January 2011 Newsletter - Parent Directory - Ann Arbor Public Schools

The Eagle’s Eye
Volume 3, Issue 5 A Publication of Your Skyline PTSO January 2011
Skyline Calendar
January
17 Martin Luther King Day holiday
22 Winter Fest Dance. 8:00-11:00pm
31 PD Day, no school for students
February
2 Parent/Teacher conferences, 5:00pm
7 PTSO meeting, 6:30pm
16 PD Day, no school for students
19-27 Mid-Winter vacation
For the most up to date calendar information
refer to: http://www.aaps.k12.mi.us/skyline.
home/calendars
Newsletter Submissions
If you have information that you would like to
place in The Eagle’s Eye, submit your piece to
Susan Topol (topol.susan@gmail.com) by the 5th
of the month.
Find the Newsletter Online
You can also find the newsletter online on the
PTSO web pages:
http://www.aaps.k12.mi.us/skyline.ptso/skyline_
newsletters
Next PTSO Meeting takes place Monday,
February 7
Please join us for our next PTSO meeting, which
will take place on Monday, February 7 at 6.30pm
in the Media Center. Since February is course
selection month for our students, a member of
the Skyline counseling department will present
information about the new courses which will be
offered during the next academic year. They will
also explain the Magnet program. This presentation
is the opportunity for Freshmen parents to
learn about the four Magnets at Skyline and understand
the selection process. Sophomore and
Junior parents should attend in order understand
the Skyline course catalogue and to guide their
students for next year and verify that they are
on-track to meet the State of Michigan’s stringent
graduation requirements. Please attend to hear
this important information.
Update from Your Skyline PTSO President
It is with great pleasure that I am able to announce that
the Skyline PTSO is now a 501c3 non-profit organization!
This has been a long process and we are very glad it is finally
complete thanks to the tireless efforts of Bill Ebright,
our PTSO Treasurer. Please join me in thanking Bill for all
he has done to accomplish this goal!
As most of you know by now, we published and distributed
the Skyline Student Directory during the week just
prior to the Winter Vacation. Each student received a copy
during their Skytime. If your student was absent that day,
we have a limited number of extra copies available at the
main office for pickup.
The directory was printed using the contact info contained
in the AAPS PowerSchool system. We did not publish
contact info for families who “opted out” using the form
provided at registration. Parents can update their own
contact info in PowerSchool at any time by logging into
PowerSchool (using their PARENT ID and password) and
changing the contact info contained in the system. The
PTSO uses the contact info contained in PowerSchool
for the directory, and we also use the email addresses
in PowerSchool for communication via the AAPS School
Messenger system as we have completely shut down the
old BigTent email system.
While the vast majority of the feedback on the directory
has been positive, we understand that a few mistakes
were made in the publication this year and apologize for
any inconvenience caused by these errors:
• A few families at the end of the alphabet in the 11th
grade class were accidentally omitted due to a formatting
issue.
• Dual-household families only had the primary household
contact info included.
The lessons learned from the production of this year’s
directory will be incorporated into the next year’s production.
This will certainly make for an improved publication
in the future. I hope that everyone finds this year’s directory
useful and valuable.
Best Regards,
Brian Mielewski, Skyline PTSO President
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How to Contact your PTSO Board Members
President: Brian Mielewski, 734-754-1735,
brianmgoblue@yahoo.com
Vice President: Deb Masten, 734-994-3096,
dmasten@umich.edu
Secretary: ShariLynn Robinson-Lynk,
DiversityProf@gmail.com
Treasurer: Bill Ebright, 734-544-1978,
bebright@comcast.net
Member at Large: Pei Huang, 734-995-9696,
peibg@yahoo.com
Ann Arbor Schools Community Mourns the Death
of a Committed Parent Volunteer
The following information is an excerpt from an Ann
Arbor.Com. article, written by Kyle Feldscher. The link
to the original article, which ran on January 5, is here:
http://ur1.ca/2sgyr At the end of the story, you’ll find
additional links and information on how you can show
your support for the Trossen family.
As a constant presence in and around Ann Arbor’s
Logan Elementary School and Clague Middle School,
parent Beth Trossen made an impact on many school
officials and parents.
Scott Trossen said his wife was involved as a volunteer
in Ann Arbor schools — she served as a classroom
volunteer, an active member of the Clague and
Logan Parent Teacher Support Organizations and
would assist when needed in the schools’ offices.
Beth Trossen died of breast cancer on December 29,
at the age of 47. She leaves behind her husband of
more than two decades and four children.
Beth Trossen served as treasurer of the Clague PTSO
for the last three years, and her children attended
Clague. Two of the Trossens’ children now attend
Skyline High School and another daughter is currently
a sixth-grader at Clague. The Trossens’ son attends
Logan.
Scott Trossen said his wife’s desire to help in the
classrooms began once their first child entered kindergarten.
After moving to Ann Arbor a year later, she
began helping out in classrooms, reading to children
while teachers worked one-on-one with other students
and assisting anyone who needed it, Scott Trossen
said.
Clague Principal Cynthia Leaman said Beth Trossen
will be remembered as someone who worked
hard for the community. “Beth will be remembered
as a tireless giving spirit to her community,” she
said. Leaman said Beth Trossen was often one
of the parents who helped new Clague families
adjust to the school.
Logan Elementary Principal Terra Webster said
Beth Trossen was a delight to work with side-byside
and was always willing to help out.
“Beth’s volunteering extended beyond the classroom
and PTSO — she would even assist in the
office,” Webster said. “Where there was a need,
Beth was there with her hand and heart extended,
ready to help.”
It took the cancer diagnosis to finally slow Beth
Trossen down, but it couldn’t stop her, Scott Trossen
said. Despite passing off her duties as treasurer
in the Clague PTSO and volunteer coordinator
at Logan, she was working with her successors
until her death.
Obituary for Beth Trossen: http://ur1.ca/2sh14
Caring Bridge Journal (including information about
tribute donations):
http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/betharbor
Skyline Theatre Troupe to Present:
Dearly Beloved
The Skyline Theatre Troupe is proud to present
their MIFA state competition
play, Dearly Beloved,
for the Skyline community’s
enjoyment on Friday,
February 4 and Saturday,
February 5 at 7:30pm.
This one-act comedy is
set in the small southern
town of Fayro, Texas.
When Frankie, one the
Futrelle sisters, decides to throw her daughter a
lavish, over-the-top wedding at the Tabernacle of
the Lamb, things don’t go exactly as planned. Yet,
despite the ups and downs the family learns that
there is more to love than a single day. Tickets are
$6 for students, faculty, staff and seniors, and $8
for adults.
2

Sophomore PLAN Interpretation Parent
Meeting
A meeting is scheduled for January 18 at 6:30pm
in the Skyline auditorium for parents of sophomores.
All sophomores took the PLAN test this fall
and this is your opportunity to obtain your child’s
scores. Mr. John Carroll, the ACT Midwest Region
Senior Consultant, along with the Skyline Counselors,
will be interpreting the results for parents and
offering interventions to improve scores. If parents
miss this meeting, the scores will be sent to tenth
grade students later that week.
Boys Basketball Update
The Boys Basketball program is working hard to
improve and learn about the commitment, dedication,
leadership and toughness required compete
at the varsity level. Having no senior class is
challenging but our kids are growing up quickly.
Our varsity team is currently 1-4 (as of 1-7-11)
and we have had two losses by 2 points with one
being in Over Time. We had a big win over a very
athletic Albion team in the Battle Creek Central
Holiday tournament with a fantastic 24-7 fourth
quarter point explosion. We had our first taste of
the in-city rivalry game traveling to Pioneer to start
the new year. After a very slow start, our young
players showed that they would not give up and
will be able to compete with Pioneer in the future
as we outscored Pioneer by 4 points over the final
three quarters. For the most part we have been
very competitive and we will continue to get better.
Our varsity has yet to have a game with all of our
players playing in the same game and when we
get to full strength and get full continuity, we are
confident that we will be a very dangerous team
to play. Our JV team is currently 4-1 and is led by
their new head coach, Coach Cain. Coach Cain
comes from Dexter, has a lot of experience, and is
getting his team to play to their full potential. Our
Freshmen team, led by Coach Bill Ammerman, has
gotten off to an undefeated start of 4-0 including
a very impressive double digit win over Pioneer.
The future looks very bright as our varsity team
tries to hold strong!
Please make plans to join us for a game and root
on our players as they work hard on the court and
in the classroom. Visit our website (http://skyline2.
aaps.k12.mi.us/lovelace) for all information about
our program and game schedules. Our next home
game is Friday, January 14 against Saline.
Bowling Teams Open Season with Wins
The Eagle bowlers opened their 2010-2011 season
with a win by both the women’s and men’s varsity
teams. The season opener on December 17, saw
the Eagles handily beating cross-town rivals Huron
High School. The women’s varsity team trounced the
River Rats with a meet score of 29-1, which was the
same score earned by the men’s team.
The new year saw the Eagles battling the Pioneer
bowling team on January 5 at Nortel Lanes in Monroe.
The Eagle’s teams unfortunately were unsuccessful
with the women losing 7-23 and the men
losing 10-20.
The next day, January 6, saw the Eagles at their
home alley, Belmark Lanes on Jackson Road. The
women’s varsity team celebrated another victory,
this time against Chelsea High School, with a score
of 24-6, while the men’s team succumbed to the
Bulldogs with a score of 6-24. This victory places the
women in third place in the SEC Red Division.
With nine more meets during the regular season and
two tournaments to play before the end of February,
the bowlers promise to have many challenges, and
hopefully victories, during their season. The bowlers
will be competing at Belmark Lanes on January 12,
and February 3, and at Colonial Lanes on January
10, February 7, 15 and 17. Students and staff are
encouraged to come to a match and watch these
athletes compete during the season. There is no
admittance fee for spectators.
Check out photos of the team in action on Skyline’s
Flickr group: http://www.flickr.com/groups/a2skyline/
Skyline Dance Team Hosts, and Competes in,
Qualifier for State Finals
The Skyline Dance Team is hosting a dance competition
on Sunday, January 23 at Skyline. This event,
the Mid American Pompon Regional competition, is a
gathering of all area pom teams who must compete
here to qualify for the State competition. The Skyline
event will take place in the main gym from 9:00am -
6:00pm. The Skyline Dance Team will compete in the
afternoon portion starting at around noon. This will
be our first competition of the season and if we score
enough points, we move on to compete in the state
wide competition on Sunday, February 13, which will
be held at Eastern. Best of luck to coach Heather
Carney and her team!
Thank you for your support! Coach Lovelace
3

Schedule for Winterfest and Spiritweek 2011
Skyline parents, Spirit Week takes place January
18-21 and will culminate in a Skyline Boys Basketball
game on Friday, January 21 followed by a
dance on Saturday, January 22. Here is the schedule
of events:
Spirit Week (no masks allowed on any Spirit day):
• Tuesday: Fashion Disaster
• Wednesday: Monsters (3rd fl) vs. Aliens (4th fl)
• Thursday: Throw Back Music Day
• Friday: SLC colors day
Pep Rally 5th hour
Basketball game - 7:00pm
• Saturday: Winterfest Dance 8-11pm, Skyline
Commons, Theme is the 4 Elements: Earth,
Wind, Air, Fire
Dance tickets: on sale during lunches all week $10
and $15 at the door
Dress: Girls - “Dress to Impress,” but don’t buy a
new dress
Dress: Boys - Khakis and collared shirts, not jeans
On two of the spirit days (Wednesday and Friday)
the SLCs will be competing for spirit points, also
at the pep rally on Friday there will be five relay
games that the SLCs will get Spirit points for. The
Student Action Senate is making SLC banners and
that presentation will conclude the spirit points. At
the end the end of the pep rally the winning SLC
will win a traveling spirit award trophy for the year.
Chaperones needed at Skyline Winterfest Dance
We need Parent Volunteers for the Skyline Winterfest
Dance, taking place on Saturday, January 22.
Volunteers are needed for two shifts: 7:30-9:30pm
and 9:30-11:30pm (10 parents per shift).
Parents will monitor the food table, the coat check,
and the perimeter. Teachers will oversee the dancing
and check bathrooms, etc. Our Community Assistants
and Police Officer will also be in attendance.
Please let me know if you are willing to help, and if
so, which shift.
Thank you! Martha Kershaw, PTSO parent volunteer
coordinator, maokershaw@gmail.com or
mdkershaw@sbcglobal.net
Dodgeball Fundraiser for Skyline Crew Team
Want to be the first ever All-City Dodgeball Champion
from Skyline High School? Grab 5-9 of your
best friends (sport team, club, after school activity,
etc) to form a dodgeball team at the First Annual Ann
Arbor All-City Dodgeball Championship on Saturday,
February 12 between noon-8:00pm!! (Optional snow
date: Sunday, February 13.) Teams of 6-10 people
can compete for the trophy, prizes and most of all,
bragging rights, while playing in one of the best of
childhood games ever! Plus, you’ll be raising funds
for Skyline’s Crew Team.
There will be Trophies and Prizes for the first place
teams in each of these categories:
Middle School Boys
Middle School Girls
High School Co-ed
College/Adult Co-ed
Best Team Costume
The High School Tournament is tentatively set between
3:00-6:00pm on February 12 (exact times are
determined by the number of teams entered).
Cost: $10/per individual entered on a team (minimum
of 6 per team). The details and the registration forms
are available at:
www.skylinecrew.org/dodgeball
Deadline: Monday, January 31. Individual walk-ins allowed
on the day of the event (space permitting).
Questions? Contact: skylinedodgeball@umich.edu
4

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