Engadine Consolidated Schools
HOME OF THE EAGLES•KNOWLEDGE LETS YOU SOAR
by Stu Hobbs Superintendent

Engadine students just returned from their early spring break. Most other E.U.P. schools will have their break at the end of the month.

Engadine's senior class trip is scheduled for March 30 to April 4. The class is looking forward to spending time at Disney's Magic Kingdom.

The Michigan Merit Examination was administered last week for all juniors. The examination includes the ACT, a written language assessment, and the ACT Work Keys, a vocational-related test. Seventeen students participated in this assessment.

Elementary and junior high MEAP scores will be released to the public shortly.

Last week kicked off reading month in the elementary school. This year's theme is "Fly like an Eagle...Read!" Students through sixth grade will be involved in reading related activities with the expectation that if students read more than 11,000 minutes in the month, Angie McArthur, our elementary coordinator, has volunteered to "become an Eagle" herself. If you have questions about this event or others, please contact Mrs. McArthur.

Parents and the community are asked to be involved in a reading activity on "Drop Everything and Read Day" March 27. Everyone is asked to read a book that day from 12:30 p.m. to 12:50 p.m.

The Safe Route to Schools committee, a school/community group, is in the process of writing a grant seeking federal funds to make Engadine Schools a safer place for its kids. Grant money can be used to build and extend sidewalks, create an alternative parking site to reduce congestion, and perform physical changes to certain parts of the building. These are just a few of the possibilities that the grant can provide. Paula Ramelis and Milli Grant are spearheading this effort.

The winter sports season has ended with both girls and boys basketball teams making it to the district competitions, before being eliminated. Hang in there, Eagles - there's always next year! Practice has begun for varsity track with preliminary student numbers in the low teens. The first meet is April 17. The number of students interested in varsity golf is roughly 20, with the first competition set for April 21. The Engadine Sports Booster donated more than 20 hurdles for the track season. We now have our full number of hurdles.

The First Responders class has proven to be a big success. Because most of the content is science-oriented, we offer the class as a science elective. Students enrolled in the class work with a trainer from Marquette, via an interactive Internet connection, with Rae Klobucher, our on-site teacher and coordinator. We have sufficient numbers to continue the program next year. We believe that the program contributes to the community, as our first responders will likely be staffing our community EMS units.

With the recent announcement that Curtis Elementary is closing, please be aware that Engadine will continue to run a bus into the Curtis area as long as sufficient numbers of students are interested in attending our school. If you have questions regarding this transportation or need more information regarding Engadine Schools, please feel free to call us.

Have a happy spring.