Huron High School held its annual Scholar Athlete Night on Monday, May 14 for over 600 scholar athletes. Continue reading
Two students receive $1K scholarships at Huron Scholar Athlete Night
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Author Archives: AAPS News Editor
Portfolio Day inspires Scarlett eighth graders to plan for college, career
By Tara Cavanaugh
Ann Arbor City Councilman Stephen Kunselman sits down with a Scarlett Middle School eighth grader, looks him in the eyes, and shakes his hand.
“So, where do you see yourself in four years?” he asks.
“That’s a good question,” the boy answers nervously as he opens his portfolio and begins talking about where he might like to go to college.
Conversations like this took place throughout the school on May 15 during the 19th annual Portfolio Day. Business professionals from the community volunteered to conduct one-on-one mock interviews with eighth graders, and the students showed off their new portfolios and best professional demeanors.
The event is an opportunity for local professionals from a variety of fields –– finance, medicine, media, technology and more –– to pass on their wisdom, and for the students to begin shaping their careers. Continue reading
22 AAPS high schoolers recognized at Alpha Phi Alpha Student Recognition Luncheon
On Saturday, May 11 the Theta Zeta Lambda Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. , recognized 22 Ann Arbor Public High School sophomores, juniors and seniors at its 18th annual Student Recognition Luncheon at the Sheraton in Ann Arbor. Continue reading
Community teacher wins Michigan Writers Cooperative chapbook contest
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Ellen Stone has won the 2013 Michigan Writers Cooperative Press chapbook contest. Her poetry collection, “The Solid Living World,” will be published and available in June. Stone teaches at Community High School in Ann Arbor where she lives with her husband and three daughters. She has been writing poems since graduating from Antioch College in the early 1980s. She joined Michigan Writers after falling in love with northwestern Michigan, land reminiscent of the rolling hills and rivers where she grew up in northeastern Pennsylvania. Continue reading
‘Digital Dialogues’ provide writing intervention at Mitchell
Mitchell Principal Kevin Karr gives out certificates for completing the Digital Dialogues Cultural Exchange on May 14, 2013.
By Tara Cavanaugh
For the past ten weeks, 20 Mitchell elementary third graders have spent extra time after school in a writing-intervention class.
But the class didn’t feel like work. Instead, it was an opportunity to make a new friend in New Zealand.
The kids used Edmodo, an educational social media website, to write back and forth with another third grade class in Hamilton, New Zealand. The class, called the “Digital Dialogue Cultural Exchange,” provided students with a meaningful writing opportunity and a way to develop technology skills. Continue reading
Forysthe ‘buddies’ mentor special needs students in gym class
Gym teacher Kelli Bert and a seventh grade peer mentor help a special needs student during the adaptive gym class at Forsythe Middle School.
By Tara Cavanaugh
Gamal has a distinct swagger as he walks through Forsythe Middle School’s hallways.
Some might say that swagger is the uneven gait that comes from his disability. But ask anyone at Forsythe, and they’ll tell you that his swagger comes from confidence.
Gamal is a special education student, and he’s one of the most popular kids in the school. His popularity is likely due to the school’s adaptive physical education class, which pairs special needs students with general education “buddies,” sparking friendships and understanding between the two student populations.
Gym teacher Kelli Bert helped found the program ten years ago. “It’s so popular now that there are more kids who want to take it it than there is room,” she said.
The class is already large, with 35 students. That’s because twice as many general eduction students take the class as special needs students. The large class size ensures that the special needs students get plenty of attention.
“The students give more effort with their friends than they will with an adult,” Bert said. “They’re just like any other kid.”
Skyline students’ ‘HydroPod’ invention attracts national award
Densu Dixon, Andrew Burns and Swagat Tripathy in Skyline’s DTEP lab.
By Tara Cavanaugh
It’s a simple design: a hexagon base with plexiglass rising to form a point in the middle. It would take ten minutes to assemble, and around $25 to buy. And it could greatly improve access to clean water in developing countries.
That’s because the invention, called the HydroPod, would be the cheapest and simplest device available to produce clean drinking water. It was the idea of three Skyline seniors, Andrew Burns, Densu Dixon and Swagat Tripathy, who are finishing their capstone course in the Design, Technology and Environmental Planning magnet this spring.
Most recently, the students took third place in the national Siemens “We Can Change the World” Challenge. They won a $10,000 college scholarship to share and they each took home a tablet.
The trio also took first place in the statewide Young Inventors Competition in February, winning $1,000 cash prize and a year of legal and product support from the Prima Civitas Foundation.
The students describe the HydroPod as a solar water distiller that uses heat and UV light from the sun. Made of recycled plastic, it evaporates water while collecting all the condensed remnants and eliminating all bacteria and viruses. It’s designed to sit on top of a body of water, and it could produce 1.4 liters of water a day. Continue reading
U-M rowing team meets Pittsfield pen pals
By Tara Cavanaugh
After three months of writing letters back and forth, Pittsfield fifth graders finally got a chance to meet their pen pals on the University of Michigan women’s rowing team this week. Continue reading
‘Midnight Muse’ inspired by surrealism, the unconscious at Clague
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Congratulations to Clague’s Art Students for a successful show, Midnight’s Muse, held April 25th and 26th, on the stage at Clague! The students’ work was inspired by their discussions on Surrealism and images of the unconscious mind. Through the exploration of ideas connected to dreams, nightmares, the moon, and midnight; as expressed through the strange, perhaps eerie creations of artists such as Tim Burton, Joan Miro, Alexander Jannson, and Abigail Larson, a dark theme acted as the insight behind their varied visions. Students also found the grim inklings of Edgar Allen Poe and Edward Gorey, as well as the twisting architecture of Frank Gehry, to be insightful and illuminating. Continue reading
Toyota brings ‘World of Motion’ to Lakewood
By Tara Cavanaugh
When Tahani Othman’s fifth grade class at Lakewood showed off their balloon-powered cars last week, they could not have been more proud.
Each car was a simple chassis with four wheels and was connected to a balloon. Designing them took weeks of testing and research.
Luckily the students had help from two Toyota engineers, who participated in the company’s World of Motion program.
World of Motion is a program created by the Society of Automotive Engineers, and Toyota (and other auto companies) take part. Employees volunteer to spend 1-2 hours a week for 6-8 weeks teaching students SAE science and technology curriculum. This year five AAPS elementary schools –– Thurston, Logan, Burns Park, Pittsfield and Lakewood –– benefitted from the free program. Continue reading
New UMMA art tours based on AAPS humanities curriculum
Carpenter students tour UMMA on April 17, 2013.
By Tara Cavanaugh
As Carpenter Elementary fifth graders toured the University of Michigan Museum of Art, they learned about more than sculptures and paintings. They also learned about science, culture and history.
UMMA recently unveiled curricular art tours inspired by Ann Arbor Public Schools’ elementary humanities curriculum. Elementary and secondary teachers, including Carpenter art teacher Meredith Giltner, Mitchell art teacher Sarah Winter and Burns Park art teacher Kate Higgins, helped UMMA create the tours.
The humanities curriculum in the AAPS elementary schools is unique. AAPS Fine Arts Coordinator Robin Bailey worked on creating the new humanities curriculum three years ago, along with a committee of principals and teachers. At the time, the concern was college readiness as well as science and social studies scores. Continue reading
VIDEO: U-M softball team visits Abbot Elementary pen pals
By Tara Cavanaugh
The University of Michigan softball team is pretty busy these days. The team just won another Big Ten Title, their sixth in a row, and are set to play at the next Big Ten Tournament in Nebraska this weekend.
But today the players took the time to visit their pen pals in two fifth grade classes at Abbot Elementary and to do some community service cleanup together on school grounds.
U-M softball player Brandi Virgil helps clean up the school grounds at Abbot.
Four AAPS high schools make Newsweek ‘Best High Schools’ list
By Tara Cavanaugh
Huron High School, Pioneer High School, Skyline High School and Community High School are listed on Newsweek’s annual “Best High Schools” list this year. Continue reading
“This is a serious situation, and it’s not new” Parents, administration review 2013-2014 budget
Parents, students and staff discussed the 2013-2014 budget at a Community Budget Forum May 2 at Huron. The next forum takes place May 7 at Pioneer.
By Tara Cavanaugh
At the Community Budget Forum Thursday night at Huron High School, the crowd of parents and staff listened attentively as the administration laid out the 2013-2014 budget and the suggested cutbacks. The atmosphere was civil, constructive, and most of all concerned.
There is plenty to be concerned about. The Ann Arbor Public Schools district is facing a $8.6 million shortfall next year, and large budget deficits are projected to continue in the coming years.
AAPS Superintendent Dr. Patricia Green asked the crowd to understand the source of the cutbacks, and to offer constructive feedback.
“This is a serious situation, and it’s not new,” Dr. Green said. “Tonight’s not about: Don’t cut this, or don’t cut that. Folks, I’m being as honest as I can: Things are going to be cut. We don’t want to do it. But we have to balance the budget by law.
“So we need you to join with us in your very best thinking, to help make sure the survivability of the Ann Arbor Public Schools, as we know it and love it, goes on for many, many years.”
Director of Finance Nancy Hoover laid out the sources of the financial difficulties. Per-pupil funding from the state has not increased since 2002. Per-pupil funding in 2012 was $9,020; in 2002 it was $9,034.
As per-pupil funding has not increased, other costs have increased, such as transportation and health care.
To address the budget deficit for the coming year, the administration has made the following recommendations for instructional services, totaling a reduction of $6,246,068: Continue reading
AAPS Bands mark centennial anniversary during 2013-2014 school year
Huron High School alum, and U.S. Marine Band clarinetist Jonathon Troy returned to the district for a Picnic Pop performance May 20, 2012. “I just wanted to let you know that the music programs in the Ann Arbor Public Schools are extraordinary,” he said to the audience.
By Tara Cavanaugh
When the Ann Arbor Public Schools marks its centennial anniversary this fall, it’s not just celebrating 100 years of music education. It’s celebrating 100 years of music innovation and excellence that has helped other music institutions –such as Interlochen and the University of Michigan Marching Band– become what they are today.
Daryl Hurst, a Pioneer band alum and former president of the Parent Band Association, is the unofficial historian of AAPS bands. He spent seven years researching the history of music education in the district, and he published an article titled “Birth of the Bands” in the Ann Arbor Observer in 2006. (Click here for PDF version of the article)
Daryl says the first official Ann Arbor high school band was formed in 1914 and announced in an Ann Arbor News article. The school had had just a few music clubs before then.
Another pivotal year for the band was 1934, when Joe Maddy came to town. “He brought with him an enthusiasm for teaching high school students in a more methodical manner, believing they could play at a higher level,” Hurst said. Continue reading