See the attached information and instructions for the December 2, 2020 Vehicle Sale.
The Construction Program at Monroe High School is building more than homes; it’s also building strong futures for its students and alumni.
Four recent construction graduates who are on the road to success are Carson Clark, 2017; Alex Iocoangeli, 2018; Jazlyn Clark, 2018; and Jace Clark, 2019. Although their post-high school paths are each a little different, they share serious work ethics, a commitment to their career goals, and strong roots in MHS construction classes.
Carson and Alex are both students at Ferris State University studying construction management. Carson is beginning his fourth year in the bachelor degree program, however, and Alex has two classes remaining for his associate’s.
In August, Alex was sworn in as a pre-apprentice to UA Local 671 – Monroe Plumbers and Pipefitters. He is working out in the field for Core Mechanical, where he previously worked as a shop hand when he was home on breaks.
“An apprenticeship is a great opportunity because you get paid to learn,” Alex stated, “but it’s also a big commitment. It’s five years, potentially six, including class training and work.”
He would eventually like to work up to a general foreman or supervisor position in management.
“The combination of a two-year degree and a journeyman’s card are strong credentials,” Alex stated.
Although he always had an appreciation for hands-on projects, Alex said the construction class he took with Tom Bell as a senior at Monroe High School helped him decide what he wanted to do in life.
“Mr. Bell spoke to our class about the void that is anticipated in the trades and the opportunities available,” Alex said. He also has observed this himself. “If you look at job sites, there are a lot of younger guys and a lot of older guys ready to retire soon. There is a gap in the middle.”
Alex offers this advice to high school students considering a career in the trades: “Find a trade you think you can find yourself doing. If you don’t know what you want to do, apply to local unions. Keep your options open. It doesn’t hurt to apply to more unions; it can lead to more opportunities”
“Reading blueprints and running pipes is something I thought was rewarding,” Alex said. “As a journeyman in the union, you top off at $41/hour.”
“The top three paying trades are currently plumbers/pipefitters, electricians, and ironworkers,” Alex recommended. “Carpentry is also good because it gives you a big scope of work.”
“I would encourage Monroe High School students to complete a trades program, get your associate’s degree, and obtain your journeyman’s card,” Alex said. “They can’t take a diploma away from you, and together, they are more valuable. Get it done before you’re 30, and with all of the knowledge you have gained, you will be in a good position.”
Both Alex and Carson were part of the Habitat Builds as MHS construction students and appreciated the experience. “It was beneficial having the opportunity to frame a home for Habitat and figuring out how everything works,” Carson said.
While working on his four-year construction management degree, Carson is also gaining professional experience. He worked for the Monroe County Drain Commission, he interned at Cunningham Limp, and next summer he will complete an internship at Colansti that was delayed because of COVID-19.
“I was able to shadow a superintendent on a $50 million project in Detroit. That was an amazing experience,” Carson said. He eventually wants to oversee jobs as a general contractor.
Carson completed the two-year MHS construction program and credits his instructor, Tom Bell, for being a mentor and guiding him. “I didn’t know what I wanted to do until I took my first construction class,” Carson stated. “Mr. Bell took me under his wing and exposed me to opportunities.”
Carson’s advice to future students is simple: “Finish the program at Monroe High School; it’s really good. Listen to Mr. Bell; he knows what he’s talking about.”
Jazlyn is also majoring in construction management and plans to earn a bachelor’s degree. Although she shares the same last name, Jazlyn is not related to Carson and Jace, who are brothers. She has a transfer agreement established with Eastern Michigan that will allow her to complete three years at Monroe County Community College. Jazlyn is currently starting her third year at MCCC and has worked for two years at the Monroe County Road Commission.
Like Carson and Alex, Jazlyn said she worked on the Habitat Build during her junior and senior years in the MHS construction program. She also tried welding her senior year.
“I actually took Welding, Automotive, and Machining classes in addition to construction,” Jazlyn said.
Her advice for entering high school students would be to explore their options and take advantage of the many quality programs Monroe High School offers.
“Don’t limit yourself to one class,” Jazlyn emphasized. “Broaden your horizon. Try out everything. You never know what you might like, and those skills will always stay with you.”
The youngest of these four alumni, Jace is already an apprentice in Ironworkers Local 25 with one year under his belt. He graduated in June, 2019, entered the trade on July 27th, and officially became an apprentice on August 21st.
Jace echoed the words of Alex about the commitment level for apprentices. “It takes a minimum of 4 years to become a journeyman – 800 hours of class time and 8,000 hours on the job, which works out to 2,000 per year,” Jace said. If you work a 40-hour week, that is the whole year. I would tell freshmen to explore classes and options, and find out what they really like.”
Jace said that his brother Carson’s positive experience led him to sign up for Mr. Bell’s construction program. Like Jazlyn, however, he chose to be part of multiple trades classes – Welding with Glenn Zorn (a favorite), Automotive with Bryan Zamorski, and a machine shop class. When he graduated from Monroe High School, he had gained knowledge and experience in multiple trades areas.
“My CTE instructors helped me find out who I want to be,” Jace stressed. “If I hadn’t taken these classes, I wouldn’t know what they were, and I might be doing something different.”
Schools are in session in Monroe Public Schools, and MPS students are happy to be in class. Due to COVID-19, it’s not traditional school, but students are enjoying their interactions with their teachers and classmates – some in-person in learning labs and others online virtually.
MPS students shared their first-week photos and their observations with two full weeks behind them.
The Fahrbach sisters are doing remote learning from home with teachers and classmates at Manor Elementary. Addy, 6th grade, and Brielle, 4th grade, said it is interesting having class and seeing their classmates on Zoom calls. Emmy, a kindergarten student who was part of Manor’s Young Fives program last year, finds it interesting to do her work on a computer and is enjoying seeing her teacher and friends again. Brielle enjoys being able to wear her pajamas for school (at home). Addy is happy to be back in class and “have something to do again.” Mother Kelly said, “We love our Manor/Monroe family!"
The Layne brothers – Jameson and Sullivan – are part of a Learning Lab at Waterloo Elementary. “The most interesting thing for all of the students, I’m sure, is adjusting to going to school during COVID-19,” mother Renee Layne said, “but my boys are so happy to be at school with their friends.”
Sullivan, who is in kindergarten, said the most interesting part of school so far was meeting his teacher, Mrs. Perkins. The “meeting” took place online via Google Meet video conferencing. He is really enjoying “having time with my new friends.”
Jameson, 4th grade, agreed with his mom that school is a little different right now. “We have to wear a mask and social distance,” he observed. “We also stay with our brothers and sisters all day.” But he doesn’t mind spending time with his younger brother, Sullivan. In fact, he said what he is enjoying most is being able to play with his brother and their friends outside.
Josephine Webb is a kindergarten student at Raisinville Elementary and is learning remotely at home. She said the most interesting thing about school is “reading books every morning with my class.” Her favorite story so far is The Bad Seed. She said her most enjoyable time is “recess.” Her mother, Jenna, explained that Josephine goes outside with her younger sister, who is not yet in school.
MPS Students Are Happy to Be in School
MHS StUDENTS EARN TOP AWARDS at mipa jOURNALISM CAMP
Three Monroe High School students – Samantha Drougel, Gabriella Anderson, and Emilia McLeod – earned four of the highest awards presented at the 2020 Michigan Interscholastic Press Association (MIPA) Summer Journalism Workshop.
Only ONE award is given for the Staff Challenge which is open to all of the student journalists at the prestigious journalism camp hosted by Michigan State University. This year’s challenge focused on designing plans for the upcoming school year, and the award was presented to Lotus Leaf Co-Chief Editors, Sam and Gabby.
The MIPA summer camp features in-depth classes led by nationally-recognized scholastic journalism teachers and professional journalists from across the country. It is normally held on the MSU campus, but this year’s program featured two 2-week sessions held virtually. Students could enroll in one class each session.
For each class, MIPA presents a few Excellence Awards and one top award – the Sparty. Emilia received an Excellence Award in Social Media. Sam received an Excellence Award in Broadcasting and a Sparty in Podcasting, which is especially notable since she did her first podcast in spring, 2020.
“I am exceptionally proud of our students,” Dr. Julie Everly, Monroe Public Schools Superintendent, said. “The awards reflect not only the level of individual journalistic excellence each student achieved but also the collective time and effort these student leaders and their advisor, Alison Drougel, have invested to elevate the quality and expand the reach of Monroe High School’s student media.”
Over the past year, the MHS student newsletter has evolved into the Lotus Leaf Media Outlet. It now features an online flip format, breaking news, social media channels, broadcasts, and podcasts. The MHS journalists use SNO apps (School Newspapers Online) to integrate the media into a single hub at lotusleaflive.com.
Mrs. Drougel said her journalism students remained highly engaged throughout the COVID-19 closure.
“The students continue to find new ways to use technology to deliver the news. The Lotus Leaf has really flourished,” Mrs. Drougel said. “They teach each other, and they support each other. They call each other when they have questions.”
Sam and Chancey Boyce, who are MHS broadcast co-anchors, now have green screens at their homes. In the spring, while schools were closed, they recorded news segments using green screens, added backgrounds, and edited the video footage to make it appear that they were anchoring together.
Mrs. Drougel said Sam and Gabby worked together over Zoom for the MIPA Staff Challenge. Their detailed plan for 2020-21 includes schedules, job descriptions, group norming procedures, and virtual bonding activities, as well as plans for writing, photography, podcasting, and video packages.
“We are tweaking the details with the supervising editors,” Mrs. Drougel said. “The Lotus Leaf team is excited to implement the plan and put it into action.”
The students are also eager to apply what they learned from the experts at the journalism camp.
Gabby participated in the Bobby Hawthorne Experience which focused on writing style.
“They showed us so many little things we can do if we just put a little more work into what we write,” Gabby said. “So many simple things can make a dramatic difference. If you just take a little more time on the simple things, it can make your writing so much better.”
Sam’s Broadcast Bootcamp included the production of MIPA Today and culminated in a film festival.
“We had guest speakers from the industry come and share techniques to make our product better,” Sam said. “My biggest takeaway was learning to always get more shots than you need, because you never know which ones you are going to use.”
Emilia is the Social Media Editor for Lotus Leaf. The social media class at MIPA helped her to think outside of the box regarding how different social media platforms are used. For one of her group projects, they used TikTok to share information about voting in Florida.
“It’s about meeting people where they are,” Emilia said, “and kids are on TikTok.”
Emilia said the workshops taught her how important journalism really is. “I realized how special the connections journalists make with people are,” she stressed, “as well how crucial it is to have individuals reporting on issues that might be overlooked otherwise.”
The camp’s virtual format didn’t hinder the curriculum or the connections.
“Even though it was online, it felt like a very personal experience,” Gabby said. “They held office hours; they wanted to get to know us. We had an assignment almost every night, and by class the next day, they had left in-depth, personal comments throughout the whole thing.”
Emilia had the opportunity to work with a boy from New York and a girl from California.
“I loved the connections I was able to make with other students,” Emilia said. “I thought that I’d feel isolated with the camp being online, but we did some amazing work together.”
Sam agreed about collaborating with other students. “What I enjoyed most was making the remote broadcasts and working with other students who care as much about broadcast as I do,” she said.
MHS Students Earn Top Honors at MIPA Journalism Camp
Please join us online on Sunday, June 14, at 6:30 p.m. for the virtual presentation of Monroe High School's Graduation Ceremony.
If you are unable to watch at 6:30, you may also use the link to view the ceremony later as many times as you wish.
Congratulations to the Monroe High School Class of 2020!
Two Monroe Public Schools students are state winners in the State of Michigan’s Earth Day Poster Contest. Ashrah Kelly’s poster was selected for First Place in the 5th grade contest, and Kailey Stump’s poster was selected for Honorable Mention in 5th grade. Both girls are students at Waterloo Elementary in Sharon Thomas’ class.
Photographs of the winning student posters are displayed on the Earth Day webpage for the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy:
https://www.michigan.gov/egle/0,9429,7-135-3307_3580_66835---,00.html
The winners’ names will be announced during a livestream Earth Day Event on Wednesday, April 22, 10-10:30 a.m. (link provided in attached EGLE news release).
2020 marks the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day.
MPS Students Are State Winners in Earth Day Poster Contest
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Monroe Public Schools Food Service and Transportation staff prepared and delivered nearly 1,800 student meals on the first day of the state-ordered school closures. Governor Gretchen Whitmer ordered the closure of all K-12 Michigan schools to slow the spread of Coronavirus Disease-19 (COVID-19).
On Saturday, MPS announced plans for bus drivers to make stops throughout the district on weekday mornings to drop off boxed meals for students and children 18 and under. Meals are also being passed out, Monday-Friday, at Monroe Middle School, from 10 a.m. until noon.
March 16th was the first day for food delivery, and the response was tremendous. Almost 900 meal boxes, each containing two meals (breakfast AND lunch), were distributed to children in the school community.
“Our food service workers and bus drivers were the champions of Monroe today!” Superintendent Dr. Julie Everly proclaimed in an email to district staff. “Amongst the unknown fear, there was joy, pride, and goodness,” she stated. “A big cheer to our Transportation and Food Service Departments!”
When school is in session, Monroe Public Schools offers free breakfast and lunch to all of the district’s students.
“We are aware that many families rely on the meals we serve each day to our students,”
Dr. Everly said. “It was a top priority for us to ensure that the children in our community continue to receive nourishing food during the days and weeks that our buildings are closed.”
Families do not need to sign up ahead of time, and no ID is required, she said. Any child, or any adult representing children, may pick up the meals. On Fridays, additional food will be distributed to provide weekend meals.
The MPS buses are also stocked with school supplies and extra charging cords that can be provided for those who need them. If a child’s Chromebook malfunctions, MPS families will also be able to send it on the bus with a repair slip to the district’s Technology staff.
Dr. Everly anticipates the numbers to grow as the program moves forward. The distribution routes and times are posted on the MPS website and were also published in the March 16th edition of the Monroe News.
