The Mothers' Club of Grosse Pointe South
A Parent Organization enhancing the South student body by supporting student scholarships, teacher enrichment and preservation programs.
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Check our website, Facebook or Twitter page for location or Zoom link.
General Membership meetings are open to all.
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Mothers' Club Message
It’s hard to believe the last bell of the school year will be ringing soon -- and that we have made it through a very different school year.
Thanks for all YOUR generosity, and that of our community - on Thursday, May 6th, under the direction and leadership of Amy Van Osdol, our VP of Scholarship, and Karen Houting, our VP of Enrichment, we awarded and hand delivered over $50,250 and 61 scholarships to deserving graduating seniors! Congratulations to all the scholarship recipients!
A special shout out to this year's All Night Party Committee, this team of determined volunteers has organized a Senior send-off that seemed impossible at times. Our last event of the year, the All Night Party, led by Tracy Skupian and Tanya Rulison is planned for the Class of 2021 after their graduation ceremony on Monday, June 7th. This celebration requires many volunteers. If you are a senior parent interested in assisting with the All Night Party, please click one the links to sign up:
As the school year draws to a close and I reflect upon my time spent as President. I would like to thank all who have served as an Executive Board Member, Advisory Committee member, School Store volunteer, gardening/beautification volunteer and the countless other volunteers that have assisted with acquiring raffle items, operating the school store, providing snacks for teachers & staff. I am so grateful to all for the countless hours spent rethinking and revising how we could support the South community during this challenging year. It truly does take a village to achieve our mission to offer Enrichment grants to teachers, Scholarships to graduating seniors and maintaining and preserving our historic building.
In addition to the countless volunteers, I would like to also thank Mr. Hamka, Mr. Spryszak, Ms. Parravano and Mr. Booth and all the administrative staff. They all continue to be so supportive of our organization, especially in this unprecedented time.
We made it! I hope you all have a wonderful summer!
Marica Ostrowski
2020-2021 Mothers' Club President
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May 12 - Mothers' Club Membership Meeting
May 13 - Flower Sale Pick-up or Delivery
May 15 - South Senior Prom
May 18 - South Senior Virtual Awards Ceremony
May 24 - 27 - Seniors Celebration Week
May 27 - Seniors Last Day!!
May 31 - Memorial Day No School
June 1 - Cap and Gown Distribution
June 7 - GP South Graduation (rain date is June 8th)
June 18 - High School Last Day
** AP Test Date Schedule detailed in a separate section below.**
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Mothers' Club Updates:
Scholarship: Senior Scholarships have been delivered to each of their homes!! We are excited to be able to recognize these great students. Thank you to all our community donors and the Mothers' Club for its continued support of this pillar.
Enrichment: The fall of 2020-2021 proved to be another challenging year for our Grosse Pointe South faculty and staff. We were so happy to assist staff and faculty with enrichment funding! The art department (Ms. Amber Mades) was awarded $2,604 for a new high speed film dryer. The adaptive physical education department (Mr. Steve Zaranek) was awarded $800 for yoga instruction, adaptive materials including jumbo/timber blocks, and buckets. The music department (Mr. James Gross) was also awarded $1,200 in funding to provide virtual sectional coaches for violin, viola, cello, and bass students of the South Symphony Orchestra and Concert Orchestra classes.
Special Teacher Thank you's:
“On behalf of South's PE department and all of our Adaptive PE students, we would like to thank the South Mothers’ Club for their generosity. Not just for this past school year but for the consistent support for many, many years. Our kids have been able to utilize the equipment and services, ranging from bikes to games to exercise equipment to specialty yoga sessions, that the Mother's Club has helped acquire. This enrichment and constant support is deeply appreciated.” ~ Steve Zaranek
“Thank you so much to the Mother's Club for granting the Photography classes with a High-Speed Print Dryer for the darkroom. For those who are unfamiliar, a darkroom is where students expose light to light sensitive paper of an image they took on a film camera. After the exposure, students then dip the photo paper into a series of chemicals that develop their image right before their eyes! When the photo is done, it is wet from the chemicals and water rinse. In the past, after developing photos in the darkroom, students would have to let their prints dry on a mesh screen for 24 hours. Many students would forget the next day which print was theirs. Now that we have the High-Speed Print Dryer, students will be able to dry their developed photos in under 10 minutes. We're looking forward to using the darkroom a lot next year to make up for this year's displacement.” ~ Amber Mades
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Adaptive Yoga Instruction |
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Did you Know . . . .
The Mothers' Club keeps yearbooks from each year!! We have yearbooks dating back to 1925!
These yearbooks are viewed by our Reunion Tours each summer. During a move and inventory of the current yearbooks, we are in need of yearbooks from the following years:
1931 1932 1933 1934 1935
1936 1937 1938 1956 1961
If you have any in your basement, or spot one at an estate or garage sale, please consider donating them to our preservation effort.
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Support Scholarship, Enrichment, and Preservation
Funds raised through donations, along with membership dues and revenue from the School Store and sponsored events, will fund scholarships for South seniors, enrichment of South classrooms and organizations, and preservation of South's historic building.
Scholarships. The Mothers' Club will invest approximately $13,000 in our students’ futures by awarding need- and merit-based college scholarships to South's outstanding graduating seniors. An additional $37,000 in scholarship monies, funded by generous donors, also will be awarded.
Enrichment. The Mothers’ Club was happy to assist staff and faculty with funding educational enrichment that otherwise would not be funded. Over the years, we have funded adaptive gym equipment and classes, art studio equipment, field trips, lab equipment and supplies, professional music instruction, and many other teacher requests.
Preservation. The Preservation Committee continues to work closely with the district on projects related to the 2019 bond to ensure updates are consistent with the building’s architectural integrity. We commissioned the replacement of the Martin Luther King, Jr. plaque with the correct speech title and donated the original to the art department who is excited to have the opportunity to melt it down and use it for jewelry-making. We also supported the Fisher Plaza redesign and are offering the opportunity to dedicate benches with a commemorative plaque.
By donating, you will support South's students and community and reinforce our shared commitment to educational excellence.
Thank you for your consideration, caring, and contribution to our school.
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Get Your Gardens in Shape
Flower Sale
Flower Pick-Up and Delivery!!
Thursday, May 13th
Do you or your student want to volunteer? Sign up for a time slot to help with the Flower Sale. Meet at South to help unload flowers off the truck and place into orders. Time slots are available on May 13th in the afternoon to assist with flower pickup and delivery.
Thanks for helping make this fundraiser a success!
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School District Calendar Highlights |
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2021 Grosse Pointe South AP Test Calendar |
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Counselors’ Corner for May/June
The breezes are warming up and we are beginning to plant our gardens. Many of us think of Spring as a beginning and renewal. However, others have a more difficult time when the temperatures rise. Research on seasonal effects of suicide rates suggests that the prevalence of suicide is greatest during the late spring and early summer months, despite the common belief that suicide rates peak during the cold and dark months of the winter season.
May is Mental Health Month and this is a topic that we take very seriously, proactively building suicide prevention into our training and everyday practices. All staff members in the school have been trained in QPR helping to support students at-risk. Typically, in the Fall the South mental health team will spend time with each of the classes reminding them about the warning signs of suicide and prevention tools to support our school community. This year we will present to Freshmen in their English classes in the spring. Click Here
for a good info-graphic for reference so that you can be our partners in prevention from home. Also here are important resources for you to have available:
● National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
1-800-273-TALK (8255)
The Lifeline is a 24-hour toll-free phone line for people in suicidal crisis or
emotional distress. An online chat option is available at
If you or your student has any concerns or would like to talk through ideas on this
subject we are here to support.
● National Crisis Text Line
Text HOME to 741741
Every texter is connected with a Crisis Counselor, a real-life human being trained to
bring texters from a hot moment to a cool calm through active listening and
collaborative problem solving.
Senior Parents
As students and families begin to make their final college decisions, please ask your student to complete their graduation survey in Naviance which will direct us on where to send the student's final transcripts. All graduating seniors who will enter college in the fall of 2021 must send their final transcript to their college, since the colleges require final proof of graduation and want to see final grades. Colleges reserve the right to rescind offers of admission if they do not like what they see on final transcripts so we ask you to help us to keep your senior focused on doing their best in this last lap of high school.
See weekly e*blasts for scholarship opportunities, summer programs and helpful info.
Pro-Tips! There are several presentations from The Family Center that may be very helpful for parent of seniors to check out as their child officially becomes an adult and may be living away from home
● Beyond Your Reach: Documents you Need When Your Child Turns 18 Once your child turns 18 they have reached the “age of majority” and he or she is considered an adult. Information regarding your child’s health, finances and education will not be disclosed to anyone without their written consent, including their parents. In the unanticipated situation where your child is incapable of making decisions on their own you will be barred from making them on their behalf, including medical decisions. Certain legal documents must be put in place to designate you as your child’s legal representative. We discuss which documents you should consider having in place on your child’s 18th birthday to ensure that you have authority to make health care and financial decisions on their behalf and to access the educational records.
One in three adolescents in the U.S. is a victim of physical, sexual, emotional or verbal abuse from a dating partner, a figure that far exceeds rates of other types of youth violence. This presentation explores how important it is for teens to understand the importance of safety measures, clear communication and consensual relations from a male and female perspective especially when they leave home for college.
● Student Perspectives Panel A Family Center "Ask the Experts" presentation featuring current and former college students offering insight on college life and this big life transition leaving home. The panelists answer questions about things they wish they had known/done, things that surprised them, how the transition went, etc.
Junior Parents
Juniors who took the SAT at South in April will likely have received an email with instructions on how to check their scores online. This is a college entrance reportable score for applications next fall. Counselors would love to meet with each of their students to have a thorough conversation discussing the next steps in planning for college, financial aid consideration, and careers. Students should make an appointment to meet with their counselor at their earliest convenience. Parents are welcome to join this meeting. Junior meetings will end at the end of May so that counselors can focus on building student schedules. If you do not have the opportunity to meet with your counselor we recommend checking resources available on the Counseling Center Presentation website.
Junior college ‘to-do’ for spring
● Match Common App account with Naviance
● IF a college you are applying to requires a letter of recommendation then consider asking a teacher in the spring after AP testing. Remember to ask in person (if possible) followed up by an electronic request in Naviance. Always be sure to send a handwritten thank you note to the teacher.
All Students
It has been a difficult year academically (on top of everything else) and some students may need to earn credit for classes or replace a low grade with a summer school class. Many core academic courses are available. Reach out to your student’s counselor if you would like to explore options.
We are almost there! Summer is a fantastic opportunity to relax and recharge, but also enrich and experience. There are so many summer programs available to students on college campuses from community colleges to elite universities. We have included many on our weekly e*blasts but even a basic Google search will return massive results.
Go. See. Do. And have a lovely summer!
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Come Support the
Class of 2023!
The Class of 2023 invites you to join us on May 13th during all lunches for authentic Mexican cuisine.
Regina's Food Truck will be making a donation for every purchase, directly benefitting class expenditures.
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SOUTH ATHLETICS ANNOUNCEMENTS
New Events Calendar:
Want to find out what spring sporting events are happening at South, click the Event Calendar link below and get the most updated information!
LIVE STREAM INFORMATION:
Attention Sports Fans, we are now live streaming our home gym events. Please note a subscription is required to watch live or on demand home gym events.
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED:
Interested in working athletic events? Please contact the Athletic office at (313) 432-3542.
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Band & Orchestra Update
The Grosse Pointe South Band & Orchestra will be kicking off their "Sounds of Spring" virtual auction via Auctria starting on May 24th and ending the day of the concert, June 3rd (rain date of June 5th). An e-mail to all GPSB&O parents will provide specific details.
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Check out the South Merchandise!!
All South merchandise online or in-store earns the Mothers' Club a portion of the sale.
Please mention the Mothers' Club or that you're a South parent when purchasing.
Link to the online store:
Curbside pickup available on all items purchased online.
Albatross Creative Embroidery
17860 Mack Avenue
(313) 458-7304
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The Mothers' Club is dedicated to continuing to enhance and support the students and teachers at South. Alumni, parents, grand parents and guardians are all welcome to lend their support by joining the Mothers' Club.
MothersClubGPS.com
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High Pointes | Grosse Pointe South Mothers' Club |
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