The Au Gres-Sims School District
www.ags-schools.org
Hello Au Gres-Sims Families,
I would like to formally welcome all of our new students and families to the Au Gres-Sims School District and welcome back all of our returning students and their families to the 2021-2022 school year. The Wolverine Update is the district's weekly communication tool to share information about the district both in review and preview. Each week we will bring you news and updates on all of the happenings of AGS. This edition will be longer than our typical newsletter, but our aim is to present you the news in a 5-10 minute read each week. I highly encourage everyone to be a frequent reader of this newsletter and to stay in the know.
This year we all hoped that everything was going to get back to normal and we thought that the worst was behind us. Maybe it is, and maybe it isn't, but one thing we do know is that the pandemic is not over and we must make adjustments. Last week I sent out the protocols that we will be starting our year out with. If you have not had the opportunity to read this letter, I recommend that you do so this weekend. The idea is that we will be taking a layered prevention approach, something that is spelled out in more detail in the letter. Like last year, these protocols are subject to change dependent on local conditions and the issued orders of the local and state health departments. The wearing of facial masks is recommended and strongly encouraged at this time.
While the pandemic pushes on and impacts our lives in many ways, one thing that will not wait is the education of our students. The staff of AGS is eager to get back to what we do best, teaching and positively impacting students and we are excited about the programming that we have designed to help all students reach their potential. We know that this past year and a half has been difficult for students and many have unfinished learning from the time that has been spent away from school. We are committed to doing what it takes to filling in that learning and helping every student reach their learning goals.
This school year we have made a number of positive changes that we know will enhance the student experience at AGS. A list of these enhancements is provided below, many of which you will hear about in greater detail as the school year progresses:
- An emphasis on differentiated instruction, focusing on individual learner needs
- ExactPath programming tied to student NWEA scores and individualized practice for need areas
- Creating a unique middle school identity and culture
- Enhancing the House program at the middle and high school levels
- Instituting a social emotional program based on the idea of positive psychology, the Positivity Project
- Converting the school counselor position to a full-time K-12 position
- Adding a peer-support counselor two days per week to the elementary school
- Hiring two academic support paraprofessionals to the middle school
- and more...
We have also made a number of physical changes on campus over the course of the summer as our 2018 Bond Project nears its conclusion. On Monday evening, we are happy to open our doors to the public for our open house (elementary 4:30-6:00, middle/high 5:00-6:30) to show off the work of the project including:
- all new furniture in the elementary and middle school classrooms and high school cyber cafe
- unique epoxy flooring in the high school
- a new sign marking the location of our middle school
- the beautiful landscaping of our exterior
- a new entryway to our football stadium
The buzz of energy is in the air and we are eager to get started. We have our work cut out for us and there will be challenges ahead of us, but the future is bright for AGS if we all work together. A #NewTomorrow starts on Monday, a tomorrow filled with learning and opportunities for our students.
On behalf of the full staff of the Au Gres-Sims School District, welcome to the 2021-2022 school year.
Mr. Ming
Mr. Ming's Welcome Back to AGS Elementary Students
Mr. Ming's Welcome Back to AGS Middle School Students
Mr. Ming's Welcome Back to AGS High School Students
K-12 Principal's Update
Welcome back to another exciting school year! As with life the last couple of years, we will continue to adapt and change this year based upon guidance we are provided from the Health Department and CDC. I thank you ahead of time for your flexibility and understanding as we continue to trek through these tumultuous times.
One of our first hurdles to overcome is busing. We have a full complement of drivers this year, but unfortunately will not be able to start the school year with all of them. With the fact that we have no subs available this year, we have chosen to create an alternative plan of having just 3 bus routes in the morning instead of 4. Unfortunately, this will cause longer runs and buses with more students, but it will at least provide regular busing. Attached to this newsletter are the approximate pick up/drop off times throughout the district. The times are approximations and will continue to change as we gain/lose students, so please be patient and allow at least 5-10 minutes of latitude, especially at the beginning of the year, as we adjust accordingly. So far, we are up about 20 students from last year! The times noted are based on general corners. Although masks in school are recommended and encouraged, all individuals who utilize school/public transportation must wear masks. Please make sure your child has their mask on prior to getting on the bus. If they do not have one, a disposable one will be provided to them.
Individual chromebooks will once again be provided to all of our students in grades 6-12 and chromebook insurance will be offered and paid for through the following link:
https://gpo.worthavegroup.com/gpo/agsschools/. Chromebook insurance can be purchased until September 23 for either $22 or $28 depending on the brand. Not quite like lumber, but computer part prices have gone up. For example, a new screen costs $65. I just want to let you know as the insurance route may become more desirable with the new, increased costs.
MS/HS students, if you didn’t have a chance to pick up your schedules and chromebooks, you can get them from the following people/locations first thing Monday morning:
MS Schedules- Mrs. Socha- the small hallway next to Mr. Cruff’s classroom
HS Schedules- Mr. Sheeran- at the “T” by the Innovation Lab
Chromebooks- Mr. McCaffrey and Mr. Hinkson- RTP room
MS Locker assistance- Mrs. McCaffrey- MS hallway
I look forward to seeing you Monday morning!
Bus Routes
As a reminder, students and drivers are REQUIRED to wear a mask on all forms of public transportation, including school buses.
From the Desk of Mrs. Socha
Welcome to the 2021-2022 School Year! We are very happy to have everyone back, and really happy to return to a 5-day school week. Although things are not fully back to “normal,” things like a 5-day school week are little signs that things are moving in the right direction! We learned a lot about technology and how to utilize this in the classroom more efficiently. Since we are almost entirely a 1:1 district (being fully 1:1 in our secondary), teachers will still be utilizing some of these technology pieces, such as Google Classroom, which have now become quite the norm, and also prepare students for these types of platforms beyond K-12 school!
We are also excited about some changes that we will see this school year! We have a new intervention program called ExactPath that all students K-12 will be utilizing. Some students in the Summer Enrichment Programs have already had the opportunity to use it. The platform syncs with NWEA and provides individualized pathways for students with the skills that they need additional support with in reading, math, and language. This will be a very helpful tool for differentiation and intervention. We also have additional support in our middle school with new paraprofessional support in all of our middle school core classes, as well as a math interventionist and coach. We are rolling out a new math curriculum in the Elementary, which has been a couple of years in the works, but was delayed last year due to our shift to the virtual platform, so we are excited to jump into Eureka math along with the support of our fabulous math consultant. We are also converting to our standards based grading in the elementary, which includes a shift in grading/scoring to a 4,3,2,1 system. Information on this went home with report cards last year, and will also be sent home with your student on the first days of school. Our entire district will be rolling out our “Guaranteed and Viable Curriculum” which is referred to in the classroom as our “Essential Standards.” These will be the heart and soul of our PLC process and students will be very involved in their progress through these standards with the goal of each student meeting mastery in the standards, with all staff and students working together to make sure that happens. This will occur through differentiation and intervention in the classroom to give each student the tools that they need to succeed in these areas. Finally, we are piloting a new ELA curriculum in the middle and high school with the hope of a successful adoption for next year!
As you can see, we have a lot of exciting things happening here this year! Our focus and initiatives are driven by our new District Continuous Improvement Plan, which has identified our focus areas and has given us a 5 year goal of activities and strategies to focus on to continuing to make Au Gres-Sims the best place to be!
Counselor's Corner Update
AGS is excited to announce that Mrs. Ashley Cardinal is stepping into a support services role this year after the retirement of Mr. Allen Pauly. Mrs. Cardinal is a familiar face around AGS as she has been a middle and high school classroom teacher. As such she has already established many wonderful relationships with our students.
With the transition of Mrs. Cardinal into the position, comes some change to the position as well. We are happy to say that this is now a K-12 full-time position and that Mrs. Cardinal will be able to provide more services and support to the elementary than we were able to offer in the past. Additionally, Mrs. Cardinal is taking the lead in putting into place an exciting social-emotional learning program for our middle school schools, the Positivity Project, with lessons on positive relationship building and how to resolve conflict.
Athletics Update
TONIGHT IS THE FIRST VARSITY FOOTBALL GAME - HOME VS. ATLANTA AT 7PM
Next Week's Game Schedule
Th 9/2 JV Football HOME vs. Whittemore-Prescott 6:00pm
F 9/3 V Football HOME vs. Whittemore-Prescott 7:00pm
Important Dates
AUGUST:
- AUGUST 30: First day of school, open house: 4:30-6:00 elementary and 5:00-6:30 secondary)
SEPTEMBER:
- SEPTEMBER 1: 8a Coffee with the Superintendent at Au Gres Cauffee Shop (first Wednesday of each month at 8am)
- SEPTEMBER 3-6: Labor Day Holiday Weekend, no school staff and students Friday 9/3 or Monday 9/6
- SEPTEMBER 7: 7th grade field trip to Charity Island
- SEPTEMBER 15: Early Dismissal @ 1:00pm all students
- SEPTEMBER 15-17: Middle School field trip to Hartley Outdoor Education Center
- SEPTEMBER 20: Board of Education meeting 6p Elementary Library
Coming Soon to a Newsletter Near You!
Revitalizing the House Program
Middle School students will have the opportunity on Day 1 to earn points for their Houses. Our 7th and 8th grade students already know what House they are in, but our 6th grade students do not yet know. We are encouraging all returning 7th and 8th grade returning students to wear a shirt of the color of their House. Every student with the correct color shirt on for their house will earn 1 point to start the year!
ISIBINDI = GREEN
REVEUR = BLUE
AMISTAD = RED
ALTRUISMO = BLACK
Hartley Outdoor Education Center Middle School Field Trip
Informational letters have gone out this week and all of the paperwork is DUE NEXT WEEK, including the $20 fee. Please don't wait, this is going to be a great learning opportunity for our students.
During our open house on Monday night Eric Rutherford, the director of Hartley, will be on campus to answer your questions.
Au Gres-Sims School District
Email: web@ags-schools.org
Website: www.ags-schools.org
Location: 310 South Court Street, Au Gres, MI, USA
Phone: (989) 876-7150
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuGresSims/?ref=br_rs
Twitter: @agsschools