The Au Gres-Sims School District
www.ags-schools.org
Au Gres-Sims Families,
Here are some of the highlights from our school year:
- Junior and Senior bands earned straight 1’s at both District and State Band Festivals.
- For the Senior band that is the 54th consecutive year of 1’s at District Festival.
2 students were selected for the Michigan All-State Band: Wayne Freeman and Zita Lutz.
This school year, a locker badge design team used every morsel of any spare time along with an elective seminar to design, assemble, laminate, and add 4x4 individual badges to lockers. This year, the team not only created your typical sports, band, and extracurricular, but also any solo or small group achievements students provided. This encompassed Skills USA, Stage Right Dance Studio, SSC Soccer, Hockey, and so many more in and out of school activities.
AGS Elementary named a U.S. News & World Report top school for the state of Michigan, finishing in the top 10% of all elementary schools in the state.
Students in the 4th grade learned about the life cycle of fish through the Salmon in the Classroom project.
7th Grade students went to Charity Island to continue the study and partnership with the Northeast Michigan Great Lakes Stewardship Initiative. Students spent the day charting Pitcher's Thistle on the Island and removing invasive and competitive species of the Pitcher’s Thistle
AGS was named a Michigan Green School, with Emerald Status for the work that we have done to incorporate environmentally friendly practices into our district.
For the second consecutive year Au Gres-Sims has been awarded an EPA grant for the purchase of a clean energy school bus. We will be adding a second electric school bus to our fleet for next school year.
We have successfully served over 34,000 breakfasts and over 46,000 lunches during the 2023-24 school year to our students.
The kitchen staff has added 52 new menu items, including chicken pot pie pierogi bake, breakfast kabobs, firecracker chicken with cilantro rice, Japanese Cherry Blossom Chicken, and more!
Two teachers, Barb Richardson and Shelley Ming have received $1,500 scholarships to attend the AI for Educators professional development training in Bay City in early July.
Positivity Project for social and emotional learning through the building of positive relationship building and conflict resolution, set to expand into the elementary for the 2024-25 school year.
The National Honor Society hosted 4 blood donation drives in collaboration with Versiti Blood, registering 77 donors. In total the drives saved 231 lives and earned a $250 scholarship for one of our graduating seniors!
AGS Middle School Science Olympiad earned a State tournament bid with a second place finish at the Regional Tournament. Walker Wiltse and Cooper Miller earned 1st place at the Science Olympiad State Tournament in the “Mission Possible” event.
Our recent graduates accumulated a total of 143 (up from 101, then 113 the last two years) college credits from Alpena Community College, Kirtland Community College, and Delta College. This is only possible because of our tremendous partnership with the Saginaw Chippewa Tribe. Four students from our graduating class graduated with 24 or more college credits.
Summer Hours
Starting the week of June 17 and running through the week of August 5, AGS will be transitioning to our summer hours. The District will be open Monday through Thursday from 7:00 am to 5 pm, and will be closed on Fridays. The Administration Office (Elementary side) will be open throughout the summer while the Main Office (Secondary side) will be closed for the month of July.
Please direct calls and inquiries to the Administration Office over the summer, (989) 876-7150.
From the Desk of Mr. Zeien
Planning for next year, here are a couple of events to prepare for:
-August 21 Schedule Pickup 8:00-3:00
-August 21 Open House: Elementary 4:30-6:00, MS/HS 5:00-6:30
-August 26 First day of school
-August 30 and September 2 No School
This year has been long and stressful as many hurdles were thrown at us. Despite the hurdles, we all made it through and prospered. In the end, this has made us all stronger and many good things came about as a result. With that said, I am already hoping for, and looking forward to, a successful school year next school year! I wish everyone a long and restful summer and can’t wait to see you all soon! Take care!
Ms. Steinbauer's Weekly Update
Please fill out a summer school form if you are interested in your student having access to enrichment activities over the summer. Attached are flyers for grades K-5 and 6-8. Very soon letters will be sent home for students who also need to attend our credit recovery classes for the high school. This is a great opportunity for students who need a little extra instruction over the summer to ensure they are able to start the year off with their best foot forward.
As a staff, we are incredibly proud of the work our students have put forward this year and are grateful to our families who support the growth our students are able to achieve. Over the next week or so you will receive a mailing with NWEA growth reports as well as report cards for grades 6-12. Elementary students will get their report cards and NWEA scores sent home with students. As always, if you have any questions about the data you receive please feel free to call for an explanation.
As we wrap up our learning and take exams, we also have some fun figured in this week. Our elementary students made their annual trek to the city park for a day of fun, games, and a picnic lunch. Our middle schoolers have also had some enjoyable time in the sun earning games of kickball or team building activities to help them learn the skills of our Positivity Project. You may have seen some of our environmental science students at the farmer’s market with Mr. Freeman selling the plants they grew in our greenhouse. They cared for these MI native plants since January and it was great to see this hard work pay off. We love to see hand-on-learning come full circle and students learn lessons that encompass many disciplines. We have enjoyed our time with your students over the course of the year and will be ready to start the learning again in August. Have a great summer break.
Athletics Update
Keep your basketball skills sharp with the summer opportunities offered at Au Gres-Sims!
Huffman Basketball Skill Camp
June 12 & 13
Summer Basketball Series with Kadyn Blanchard at Au Gres-Sims
June: 4, 11 & 18
July: 9, 16 & 23
See flyers for additional details 🏀
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Important Dates
JUNE
- 17 6pm Regular School Board Meeting in the Elementary Library
JULY
- 15 6pm Regular School Board Meeting in the Elementary Library
AUGUST
- 12 Fall Sports begins
- 19 6pm Regular School Board Meeting in the Elementary Library
- 21 8am-3pm Schedule Pickup
- 21 Open House
- 4:30-6pm Elementary
- 5-6:30pm MS/HS
- 26 First day of school
Community Events
- Consumers Energy announces Au Gres Family Fun Day on Friday, June 21 from 5-7p.
The Wolverine Wake-Up
Greetings Wolverines,
In the famous song lyric from Alice Cooper's "School's Out", we're officially "Out for Summer, out 'til Fall". We were out and about this week in the hallways, asking the question, "Where would you NOT want to go for vacation?" Check out our final broadcast of the 2023-2024 school year. We've had a great year with you, and we'll see you next Fall!
Click link to view The Wolverine Wake-Up Issue 113
Sincerely,
The Editor-in-Chief
Help Wanted at AGS
Job Opportunities at AGS
- We are always looking for BUS DRIVERS. If you are interested in driving a bus as a substitute or for student activities, please inquire with the administrative office. We cover the training costs!
We are also always on the lookout for substitute teachers. If interested, please inquire with Mrs. Freehling in the district administration office, (989) 876-7157 and she will put you into direct contact with Laurie Crane at ESS-WillSub
Oh The Places You'll Go - Lessons from Preschoolers
Life cycle circle of our Native Michigan Plants
Elementary Fun Day!
Reach for the Stars!!
Locker Badge artists created unique staff badges
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