This Week In the Ann Arbor Public Schools

September 21, 2009

This Week’s Good News!

• Seventy-four Huron students took the BC Calculus Advanced Placement Exam last May and sixty-four earned 5's and the other ten earned 4's.
• Robin He, Huron senior, has been named a National AP Scholar by The College Board AP.  This distinction is granted to students who receive the grades of 4 or higher on eight or more Advanced Placement exams.
• The Community High School student newspaper, The Communicator, was announced as one of seven finalists for the National Scholastic Press Association Pacemaker Award for Newsmagazine.  The National Pacemaker Awards have been given annually since 1927 for excellence in American student journalism. The awards are generally considered to be the highest national honors in their field, and are unofficially known as the "Pulitzer Prizes of student journalism."   The Newspaper Pacemaker contest is co-sponsored by the Newspaper Association of America Foundation and this year’s contest was judged by a group of Seattle area professional journalists.  This is the first year that The Communicator has reached the finals for this prestigious award.
• Ann Arbor’s Graphic Arts students took top honors in the Kerrytown Book Cover Design competition: 1st place went to Ruth Kershaw, Pioneer; 2nd place to Katie Davis, Skyline; 3rd Place to Randa Sakallah, Skyline; 4th place to Carlina Duan, Pioneer and 5th place to Elizabeth Schweitzer, Pioneer. Crystal Westfield is the Graphic Arts teacher at Pioneer and Ann Hendrick is at Skyline.
• Huron High School's Bel Canto Choir, under the direction of Bonnie Kidd, was selected in June to perform at the Michigan Music Conference held in Grand Rapids in January 2010.  Bel Canto was selected to perform as one of the six outstanding choirs in the state to perform during the choral hour.  In addition, Bonnie was selected by her peers from around the state to conduct the Michigan School Vocal Music Association's Junior High SSA State Honors Choir at the MMC conference in Grand Rapids in January 2011.
• Huron ninth grade student, Courtney Ziemba, was filmed playing baseball last week as part of an HBO documentary about Carolyn King, the first girl to play Little League baseball in the Ypsilanti-American Little League team soon after the Title IX law was passed.  Courtney plays second base and pitches for this same team.  The movie is scheduled for release in the spring of 2010.
• Allen and Mitchell Elementary Schools teamed up this past summer to offer a summer program for 1st and 4th grade students during the month of July.  The program included daily lessons in reading, mathematics and writing, that also included a technology option, My Access, for 4th grade students.  In addition to academic support, the program also offered enrichment opportunities.  Toyota staff members presented a workshop every Wednesday for 4th grade students to introduce them to the concepts of force and motion, units that are studied in fifth grade.  Students were also able to create and maintain a garden through a partnership with Project Grow partnered.  There were seven teacher involved in the program with Michael Johnson as Principal.
• The Ann Arbor Public School District has a partnership with the University of Michigan’s Center for Educational Outreach called the Rising Scholars program.  This program, which began last summer, introduces students to the opportunities available at the university level as well as gives them the chance to meet faculty members and tour facilities to become familiar and comfortable in that environment.  Last Friday they had a very special guest.  University of Michigan President, Mary Sue Coleman, visited the class and encouraged the students to keep on reaching for high academic goals.

Todd Roberts, Ed.D.
Superintendent