The Au Gres-Sims School District
www.ags-schools.org
Hello Au Gres-Sims Families,
Up until this point we have been very fortunate, with only a limited number of cases resulting in very few students needing to be quarantined out of the building. The past two weeks that has changed as the case numbers have increased and the tracing process has yielded more close contacts. To that end, we have developed an option for serial testing out of the quarantine process that we will begin on Monday, October 18. The attached letter in this newsletter contains all of the essential information about this quarantine serial testing option and I highly encourage all families to carefully read it.
Parents of students who have been identified as close contacts through the contact tracing process will be notified and provided two options:
- Option 1: Quarantine out of school for 10 days from date of last contact with the positive person (This is the only option that we have had up to this point)
- Option 2: Serial Testing using rapid antigen testing at the school for the 10-day quarantine period.
Highlights of the Serial Testing Out Option
- Students must be driven to school and remain in the vehicle with a parent until testing is performed. Students may NOT ride the bus to school.
- Rapid antigen testing will occur at AGS, between 8:00-8:15am, in the back bus loop.
- Students electing the serial testing option are required to wear a mask in school for the duration of their 10-day quarantine/testing protocol.
It is our most sincere hope that instituting this process and offering this option to our families will reduce the amount of instructional time that our students miss of in-person instruction. We continue to take this situation very serious and this option will provide our students the opportunity to continue their learning during this pandemic.
Have a great weekend AGS. #WolverinesLead #NewTomorrow.
Mr. Ming
Serial Testing Option - Page 1
Serial Testing Option - Page 2
K-12 Principal's Update
Looking to next week, we have MS/HS Parent Teacher Conferences scheduled from 4:00-7:00 pm on Thursday, October 21. That evening we also have a home JV Football game and a cheerleading meeting in the Cyber Cafe at 5:00 pm for girls interested in cheerleading this winter. This may be a great opportunity to do some quick piggy backing while meeting with some/all of your child’s teachers. Conferences will be held in the teachers’ classroom. For the past couple of years we have not had this opportunity to meet face to face and it will be nice to have this opportunity back. Masks are highly encouraged.
Halloween is just around the corner. To allow for the involvement of all parents, the elementary will be doing things a little different this year. Weather dependent, our processional of students will take place at the track and all parents will be able to view from the bleachers. We are planning to have our “parade” start at 2:30 on Friday, October 29. This should provide ample time for students to make it back in the classroom at the end of the day, get changed and packed up, and be ready at their normal pick up locations. If Mother Nature doesn’t cooperate, then parents will unfortunately not be able to be involved in our processional through the hallways.
This past Saturday we had the opportunity to induct a very strong group of high caliber athletes (and even higher quality people) to our first ever Athletic Hall of Fame. This was a great day to reminisce with former classmates and AGS staff. For future classes, all inductees will be evaluated using a nomination form process. Nomination forms are available in the school office or can be accessed online through our school website by clicking on the “Explore” tab and then going to the “Community” section and clicking on “Documents”.
From the Desk of Mrs. Socha
Last week, I discussed our K-12 work with essential standards, and discussed our new Standards-Based Grading Scale that we are now using in elementary. As I mentioned, this allows teachers to share more specific information regarding individual skills, instead of lumping a large number of diverse skills into one single grade. Since there are so many individual standards that are covered in each subject area of each grade level, we are reporting out on the most important skills on the report card - including our essential standards. However, since we are reporting on things separately, it will be easy for you to see how your students are performing in these individual areas, as any grades you see on classwork will indicate their current level in that skill. It is a bit of an adjustment to go from one overall score in math, to several separate scores - but you will see the benefit of knowing specifically what the areas of strength are for your child, and where they need extra support. For parents of students in younger grades (K-2), please know that many skills take an entire year to learn. For example, letter sounds are worked on throughout the year, with letters being introduced weekly. Therefore, a final assessment of that skill will not take place until the end of the year. However, teachers will share special reports that show you the progress through the letters that have been taught so far, so that you can help work on any areas of need along the way.
Moving onto Middle School, this past week I issued my first ExactPath challenge to our Middle School Houses. Since they work together each day during their Seminar classes, and work within the platform - I thought it would be fun to add a friendly competition! The students are currently working to earn trophies, by passing progress checks after completing lessons. The House with the most trophies at the end of 2 weeks will earn 25 points!
Finally, I would like to issue a friendly reminder to secondary families to make sure that chromebooks are coming to school with students each day, and that they are fully charged. We have a limited number of loaner chromebooks, and students need to be responsible to come to school prepared to learn each day. Our chromebooks are an important school tool, so please help encourage your student to be ready for a full day of learning each day!
Athletics Update
Please note that the Friday, Oct. 22 Varsity Football game
has been changed to a HOME game!!
Next Week's Game Schedule
- Monday 10/18 MS Girls Basketball Home vs Tawas 6 pm Parents Night
- Tuesday 10/19 JV Volleyball @ Oscoda 6 pm
- Wednesday 10/20 MS Girls Basketball @ Fairview 6 pm
- Wednesday 10/20 MS Football Home vs Hale 6 pm
- Thursday 10/21 JV Football Home vs Mio 6 pm
- Thursday 10/21 JV/Varsity Volleyball @ Alcona
- Friday 10/22 Varsity Football Home vs Posen 7 pm Senior Night
- Saturday 10/23 JV Volleyball Hosting NSL Tournament 9 am
AGS Volleyball Annual Soup Supper
Date: Wed. Oct. 20
Time: 4-7 pm
Place: Au Gres-Sims Multi-Purpose Room
Cost: $10 per person 5 & under eats free
Family of 4 or more- $35
Tickets can be purchased from any AGS volleyball player or at the door.
Come on out and enjoy a variety of soups, stews, rolls, crackers, beverages and desserts while helping to support a Soup-per Team!
Please share!
Au Gres-Sims vs. Posen for Detroit Lions Michigan High School Football Game of the Week
Monday, October 18: Voting begins at 12 noon for Game of the Week at:
https://www.detroitlions.com/HighSchool
Wednesday, October 20: Voting ends at 12 noon; head coaches and athletic directors will be notified.
Come on Au Gres, let's help our team out and make us the Game of the Week!
Important Dates
OCTOBER
- OCT. 20: Early Release all students at 1pm
- OCT. 21: MS/HS Parent-Teacher Conferences
- OCT. 29: End of 1st marking period
The Wolverine Wake-up! Written by the Students of AGS
Cooking Up Wellness in Mrs. Stanley's Health Class
Help Wanted at AGS
https://www.ags-schools.org/employment-opportunities--95
Job Opportunities at AGS
- Full-time Special Education Teacher (1.0, but flexible to part time if desired by the candidate)
- (2) full-time Paraprofessionals
- Health Resource Advocate (grant-funded for the 21-22 school year)
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