Pictured above: On May 10th, students, staff, and volunteers gathered to promote the Woodcrest Elementary FUNd walk, with a special guest appearance by Lou E. Loon!
Midland Public Schools District Vision Statement: Lead with respect, trust and courage. Ensure an equitable, collaborative and inclusive culture. Enable all to achieve success.
May 13, 2024
Volume 11 Edition 37
MPS Multicultural Calendar - May
- Memorial Day: May 27 - A day to commemorate and honor those lost while serving in the US Armed Forces. For more information, visit the link here.
Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month: May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. May was chosen to commemorate the immigration of the first Japanese to the U.S. on May 7, 1843, and to mark the anniversary of the completion of the transcontinental railroad on May 10, 1869—an achievement that relied on the labor of Chinese workers. For more information, visit the link here.
Jewish American Heritage Month:A time to commemorate and celebrate the contributions and achievements of American Jews while also acknowledging the struggles. For more information, visit the link here.
National Mental Health Month: This includes May 9 which is designated as National Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day. For more information, visit the link here.
Central Park Explorers Blast Off on Their Mission to Conquer Cancer
Central Park Elementary recently held its annual Relay For Life t-shirt fundraiser to support the Midland County Relay For Life Team and the American Cancer Society. This year's t-shirt design was created by 5th-grade students Peyton Bonner and Sawyer Hodges! 213 shirts were sold to MPS staff and families, raising $1,441.15 for the American Cancer Society. Those who purchased t-shirts are encouraged to show their support for the cause by wearing their shirts on Mondays in May. Great job, Explorers! Be sure to watch for next year's t-shirt fundraiser in early spring!
Dow High Art Students Refurbish Bricks at Veterans Memorial
On May 8th, 26 Dow High Honors Art students traveled to Pizza Sams for a pizza lunch and then to the Veterans Memorial. Mr. Gledhill's IB/AP Visual Arts class partnered with the Office of Veterans Affairs and Pizza Sams about a decade ago and have returned almost every year to retouch the names of veterans in the engraved bricks at the memorial. It's nice to have the students use a specific skill to give back and pay their respects to those in our community who have served in the armed forces. The event was covered well by our area media services: TV5, ABC12, and the Midland Daily News. It's always nice to have the students' efforts recognized. Please notice these names, now a little easier to read, next time you walk on Main Street near the Courthouse.
"Chalk the Walk" - Affirmations Day Event
To celebrate Affirmations Day on May 7th, the MPS Social Emotional Learning team gave all elementaries and the Pre-Primary Center the opportunity to participate in various activities such as "Chalk the Walk", where students wrote or drew positive affirmations outside using sidewalk chalk. Thank you for sharing your positive messages and spreading kindness in our district!
Dow High Students Compete in International DECA Competition
Congratulations to the 14 Dow High DECA Students who recently joined over 23,000 DECA students to compete in Anaheim, California at the International DECA Competition. Representing Dow High were Andrew Frickey, Lauren Gebo, Dominic Griffin, Nathan John, Evelyn Johnson, Alexandra Kinney, Aaron Li, Natalie Marinik, Ayesha Middha, Riley Polansky, Jonathan Song, Luke Storey, Andrea Ross, and Estelle Wiese.
Placing in the top twenty was the team of Luke Storey and Jonathan Song in the Buying and Merchandising Team Decision Making event. Placing in the top 40 was the team of Estelle Weise and Lauren Gebo in the Entrepreneurship Team Decision Making event.
In addition to competition and networking activities, students enjoyed a tour of the LA and Hollywood areas, an exclusive DECA Night at Disney's California Adventure and a day at the beach.
DECA is an international Business Club that prepares emerging leaders and entrepreneurs for careers in marketing, finance, hospitality and management in high schools and colleges around the globe!
On May 6th and 7th, the Midland High Choirs and MPS hosted 42 middle and high school choirs at Central Auditorium for the MSVMA State Choral Festival! The event went off without a hitch thanks to the awesome student and parent volunteers and the great work of our auditorium manager, J.R. Bornemann. All of the feedback from the visiting schools was very positive, and everyone loved our performance space and appreciated a well-run festival. In addition to hosting such a large event, the Midland High and Dow High Choirs held their spring concerts each evening on Monday and Tuesday. Great job, everyone!
Midland Kiwanis Club Top 10% Event
In April, the Midland Kiwanis Club continued a tradition that was started in 1957 when it held its Honors Banquet to recognize the academic success of graduating seniors from each of Midland County's high schools. The club hosted a dinner at the Great Hall Banquet and Convention Center for students who will graduate academically in the top 10% of their school's 2024 graduating class. Students and their families enjoyed dinner, were honored by the Kiwanis Club, and learned about identifying your personal goals from the evening's keynote speaker. Congratulations to our Dow High and Midland High students who were invited to attend!
Jefferson Space Farmers Present at Growing Beyond Earth Symposium
On April 20th, after six months of experimental plant science testing, representatives for the Jefferson Space Farmers presented their findings on Pak Choi Growth of irradiated seeds to a panel of scientists from NASA and other agencies involved in the Growing Beyond Earth 6-12 program.
59 schools from around the world virtually shared formal presentations. The Jefferson Team was one of nine that scored in the top tier and earned Special Merit for Professional Presentation and Teamwork. Way to grow, Space Farmers!
Midland High Hosts Virtual Session to Learn About Flint Water Crisis
Ms. Katy Stearns and Ms. Jenny Ruegsegger's Midland High cotaught CLL English class hosted a virtual visit from Markala Hussey, who lived in Flint during the water crisis. Many students have been reading "Poisoned Water" by Candy J. Cooper as part of a choice reading unit and enjoyed hearing a first-person account of the topic. Ms. Hussey shared her experience in the ongoing struggle to secure a safe water supply and then answered students' questions. Thank you for sharing your experience, Ms. Hussey.
Graduation is Quickly Approaching!
As we move closer to the end of the 2023-24 school year, we look forward to celebrating with our graduating class! Graduation ceremonies will be held at Dow Diamond on May 31st, 2024 as follows:
Midland High School - 4:15 PM
H.H. Dow High School - 7:15 PM
In the event of inclement weather, the graduation ceremonies will move to their respective buildings and take place at 5:30 p.m.
School Lunch Hero Day!
May 3rd was "School Lunch Hero Day," and MPS would like to thank our dedicated MPS food service and cafeteria staff. We appreciate your work serving up smiles and nutritious meals to our students each day. Here are some pictures of our School Lunch Heroes ready for action!
Once school has ended for the year, Midland Public Schools will once again offer the Summer eLearning Program. Through this program, online courses are available to high school students who wish to earn initial credit in select courses. The Virtual Summer Program is separate from the Credit Recovery Summer Program run by the buildings. Please contact your school building administration for their Credit Recovery Summer Program information.
While being on site is not a requirement for daily work or quizzes, tests and exams must be monitored. This can be by appointment onsite or by appointment virtually. Appointments will be scheduled with the teacher on duty between 9:00 AM and 12:00 PM Monday through Thursday unless other arrangements are made. Students should expect to invest 45-60 hours to complete each course, but they may work on their course anywhere they have an internet connection.
Courses will begin on June 3, 2024, and must be completed by August 8, 2024. Students may only register for one course at a time. The cost for each course is $150 for Standard Edgenuity courses (EDG - Edgenuity on course list) and $250 for Edgenuity Instructional Services courses (EDGIS - Edgenuity Instructional Services on course list) for Midland Public Schools students and $175 or $265 for students outside of the MPS district. Registration begins April 22, 2024. For more information, visit the eLearning webpage on our website here.
Nominate Exemplary MPS Staff for Gerstacker, Distinguished Service, and NEW Administrators Inspiring Excellence Awards!
It is the time of year again when we look to recognize our amazing MPS staff with selection for the annual Gerstacker and Distinguished Service Awards. In addition to these two long-standing awards, MPS, with the support of the Carl and Esther Gerstacker Donor-Advised Fund at the Midland Area Community Foundation, will recognize an Adminstrator who inspires excellence in the MPS Community with the first annual Administrators Inspiring Excellence Award!
Please see the nomination announcements for these three awards as well as links to the nomination forms below. Thank you for your help in recommending our MPS staff who go above and beyond each day to support our staff, students, and community! The deadline to submit nominations is Friday, May 24th, 2024. Awards will be presented to the winners at our opening staff meeting in August.