This Week
In the Ann Arbor Public Schools
April 7, 2009
To: The Staff of the Ann Arbor Public Schools
From: Todd Roberts, Superintendent
This Week’s Good News
- Thirteen Bach School 5th graders and four 4th graders placed FIRST in Michigan, in the Knowledge Master Open held on March 25, 2009. Nationally, Bach placed 27th out of 288 teams competing. This placed Bach in the top 8% in the country. The K.M.O. is a team academic contest that tests students' ability to answer questions about all the school subjects. The Bach School K.M.O. Team scored 611 out of a possible 1000 points. The average score in Michigan was 499 and the mean nationwide was 509. Congratulations on a fine, cooperative effort. Mrs. Ezekiel is the coach of the Bach K.M.O. team. You can learn more about the K.M.O. at www.greatauk.com.
The members of the team:
4th Grade: Lena Thornton, Yoshio Wagner, Riley VanAlsburg, Jonathan Choi
5th Grade: Ada Banks, Claire Gottsman, Daniel Hill, Cole Magoon, Abe Weiner, Maurits Sier, Grace Erickson, Corey Frenette, Aaron Willette, Rainey Pesheck, Simon Rutkowski, William Wolf, Miguel Escobar
Below are some samples of what the team had to know:
Daniel knew that latex is a kind of plant sap. He also knew that ‘the inner tribunal’, ‘the still, small voice’, and ‘the other man inside me’ all refer to one’s conscience……
Miguel knew that, in the United States there are (*) branches of government… (test yourself against the Knowledge Masters. Answers below)
Claire knew that a formal political argument between two or more candidates is a (**)….
Yoshio knew that The Lorax is the Dr. Seuss story where he expresses his concerns about human impact on the environment…
Grace knew that in the poem by Eugene Field the Sugar-Plum Tree blooms on the shore of the Lollipop Sea…
Abe knew that the Columbia is not a tributary of another river …
Maurits knew that the names of the easternmost Middle Eastern countries all end with (***). He also knew that radar played no part in World War I…
Jonathan knew that King Minos kept a minotaur in a maze…
Ada knew who inserted a piece of bird plumage into his chapeau and called it a kind of pasta (Yankee Doodle)…….
Corey knew that a space shuttle traveling 17,000 miles per hour is about 550 times faster than the Wright Brothers’ first flight at 31 mph.…
Aaron knew that Hudson Bay is named for an explorer who died there. He also knew that the prefixes of ‘pentoxide’ and ‘quintuplet’ have the same meaning…
Rainey knew that the answer to this riddle (from The Hobbit):
“Alive without breath, as cold as death;
Never thirsty, ever drinking, all in mail, never clinking”
Is (^).
She also knew that lozenges are medicines to soothe sore throats…
Simon knew that Cleopatra died from a (^^). He also knew that the moon travels around the earth about 13 times per year.
Cole was a great typist; he also knew that a hanging plumb bob is perpendicular to the surface of the oil in a bucket below...
William knew that Charles Lindbergh’s flight took him from New York to (^^^)…
Riley knew that Tweedledum and Tweedledee weren’t characters in The Phantom Tollbooth…
Coach Ezekiel says “Great Job, Team!”
Answers: * three **debate ***-stan ^a fish ^^snake bite ^^^Paris - Lawton Principal Ruth Williams writes, “Thanks to Mr. Don Bruey and the committee of other parent volunteers who made Lawton School Science Fair a great success. 210 students from kindergarten through fifth grade participated in developing 145 projects. It was quite an experience to see all of the interesting things students included in their projects. Each student received a ribbon and feedback written by parent volunteers about their project.”
- Clague Counselor Kathy Moran reports that last week fifty 8th grade students participated in the SEED program, Students Educating Each Other About Discrimination, and that it is a fantastic program. SEED is run by Lori Roddy at the Neutral Zone and under her direction, the program is succeeding. Lori is very good at aligning our curriculum and training her students to implement the program.
- The Huron High School, National Honor Society (NHS) Dance Marathon was a huge success. They raised awareness as well as $12,355 for the Anna Maria List Benefit Fund to help the victims of violence against women! The t-shirts from Safehouse at the door reminded the students of the importance of this cause and the event raised their spirits as they took a stand against violence. The Huron NHS students did a great job! The decorations were fantastic! The games were creative and fun! Bands and artists volunteered to perform and dj! Local businesses sponsored food and products! Special appreciation should go to the NHS officers, Phil Berkaw, Michael Hymes, Shelby Sauer, Michele Freed, Andy Foo, Daphne Cai, Dan Yang and Robert Axelrod, for their tireless efforts to make this happen since September! Thank you to the 70 chaperones for their support. Thanks to all the "dancers" who raised the money while standing for 12 hours. They got a bit weak in the knees by dawn, but the energy was great.
- The following Community artists have been selected to exhibit in the Ann Arbor Art Center “Potential Show.” This show was juried by Dan Price, Assistant Professor of Art at the University of Michigan, and represents the finest work by Washtenaw County High Schools. The artists are: Devin Alfather – drawing, Emma Rand – drawing, Elisa Brown – drawing, Lisa Raymond – drawing, Tanner DePriest – photography, Allison Ferguson – drawing, Helen Allen – drawing, Hannah Sorscher – photography, Casey Binder – photography, Cassidy Moravy-Penchansky – photography, and Cody Pan – painting.
The exhibition will be open from April 3 – May 10, 2009, with an opening reception and awards ceremony on SATURDAY, APRIL 4TH from 3 – 5 pm. At the ANN ARBOR ART CENTER, 117 WEST LIBERTY, ANN ARBOR. - Pattengill Elementary has been invited to attend the Michigan Green School Award Ceremony on April 16, 2009. At the ceremony, Pattengill 3rd grade teacher Susan Beech will be awarded the 'Michigan Green School' flag. Sue Beech, along with her 'green crew' of parent volunteers will oversee the entire Pattengill staff and student body during their Earth Day activities on April 22nd. Staff, students and parents will be involved in activities such as removing all litter from school grounds, planting perennials, plant several trees and possibly a vegetable garden. The school's official flag raising ceremony will commence at 3:00 around the flag pole. The Pattengill community applauds Mrs. Beech for her tremendous accomplishment and ever present reminders to "think green!" Outstanding work Sue!
- Pioneer Band students received 72 first division and 21 second division ratings in SOLO performance, as well as 64 first division and 14 second division ratings in ENSEMBLE performance at the STATE Solo and Ensemble Festivals held on March 28.
The following Pioneer High School Band students participated in the Michigan School Band and Orchestra Association (MSBOA) STATE Solo and Ensemble Festival on March 28. 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. Sophomores through seniors who performed solos were also eligible to participate in Proficiency Examinations, requiring scales and sightreading, as well as performance on their solo. 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: Emily Arsen, Alex Baum, Joella Bennett, Rachel Bielajew, Jonathan Bower, James Campbell, Julia Chen (2), Andrew Jae Hyun Choe, D’Arcy Cook, Katie Copp, Elizabeth Cvercko, Jonathan Evans, Kerryann Fingerle, Kevin Flannagan, Patrick Lamont Fleming, Sachi Gianchandani, Adam Graves, Christopher Haddlesey, Christopher Hass, Saunders Hayes, Andrew Hess, Leila Hofer, Skye Hookham, Lauren Houser, Skye Huerta, Scott Hulbert, Max Hully, Vijay Ilankamban, Andrew Johnson, Jeff Johnson, Ryan King, Dylan Larkins, Leah Latterner (2), Meekyoung Lee, Julia Markey, Aidan Mase-Kemnitz, Karen Matsuo, Megumi Matsushita, Jack McKarns, Isabel McKay, Cailey Miller, Margaret Morgan, Sowdeepya Nadimpalli (2), Emily Northrup, Julia Pakela, Duncan Polot, Linda Relson, Niko Rombes, Sarah Rontal, David Shao, David Shapiro, Jeff Shipan, Daniel Siler, Andrew Smith, Joshua Stein, Michael Sullivant, Jacob Swanson, Victoria Tillman, Emily Topham, Xiao Wang, Devin Webster, Aaron Wilson, Dana Wilson, Hope Wilson, Matthew Winick, Eric Yamakado, Jay Yamakado, Ryan Yunck, Kevin Zhang
Pioneer High School Band students receiving a "II" (Good) rating for their performance of a SOLO were: Maddie Allen, Caitlin Berrigan, Helen DeMarsh, James Fitzpatrick, Christopher Fleming, Prasanth Ganesan, Lindsay Hall, Scott Hulbert, Alexander Jaeckel, Jae Jung, Mia Kaartinen, Amin Lanseur, Younkyoung Lee, Yuming Liu, Sara Long, Katherine McKarns, Miriam Michaels, Veronica Olszewski, Rachel Simon, Malaika Whitney, Thea Yagerlener
Pioneer High School Band students receiving a "I" (Excellent) rating for their performance of an ENSEMBLE were: Jonathan Bower (2), Elizabeth Bush, Katie Centurione, D’Arcy Cook, Katie Copp, Elizabeth Cvercko (2), Helen DeMarsh, Nick DeMarsh, Meera Desai, Tory Fingerle, Kevin Flannagan, Sachi Gianchandani, Adam Graves, Lindsay Hall, Saunders Hayes, Max Hully, Esther Hur, Vijay Ilankamban, Andy Johnson, Jeff Johnson (2), Ryan King (2), Caroline Laman, Amin Lanseur (2), Dylan Larkins, Leah Latterner, Meekyoung Lee (2), Aidan Mase-Kemnitz, Karen Matsuo, Megumi Matsushita (2), Isabel McKay, Miriam Michaels (2), Cailey Miller, Mackenzie Miller, Margaret Morgan, Jeni Nao, Alyssa Natoci, Kayla Oh, Duncan Polot, Niko Rombes (2), David Shapiro, Jeff Shipan, Andrew Smith, Jacob Swanson (2), Emily Topham, Manisha Verma, Xiao Wang, Devin Webster (2), Aaron Wilson, Dana Wilson, Hope Wilson, Jay Yamakado, Angela Yang, Ryan Yunck
Pioneer High School Band students receiving a "II" (Good) rating for their performance of an ENSEMBLE were: Caitlin Berrigan, Rosie Curtis, Elizabeth Etter, Monica Fink, Ali Hassani, Lauren Houser, Vijay Ilankamban, Cailey Miller, Veronika Olszewski, Rahul Puttagunta, Natalie Roll, Rachel Teeter, Aaron Wilson, Thea Yagerlener
2009 Michigan Youth Arts Festival. Pioneer Bands students participated in State Solo & Ensemble Festival Saturday, March 28, 2009 at Chelsea High School. State certified MSBOA Adjudicators evaluated each performance.
As a result of their performance at the STATE Solo and Ensemble Festival, the following Pioneer Band students were nominated to participate in the MSBOA Youth Arts Festival CONCERTO SOLOIST auditions: Meekyoung Lee (Flute), Saunders Hayes (Flute), Victoria Tillman (Oboe), James Campbell (Bb Clarinet), Ryan J. King (Bb Clarinet), Dylan Larkins (Trumpet), Hope Wilson (Trombone), Jonathan Bower (Trombone), Skye Hookham (Marimba).
As a result of their performance at the STATE Solo and Ensemble Festival, the following Pioneer Band students were nominated to audition for the MSBOA Youth Arts Festival OUTSTANDING SMALL ENSEMBLE: Woodwind Duet featuring Lindsay Hall (Flute), Andrew Johnson (Bb Clarinet); Woodwind Quintet featuring Meekyoung Lee (Flute), Dana Wilson (French Horn), Abby Lewis-Lakin (Oboe), Ryan J. King (Bb Clarinet), Victoria Fingerle (Bassoon); Brass Quintet featuring Helen DeMarsh (French Horn), Amin Lanseur (Tuba), Jeff Johnson (Trumpet), Mackenzie Miller (Trombone), Miriam Michaels (Trumpet); Brass Quartet featuring Jay Yamakado (French Horn), Amin Lanseur (Tuba) , Devin Webster (Trombone), Jonathan Bower (Trombone); String Trio featuring Jacob Joyce (Violin), Ryan King (Bb Clarinet), Leah Latterner (Piano).
The following Pioneer Music students were nominated to participate in the MSBOA YOUTH ARTS FESTIVAL HONORS BAND: Meekyoung Lee (Flute), Ryan J. King (Clarinet), Michael Sullivant (Bass Clarinet), Jeff Johnson (Trumpet), Joshua Stein (Trumpet), Hope Wilson (Trombone), Adam Graves (Tuba).
The following Pioneer Music students were nominated to participate in the MSBOA YOUTH ARTS FESTIVAL HONORS ORCHESTRA: Dylan Larkins (Trumpet), Dana Wilson (French Horn), Elizabeth Cvercko (French Horn), Jay Yamakado (French Horn), Margaret Morgan (French Horn), Jonathan Bower (Trombone), Scott Hulbert (Snare).
These students were nominated from over 10,000 MSBOA State Solo & Ensemble Festival participants from the entire State of Michigan. - The Huron High School Philharmonia, Concert, and Symphony Orchestras, under the direction of Christopher Mark and Diane Platte, all received First Division ratings at the District Band and Orchestra Festival held at Chelsea High School on March 21st. This was the first year for all three orchestras to receive First Division Ratings; we are very proud of these student musicians.
On Saturday, March 28th, 52 members of the Huron Orchestras performed at the State Solo & Ensemble festival held at Chelsea High School. First Division ratings were awarded in the following categories:
9th GRADE SOLO: Joshua Wu, Arjun Nagpal, Micalah Webster, Kevin Chang
9th GRADE PIANO SOLO: Joshua Wu
PROFICIENCY 1: Akio Kakishima, Danny Clegg, Daniel Lee, Lauren Peng, Brian Lu, Philip Tsao, Douglas Yang, Sunjay Josyula, Stephanie Liu
PROFICIENCY 2: Tina Rowan, Philipp Lee, Lanxin Liu, Surabhi Rajaram, Anna Yu, Kevin Hsiao, Victoria Wu
PROFICIENCY 3: Charles Lu
PIANO PROFICIENCY 1: Derek Wu, Kris Shin, Jeffrey Pan, Douglas Yang
PIANO PROFICIENCY 2: Daniel Yang
ENSEMBLES: Philipp Lee, Daniel Lee (duet), Akio Kakishima, Derek Wu (duet), Danny Clegg, Steven Jin, Joshua Cheng, Jimmy Miller (quartet), Hannah Moon, Jooyoung Moon, Anna Yu (trio), Arjun Nagpal, Kevin Chang (duet), John Masuga, Kevin Hsiao (duet), Tina Rowan, Ellen Gruber, Claire Potter, Kari Chen (quartet), Kevin Hsiao, Tina Rowan, Akio Kakishima, Lauren Peng, Nina Abani, Emily Hsiao, Surabhi Rajaram, Stephanie Liu, Claire Potter, Silas Bush, Chaturi Wijesundera, Min Liu, John Masuga, Joshua Wu, Andrew Liu, and Joshua Cheng (chamber ensemble)
Second Division ratings were awarded in the following categories:
PROFICIENCY 1: Krishna Chokkraram, Ben Gleichert, Leela Denver
PROFICIENCY II: Emily Hsiao - The following Huron students have been nominated to audition as soloists for the 2009 Michigan Youth Arts Festival Gala Concert on Friday May 8, 2009. The first round auditions will take place at Central Michigan University on Friday April 17, 2009. Four soloists will be selected to perform at the festival.
Christine Springer, Flute, Elspeth Hayden, Flute, Mary Scott, Alto Sax, Ben Lougheed, Tenor Sx, Tommy Howells, Cornet/Trumpet, Jakob Hildebrandt, Trombone, Annie Song, Piano, Daniel Lee, Violin, Danny Clegg, Violin, and Tina Rowan, Violin.
The following Huron students have been nominated to audition as a small ensemble for the 2009 Michigan Youth Arts Festival Gala Concert. Seven ensembles will be selected to perform.
John Lee, Duet, Bb Clarinet; Peter Dolce, Quartet, Alto Sax; Evan Stemmer, Quartet, Trombone; Carrie Field, Duet, Woodwind; and Philip Lee, Duet, String Ens. - On March 30, after lunch at the Michigan Union, sixty Huron High School freshmen experienced a taste of college life at a lecture hosted by the University of Michigan International Institute’s Center for European Studies – European Union Center. The students visited a classroom on the U-M campus to hear a special presentation entitled “Getting to Know the EU” by Ken Kollman, professor, Political Science Department and director of the International Institute’s Center for International and Comparative Studies.
During the lecture, Kollman introduced Nadine Ghawi’s ninth grade world history and geography class to the European Union and discussed the most important facts from its inception in 1957 to today. Kollman stressed that it is important to understand that the European Union grew from being an organization intent on peacemaking to the union intent on wealth making, oriented towards prosperity in Europe, representing close to 500 million people and the largest economic block in the world.
Andrew Radant a student in attendance at the presentation described why it is important to learn about other regions in the world: “It’s important to know how other countries work because they affect the world economy, and it’s important to know how it affects you.” Students also commented that they appreciated that Professor Kollman tailored his presentation specifically for them using the language and examples understandable to them.
The International Institute provides free educational resources for Michigan's K-12 and community college classrooms. This lecture is one example of many programs offered by the institute’s 18 international centers. For more information on the International Institute’s community outreach please visit
www.ii.umich.edu/ii/resources/outreach or http://www.ii.umich.edu/ces- euc/resources/kthru14 - Wild Swan Theater founders and Co-artistic Directors Hilary Cohen and Sandy Ryder received honors on Friday, March 27, 2009 at the annual meeting of the Michigan Speech and Hearing Language Association. The Wild Swan directors were honored with the Ann Arbor Public Schools and the Washtenaw Intermediate School District for their creation of the Drama Club, named Public School Program of the Year by the MSHA.
The Drama Club, in its second year, offers a unique approach to the problems experienced by students with Asperger’s Syndrome and other variations of high- functioning Autism Spectrum Disorders. Successful social interactions are frequently key to success in adult life. They require a number of complex and reciprocal communication skills that are often significantly compromised for individuals on the autism spectrum. Some of the fundamental skills include giving eye contact, joint referencing, expressing and interpreting emotional responses and being able to empathize.
Cohen and Ryder use improvisational drama as a vehicle for teaching these fundamental skills, along with more subtle nuances that assist ASD students to understand the spontaneity of real-life events. Registered students use theater games developed for specific social outcomes. The advantages of using improvisation include helping participants to be in the moment, to listen carefully to and connect directly with each other, and to sense the emotional responses of other participants.
Students learn to work creatively and collaboratively in a group. The Drama Club educators, including Connie Huber, Speech Pathologist with the Washtenaw Intermediate School District and Mary Spence, psychologist with the Ann Arbor Public Schools, use Theory of Mind constructs to practice problem-solving skills like reasoning, inferring, and predicting.
Parent and educator feedback indicates that the program frequently stimulates creativity and imagination, and enhances self-image and emotional control including the students’ ability to adapt to a changing environment. The Drama Club is currently offered through the Ann Arbor Public Schools in two after-school sessions, with up to 10 students in each session.
While Wild Swan is respected locally for its family-friendly and high quality productions, it has been consistently focused on the accessibility of its theater to those with visual, auditory, or mobility impairment. These and other innovations, including signed performances, audio description for blind audience members, and the development of teachers’ resources for the company’s methods have garnered numerous awards.
Wild Swan Theater is dedicated to producing professional theater of the highest artistic quality for families and to making that theater accessible to everyone including low income, minority and disabled children through low ticket prices and innovative outreach programs. - Best wishes to everyone for a fun and relaxing Spring Break.
Superintendent