Happy New Year! I hope that you were able to enjoy some downtime during the holiday season to recharge and reflect. I want to highlight the hard work and giving nature of our students. During the holiday season our students spent a lot of time gathering coats and organizing fundraisers. I am honored to work daily with our students as they regularly exemplify what being a good citizen and community member is about. I thank you, parents and guardians, for instilling in your students a mind-set of looking out for our neighbors.

As we make our way through January, please remind your drivers to take their time on the way to school. While we stress the importance of being punctual to school and class, we also understand the importance of our inexperienced drivers taking their time and driving carefully, especially if road conditions are not perfect. Please have your student plan on leaving a few minutes earlier so they do not feel rushed. Please also remind your students to wear coats and dress appropriately as the temperature continues to drop.

As a follow-up to an email I sent on January 6th, I want to remind you about the "A" block extension through January 26th with "B" block beginning on January 27th.

As always, please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or concerns. Thank you for your continued support!

Sincerely,

Jordan Ackerman

Armada High School, Principal

The club competed with over 450 students from local area schools such as Anchor Bay, Troy, Rochester, Lake Orion, Rochester Adams, Troy Athens and more.

The success rate of the club is arguably the highest in Armada BPA history and they look forward to carrying that momentum to the state competition in March.

Here is a breakdown of their successes:

1st Place

Giovanni Bommartio - Computer Security

Anika Prisby - Payroll Accounting

Kayla Rawlins - Graphic Design

Lily Thomas - Cisco Networking

Sandro Petrovski - SQL Database

2nd Place

Giovanni Bommarito - Cisco Networking

Broadcast News Team - Libby Stefanich, Mason Debacker, Marissa Marasco, Shelby Padyjasek

Presentation Management Team - Zena Urban, Mikaela Lemmert, Paige Harvey

Josh Dobson - Digital Media Production

Kayla Norrod - Digital Marketing Concepts

Colton Smith - Fundamental Accounting

Kayla Whitney - Personal Financial Management Concepts

3rd Place

Kayla Whitney - Financial Math and Analysis

4th Place

Parker Westfall - Business Law

5th Place

Nicole Kavanauagh - Prepared Speech

Andrew Blake - Graphic Design

He is planning to move to 360 Sprint cars by July 2022.

Thank you for making Armada High School and the Armada Community proud!

Is your student doing something outside of school that you would like highlighted? Let us know. While we love highlighting the achievements of our students in school, we also like to hear about and highlight the achievements outside of school as well. Email jackerman@armadaschools.org if you would like to share a great story or achievement.

NHS along with the Counseling Department will be holding Wellness week. Each day will raise awareness for a different mental health topic.

Topics include: Anxiety, Depression, Technology Addiction, ADHD and Substance Abuse. Students are encouraged to wear the awareness color of each topic. There will be activities before and after school, during lunches and one day we will have a guest speaker. More information to follow.

If you have not completed the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) yet, you should do so as soon as possible! The FAFSA is often required to qualify for different scholarships.

Seniors, the Four County Community Foundation Scholarship Portal is now open! This is a two-step process that includes you making an account, and then applying for the specific scholarships that you qualify for. Historically, Armada students have had great success with Four County! We highly recommend that you create your account early so that you can spend time writing your essays over holiday break.

The Armada Common Scholarship is also open. This is one application that puts you in the running for 10-15 different scholarships! Most seniors will write the essay for the scholarship in their English class. This is a great opportunity because you are only competing against other Armada students! Additionally, other scholarships can be found on the counseling website with hard copies in the library.

Congratulations to the following students for winning the November drawing for #Accepted or FAFSA completion. Each student will receive an Amazon gift card.

Lisette Gamez-Molina

Sabrina Grove

Wyatt Modzelewski

Ryan Sutherland

January will be the last month for drawings, however students will still receive an #Accepted shirt once they show confirmation of college, trade school, apprenticeship or military acceptance. The last drawing will be held the week of January 10.

The Early College of Macomb (ECM) is an exciting countywide program for high school juniors who want to get a jumpstart on their college education and their careers. In this three-year, career-focused program, students participate in an integrated sequence of high school and college courses with no out-of-pocket cost for books, fees and tuition.

Early College of Macomb consists of:

• Early Entrance – 11th grade students enter a college program while still in high school.

• Early Exit – Students may complete the program with an associate degree in three years (grades 11, 12, and 13) or transfer their credits to a university.

• Early Success – Students completing the program are poised to move ahead of a traditional schedule toward degrees or technical certificates that match the students’ chosen career pathways.

Student and parent information sessions are held in January. Applications must be submitted in February by application deadline for consideration.

Visit www.ecmacomb.org to learn more!

Current sophomores are able to complete an application, this year, to begin the program in the fall of 2022. Parent/student meeting is scheduled for Jan. 13 at 6:30 pm. This meeting will be virtual. Information on attending is located in the attached brochure.

Applications must be submitted electronically and are available on the ECM website. Applications are due by Friday, February 4, 2022.

Once students submit all requirements to ECM, the district will be notified of the students who have met all qualification benchmarks. If more than four students qualify for the program, Armada will hold a lottery to select four students to attend the program. The lottery typically takes place in early April.