Attend an Internet safety presentation on December 8
A representative from the Michigan Attorney General's office will be conducting a community seminar about Internet safety on Tuesday, December 8 in the Little Theatre at Northeast Middle School. The seminar will run from 7 to 8 p.m. Any community member is welcome to attend.
The seminar will provide information about the Michigan Sex Offender Registry, parental control software, social networking sites (like MySpace and Facebook), viewing Internet history logs, and how to safely search the Internet.
MPS-TV moves to channel 98 on December 1
The district's television station will soon be on a different channel. On December 1, MPS-TV will move from channel 17 to channel 98 for all Charter Communications subscribers.
Community Committee for Building Closures finishes its work
The community committee charged with recommending a building closure plan will present its recommendation to the Board of Education on November 23, 2009.
From the Community Committee for Building Closures:
After five months of hard work, the Community Committee for Building Closures finalized its building closure recommendation for the Board of Education at its final meeting on Thursday, November 5. The committee will recommend two possible scenarios for the Board's consideration at the November 23 Board of Education meeting.
The Board of Education will hear the recommendation and then make a final decision on how to move forward. The recommended scenarios include the following:
- A scenario that leaves Adams, Carpenter, Chestnut Hill, Cook, Eastlawn, Mills, Plymouth, and Siebert open and closes Chippewassee, Longview, Parkdale, and Woodcrest.
- A scenario that leaves Adams, Carpenter, Chestnut Hill, Eastlawn, Plymouth, Siebert, and Woodcrest open and closes Chippewassee, Cook, Longview, Mills, and Parkdale.
You can read the entire press release and view the recommended scenarios on the committee's web site, www.mps.k12.mi.us/closure-committee
Pay winter activity fees online
The district is now collecting activity fee payments for the winter sports season. We encourage all parents to pay for activity fees online by check or credit card. Paying online is safe and convenient.
If you paid an activity fee in the fall season, you can save time and log into your existing account. If you haven't created an account yet, there is a short video on our web site that explains how to get started.
Parents have an opportunity to donate to our scholarship fund when they checkout, and anyone can make a donation directly from the activity fee web page whether they are paying for a student's activity fee or not.
If your student athlete is trying out for a cut sport, please do not pay until you are certain they are on the team. All payments are due before the first scheduled contest of a sport.
We'd also like to remind parents that the fee for winter competitive cheer is $150, which is different than the fall cheerleading fee.
Closure committee will choose from eight scenarios
The Community Committee for Building Closures has published another progress report as they approach a final recommendation.
From the committee's press release:
The Community Committee for Building Closures has decided on eight possible scenarios from which to make their final recommendation to the Board of Education. At its October 22 meeting, the committee discussed nine finalists and removed one scenario from consideration.
Committee members will take the next two weeks between scheduled meetings to study the maps of these solutions and will be prepared to vote at their November 5 meeting for the scenario or scenarios to recommend to the Board of Education.
You can read the entire press release and view the final scenarios on the committee's web site, www.mps.k12.mi.us/closure-committee
Flu update
The Midland Public Schools has been meeting with Mike Krecek, Head of the Midland County Health Department, since early August to discuss how to handle seasonal and H1N1 flu situations. The state and the CDC don't recommend closing schools based on the negligible effect these closings had last spring when the swine flu erupted. We have shared information and advice with schools and parents about the symptoms and care of those with flu-like symptoms and have a plan for inoculations in the school setting for students whose parents sign a permission slip. Unfortunately, those vaccines are not yet available to the Health Department.
We are tracking absence rates daily. As a district we still average a 90 percent attendance rate, which is only a few percentage points less than the average attendance rate all year. We have seen higher absence rates at a few schools for a period of time but these numbers have rebounded in a few days. We have one school that had a 22 percent absence rate for a day, and we have some schools that have only had a three percent absence rate for the past few weeks.
We encourage parents to keep their children home if they are experiencing flu-like symptoms and to get in touch with their family doctors.
Important information about seasonal and H1N1 (swine) flu
(Originally published September 2, 2009)
From the Midland County Department of Public Health:
There are two types of influenza (flu) to be concerned about this year. The first type is the seasonal flu that happens every fall and winter. The second type is the novel 2009 influenza A (H1N1) virus that began causing illness in people last spring and has continued to occur in Michigan and throughout the world this summer. The novel 2009 influenza A (H1N1) influenza virus has caused mild to severe illness and hospitalizations in both adults and children. Children are one of the groups that have been most affected by this virus and are considered at high risk of infection. There are many things we can do to keep our schools, our communities, and our homes flu-free.
Read more in the letter to parents and its screening protocol.
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