The Au Gres-Sims School District

This week I will share some news with you about COVID. Before you tune out completely, I promise you that what I will share has a positive note to it. To kick off the positive front, I am happy to report that for the second consecutive week (remember last week was only one school day) we have not been made aware of a single COVID case impacting our staff or students!

Last Friday, after the newsletter was already completed and scheduled to go out, the CDC released updated guidance regarding COVID-19. This guidance was discussed at length in the weekly school administration meeting that I have with the Central Michigan District Health Department on Thursdays. CMDHD took the time to explain the changes and the implications of those changes, specifically noting that the new guidance reflects the transition into the next phase of the pandemic, how we move forward with our lives as numbers improve.

There are two key takeaways from the updated guidance:

1. Masks are no longer required to be worn for public transportation, of which school buses have been included since this went into effect. While anyone who wants to wear a mask is still permitted to do so, it is no longer a requirement of the law.
2. A three-tiered system (Low, Medium, High) of exposure risk has been created, with each tier carrying recommendations for prevention steps to be followed (picture provided below).The determination for which level our county is at may be quickly determined by accessing this link and pulling up "Michigan" and "Arenac County". As of the writing of this newsletter, I am happy to report that we are now in the medium tier (we were high yesterday!).

What this means for us is that we may now start to gradually pull away the prevention strategies that we have had in place for the last two years. If we have a spike in the future, then we may need to add a few back in, but for now we can return to some of the elements of normal that we have all wanted for so long. Now that we are below the high level, elementary students will be permitted to use the carpet for morning gathering again; teachers throughout the district will be able to rearrange their classrooms out of standard rows for the first time in years; and the forced structures of some of our other protocols can return to pre-pandemic states. That is not to say that everything goes back to normal. We are still asking that you watch for symptoms, keep your kids home if they are sick, make us aware of this, and have them tested. We will still be maintaining a higher than normal level of air exchange and ventilation in our rooms. We will still have hand sanitizer and will encourage good handwashing practices, etc.

The CDC announcement coupled with our movement from the high tier to the medium tier is great news for our school and our community. It means that we are transitioning into a post-pandemic life. Look for more announcements to come out as we continue this positive directional push with our improving county case rates.

Thanks for reading. Have a wonderful weekend.

-Mr. Ming

Next week our boys basketball team enters post season play as they travel to the host district site of Hillman to take on the winner of the Fairview Eagles/Atlanta Huskies game. Game time is 7:00 pm on Wednesday. As they continue to win and progress through their district, they would play next in the championship game on Friday at 7:00 pm.

Having resources available “up north” is not always close or convenient. The W.E.L.L. Outreach is running a Recovery Support Group for families starting next Thursday, March 10, from 3:30-5:30. This will take place at 4215 Airpark Drive in Standish. For more information call Juli at 989-492-8475.

If you have a young driver, or one that is quickly approaching a driving age, there is a free program aimed at reducing new driver crashes and the resulting injuries and fatalities by increasing parents’ awareness and the Michigan GDL law. ThinkFirst is a virtual evidence-based traffic safety program to educate parents on Michigan’s GDL law. This 90 minute presentation takes place from 6:30-8:00 on the following date options: March 8, April 12, May 10, or June 14. To RSVP for this Zoom opportunity, call 630-961-1400 ext. 2.

We are now upon “March is Reading Month”! Word on the street is that Tarzan and Jane were on campus on Monday going “Wild About Reading”! Hopefully we will see them towards the end of the month for some award winning competitions. Your classroom teachers will continue to provide information throughout the month. Stay tuned!!!

As we continue to progress through our Covid times we are able to slowly get more individuals back into our buildings. Besides the beauty of our recent bond project, you will also see how well taken care of our campus is. This is spearheaded by our head of maintenance, Brandon Lichota, and the efforts of his wonderful crew of Shelly Guthrie, Bethany Gay, and Crystal Hunt. If you see them in the halls, please thank them for all of their efforts!

We had a wonderful time this week kicking off March is Reading Month. The elementary theme is “Wild About Reading” and we started off the month with a visit and reading challenge from Tarzan and Jane. Students should have brought home a calendar of events for the month. We also have Family Night on the 22nd. More information will be released on that soon.

Middle School have started their whole-class novel - “A Long Walk to Water.” We have already had 10 students win $10 gift certificates for the Book Fair. The Book Fair will be delivered next week, and we will have a few opportunities for students to come and preview at the end of the week. Students will have the opportunity to create a wish list, and will also have information on how to set up an eWallet. You can also find that same information on our Book Fair Website found below. Parents will also be able to visit the book fair with their students during parent teacher conferences on March 17th.

https://www.scholastic.com/bf/augressimsmidsrhighsch

We have also calculated the totals for marking period 2 to determine the House winners. It took a bit longer than normal because we had several students that needed to finish their final exams. However, the results are now in and the winners are: Middle School Reveur and High School Altruismo!!! Congrats to both teams! We are currently working on scheduling the reward trip and will release details when everything is finalized! Students have many opportunities to earn House points throughout the month for Marking Peroid 3!

We encourage you to help us celebrate reading month by practicing good reading habits at home. Encourage your child to read, or read with them. Even doing a “Drop everything and read” for 15-30 minutes at home each night can make a tremendous difference!

Au Gres-Sims has been selected to take part in the MI Backpack Home Test pilot. This program from MDHHS provides free at home test kits to AGS students, staff, and their families. These are different than the tests provided through the postal service and are another resource that we are employing to stem the transmission of the virus and refocus our efforts on teaching and learning.

Please check out the resources attached below this post for more information about the program, including how to sign up for the kits. Upon completion of the MDHHS form, please contact the AGS main office at (989) 876-7157 to arrange for pick up of the kits.

The direct link to sign up is: bit.ly/MIBackpack

Congratulations to the Girls Varsity Basketball Team on a great season. They showed great improvement throughout the year and are poised to carry the momentum of this season into next year, with almost a full team of underclassmen competing at the varsity level this year.

ELEMENTARY BASKETBALL LEAGUE

Tomorrow, March 5th, there will be an additional make-up date for the elementary basketball league that was impacted by COVID this winter. The game schedule will be as follows:

• 10a Girls 2nd-5th vs. Girls 2nd-5th (arrive 15 minutes early)
• 10:45a Boys 2nd-3rd vs. Boys 2nd-3rd
• 11:30a Boys 4th-5th vs. Boys 4th-5th

Next Week's Game Schedule

• Tue. 3/8: Middle School Volleyball HOME vs. Mio/Alcona, 6pm
• Wed. 3/9: MHSAA Boys Varsity Basketball District Semifinal AWAY @ Hillman, 6pm (opponent TBD)
• Wed. 3/9: Middle School Volleyball AWAY @ Oscoda vs. Oscoda/Posen, 6pm
• Fri. 3/11: ***MHSAA Boys Varsity Basketball District Final, 7pm*** (if AGS wins Wed)
• Sat. 3/12: Middle School Volleyball Tourney AWAY @ Fairview, 9am

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

MARCH

• THU. 3/10: 2:55p Junior Band Festival at Standish-Sterling Central
• WED. 3/16: Early Release for all students at 1pm
• THU. 3/17: Middle School and High School Parent-Teacher Conferences
• FRI. 3/18: End of 3rd Marking Period
• MON. 3/21: 6p Board of Education Regular March Meeting
• TUE. 3/22: 5p Family Literacy Night
• MON 3/28 - FRI 4/1: Spring Break

APRIL

• THU. 4/7: 4-6p Kindergarten and Preschool Round-up

We are looking to add several community-minded members to our amazing team. If you or anyone you know might be interested in joining the Au Gres-Sims staff, please check out the employment opportunities section of our website.

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)

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.

Welcome to another beautiful day on the Sunrise Coast. This week we have several stories about the evolving war between Russia and Ukraine, along with two brand new features in the newsletter, a countdown to St. Patrick's Day and a mystery picture for you to guess its identity, for a prize.

Issue 46: March 4, 2022

This household of pets belongs to 5th grade AGS Teacher, Mr. Bartlett. It must be a lot of fun with that many animals running around the house!

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