Hello Au Gres-Sims Families,
The health department meetings the last couple of weeks have confirmed that the number of cases of COVID in our area, the state, and around the country are on the rise. The variants that you have been hearing about are here in Michigan and they are spreading quickly. The fatigue that we are all feeling from the pandemic is real, as is the cabin fever and the restrictions that we've all been under. I cannot encourage and stress enough the significance of continuing to practice and be mindful of the mitigation strategies necessary to hasten the spread of this virus. Please continue to wear a mask in public, socially distance from others, and wash your hands frequently. Asking people not to travel would be foolish, but I do ask that everyone be careful; we have worked very hard to keep AGS open this year for in-person instruction and we want to be able to continue to do so for the rest of the school year.
Free Rapid COVID-19 Testing
Following Spring Break on Monday, April 5th from 7:00 am to 1:00 pm and again on Wednesday, April 7 from 12:00 pm - 6:00 pm, the Bay-Arenac ISD will be hosting a free rapid COVID testing clinic at the Educational Service Center on the Bay City Campus, located at 4228 2 Mile Road, Bay City 48706. Please see the attached flier for details.
If you or your child are experiencing any symptoms of COVID, please do not send your child to school on Monday, April 5th and instead get a COVID test! This will help us prevent the spread of the virus.
COVID Emergency Rental Assistance (CERA)
If you are a renter behind on your rent or utilities you may qualify for assistance through the Mid-Michigan Community Action Association (MMCAA). See the attached informational flier and FAQ document for details. The application window opens on April 1st, so don't miss out!
Updated Athletic Requirements
At the very end of last week the Governor and MDHHS released the information about the new emergency order that will go into effect on April 2nd and will be in place through April 19. The MHSAA followed up with details on what this looks like for sports in an email to schools on Wednesday of this week. The long and short of the message is that the number of cases in general in the state and the number of sports-related cases are on the rise. The order that goes into effect on April 2nd requires that ALL STUDENT-ATHLETES, AGES 13-19, BE TESTED FOR COVID ON A WEEKLY BASIS IN ORDER TO PARTICIPATE IN SCHOOL ATHLETICS. These tests will be rapid antigen tests and will be administered at the school by one of two members of the coaching staff that are being trained on how to administer the test, properly dispose of the testing materials, and to properly log the information into the system.
The two forms linked here and attached beneath this post (in pdf format) must be completed for each student participant in the MDHHS program. Coaches will be collecting these forms and following up with the student-athletes and parents of those that do not submit forms. Students ages 13-19 must be tested in order to participate. If your son or daughter will be turning 13 this spring, please complete and submit the forms now and highlight their birthdate on your form. Student-athletes that are 12 years of age that participate on teams with older teammates are permitted to test, but not required to test.
- MI Safer Sports Participant Code of Conduct form (linked here)
- Consent and Registration Form for Rapid COVID-19 Antigen Test (linked here)
For the full scope of the updated emergency order and the implications on school athletics, the guiding document is the Interim Guidance for Athletics, updated on 3/20/2021 (linked here, pdf below). There are a couple of important game-related details pulled from this document, provided in the Athletics Update below.
The regular student-athlete testing at AGS will take place on Monday mornings starting at 7:30 am in the High School Cyber Cafe.
Due to some sports starting up over the break and the need to collect the forms, rapid testing for the first week (week of April 5-9) will take place at the parent meetings the NIGHT of Monday, April 5. See the athletic update below for a listing of times and locations for the spring sport parent meetings.
I know that was a lot of information coming at you on the eve of Spring Break and I appreciate your diligence and support with these changes to protocols. At the end of the day, we want our students to be healthy and safe. We also want them to have the opportunity to participate in athletics, an outlet of joy and escape from the reality of our situation. These are the steps that we must take to ensure that we can continue to offer this opportunity and keep our kids safe at the same time.
I wish you and your families the very best on your Spring Break. I hope that you and your children are able to recharge your batteries and return healthy and safely, ready to take on the final quarter of the 2020-2021 school year.
Be safe all. #WolverinesLead #AGSInThisTogether
-Mr. Ming
From the Desk of Mrs. Socha
4th Marking period is here! It is hard to believe that it has now been a year since the pandemic began. 1 year ago, we were working around the clock to set up food distribution, create a plan to support our students for the remainder of the school year, creating student packets of work, bagging up items from lockers and desks to distribute, and maneuvering through all of the unknown and fast changing information and guidance that was coming from the state. It is overwhelming to think of all that has changed in the past year, all that we have had to figure out, and all that we have accomplished. It has been a struggle at times, but we are truly fortunate to have been able to keep our doors open over the past several months, and have our students back on campus. Again, we could not have gotten through this past year without the support of our families and community. Thank you for helping us help our students!!
After we return from a much needed spring break, we will jump right into the busy season that spring always brings every school year. Spring testing is of course a big area of focus, and at this point it appears that we are still administering testing like normal. As schedules are finalized with teachers, we will be sharing more information. This will be followed by our spring session of NWEA testing, which will be here before you know it! In secondary, we have used our latest round of data to adjust our seminar periods, so this week secondary students began their newest seminar class. You will receive a copy of these results with report cards that will be going out this week.
I hope that all students and families have the chance to safely destress and take a much needed brain break for a week. We look forward to seeing everyone back on April 5th!
Thinking About Anxiety
Much of what we experience as anxiety comes from our thoughts. Whether we are at school, in a group, giving a speech or in any other potentially anxiety provoking situation, our thoughts sometimes trap us and prevent us from handling the situation easily. These thinking traps are the result of unhelpful thinking styles. Some of these are outlined below. Do you find yourself falling into any of these thinking traps?
All-or-Nothing Thinking Sometimes called ‘black and white thinking,’ this kind of thinking operates in extremes and doesn’t leave room from anything in the middle.
Jumping to Conclusions Forming an opinion without enough evidence. Sometimes called “assuming the worst,” there are two key types of jumping to conclusions:
• Mind reading (imagining we know what others are thinking)
• Fortune telling (predicting the future)
Emotional Reasoning Assuming that because we feel a certain way, what we think must be true.
Over-generalizing Seeing a pattern based upon a single event, or being overly broad in the conclusions we draw, often using words like “never,” “always,” “nobody,” and “everybody.”
Ignoring the Good Discounting or ignoring the good things that have happened or that you have done and thinking that good things “don’t count.” Paying attention to only certain types of evidence by noticing our failures but not our successes.
Magnification (Catastrophizing) Blowing things out of proportion (catastrophizing), sometimes called “making mountains out of mole hills.
Should Statements Focusing on the past, attempting to redo history with our thoughts, thinking that we could have known things we couldn’t have known. Using critical words like ‘should’, ‘must,’ or ‘ought’ can make us feel guilty, or like we have already failed. If we apply ‘shoulds’ to other people the result is often frustration.
Judging Yourself Unfairly These statements are harsh and critical. When we talk to ourselves this way, we are treating ourselves unkindly and without love and aren’t recognizing that everyone makes mistakes and nobody is perfect!
Accepting Helplessness Deciding there is nothing you can do when maybe we haven’t tried everything, or deciding to give up instead of keep trying.
Perfectionism Perfectionism is holding yourself to an unreasonable standard and being unable to tolerate mistakes. It often leads to beating yourself up over even small errors, and can lead to other thinking traps like “should” statements and judging yourself unfairly.
How many of these traps have you found yourself in? Generally, the higher the number, the higher your anxiety level will be. There are ways of coping with these negative thoughts. Next week we will look at how to handle this negative thinking pattern that leads to anxiety. The good news is that with practice, most people can learn how to overcome anxiety stemming from unhelpful thinking styles.
Athletics Update
The pandemic has thrown us some curve balls this year, restricting some seasons, moving others, but we are excited to be transitioning into the spring sports schedule. We do have some overlap with the end of winter sports, so please check with your team's coach for details on start date and practice times.
MDHHS issued new guidance for organized sports that go into effect on April 2nd. Following the new order, the MHSAA provided aligned guidance for schools to follow for spring sports. The updates were necessary due to a rise in sports-affiliated cases and the major points are:
- All athletes, ages 13-19, shall undergo rapid antigen testing once per week starting the week of April 2nd. The testing will be conducted by the school and a positive test will require the student to isolate away from the team and school and to obtain a PCR test.
- All athletes, personnel, and staff shall be masked for outside, contact sports, at all times (this is girls soccer for AGS).
- Non-Contact Sports (AGS Baseball, Softball, and Track & Field) participants must wear face masks at all times except when involved in active outdoor participation (in the game, during the round, during the match, during the race/event). Coaches and all other team personnel must wear face masks at all times, including participants when on the bench, in the dugout, between individuals events, etc.
Parent meetings and initial student-athlete testing will take place on Monday, April 5th (the day we return from Spring Break):
- Middle School Track: 4:30pm
- Varsity Track: 5:00pm
- Baseball: 6:00pm
- Softball: 8:00pm
Each of these meetings and testing will take place in the Cyber Cafe. Parents and their students should plan on attending. Hard copies of the forms will be available on site, but may also be downloaded, completed, and brought with you to the parents meetings.
Middle School Girls Basketball
Middle Girls Basketball
Games start on Saturday, April 17th.
The girls basketball team will play a condensed 8-game schedule over 4 weeks (season was cancelled in the fall due to COVID). Coaching staff from the basketball and track teams are coordinating to ensure that our student-athletes can have both experiences without the risk of burnout.
Schedule:
Sat. April 17 All games at Hale, starting at 10:00am
AGS vs. Hale Blue
AGS vs. CHA
Wed. April 21 HOME vs. Hale White, 6pm
Sat. April 24 All games at Charlton Heston Academy, starting at 10:00am
AGS vs. Hale Blue
AGS vs. CHA
Wed. April 28 AWAY @ Hale White, 6pm
Sat. May 1 All games at AGS, starting at 10:00am
AGS vs. Hale Blue
AGS vs. CHA
High School Girls Soccer Information
If any interested player has questions, they may call Coach Bentley at (989) 313-1690 or contact him via email at kbentley@wadetrim.com. More information is also available on the SSC Lady Panthers Soccer Facebook page.
Mark Your Calendars
APRIL Events and Dates to Remember
- Mar 29-Apr 2: Spring Break
- Apr 7, 14, 21, 28: Virtual Learning Days, all students K-12
- Apr 7: GSRP and Kindergarten Round-up, 4-7pm, please help spread the word.
- Apr 14: Elementary Parent-Teacher Conferences, 4-7pm
- Apr 19: Board of Education Regular Meeting, 6pm
Kindergarten and Pre-School Round-up, Wednesday, April 7 from 4-7pm
The event will take place on the Elementary (south) side of the building complex from 4-7pm on Wednesday, April 7th and we look forward to meeting all of our new learners!
For more information, please see the attached flier or contact the main office at (989) 876-7157
This week it's fresher than the Prince of Bel-Air, at least that's what Will told me!
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
