North Elementary Art Show - The spring art show will be held from 6:00 - 7:00 on March 19.  The show will be held in the gymnasium.

 Kindergarten Informational Night Scheduled - Monday, March 24 at 6:00 p.m. in the South Elementary Gym.  This evening will provide a short program focusing on early childhood learning and provide an opportunity for parents to ask questions concerning next years all day every day schedule.

 New Web Page Coming - IPS is currently working on a new web page, one that we hope will make finding information much easier and user friendly.  We hope to have the new web page up and running by March 1.  We will keep you posted. 

 Class of 2008 Scores Well on New Merit Exam  - In March of 2007, Ithaca High School students joined thousands of eleventh graders throughout the State of Michigan in taking the new Michigan Merit Exam (MME).  The MME has replaced the MEAP test at the high school level as the main standardized test for Michigan high school juniors.

We are proud to announce that the IHS class of 2008 scored above the state average on all portions of the MME.

"This shows that our curriculum is providing Ithaca students with the knowledge they need to complete," said Superintendent Charles Schnetzler.  "We are especially pleased with our student's performance on the MME math test."

IHS scored 19% above the state average in math and had the highest math score out of the six high schools in Gratiot County.  IHS also placed in the top three schools in comparison to other Gratiot County high schools in reading, writing, and science results.

 Did You Know -  Ithaca Junior/Senior High School is a high performing school which offers a wide variety of academic and extra-curricular activities.  Even longtime Ithaca residents, however, may not know that:

• IHS offers a wide variety of courses for the gifted and talented: AP (Advanced Placement) Biology, AP Statistics, AP U.S. History, AP Chemistry, and AP English Literature.
• Qualifying high school students can "dual enroll" at the various local colleges, receiving both high school and college credit.
• Spanish I, II, and III is offered each year for our high school students.
• Student can take Advanced Placement (AP) courses and foreign language courses that are not currently offered at IHS on-line through the Michigan Virtual High school.
• IHS offers a wide variety of extra-curricular activities, including Business Professionals of America, Model UN, Forensics, Quiz Bowl, Writing Team, Technology Team, Science Olympiad, and Visual Arts.
• IHS offers a full selection of art classes as well as Marching Band, Concert Band, Choir, and Jazz Band.
• The Alma and Mt. Pleasant Career Technical Centers offer a wide variety of classes to IHS students.
• Ithaca Junior/Senior High School also offers a wide variety of athletic opportunities for both boys and girls.

 North and South Elementary Receive "A" Grade -Both North and South Elementary made Adequate Yearly Progress this year, which is based upon their Michigan Educational Assesment Program (MEAP) scores.  North and South also received an "A" grade on the state Education YES! school report card.  Education YES! is a compilation of student test scores on the MEAP, the MI-Access alternative assesments for students with disabilities; AYP designation; and various school performance indicators - such as family involvement in the schools, curriculum, school improvement plans, and professional development for teachers.  Congratulations to the students and staff.

 Elementary Class Sizes Remain Small - With small class sizes at the elementary being an important goal of the Board of Education we are happy to announce that as of opening day the average classe size per grade is as follows:

Kindergarten   17
1st Grade         22
2nd Grade        20
3rd Grade        22
4th Grade        22
5th Grade        21
6th Grade        22 

He said it:

"We simply cannot sustain an economy based on innovation unless our citizens are educated in math, science and engineering." 

 Bill Gates, Microsoft chairman, speaking to a Senate committee.  (From the Detroit Free Press)

MISSION STATEMENT

The Ithaca Public Schools helps students find success by providing them a quality education in a positive educational environment.