is a great communications tool for you to connect with me. Every message comes to my desktop. Either I or a member of our staff will do all we can to reply to your message the next work day. Click here to connect with me: https://etc.midlandps.org/connect/form.php.

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Superintendent

Communiqué Michael E. Sharrow, Superintendent

(989) 923-5026 sharrowme@midlandps.org

MPS

Connect

THE ROBOTS ARE COMING … THE ROBOTS ARE COMING … FROM ALL OVER MICHIGAN!!!!!!

Midland FIRST Robotics District Competition March 23-24 at H. H. Dow High School

Both MPS award-winning high school robotics teams will be competing…

HH Dow High’s Team 2619 The Charge

Midland High’s Team 5509 Like a Boss

The 2018 competition is called ”FIRST POWER UP™” and it finds our teams

trapped in an 8bit video game. On the video game-themed field, two alliances of three robots each gather

power cubes to score points and gain control of the field and then climb a tower to defeat the boss at the close

of each match. For more information go to: http://www.first-glbr.org/ Entry and Parking are Free!

Everyone is welcome to come, watch and cheer for their favorite teams & robots!

#MPSinspiringexcellence

MPS Bond Status Update The 2.95 mills renovation and building bond approved by voters in February of 2015 included a

series of three bonds. The sale of the Series One bonds occurred in April of 2015 for $72 million.

Series One bond proceeds have allowed renovation/construction work to occur in almost every building

in the District with much more to come.

As Series One bond work nears completion in the Spring 2019, we are pleased to say we are approximately $5 million under

budget. If this positive trend continues, projects under the bond language will be revisited to complete more work. Series One

proceeds also covered additional items that were needed and that fit the original bond language, such as kitchen equipment,

corridor paint, additional auditorium equipment, roofing not originally in the scope of work and more!

Using Series One bonds, PROJECTS COMPLETED: secure entries and security cameras in ALL MPS schools; middle school

boilers; asbestos abatement; closed buildings demo; Central Park Elementary completed & open; Central Auditorium renovated &

open; major renovations at Plymouth and Woodcrest including paint, windows, flooring, concrete, HVAC, new gym and cafeteria,

renovated Plymouth maker space; buses purchased; lockers at Northeast; technology infrastructure & 1:1 devices; and more.

PROJECTS UNDERWAY: Woodcrest Phase 3 addition; printer/copier purchase; Chestnut Hill & Siebert major renovations similar

to Plymouth and Woodcrest.

Series Two bonds will be sold in the spring of 2019 and bond work will continue through 2022. The District has also used

capital improvement funds, sinking funds and limited general funds to do additional building renovations and projects as needed.

Series Two projects will include: the majority of the Adams Elementary renovations/addition; Jefferson, Northeast, Dow High and

Midland High renovations; technology; buses; furniture; etc. Series Three bonds will be sold in the spring of 2023. Through these

very generous bond funds, all MPS educational facilities are safer and more secure. In addition, each school will have improved

learning environments and energy efficiency when the renovation/construction work is completed in the next several years.

Thank you MPS voters for your support of these much needed improvements!

Your Midland Public Schools is committed to staying within budget, completing high quality building projects on

time despite rising costs, and continuing to make construction decisions with the best interest and education of

our 7,700 MPS students in the forefront of each and every decision we make!

Saturday, March 17th 6:30 pm at the Great Hall

Come and enjoy casino night, auction, raffle, small plate

buffet, desserts, a DJ and much more with

a fun, festive St. Patty’s Day

theme! The sole mission of this event is to raise funds for MPS high school athletics and the more than 2000 MPS student athletes who participate.

For info and to purchase tickets: http://www.mpssportsboosters.com/

March 12, 2018 Page 2 of 4 Thank you Jefferson and Northeast Middle School FIRST Tech Robotics team

representatives for presenting to parents at the March 7 PIC meeting!

Jefferson Middle School’s TechnoHuskies,

CyDogs and Wired Wolves

Northeast Middle School‘s Viking Vigilantes and

Savage Vikings.

It was wonderful to see the robots in action and hear

the students and coaches experiences and reflections

about the 2017-18 middle school FIRST Tech Relic Recovery competitive season.

This week, the Jefferson TechnoHuskies will compete in the Super-

Regional Qualifier in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. They will compete with more

than 70 middle school and high school FTC teams from 11 states.

Best Wishes TechoHuskies!

Looking for something fun to do

with your family this week?

Jefferson

Middle School

is putting on

"Aladdin Jr."

Wednesday, Thursday and Friday

(March 14, 15, 16) at 7:00 PM in

the Jefferson Theater.

More than 40 JMS students are

performing this fun musical with at

least 12 students working hard

behind the scenes.

Improved lighting and sound will be

enjoyed in the JMS theater thanks

to Jefferson Teacher Larry Jacobs’

monetary award that he received

from the Detroit Pistons “Game

Changer” award.

Tickets are $5 (general admission)

and sold in the JMS office or at the

door (if there are any left).

FIRST Lego League Jr. Expo

This past weekend, local area FIRST Lego League Jr. teams participated in the FLL Jr. Expo. In this year's challenge, called Aqua

Adventure, teams explored how they used water, the water journey and they designed improvements to the water journey. They created, programmed and tested a Team Model to demonstrate their ideas. Judges interviewed each team allowing them to showcase their projects and season.

- - - - - - - - - Congratulations to - - - - - - - - -

(Adams) Team 11477 Geyser Power (Adams) Team 8363 - H2LegO (Adams) Team 8364 - Water Warriors

Spectacular Movement Award Teamwork Award Team Spirit Award

(Central Park) Pilot Team 14370

Lightning Legos, Jr.

Inquiring Minds Award

Dow High Robotics Team Wins Engineering Inspiration Award

The Dow High Robotics Team 2619, The Charge, competed at the

Kettering University FIRST Robotics Competition March 9-10 with 41

other Michigan teams. The Charge won the Engineering Inspiration Award, which celebrates a team’s outstanding success in advancing

respect and appreciation for engineering and engineers, both within

their school as well as their community. During the competition The

Charge was selected to be part of the 7th place Alliance for playoffs where they advanced to the quarterfinals. The 2018 competition is

called ”FIRST POWER UP™” and it finds our teams trapped in an 8bit video game. On the video game-themed field, two alliances of three robots each gather power cubes to score points and

gain control of the field and then climb a tower to defeat the boss at the close of each

match. Dow High Math teacher, Sean Murray, coaches the team. This is the team’s 11th year of

competition. More information can be found here: http://www.the-charge.com/

It’s Kindergarten

Registration Time

Will you have a 5-year-old by

September 1st? If so, now is the

time to register him/her for

Young 5’s Kindergarten and/or

the traditional Kindergarten class

of 2018-19.

Here is the link for lots of

important Kindergarten

information:

https://new.midlandps.org/pages/

district/curriculum/kindergarten/

For more information about

Kindergarten, contact the MPS

school your child will attend. A

list of the schools and their

phone numbers is on the final

page of

this

newsletter.

If you have

family, friends or neighbors who

will have a 5-year-old for the

2018-19 kindergarten class,

please share this information

with them.

Michigan School Band and Orchestra Association District V Festival Results

Great Job Midland Public Schools Music Programs! Congratulations to the over 750 Midland Public School students who participated in MSBOA District V Band and Orchestra Festival recently. Thirteen MPS bands and orchestras performed on Friday, March 2 and Saturday, March 3. These students were rated on a scale of 1 to 5 by expert judges on both their prepared performances and their ability to sight-read and perform music they had never seen before. The results were as follows: The Jefferson 8th Grade Band earned 1st division ratings in all categories. The Jefferson 8th Grade Orchestra earned 1st division ratings in all categories. The Northeast 8th Grade Band earned 2nd division ratings in all categories. The Northeast 8th Grade Orchestra earned a 2nd division rating and two 1st division

ratings in performance and a 2nd division rating in sight-reading. The Dow High Green Band earned 1st division ratings in all categories. The Dow High Gold Band earned 1st division ratings in all categories. The Dow High Symphonic Band earned 1st division ratings in all categories. The Dow High Concert Orchestra earned 1st division ratings in all categories. The Dow High Symphony Orchestra earned 1st division ratings in all categories. The Midland High Blue Band earned 1st division ratings in all categories. The Midland High Gold Band earned 1st division ratings in all categories. The Midland High Symphonic Band earned 1st division ratings in all categories. The Midland High Symphony Orchestra earned 1st division ratings in performance

and a 2nd division rating in sight-reading.

Congratulations to Carrie Keeley,

Jefferson Middle School

Art Teacher,

whose artwork “Jaybird” was chosen

as a winner in the 54th Annual

MEA/MAEA Art Acquisitions

Purchase Exhibition 2018!

The Michigan Art Education Association chose

Ms. Keeley’s reduction linocut "Jaybird" as their

purchase for this year. The

exhibit opened March 5th and

will be on display at the MEA

headquarters in East Lansing

until April 18th.

The public is invited to attend

and the winners can also be

viewed at www.mea.org/awards/art

Congratulations Ms. Keeley!

March 12, 2018 Page 3 of 4

VOLUNTEERS: looking to help out?

Check out the MPS website, under

Community or Parents and click

“Volunteer Opportunities” or go to

new.midlandps.org/volunteer

PRINCIPALS/TEACHERS/

SCHOOL SUPPORT: looking for

volunteers? Contact Renee Urlaub,

MPS Volunteer Manager, with

details of your need and it can be

added to the “Volunteer

Opportunities” page.

For info contact Renee at 923-5034

or urlaubrs@midlandps.org.

The Michigan Mathematics Prize Competition banquet was held this past weekend. Congrats to Dow High’s top two finishers! Out of 5,025 students who took the test, Jashvi Desai is a

freshman who placed 43rd in the State.

Stephen O’Donnell is a junior who placed 29th in the State and was the top scorer in Midland County.

Congrats Jashvi & Stephen!

March 12, 2018 Page 4 of 4

Administration 923-5001

Adams Elementary 923-6037

Central Park Elem. 923-6836

Chestnut Hill Elem. 923-6634

Plymouth Elementary 923-7616

Siebert Elementary 923-7835

Woodcrest Elementary 923-7940

Jefferson Middle 923-5873

Northeast Middle 923-5772

H. H. Dow High 923-5382

Midland High 923-5181

Midland Public Schools

600 East Carpenter

Midland, Michigan 48640

MPS Website:

www.midlandps.org

Twitter:

@MichaelSharrow2

@MidlandPS

YouTube Channel:

http://midps.org/youtube

Community Flyers:

https://new.midlandps.org/pages/com

Wise thoughts to ponder:

“In order to succeed, we must first believe that we can.” — Nikos Kazantzakis “Failure will never overtake me if my determination to succeed is strong enough.” —Og Mandino “The will to win, the desire to succeed, the urge to reach your full potential … these are the keys that will unlock the door to personal excellence.” — Confucius

wise words

Please keep the Shining Star nominations coming in. We hope you will take a moment to let

us know why you think an MPS team member is a Shining Star. Here is a link to the

nomination form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc-wltU4BkZJbAvbjS-yvplDipo__DsGl8brYbjLA3q8j86uA/

viewform?c=0&w=1&usp=mail_form_link

MPS was well represented at the 2018 Michigan Science Teachers Association Conference held in Lansing, March 2-3. This year's conference theme was Celbrating Michigan Science and many of the 250 sessions did just that. Attendees were provided with opportunities to network with other science teachers and participate in learning experiences geared toward advancing Michigan's transition to the new science standards. This year, Jefferson Middle School teachers Christine Brillhart and Christie Gayheart lead a learning session titled, "Spandex of Gravity - Modeling the Very Fabric of Space and Time!". Session participants were engaged in a science modeling lesson that was collaboratively developed by Ms. Brillhart, Ms. Gayheart and Mr. Hackbarth. The conference was a great learning experience, and those attending look forward to sharing their learning with MPS colleagues. Thank you to Ms. Brillhart and Ms. Gayheart for presenting at the 2018 MSTA Conference and representing MPS so admirably!

March is Reading Month at MPS

If you have (or have had) a child in an MPS elementary school, your child has many fond memories of March is Reading Month. Each year our teachers, media center para-professionals and

staff do a great job highlighting the importance of reading and making fun memories during this month that celebrates reading. One of my favorite things to do each March is visit our elementary schools and read a fun baseball story to our students. Before the month is over, I will have had a chance to read at all of our elementary schools.

Ask your child how their school is celebrating March is Reading Month and to share some of their favorite parts of this fun month with you. Here is one of our favorites Reading Month memories. Woodcrest classroom teacher, Hollie Brock in

2016 was Ms. Frizzle from The Magic School Bus.

2018-19 Registration Info:

SCHOOLS OF CHOICE —

First round window is open

til March 29. For more info,

click here: https://

new.midlandps.org/pages/

parents/schools-of-choice/

or contact Jana Kullick at

923-5024.

3 & 4 YEAR

OLD

PRESCHOOL PROGRAMS

will be held in our newly

renovated MPS Early

Childhood Center at

Carpenter Street School.

For more info on these

programs, click here:

https://new.midlandps.org/

pages/district/curriculum/

preschool/ or contact Jolene

Laetz at (989) 923-5070.

First Graders from Mrs. Noey

and Mrs. Sopcak's classrooms

at Plymouth Elementary took

action during their Sharing the

Planet

Unit of Inquiry to collect items for the

Humane Society. They learned that

even ordinary people can take

action and together do extraordinary

things!

MPS COMMUNITY FLYER BOARD

Spring and summer clinics,

camps and fun events are

coming in daily. Check it out!

https://new.midlandps.org/pages/

community/community-flyers-2/