Hello Au Gres-Sims Families,
The rate of COVID in our county was very low during the first month of the school year, since early October, though, it has been on the rise. As you have no doubt seen from the emails and postings on social media, AGS has not been immune to the increase in the rate of community positivity. Seeing this trend, and knowing the importance of students being able to attend school for both themselves and for parents, we set up a serial test-out option, also known as a "Test to Stay" available for staff and students determined to be close contacts. The intention of this option is to continue the teaching and learning process, without sacrificing the safety of our students and staff.
This option has been running now for two full weeks and I am happy to report that we have had wonderful results. To date, we have conducted 81 rapid tests before school and 100% of them have come back negative...which is a GOOD thing. In two weeks we have saved over 600 instructional hours that would have otherwise been lost to an out of school quarantine. We have done this without jeopardizing the safety of our students and staff.
This has been the upside of our test-out option; the downside has been that not as many students as we would have hoped have taken advantage of this opportunity. While we respect each parent's right to choose, and understand that the feasibility of bringing your student to school each morning can be difficult, we hope that more people take advantage of this option to reduce the amount of learning time that is lost. The test-out option is fast each morning and it is a free way to find out if your student, who has been exposed to the virus, has actually contracted it.
As we continue to battle this virus and fight for our students and their learning parents have asked what they can do.
Here are some ways that you can help:
- If your student is sick, keep them home. Not every sickness is COVID, but look for the symptoms most commonly associated with COVID and be cautious.
- If your student's symptoms don't improve in a couple of days, have them tested.
- During times of high positivity rate (https://mistartmap.info/cdc-indicators?area=county%3Aarenac) consider having your student wear a mask at school. Not only does this reduce their chances of contracting the virus, but if students are wearing a mask contact tracing is reduced to 3 feet from 6 feet.
- If your student is identified as a close contact, have them participate in the test-out option during their quarantine period. This will enable them to continue their learning AND give you a free COVID test each day so that you can rest a little easier.
- If your student is eligible for the vaccination, consider doing so. Vaccinated students and staff who are not experiencing symptoms do not need to be quarantined.
This won't last forever, but it isn't gone yet. We can and will get through this together. Keep up the good fight AGS. #WolverinesLead #NewTomorrow
K-12 Principal's Update
Looking ahead to a couple of upcoming events, we have picture retakes on Monday, November 1. On the following day, November 2, we do not have school as this is a ISD wide Professional Development day for staff. On November 10 and 11, we are hosting elementary PT conferences from 4-7. These are currently being offered to take place in the classroom or via phone/video conferencing. Invitations are currently being sent out and days and times solidified. If the face to face option is chosen, masks are encouraged.
As the weather gets colder, the Northeast Michigan Arts Council is sponsoring the Arenac County Coats for Kids Distribution. This will take place at the Northeast Art Center at 3233 Grove Street Road in Standish. It will take place from 9:00 to 12:00 on Saturday, October 23 and 30. Due to Covid, masks are required for all patrons over the age of 5. Children must be present for proper sizing. For more information call the Northeast Art Center at 989-846-9331.
And last but not least, thank you to the Walker Insurance Agency for the kind donation of Halloween bags for all of our elementary students!
From the Desk of Mrs. Socha
It is hard to believe that we have arrived at the end of the first marking period! Teachers are wrapping up their end of the marking period assessments and preparing report cards to come home in the coming weeks. As I have discussed in my last few entries, elementary report cards will look a bit different with the move to standards-based reporting. I hope you will see how much more informative this will be in regards to individual skills.
The end of the marking period also brings the end of the marking period awards for House competitions in our secondary. Students can earn points for their House each marking period for attendance, honor roll, earning credit in Seminar, not having RTP visits, and of course - House tokens! As grades are finalized, I will begin calculating scores and adding them to the current point values. Students have been having competitions throughout the marking period, and currently, the competition is very close!! I do have the results for the Fall NWEA Benchmark competition, and the winners are: Middle School - Reveur with 58 points, and High School Amistad with 42 points!
Finally, we are unfortunately dealing with an increased number of students who are being quarantined due to COVID. While some students have the ability to utilize our serial test-out option, we have many students who are remaining at home during their quarantine period. Teachers are sending homework to complete during this time, but we all know that there is no replacement for face-to-face instruction in the classroom. Luckily, the Michigan Department of Education has partnered with local Public Television, to create the Michigan Learning Channel. This link will take you to their website, which shows a menu of the daily shows that play on local Public Television stations across the state. You can also access on-demand videos of the episodes on the website. An exciting series for our elementary students is the Math Mights series, which stars some math characters that may look familiar to them. The creator of the series has been a math consultant in our district for the last several years, and she was just on campus last week working with our teachers! All K-5 classrooms now have plush versions of the characters that they are familiar with to help them learn different types of math strategies, and now with her new show on the Michigan Learning Channel - these characters have come to life!! This channel is not just for elementary - they have programming that spans K-12 content. The website allows you to search by grade level to see what is there. Here is an FAQ document from the Michigan Learning Channel. The section "How can I watch the channel?" lists all local public television channels that carry this programming. This is a great free resource, accessible to all students in Michigan, which provides another resource to help support student learning when students cannot be in the classroom.
Talking to Kids About Using Social Media
What's Good About Social Media
Social media can help kids:
stay connected with friends and family
volunteer or get involved with a campaign, nonprofit, or charity
enhance their creativity by sharing ideas, music, and art
meet and interact with others who share similar interests
communicate with educators and fellow students
What's Bad About Social Media
The flipside is that social media can be a hub for things like cyberbullying and questionable activities. Without meaning to, kids can share more online than they should.
Most teens:
post photos of themselves online or use their real names on their profiles
reveal their birthdates and interests
post their school name and the town where they live
This can make them easy targets for online predators and others who might mean them harm.
In fact, many teens say they have:
been contacted online by someone they didn't know in a way that made them feel scared or uncomfortable
received online advertising that was inappropriate for their age
lied about their age to get access to websites
Concerns and Consequences
Besides problems like cyberbullying and online predators, kids also can face the possibility of a physical encounter with the wrong person. Many newer apps automatically reveal the poster's location when they're used. This can tell anyone exactly where to find the person using the app.
And photos, videos, and comments made online usually can't be taken back once they're posted. Even when a teen thinks something has been deleted, it can be impossible to completely erase it from the Internet.
Posting an inappropriate photo can damage a reputation and cause problems years later — such as when a potential employer or college admissions officer does a background check. And sending a mean-spirited text, even as a joke, can be very hurtful to someone else and even taken as a threat.
Spending too much time on social media can be a downer too. Seeing how many "friends" others have and the pictures of them having fun can make kids feel bad about themselves or like they don't measure up to their peers.
What Can Parents Do?
It's important to be aware of what your kids do online. But snooping can alienate them and damage the trust you've built together. The key is to stay involved in a way that makes your kids understand that you respect their privacy but want to make sure they're safe.
Tell your kids that it's important to:
Be nice. Mean behavior is not OK. Make it clear that you expect your kids to treat others with respect, and to never post hurtful or embarrassing messages. And ask them to always tell you about any harassing or bullying messages that others post.
Think twice before hitting "enter." Remind teens that what they post can be used against them. For example, letting the world know that you're off on vacation or posting your home address gives would-be robbers a chance to strike. Teens also should avoid posting specific locations of parties or events, as well as phone numbers.
Follow the "WWGS?" (What Would Grandma Say?) rule. Teach kids not to share anything on social media that they wouldn't want their teachers, college admissions officers, future bosses — and yes, grandma — to see.
Use privacy settings. Privacy settings are important. Go through them together to make sure your kids understand each one. Also, explain that passwords are there to protect them against things like identity theft. They should never share them with anyone, even a boyfriend, girlfriend, or best friend.
Don't "friend" strangers. "If you don't know them, don't friend them." This is a plain, simple — and safe — rule of thumb.
Athletics Update
Next Week's Game Schedule
TONIGHT: Varsity Football vs. Posen, HOME, 7pm - FIRST ROUND OF MHSAA PLAYOFFS
- Tickets may be purchased digitally ahead of time at: https://gofan.co/app/events/425545?schoolId=MI4040
- If AGS wins, the regional final would be either 11/5 or 11/6 against TBD. The game would be played at AGS.
Middle School Boys Basketball starts on Monday, November 1st. All 6th, 7th, and 8th grade boys interested in playing should have a physical on file prior to practice. Practice on Monday will be from 6-8pm in the high school gym.
Important Dates
NOVEMBER
- NOV. 2: No school for students/Staff Professional Development
- NOV. 3: 8-9a "Cauffee & Sup"
- NOV. 9: 5:45p Board of Education Meeting (Budget Update, followed by regular meeting, moved from Nov. 15 (School Holiday)
- NOV. 10-11: Elementary Parent-Teacher Conferences
- NOV. 15: School Holiday - No Students or Staff
- NOV. 25-26: School Holiday - No Students or Staff
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