The Au Gres-Sims School District

There is a professional soccer team that I support (Everton F.C.) with the letters N.S.N.O. stitched just below the neckline on the back of their jersey. It has been there for years and stands for Nil Satis Nisi Optimum, Latin for "Nothing but the best is good enough." This simple motto is emblematic of the admirable goal that we all strive for, yet often fall short of, perfection. How could you possibly want to give anything less than your best to any endeavor? Even the most difficult of tasks, when determined to be of value, deserve your full attention, full effort, full focus. Giving your best does not always yield perfection, but as the expression goes, "Sometimes when you aim for the stars, you hit the moon."

"Sometimes," that's curious, because we have one program at Au Gres-Sims that negates this mantra, beating the odds year after year, rendering "sometimes" obsolete. That program is our Senior Band.

This past Wednesday our Senior Band earned a perfect score, straight 1's, at the District Band Festival for the 53rd consecutive year! Fifty-three years of perfection, there is no "sometimes" about that! Think about that for a moment, 53 years! This program is the model of success and has spanned multiple band directors and countless classes of students through these halls. Our band program has been the blue ribbon standard.

Congratulations to Band Director Ms. Kim Gordon and all of our Senior Band performers for continuing this fine tradition. Oh, and by the way, the next batch of band students is ready to assume the mantle of perfection themselves and continue the tradition, with the Junior Band having also earned straight 1's. Nothing but the best is certainly the motto of our AGS Bands!

Way to make us proud Wolverines!

Have a great weekend,

Mr. Ming

March is Reading Month, but it also means it is time for Middle School/High School Parent Teacher Conferences. These will take place Thursday, March 16, and run from 4:00-7:00 pm. Unlike Spring Elementary PT conferences which are only for a select group of families, we highly encourage all MS/HS families to take advantage of the opportunity to sit down with your child’s teachers. Conferences will be held in each teacher’s classroom, so you may want to speak with your child about what rooms you should visit. Mrs. Ming and Ms. Richardson will be at a conference in which Ms. Richardson is presenting, so they will not be present at conferences. If you would like to speak with them, please contact them directly.

Raising children in single parent homes is extremely difficult, no matter if the children are raised by just the mom or just the dad. Below are some staggering statistics I recently came across that represent the homes in which the father is not present. Fatherless homes represent:

-90% of homeless runaway children

-85% of children with behavioral disorders

-85% of youth in prison

-80% of rapists

-75% of children in chemical abuse centers

-71% of high school dropouts

-63% of teen suicides

Many food assistance benefits from the federal government came to an end at the end of February. If you still need assistance finding resources for your household, call 2-1-1 or visit www.mi211.org to find local food resources.

For our younger families, there are a couple of free programs to help support at home learning. BEDTIME MATH is one of these. Bedtime Math provides math activities to do with your 3-8 year olds. The other is called IMAGINATION LIBRARY. With Imagination Library, children ages 0-5 can receive in the mail one book a month for their personal library. Hopefully we have many families who can take advantage of these great, free resources.

It has been a busy week of basketball, band festivals, reading month, blood drives, and House reward trips. Congratulations to our boys and girls basketball teams for finishing up a great season, our band for scoring all 1’s at festival, and our middle and high school Houses for representing our school so well! We have also had another fun week of Reading Month events. Congrats to all of our winners of gift certificates and prizes!

If you have a middle school student, be sure to ask them about their reading month book, “Esperanza Rising.” Here is a short synopsis of the book from Goodreads: Esperanza thought she'd always live with her family on their ranch in Mexico--she'd always have fancy dresses, a beautiful home, and servants. But a sudden tragedy forces Esperanza and Mama to flee to California during the Great Depression, and to settle in a camp for Mexican farm workers. Esperanza isn't ready for the hard labor, financial struggles, or lack of acceptance she now faces. When their new life is threatened, Esperanza must find a way to rise above her difficult circumstances--Mama's life, and her own, depend on it. Be sure to ask your middle school student about the details of this book! They are halfway through the novel at this point.

Finally, a new month means a new School and Home Connection Newsletters. Please click on the links below to view the newsletters for Elementary and Middle School for the month of March!

Elementary Newsletter - March

Secondary Newsletter - March

Congratulations to both our boys and girls basketball teams who concluded their seasons this week.

The boys varsity basketball team ended their season in the second round of the MHSAA District Playoff round. This year the team was composed of a very young squad who showed great heart throughout the season and despite their size and youth, vastly improved while maintaining a positive outlook and 100% intensity. This freshman-heavy roster has good things in their future if they carry this mindset into future seasons. The departing seniors should hold their heads high as well, leaving a strong work ethic and positive influence on the program.

The girls varsity basketball team finished their season with a District Championship (pictures below), eventually falling short in the regional semifinal. The girls team improved on a 2-win 21-22 season to end the season with a winning record and 12-wins! This senior class should be proud for the remarkable turnaround and bringing home a first program trophy in 10 years! The excitement in our gym was palpable with the district championship game win versus Hale at AGS and the celebratory cutting down of the nets.

Next Week's Schedule of Events:

We don't have any contests next week, but it is the first week of Spring Sports. Each team has their own schedule, so contact the individual coaches for tryout/practice schedules:

• Middle School Track (Boys and Girls): Mr. Jack Long; longj@ags-schools.org
• High School Track (Boys and Girls): Mr. Kevin Loga; logak@ags-schools.org
• High School Baseball (Boys): Ms. Shirley Moore; shirley.j.moore1@gmail.com
• High School Softball (Girls): Ms. Molly Luberda; luberdam@ags-schools.org
• High School Soccer (Girls, co-op with Standish-Sterling): Mr. Kacey Bentley; kc212000@yahoo.com

We have had tremendous numbers, growth, success, learning, and fun with the youth basketball clinics that have been taking place on Saturdays this winter. Seeing the future of our hardwood teams playing during halftime of the varsity games has been incredible!

Coach Becky and Coach Matt have organized some inter-school games with Hale, a chance for our kids to play against some others. THE GAMES TOMORROW ARE AT HALE, NOT AGS AS ORIGINALLY PLANNED.

It's that time of the year again, the time when we start rounding up our youngest learners for next school year. This is the time when we start the registration process for both pre-school and Kindergarten at Au Gres-Sims.

We will hold our AGS Kindergarten and GSRP Round-up on Monday, April 17th from 4-6pm. If you have an age-eligible child or know of someone who does, please plan on attending so we can get our youngest Wolverines registered for the Fall!

Students and their parents will start in the main office where they will get a passport to visit different stations and earn stamps and prizes, while learning where everything is in their new school.

Important dates for March for the Au Gres-Sims School District.

March

• 15: Early Release @ 1pm for All Students
• 15: 6:30p Beginning (5th, 6th, Jr. Jazz) Band Concert at AGS
• 16: 4-7p MS/HS Parent Teacher Conferences
• 20: 6p AGS Board of Education Regular Meeting
• 23: 5p Elementary Family Literacy Night
• 24: End of Quarter 3

Important and note-worthy events taking place in Au Gres and Arenac County

• April 21: Relay for Life of Arenac (see attached)
• May 19: Arenac Community Funds' 21st Annual Golf Outing, Huron Breeze Golf Course (see attached)

The 2023 ESS Art Contest is now open to students in grades K-12! Be sure to submit your artwork by March 12th, 8:00 pm Eastern Time. Winning students will each receive a $500 American Express gift card and $500 for their school!

Quick Facts:

• The contest information is located at ArtContest.ess.com.​
• To enter, students must submit a drawing or painting with an image representing “If you could take a school field trip anywhere, where would you go?”​
• The contest ends on March 12th, 8:00 pm Eastern Time.​
• The top five finalists in each Grade Group will be featured on ESS’ Facebook and Instagram during the week of April 10th for public voting.​
• Public voting ends on April 16th, 8:00 pm Eastern Time.​
• Winners will be announced on April 19th.​
• Winning students will receive a $500 American Express gift card, plus $500 for their school.

This issue has it all! We've continued our homage to Mr. Bob Ross, by trying our best to emulate his superior oil-based painting skills this week on "Emily Tries". We also had a chance to sit down with our AGS Athletic Director Mr. Gordie Ostrander, and chat about the amazing District Championship our Lady Wolverines Basketball Team brought home after a 10 year gap.

Check out this week's issue by clicking this link The Wolverine Wake-Up Issue 78.

Job Opportunities at AGS

• Paraprofessional (Elementary Placement) - see attached Notice of Vacancy

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

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