Monthly Archives: August 2015

Bendle/Carman-Ainsworth Community Education Early Childhood Program

Prek Ad Journal Ad (2)

Open House Schedule

OpenHouse

Food Service Information

Prices for 2015-2016

Elementary Lunch $2.00 • Secondary Lunch $2.45

Breakfast FREE in all grades

Parents of students eligible for the free and reduced lunch program will fill out only one form for all their children this school year, even if the students attend several different buildings. Forms will be available at all the schools at the beginning of the school year. Forms will also be available in the student handbooks and on the website. Questions regarding this process can be directed to Jennifer Yee, Child Nutrition Director, 810-591-3220.

 

 

Bus Routes & Transportation Procedures

Please allow a 10-minute window of time before and after the designated time during the first week of school. Students are asked to be at their designated bus stop location at least 5-10 minutes prior to scheduled pick-up time.  All times are approximate. Questions concerning transportation services should be directed to the resident school or the transportation office at 591-3470.

Click here for link to Bus Routes

Superintendent’s Letter

Welcome Back Cavaliers!

We are very excited to begin another successful school year on Tuesday, September 8, 2015, however, I would like to draw your attention to many accomplishments at Carman-Ainsworth Community Schools during the 2014-15 School Year.

Academic Excellence

The C-A High School Class of 2015 was arguably the most accomplished graduating class in many years. In all, the Class of 2015 was offered over $4.8 million in scholarships from colleges and universities across the country. In addition, a record, ten graduates from this class met the stringent requirements to be recognized on the Carman-Ainsworth Academic Hall of Fame. Ten C-A graduates earned Advanced Placement Scholar, Scholar with Honor, or Scholar with Distinction recognition from the College Board for their excellence in three or more Advanced Placement Courses.

Accolades Beyond the Classroom

In addition to the many classroom accomplishments, students across our fine district represented Carman-Ainsworth in numerous county, state, national, and world competitions. Our Robotics programs continued to excel, posting numerous victories. In fact, for the second consecutive year, Big MO (High School) earned the right to compete at the World Robotics Championships in St. Louis, Missouri. Our students also excelled in the fine arts, earning individual accolades in theatre and music, along with state-level recognition for our instrumental music programs.

Carman-Ainsworth was also well-represented at the elementary level with our 5th-6th grade Book Bowl Team being crowned the county-wide Division I Champions, while our Randels Elementary Odyssey of the Mind Team placed second in the state competition, earning the opportunity to compete in the World Championships at Michigan State University. Our students certainly represented our community well and enjoyed tremendous opportunities!

Fiscal Responsibility

In February, the district completed the successful sale of its 2015 Refunding Bonds in the amount of $9,650,000. The Bonds will be used for the purpose of refunding a portion of the School District’s outstanding 2005 Refunding Bonds and to pay the costs of issuing the Bonds. In doing so, the district reduced the Bond interest expense approximately $950,347 for the taxpayers. This will lower debt payments over the next 5 years. In the two previous selling of refunding bonds, the School District reduced interest expense approximately $699,244 in 2011 and $813,210 in 2012.

In addition, as a result of the concessions agreed to by all Carman-Ainsworth employees, 2014-15 became the second straight year that the district was able to add to our Fund Balance, even with continued fluctuations in student enrollment. These successful efforts in addressing our structural deficit, while also reducing the Bond interest expense burden on our tax payers, is evidence of our continued efforts to remain fiscally responsible.

We are proud of what we accomplished last year, but we are even more excited about the new programming and ongoing improvements that our students will benefit from in the 2015-16 School Year.

Onsite Dual Enrollment at Carman-Ainsworth High School

For the first time ever, Carman-Ainsworth High School students will be able to take college courses without leaving the C-A High School Campus. We are proud to partner with the University of Michigan-Flint to offer a 13-college credit Pre-Engineering Program as well as a 13-college credit Medical Science Program for C-AHS seniors. In addition, through a partnership with Mott Community College, and as an outgrowth of our Federal STEM Early College Expansion Program Grant, C-AHS juniors and seniors will have an opportunity to enroll in American Sign Language, African-American History, and Forensic Anthropology courses…again, onsite at C-AHS. These programs are tremendous opportunities for our students that eliminate the common barriers of transportation and extra-curricular activities that often keep our students from accessing dual enrollment options. The results thus far are tremendous: 44 students are enrolled in these programs with the opportunity to earn 527 college credits, which combined with our summer Accelerated Graduation Opportunity (AGO), totals 68 students and 628 college credits while still in high school. Not to be outdone, students at C-A Middle School are slated to earn over 330 high school credits while still at the Middle School. To be certain, there are high expectations and plenty of excitement surrounding academics in our secondary buildings.

Science Technology Engineering and Math (STEM) Programming District-wide

Beginning in Fall 2015, Carman-Ainsworth Community Schools will become the first district in Michigan to offer the nationally recognized Project Lead the Way (PLTW) STEM curriculum to students in ALL of our traditional K-12 buildings. All students in grades K-5 will have the PLTW Launch Program, which is an entirely project-based STEM program that engages students in science education, teaching teamwork and critical thinking skills. Students at the C-A Middle School will be able to elect courses in the PLTW Gateway Program, including “Design & Modeling” and “Automation & Robotics.” In addition, students at C-A High School may elect courses in PLTW Engineering or PLTW Biomedical Science. We realize that STEM education is critical for students to be able to compete for jobs locally now and globally in our future, thus, we have gained and leveraged many grant opportunities to offer this program to all of our students as opposed to magnet buildings where only a segment of our population might benefit.

VICTORY Alternative Education Programming

This year we are excited to implement the VICTORY (Virtual Individualized Commitment To Opportunities Reached with Your) Educational Plan for students enrolled at Atlantis Alternative High School. The VICTORY Educational Plan is a format that applies a blended learning model that can provide students with uncommon options for those wishing to complete requirements for earning a high school diploma. The program allows students to work at an individual pace on highly engaging on-line courses with onsite support from highly qualified teachers in all core content areas. In addition, students benefit from having an individual mentor as well as a student success team, working collaboratively towards meeting their individual goals. We are looking forward to working with students in a partnership that can, and will, ensure their educational success.

Clearly, Carman-Ainsworth Community Schools is committed to continuous improvement and is leading the way with new and innovative opportunities for our students. However, we realize that educating all children is a shared responsibility. Parents have countless opportunities to become involved in their child’s education and are encouraged to do just that! We want to invite our community members to help support our children as well by volunteering your time and resources. Volunteer registration information can be obtained in your building office.

I am confident that together we can continue to ensure that all students meet their academic, social and emotional success in school. Please do not hesitate to share any ideas, questions or concerns with me at stunnicl@carmanainsworth.org

Welcome Back Cavaliers!

Steve

Steve Tunnicliff, Ph.D.
Superintendent, Carman-Ainsworth Community Schools

Youth Basketball

ThinkstockPhotos-82090160

This league is designed for both beginning and experienced players, and no previous basketball experience is required.

Features:

• Full-Court play
• Registered officials
• T-shirt
• Practice once a week
• Instruction

Cost: $60.00

Location: C-A High School; 1300 Linden Road

Practice Begins: Week of October 19 (Coaches determine days & times)

Games Begin: Saturday, November 7 — Schedule to be announced

MANDATORY:

Current Physical must be on file with Community Education. Physicals are good for 1 year. If you played basketball in the winter or baseball this summer let us know so we can pull your physical.

Team placement meeting:

October 10, 2015 at CAHS Gym

Grades 3-4 10:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.

Grades 5-8 12:00 Noon – 1:00 p.m.

Register online at: http://activenet.active.com/bendleainsworth

Call 810-591-3600 or 810-591-7238 for more information and to register.

Click here for flyer.

 

Carman-Ainsworth Community Schools Student Support Services

Maribeth Goodheart, Director of Student Support

Services • 810-591-6251

Sara Rainwater, GISD ELL Coordinator • 810-591-4443

English Language Learners (ELL)

Instructional Support Services are offered to students at Carman-Ainsworth Community Schools. English is Second Language (ESL) program provides English language instruction to students who are English Language Learners (ELL) and instructional support to building staff. In coordination with the Genesee Intermediate School District (GISD), a Language Line Service has been established to assist parents and school staff communicate for school enrollment and student educational progress. Language Line Service can be utilized either in person at our school buildings or by contacting the building the student attends by phone, or by calling the Student Support Service Office and ask for language interpreter assistance.

 

August 18 Board Meeting

Carman-Ainsworth Academic Hall of Fame and Advanced Placement Scholar Award Recipients

The Academic hall of Fame was created by setting a standard that is based on an accumulation of ACT scores, AP classes taken, test scores in those AP classes and a student’s GPA. The class of 2015 excelled above prior graduating classes with ten (10) students meeting the required standard. Each student has his or her picture on a recognition plaque that will hang forever in our Academic Hall of Fame corridor.

(Some students were not able to attend the Board meeting as they have already started college.)

Students awarded are:

  • Taylor Brooks, Academic Hall of Fame and AP Scholar with Honor
  • Vlad Li, Academic Hall of Fame
  • Christian Jones, AP Scholar
  • Chelsea Miller, Academic Hall of Fame and AP Scholar with Distinction
  • Ethan Moore, AP Scholar
  • Luke Moore, Academic Hall of Fame and AP Scholar
  • Tyler Pangerl, Academic Hall of Fame and AP Scholar with Honor
  • Justin Powell, Academic Hall of Fame and AP Scholar
  • Bailey Rousseau, Academic Hall of Fame and AP Scholar with Distinction
  • Sarah Talley, Academic Hall of Fame
  • Sara Tilley, Academic Hall of Fame and AP Scholar
  • Kyce Zaiter, Academic Hall of Fame and AP Scholar

Dual Enrollment

Beginning this fall, we will be hosting two local colleges at C-A!  The University of Michigan-Flint and Mott Community College will offer on-site dual enrollment classes where students will earn both high school and college credit saving families thousands of dollars.  We still have limited seats for the following programs for qualified students. If you are interested in finding out more about these programs, please call 591-3240 or email me at ddavis@carmanainsworth.org or continue to watch our website for future dual enrollment opportunities.

Mott Community College – 11th or 12th Grade with 2.5 GPA or higher and must meet ACT score requirement or placement test.  Courses include  ASL 101/102 -American Sign Language 1 and 2; HIST 255 – African-American History since 1865; ANTH 210 – Forensic Anthropology; CASD 121 – Study and Learning Skills.

The University of Michigan-Flint – 12th Grade with a 3.0 GPA or higher and must meet ACT score requirement or placement test as well as course requirements.  Programs include coursework in Pre-Engineering and Medical Sciences, as well as off-site programs in Environmental Science.  More information is available on our website.

CAHS Upcoming Events

 

Thursday, August 27th – Schedule Pickup: 10th – 12th grade from 12 – 4 pm and 9th grade from 5 -7 pm:

  • Schedule pickup
  • School pictures will be taken (appropriate school clothing only).
  • Josten’s Representative will be available from 12-2 for graduation announcements, cap and gown and class ring orders. Cap & gown will cost $25.25
  • Goodwill/Goodguides will be here for signup for High School students to mentor Middle School students
  • Teenquest sign up
  • Student parking passes available for a discounted rate of $30 (cash or credit card only)
  • Building tours will be available for new students and 9th graders;
  • ParentVUE and StudentVUE updates to email and phone
  • Counselor’s available for schedule conflicts or incomplete schedules
  • Freshmen Orientation Parent Meetings at 5:30 and 6:30 in the auditorium

Friday, August 28th – 7:00 p.m. Football Season Opener – come watch the Carman-Ainsworth Cavaliers play the Grand Blanc Bobcats at our home field located at Carman-Ainsworth Middle School.

Tuesday, September 8th – First Day of School for all students. School begins at 7:20 with homeroom.

Thursday, September 17th – Great Expectations Day for Students – Motivational speakers, pep rally, academic and behavioral expectations, Commitment to Graduate signing, class games, and much more!

Monday, September 21st – Carman-Ainsworth High School Open House 5:30- 7:00 pm – Everyone is encouraged to attend to meet teachers and hear about HS programs!

Monday, September 21st – Parent Advisory Meeting – Meet the Principal and Annual Education Report presentation.  7:00 pm in Media Center.

October 5th-9th – Homecoming Week – Homecoming Football Game Friday night and Homecoming Dance onSaturday, October 10th.

Wednesday, October 14th – PSAT testing for all 11th grade students.

Friday, October 16th – End of First Marking Period for HS

Tuesday, October 20th – Picture Retake Day

Thursday, October 29th – Parent/Teacher Conferences in HS Gym (4:30 – 7:30 pm).  All parents are invited and encouraged to attend!