I hope that everyone was able to take advantage of the holiday weekend to come together as a family and celebrate as summer winds down.  I know that the sun is setting sooner, and it starting to feel like fall.  I heard from many students this week that it was great to be back as an entire student body, and the week went well based upon my random sampling of students in the hallway and classrooms.  It was great to have the excitement of students throughout the building and seeing teachers connecting with students in the classrooms.  You did great getting to class on time and finding your way as you learned the new building.  Upperclassman, I was so excited to see you helping students find their way and being role models in the hallway and lunch areas.  Great job.  I know there were bumps in some students' week, and we managed to handle them as they occurred, but overall, it was a great 1st week of school.  Mrs. Haugerud and I have to balance the lunch hours better this week and will be adjusting Wednesday to help our kitchen crew to manage the lines and food preparation.  The time between lunches is spent sanitizing the tables, and students did great at picking up their garbage and trays and giving the sanitizing teams space to work.  We are really short staffed with Instructional Assistants as they are needed to assist in this important role.  They are outstanding workers and come together as a team to help make AHS safer for our students.  You should review that students need to stay on campus for lunch and as the weather continues to permit students outside, they have to make good decisions and pickup after themselves when taking lunch with them.  We want the entire campus to be clean and free of clutter.  The custodial and maintenance crew do an outstanding job and can't do their current jobs and cleanup outside as well.  The Wildcat Way -- "Contribution" are all students doing their part to make AHS clean and safe; it is great that our students can be outside while the weather permits.  

Have a great week everyone!!

Counselor Corner

• Student counselor appointments are done on Google calendar, so it is vital to review your student email daily to see invites from Mrs. Bennett or one of the counselors directly. You will accept the invitation by clicking YES and that appointment will be added to your calendar.  The invite is your "hall pass" to the appointment and needs to be shown to the teacher to leave the room; remember at the start of the class, you should always check in with the teacher and not go directly to the Counseling Center.  If you are stopped in the hallway by security or a staff member, you can show them the pass on your phone or Chromebook.  

• Lisa Lenard, Alcona Health Center Behavioral Therapist, is located in D-House and sees students by appointment.  AHS appreciates the service that she provides for students and and is available to see students on campus.  Please contact her Lenardl@alpenaschools.com or by phone 358-5281.  You may also discuss all of the mental health services with your student's High School Counselor or School Success, Lisa Siegert.  The Social Emotional Health of our student body is paramount to their overall success in and out of school.

September is National Suicide Prevention Month. All month, mental health advocates, prevention organizations, survivors, allies, and community members unite to promote suicide prevention awareness. 

• Find out more here: Suicide Prevention Lifeline

• See fliers around the school regarding an Alpena Suicide Prevention Walk. Come join others in a 2 mile scenic walk, learn about resources and practice self-care! Get a registration form from E-House and join us on Saturday September 25th at 10am at Bay View Park. Feel free to decorate a shirt or hat and walk in honor or memory of someone lost to or struggling with suicidal incidence. 

Senior Parent & Student Meeting on Wednesday, September 8th at 6pm in Auditorium

I will be setting up a Facebook live for the meeting and the slide presentation will be posted next week in the weekly as well as the AHS Website.  Hope to see you all there-- Where has the time gone!  Graduation is only 230 days away.

Advisory Attendance Expectations and Leaving Campus

AHS will continue to have an Advisory period this year, between 2nd and 3rd hours.  Any student in grades 9-12 that has a 2nd or 3rd hour in the building is expected to attend Advisory. This mainly applies to students that are Dual Enrolled, have Early College classes or online classes.  If a student has a schedule conflict with Advisory, they should communicate conflict to both their Advisory teacher and Mrs. Tessmer (Attendance Office), and she will code the absence accordingly in Synergy for the remainder of the Semester. If students only have a schedule conflict one -three days a week, they should be attending Advisory on the days they are able.  

We have also received some questions from students regarding leaving campus for Dual Enrollment or online classes, and returning to campus.  Once a student has left for Dual Enrollment classes, they may only return during the school day if they have classes in the building or have made arrangements in advance with a staff member.  Students that have an online class or classes may not return once they have left as it is part of our “Closed Campus” policy.  

Picture day is Wednesday, September 8. 

Mrs. Tessmer (Attendance Office) will call the students to gym 2 by alphabetic groups.  

• ACES and online students will be included.  

Please be patient, as we only have 3 photographers. We will have to keep students coming during lunch hours, and staff can come to gym 2 starting at 7:00 a.m.  Again, the lower number of photographer stations may cause a backup-- please be kind as you may have to wait longer than in year's past.

A-D  Starting @ 7:35am -- approximately 250 in each group

E- J  217

K-M  231

N-S 281

T-Z 161

Picture retake day is Tuesday, October 26.

My Lifetouch link for more information:     https://my.lifetouch.com/

Paper order forms are available in the Main Office and The Attendance Office.

ParentVUE 

• Parents:

  • • Please log into your ParentVUE Account (all information will be in ParentVUE) to make sure your phone number, address, and emergency contact information are correct.

    • You can visit ParentVUE by clicking the link, downloading the app on a mobile device (ParentVUE) or going to the alpenaschools.com. You can also access an instructional video on the parent page on "How to Activate a ParentVUE account.

    • Did you know you can submit your child's absence using the ParentVUE app?  This is the most efficient way to let the school know your child will be absent.

Athletics

Tuesday, September 7

Tennis at home at 4pm vs. Petoskey High School

Varsity Soccer at 5pm at Tawas Area High School

Wednesday, September 8

Freshman & JV Volleyball at 5pm at home vs. Cadillac High School

Varsity Volleyball at 6:30pm at home vs. Cadillac High School

Thursday, September 9

JV Soccer at 4pm at Traverse City Central High School

Varsity Soccer at 5:30pm at Traverse City Central High School

Tennis at 4pm at Cadillac High School

JV Football at home at 6pm vs. Petoskey High School

Friday, September 10

Varsity Football at 7pm at Petoskey High School

Saturday, September 11

Cross Country-- Boys & Girls  Lancer Invitational 10:30am

Reminders:

• DELIVERIES:  Non-school related personal deliveries for students from commercial businesses such as flower shops, fast food, and bakeries are strongly discouraged. All such deliveries are kept at the Main Office and not given to the student until the conclusion of the school day. 

• CHROMEBOOKS:  AHS was able to distribute the majority of chromebooks to students by Thursday which was led by Mrs. Samp and the Dean of Student Supports, Mrs Florip.  Parents MUST get the BLUE AUP form returned to have a chromebook issued to a student that did not already possess one.  Advisory teachers collected the AUP forms throughout the week and made sure the forms were turned in to the Main Office.  If you have not signed and returned the blue form, please get it returned to ensure that all students have a chromebook.

• Attendance:  The Attendance Office's robo calls will NOT start this week.  

This Week's Events

• No School Monday-- Labor Day

• AACU Wildcat Branch will be open for business starting on Tuesday with a soft opening.  The grand opening will take place in the upcoming weeks.

• Picture Day Wednesday

• Senior Parent and Student Meeting Wednesday at 6pm

• Senior Planning Team Application can be picked up in the Main Office

• ACES student will start on Tuesday, welcome them to AHS.