Grand Blanc High School
Newsletter ~ September 2016
Upcoming Events : September & October
September 6th - First Day of School: Full Day
September 12th - Final School Pictures
September 19th - PABC Meeting 6:30 p.m.
September 20th - Education Planning Resources 7:00 p.m. @ Large Auditorium
September 27th - Financial Aid Night 5:30 - 8:00 p.m.
October 7th - Homecoming- 1/2 Day of School
October 14th - Picture Re-Take Day
October 19th - Parent Teacher Conferences 5:00 - 8:00 p.m.
October 20th - Parent Teacher Conferences 5:00 - 8:00 p.m.
October 21st- 1/2 Day (High School Only)
Parents of Successful Kids Have 13 Things in Common
Yearbooks are the LOWEST PRICE of the year to order now!
Parents of seniors, Friday, Oct. 7th is the earlybird deadline for completed senior ads info for a REDUCED PRICE. Choose your favorite photos and write a message to your senior in honor of their accomplishments and graduation!
$60 for 1/8 page 2 photos max
$90 for 1/4 page 4 photos max
$150 for 1/2 page 10 photos max
$275 for full page 16 photos max
If you are the parent of a senior, there is just one more opportunity to sign up for your free senior portrait session on Sept. 24. Click on this link to reserve your session and get your free yearbook photo for your senior (or visit gbyearbook.com and click on the seniors tab).
Tell us your story!
We want your suggestions for stories of events and students who do awesome things. Please click on this link or visit GBYearbook.com and click on "coverage ideas."
Career & Technical Education
ASVAB Testing
Interested in taking the ASVAB (Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery) test? The Student ASVAB is free of charge and is used for career exploration for high school and college students. ASVAB test results and “Find Your Interests” are tools for students to explore different occupations, identify a college major, and find out about their personality. A student’s AFQT military qualification score is reflected on their test results and can be used to enlist in any of the military services.
The test is being offered at GBHS on Wednesday, October 26th. If you are interested in having your student take the test, make sure to check the Career Resource Center page and fill out the appropriate form.
For more information on the ASVAB, visit http://www.military.com/ASVAB/0,,ASVAB-versions.html#sasvab
Volunteer Hours
If your student has completed any community service hours this summer, make sure they turn those hours in to the Career Resource Center. A link can be found on our high school website. Find the “Career Resource Center” and on the right hand side select “Volunteer Form”.
As a reminder, any student who accumulates at least 100 hours this school year is eligible for a President’s Volunteer Service Award. Additionally, students who receive two Presidential Volunteer Service Awards in their high school career will receive extra recognition at the senior honor’s night. For more information, contact the Career Resource Center at the HS East Campus at 810-591-6688.
Attendance Awareness Month
Grand Blanc Community Schools is proud to announce our attendance awareness campaign for the 2016-2017 school year. To kick off this campaign, we are excited about partnering with the community to celebrate September as Attendance Awareness Month! All students that attend school on time, every day, for the month of September will be entered into a drawing. Prizes for each winner will be awarded at a school board meeting in October.
Research reveals that attendance, at all levels, plays a critical role in student achievement and is a better predictor of graduation rates than test scores. Since chronic absences affect all kids, not just the absent ones, we are asking for your support as we work together to fill every desk, every day!
School Lunch Price Increase
As a result of the new legislation, the Board of Education has approved, effective for the school year starting in September 2016, an increase in school meal prices. All breakfast and lunch prices will increase by $0.05. For a better understanding of our reasoning, please visit this link to the letter from James P. Adams II, the Director of Operations.
Is your teen ready for the roads?
Don't overpay for college!
Mark your calendar for the FREE District-wide event!
Hosted in the Grand Blanc High School Auditorium
12500 Holly Rd. Grand Blanc, MI
Tuesday, September 20, 2016 @ 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
All grade levels in the Grand Blanc Schools are welcome. Visit the link in the Ad to register!
Dear Fellow Grand Blanc Families,
Hello, my name is Brian Hugo. I have been a science teacher at Grand Blanc High for 22 years. I have been the 9-12 science department chair for 6 years. I have taught physical science, chemistry of all levels and physics at the high school during my career and I have enjoyed every year. This community has wonderful students and families in it and I am so thankful that I work and live in such great place.
Many of you went to high school here. Some science classes like IPS, Chem. Study or PSSC may ring a bell with you. If you took these, you probably remember the labs you worked on and the discussions you had about them. Do the words “sludge test” still make you nervous? If so, you were part of an inquiry based class in which you had to be able to do something with the information you gathered from a hands on activity in class. Grand Blanc has always prided itself in running activity based learning experiences in science. Research has overwhelmingly shown how important that is to future success. Over the last two decades it has been hard to keep those classes. The State of Michigan curriculum standards became so specific and prescriptive that the all-important science processes have seemingly become less important and rote memorization has become more important. At Grand Blanc we have always tried to keep our inquiry based learning classes and it’s a good thing we did!
Starting a few years ago, Michigan started working with many other states on a national science curriculum. It was called Next Generation Science Standards. It focuses on the most important concepts and the science processes to prepare more students for college in the science, technology, engineering and math careers. It is heavily based on research and it brings the focus back on the student and their understanding in the class. It also relies heavily on in-class activities and discussion, something which we have always held dear at Grand Blanc. Michigan, and the other states, have now adopted these standards and they are called the Michigan Science Standards or MSS. It is a very positive change!
We are currently at different levels of implementation at the High School. We are on track to be fully implemented well before the 2020 deadline. You may hear some comments from your students when they come home from school regarding the newer emphasis on inquiry and discussion. Click the link for some of the changes made by the Michigan department of education.
It is a very exciting time for science in Grand Blanc and I am looking forward to a wonderful year with your students.
Best Wishes,
Brian Hugo