AGS NEWS

Eric Rettenmund, Principal

Megan Yelle, Assistant Principal

Lisa Wissinger, Dean of Students

Melissa Welsh, Counselor

Barb Stinson, Clerk

Randi Thorp, Clerk

October 7 - Parent Teacher Conferences 4:00 - 7:00

October 8 - Parent Teacher Conferences 4:00 - 7:00

October 10 - PTO Meeting 1:00

October 11 - NO SCHOOL for students

October 23 - AGS Halloween Band Concert

Parent/Teacher Conferences will be held in the AGS Gym on Monday, October 7 and Tuesday, October 8th from 4:00 - 7:00. Conferences are held in the gym with tables located around the perimeter. Please check in as you enter the building. Schedules will be available or you can use the ParentVue application.

A map, like the one pictured below, with teacher locations will be available when you check in.

There seems to be some confusion with the drop off loop across Donaldson Drive. The drop off is intended to operate as loop (indicated in the graphic below). This allows for a steady flow off traffic and prevents students from walking in the parking lot. Students should be dropped off along the sidewalk to avoid having them walk in traffic. Thank you for helping to keep our students safe!

Drop-Off Loop across Donaldson Dr. (Stadium Lot):

• Parent Drop-off zone – along sidewalk adjacent to the varsity baseball field.

• Safety issue: Please drop off CURBSIDE ONLY

• Exit: You are encouraged to exit the Stadium Lot by turning right onto Donaldson Dr.

• Students should not be crossing in front of the traffic entering the lot.

Ryan Jackson (7th) is our AGS Student of the Month. He was nominated by Mrs. Sayer and this is what she had to say - "Ryan's positivity and leadership does not go unnoticed by his teachers." In addition to being an outstanding student, Ryan is a member of the LINKS Mentor Program, AGS Leadership, and the 7th grade Football Team. Congratulations Ryan and thank you for helping to make AGS a great place for our students!

Erica Barber, AGS Parapro, is our Standout Staff Member of the Month. Erica was nominated by several staff members for her willingness to always help others. Her positive nature and passion for working with students shines! Erica gets the BIG Magnet to display proudly and, of course, the front row parking spot for the next month. She was presented with the award and gifts by Sarah and Derek from Financial Plus Credit Union. Congratulations Erica and thank you for being a valuable member of the AGS Family. A huge thank you to Financial Plus Credit Union for sponsoring our Staff Standout!!

8th grader Dexter Roach was honored as the AGS Link Student of the Month. Links is a peer mentor program at AGS. In addition to being a Link, Dexter is also a member of the Cross Country Team. His leadership, kind nature, and positive attitude are just a few reasons that Dexter was chosen as the Link of the Month. Congratulations Dexter and thank you for sharing your positivity with others!

In a couple of weeks, FAPS will welcome Mr. Anthony Grupido, guest speaker, who will present to our 4th - 12th grade students. The message he will share reinforces the activities we have done with the Positivity Project (P2) throughout the years. Here is some additional information for you to learn a little more about Mr. Anthony Grupido.

He is a Magician with a story to tell…Anthony educates audiences about mental health, resilience, positivity, and suicide prevention.

• Tuesday, Oct 15 from 8:15 - 9:15 FHS Auditorium, 6th grade

• Thursday, Oct 17 from 8:15 - 9:15 FHS Auditorium, 7th/8th Grades

Here is Mr. Grupido's website if you would like to learn more about his work and message - https://themagicofhope.com/

Below is the code to join PhotoCircle. You'll want to download the app & then request to join the group for this year's yearbook album where you may submit photos to be considered. The link is also posted in the comments for those who have issues with the posted link below.

Submission Guidelines: Please only add photos of AGS events, sports & activities. Please add a caption to each picture with a short description of what the picture is of & who the students are in the picture. PLEASE DO NOT ADD NON-AGS RELATED SPORTS & ACTIVITIES TO THE ALBUM. This causes many wasted hours to the yearbook design process when things such as youth sports, sleepovers & parties are added. Thank you!

Please email Ms. Fleury with any questions or concerns regarding the yearbook. mtodorovsky@fentonschools.org

Photo Circle Link: only click this link once you have downloaded the app.

https://join.photocircleapp.com/NZB1CW0AYY

NO AST ON OCT. 8 AND OCT. 10 DUE TO CONFERENCES

AST is available Tuesdays and Thursdays from 2:15 to 3:15 p.m. AGS Teachers are present and transportation is available for students residing within the district. AST is on an as-needed basis so students can come as much or as little as they would like. On the days of AST, students will need to sign up using a Google Form on the AST Google Classroom page before 2:00 PM to be able to stay. The purpose of AST is for students to receive help with homework/class work, ask questions from the teachers, or have a quiet place to work. However students must have something to work on. A light snack will also be provided. Please make sure to pick up students by 3:20.

A parent preference Google Form is included below. Please fill it out if your child plans on attending AST.

AST Google Classroom code for your child: rzzjgqy

Please email Mrs. Seelbinder or Mrs. Sayer for more information.

Mrs. Seelbinder: mailto:jseelbinder@fentonschools.org

Mrs. Sayer: mailto:esayer@fentonschools.org

The Varsity Tutors Platform gives your student more opportunities to learn at their own pace. 24/7 on-demand chat tutoring and on-demand essay review are live tutoring resources to help your student with any questions about homework, classwork, or test prep. Live group classes, recorded classes, and celebrity-led StarCourses allow your student to learn more about the subjects they’re interested in, and add a touch of fun. Assessments and self study practice problems provide

opportunities to drill skills towards mastery. And college prep & admissions resources ensure that

your student has the best resources available to secure their future.

Link: https://varsitytutorsforschools.zendesk.com/hc/en-us

The middle school health curriculum is delivered by PE/Health teachers in SRT class throughout the school year. This will begin in in the next couple of weeks and will continue until the end of the year. The teachers will teach approximately 4 lessons/units for 30 minutes during SRT. Attached below is a health letter that contains more information. Additionally, a health waiver form is attached. The waiver is only required for those who choose to OPT OUT of the district mandated health class. Students will receive a copy of the letter and waiver 2 weeks prior to taking health class. If you choose the OPT OUT option, please return the waiver before health class begins. You may print the form attached to this email and return it to the main office at any time or complete/return the form when your student receives it 2 weeks prior to class. There are also additional copies in the main office. We will be posting updates in the AGS NEWS, including a schedule of when the class will be taught in your child's SRT.

Please contact the main office (810 591 7700) with any questions. Thank you!

Attachments:

Health Letter .png

Health Waiver.png

Recently our school board adopted a policy change for our school district. After much research, and feedback from our staff our board of education voted to remove the ability for students to utilize their cell phones during the instructional day. Students are to have them turned off and out of site during the instructional day, with the exception of their lunch period as well as before and after school. Previous to this policy change it was at teacher discretion, and that is no longer the case. The district and board of education feel this change will increase student engagement in academic work as well as hopefully aid in the social media issues that occur during the school day that often times increase student anxiety and decrease student well-being. A copy of a letter that was sent out the day after the August Board Meeting is linked below.

AGS is excited to announce that we're participating in Socktober! From now until the end of October, we're collecting donations to support those in need. You can find collection boxes throughout the school, and we kindly ask all students to bring in items to contribute. Together, we can make a difference! Thank you for your support.

The AGS PTO meets on the second Thursday of each month at 1:00 PM in the AGS conference room. The PTO helps to support school assemblies, teacher supplies, 8th grade honors/dance, library books, scholarships for field trips, and much more! Thank you for supporting our PTO.

Next Meeting: October 10

The system is live now until Oct 26th at midnight.

https://go.rallyup.com/3270d3/Campaign/Details

Our AGS PTO No Fuss Fundraiser has begun! The PTO is asking for a one-time donation to support all the activities we provide to the AGS community. Similar to the past 3 years, if we meet our goals, we will not have any other fundraisers and won't be asking students to sell anything. We can't do this without your support.

The top earning student in each grade wins their choice of an iPad 10th generation wi-fi model OR a $300 Amazon gift card!

The top earning SRT class for each grade will get their choice of a pizza, donut, or ice cream party! Don't forget to enter your child's SRT teacher at the end of checkout.

A school wide prize of a springtime FIELD DAY will be earned if we reach our $12,000 goal!

New this year: if a business donates a minimum of $250 to your student, we will display their logo on a sponsor banner on the fence line in front of AGS! Add the business name during the checkout process.

Please note: this system is not set up to report winners by grade level, we will manually determine SRT class winners and winners per grade. We will report the leader boards periodically and share the final results Monday, October 28th.

Thank you for supporting the AGS community!

The 6th grade class is hosting a BOO Bag fundraiser. Each candy treat bags is $3 and you can send as many as you want. They will be filled with fun Halloween pencils, stickers, candy & more along with a “You've been BOOed” sign for your locker. Sales will take place during all lunches on Oct 28, 29 & 30th. BOO bags will be delivered during SRT on Halloween.

Parents, if you'd like to venmo @AimeeBoan please list who it’s to, their SRT teacher, and who it’s from.

Genesee county is looking to help bring better internet connectivity to communities within Genesee to those who don't have high speed or have unreliable internet. They are asking Genesee County residents to fill out a short survey to gather resident input on the priority of internet access that hinder residents from getting online.

If you live outside of Genesee County, this survey does not apply to you.

Is your Internet slow, unreliable or both? Next Genesee, a partnership between Genesee County and Merit Network, is set to take the first step on the path toward better Internet for our more than 400,000 residents. To help us take this first step, please click the link for a quick survey so that we can identify areas of need. Please SHARE! Paper surveys are available upon request by calling 810-257-3278 or by email at broadband@geneseecountymi.gov.

Survey link: merit.edu/nextgenesee/

Wyldlife Club

• Saturday, October 19th
• Saturday, November 9th
• Saturday, December 7th

AGS Gym

7:00-8:30 PM

Email: fentonwyldlife@gmail.com with any questions!

Follow us on Facebook or Instagram for updates or more information!

Below are a few updated photos showing the progress of our new main office addition. During this time, the entrance off of Shiawassee may be closed. There will be more details in the FAPS newsletter and on the FAPS website as the project continues. We are excited about improving the facility for our staff, students, and families.

To help keep our schools and community safe, you can use this confidential tip line to report any suspicious or threatening behavior.

Email: erettenmund@fentonschools.org
Website: http://fentonschools.org/andrew-g-schmidt-middle-school/
Location: 3255 Donaldson Drive, Fenton, MI, USA
Phone: 810.591.7700
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Fenton-Area-Public-Schools-110556712352619/
Twitter: @fentonschools