Across classes, extra-curriculars, competitions, and student life, there is no such thing as a dull moment at the Manoogian High School.

Our Varsity Boys Soccer Team secured a first-ever League Championship after an undefeated season. Congratulations, boys! Girls volleyball and cross-country both ended their seasons with representation at district events; their teams grow stronger every year.

We inducted 28 new members into the National Honor Society and National Junior Honor Society, sharing honors with the Middle School.

The High School Student Council hosted Spirit Week, complete with a pep rally and Homecoming dance; 150 students dolled up for a “Midnight Masquerade” and enjoyed traditional Armenian dances with other fan-favorite songs.

Field trips have also kept us busy, including Blake’s Orchard, a special viewing of the new movie Amerikatsi, and a Detroit Economic Club event with Jamie Dimon and other local business leaders.

Manoogian Middle School is certainly full of spirit! Students elected a full Student Council by the beginning of October, and the Council coordinated Spirit Week costumes and daily activities to celebrate Halloween. This was built upon Mrs. Pupa’s middle-school-wide pumpkin decorating competition, designed to bring students together to foster new friendships, camaraderie, and creativity.

Fortunately for our kids, the fun extends beyond artistic endeavors: Middle School’s Future City team is off to the races! Their theme this year is rebuilding a theoretical city built on renewable energy; students will use recyclable and reusable materials to display a city and challenge real-world problems head-on.

On September 21, the Manoogian School PTO joined the elementary and pre-school classes in resurrecting a special morning tradition: Donuts with Dads. This year, elementary students were joined by hungry dads to enjoy donuts in the morning, visit classrooms, and meet fellow parents.

The following night, the PTO also hosted the Manoogian Family Night fundraiser, sharing a meal and activities in special commemoration of the crisis in Artsakh. Over 200 people attended both events, collecting funds for Artsakhi families affected. 

Fall offers so many opportunities to play and learn simultaneously. After an exciting trip to Blake’s Orchard, preschoolers studied the parts of the apple in class. With lots of teacher help, students enjoyed the delicious fruits of their labors: Individualized hand pies!

Our students also took a day to show their support for their favorite teams in the anticipated U of M - MSU football game. (You can tell whom our teachers support!)

Our little Pre-K students love to get outdoors, so we took time for a nature walk on October 24. They went on a scavenger hunt to observe the beautiful changes of textures, colors, sights, and smells. Next, a favorite Armenian tradition is making ghapama–a flavorful, sweet rice baked with fruit inside a pumpkin. The pumpkin treat, of course, reminded students of Halloween.

Pre-K celebrated their costumes with a spooky parade through the elementary before they had a special red-carpet fashion show for their classmates. In the afternoon, to enjoy the magic of the season, students were amazed by the talents of Baffling Bill the Magician.

October 8, known as Translator’s Day, commemorates the creation of the Armenian Alphabet by Mesrop Mashtots in 405 AD. Through his work and other dedicated Holy Translators, the Holy Bible was translated by 425 AD, providing the foundation for the orthodoxy of the Armenian Church.

Across the Armenian diaspora, October is celebrated as “Culture Month,” honoring the contributions of Armenians in art, literature, translation, theology, and more. On November 2nd, the elementary school joined together for a Translator’s Day program. 

Our school proudly provides during- and after-school STEAM programs for all levels under the gracious leadership of Mr. Scott and Mr. Schroeder and various student volunteers.

Elementary STEAM competes in their FIRST Lego League to program a robot to “play games” as it completes tasks and designs solutions to problems. Sounds like fun to us! This year, they chose gardening as their focus and designed a tool to assist new gardeners in monitoring the vital signs of their plants. These eager 3rd and 4th graders will get to test their mettle at a competition in December.

Middle School Robotics participates in RoboFest Junior, where students combine Lego bricks with sensors and motors to engage in complex, multi-step functions. The 20-person team starts with the basics, focusing currently on design and task-programming.

In high school, our Robotics team, the Beach Bums, participated in their first qualifying tournament at the end of October–but they arrived without a working robot! Through their combined efforts, they diagnosed the problem (a faulty “robot brain”), replaced it, and got their robot back up in time for the tournament. The team took home the prestigious Judge’s Pick and had another qualifier before the finals at the end of November. Best of luck to all three teams!