Munising Public Schools

If you are looking for an event to attend over Christmas Break, we have two great ones!

Mrs. Nebel’s class had a great time making gingerbread houses today!

A Great Opportunity for Youth! The fourth "H" in 4-H stands for Health. 4-H encourages youth to make healthy choices such as participating in healthy extracurricular activities. Join us again this winter for FREE cross-country ski lessons for youth at Valley Spur! WHO: YOUTH AGES 8-19 WHERE: VALLEY SPUR WHAT: FREE CROSS-COUNTRY SKI LESSONS FOR YOUTH WHEN: SMALL GROUPS WILL SKI 1X/WEEK 4 WEEKS OF JANUARY AS NOTED TO FOLLOW Registration closes 1/20/2024; the plan is as follows: - Advanced, instructed by Michelle & Rhonda, to start on Sun 1/5/2025 at 1pm. - Intermediate, instructed by Peggy, Denise & Duray to start Tues 1/7/2025 at 4pm. - Beginner group, instructed by Marcie & Sandy to start Thurs 1/9/2025 at 4pm. Please only register if this works for your youths schedule as capacity is limited. Ski lessons will be offered in small groups of 8 or less youth to 2 adult volunteer instructors. The number of participants is limited due to the optimum youth to volunteer ratio so join the club soon to ensure youths participation spot. Groups will meet with their instructors 1x per week after school or on weekends for 4 weeks in January (weather permitting). Groups will meet at different times/days, so the lodge and parking lot are able to accommodate the level of participation this program has historically had. Once the youth is registered, they will be put in a group with a specific time and day, and you will be contacted with that information by email so please be open to days and times for your kids to attend. All kids will need to be registered as a 4-H member to participate. Registration, joining the SPIN Club Valley Spur XC Ski Club, will be pulled on 12/20/2024 for rentals and on 1/2/2025 to share with the volunteer instructors as the MSU Extension office will be closed 12/23/2024 until 1/2/2025. Ski lessons will begin 1/5/2025. Lessons will be canceled in extreme weather conditions. Ski lessons will follow the school schedule for incremental weather (meaning if school closes there will not be lessons that day). Ski equipment will be loaned out for the season at South Bay Outfitters in downtown Munising starting on 12/20/2024. Make sure to pick up equipment prior to the first scheduled ski lesson. How to join the Club: Log in to 4-H online and you will land on the member list. Click on the youth member (view button), then on the left bar look for clubs (midway), then click on that. On the right there will be an add button and you should be able to add the club (by name or scroll down to it - SPIN Club Valley Spur XC Ski Club). PLEASE NOTE IN THE MANDATORY REQUEST REASON YOUR YOUTHS SKIING EXPERIENCE (BEGINNER, INTERMEDIATE, OR ADVANCED). Repeat for each youth (back to the member list, etc.). If NEW to 4-H for the 24/25 enrollment year: Enrolling is easy, just follow the simple steps below. There is no enrollment fee for Michigan 4-H so come join the fun! Select the SPIN Club Valley Spur XC Ski Club and the project area Outdoor Education/Recreation. PLEASE NOTE IN THE MANDATORY REQUEST REASON YOUR YOUTHS SKIING EXPERIENCE (BEGINNER, INTERMEDIATE, OR ADVANCED). 1. Head over to https://v2.4honline.com/#/user/sign-in. 2. If you are a returning member, use the same log-in and password as last year. If you are new, you'll create a family profile, and then a profile for each youth you are enrolling. 3. Make sure you complete ALL the pages (you will see submit at the end and will get a confirmation email once complete). A HUGE THANK YOU to the Valley Spur 4-H Volunteers and to South Bay Outfitters for this healthy outdoor education program for our youth! With thanks, Tyreen Prunick

MPS TRANSPORTATION UPDATE - Wednesday 12/18 - 11:15am - Good News! Please note that we now have 4 Bus Drivers and contrary to the messages yesterday, if all 4 drivers stay healthy we intend to run 4 Routes with normal pick up and drop off times through the rest of the week. We look forward to a new driver (Dawn Kleinhenz) joining the ranks shortly after the Holiday Break. For questions, please contact Bus Driver Coordinator, Rick Stephens at 906-450-4379.

MPS TRANSPORTATION NOTICE - Wednesday 12/18 - 7:05am - Please note that we have 4 Bus Drivers this morning and are running 4 Routes this morning. Pick Ups and arrivals to school should be close to normal times.

Please see our job posting for a Special Education Paraprofessional at the middle/high school!

MPS TRANSPORTATION UPDATE - TUESDAY, DEC. 17TH, 2024 We apologize for the late pick up that some of our student riders experienced this morning. We have one bus driver absent that was prearranged, however we had a second driver call in sick this morning just before the buses were to depart and it resulted in immediate route changes at the last minute with limited ability to provide advanced notice to parents and riders. Therefore, we are planning for 3 bus routes for the remainder of this week. Please note the following changes for this afternoon as well as Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. ROUTE CHANGES FOR THREE BUSES: There will be no Bus 8 (Deer) Students on Varnum and Prospect that normally ride Bus 8 (Deer) will ride Bus 9A (Camel). Students on Bus 8 (Deer) from the Shingleton area, Star Siding, and Wetmore south of M28 will ride Bus 3 (Bear). Shingleton students will have a morning pick up of approximately 6:15 am. Students from Bus 8 (Deer) on Connors Road, Miller Road, Gates Road, Flynns Flooring, and Alger Heights will ride Bus 7 (Frog). Morning pick-ups and afternoon drop-offs may be delayed by 30 to 40 minutes. Students on some buses may arrive to school later than normal. Breakfast will still be available for students arriving on later buses.

MUNISING PUBLIC SCHOOLS RECOGNIZES & CONGRATULATES MS. KIMBERLY LAGRAND, former Mustang on her successful completion and graduation this month from the Michigan Youth Challenge Academy (MYCA) This residential military school is housed near Fort Custer in Battle Creek and is run jointly by the Michigan National Guard and the Marshall Public Schools. In addition to earning her high school diploma and a CTE certificate in welding, Kim also earned college credits through MYCA and she has already enlisted in the National Guard as an E2 class cadet. We are very proud of Kim and she expressed a willingness to speak to any students that are struggling with traditional school and may be a fit for MYCA. School administrators, counselors, and the school resource officer also know a great deal about this program for those wanting to learn more. Keep up the great work Kim!

MPS TRANSPORTATION UPDATE - LATE BREAKING - MONDAY 12/16, 2:45PM Due to a bus driver calling in sick at the last minute, we are making the following adjustments down to 3 bus runs in order to get the students home this afternoon. Please note the following bus changes for the PM bus run today.: There will be no bus 8 (Deer) Students on Varnum and Prospect riding Bus 8 (Deer) will now ride Bus 9A (Camel) Students from Bus 8 (Deer) from the Shingleton area, Star Siding, and Wetmore south of M28 will ride Bus 3 (Bear). Students from Bus 8 (Deer) on Connors Road, Miller Road, Gates Road, Flynns Flooring, and Alger Heights will ride Bus 7 (Frog).

Congratulations to Keelan and his parents!

Mather Elementary celebrates Jonathan Mattson as our Student of the Week! Way to go Jonathan!

This Tuesday, December 17, 2024 Mather Elementary hosts Christmas at the Movies. Elementary Concerts & MS/HS Band Concert. Come out and enjoy the many talents of our students. Thank you Mrs. Gaunt for all your hard work and dedication.

A huge thank you to Gallery Coffee and The Roam Community Foundation for hosting Ms. Martin's & Mrs. Kelto's 4th graders to learn about the elements of 'plot' as they enjoyed a delicious hot chocolate treat.

The Middle/High school Student Council invites our students to celebrate our last week of school in 2024 with Holiday Dress Up Days!

The JV/V Boys Basketball game canceled yesterday has been rescheduled on February 13th at 6pm in Superior Central.

Due to the weather, tonight's Middle/High School Band Concert is postponed to Tuesday, December 17th at 6pm at Mather Auditorium.

MPS Drama Club Presents: Toy Camp the Musical! Please come and enjoy a night out. William G. Mather Auditorium -Saturday, December 14 @ 4:00 PM &. Sunday, December 15 4:00 PM. It's a kid friendly presentation. All proceeds go to support MPS Drama Club.

Wednesday's totals from Mather's Holiday Hustle!

MUNISING PUBLIC SCHOOLS IS CLOSED TOMORROW, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 12TH due to the extended Winter Storm Warning. The rapidly accumulating snow, and high winds leading to drifting and reduced visibility are expected to result in hazardous driving conditions tomorrow morning and throughout the day.

MUNISING PUBLIC SCHOOLS - IMPORTANT WINTER WEATHER UPDATE - WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2024: Parents, Guardians, Students, & Community Members, below is a snapshot of a recent winter storm update from NOAA/NWS out of Marquette. This predicted storm system is slow to develop, but as you can see the snow will really ramp up later this afternoon and into the evening as well as tomorrow morning. Our area is predicted to be hit the hardest, if this becomes reality, we may need to either cancel school tomorrow (Thursday 12/12) or begin school later in the morning with a 2 or 3 hour delayed start. We will always prioritize student and staff safety, but because we are currently in an active winter weather pattern and have a limited number (6) of automatically forgiven snow days, we must also be judicious in our closure of school. We may now begin to utilize delayed starts as a way to work around adverse driving conditions in order to keep kids and staff safe, while "saving" a few days of school so we can avoid extending the school year in June. Although this district has not used delayed start days in several years, we are now going to again utilize them when possible and necessary. Therefore, the delayed start times for each building are listed below if a 2 or 3 hour delay is called. A 2 hour delay means that students riding the school bus would be picked up exactly 2 hours later than usual and a 3 hour delay means that they would be picked up exactly 3 hours later than usual. Lunch will be served to all students on delayed start school days. The building principals have prepared specific shortened class schedules for each delayed start scenario and communicated it to their respective teachers and staff. Specific building schedule questions can be directed to Principal DeFrancesco (PK-5) and Principal Lasak (6-12) as needed. Should I need to delay or cancel school tomorrow or on future days, I will send this information out via the district website, the district FaceBook page, and via automated text messages using the Thrillshare app. In making an informed decision regarding delay or cancellation, I often consult the Alger County Road Commission, the Michigan State Police, the Munising City Manager, and sometimes I will take an early morning drive in order to assess road conditions and get an understanding of snow plow staffing and road clearance timelines. As always, I will provide public information on delayed starts or cancellations as soon as I possibly can. Please contact me at mike.travis@mps-up.com if you have any questions. Winter officially begins on December 21st.....together, let's enjoy it and be safe :-) 2 Hour Delay MSHS = 10:00am Start Mather = 10:15am Start 3 Hour Delay MSHS = 11:00am Start Mather = 11:15am Start