret Doan, Plymouth Elementary Principal, and Joseph Amabile, Secondary Curriculum Specialists completed the program as a member of the 2020 cohort which has a slight delay because of the pandemic. Penny Miller-Nelson, who previously completed the program in 2013, served as a mentor to the 2020 cohort. The recent graduates traveled to Germany in June 2022 to study their educational system. Also pictured is Jen Servoss who completed the Gerstacker Fellowship in 2018.

The Gerstacker Fellowship Program at SVSU was established in 2005 through an endowment from the Rollin M. Gerstacker Foundation. Each year a group of premier teachers and administrators are selected from throughout Michigan to engage in a leadership development program that culminates in an international trip to study the educational system of another country. Since the inception of the program, there have been 19 Gerstacker Fellows from MPS. MPS is grateful to the Rollin M. Gerstacker Foundation and Saginaw Valley State University for making this experience possible.

What is the Early Middle College Program? The EMC program is a five-year program of study. We work closely with two post-secondary partners, Davenport University and Delta College, to provide students with an opportunity to earn a high school diploma and one or more of the following: 60 transferable credits, an associate degree, or a professional certificate. Almost all expenses are paid for by MPS. For more information, click the button below.

Early Middle College FAQ

school of choice - 2nd semester

2nd Semester School of Choice Applications: School of Choice applications for the second semester (January 3 - June 1, 2023) will be available at www.midlandps.org/enrollment beginning November 7, 2022. Applications are due back to Becci Longstreth by 3pm on Wednesday, November 23, 2022. Applications may be returned in person to the Administration Building (600 E. Carpenter St.) or via email to enroll@midlandps.org.

Applications for non-resident students and in-district transfers will be available, but availability will be based on current enrollment information for each building and grade. Families will be notified via email of their application status by the end of the day on December 7, 2022. Please contact Becci Longstreth at enroll@midlandps.org or 989-923-5024 with any questions.

Parents/Guardians, please watch your email for an invitation to use GoGuardian Parent later this week. GoGuardian Parent is a mobile app designed to provide parents/guardians insight and control over their student's online activity when on school-managed devices and accounts.

happenings around the district

14 Dow High and 5 Midland High Senior girls' swim team members were honored at Senior Night at the DHS vs. MHS Girls' swim meet on October 27th. The Chargers set nine records vs. the Chemics in the matchup. Ella Roberson had hand in seven records, and diver Emily Krzciok earned two.

Kindergarten students at Chestnut Hill are currently engaged in their How We Express Ourselves PYP (Primary Years Programme) unit. Within this unit, they connect to the central idea that “People use creativity to solve problems”. In the activity pictured above, students read the story of Jack and the Beanstalk and then discussed the structure and function of Jack’s beanstalk. As part of an introduction to the design process, the students model a beanstalk using pipe cleaners with a goal of creating the tallest model possible. Students persevere through the process and rebuild their design as necessary. They discussed how real inventors and engineers design products to solve real world problems and often have to go through the design process many times before finding the right solution.

On Friday, October 28, approximately 150 orchestra students from Midland High and Dow High attended a masterclass sponsored by the Grove Music Festival. The masterclass featured violist Amy Hess. Amy Hess is a violist with the Chicago Lyric Opera, Grant Park Symphony Orchestra, and Fulton Chamber Players. Participating students are pictured above from left to right: Sarah Li, Dow High Violist; Boaz Qiu, Dow High Violinist; Helen Haight, Midland High Cellist; Amy Hess, Guest Clinician; Katie Maloney, Midland High Violist.

H. H. Dow High School Resource Officer, Gunner Wright, assisted in Mrs. Williams' Health & Wellness classes during their recent unit on Hands-Only CPR. He helped students learn the importance of staying calm during emergencies and to be able to properly communicate what is happening during an emergency. Students learned about cardiac events, how to properly perform compressions, and the basics of operating an AED to help save lives.

Staff at the Administration building had a "scary" good time on Halloween, with festive costumes and decorations!

Chemics win first district championship in five years

The Midland High Girls' Varsity Volleyball team beat Bay City Western to claim the first district championship for the team in five years! Way to go Chemics!

Veterans Day Celebration - MHS

Midland High School will be hosting a Veterans Day Celebration on Friday, November 11th. We are excited to welcome local Veterans to come speak to our students about their experiences serving in our armed forces. We need your help reaching local Veterans! Below is a link to a short survey that we would like you to share with any interested Veteran. We are thankful to our Veterans for their service, sacrifice, and commitment to protecting and safeguarding our nation and our freedoms. Thank you for reaching out to local Veterans on behalf of Midland High School! Please use the button below to complete the Veterans Day Survey.

Veterans Day Survey

Dow High RenFair is Saturday!

Come support our incredibly talented Charger students on Saturday, November 12th at 7 pm at the Midland Center for the Arts. For tickets, call or visit the Midland Center for the Arts box office, or click on the button below.

MCFTA box office

2022 Great Lakes Bay Bot Bash!

The 7th Great Lakes Bay Bot Bash was held at Dow High School on October 29th with 27 robots from Michigan competing in this off-season FIRST RAPID REACTSM event. Both the Dow and Midland High Robotics teams were part of the competition, and the game challenge required two alliances of three robots each to collect and score cargo balls in the hub and then race to their hanger to climb and score additional points at the end of the game. Dow High's Robotics Team 2619 ‘The Charge’ was one of four local robotics teams hosting the event and they advanced to the semifinals of the competition. Midland High’s Robotics Team 5509 ‘Like A Boss’ advanced to the quarterfinals of the competition. Great job by both teams in their last competition with the teams’ 2022 robots! THANK YOU to the Dow High staff and students for their support and flexibility, which helped make this event possible. Thanks also to the event partner host teams – 3770 from Bullock Creek, 5712 from Hemlock and 5216 from Essexville-Garber! The 2023 FIRST Robotics season will kick-off on January 7 when details of the CHARGED UPSM game will be revealed. The spring FIRST Robotics Midland competition will be held at Dow High School on March 24-25, 2023.

Board of Education

The Midland Area Wellbeing Coalition has shared their November offerings.

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