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MCAS, in partnership with Neo Network Development, has entered Phase 2 of a comprehensive project providing free wireless broadband internet access to a growing number of our students. The project is funded through a $600,000 grant from the Indiana Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund (GEER).

A 45-foot antenna recently installed at Knapp Elementary School now provides free wireless internet service to all MCAS-owned devices at approximately 200 homes within a half-mile radius. In order to access the service, families are issued a free, pre-configured router that plugs into a standard home electrical outlet. The router enables school Chromebooks and tablets to access the internet. (It will limit access to streaming and video game outlets, ensuring use for educational purposes.)

The Knapp antenna is the latest to be installed on an MCAS building; antennas already exist at the Elston Building and the Administration Building. Once the network is optimized, close to 1,500 households with MCAS students will be served.

Congratulations to the team at Edgewood Elementary for being selected as a recipient of the Mobile Van program through Enchanted Backpack! Edgewood will receive nearly $50,000 worth of brand new classroom supplies, recess items, books, winter coats, games, art supplies, and MORE.

Principal Kristin Smith and her team are grateful to have been chosen for this incredible gift, which will be delivered on April 12. CLICK HERE to check out a sneak peek video of the blessing that is headed their way!

Coming soon to a classroom near you: a Phonak sound enhancement system!

Research shows that at any given time during the day, 50-60 percent of students cannot hear instruction due to other ambient noises in and around the classroom. That's why MCAS is installing sound enhancement systems in all classrooms districtwide. Teachers wear a microphone on a lanyard during instruction, and a speaker bar in the front of each room amplifies the teacher’s voice.

Installation at the high school and Krueger are complete, and our Tech team will be making the rounds to install the systems at all other buildings over Spring Break.

Michigan City Area Schools is seeking nominations for the 2022 Michigan City Area Schools Wall of Fame. This annual award, first presented in 1976, honors former school employees who have made outstanding contributions to the children of the Michigan City Area Schools. Employees from every area are eligible: administrators, custodians, food service personnel, instructional assistants, maintenance personnel, paraprofessionals, teachers, transportation staff, and secretarial staff.

To qualify for nomination, the candidate must have been employed by MCAS for a minimum of 15 years. Special circumstances may be considered for those not meeting the 15-year requirement due to hardship or death. Candidates also must have been retired or separated from the school system for at least five years. (Because retirees are occasionally called back to service, the date of separation is considered the official retirement date, not including subsequent employment by MCAS.) Employees from schools that were independent before school reorganization as well as those from schools no longer in existence are also eligible for the honor. Death does not make a person ineligible.

All applications remain on file for three years. At the end of that time, candidates must be re-

nominated.

Inductees will be honored at the MCAS/MCEA Retirement Dinner, which will be held on June 2 at Blue Chip. (More information and a registration form for the dinner will be available in May.)

Nomination forms and a complete list of past recipients are available on the MCAS website at http://EducateMC.net/WOF. The deadline for nominations is Friday, April 29, 2022.

Stop by the Lubeznik Center for the Arts, 101 W. 2nd Street, between March 31 and May 9 to see MCAS student artwork on display in the NIPSCO Art Education Studios! An opening reception will be held for this show on Wednesday, April 20 from 4:30 - 6:00pm.

This must-see display features 2- and 3-dimensional pieces by kindergartners through 6th graders. This artwork was created in MCAS classrooms in a variety of media, including paint, clay, chalk pastels, and paper.

A huge shout out to our elementary art teachers for their work on this show!

Michigan City High School will hold a dedication ceremony to name its newly renovated Track in honor of former teacher and coach Barbara Jones Slater on Tuesday, April 26, at 3:30pm. The ceremony will be held prior to the home girls’ track meet, which begins at 4:30 that afternoon.

We are thrilled that Barbara Jones Slater will be traveling from Atlanta with her daughter to be present for this ceremony! A former teacher and coach at Rogers High School, she also led the “Raiderettes” and impacted hundreds of students throughout the years. Many of her students never knew that she had been part of the 4 x 100 meter relay teams that won gold medals at the 1952 and 1960 Olympics, and at the 1955 and 1959 Pan American Games. At the 1952 Olympics, she became the youngest woman in the world to win an Olympic gold medal in track, at the age of 15.

Three MCAS teachers were recently presented with the 2022 Conservation Educator of the Year Award by the La Porte County Soil and Water Conservation District! Congratulations to our High Ability teachers Denise Yackus (Joy Elementary School), Sheila Sobecki (Springfield Elementary School), and Megan Boyter (Knapp Elementary School), who were recognized for their outstanding efforts in the area of conservation education in La Porte County and their commitment to the protection of soil and water resources.

These three teachers wrote an "expedition" unit for their 4th-6th graders, with a Science and English focus that brought in local experts and focused on advocacy in reducing eco-invaders. Research topics included the formation of Lake Michigan, food chains, watersheds, ecosystems, and human influence.

Congratulations to MCAS Multimedia Communications Specialist Jessica O’Brien, who was named the 2022 Young Professional of the Year by the Michigan City Chamber of Commerce at its annual dinner last Friday. Knapp Principal Holly Martinez was also honored as a finalist for the Young Professional award this year. We are very proud of these two outstanding employees and we are grateful to the Chamber for spotlighting them!

Elizabeth Meyer, a teacher at Michigan City High School, is collecting monetary donations to help Ukrainian refugees in Poland.

Frydman, a small village where her family lives, has already seen many refugees, who arrive only with a single bag of belongings. These families are in need of basic supplies including strollers, shoes, spring clothes, cleaning products, care essentials, diapers, and toys. The village of Frydman was able to supply much of the immediate needs, but refugees continue to arrive and more supplies are needed.

Elizabeth's cousin, Piotr Wojtaszek, is principal of the school in his village and is helping coordinate incoming refugees and distributing supplies. Any donations collected will be sent directly to this school.

Donations can be sent to Elizabeth Meyer at MCHS or made through Google Pay (search for ekasprzak.meyer@gmail.com). Questions? Contact Elizabeth at emeyer@mcas.k12.in.us.

The Michigan City chapter of Rho Kappa National Social Studies Honor Society is hosting a donation drive for local animal shelters through April 13. Suggested donations include:

● Unopened food or treats

● Animal toys

● Sheets, blankets, towels

● Cleaning supplies

● Misc. Animal supplies

● Monetary donations

Donations may be given to any Rho Kappa member or dropped off at Michigan City High School's main office.

Thanks to the Newspapers in Education program, all students and staff in our district now have free access to the digital version of the Herald-Dispatch. This is based on MCAS IP addresses - which means you can access the newspaper from any device but you must be using our MCAS network at one of our buildings.

Visit https://www.lpheralddispatch.com/ and click on the “e_Editions” link at the top of the page to access it. (Here is a slide deck that gives some teacher resources and other information about the program.)

During its meeting on March 29, the MCAS School Board voted to maintain the current dress code -- deciding not to return to Dress for Success uniforms.

More than 2,800 parents, staff, and students responded to a recent survey on the topic; 82% of parents, 61% of staff, and 94% of students said they were not in favor of bringing back uniforms.

The current dress code (which has replaced DFS for the past two school years) can be found at http://educateMC.net/dresscode.

Our Special Education Department was recently featured on ABC 7 Chicago!

Milo and Carver, robots used to help students with communication challenges and those on the autism spectrum, were shown during the segment. MCAS Director of Special Education Stacy Attar discussed how staff use these robots to work with students. According to Stacy, certain students are more inclined to interact with the robots, which can help them better understand verbal and nonverbal cues, communicate in social settings, and more.

The Northwest Indiana Times also recently published a story about Milo, and a segment is coming soon on WCIU Chicago.

CLICK HERE to watch!

St. Mary's College invites K-12 Social Studies educators to take part in an upcoming summer workshop, "Learning from Inclusive Voices," that will discuss using inclusive source materials for teaching social studies.

This workshop will take place from July 25 - 29 from 9 am to 3 pm at St. Mary's College (Notre Dame, IN). Participants will hear from multiple experts and will learn to develop a curriculum with inclusive sources. Topics will include learning how to use inclusive primary source material to incorporate the histories of institutional racism and sexism; agency among women, indigenous peoples, and the working class; LGBTQ+ populations; and Black communities across the United States.

Teachers can earn free license renewal credits and will be paid a $125 stipend to assist with travel and food expenses. CLICK HERE to register online.

Michigan City Area Schools recently received four grants through the Michigan City Community Enrichment Corporation, totaling $37,900 in support for programs:

$10,000 - MCAS Safe Harbor Summer STEAM Camp

$14,000 - Barker Middle School "STEM Fab Lab"

$5,000 - MCAS "Future Wolves" Elementary School Sports Program

$8,900 - MCAS Middle School Athletics

MCCEC provides $750,000 in annual grants to Michigan City organizations and non-profits, funded by Blue Chip Casino. THANK YOU to the Michigan City Community Enrichment Corporation for your support of Michigan City Area Schools!

Our Career and Technical Education program has been notified that it will be receiving $79,682 from the State of Indiana’s Perkins Reserve Grant program, for our Culinary Arts program. This funding will be used to renovate the kitchen and to build on the Baking and Culinary Capstone program for the upcoming school year. We’re grateful to community partners Patrick’s Grille and the EDCMC, which supported this grant application!

How to Achieve Work Life Balance & Medicare 101

Wed, Apr 20, 2022 11:30 AM - 12:00 PM CDT

Register -> https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/4314551119613570830

How to Achieve Work Life Balance: • How to set up boundaries when interacting with others. • How to be kind to yourself. • How and when to Meditate • The importance of making time for fun activities • How eating well and exercise makes you feel better • Find a good therapist to help you with a personal plan of care

Medicare 101: -What is Medicare? -When do I enroll/Election Periods? -The 4 Parts of Medicare -HSA’s & Medicare

Franciscan publishes a monthly "Working Well" newsletter, and there are some great topics in the March 2022 edition.

• Fitness and Your Feet
  
• Understanding Multiple Sclerosis
• Carbohydrates and Blood Glucose
• The Creative Spirit
• Food of the Month: Kumquats

CLICK HERE to check it out!

Are you helping to care for elderly loved ones? Check out this informative webinar to learn more about Franciscan's new Program for All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) that recently opened in Michigan City. It is a government program that is funded through Medicare, Medicaid, and private-pay insurance.

CLICK HERE to watch a short presentation about the new facility in Michigan City. The video will cover eligibility, insurance coverage, at-home services, on-site services, and health-related services and equipment.

This One's For the Girls! This month, Franciscan Health presents a webinar focusing on women's health by Dr. Julia Garcia, Board Certified, Urology. She will discuss the most common types of bladder leakage, causes of leakage, and treatment options

CLICK HERE to view the webinar.

The Centers for Disease Control is now recommending that people who are 50 and older and certain immunocompromised individuals get a second Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine booster four months after they received the first.

The La Porte County Health Department recently published the following guidelines for eligibility:

• A second booster dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine or Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine may be administered to individuals 50 years of age and older at least 4 months after receipt of a first booster dose of any authorized or approved COVID-19 vaccine.
• A second booster dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine may be administered to individuals 12 years of age and older with certain kinds of immunocompromise at least 4 months after receipt of a first booster dose of any authorized or approved COVID-19 vaccine. These are people who have undergone solid organ transplantation, or who are living with conditions that are considered to have an equivalent level of immunocompromise.
• A second booster dose of the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine may be administered at least 4 months after the first booster dose of any authorized or approved COVID-19 vaccine to individuals 18 years of age and older with the same certain kinds of immunocompromise
  

More information regarding this additional booster and the latest COVID-19 variant is available in THIS ARTICLE published by NPR.

Boys & Girls Clubs of La Porte County has a handful of immediate openings at the Charles R. Westcott Club, located at the Elston Building (321 Detroit Street). The Westcott Club provides afterschool programming Monday through Friday from 3:00 PM to 6:00 PM while school is in session. Club membership is FREE and open to children in K-8th grades. The schedule of activities includes homework help, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) enrichment, physical activity, community service, arts & crafts, visits to the Game Room and much more.

Interested families can pre-register at https://form.jotform.com/212155484583156. Questions? Please contact Karen Kintigh, Director of Operations, at kkintigh@bgclubmc.org.

April is Child Abuse Prevention Month, and Dunebrook would like to partner with schools and student groups on awareness activities. They have blue pinwheels that they can provide for student groups who make posters or do some other activity surrounding awareness or fundraising. For more information please contact: Lisa Scheller, 219-508-4676, lisa2@dunebrook.org.