Renovations underway at Magnus Center

Renovations are underway at the Clare-Gladwin RESD’s John C. Magnus Center to address the need for better facilities to house the career and technical education (CTE) programs chosen by nearly 350 local high school juniors and seniors annually. Phase one of the project is scheduled for completion in May 2015..

Formerly home to Magnus Tractor Sales, the majority of the property’s nearly 25-acres was donated to the RESD in the spring of 2013 by the family of the late John C. Magnus and contains multiple outbuildings, a barn, and a house. The RESD began working with architectural and engineering firms last fall to determine a master plan for the space to be carried out in stages as funding is secured.

During the 2013-2014 school year, two outbuildings were removed and students in the CTE Construction Trades program prepped the property for the upcoming renovations, as well as remodeled the house to make it handicapped accessible for Clare-Gladwin Area School students to use in the future to practice life skills.

Earlier this summer, Clare-Gladwin RESD accepted the lowest bid from Bolle Contracting in Clare, and the demolition of old foundations and the back portion of the main building is currently in progress. Several beams and a portion of the barn floor will be replaced this fall, along with the construction of a new driveway to better fit school busses and emergency vehicles. To accommodate future development, a new septic field will be put in and further excavation will take place. Technology wiring will be installed and the new learning lab and classroom for the Health Occupations program will occupy the renovated front portion of the property’s main building. The $100,000 grant awarded to the RESD last year by the Rollin M. Gerstacker Foundation of Midland will help fund this phase of the expansion.

According to Clare-Gladwin RESD Superintendent Sheryl Presler, all of the project’s contractors have agreed to let the CTE Construction Trades students work side-by-side with them on various tasks, such as building new stud walls. “This is a real-world learning opportunity for our students,” said Presler. “We are grateful these companies recognize the value of vocational education and are willing to help shape the future workforce of their industry.” Approximately $15,000 will be saved by having the students’ assistance.

Clare-Gladwin Area School students 'Craft for a Cure'

The Clare-Gladwin Area School has partnered with the international non-profit charity Crafting for a Cure to help package craft-kits and create greeting cards for local children to use when at a hospital, offering them a fun and artistic distraction to help pass the time. The kits and cards will be made through product donations and will be available this fall in emergency rooms, clinic treatment rooms, and operating waiting rooms serving families from Clare and Gladwin counties.    

In early August, the organization’s founder and president, Pamela Bielak, traveled from Canada to the Area School to launch the partnership. Bielak brought the supplies needed to assemble approximately 1,000 craft kits valued at five dollars each. The kits will include a variety of materials such as glue sticks, crayons, magnetic picture frames, yarn, and pipe cleaners. Students in each classroom will be able to assist in packing the kits, constructing the greeting cards, or both.

“This collaboration is a wonderful project for the entire school to work on together,” said Linda Bennett, the Area School teacher who initiated the partnership. “Plus, it gives our students the chance to give back to our local communities.”  

Originating in Canada, Crafting for a Cure looks for opportunities to ensure children have a positive experience when a hospital visit is necessary. According to Bielak, while Crafting for a Cure has partnered with and benefited nearly 100 hospitals and schools around the world, the Clare-Gladwin Area School is the first school in the United States to help the charity pursue its mission. “It is our goal to make all children smile,” said Bielak. “We are excited to work with our first school in the United States and I think the Area School is the perfect fit.”

To learn how to donate, call the Area School at 989-386-3682.

For more information on Crafting for a Care, visit www.craftingforacure.ca.

Crafting for a Cure Founder Pamela Bielak recently delivered craft supplies for the Area School students to create craft kits and greeting cards for local hospital patients. From the left, Bielak, Area School Principal Mike Simon, Area School Teacher Linda Bennett, and Crafting for a Cure volunteers Daniel and Karen.  

Deadline for school of choice application slated for 2014-2015 school year

Under the Schools of Choice legislation (Section 105 and Section 105(c) of the School Aid Act), kindergarten through twelfth grade students residing within Clare Gladwin Regional Education Service District (RESD) and contiguous intermediate school districts may apply to attend participating public school districts in the two-county region, including Beaverton Rural Schools, Clare Public Schools, Farwell Area Schools, Gladwin Community Schools, and Harrison Community Schools. 

Transportation for these students is the responsibility of the parents or guardians.

The participating schools are listed below. For those grades or programs allowing an unlimited number of students from other school districts, request/application must be made to the preferred school district by no later than the end of the first week of school. For those grades or programs with a limited number of openings, the 15-day application period is from August 12 to August 30, 2014. 

The schools accepting students from other school districts during the first semester/trimester of the 2014-2015 school year include:

Beaverton Rural Schools, Gladwin Community Schools, and Farwell Area Schools

• All grades and programs (unlimited openings)  

Harrison Community Schools

Larson Elementary

• Kindergarten – 2^nd grades: No openings

Hillside Elementary

• 3^rd grade: 12 openings
• 4^th – 5^th grades: No openings

Middle School

• 6^th – 8^th grades: 20 openings each

High School

• 9^th grade: 5 openings
• 10^th grade: 3 openings
• 11^th – 12^th grades: No openings
• Alternative Education: Unlimited openings

Clare Public Schools

Primary

• Kindergarten – 2^nd grades: 10 openings each
• 3^rd grade: 5 openings
• 4^th grade: 5 openings

Middle

• 5^th – 7^th grades: No openings
• 8^th grade: 10 openings

High School

• 9^th – 12^th grades: Limited openings

RESD Culinary Arts instructor attends Summer Institute

The Clare-Gladwin Career Center’s Culinary Arts instructor Heidi Rocha attended the National Restaurant Association’s week-long Summer Institute last month at Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Orlando, Florida. Rocha’s tuition to the program and her travel expenses were funded by a $1,750 scholarship she was awarded earlier this year by the association.

During her trip, Rocha completed Level 3 of the Summer Institutes. Level 3 featured culinary topics in salads, garnishing, baking, and desserts, as well as management topics including marketing and cost control. The class also discussed global cuisines and sustainability.

This is the third time Rocha has received a scholarship to attend the National Restaurant Association’s Summer Institutes. She completed level 1 in Chicago in 2009, and level 2 in California in 2012.

Culinary Arts is one of nine career and technical education (CTE) programs offered to local high school juniors and seniors at the Clare-Gladwin Career Center, a program of Clare-Gladwin RESD. Students spend half of their regular school day in CTE and the other half at their local high school. For more information, please visit www.cgresd.net.

CGRESD co-sponsors summer academy for hundreds of school leaders

At the end of June, Clare-Gladwin RESD’s general education department once again co-sponsored the 2014 C.O.M.M.I.T. Summer Leadership Academy in Traverse City. Approximately 225 school leaders from around the state attended this year’s event titled, “Inspiring Leaders to Create Positive School Culture: Tools for Change.”

Featured speakers included Dr. Anthony Muhammad and Dr. Randy Sprick.  

Dr. Muhammad facilitated professional learning and discussion on how to intentionally reshape the internal practices of schools and how to foster and maintain a healthy school culture. Dr. Randy Sprick then led participants through the foundational principles of Schoolwide Positive Behavior Support systems and shared proactive strategies for defining, teaching, and supporting appropriate student behaviors to create positive school environments.

“The quality and message of each presenter was amazing,” said one Summer Leadership Academy participant. “Both presentations gave useful examples of how other districts have applied the concepts that were talked about.”

Another school leader said this year’s academy was, “outstanding,” and described the speakers as the best they’ve heard in many years.

The Summer Leadership Academy is an annual event Clare-Gladwin RESD plans in collaboration with a consortium of five central Michigan intermediate school districts. 

Seven students graduate from Clare-Gladwin Area School

Seven local students graduated from the Clare-Gladwin Area School earlier this month during the annual End of the Year Celebration program. It was standing room only as students Nicole Blaga, Alyssa Dumont, Wayne Hochstetler, Jessica Husted, Vincient Lago, Dustin Newman, and Andrew Ogg ceremoniously entered the school’s gymnasium in their caps and gowns to the tune of, “Pomp and Circumstance.”

Following the processional, each Area School class entertained the audience with performances that reflected the event’s “Dance to the Music” theme.

The program concluded with Clare-Gladwin RESD Superintendent Sheryl Presler, Area School Principal Mike Simon, and Assistant Superintendent for Special Education Jan Weckstein presenting the 2014 graduates with Certificates of Completion. Gladwin High School Assistant Principal Linda Stodolak also assisted in handing out the awards to the students from Gladwin.

“The Area School had a wonderful graduation,” said Presler. “The program was as spectacular as ever, and the graduates were beaming! It was a fitting conclusion to another successful school year for CGRESD.”                   

Four of this year’s graduates have secured jobs with the Arnold Center and Mid-Michigan Industries.

For more information on the Clare-Gladwin Area School and the Clare-Gladwin RESD, please visit www.cgresd.net.  

Clare County students collect more than $1,000 in change for Clare County Youth Council

Children from Hillside Elementary and Clare Primary schools recently collected more than $1,000 in change for the Clare County Youth Council (CCYC); the county’s local child abuse and neglect prevention council.

The classes that collected the most change included Mrs. Azelton-Lee’s class at Clare Primary and Mrs. Jensen’s class at Hillside Elementary. Both classes were awarded with a pizza party. The CCYC also gave every student in each school a popsicle in appreciation for their participation. The change was then rolled by students in the Clare-Gladwin Transition Class, a program of Clare-Gladwin RESD.

The CCYC would like to thank all of the students and schools involved for their efforts in preventing child abuse and neglect in Clare County. 

Criminal Justice students compete against peers at Delta College Skill Day

The Criminal Justice students of the Clare-Gladwin Career Center, a program of Clare-Gladwin RESD, recently placed fifth overall in the 9^th annual Delta College Criminal Justice Skill Day.

During the event, students competed against their peers from around the state in a physical agility contest in which they had to complete a ½ mile shuttle run, a vertical jump, and as many as push-ups and sit-ups as possible in one minute.

The Clare-Gladwin high school juniors and seniors also revealed their understanding of the criminal justice field by taking part in multiple knowledge-based games.  

Criminal Justice is one of nine career and technical education (CTE) programs offered to high school juniors and seniors at the Clare-Gladwin Career Center. The students spend half of their day at their CTE program and the other half at their local high school. 

Graphic Arts students place at 2014 MITES state competition

Students from the Clare-Gladwin Career Center’s Graphic Arts program recently submitted projects showcasing their skills developed in the classroom to the 2014 Michigan Industrial and Technology Education Society (MITES) State Convention and Student Competition held at Saginaw Valley State University’s Ryder Center last month. In order to qualify for the state competition, projects needed to place fourth or better at the previously held MITES Regional Student Competition. Of the 24 projects entered into the regional competition by Clare-Gladwin students, 12 advanced to the state event.

With a mission to encourage and recognize fine craftsmanship in the field of industrial technology and career technical education, the annual MITES student competition allows kids of all grade levels to compete against hundreds of  their peers in a variety of divisions, including graphic arts, mechanical drawing, machine shop, plastics, and more.

The local high school juniors and seniors from the Clare-Gladwin Career Center who participated in the 2014 MITES State Student Competition with at least one project included Toni Boyd, Laurissa Brushaber, Shyla Cassidy, Kaitlyn Corell, Allyssa Haag, Chasity Haight, Malinda Hershberger, Mercedez Hisey, Katie Loesel, Calie Nixon, Cassie Reid, Jacob Schlaack, and Tristan Shimmons.

Nine of the 12 student projects featured at the state competition placed in their categories. Loesel placed sixth, Shimmons was awarded seventh, Boyd and Haag earned eighth place standings, and Brushaber, Corell, Hershberger, and Schlaack each finished in ninth. Additionally, a group project submitted by Loesel, Nixon, and Hisey finished fourth.

“MITES gave me an opportunity to compete against graphic design students from all over the state,” said Harrison High School student Allyssa Haag.

Andrea Boettner, Clare-Gladwin Career Center Graphic Arts instructor, said she was very pleased with the students’ placements at the competition. “To have so many students participate and place at regionals and states is a great accomplishment, especially with this year being just the second time we’ve taken part in the MITES competition."

The MITES convention not only provides students with the chance to better their abilities through competition, but it also affords high school graphic arts students and instructors funding opportunities to better their programs and their futures. Boettner was awarded a $500 grant to invest in screen printing equipment for the high school students in her Clare-Gladwin Career Center program. Student Jacob Schlaack also earned a scholarship valued at $500 as a result of his short essay that illustrated his plan to become a graphic arts instructor. Schlaak intends to receive his associate’s degree at Mid Michigan Community College in graphic design and then transfer to Central Michigan University where he will graduate with a teaching degree in fine arts.

Criminal Justice students tour Gladwin Jail and State Police Training Academy

Local high school juniors and seniors from the Clare-Gladwin Career Center’s Criminal Justice class, a program of Clare-Gladwin RESD, explored the variety of careers available to them in the law enforcement field through visits to the Gladwin County Jail and the Michigan State Police Training Academy in Lansing.

At the jail, students viewed the construction of the jail, interviewed the corrections officers, and witnessed how the inmates lived day-to-day while incarcerated.

The Michigan State Police Training Academy offered the juniors and seniors an overview of what recruits experience when becoming a trooper, as well as a tour of the firing range, pool, gym, and drive track.  “The students also received a K-9 demonstration,” said Clare-Gladwin Career Center Criminal Justice Instructor DJ Newman. “They watched the dog find cocaine in a training car and learned that the MSP’s cadaver dogs can sniff out corpses that are as deep as 55 feet underwater. It was very neat!”

Criminal Justice is one of nine career and technical education (CTE) programs offered to local high school juniors and seniors at the Clare-Gladwin Career Center, a program of Clare-Gladwin RESD. Students spend half of their regular school day in CTE and the other half at their local high school. For more information, please visit www.cgresd.net.