Au Gres-Sims Families and Community,
School board members for Au Gres-Sims are publicly elected officials who serve 6 year terms. Our board of education is made up of 7 individuals from the community and they collectively provide structure and policy that drives the direction of the school. School boards are critically important to the success of districts and are an essential conduit of communication between the public and the school system.
We are fortunate at Au Gres-Sims to have an incredibly dedicated and committed school board, representing a good mix of experience and youthful exuberance. On the ballot this year 4 of our 7 seats were up for election and I am happy to congratulate Laura Storey, Matt Dewyer, and Chris Brandimore on their election victories. Ms. Storey and Mr. Dewyer will be resuming their seats on the board having been previously appointed to fill vacancies. Mr. Brandimore will be joining our school board on January first.
If you have been paying attention you might be wondering if my math is off, or rereading that last paragraph to see if you understood it correctly; afterall, I stated that we had four seats up for election, but then only name three people. Well, there is no need to adjust anything, that is what you read and it means that we will have a vacancy on the school board starting in January. By state law when a vacancy exists on a school board that position must be filled through an appointment process within 30 days of the vacancy occurring. If the position is not filled locally, then the position will be filled by the intermediate school district (BAISD).
What this means is that the Au Gres-Sims Board of Education is looking for candidates to fill the vacancy that will open in January. This person will serve from January of 2023 through December of 2024 on their appointment and may choose to run in the November 2024 election for an extended term if they want. Anyone who would like to be considered for this appointment should express their interest in writing to the office of the Superintendent through mail or drop-off. Alternatively, written interest may be submitted electronically via email to me at mingc@ags-schools.org.
Thank you for your consideration in serving your community and school district by serving on the Au Gres-Sims Board of Education.
Have a great weekend,
Mr. Ming
K-12 Principal's Update
As a reminder, the PTO is also running a special “Breakfast With Santa” event on Saturday, December 3, from 9:00-11:00 am in the Multipurpose Room. Admission is $5 for adults and $3 for children (under 2 are free) and includes delicious pancakes, sausage, juice, coffee, kids crafts, and a meet and greet with Santa himself. Come support the PTO while enjoying this special event with your family and creating memories that last a lifetime!
Thanks to National Honor Society members and advisor, Angie Anthony, our first blood drive of the year was a great success. We have another opportunity to give the gift of life coming up shortly on Thursday, December 15, and it will run from 12:00-5:00. To sign up, go to the following link: https://donate.michigan.versiti.org/donor/schedules/drive_schedule/143777
With colder weather upon us, it is important that our elementary students are appropriately dressed for recess with boots, coats, hats, and mittens. As a general rule, we require students to wear a coat if there is a “feels like” temperature below 40 degrees. We do have extra winter apparel available if you need some. Just let us know.
This is also the season of giving, both presents….and germs! As illnesses are abound, please make sure you encourage your children to do the “small” things like washing hands with soap and water and covering your mouth when coughing and sneezing.
From the Desk of Ms. Socha
As I mentioned in my last entry, our winning House teams were going to be announced at the start of our shortened holiday week last week. The High School House winner was Reveur and breaking the long-standing streak of victories by Middle School Reveur was Team Isibindi!!!! MS Isibindi and HS Reveur both earned the chance to travel to Main Street Lanes in Standish for their reward party. By all accounts, the students had a great time and represented AGS well! I am looking forward to seeing who will win this next marking period! (Note: If you happen to see our MS Reveur House leader, Mr. Beardsley, offer him your condolences. He is taking the streak-breaking loss very hard!)
It is hard to believe as we are just heading into winter that we would already be thinking about spring testing, but the reality is that it will be here before we know it! There are many things that we do to prepare for testing, one of which is the M-STEP Writing Field Test. This field test is available to us after the holiday break, and we typically take part in it at the beginning of January. It allows our students in 3rd - 8th grade to take part in a very small practice test session, which gets them familiar with the testing platform, the tools available to them, and the overall structure of the test. It consists of a reading passage, a passage-based writing prompt , and 5 selected response questions. This test is not graded, and has no impact on the actual M-STEP test results. This is simply an opportunity for the students to engage and get comfortable with the platform, while providing the Michigan Department of Education Office of Assessment and Accountability the opportunity to collect data to further improve the actual Spring M-STEP assessment and work out any issues within the system. This practice session will be done in a regular classroom setting, and will not require make-up sessions. Students who are in attendance will work within the platform for the allotted time and get as much completed as they can. There will also be many opportunities for practice in the classroom prior to the testing window in the spring, so that students are very comfortable with the process and will be prepared to do their best! While 8th grade students take the PSAT for reading and math instead of the M-STEP - it is still a great opportunity for them to practice this type of testing and writing, so they will be participating as well.
Finally, a new month brings a new installment of our School and Home Connection Newsletter. You can find the December issue linked below!
Have you ever just needed a pep talk?
Dial (707) 873-7862 and select from the available options:
- Press 1 if you are feeling mad, frustrated, or nervous
- Press 2 if you need words of encouragement and life advice
- Press 3 if you need a pep talk from Kindergartners
- Press 4 if you need to hear kids laughing with delight
- Press 6 to hear how awesome you look
- Press 7 for bonus pep talks
What a positive idea!
Health Department Information on RSV
Attached is the MDHHS Tip Sheet on RSV, providing more information about this virus and what to look for.
Athletics Update
Congratulations to the Girls Middle School Basketball teams who finished their season on Thursday this week. Both teams showed great grit and improved immensely. The future is bright for AGS Girls Basketball.
This week we turn our attention to high school basketball and boys middle school basketball.
Next Week's Schedule of Events:
Mon. 12/5:
- 6p MS Boys Basketball AWAY @ Posen
- 6p V Girls/V Boys Basketball Double-header HOME vs. Mio (girls play at 6, boys to follow)
Thu. 12/8:
- 6p MS Boys Basketball HOME vs. Fairview
- 6p V Boys Basketball AWAY @ Charlton Heston
Fri. 12/9:
- 6p V Girls Basketball HOME vs. Charlton Heston
The Wolverine Wake-Up
Are you a fan of #wintertivities? Are you aware of the types of #wintertivities our students at AGS can access? If you answered yes to either one of these interrogative statements, then you're in luck, Bud. This week's issue is loaded with students sharing their #wintertivities ideas. You might even see a few bloopers, but you won't know unless you click the link below to read and watch
Middle and High School Drop-in Tutoring
Dates for Tutoring the next few weeks:
- Mon. 12/5
- Thu. 12/8
- Mon. 12/12
- Thu. 12/15
- Mon. 12/19
Help Wanted at AGS
Job Opportunities at AGS
- We do not have any vacancies at this time.
We are also always on the lookout for substitute teachers. If interested, please inquire with Mrs. Miller in the district administration office, (989) 876-7157 and she will put you into direct contact with Laurie Crane at ESS-WillSub
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