MCAS Communicator

We are a diverse community of families, students, and staff who take pride in our schools, contribute positively to society, and prepare students for lifelong success.

The annual Car Wash for the United Way of LaPorte County will take place at our Sodexo Plant Planning parking lot on Thursday, September 19th from 11:00am to 5:30pm. Again this year, the Michigan City Area Schools, Michigan City Police Department and Michigan City Fire Department will work together to wash cars for the cause – and our goal is to beat last year’s total of $8,200 raised. There will be no excuse for a dirty car in Michigan City on September 19th!

MCHS has been "leveling up" while supporting the District's Strategic Plan (Culture and Environment and Meeting Needs of Diverse Learners). MCAS Occupational Therapy Assistant Chris Kiser and Physical Therapy Assistant Robin Krassow have been working diligently over the summer on three sensory/motor rooms at MCHS. The projects were funded with help from the Lilly Endowment and HFL (the Health Foundation of LaPorte).

The GOALS room (#0107) has been renovated and now features an interactive floor, the first in our district. The Akela room was also renovated; this room has space for creative art, relaxing, and snacking. Assistant Principal Fred Greene identified a need for a room for student who need to release some excess energy, so the "Green Room" (#0110) was created. The Green Room is fully equipped with activities to burn off that extra energy.

Visit all of these rooms in these short clips: Akela video.MOV Green Room.MOV GOALS.MOV Interactive Floor.MOV

Teachers and other staff in need of CPR certification for license renewal may want to consider instruction provided by MCAS staff members Val Skwiat, David Sanders, or Eva Williamson.

Visit http://educateMC.net/CPR for details!

Michigan City High School's new Girls Flag Football team will host a tournament at MCHS on Saturday, September 14 (MCHS will play at 11:30am Central Time). Come out and support our Wolves!

The Michigan City High School Athletic Booster Club invites all MCAS staff members to become 2024-25 members! For only $20, you support our athletes -- and you will receive a great discount card for area restaurants and businesses as a thank you gift. Please consider supporting the boosters, which help fund equipment for our teams, scholarships, and much more.

• 2024-25 Booster Club Membership Application
• Booster Club Fall 2024 Newsletter

Thank you for your support!

REMEMBER: Your staff ID gets you free admission to any home athletic event. LET'S GO CITY!

Again this school year, Behavior, Attendance, and Grade (BAG) reports will be emailed to all families in grades 5-12. The reports will be emailed home four times a year, at the halfway point of each quarter. This will establish consistent communication to engage parents/guardians in a strong home-school relationship focused on supporting students. The BAG reports will be emailed on the following dates:

• Monday, September 16, 2024

• Monday, November 18, 2024

• Monday, February 10, 2025

• Monday April 21, 2025

Let's make sure behavior, attendance, and grades are up to date in PowerSchool so we are communicating home the most up to date student information!

MCAS middle school teachers Jocelyn Garner and Geoffrey Lambert (Barker) and Shirley Allen (Krueger) will present a workshop titled "A How To Guide: One District's Journey to Designing Habits of Scholarship" at the EL National Conference, which will be held December 2-5 in Atlanta, Georgia. We are thrilled that MCAS will be represented at the national level!

What does our annual giving campaign have to do with the picture above?

You will find out when we kick off in October. Stay tuned!!

Did you know? Two area newspapers offer free digital access to teachers and students!

• The LaPorte County Herald-Dispatch is available free from all MCAS district devices when you are on the MCAS school or district network (it is free based on our I.P. addresses). Simply visit their website, https://www.lpheralddispatch.com/ and click "e-editions" at the top of the page.
• The Times of Northwest Indiana's subscription for classrooms includes one year of complimentary unlimited digital access to nwi.com, The Times e-edition, the nwi.com app, and The Times archive, containing millions of articles. Educators must sign up first. Then students will be connected to their accounts and receive unlimited digital access. Go to go.nwi.com/nfs to sign up.

Lilly Endowment’s Teacher Creativity Fellowship Program invites Indiana’s K-12 educators to dream big and create renewal experiences that will strengthen their commitment to education. Approximately 125 grants, each totaling up to $15,000, will be awarded in 2025. The September 9 application deadline for 2025 awards is quickly approaching. Interested educators can attend an informational session on August 13.

Students in the A. K. Smith Culinary Arts program are among 15 restaurants that have been invited to participate in the Michigan City Mac and Cheese Fest, which will be held on Sunday, September 29 from 1-4pm at Zorn Brewery. (A VIP tasting will begin at Noon.)

Chef Angie Nipple says the students are working hard on a winning recipe; they are eligible to receive a cash prize of $500 if they win the competition and are voted the best. "Over 1,000 people come to this event, so the kids will definitely be seeing something they have never experienced before!" she says. "This will be an amazing opportunity to get our faces out to the public as well as an amazing experience for the students."

Visit this link for more information and to purchase tickets:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/mac-and-cheese-fest-tickets-901509668687

The Michigan City Football Hall of Fame & the Michigan City Football Team will host a 5K Run and Walk on Saturday, September 14 at 8:00am. The 5K (3.1 miles) race will begin at Ames Field and continue through the streets of downtown Michigan City. Racers will return to Ames Field to participate in a football obstacle course, with finishing the race on the 50 yard line. The cost is $30.

• T-shirts for all participants
• Refreshments
• Entry to the Tailgate After Party

Sign up here!

(Show the coupon above -- dine in, carry out, or gift card purchases all qualify!)

Everyone knows to call 911 in an emergency, but not enough people know to dial 988 when they are in personal crisis. We invite you to join a national initiative on September 8 to raise awareness about the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. This year’s theme is “No Judgment. Just Help.” Help friends, family, and the communities you serve to know about this vital resource.

The 988 Lifeline was established to improve access to immediate support to meet the nation’s growing mental health, suicide, and substance use distress needs. The 988 Lifeline provides easy access to emotional distress care, which is distinct from 911, where the focus is on dispatching emergency medical services, fire, and police, as needed.

In crisis? Call or text 988. To learn more, download the 988 Fact Sheet.

Being Proactive with Your Spending

& Strategies to Eat Less Junk Food

How many times have we wished we had the money to buy a new car or a nice vacation, but we don’t ever seem to have it. What if we were more intentional with our spending and learned to spend our money on things we want vs wasting it on things we don’t really need or want? PLUS: Strategies to reduce your intake of junk food. Get out of the 3pm slump feeling groggy and tired and reduce the mindless crunchy snacking late at night.

Dunes Summer Theatre closes its 2024 season with their Second Annual New Plays Festival “Voices from the Heartland” with one week of performances Wednesday through Saturday, September 18 through September 21 at 7 p.m. and Sunday, September 22 at 2 p.m.; and a special event performance of Heidi Schreck’s Pulitzer Prize finalist play “What the Constitution Means to Me” on Saturday, September 21 at 2 p.m. and Sunday, September 22 at 7 p.m. Enter code MCAS to reserve your free tickets online at https://www.dunesarts.org/tickets.

The PNW Sinai Forum is offering FREE on-demand tickets for its 2024-25 season to MCAS certified staff. (This is a $125 value!) Since 1953, the forum has brought world-renowned scholars, leaders, dignitaries, artists, and personalities to Northwest Indiana to speak in a town-hall setting. A list of forum speakers is available on the PNW Sinai Forum web page.

The on-demand series ticket includes all programs. Each program is available for viewing online the Tuesday after the program and will be available for 30 days. There will be no live streaming in 2024. This ticket cannot be used to attend programs in person. You are encouraged to view the programs yourself and/or to use them as a resource to show to students. To request an on-demand ticket, click here. Hurry! The deadline to sign up is Friday, September 6th.

Reminder: Students are welcome to attend any forum presentation in person at no cost. Advance registration is required, and space may be limited. The link for student registration is here.

Check out www.TicketsAtWork.com for exclusive discounts and special offers that are available to Michigan City Area Schools employees.

This month, Tickets at Work is offering back-to-school deals, along with savings on health and wellness products and fall travel destinations. And they will celebrate National Women's Health and Fitness Day all month long, leading up to September 25th, so you can take advantage of their offers to keep everyone in top shape.

If you haven't signed up yet, click "become a member" and enter our company code: MCAS

The Michigan City Tree Board is partnering with the Indiana Arborist Association on an Arborist Apprenticeship Program. They are hoping to find candidates from the Michigan City Area. The apprenticeship is paid ($17 going up to $22 over time). This is great opportunity for our community members, especially recent MCHS graduates. CLICK HERE for a flyer about a recruitment event they will be hosting on September 5th.

This Friday (September 6) from 5-8pm, enjoy spectacular art, complimentary light bites, a cash bar and live music performances by Rebel Noire, Tara Firma and The Tasty Treats at the Lubeznik Center for the Arts. View the photography of Larry Lapidus from his "spare time" spent in France, Italy and Mexico, as well as area artist, George Kassal's "Images of an Altered Landscape," on display in LCA's NIPSCO Art Education Studios. The summer blockbuster, "KAPOW! Mighty Mythos," will also be on display. As always, admission is free. Bring your friends!

PLUS: Please join in a community celebration to honor a new mural at the H.O.P.E. Community Center in Michigan City. The mural titled, "Bridge to Our Aspirations," was facilitated by Lubeznik Center for the Arts with lead artist Bernard Williams. The celebration will include remarks from Bernard Williams, as well as performances by Michigan City High School's Wolvettes and the double-dutch group, JUMP. Food trucks will be on site. Come out and celebrate with us!

H.O.P.E. Community Center Mural Celebration

Saturday, September 14, from 1-3 PM

222 McClelland Avenue, Michigan City

On September 21, award-winning designer, artist, educator, and author Matthew Kubik will be the host of this year’s Fall Innovation Forum, sponsored by the Center for Creative Solutions. Starting at 1 p.m., he will lead a walking tour of significant buildings in Michigan City’s north end Arts District.

The tour will begin at the iconic Michigan City Public Library, located at 100 East 4th Street, and end at the newly-renovated Barker Hall at 600 Franklin Square. Afterward, Sweet Lou, That’s Who will serve refreshments.

Registration is limited to 25 people, and the sign up deadline is September 13. Call 219-326-7259 or email creativity52@comcast.net.

You are reading the “MCAS Communicator,” the monthly e-newsletter for all staff. If you have news or other info you would like to include, please email Betsy Kohn at bkohn@mcas.k12.in.us before the last school day of the month. The Communicator is sent out on the first school day of each month during the school year. The next edition will hit your inbox on October 1st.