
The Au Gres-Sims School District
www.ags-schools.org
Au Gres-Sims Families and Community,
For my entry this week, I would like to share my graduation address with you. I hope the life suggestions that I have provided for our seniors can become talking points for you to have with your children on their educational journey through AGS and that in a few short years they will hear their very own address on graduation day.
Seniors, tonight is your final moment of mandatory schooling. After today many of you will go to college or trade school and will voluntarily continue your schooling. Others will go straight into the workforce. Regardless of your path, when you walk out of this stadium tonight you will all share one job, a job that starts today and that you will have for each day of the rest of your lives. The emperor of Rome, Marcus Aurelius, in his time the most powerful man in the world, reflected on this job in his journal, “What is your vocation?” he asked himself. The answer he developed has been passed down to each of the generations that have followed because of its elegance and simplicity. That simple answer is, “to be a good person.” How to do this job is something that has been left for each individual to figure out and now falls on you to determine as well. Tonight I offer you three suggestions on how to get started with this job.
My first suggestion is to keep learning. Author Robert Greene is quoted as saying, “Knowledge is always progressing. You are always knowledge inferior. Put your faith in learning, not technology.” After 13 years of school you may think that you have all the answers, but our goal here at AGS was never to teach you everything that you’d ever need to know. Rather, our goal was to provide you with the foundation and tools to actively seek knowledge throughout your life. Technology has made access to information easier than ever and there is a tendency to cut corners and lean on technology rather than truly learning new material. While this may have been good enough to fool your teachers at times (but I assure you that they weren’t fooled and knew all along), there are no grades in life and the only person you will be fooling is your future self. To quote Greene again, “Practical knowledge is the ultimate commodity and it is what will pay you dividends for years to come. The goal with your learning now is more than earning a grade, it is on the acquisition of knowledge to couple with experience to form wisdom. Albert Einstein said it best, “Wisdom is not a product of schooling, but of the lifelong attempt to acquire it.” You need to keep learning regardless of what you choose for your future.
My second suggestion is to focus on now, this moment, to be present with the people you are with and the task at hand. It is in our human nature to dream of the future and dwell upon the past, but neither of these times means anything if we don’t live and take action in the present. “Pay attention to what’s in front of you, the principle, the task, of what’s portrayed.” With these words Marcus Aurelius emphasized the importance of living in the moment. We learn from the past and work towards the future by making the most of today, by going out and making the future for ourselves through our actions that progressively move us closer to our ambitions. Epictetus provided us an account of this truth, “God laid down this law saying: If you want some good, get it from yourself.” You cannot be a passenger in your own life. If you aim to be a good person, to do the job we have all been tasked with, then you must do good things. This is how you make a good day. And good days add up to good weeks and good months. Before you know it you have good years and you’re living a good life.
My third and final suggestion to you is to make your own luck. Joseph Weil said, “The desire to get something for nothing has been very costly for many people.” Everything worth having is worth working for. There is value in putting in the effort for what you want. Doing the work also has the added benefit of creating that practical knowledge I mentioned before and building wisdom through the application of that knowledge in your experiences. Sitting around and waiting for fortune to smile upon you is a fruitless endeavor. Perhaps lady luck will visit you every once in a while, but sitting around and waiting for her doesn’t prepare you for the moment when luck arrives. Luck is where hard work meets opportunity. Coleman Cox put this popular expression another way. He said, “I am a great believer in luck. The harder I work, the more of it I seem to have.”
Seniors, I commend and congratulate you on what you have accomplished in earning your diploma from Au Gres-Sims. When you leave here, as high school graduates I hope you carry the lessons that you have learned in our hallowed halls and that I have shared with you tonight. I hope you go out into the world and take seriously your job of being a good person. I hope you keep learning; I hope you live in the present moment; I hope you make your own luck through hard work. There is no doubt that you will face challenges on the road ahead. You will face obstacles and things will seem tough at times. Stand tall and persist in the face of adversity, for you are armed with the tools that you need for success, and remember the words of Henry Kissinger, “A diamond is merely a lump of coal that did well under pressure.”
Have a great weekend AGS, your final weekend of the 21-22 school year!
Mr. Ming
K-12 Principal's Update
Do you have unwanted or expired medications at home? If so, you can dispense of them "No Questions Asked" at the Arenac County Sheriff's Department Lobby located at 126 Grove Street in Standish. For more information contact Lori Jacques at 989-654-2491.
King of the Road Driving School is offering some summer driving opportunities in the Cyber Cafe here at AGS. Segment 1 will run July 11-26. For week 1 and 2, classes will run Monday through Friday, and just Monday and Tuesday in week 3. Segment 2 will run just three days on July 27-29. All classes will run from 8:00-10:00 am. For more information call 989-600-5519 or email kotrdrivingschool@gmail.com.
The Saginaw Bay 4H Fish Camp is offering a fun opportunity this summer on July 27 and 28 from 9-3 at the River Side Park in Au Gres. For $25 they will teach you how to fish and how to protect our Great Lakes. There are scholarships available. You will also receive a rod with reel, fully stocked tackle box, a t-shirt, and snacks. It is open to 4H members ages 8-12. If you are not a 4H member it is really easy to sign up at no cost! For more information contact Melissa Prohaska at 989-846-4111 or go to https://bit.ly/SB4HFC to register.
As we enter our last week of school, below are some events going on throughout the week:
-6/4 Baseball Districts at Whittemore at 10 vs. Hale, Softball Districts at Alcona at 12 vs. Mio
-6/7 Elementary Fun Day at the City Park (volunteers not needed)
-6/8 Elementary Fun Day at the City Park (rain date)
-6/9 1:00 dismissal, MS/HS 1st-3rd hour exams
-6/10 1:00 dismissal, MS/HS 4th-6th hour exams
8:30-9:45 4th/5th Awards in the main gym
10:00-11:00 1st/2nd/3rd Awards in the main gym
10:30-11:30 6th Grade Orientation in MPR
11:30-12:30 K Awards in the main gym
From the Desk of Mrs. Socha
It is hard to believe that next week is the last week of school! This year feels like it has flown by, but at the same time - it feels like August was so long ago. During these last weeks of school, I am not only wrapping up the school year with testing and data, but I am also planning for summer and the next school year! Looking ahead to summer school, today was the last day for sign-ups for our summer session. If you signed your elementary or middle school student up for our Summer Enrichment Program, we will reach out to you in the next week or two with some more information. The first important date will be the Chromebook pick–up, which will be on Friday, June 24th. I will send out more information about that date in our communications over the next few weeks. If you are a summer school participant, please keep an eye out for emails from either myself or your summer school teacher, once those placements have been determined.
Looking ahead to next year, I did want to make an important announcement regarding virtual learning. Next year, we will not be offering a 100% virtual option. Many of the temporary laws and pupil accounting restrictions that were put in place back in 2020, have since been eliminated. This coupled with our return to nearly normal operations in our district has brought us to the decision to eliminate this option. Letters were emailed out today to current virtual families and a letter has also been sent out in the mail. We wanted to let all families know this information now while planning for next year.
We are looking forward to this final week of the 2021-2022 school year!
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) has a vast repository of Mental Health Resources including:
- Online Discussion Groups
- Resources for Teens
- Help Lines (Phone and Text)
- Mental Wellness Webinars
- Behavioral Health Guides
- Video Resources
Check them out at: https://www.michigan.gov/coronavirus/resources/mental-health-resources
Athletics Update
Next Week's Schedule of Events:
Baseball and Softball will be competing in their district tournaments tomorrow. Good luck Wolverines!
Baseball @ Whittemore-Prescott:
- 10a vs. Hale
- ***2p DISTRICT FINAL: AGS/Hale winner vs. Mio/Alcona winner
Softball @ Alcona:
- 12p vs. Mio
- ***2p DISTRICT FINAL: Mio/AGS winner vs. Alcona/Hale winner
22-23 Parent and Player Informational Meeting on June 7th
The meeting will cover:
- summer activities for volleyball and football
- physicals
- scholarships for camps
- game and practice schedules for fall sports
Please make this important meeting a priority so your child does not miss out on critical practice time over summer.
The Wolverine Wake-Up
Important Dates - June/End of School Year
Good News! We received confirmation this week that our waiver for 3 days was accepted by the state. We are confirmed for only 1 make-up day, meaning our last day of school is Friday, June 10th for students.
JUNE
- 8th: FULL DAY OF SCHOOL (was originally an early release day)
- 9th: Early Release ALL STUDENTS at 1pm, Middle and High School Exams
- 10th: Early Release ALL STUDENTS at 1pm, Middle and High School Exams, LAST DAY OF SCHOOL FOR ALL STUDENTS
- 13th: Teacher Records Day
- 20th: 6p Board of Education Regular Meeting
Fine Arts Camp Available for AGS Students this Summer
Help Wanted at AGS
https://www.ags-schools.org/employment-opportunities--95
Job Opportunities at AGS
Looking Ahead to the 2022-2023 School Year
We are already planning ahead for next school year and looking for the very best to fill our ranks and join the AGS Family. We need your help! Please spread the word that we are on the lookout for the following positions for the 22-23 School Year.
- K-12 Art Teacher
- Elementary PE - Health Teacher
- MS ELA Teacher
- Maintenance Director
- Bus Driver (2)
- Special Education Teacher
- Targeted Math Interventionist (part-time, grades 6-8)
- Interventionist for Math and Reading (part-time, grades K-8)
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.
Check out the sign-up guide in the attachment below for how to become a substitute teacher for Au Gres-Sims.
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