It is all new and all for you! Farmington Public Schools recently launched NEW websites for each of the schools and one for the overall school district. That is 20 new web sites in all! The web sites were redesigned for an improved brows-ing experience for users.

Some of the goals of the redesign were to create a more visually appealing and easier to navigate site, as well as to be responsive to whatever device is used to browse the site.

Thousands of pages of web content were reviewed, edited and then migrated over to the new sites. A new

calendar program allows for the integration of the high school athletic schedules right onto the high school calendars.

“We couldn’t have done this without the knowledge and expertise of our web master, Scott Huff,” said Diane Bauman, Director of School/Community Relations. “We hope you like the new sections including the Testimo-nials, the News Features, and the Spotlight Infographic.”

We look forward to hearing how you like the site! In order to keep enhancing your brows-ing experience, please send your thoughts to info@farmington.k12.mi.us. We will continue to work on the sites to be sure that they provide the information that you need.

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Winter 2017February 2017 • Volume 39 • No. 2

Farmington Public Schools’ Quarterly News Update

Board of Education votes to approve new contract with the Farmington Education Association

District launches all NEW websites

Newly elected Board of Education . . . . . . . . . . 2

FPS Teachers of the Year . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

PTA Council Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Bond Work Update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

CPR/Defribillator Training . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Strategic Planning Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Senior Adult Extraordinaire Award Winner . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Awards & Achievements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Kindergarten Registration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Academic State Champs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

High School Musicals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Early Childhood Open House . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Clothing Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

INDE

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On Tuesday, February 14, 2017, the Board of Educa-tion voted 6-0 to approve a new contract with the Farm-ington Education Association (FEA) which represents the teachers in the District.

“I would like to first start by recognizing the contribu-tions of all of our employees in Farmington Public Schools and their dedication and commitment to supporting growth for our students,” stated Kathy Smith, Executive Director of Human Resources. “We have collaboratively worked with our Farmington Education Association since December 2015 in order to reach this new contract.”

Collectively, these two groups had four areas of focus: • Assuring Farmington is well-positioned for

long-term sustainable financial health. • Supporting our vision and focus of academic

and instructional excellence. • Valuing the contributions of all of our teaching

staff, especially those who are the lowest paid.

• Creating structures that will help Farmington attract, retain, and support great educators.

Key areas of the new contract:

• Duration is three years, which includes this school year and would continue through the end of the 2018-2019 school year. This provides for some clarity and continuity for the next few years.

• In consideration for the focus on fiscal sustain-ability, no additional money has been added to the current pay scale. The pay scale was extended, which means that it takes longer for a teacher to reach the top of the pay scale. This results in long-term structural savings for Farmington Public Schools by slowing the growth of salary costs by 30 percent a year.

Continued on page 6

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Board of Education MembersJessica B. Cummings, President

Terry L. Johnson, Vice President

David N. Turner, Secretary

Terri A. Weems, Treasurer

Mark A. Przeslawski, Trustee

Angie F. Smith, Trustee

James L. Stark, Trustee

Board of Education Meeting DatesFebruary 28 Special Mtg. – Bond ProjectsMarch 7 Study Session March 21 Regular Mtg.April 11 Study Session April 25 Regular Mtg.May 9 Study Session May 23 Regular Mtg.June 6 Study Session June 20 Regular Mtg.

2017 - 2018July 11 Organizational Mtg.August 22 Study Sess./ Regular Mtg.

All meetings are scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. and will be held at the Lewis Schulman Administrative Center located at 32500 Shiawassee Street (between Farmington and Power Roads) in Farmington.

On November 8, 2016, the following were elected to the Farmington Public Schools’ Board of Education:

Two-year terms - ending 2018

Mark PrzeslawskiMark, a widower, and his four sons

have been in the District since 1998. His oldest son attends Dartmouth, his second son attends the University of Michigan and his seventh and tenth grade boys at-tend Farmington Public Schools. Mark has a BS in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Wayne State University. Mark has been involved in the schools in a variety of capacities including running Math Pentathlon training, coordinating career days and as an active member of PTSA and Booster Clubs. For many years he served as the President of the Kimberley North Improvement Association.

David TurnerDavid Turner was appointed in Sep-

tember 2015 and elected in November 2016. He currently serves as the Secretary on the Board. He is the Vice President of University Human Resources for Eastern Michigan University located in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Mr. Turner gradu-ated from Eastern Michigan University, with a B.B.A. degree in human resources. He earned a M.S.A. degree from Cen-tral Michigan University, also in human resources. David and his wife have lived in Farmington Hills for seven years. They

have three children, two of which attend Forest Elementary School. Their eldest child attends Warner Middle School. Da-vid is an active parent within the district and also involved with his son’s youth sports team.

Six-year terms - ending 2022

Angie SmithAngie Smith has three daughters who

all attended Farmington Public Schools - graduates of 2006, 2010 and 2016. She has resided in Farmington Hills for 20 years and was involved in her daughters’ academics and extracurricular activities. Angie attended Wayne County Commu-nity College and Wayne State University where she earned her Bachelors in Mortu-ary Science. She worked for Detroit Public Schools for 8 ½ years in the Special Education Department as a trainable aide grade 1. As a Farmington Hills resident, Angie served on numerous committees in the district. Angie has also served the District as a Building PTA President, PTA Council president, PTA State Region D Representative, and Co-Chair of the Farmington/Farmington Hills MCMR MLK Walk.

James StarkJames Stark was appointed to the

Board in July 2016 and elected in Novem-ber 2016. He and his family have lived in Farmington since 1993. He and his wife have two daughters, one who is a 2015

Farmington High School graduate and one attending Farmington High School. Mr. Stark earned his degree in journalism from Oakland University. He is currently the president of JLS Ventures, a non-profit consulting firm. Previously, he was the owner/publisher for the Farmington/Farmington Hills Gazette newspaper and the executive director of the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame. A long time district and community supporter, he has served on the Farmington/Farmington Hills Chamber of Commerce, and as president of the Farmington Area Philharmonic and the Farmington Area Founders Festival. In addition to being a parent volunteer in the District, he currently serves as president of the Farmington High School Music Patrons Association.

Terri WeemsTerri Weems was appointed in Septem-

ber 2015 and elected in November 2016. She currently serves as Treasurer for the Board. She is a certified public accountant and is a member of the American Institute and Michigan Association of CPAs, as well as the National Association of Black Ac-countants (NABA). Terri earned a Bache-lor of Business Administration and Master of Science degree in accounting from the Honors College at Ohio University. Terri is an active member of her community. She served as Chairperson of the Detroit Public High School Advisory Committee, several FPS PTA boards and is treasurer of her homeowner association. She volunteers her time to several organizations which provide tax assistance to those in need, food for the homeless, accounting educa-tional awareness, mentorship and scholar-ships to high school and college students. Terri and her husband live in Farmington Hills and have three children who attend Farmington Public Schools.

Outgoing board members Sheilah Clay and Murray Kahn were honored at a reception in December for their years of service to the Board of Education.

New board members elected in November settle into their new roles

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On Tuesday, February 14, Dr. George Heitsch, Farmington Public Schools’ super-intendent, along with friends and family, surprised three Farmington Public Schools’ teachers to inform them that they had been named Teachers of the Year at their respective levels; elementary, middle,and high school. Melissa Doepker at Lanigan Elementary School; Vitas Underys at Power Middle School; and Janet Cadeau at Farmington High School are the District’s 2016-2017 Teachers of the Year.

Elementary Teacher of the Year Melissa Doepker

Melissa began teaching in the District in 2001 as a Resource Room teacher at Gill Elementary School. Over the years, she has served as first, second and third grade teacher as well as a Literacy Intervention-ist. Currently Melissa serves as a first grade teacher at Lanigan Elementary School. Melissa has a BS in Special Education from Western Michigan University and a M. Ed in Special Education from Texas Woman’s University.

Melissa is an educator who embraces professional development. She attends workshops, classes and conferences that will improve her teaching and impact student learning.

Melissa engages students in a variety of ways. She uses storytelling, movement, cooperative learning and positive reinforce-ment to motivate her students. Melissa constantly celebrates the successes of her students both inside and outside the class-room.

Her nomination states: Melissa is a cor-nerstone for the Lanigan community and Farmington Public Schools. She demon-strates perseverance, creative problem-solv-ing and shows a fierce desire to see not only her students, but all of Lanigan succeed.

One of her parents wrote: Mrs. Doep-ker has that perfect balance of being a loving, nurturing teacher who offers tons of encouragement served with a warm smile but at the same time, demands respect and your attention.

Middle School Teacher of the Year Vitas Underys

Vitas received his Bachelor’s degree from Loyala University and his Masters in

Education from the University of Illinois. He began his career with Farmington Public Schools in 1987 at Cloverdale School and is currently a sixth grade SXI (Severely Multiply Impaired) teacher at Power Middle School.

While Vitas certainly understands the physi-cal limitations of his students, he refuses to believe in any mental limitations. He works with general education teachers to understand the class standards and then he works to make sure that his students are also meeting those standards.

“Vitas touches students in this school in ways that he doesn’t possibly know; he follows his instincts and his heart and our entire Power community benefits as a result,” said Power Principal Allyson Robinson.

One of Vitas’ many strengths is his continual desire to involve his parents in the day-to-day operation of the school, as well as to create a community where they can share resources and stories.

His peers hold him in the highest regard; he lightens the mood and brings humor to the school.

Colleague Steve Mitchell writes, “ Vitas excels at getting people to look past any limitations they may face – to instead look at and practice what they CAN do both individually and collectively. He has a passion and knack for inclusivity that is contagious.”

High School Teacher of the YearJanet Cadeau

Janet has a Bachelor’s of Science degree from Ferris State University and her Master’s degree from Madonna University. She joined Farmington Public Schools in 1999 and has been at Farmington High School since 2011. In addition to advising her FHS HOSA (Future Health Profes-sionals) chapter, she serves as the Work-Based Learning Coordinator for Health Science Students. She was also selected from a national pool of highly qualified candidates to serve as a NOCTI Subject Matter Expert for the Health Science test revision team, and currently serves on the Michigan HOSA Advisory Board and as Secretary of the Board of the Michigan Health Occupation Educators Association.

Her nomination states: “Mrs. Cadeau loves what she teaches and loves her students! She models hard work and pas-

Farmington Public Schools announces Teachers of the Year for the 2016-2017 school year

PTA Council Information

Monday • February 27, 2017HHS PTSA presents a Parent Forum for all parents: “Planning Your High School Direction” 7 p.m.Maxfield Education Center32789 W. 10 Mile, Farmington

Come learn about all the great high school opportunities that Farmington Public Schools’ students have to make the most of their high school experience.

This Forum will discuss op-portunities for vocational training and ways to earn college credit in high school.

All families are welcome to come and learn about the op-portunities students have in high school. Middle and high school students are also encouraged to attend. Information on the Oakland Schools Technical Center, Career Technical Education, Dual Enrollment, Advanced Placement Classes and the International Bac-calaureate Program will be shared.

This parent/student forum is hosted by Harrison High School PTSA and the Farmington Area PTA Council.

PTA Founder’s Day DinnerMonday • March 6, 20176:30 - 9 p.m. Glen Oaks30500 West 13 Mile Road,Farmington HillsFarmington Area PTA Council celebrates achievements at their annual Founder’s Day Dinner.

Standing Up for Our Future Today

PTA council

Farmington Area PTA Council

FPS Middle School Teacher of the Year, Vitas Underys, shares a song he wrote with students and others.

FPS Elementary School Teacher of the Year, Melissa Doepker, is surprised by Lanigan Elementary School Principal Greg Smith.

Continued on page 6

Forest Elementary School, Gill El-ementary School, Lanigan Elementary School and East Middle School welcomed students and staff into their updated spaces at the start of the school year as a result of the passing of the $131.5 million bond proposal in May 2015. New lighting, flooring, bathroom finishes, furniture, me-chanical work, paving work and classroom technology items, to name some of the investment into our schools, all make for an improved learning facility for students. An additional seven buses were purchased that the District had on the road by late fall for a total of 16 new buses so far.

Work began at Farmington High School in the fall of 2016 and will continue through the start of the 2017 school year.

Demolish work has been progressing well at the former Dunckel Middle School site getting ready to house the District’s new STEAM school in the fall and the selection of new finishes has been completed.

Lessons have been learned during the first round of construc-tion especially around the moving of staff boxes and

materials. We are continuing to examine ways to minimize the burden to staff as they go through the construction process. Frequent meetings are being held to work with staff to accommodate students’ activi-ties and coordinate the work to accommo-date those activities.

Technology work completed includes: - New wireless network districtwide - Video surveillance outside and inside at FHS and East - Planning is well underway at Power and NFHS for video surveillance - will be done this summer - In the process of selecting new data storage systems - complete by the end of August - The updating of our phone systems is almost complete

- Purchased CAD computers for all three high schools - computer aided design classes - Evaluating CAD for middle schools right now - installed at the latest by the start of the 2017-18 school year - Upgraded our Internet content filters (a safety feature for students using the Internet) - Beginning the selection of devices to be purchased for students and staff to be rolled out next year - approximately 1,200 student devices - 150 laptops for staff - Completed document camera delivery and training to all classrooms

Work will begin in May 2017 on Hillside Elementary School, Longacre Elementary School, Wood Creek Elemen-tary School, Power Middle School, and

North Farmington High School.A continued thanks to our

community for sup-porting these much

needed improve-ments.

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City of Farmington Hills and Farmington Public Schools partner to provide CPR/ Defibrillator trainingChildren and adults in Michigan can be kept safer when schools are prepared to provide CPR and use a defibrillator in response to cardiac emergencies. Farm-ington Public Schools and the Farmington Hills Fire Department are pleased to announce they’ll be collaborating on medical emergency drills for staff at each of the schools throughout the months of February and March. Since about 1 in 5 Michigan-ders are in a Michigan school building each day, schools are a key location to be prepared for a sudden cardiac arrest that could jeopardize the lives of students, staff, or visitors. Sudden cardiac arrest is the sudden loss of heart function that stops blood from flowing.

“The Farmington Hills Fire Department, Farmington Hills Police Department, and Farming-ton Department of Public Safety have had great success helping people experiencing cardiac arrest survive.,” said Farmington Hills EMS Coordinator Jim Etzin. “However, such success wouldn’t be possible without early recog-nition and immediate interven-tion prior to our arrival. Because Farmington Public Schools’ employees are oftentimes the first line of defense when it comes to our community’s children, their willingness to provide whatever care they can is both commend-able and necessary.”

This recent initiative comple-ments the CPR/AED training all Farmington Public Schools’ ninth graders began receiving this school year and serves as yet another shining example of how collaboration between school districts and emergency respond-ers can contribute to safer com-munities.

Bond work continues throughout the District thanks to community support

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Youth Recognition Awards - 2017 Nominations DEADLINE: Tuesday March 21, 2017 4:00 p.m.

Farmington Youth Assistance (FYA) is seeking youth nomi-nations for its 32nd Annual Youth Recognition Awards. We are looking for youth who deserve recognition for their extensive service, but who may not normally receive it from the community at large. One of the goals of Farmington Youth As-sistance is to encourage positive examples of youth volunteerism. In order to honor these deserv-ing youth we must locate them, and for that, we rely on you.

Please visit the following links for details: FYA 2017 Youth Recognition Nomination Letter: goo.gl/xBeP6H FYA 2017 Youth Recognition Nomination Form: goo.gl/YAYuFP

If you need additional informa-tion, please contact us at 248.489.3434.

Top left: This renovated bathroom was recently re-opened for student use at Farmington High School.

Top right Demolition and rebuilding work at the former Dunckel Middle School is underway getting ready to house the new STEAM program in the fall of 2017.

Center: The new gymnasium was a welcomed addition at Forest Elementary School.

Lower: The new secure entryway at Lanigan welcomes families and visitors to the school.

Over the years, the District has been guided by Strategic Plans such as Mission 2007 and Farmington Forward. It is now time to update and implement a new plan for the years ahead for Farmington Public Schools.

The District will provide an overview of the process at a Community Kick Off Session on Saturday, March 18. The ses-sion will be held at North Farmington High School, 32900 W. 13 Mile, Farmington Hills in the auditorium. The meeting will begin at 8:45 a.m. for coffee and the presentation will start at 9 a.m. It is expected that the morn-ing will conclude by 11 a.m.

The session will provide time for attendees to provide comments/concerns/suggestions for the District’s direction. Applications to serve on the Strategic Planning Committee will be

available at the session and on the District website. The Commit-tee will be comprised of representatives from across the district including staff, community members, parents and students.

The group will meet and do their work through the months of April - June and will provide a report to the Board of Education at their

meeting on June 20, 2017. That meeting will be held at the Lewis Schulman Center, 32500 Shiawas-see, Farmington and will begin with a Premeeting presentation at 6 p.m.

This meeting will also be cablecast LIVE on TV-10.

Farmington Public Schools’ Strategic Planning Process to kick off on Saturday, March 18

6 UpDate Winter 2017

sion for the health care field. Janet works hard to reduce the achievement gap. She frequently works late after school with students.

A parent wrote: “Mrs. Cadeau’s moti-vational methods are paramount to the fu-tures of her students. Beyond teaching, she immerses them in the medical field, seek-ing opportunities which will help students mentally place themselves in the industry and try out different areas to see where they fit and can truly make a difference. As we have said many times in our family, “Thank goodness for Mrs. Cadeau.”

A student wrote: “Mrs. Cadeau em-phasizes the importance of setting yourself apart from others and getting ahead, and provides her students with the necessary tools and guidance to do so.”

As a special surprise for Janet, she was

chosen as the teacher this year to receive a two-year lease of a car as presented by the Suburban Collection.

Battle of the MiddlesThe 12th Annual Battle of the Middles was held at Harrison High School in December. The annual charity basketball game raises funds and collects canned goods and toys for Farmington Area Goodfellows and Farmington/Farmington Hills Neighborhood House. Due to the community’s over-whelming support, $8,300 was collected for Farmington families along with countless non-perishable food items, toys and books. In 12 years, the Battle has raised $65,800 to help support families in the community.

GoodfellowsThank you to the community for contributing to a very suc-cessful canned food drive.

More than 400 canned foods and goods were collected for families in the community. The Goodfellows were able to serve 163 families, 70 senior citizens and 400 children this past holiday season.

Continued from page 3

Farmington Public Schools announces Teachers of the Year for the 2016-2017 school year

Board of Education approves new contract with the Farmington Education AssociationContinued from page 1

• Through these and other provisions, the new contract supports a balanced budget every year, and maintains a 10 percent fund balance, which is within the Board of Educa-tion’s target range.

• This contract contributes to the District’s overall financial stability; and allows the District to recruit, retain and honor quality teachers.

• Incremental increases, for this year and next year, value the years of experience and contributions of teachers who are lower paid and who have been working hard for our students through difficult years.

• In addition, FEA, along with all employees and bargaining units, have worked diligently to control costs by making structural changes in health care through higher deduct-ibles, co-pays, and the addition of two high deductible health plans. As part of the contract, we will continue to collaborate through an insurance advisory committee that continuously analyzes data and recommends changes in order to control costs.

• This supports a shift from traditional Department chairs to authentic instructional leadership which links instruc-tional initiatives and priorities across buildings, across levels and with Oakland County.

• The new contract incorporates Professional Learning Communities (PLC) time for staff into the contract for this important and impactful work.

• The contract incorporates merit pay components by link-ing compensation with performance evaluations.

• There will be a joint committee established to study and address ways to improve recruitment and retention of our students and families.

“Overall, we believe this contract will support a sharpened focus on the instructional priorities within the buildings and district. This contract makes changes designed to maximize consistency and continuity for our students; to enhance quality instructional time; and to contain and reduce substitute costs,” stated Kathy Smith. “We collectively believe in Farmington Pub-lic Schools; our students, our families, our staff, and our commu-nity. We want to celebrate all of the positive learning and impact we achieve for our children every day. At the same time, as a learning focused organization, we will continue to grow together.”

Senior Adult Extraordinaire WinnerThe Senior Adult Extraordinaire Award was presented at the 20th An-

nual Senior Adult Breakfast held in October. The award honors a senior adult who is involved in Farmington Public Schools’ educational activities and who volunteers time and talents to students. This year’s honoree, Lo-rice Khoury, is the personification of an extraordinary volunteer. For the past 19 years, Lorice has volunteered her time at Beechview Elementary School to support her grandchildren and other children in the education-al process. She has helped children in the media center assisting the media center in any way that is needed.

“Volunteering is so important,” said Lorice. “It is important to be able to give back to your community. Working at Beechview is a labor of love for me.”

FPS High School Teacher of the Year, Janet Cadeau, is surprised with the announcement and a car lease from Che Shaydak representing the Suburban Collection.

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Farmington Public Schools’ HOSA (Health Occupations Students of America) had a great showing at the National Leadership Confer-ence this fall.

• Veena Thamilselvan, HHS Junior, took second place in the Biomedical Laboratory Science event. • Yashavini Nannapuraju, HHS Junior, took sixth place in the Medical Reading event. • Joree Kidd, Shkha Raman, Anne Mandapthil and Amirtha Sivakumaran, FHS Juniors, took second place in the Health Education event.

Preston Buszka, Farmington High School junior, was honored in a proclamation read by Farmington Hills City Council member Teresa Rich for his “exemplary service“ to the city. Buzka was chosen to serve in the 2016-2018 Youth Preparedness Council. Currently he serves as the secretary for the Mayor’s Youth Council and has served for the past three years as the liaison to the Farmington/Farmington Hills Emergency Preparedness Commission. Buszka is also a member of the FPS Hackbots Robotics team where he serves as the safety caption.

Sixteen Farmington Public Schools students received letters of com-mendation in recognition of their outstanding academic achieve-ments from the 2017 Merit Scholarship Program.

Farmington High School: Akili Echols, Collin Finn, Seth Fleming, Spurthi Gubbala, Emma Kull, Leila Mullison and Isha Nadguada.

North Farmington High School: Pooja Kapadia, Isaac Miller and James Whitener.

Harrison High School: Irshad Abdulmajeed, Benjamin Fernquist, Evan Kravitz, Declan Rosenstock, Bridget Smith and Noah Wein-garten.

The National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) announced

that 10 Farmington Public Schools’ students have been named finalists for the 62nd annual National Merit Scholarship Program. These Farmington Public Schools’ students have the opportunity to compete for 7,500 National Merit Scholarships worth more than $33 million that will be offered in the spring. To be considered for a National Merit Scholarship, finalists will be evaluated in the fol-lowing areas: the student’s academic record, information about the school’s curricula and grading system, two sets of test scores, the high school official’s written recommendation, information about the student’s activities and leadership, and the Finalist’s own essay.

2017 National Merit Scholarship Program Finalists:

Farmington High School Amanda Balogh, Daphne Lin, Rohan Naik, Abigail Radomski

Harrison High School Jeffrey Bell, Elizabeth Leonard, Likitha Nimmagadda, Riya Shah

North Farmington High School Suchet Anand, Emily Hanus

Sixth grade Warner Middle School students attended the South-east Michigan Science and Engineering Festival and won a Dremel 3D Printer (courtesy of Bosch) for having the most students register

via iPad at the event. The students also won a complete science kit including lessons and equipment awarded by random drawing dur-ing the event (courtesy of John Deere).

Kimberly Spaulding Shaw, fourth grade teacher at Hillside El-ementary School, was inducted into the Michigan Jewish Sports Hall of Fame for her love and dedication to the sport of ice hockey. Shaw holds numerous awards since she began playing hockey as a child in Southfield.

Farmington High School students (FHS) competed against 950 students from surrounding areas at the Business Professionals of America (BPA) Regional Leadership Conference. The following FHS students will advance to the State Leadership Conference in March.

Administrative Support Concepts Ian Cruz - 6th placeFinancial Math and Analysis Tarun Sai Bhadri - 3rd placeBusiness Spelling Sid Chava - 2nd place Spurthi Gubbala - 4th placeComputer Programming Concepts Charles Moir - 3rd placeSQL Database Fundamentals Vishal Chava - 6th placeGlobal Marketing Team Namratha Bujala, Apoorva Dayananda, Easheta Shah, Avigna Tatineni - 1st placeWebsite Design Team Amber Buchin, Rachel Hendrian, Charles Moir - 2nd placeDatabase Applications Shikha Raman - 1st place (perfect score!) Vishal Chava - 2nd place Adeep Das - 5th placeMedical Office Procedures Isha Nadgauda - 1st placeFinancial Analyst Team Hannah Kuriakose, Hannah Nelson, Cassandra Pitu - 1st placeEconomic Research Proj Team Sanjana Kartal, Anne Mandapathil, Meghana Nyalakonda, Amritha Sivakumaran - 1st placeBanking and Finance Gautham Jayaraj - 6th placeEconomic Research Project (individual) Alex Marashai - 3rd place (3rd time winner in this event!)Prepared Speech Shikha Raman - 1st placeEntrepreneurship Husain Boxwala - 4th placeExtemporaneous Speech Akhil Goutham - 1st placeFundamental Accounting Akansha Agrawal - 5th placeFundamental Office Applications Casey Iles - 1st placeStatesman Torch Award Mark Bowden, Amber Buchin, Gitika Deshmukh, Hannah Kuriakose, Sujit Meka, Avigna TatineniBPA is the premier Career and Technical Student Organization for students pursuing careers in business management, office adminis-tration, information technology, and other related career fields.

Five North Farmington High School Students competed in the Skills USA Regional Automotive Competition at Washtenaw Community College. Senior Val Garland placed first in the Electrical/Electron-ics Automotive category, winning a one-year scholarship for tuition and textbooks at Washtenaw Community College. Val placed first in both the written and practical portions of the competition. Val will move onto the State SkillsUSA competition in April. Junior Jessie Yousif-Dickow took seventh place overall in the Electrical/Electron-ics Automotive category. Jessie scored second place in the written portion, and fifth place in the practical portion of the competition.

Awards & AchievementsThis is a partial list of awards and achievements of Farmington Public Schools’ staff and students.

Twenty-five Power Middle School sixth, seveth and eighth graders participated in the 2017 BCS Cobra Science Olympiad Invitational Tournament with 35 other top teams from Michigan in January at Birmingham Coving-ton School.

Two teams placed 11th and 21st overall among 36 teams.

Medal winners are:

1st place - Microbe Mission Ajay Kumar, Pritham Kura

1st place - Wright Stuff Maddie Newton

2nd place - Anatomy Ajay Kumar, Pritham Kura

2nd place - Food Science Ajay Kumar, Pritham Kura

3rd place - Reach for the Stars Emily Hopkins

4th place - Invasive Species Pritham Kura, Sara Sundaram

Ribbon winners are:

5th place - Optics Madhumitha R ajaprakash , Saketh Ram Kolichina

6th place - Road Scholar Dhara Patel, Praneet Voleti

6th place - Towers Mariam Safirta, Simran Patki

6th place - Write It Do It Kriti Shirodkar, Madhumitha Rajaprakash

7th place - Hovercraft Alexandru Ursu, Kriti Shirodkar

7th place - Optics Andrei Ursu, Praneet Voleti

7th place - Road Scholar Maddie Newton

7th place - Write It Do It Andrei Ursu, Maddie Newton

Lady Hackbots, the all girls robotics team composed of students from North Farmington High School, Harrison High School and Farmington High School, competed at the Strong-hold Competition at Bloomfield Hills High School in November and took first place in a field of more than 30 teams.

8Winter 2017

UpDate is a newsletter for Farmington Public Schools’ residents. It is published four times during the school year by the School/ Community Relations Department. Comments and suggestions are welcome. Please visit www.farmington.k12.mi.us. or call 248.489.3349.

SuperintendentGeorge C. HeitschBoard of EducationJessica B . Cummings, PresidentTerry L . Johnson,Vice PresidentDavid N . Turner, Secretary Terri A . Weems, Treasurer Mark A . Przeslawski, Trustee Angie F . Smith, Trustee James L . Stark, Trustee

EditorsDiane Bauman Director, School/Community Relationsdiane.bauman@farmington.k12.mi.us

Lynne Meyer Communication Specialistlynne.meyer@farmington.k12.mi.us

Visit us on Visit us on

Kindergarten RegistrationMarch 6-10, 2017

If you have a child who will be 5 years old on or before September 1,

2017 please register your child at your home school during the week of March 6-10; registration is ongo-

ing . To find what your home school is, please visit the District’s website at www .farmington .k12 .mi .us and look up your

home school by using the Street Guide .

Kindergarten Orientation

May 5, 2017This year’s Kindergarten

Orientation will be held at all elementary schools on

Friday, May 5, 2017 . We look forward to seeing

you there!!

Alameda Early Childhood Center 32400 Alameda Street, Farmington Hills

248.489.3808Farmington Community School Early Childhood Center 30415 Shiawassee Street, Farmington Hills

248.489.3373

www.farmington.k12.mi.us

Bright futures begin here!Enroll at the Open House • Saturday, March 4

11 a.m. - 12 p.m. Farmington Community School • 12 - 2 p.m. Alameda Early Childhood

Farmington Public Schools’ Early Childhood Centers are specifically designed for young children and offer many opportunities for hands-on learning. The developmentally-appropriate curriculum includes literacy, math, science, music and movement, gross and fine motor development, and social skills. FPS Early Childhood programs are accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children.

• Two and a-half-, Three- and Four-year-old preschool classes

• FREE Preschool Grant Programs

• No residency requirements for tuition-based programs

(must meet eligibility requirements)

Bright futures begin here!Enroll at the Open House • Saturday, March 4

11 a.m. - 12 p.m. Farmington Community School • 12 - 2 p.m. Alameda Early Childhood

Donate Friday, April 14 - Monday, May 1, 2017

32500 Shiawassee, FarmingtonBins will be located in the parking lot.

Large items can not be accepted at this location, please call toll free; 877-788-4623

or visit, svdpdet.org, to schedule a pick up.

Farmington Public Schools is working with the Society of St. Vincent dePaul-Detroit in a joint clothing and shoe drive program. It’s a Win! Win! Win!

Shoes and Clothing Drive

March 16 & 17 at 7:00 p.m.March 18 at 6:00 p.m. • March 19 at 2:00 p.m.

Harrison High School29995 W. 12 Mile Rd. • Farmington Hills

All seats reservedStudents & Seniors $12.00 • Adults $15.00

Box Office After March 1 • 248.888.6274

Thursday, & March 23 & 24 • 7:30 p.m.Saturday, March 25, 1:00 p.m. & 7:30 p.m.

Cobb Center for the Performing ArtsNorth Farmington High School

32900 W. 13 Mile Rd. • Farmington Hills

Adults: $15, Students & Seniors: $12Box Office: 248.426.5202

www.facebook.com/NFTheatre

Give & Win

When You Donate

North Farmington High School PresentsHarrison High School Presents

Bridge Magazine’s 2017 Academic State ChampsIn this rating, Bridge Magazine is rating Michigan high schools by how well they prepare students for college or career training after they graduate. The Magazine recently announced that 54 high schools were named as 2017 Academic Champs. North Farming-ton High School was named as one of these 54 Academic State Champs.

For this report, Bridge considered three measures related to student success after high school: College Readiness, Post-high

school enroll-ment and Post-high school progress.

Farmington Public Schools’ three comprehensive high schools all fared well in this ranking;

North Farmington High School North Farmington High School was ranked in the 1st decile (1st is the highest; 10th the lowest) among the 134 schools.

Farmington High School Farmington High School was ranked in the 2nd decile (1st is the highest; 10th the lowest) among the 134 schools.

Harrison High School Harrison High School was ranked in the 4th decile (1st is the highest; 10th the lowest) among the 134 schools.