GPPSS Update
May 16, 2023
2023 Social Studies Olympiad
The social studies department wanted to share good news from Pierce. The following students represented Pierce and won at the state level of the 2023 Social Studies Olympiad.
Winners from Brian Benz's 8th Grade Social Studies Classes
Lachlan Thompson -- Digital Photography, 2nd Place
Daniel Linnell, Ben Vosburg, Nadeem Haurani, and Drew Brown -- Hand Puppets, Honorable Mention
Julia Boyd & Grace Geresy -- Historical TV News Cast, 3rd Place
Eva Tuason -- Online Presentation, 2nd Place
Winners from Becky Churray's 7th Grade Social Studies Classes
Emma Stevant -- Photojournalism, 2nd Place
Dorothy Montague -- Poetry, 2nd Place
Bealia Tabor -- Artistic Poster, Honorable Mention
Norah Brumbaugh -- Collage Poster, 1st Place
Estella Raether -- Storyboard Poster, Honorable Mention
Elle Sutorka -- Speakathon, 1st Place
Sarah Joyce -- Speakathon, 2nd Place
Tori Porter -- Take a Stand Essay, 1st Place
Winners from Andrea Doherty's 7th Grade Social Studies Class
Aria Burrascano -- Current Events Editorial Essay, Honorable Mention
Sydney King -- Collage Poster, Honorable Mention
Paige Garbo -- Quiltathon, 1st Place
Nora Shalhoub -- Quiltathon, Honorable Mention
Robert Kasza & Nate Susko -- Social Studies Song, Honorable Mention
Dalina Kokoshi -- Take a Stand Essay, 3rd Place
Tonight is the final Communities United in Diversity meeting for the year, Tuesday, May 30th, from 6 to 8 p.m. at Ferry Elementary, 748 Roslyn, Grosse Pointe Woods. The topic is power structures and once again the discussion will be facilitated by Wayne RESA Climate, Culture and Equity consultants Lisa Kaiser and Dr. Terrance Scott.
School Board Update
Upcoming Board of Education (BOE) meetings include:
- BOE Finance & Facilities, Tuesday, May 30, 6 p.m., Barnes PLS
- BOE Curriculum, Wednesday, May 31, 6 p.m., Barnes PLS
- BOE Regular Meeting and Budget Hearing, Monday, June 12, 6:30 p.m., Brownell MPR
- BOE Finance & Facilities, Tuesday, June 13, 6 p.m., Barnes PLS
- BOE Policy & Contracts, Monday, June 19, 6 p.m., Barnes PLS
- BOE Regular Meeting, TUESDAY, June 20, 6:30 p.m., Brownell MPR
- BOE Finance & Facilities, Wednesday, June 21, 6 p.m., Barnes PLS
- BOE Community Engagement, Thursday, June 22, 6 p.m., Barnes PLS
Dates for additional committee meetings are posted under the School Board dropdown; click BOE Committees. That section includes an updated description of membership for each committee as well as meeting dates, agendas and a link to the minutes. Agendas are also linked from the board calendar. Committee meetings are not filmed but all regular board meetings are and now have closed captioning.
Attention 4th Grade Families
One of the recommendations from this year’s Middle School Study is to continue to provide all 5th grade students the opportunity to attend camp. The camp experience helps to support a team atmosphere among students and staff and helps students to build skills that extend beyond the classroom. To make sure we are utilizing a camp and creating an experience that best supports all students, the district is putting together a committee of parents, teachers, and administrators to identify a camp and plan camp activities. The committee will begin meeting in the fall. We do not anticipate more than three meetings. If you are interested in being a part of this committee, please contact Dr. Dan Hartley, Director of Secondary Instruction, at hartled@gpschools.org.
Spring Athletics Surveys Open Now!
GPPSS conducts surveys of athletes and their parents/guardians each sports season. If you or your student participated in a spring sport, please take your version of the Spring Sports Survey by June 16th (before summer break). Summary results are shared publicly. If you wish to remain anonymous, please do not put personally identifiable information in the open-ended comment sections. Thank you for sharing your input as we seek to continuously improve our athletic programs!
- Parent/Guardian Spring Sports Survey - https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/SpringSports23ParentGuardian
- Student Athlete Version (new shorter student version this year per student input) - https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/StudentAthleteSpring23
Another fun event to recruit families to the area
GPPSS continues to partner with the Grosse Pointe Chamber of Commerce, business associations and Board of Realtors to attract families to the area. The annual Paint the Window contest is part of the Village Sidewalk Sale and a great opportunity to invite your friends to come explore GP.
Keep reading skills sharp this summer
Attention parents and students! Keep your child's reading skills sharp this summer with our menu of reading resources. Our program offers an extensive collection of reading materials for elementary, middle, and high school students. We encourage all students to participate and explore the wide range of resources we have to offer. For more information, please visit:
2023 High School Summer Program NEW GOOGLE INTEREST FORM ADDED
This summer, the Grosse Pointe Public School System will be partnering with Michigan Virtual to offer credit recovery and grade replacement for students.
Credit recovery is for students who failed a course during the academic year and need to make up that course.
Grade replacement is for students who would like to retake a course in order to replace the grade they received through GPPSS during the academic year.
Basic information:
Michigan Virtual is an online platform with courses taught asynchronously by certified teachers in Michigan.
Students will be assigned a GPPSS staff member to oversee each course they are taking. This teacher will act as their mentor, checking in with them on a weekly basis to monitor their course progress.
Grosse Pointe teachers will serve as mentors for students and be available at Parcells Middle School to provide tutoring and guidance. It is highly recommended that students attend in person sessions.
Class hours are Monday through Thursday from 8:15-11:15 am June 26-29 and July 10 - August 3. Mentors will be available via email the weeks of July 3 and August 7 although in-person classes will not be meeting.
All coursework must be completed no later than Friday, August 11th.
Click here for a course catalog. Please work with your student's counselor to determine the best course(s) for your child.
Please fill out this Google Form to indicate your interest in enrolling your child in Michigan Virtual this summer. Your child’s counselor will receive this information and reach out to you to facilitate the registration process. The deadline to fill out this form is Tuesday, June 27th at 3 p.m.
These courses will show “MV” (Michigan Virtual) with the course title on student transcripts. Also note that “Essentials” courses are not NCAA approved. Please have a conversation with your counselor regarding the appropriate course choices for your student.
Cost:
Tuition will be free to students that meet specific 11t grant criteria.
Students who do not meet the criteria of the grant will be charged a per course fee of $175 for “Essentials” courses and $275 for non-essentials courses. Note: Essentials courses are used for the purposes of credit recovery (i.e., earning credit for a failed High School course) and will be listed as Essential (e.g., Alg 1B Essentials) on a student’s transcript.
For more information:
Katie Parent (Director, Summer Pointes grades 5-12)
Jenny Sherman (North counselor overseeing Michigan Virtual summer)
Jennifer Vick (South counselor overseeing Michigan Virtual summer)
vickj@gpschools.orgMore summer programs
GPPSS continues to update our Summer Programs page of the website. Click to learn more. Below are some recent additions which are also shared on Peachjar, our ADA complaint flyer site. Did you know you can customize your Peachjar subscription by school?
South Basketball Camps
June 19-21 & June 23-23
South Football Camp
South Field Hockey
South Volleyball
June 19-20