This Week In the Ann Arbor Public Schools

January 4, 2010

This Week’s Good News!

• Welcome back and Happy New Year.  I hope you all were able to find some time to relax and rejuvenate during the busy holiday season.
• Huron student Arjun Nagpal wrote a guest column that was featured on AnnArbor.Com about his Eagle Scout Project in which he built 7 doghouses for the Humane Society of Huron Valley.
• The Washtenaw County Health Department and Clague Middle School received a grant that will enable a health department staff person to work in tandem with Clague to develop a Safe Routes to School Action Plan.  Clague will receive $1,000 to spend toward implementation of Safe Routes activities.
• Students from multiple forums at Community High School held a two-week cash drive for Food Gatherers of Washtenaw County.  Students used a variety of activities:  sold crafts, baked goods, went door-to-door, donated their own money and organized events like gaming nights.  They presented Food Gatherers with a check for $4,257.50.  Using Food Gatherers formulas, this will buy over 11,000 meals or will provide 17 families with meals for 6 weeks.
• Thanks to the generosity of Lawton’s parents and staff through the school's "Warm Wishes" program, twenty-five families (65 Lawton students) each received a large bag of gifts.  Grace Bible Church donated large plastic containers of food items for each of the families.  Also, Lawton students collected over thirty full boxes of canned goods to donate to the Salvation Army
• Congratulations to Skyline's Peter Pasque, for being selected to have his ExamView Pro tutorials posted on iTunes U.  http://bit.ly/6CGuSg
• Ann Arbor Student Home Building Program was acknowledged by LOWE’S Home store and KOBALT tools as one of the fifty programs nationally recognized for work with young people.  The AAPS program was awarded $600.00 worth of tools under their "TOUGH TOOLS for COOL SCHOOLS" program.
  This is the 40th year and 40th house being built by our student program.  For the first time in the program’s history, the students were framing the roof before the Thanksgiving break.  They had the truss framed and half of the roof completed and sheathed before the holiday. They completed closing in the house by conventionally framing the rest of the roof, sheathing and shingling the roof as well as setting the windows and doors before the December holiday break.  Teacher, John Birko and his assistant, Joel Davenport, are very proud of the energy and effort the students have showed in very difficult fall weather.

Todd Roberts, Ed.D.
Superintendent