School Bells: Lakewood hosts community auction March 18

Lakewood Elementary School hosts its largest fundraiser on Friday, March 18 from 6-11 p.m. at Weber’s Inn Grand Ballroom, 3050 Jackson Ave., Ann Arbor.

Lakewood LizardA social hour with cocktails and hors d’oeuvres and preview of the auction items will take place from 6-7 p.m. with bidding starting at 7 p.m.

The event features more than 70 bidding lots with items including everything from soccer camps and yoga classes to a Detroit Tigers VIP package, Disney Park Hopper tickets and dinner at the Chop House. Click here for a full list of available bid items and list of sponsors.

“This is our largest fundraiser of the year and all of the proceeds go towards funding all of the field trips for all of our students throughout the entire school year,” said Principal Michael Johnson.

For more information, contact Leslie Rybicki at  leslie@rybicki.org or Sara Arsenault   searsen@gmail.com with questions or contact Kelly Wang  kwang500@hotmail.com to order tickets. Click here to download a PDF with a list of all auction items.

Community High teams do well in mock trial competition

Two teams from Community High School participated in the Eastern Regional of the Michigan High School Mock Trial Tournament on Saturday, March 12.

Team A will advance to the state finals tournament in Lansing on March 26 and will defend their state championship title. Members include: Shadi Ahmadmehrabi, Cooper DePriest, Michelle Grifka, Max Lewis, Michael Savage, Tressa Stapleton, Eli Sugerman, Elise Wander and Garrett Wood.

Team B won an honorable mention award, finishing in the top 15 of 37 teams.  Members included: Galen Burrell, Isaac Fink, Gabe Hillebrand, Rianna Johnson-Levy, Julia Karr, Leah Penner, Dan Roy, Jeremy Simon, Kelsey Teribery and Yasaf Warshai

Timers for Saturday’s event were  Preston Horvath and Nate Porter.  The teams are coached by teacher coach Cheryl Grace,  drama coach Billie Ochberg and attorney coaches Griffith Dick and Robert West.

Pittsfield hosts all-school read-in, welcomes state rep

Jeff Irwin at Pittsfield
Pittsfield Elementary School kicks off March Is Reading Month with a visit from a special guest reader, State Rep. Jeff Irwin.

On March 4, Pittsfield Elementary School  kicked off March Is Reading Month with a visit from a special guest reader, State Rep. Jeff Irwin.  The whole school gathered in the multi-purpose room to hear him answer questions about his job in government and listen as he read “Wild About Books,” written by Judy Sierra and illustrated by Marc Brown.

Afterwards students relaxed on blankets, munched on popcorn and read their own books for an all-school read-in.  The Pittsfield Penguins have an active student council with representatives from every grade, including kindergarten, so a visit from a state legislator was an especially meaningful way to reinforce the lessons of our system of elected government.

For the remainder of the month students will be reading to earn colorful stars which will decorate Pittsfield’s halls.  To cap off a successful month in pursuit of literature, Ann Arbor storyteller Barbara Schutzgruber will bring words to life during a school-wide assembly program on March 30.

Robotics competition to be hosted at Skyline March 25-26

The First Robotics competition season is under way and Skyline High School will host a district event on March 25-26.

The goal of teams registered for the competition is to qualify for the Michigan State Championship April 7-9 at Eastern Michigan University’s Convocation in Ypsilanti. From there, 18 teams will be eligible to advance to the international First Championship in St. Louis, April 27-30.

The 2011 Ann Arbor FIRST Robotics District Competition (aka Logo Motion)
has 40 teams registered, including teams from all three comprehensive high schools in the Ann Arbor Public Schools:
•   SRT & Ann Arbor Pioneer High School, Team No. 1076 (Pi Hi Samurai.)
•    SRT / Barton Malow Company / Aastrom Biosciences / D. Loius Weir Law Firm & Skyline High School, Team No. 3322 (Eagle Imperium.)
•  Washtenaw Community College/University of Michigan/Toyota Technical Center/BAE Systems & Ann Arbor Huron High School, Team No. 830 (Rat Pack)

All FIRST Robotics Competition regionals and tournaments are free and open to the public.

WISDPAC hosts talk about IEP goals

The Washtenaw Intermediate School District Parent Advisory Committee hosts its next meeting from 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 15, where Kelly Orginski of Michigan Alliance for Families will speak about “Developing the Present Level of Academic Achievement and Functional Performance (PLAAFP) Statement, and Developing Individual Education Program (IEP) Goals and Objectives.”

Parents of students receiving special education supports and services are especially encouraged to attend. The workshop is designed to help parents understand the importance of the PLAAFP statement and how it affects the writing of measurable IEP Goals and Objectives and how to help children get the services they need to be successful in school.

The meeting will be at the Washtenaw Intermediate School District Teaching and Learning Center, 1819 S. Wagner Road, between Liberty and Scio Church roads in Scio Township. To RSVP or for information contact Jeanne Brakhage at 734-994-8100, x1514 or jbrakhag@wash.k12.mi.us

Visit online for directions. Michigan Alliance for Families workshops are free and open to the public. MAF is funded by the Michigan Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Education, www.michiganallianceforfamilies.org

WISD board to narrow the field Tuesday in superintendent search

The Washtenaw Intermediate School District Board of Education has scheduled a special meeting at 530 p.m. Tuesday, March 15 to select superintendent candidates to be called for an interview. The public meeting will be in the Board Room of WISD’s Teaching and Learning Center, 1819 S. Wagner Road, Scio Township.

After all selected candidates have been contacted, the Board will set a public interview schedule.

A new superintendent will succeed Dr. William C. Miller who retired in December of 2010 after more than 22 years of service to the district, 12 of them as superintendent. Applications for the position closed on March 10 at noon.

Michael Emlaw, consultant for the Michigan Association of School Boards, is assisting the WISD Board with its search.  He can be reached at  734-657.2425 or by e-mail at emlaw@comcast.net.

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