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.

Today (May 1st!) is School Principals Day. A sincere thank you to our building admins for their leadership and dedication. Thank you!

Friday, May 3rd is “School Lunch Hero Day.” When we say school nutrition professionals are heroes, we mean it! We appreciate our food service professionals staff the key role they play in ensuring our students receive healthy meals that are served with a smile. Thank you!

Wednesday, May 8 is School Nurse Day. We thank our nurses for their dedication to keeping our students healthy and ready to learn. Thank you!

The month of May is Better Speech and Hearing Month. We applaud the work of our teachers, assistants, and speech/language pathologists for serving over 500 students in our district who have special needs in these areas. Thank you!

MCAS Superintendent Dr. Barbara Eason-Watkins has announced her retirement, effective August 2, after 50 years in education and 14 years of service to our district. Follow this link to read about some of her amazing accomplishments as our Superintendent!

This Friday, May 3, is Better World Day across the Michigan City Area Schools! On this day, our elementary and middle school students districtwide will join hundreds of students across the country for a day of student-led service and civic action to create positive change in their communities. We are excited that we have students from Joy and Edgewood who will be featured during a national Community Circle taking place on that day. Better World Day is directly tied to our EL Education curriculum for language arts. Watch our website and social media for updates!

This summer, MCAS will be migrating to a new web site provider called Finalsite. When we make this transition, there will be no more Teacher web pages. Important note for Teachers: Be sure to save any bio information or other materials that you would like to preserve for other purposes! (You may want to consider moving some or all of your information to Schoology.) Pages for clubs, teams, programs, departments, schools, etc. will all be moved to the new site and you'll receive information about how to edit pages you are responsible for. Questions? Please reach out to Megan Daurer at m.daurer@mcas.k12.in.us.

Pillar teams have been hard at work this school year on our district's new Strategic Plan! Thank you to all who responded to our recent survey, which will help us measure the effectiveness of our progress so far. Visit our website to view the latest updates on our Progress Monitoring Dashboard and an archive of presentations that have been made to the School Board.

Congratulations to Springfield Elementary School Nurse Laurie Tarnow, who has been selected as a recipient of the Northwest Indiana Times “Nurses: The Heart of Healthcare Award.” Laurie will be featured in a special section of the Times on May 8, and will be honored at a luncheon in Merrillville on May 14th. Thank you to everyone who voted for Laurie!

Yesterday, the MCAS School Board celebrated the completion of the first three cohorts of MCAS educators who participated in LETRS training. LETRS, or Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling, is grounded in decades of research to support teachers in learning the instructional knowledge and skills to teach students how to read. This intense training took place over the course of the last 18 months and required over 100 hours from each participant. Training consisted of asynchronous videos, reading, application activities with students, and required everyone to pass tests with a minimum score of 80%. MCAS students are benefitting from the commitment of these teachers! Classroom proficiency levels on iReady assessments are showing increases ranging from 20-40% in their classrooms when compared to previous years.

CONGRATS TO:

Edgewood art teacher Matt Raney is featured in the cover story of the May 2 edition of The Beacher weekly newspaper! His amazing mural graces the walls of the new Burn 'Em Brewing taproom and restaurant at 1215 E Second Street. "Artist Matt Raney's mashup of zany characters he's painting on an industrial scale mural in Burn 'Em Brewing's edgy new building brilliantly captures the brewpub's eclectic, trippy vibe," says writer Edmund Lawler. Be sure to check out the full story in The Beacher, and also check out his artwork in person. Way to go, Matt!

From May 6th to May 10th, the DonorsChoose Community is coming together with a big goal in mind: to raise $8 million in appreciation of the incredible dedication and hard work teachers invest in their classrooms every day. Currently, MCAS teachers have posted 22 projects in need of funding. Follow this link to read about the projects OR to get started on submitting one in order to get in on the Teacher Appreciation Week push: https://www.donorschoose.org/mcas?active=true

The Michigan City Area Schools Transportation Department will host its annual Mother’s Day Plant and Flower Sale on Friday, May 10th from 9 A.M. to 5 P.M. on the front lawn of the Service Building at 1100 S. Woodland Avenue. Cash, credit, and debit will be accepted. The sale will feature a large selection of flats and hanging baskets from Mark’s Farm Market and Greenhouses. Gary’s Hot Dog Cart will be on site from 11 A.M. to 4 P.M., as well. The Transportation Department’s Social Events Committee uses the proceeds from this annual sale to assist students in need of winter clothing and other items. Proceeds also support the Department’s participation in parades and Halloween events.

Five educators will be inducted into the 2024 Wall of Fame, in honor of their dedicated service to our students. This year’s inductees are Rick Commers, Gloria Dombkowski, Bruce Fischer, Jan Radford, and Dan Ruth. They will be celebrated – along with our 15 retirees this year – at the annual Wall of Fame and Retirement dinner on May 22. All are invited to purchase a ticket: Reservations are due by Friday, May 10th! (Reminder: Checks should be payable to MCEA not to MCAS.) For a reservation form, visit: http://educateMC.net/retirement.

MCAS Math Specialist Mike Maesch will be representing MCAS in the annual Donut Eating Contest to benefit the Salvation Army of Michigan City. Mike will have to eat more than a dozen in 10 minutes to take down last year's record... but odds are, he can do it! Please support Mike by purchasing a $10 vote for him, which will enter you into a drawing to win a Chamber gift certificate. Tickets are available from Mike or from Betsy Kohn, or can be purchased at https://www.salarmy.us/donuts2024.. Spectators are also encouraged at the contest, which is on Friday, June 7 at Blue Chip; doors open at 9am for "pregame" festivities and the contest takes place at 10am.

The Lilly Endowment is accepting applications for its Teacher Creativity Fellowship Program. This program supports educators throughout Indiana by providing resources for them to take time for meaningful renewal. The Endowment believes that through new experiences, exploration, and reflection educators can generate renewed energy in their careers, innovative approaches to teaching and educational leadership, and thoughtful ways to encourage students’ creative thinking. The Endowment expects to award approximately 125 grants, each totaling up to $15,000, in 2025. The application deadline is 5 p.m. EDT on Monday, September 9.

Four information sessions will be held in 2024 on May 16, May 30, August 8 and August 13. To learn more or register for one of these sessions, visit the Lilly Endowment website. Contact Lilly Endowment staff at teachercreativity@lei.org with any questions.

You must register to attend: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/5846673310709134174

Webinar Topics:

• As we acknowledge and honor Mental Health Awareness during the entire Month of May, let’s explore a variety of strategies and use this month as a time for our individual growth, support, and selfcare.
• Medicare 101: Our webinar will cover - What is Medicare? - When do I enroll/Election Periods? - 4 Parts of Medicare - HSA’s & Medicare

Check out the May offers from TicketsatWork for summer adventures, including hotels, flights, and rental cars. Celebrate Mother's Day on May 12th with discounts on gift baskets and floral arrangements. Don't forget about health-focused products and services during Physical Fitness and Sports Month and Mental Health Awareness Month. If you haven’t signed up for Tickets at Work yet, click become a member and enter our company code: MCAS.

Exciting news! The Dunes Arts Foundation is providing 2 FREE TICKETS to each of its Summer 2024 season shows to any MCAS employee. (This season's lineup is featured below.) To claim your free tickets (limit: 2 free tickets per show) visit https://www.dunesarts.org/tickets and enter code MCAS when checking out in your cart. For more info call Alex Front at the DAF: 219-879-7509 or email dunestheatre@gmail.com

On Thursday, May 9, Boys & Girls Clubs of La Porte County will unite with 31 other Club organizations across the State of Indiana for a Day of Service. In partnership with MCAS, they will be planting four trees at 4:00pm on the vacant lot across from the Westcott Club, which is located at Elston. Club members, families and friends will also enjoy a visit from the Kona Ice Truck and a tree-related craft project. All are welcome to stop by!

The South Shore Line is has announced a new train schedule effective Tuesday, May 14. This new schedule is the result of the capital improvements made to the South Shore Line infrastructure by the Double Track NWI project. Click here for the full schedule of train times.

Highlights of the new service:

• Increased origination service out of the new Miller and 11th St. (Michigan City) Stations.

• Increased morning and afternoon rush hour train time options.

• New limited-stop express train service.

• High-level platform ADA access at 11th St., Portage/Ogden Dunes, and Miller train stations.

• Bikes on Trains has been expanded to include all trains, all year long, at existing bike stations.

The new limited-stop express train service will offer the following travel times to Chicago:

• Michigan City – 67 min.

• Dune Park – 57 min.

• Portage/Ogden Dunes – 51 min.

• Gary (Miller) – 46 min.

• South Bend – 109 min.