The Au Gres-Sims School District
www.ags-schools.org
Hello Au Gres-Sims Families,
Speaking of the pandemic, there have been some very good questions that have come in this week from parents and the community about the Michigan Supreme Court's ruling last Friday and what it means for our schools. The Supreme Court ruled that the use of the Emergency Powers of the Governor Act of 1945 (EPGA) could no longer be used to continue to provide a basis for the Governor to exercise emergency powers, including the issuance of Executive Orders. The EPGA, legal up to the point of being determined unconstitutional by the Supreme Court on October 2nd, was used as the basis for executive orders issued between May 1st and October 2nd. This ruling, unto itself, does not reverse the executive orders nor all of the policies, rules, and procedures that have been put into place in our schools.
The vast majority of what we are doing in schools now remains unaffected as it was driven by legislation resulting in law. Things included within this category are Michigan's Return to Learn Legislation (Public Acts 147, 148, 149), the COVID-19 Extended Learning Plans (through the State School Aid Act), and federal laws describing Emergency and Family Medical Leave. Additionally, schools and school districts are required to follow the orders of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) and our local health departments (Arenac County belongs to the Central Michigan District Health Department which also includes the counties of Clare, Gladwin, Isabella, Osceola, and Roscommon). Since August, local health departments have been hosting weekly meetings for schools and school districts and the administrators of Au Gres-Sims have been in attendance. In fact, since some of our students travel to the Bay-Arenac Career Center, we have been attending the health department meetings for both Bay County and Arenac County on a weekly basis. This week, the MDHHS, acting under the authority of the public health code pursuant to MCL 333.2235 issued a mandate that included, among many things, that masks must be worn in schools for students aged five and older (grades K-12). This is the policy and protocol included within our Return to Learn Plan and that we are required to uphold for us to be in-person for instruction.
While differing opinions abound, one thing is for certain and that is that if we want our students to learn in-person, we must abide by the mandates that govern us; laws, both federal and state and orders from the local and state health departments. If wearing a mask is what we have to do so that we can have students in our classrooms, then that is what we will do because we believe that the interaction between a teacher and his/her students is essential for the growth of that student; academically, socially, and emotionally.
Have a great weekend AGS. #WolverinesLead #AGSInThisTogether
-Mr. Ming
After one week of face to face instruction in the books, our driving route times are going to be altered slightly. This is due to MS/HS families committing this week to learning days and many families wanting to be added to the bus system. As a result, some individual families will be contacted and the following changes will be made:
-Route 1
AM- Everything will be bumped up earlier by 15 minutes
PM- Michigan Avenue families will be dropped off at approximately 3:40; all families after 3:40 will be approximately 15 minutes later
-Route 2
AM- Everything will be bumped up earlier by 15 minutes
PM- Thursday/Friday group will have extended times due to increased students
-Route 3
AM and PM- Everything will remain the same
-Route 4
AM and PM- Everything will remain the same
The parking lot is not yet finished and so we will continue to use the front of the elementary as the main entrance/office area. We are hoping that the parking lot will be ready the week of October 19. In preparation for this, here are some logistics to prepare for regarding pick up and drop off.
Grade Levels
Drop Off/Pick Up Location
Pick Up Time
HS
Main entrance near the gym area/new events lobby
3:05
MS
North end (West side) of Glass Hallway
3:05
4th/5th
Doors leading into the MPR/kitchen area
3:08
2nd/3rd
New covered entrance on the south side of the parking lot
3:10
K/1st
On Court Street in front of the Superintendent’s Office
3:12
A new procedure for parking lot use is that there will be one entrance and one exit. The entrance will be at the north end of the parking lot (HS end) and the exit will be at the south end of the parking lot (Elementary end). There will be two lanes around the outside. The inside lane will be for travel, and the outside lane will be for parking (pick up and drop off). Once again, this is tentatively slated to begin the week of October 19. Stay tuned for more details including a map.
From the Desk of Mrs. Socha
It was so wonderful to see so many faces back on campus this week! It has been a busy time, and I have been so proud of all of our students as they began their NWEA testing. It is definitely not a common practice to have testing on the first days back to school, but since we are under a strict testing deadline, it had to be done! I appreciated how willing the students were to jump right into it and give their best. This data will be crucial to us as we move forward, in order to identify the needs of our students after such a long time away from face-to-face learning. I am also very grateful to the families of our virtual students, who have brought in their students for multiple testing sessions in a secure location on campus. We appreciate your willingness to assist us in getting this critical data. If you have received a message from us regarding testing, please be sure to contact me directly at (989)876-4686. I am testing all day during the school day, but I will return your call after school or in the early evening.
We are hoping that the students having the opportunity to meet face-to-face with teachers to receive their instruction and receive additional support and guidance on the learning platforms has been helpful. As I mentioned in an email and school messenger to our secondary students before we returned, it is the expectation that your daily assignments given on your virtual days are completed before you return to school for your face-to-face days. This will make your in-school days more meaningful and allow you to be prepared for your lessons on those days. Since you are only on campus two days a week, it is very important that the time you are here is spent engaging with your classroom teacher’s lessons.
Finally, just a quick reminder to bring a fully charged chromebook each morning (2nd-12th grade). With all of our chromebooks assigned to students, we do not have many extra devices to loan out. K-1 students should bring their OneTab devices in their cases!
NWEA will finish up next week, with make-ups happening the following week.
I am so excited for week 2!
Upcoming Events
10/13 JV/Varsity Volleyball @ Mio 6 pm
10/14 JV Volleyball @ Oscoda Tri with Rogers City 5 pm start
10/14 Junior High Football @ Hale 6 pm dtart
10/15 Varsity Volleyball Tri @ Oscoda 5 pm start
10/16 Varsity Football @ Atlanta 7 pm start
AGS is Happy to Announce the Return of GSRP!!!
Due to our larger-than-expected kindergarten class this year, former lead GSRP teacher Ms. Swaid, has moved to the lower elementary, leaving a vacancy in our program. We are pleased to announce the hiring of Ms. Gina Sanchez as our new lead GSRP Teacher. Ms. Sanchez returns to the GSRP program that she helped form with Ms. Swaid while she worked as the associate teacher. Au Gres-Sims is very excited to welcome back Ms. Sanchez!
Ms. Sanchez has relayed, “I’m so excited to return to Au Gres - Sims! I’m looking forward to this new adventure and can’t wait to have the classroom full of preschoolers!”
If you have applied for the GSRP program, please look for communication very soon from Ms. Sanchez and Ms. Miller as they work hard to get everything in place for our youngest learners. If you have not applied yet, but would still like to, you may do so at http://www.michiganpreschool.org. For any questions specific to the AGS GSRP program, please contact Ms. Miller at (989) 876-7150.
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