Skyline High School hosts the countywide NAAPID at NIGHT Showcase of Student Talent from 5:30-8:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 8 at the school auditorium, 2552 N. Maple Road. It is part of the annual National African American Parent Involvement Day.
The seventh annual event will feature student art and other projects and well as displays of student talent. Winners of the NAAPID Poster Contest also will be on display.
Students, teachers and parents are invited to display exemplary student work and accomplishments, including: artwork, technology, academic work, school involvement, leadership, community service projects and sports accomplishments.
Displays may be tabletop or floor, and should be creative, attractively arranged, and free standing and should include the student and/or class name, grade level, teacher, school name and district. Transporting displays is the responsibility of the parent or school coordinator.
To reserve a space, or for assistance contact Sylvia Nesmith at nesy@comcast.net, 734-358-6354 (cell) or 734-747-8543 (days,) by Wednesday, Feb. 03. Works should be delivered to the event location between 3:30-5 p.m. on the day of the event.
In addition to the Ann Arbor Public Schools, other Washtenaw County districts supporting the event include: Lincoln Consolidated Schools, Milan Area Schools, Saline Area Schools, Willow Run Community Schools and Ypsilanti Public Schools. Refreshments will be served at 5:30 p.m. with the program beginning at 6:30 p.m. General event details: 734-434-1144.
Angell hosts International Night
International Night is a longstanding tradition at Angell Elementary School. The multi-faceted, homegrown event is different year-to-year because up to 30 percent of the school’s families may change from one year to the next.
Angell PTO Council representative and PTO Council Chairwoman E. Martine Perreault calls the event is one of the “highlights of the academic year at Angell” and said many neighborhood families visit long after their children have grown and left the school.
This year’s International Night will be from 6:30-8:30 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 4. The school is at 1608 S. University.
Slauson counselor honored by peers
Jan Mackenzie was recently lauded by her peers for her outstanding service to The Ann Arbor Public Schools. The Slauson Middle School counselor was nominated and received the school district’s first Celebration of Excellence award for the 2009-10 school year for her outstanding customer service.
She was nominated by teachers Toni Burton and JanaÈ Townsend, who stated in their nomination: “For Jan Mackenzie, offering the support and love that her students and colleagues need always comes first. Her work touches both students and adults in her building. She is never too busy to listen, smile, or cry with anyone who comes to her door.”
The nomination said that in handling tough situations in the district, Mackenzie demonstrates “care in a time of crisis.” She was honored by the Ann Arbor Board of Education.
Nominees for both innovation and customer service are considered for these awards, which are selected by a Celebration of Excellence committee. The award for innovation recognizes staff members who have demonstrated creative and innovative approaches to their jobs. The award for customer service celebrates those staffers who provide outstanding service to their customers.
For detailed nominating information, an online nomination form and a list of past recipients, click here.
Free the Children features motivational speaker
Motivational speaker Elaine Rosenberg of the Free the Children program (www.freethechildren.com) will be the motivational speaker Tuesday, Feb. 2 from 7-8 p.m. at Clague Middle School’s media center.
Clague is located at 2616 Nixon Road, north of Plymouth Road and west of US-23 in Ann Arbor.
Rosenberg will speak about ” Free the Children: Inspiring Youth to Become Agents of Change!” She will discuss the Free the Children program and how it has helped students at Clague, Tappan and Scarlett middle schools make a difference, both in their local community and abroad. The program is part of Project Healthy Schools.
Free The Children is a network of children helping children through education, with more than one million youth involved in innovative education and development programs in 45 countries.
This event is free and open to the public. Details: (734) 975-7440.
Eberwhite ‘shoe’ wall designed to encourage
Eberwhite Elementary School Principal Debi Wagner shows off a wall in the school that has the title “One Small Step. The wall was designed and added this year using photos of student feet and shoes.
Wagner said the project was designed to encourage students and let them know that small efforts can lead to even bigger things.
Huron High School BPA group earns honors
On Friday Jan. 8, the Huron Business Professionals of America Chapter from Huron High School traveled to Henry Ford Community College to compete in the annual BPA Regional Leadership Conference 2010.
According to BPA adviser Diane Stocker-Bendersky, of the 57 Students that attended, 45 students won a total of 94 awards including 36 first-place wins and 25 second-place wins. They also earned 13 third-place awards, 10 fourth-place awards and four fifth-place awards. In team competitions, Huron entered seven with four teams placing first and three teams placing second.
Of the 40 competitions in which Michigan students can enter, the Huron Chapter placed first in 20 of those events that include both individual and team competitions. A list to recognize those students who won at BPA Regionals can be found on the Web.
Haisley 5th-graders attend MLK Day tribute
On Jan. 19, two fifth-grade classes from Haisley Elementary attended Wayne State University’s Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Tribute at the Max M. Fisher Music Center. The keynote speaker was Dr. Benjamin Carson, a world-renowned neurosurgeon. Students were enthused to hear Dr. Carson’s story of growing up in a single parent home in Detroit, being challenged by poverty, poor grades, and other challenges.
A signed copy of Carson’s book “Gifted Hands” is now displayed in Haisley School’s Media Center. The trip was arranged by Cee-Jay Davisthrough his contacts at Wayne State University. Haisley students were the youngest to attend the event.
Logan students collect pennies for Haiti
To kick off Logan Elementary School’s MLK Day assembly, “Pennies For People” was introduced to the Logan community to participate in a relief effort for Haiti. Special area teachers organized the event. By the end of the assembly, parents had donated more than $300. Students brought in pennies through the rest of the month with proceeds to be delivered to the American Red Cross.
News of note from around the district:
• Thirteen Bach Elementary School fifth-graders and four fourth-graders placed first in Michigan in the Knowledge Master Open on Jan. 20. The K.M.O. is a team academic contest that tests students’ ability to answer questions about all the school subjects. The Bach KMO Team scored 466 of a possible 1000 points. The average score in Michigan was 420 and the mean nationwide was 466. Nationally, Bach placed in the top half of all teams. Learn more about the KMO at www.greatauk.com.
• A team of 10 Forsythe sixth-graders scored in the top 20 percent in the Knowledge Master Open, placing fourth in Michigan among 17 teams. The Forsythe team scored 636 points of a possible 1,000. That was well above the state average score of 544. Coach Dan Ezekiel says that this is a good finish, and the team hopes to do even better next time. Ann Arbor’s Tappan team scored 587 and came in sixth in the state.
• On Saturday Jan. 16 Skyline Orchestra Students traveled to Livonia Franklin High School to participate in the MSBOA District 12 Solo and Ensemble Festival. They took 21 events with 6 events earning a II (Excellent) rating and 15 events earning a Superior (I) rating. The following students received a II rating on their ensemble performances Katie Loreman, Rheilly Cole, Alex Wilks, and Jack Hu. The following students earned a II rating on their solo Priya Menon, Erika Sasaki, Preetom Chakraborty, and Grace Taylor Loring. The following students received a I rating on their solos and have qualified for MSBOA State Solo and Ensemble Festival at Chelsea High School in March: Jack Hu, Senait Dafa, Emily Espinosa, Sherry Zhao, Shruthi Narayanan, Karen Duan, Brian Chang, Claire Gruber, Rose Brown, Ahliyah Kim, Rheilly Cole, Leah Awkward-Rich, Priya Menon. and Max Xu.
• Jane Nixon was named National High School Field Hockey Coach of the Year for 2010. She has been the head coach at Pioneer High School since 1990 and has won 16 state championships.
• Skyline High School teacher Jason Smith received a technology grant from the Technology Institute for Music Educators for a project to integrate technology into the music classroom. The mission of the group is to assist music educators in applying technology to improve teaching and learning in music.
• Karen Metzger, Logan Elemenary School art teacher, was selected as an “2010 Educators To Japan” participant. Karen will be in Japan from June 27 through July 8. She said she is excited about the impact this culturally rich opportunity will have on her K-5 art classes.
• Pioneer Band students received 111 first division and 23 second division ratings in SOLO competition, as well as 119 first division and 18 second division ratings in ENSEMBLE competition on January 16 at Livonia Franklin High School. Students throughout the state performed in this state qualifying event. The following Pioneer High School Band students participated in the Michigan School Band and Orchestra Association District Solo and Ensemble Festival on January 16. Students prepared a solo and/or an ensemble and performed for an MSBOA Certified Adjudicator. Their performance was evaluated and a rating between “I” (Excellent) and “V” was assigned. The symbol (2) after a students name indicates that they had two events receiving that rating in the same category.
Pioneer High School Band students receiving a “I” (Excellent) rating for their performance of a SOLO were: Shreya Bahl, Aaron Baum, Alex Baum, Joella Bennett, Jeff Bertram, Rachel Bielajew, Jonathan Bower, James Boyd, James Campbell, Kate Centurione, William Chen, Jae Hyun Choe (2), DíArcy Cook, Katie Copp, Rennie Cotner, Alayna Coverly, Elizabeth Cvercko, Ruby Emberling, Jonathan Evans, Jesse Fernandez, Kerryann Fingerle, Kevin Flannagan, Prasanth Ganesan, Corey Garff, Charlie Geronimus, Sachi Gianchandani, Nya Greenstone, Christopher Haddlesey, Christopher Hass, Saunders Hayes, Andrew Hess, Clare Higgins, Leila Hofer, Skye Huerta, Max Hully, Vijay Ilankamban, Andy Johnson, Kiley Judge, Jae Jung, Kayoon Jung, Jared Kaufman, Ryan King, Sara King, Caroline Laman, Christopher Landau, Amin Lanseur, Dylan Larkins (2), Leah Latterner (2), Tyler Leach, Edward Lee, Meekyoung Lee, Moritz Lehner, Levy Li, Siyan (Daniel) Li, Samuel Lichtman-Mikol, Hyeon Su Lim, Yuming Liu, Sara Long, Natalie Martin, Karen Matsuo, Megumi Matsushita, Kyle Mattimore, Hannah Maxbauer, Anna Mayne, Jack McKarns, Jordan McKay, Miriam Michaels, Luke Mykolenko, Sowdeepya Nadimpalli, Emily Northrop, Junghyun Kayla Oh, Henry Pakela, Julia Pakela, Konstantinos Papaefthymiou, Neil Parikh, George Perrett, Duncan Polot, Linda Relson, Carly Renner, Tim Rittinger, Molly Rogow, Natalie Roll, Nicholas Rombes, Sarah Rontal, Michael Saunders, Laura Schickling, Rebecca Shipan, Daniel Siler, Ken Simon, Antonia Smith, Gina Son, Mario Sulaksana, Michael Sullivant, Jacob Swanson, Nick Terrell, Victoria Tillman, Peter Wang, Xiao Wang, Devin Webster, Hope Wilson, Thea Yagerlener, Eric Yamakado, Jay Yamakado, Tina Yu (2), Ryan Yunck, Kevin Zhang and Alan Zhou.
Pioneer High School Band students receiving a “II” (Good) rating for their performance of a SOLO were: Alexa Arvidson, Alex Bartko, Riley Bean, Caitlin Berrigan, Samuel Blackburn, James Boyd, Joel Burgener, Iris Chen, Amelia Diehl, Christine Etter, Skye Huerta, Grace Iverson, Kyle Kantebet, Olivia Lee, Sowdeepya Nadimpalli, Jennifer Nao, Patricia Nease, Veronika Olszewski, David Shao (2), Andrew Siddall, Hunter St. Pierre and Emily Topham.
Pioneer High School Band students receiving a “I” (Excellent) rating for their performance of an ENSEMBLE were: Shreya Bahl, Riley Bean, Joella Bennett, Rachel Bielajew, Jonathan Bower (2), James Boyd, Joel Burgener, Elizabeth Bush, James Campbell (2), Takeo Cauley (2), Iris Chen, Heewon Choi, Hyewon Choi, D’Arcy Cook, Rennie Cotner, Rosie Curtis, Liz Cvercko (2), Nick DeMarsh, Meera Desai (2), Jonathan Evans, Jack Fan, Kerryann Fingerle, Monica Fink, Corey Garff, Charlie Geronimus, Sachi Gianchandani, Meaghan Glanville, Celisa Gutierrez, Christopher Hass, Andrew Hess, Leila Hofer, Conor Howe, Max Hully, Esther Hur, Vijay Ilankamban, Andy Johnson, Kiley Judge, Jae Jung, Nathan Karr, Jared Kaufman, Ryan King (2), Sara King, Tanay Kulkarni, Megan Kymal, Caroline Laman, Christopher Landau, Amin Lanseur, Reina Larkin, Dylan Larkins, Leah Latterner, Tasha Le, Edward Lee, Harry Lee, Meekyoung Lee, Aidan Mase-Kemnitz, Karen Matsuo, Megumi Matsushita (2), Abbey Maxbauer, Anna Mayne, Jack McKarns, Isabel McKay, Jordan McKay, Miriam Michaels (2), Alex Mitropoulos-Rundus, Sowdeepya Nadimpalli, Jeni Nao, Emily Northrop, Alyssa Natoci, Jeongah Oh, Junghyun Kayla Oh, Veronika Olszewski, EunSoo Park, Bo Peng, Stefan Petrmichl, Timothy Rittinger, Natalie Roll, Niko Rombes (2), Sarah Rontal, Michael Saunders, Kaylee Schonsheck, David Shapiro, Michael Shin, Jeff Shipan, Rebecca Shipan, Ken Simon, Antonia Smith, Gina Son, Jacob Swanson (2), Nick Terrell, Victoria Tillman (2), Emily Topham (2), Peter Wang, Xiao Wang (2), Devin Webster (2), Hope Wilson, Eric Yamakado, Jay Yamakado (3), Angela Yang, Ted Xiao, Tina Yu, Annie Zhang (2) and Megan Zheng.
Pioneer High School Band students receiving a “II” (Good) rating for their performance of an ENSEMBLE were: Ben Bielajew, Andrew Choe, Katie Copp, Sam Deschamps, Ruby Emberling, Jonathan Evans, Grace Iverson, Younkyoung Lee, Rebecca Lennington, MacKenzie Miller, Amanda Osinski, Duncan Polot, Laura Schickling, Josh Sherick, Jeff Shipan, Thea Yagerlener, Ryan Yunck and Eric Zimmer.
