Ann Arbor Public Schools: 11/3/08 Issue

This Week
In the Ann Arbor Public Schools
November 3, 2008

To: The Staff of the Ann Arbor Public Schools
From: Todd Roberts, Superintendent

This Week’s Good News!

The Washtenaw County United Way Campaign is still underway and still in need of your help. Remember that your contribution is tax deductible and goes to help those in our local community who are in need of assistance. Please take a moment to complete your United Way pledge form and return i5 to your building representative. We know that times are hard for everyone and whatever you can spare will be most appreciated. If we all give a little, then together, we can help a lot.
Congratulations to all the scholars who were honored at the NAACP’s Annual Freedom Fund Dinner on November 1:
COMMUNITY: Max Bowen, Tamara Parks, Evelyn Carter, Samantha Thomas and Emily Milligan.
HURON: Andre’a Adams, Olivia Horgrow, Osmaan Bashir, Jeremy Jackson, Nathniel Bass, Noelle Kahunguba,Sophia Bell-Streety, Jumanne Lee, Patrick Bradley, Justin Mayhand, Danuelle Calloway, Mikhail McDonald, Brittany Cole, Devon Micou, Taylor Coles, Ebubechukwu Nnodim, Gamuchirayi Dingwiza, Elaine Otchere, Awah Ditah, Deion Pruit, Yonica Dupree, Bre’Anna Simpson, Marcus Finney, Satoria Sumpter, Julian Foster, Mary Taylor, Whitney Foster, Jonathan Thomas, Dayna Gooden, Lenye Tynes, Ralph Green, Imani Watkins, Tyler Hardy, Paulah Wheeler, Marysa Hill, and Lauren Williams.
PIONEER: Oyindamola Abatan, Erin Reed, William Anderson, Jordan Robertson, Triesha Arnold, Angelica Shipman, Tiffany Cole, Crystal Smith, Tanee Collins, Willie Smith, Bradie Connor, Julius Theophilus, Chloe Corley, Alexis Therman, Dominique Corley, Nathan Thomas, Steven Cosby, Nathan Tshiboyi, Mckenzie Gardulescu, Sarah Turner, Sabrina Gay, Ugochukwu Uche, Alyssa Goss, Gregory Goss, Ayona Vanhorn-Lee, Megan Graham, Christina Wade, Richard Griffin, Alyna Washington, Lindsay Hall, Devin Webster, Mani Herring, Joshua Weiland, Victoria Lloyd, Carmen Whatley, Kailen McKay, Danica Whitfield, Kaitlyn Mills, Kyler Wilkins, Jessica Obidike, Aaron Wilson, Ryan Pendleton, Jhordan Wynne, Davonte Powell, and Brandis Yarrington.
On Sunday, November 2, the Ann Arbor Hikone delegation of twelve students and two chaperones departed for their visit to Japan. They will spend one week in Hikone with Japanese host families and attend school. During the second week they will visit Hiroshima where the students will deliver 1,000 handmade origami paper cranes to the statue of Sadako in the Peace Park. They will also visit the city of Kyoto and are scheduled to return on November 14. 2008 is the 30th year of the Hikone – Ann Arbor Sister City Program. The project directors, who will be leading the student delegation, are Nancy Stires, a teacher at Tappan Middle School and Lyn DeGroot, the Hikone Exchange Program Assistant. The student delegate, grade and school are: Cattleya Trager, 9, Skyline (representing Clague); Katarina Subotic, 8, Clague; Hannah Lehker, 8, Forsythe; Carmen Flesher, 8; Forsythe; Colin Leach, 9, Community (representing Ann Arbor Open); Andrea Martin, 8, Ann Arbor Open; Blake Ebright, 9, Skyline (representing Scarlett); Sheeba Pawar, 8, Scarlett; Aaron Baum, 8, Tappan; Sarah Court, 8, Tappan; Maddie Polovick, 8, Slauson; and Clare McFadden, 8, Slauson.
Community junior, Caroline Robb, had an essay accepted for publication by National Public Radio's This I Believe series. Caroline wrote the essay in a writing class that was co-taught by Ellen Stone and Tracy Rosewarne. This I Believe is an international project engaging people in writing, sharing, and discussing the core values that guide their daily lives. These short statements of belief, written by people from all walks of life, are archived online and featured on public radio in the United States and Canada, as well as in regular broadcasts on NPR. The project is based on the popular 1950s radio series of the same name hosted by Edward R. Murrow. Congratulations Caroline!
Thurston teachers Sherrie Pokela and Sherry Murphy's classes were very privileged to have presentations done through the "Farm to School" program last Wednesday by Deb Lentz from Tantre Farms in Chelsea. The presentations were excellent! She not only talked about Michigan fall vegetables that might not be familiar to everyone, but gave out samples and talked about how vegetables come from all parts of the plant. She also talked about nutritional values (fits perfectly with "Health"), left a very comprehensive hand-out and talked a little bit about how the business end of the farm works (fits perfectly with "Economics".) The students really enjoyed the tasting and were able to relate their experiences with various vegetables with all the senses (fits perfectly with the "Human Body.") Both teachers were pleased that there were so many 5th-grade curricular connections.
Thurston third grade teacher Pete Krebsbach, and his class visited the EPA on Plymouth Road to learn about the, soon to be deployed by UPS, hydraulic hybrid delivery truck. UPS has video from the field trip up on their web site: http://pressroom.ups.com/landing/0,2111,98,00.html
UPS has recently put out a press release regarding their purchase of more hydraulic hybrid delivery trucks.
Dicken also participated in Walk to School and 121 students received stickers for walking or rolling to school in the rain.
Come enjoy the first production in Huron High School’s New Theater! Join the crew of Scientific Survey Flight Nine in this Off-Broadway musical on a faster-than-light trip to an alien planet where a mad scientist unleashes monsters from the Id and destroys the world. The Huron Players proudly present Return to the Forbidden Planet, the Olivier Award-winning jukebox musical, featuring classic songs such as Great Balls of Fire, Good Vibrations, Only the Lonely and Monster Mash, adapted from the 1950s sci-fi B-movie, Forbidden Planet! Performances are November 7, 8, 14, and 15 at 7:30pm. You can reserve tickets by calling 994-2095.
Pioneer Theater Guild is presenting Miss Saigon (School Edition), November 8,9,14,15 and 16.

Thanks to Claire Dahl, Pioneer Liaison for Election Inspector Program, for organizing and encouraging our students to work at the polls during elections and for sending the following message, “Many thanks to Deb Young, Media Specialist and Pioneer "web master", for listing all of the 108 Pioneer students who will be working at the many city precincts on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2008. (YES, I said 108 Pioneer students!) They have all completed a 4-hour course at City Hall and will work at the polls from 6 AM-9: 30 PM on Tuesday. They are now officially certified by the State of Michigan and will share all the responsibilities and stresses of the adult workers during this incredibly exciting election. Check out the link on the Pioneer web page, (Nov. 4, Election Day, PHS Election Workers) to see which Pioneers will be working when YOU cast your vote! Pioneer has worked at the 2000 Bush-Gore contest, the 2004 Bush-Kerry contest, the 2006 Michigan Gubernatorial election and, most recently, the 2008 Michigan Presidential Primary. This will be a very historic day and it's wonderful to have so many students participating, whether working at the polls or casting their own votes for the first time.” The students and their precincts are:

Adams, Leslie Braden - Slauson Middle School
Ali, Nimra Syed - Scarlett Middle School
Arsen, Emily Levenstein - Slauson Middle School
Averill, Zachary Eric - Lawton School
Behbahani-Nejad, Nilofar - Allen School
Behbahani-Nejad, Omid Reza - Allen School
Benson, Anna Robb - East Quad
Berger, Jamie Lauren - Northside School
Bishar, Kayla Marouka - Clague Middle School
Bodner, Matthew Michael - Abbot School
Bogen, Julia Lauren - Community Center
Burns, Ian Joseph - Clague Middle School
Carpenter, Eric Karson - Michigan Union
Chen, Caroline Sarah - Michigan Union
Church, Yunus Allen - Ann Arbor Assembly of God
Clark, Madison Louise - East Quad
Corley, Dominique Ongela - Community High School
Croos-Dabrera, Melanie Punwada - Northside School
Eshelman, Kaye Nicole - Eberwhite School
Everett, John Freeman - Forsythe Middle School
Fetchiet, Madeline Rose - Mack School
Fields, Torrey Dean - Ann Arbor Assembly of God
Fogel, Caleb Brooks - Tappan Middle School
Gach, Samuel Barlow - Dicken School
Gallagher, Chelsea Taylor - Dicken School
Gankin, Anna Marie - Thurston School
Gardulescu, McKenzie Lee - Mack School
Glassford, Bailey Everett - Mary Street Polling Place
Gordon, Ana Rachel Torres - Second Baptist Church
Gottschalk, Ian Paul - Michigan Union
Grady, Timothy Dale - Slauson Middle School
Grenier, Charlotte Renée - Pioneer High School
Guha, Anirvan Jyoti - Abbot School
Hall, Lindsay Marloe - Abbot School
Hart, Sophia Elisabeth - Arrowwood Hills Community Center
Hayes, Saunders Bailey Demond - Haisley School
Hershman, Hayley Miranda - Lakewood School
Hertz, Morgan Ariel - East Quad
Herzog, Jenny Winkler - Bach School
Hiner, Margaret Rose - Tappan Middle School
Huang, Tianyi N. - Bach School
Hulbert, Scott Elias - Michigan Union
Ilankamban, Vaishnavi - Slauson Middle School
Jackson, William Jacob - Lakewood School
Jaeckel, Alexander Ryan - Community Center
Johnson, Jeffrey Paul - Dicken School
Jones, Victoria Anne - St. Clare Church/Temple Beth Emeth
Juillet, Alicia Liane - Eberwhite School
Keller, Katherine Suzanne - Eberwhite School
Kern, Adam Craig - Cobblestone Farm
Kern, Nicholas Steven - Cobblestone Farm
Koppin, Clare Ellen - Community Center
Krishnan, Viknesh Ming - Angell School
Kuchipudi, Dhaatri - Allen School
Kurz, Aaron Yosef - Community Center

Kushigian, Aram Louis - Bach School
Laetz, Claire Elizabeth - Pioneer High School
LaPointe, Bryan Patrick - Dicken School
Liu, Ruby Yangpu - Arrowwood Hills Community Center
Lu, Yuqing - Lawton School
Lyu, Jennifer K. - Pioneer High School
Manz, Allison Caitlin - Lawton School
Massingill, Alexander Michael - Scarlett Middle School
McCoy, Katie Ann - Pioneer High School
McKarns, Katherine Marie McDevitt - Tappan Middle School
Mierzwinski, Dylan Elizabeth - Pioneer High School
Mooney, Erica Colleen - East Quad
Munoz, Timothy Caldwell - Allen School
Murphey, Helen Lu - Slauson Middle School
Nao, Jennifer Ann Yoshino - Pioneer High School
Peck, Gwendolyn Noelle - Pioneer High School
Pendleton, Ryan James - University Townhouses Center
Penner-Hahn, William Norman - U-M Coliseum
Phillips, Lauren Jessica - Second Baptist Church
Qiu, Vicky Yao - Mack School
Reitz, Natalie Jane - Dicken School
Richert, Alexandra Ann - Forsythe Middle School
Robertson, Jordan Rachel - Allen School
Robin, Keo Seth - Clague Middle School
Robinson, Thomas Rudolph-Bradley - Cobblestone Farm
Rontal, Judith Lois - Ann Arbor District Library (Main)
Rontal, Sarah Wendy - Ann Arbor District Library (Main)
Rosoff, Caroline Allen - Slauson Middle School
Rosoff, Ian Samuel - Slauson Middle School
Ross, Jeremy Ryan - Ann Arbor District Library (Main)
Rowan, Nora Alyssa - Allen School
Ruthven, Zachary William - East Quad
Sazyc, Stephanie Nikole - Ann Arbor Assembly of God
Sinawe, Shawn T. - South Quad
Sirrine, Jennifer Ayana - Bursley Hall
Soderborg, Sarah Ann - Pioneer High School
Soebbing, Hannah Ruth - Pittsfield School
Stein, Alexandra Eliza - Tappan Middle School
Sullivan, Elizabeth Finnegan - Forsythe Middle School
Teeter, Rachel Elaine - Slauson Middle School
Therman, Alexis Virginia-Anne - Dicken School
Theros, Nicholas Milton - Pioneer High School
Tomas, Nicholas Woodlief - U-M Coliseum
Vaid, Saad Ibrahim - Forsythe Middle School
VanVelden, Jane Michaela - Bach School
Weidner, Savannah Ingeborg Olson - St. Clare Church/Temple Beth Emeth
Wertenberger, Peter Luke - Forsythe Middle School
Williams, Emily Anne - Eberwhite School
Woolley, Jennifer Walsh - St. Clare Church/Temple Beth Emeth
Wright, Jade Beth - Scarlett Middle School
Yi, Sara Marie - Haisley School
Zhang, Jessica Yucheng - Michigan Union
Zimmerman, Kelsey Paige - U-M Coliseum

Todd Roberts, Ed.D.
Superintendent