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IMMEDIATE RELEASE 3/30/05 From Presidential Candidates to Test Scores to Large Grants; Manoogian Saw It All in 2003-2004 On a somber note, the Manoogian School community was saddened to lose two staffers during the December/January winter vacation. Dr. Araxie Arganian, a seven-year veteran of the school, and lunch aide Kay Emmanuel both passed away unexpectedly. The 2003-2004 school year saw Manoogian's students continue to send their test scores skyward. The school's MEAP figures revealed that the school posted a score above the Central Michigan University (CMU) charter average in four fourth-grade subjects, two fifth-grade subjects, three seventh-grade subjects,and three eighth-grade subjects - twelve categories in all. Accomplishments of the Manoogian fourth-graders included scores of 92 in math, 88 in writing, 80 in English language arts, and 71 in reading. These scores easily outdistanced their peers at other CMU charter schools and bested the state average as well. In April, Manoogian observed the 89th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. The program included a speech from Genocide survivor Souren Aprahamian, a 97-year-old Southfield resident. The program's highlight was the eighth-graders' recital of Aprahamian's 1994 Armenian Genocide speech given at Wayne State University. Shortly before school ended for the summer, Manoogian received official notification of an approved grant of $153,970 from the Walton Family Foundation. This grant is earmarked for school improvements in the areas of technology, the media center, and the science lab. Cutline, Speaker.jpg; Souren Aprahamian, 97, spoke to Manoogian students April 23, 2004, relating his experiences during the Armenian Genocide. Aprahamian published his autobiography in 1993. Cutline,
JohnKerry&kids.jpg; Democratic Sen. John Kerry of Masschusetts poses
with some of the Manoogian School contingent who heard his speech at the
Detroit Economic Club on September 22, 2003. Those students are, left
to right, Norris Antoon, Douglas Brewert, Randy Jarbo, Leina Ablahad,
Andy Toma, Rani Aziz, Senea Hormoz, and Ghaith Basho. |