Aggie Academic Career Counseling Center Newsletter
Seniors Receive College Bound Michigan Swag!
The Aggie Academic and Career Counseling Center handed out College Bound Michigan Swag to some of the students that either participated in the FAFSA support night or the Scholarship Workshop that the Counseling department sponsored earlier in the year. Remaining swag was given to Ms. Scheu for students to pick up from her while supplies last. We are proud of our seniors and are so excited for them to start the next step in their educational journey!
Pictured Above: Top Left-Claire Pickens, Bottom Left-Destini Edwards, Right-Daniel Meckley and Ania Glinski.
Sand Creek Hosts TLC "Bite of Reality" Budgeting Simulation
Students in Mr. Disbrow's Personal Finance participated in the TLC "Bite of Reality" Budgeting Simulation on Friday, April 19. TLC brought in staff and volunteers and students used an app to select a career and salary. They then had to make choices such as buying new or used furniture, renting vs. owning a home, etc. and budget based off of their income. This helped students to see the real choices they will have to make in their adult lives in regards to budgeting and paying bills. Senior Ania Gilinski had this to say, "The fair was interesting and definitely made me think about my future and the budgeting that I will need to do. It was helpful and made it more real by having me pick my future career and allowing me to make my own financial decisions." Senior Kaitlyn Comar added "I think this was a neat experience getting to choose the big aspects of your life to see how they would play out, instead of having details decided for you. The app showed you what percentage of your money went to what so you knew what area you spend/want to spend more on." The Aggie Academic Career and Counseling Center would like to thank Lilly Wurm, TLC, and all the volunteers that helped bring this experience to the students of Sand Creek.
FAFSA Assistance
We are receiving communication that the FAFSA should now be unlocked so that students and parents can edit and make changes. If you have not submitted your FAFSA and need assistance (or need to edit your information once it opens back up) Michigan College Access Network has supplied a list of financial aide experts across the state that have offered to provide free assistance. Please feel free to contact them for help or assistance when completing your FAFSA. Also, this link for FAFSA Issues and Pro Tips lists common issues and tips to resolve.
NHS Inducts New Members
Sand Creek Personal Finance and Economics Classes Attend County Job Fair
Students in Mr. Disbrow's Personal Finance and Mrs. Wilkinson's Economics classes attended the county job fair on 3-21. Ms. Myers and Mrs. Scheu worked with students to create resumes in preparation for the event and students were able to meet with local employers to hear about various career opportunities. In addition to meeting employers, students attended three seminars: "Professionalism in the Workplace & Creating a Personal Presence", "Leadership & Taking Risks", and "What Do I Want to Be When I Grow Up? Finding Your Passion at Any Age." Several students also won drawings for prizes. Organizers for the event made it a point to say how impressed they were with the Sand Creek students and at how they conducted themselves. They truly represented what it means to be 1SC!
Sand Creek Seniors Attend Behind the Scenes Career Exhibit at the Toledo Zoo
A group of seniors spent the day on Wednesday (3-20) taking a class trip to the Toledo Zoo where they were able to participate in a meet and greet with the animals, a Career Talk explaining career options at the zoo, and a behind the scenes tour of the aquarium. Thanks to senior class advisors Riki Carson-Emmendorfer and Hollie Hillard for chaperoning the students on this trip!
Sand Creek Personal Finance Participates in Poverty Simulation
Students in Mr. Disbrow's Personal Finance class participated in a poverty simulation last month hosted by the LISD. This program is titled "Walking in Someone Else's Shoes" and is intended to simulate living with limited financial resources. In the simulation, participants are given roles where they face realistic and challenging financial situations. They are also given a budget for food and basic necessities. The program is described by the LISD as helping "sensitize the participants to the experience of living in financially challenging situations and is based on real-life stories and statistics. With limited time and resources, how do we make priorities when everything that has to be accomplished is a “must”?"
Tanana Emmendorfer Chosen as County DAR Good Citizen
Senior Tanana Emmendorfer was honored at the local DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution) Good Citizen banquet Wednesday, March 13. Tanana was selected to compete in the scholarship and was chosen as the local winner, beating out the other county applicants and advancing to the state level. Tanana's essay was not selected to advance to the top ten in the state; however, it was a great honor to have a Sand Creek student representing Lenawee County in this prestigious competition. According to the DAR website, "The DAR Good Citizens Award and Scholarship Contest, created in 1934, is intended to encourage and reward the qualities of good citizenship. This award recognizes and rewards high school seniors who possess the qualities of dependability, service, leadership, and patriotism in their homes, schools, and communities." Attending the banquet with Tanana, and pictured below, are her parents Eric and Rikki (Carson) Emmendorfer and Director of the Aggie Academic Career and Counseling Center, Rachel Myers. Pictured on the right is Tanana accepting her award from local Chapter Regent Betty Cummings. Tanana has accepted a track scholarship and plans to attend Spring Arbor University in the fall. Sand Creek is honored to have such an exemplary student represent us and is proud to say that Tanana truly embodies the 1SC values! Congratulations to Tanana and her parents, Eric and Riki, on her outstanding accomplishments.
Sand Creek Students Complete Job Shadowing Experience
Several Sand Creek students recently completed job shadows in various fields. Junior Makenna Wheeler shadowed a physician's assistant, senior Emma Hildebrand shadowed a Radiology Tech, and sophomore Kynsie Dull shadowed a WLEN radio host. The Aggie Academic Career Center and Sand Creek Schools encourages students to reach out to Ms. Myers for job shadowing experiences. Students are allowed two school related job shadowing experiences per year. We believe job shadowing is a crucial step in career exploration and are happy to support our students in this process. We are proud of these young ladies for planning and exploring options for their futures. If you are a student interested in a job shadow, please stop in the Aggie Academic Career and Counseling Center or email Ms. Myers the paperwork below.
Physician's Assistant Shadow
Junior Makenna Wheeler
Radiology Tech Shadow
Senior Emma Hildebrand
WLEN Radio Host Shadow
Sophomore Kynsie Dull
2024-01-30 08-13.pdf
Vaping Education Presentation Given to SC 6th Grade
2024-02-07 09-00.pdfNancy Denison, RRT-Manager for Respiratory & Cardiovascular Services at
ProMedica Charles & Virginia Hickman Hospital presented to Mrs. Root's 6th grade class about the dangers of vaping. In addition to the presentation on the risk factors and impact on the body, a Q and A session was held for students. If any student or community member would like to reach out to Nancy for resources related to vaping her email is: Nancy.Denison@ProMedica.org. Sand Creek Schools would like to thank her for volunteering her time to educate our students.
Opting Out of CollegeBoard Connections Program
Attention parents of 8-11th grade students, in April, students will be taking one of the CollegeBoard Assessments required by the state (PSAT/SAT). During testing your student can choose to participate in the new Connections™ program, which is free to students. Using the Connections program lets your child connect to nonprofit colleges, scholarship organizations, and nonprofit educational organizations interested in students like them, without any of your child’s personal information being disclosed. If you would like to opt your student out of the Connections program please fill out the form below and return to the Counseling office by March 1. The form can be located here: https://www.michigan.gov/mde/-/media/Project/Websites/mde/OEAA/MME/Parental_Guardian-Opt-Out-Form-for-Optional-Information-Provided-During-the-SAT-Suite-of-Assessments.pdf?rev=b6a875edd7904b66ab5ed86663ab47a4&hash=BE23F3F094D83F4143B6275144ED06BA
This is the financial aid presentation shared by Andy Spohn (Director of Financial Aid at Jackson College.) Andy presented this at the Sand Creek FAFSA night on 1-10-24. If you are a senior/parent of senior, please feel free to use this resource or reach out to Andy for local support. His email is at the end of this presentation. If you attended FAFSA night and are interested in contacting Samantha McGaughy (Ms. River Raisin) who spoke about her platform of college accessibility her email is: smcgaughy24@adrian.edu.
Seniors and parents of seniors: if you are/were unable to attend the Sand Creek FAFSA night, or would like extra support, you are encouraged to rsvp to the Scholarship Express Workshop at the LISD Tech Center Sat., January 27 9-noon. This is open to any students in Lenawee County-not just Tech Center students.
FAFSA Release Date Announced
The Federal Government has announced the FAFSA is expected to be released Dec. 30. Aggies Academic Career and Counseling Center, in partnership with JCC, is hosting a FAFSA workshop for January 10, 2024 starting at 5:30 in the Sand Creek High School library. Students will want to bring their school issued chromebook to ensure access to the internet. You will also need to come with your FSA ID for every contributor (student and one or both parents.) If parents filed jointly for 2022 then you only need on FSA ID for the parents. If you filed separately then you must each have one. Please keep in mind it takes 4-5 days to process and receive your FSA ID. You will want to apply for your FSA ID at least 4-5 business days before the workshop to ensure it is processed in time if you want to physically complete the FAFSA that night. Documents to help you in this process are below. Regardless of post secondary plans, it is highly recommended that all students complete the FAFSA.
FAFSA Checklist Editable.pdfFinancial Aid Checklist.pdfFSA-ID-How-to-Guide.pdfMCAN 2024 - Preparing for the 2024-25 FAFSA.pdf
Sand Creek Awarded "Your Future Matters" Grant
The Aggie Academic Career and Counseling Center applied for and was awarded a grant to implement the college planning course, Your Future Matters, from Michigan College Access Network (MCAN). According to MCAN, "This project-based curriculum is designed to support students as they tailor and create the future aligned to their interests, goals, and aspirations they and their families imagine. The curriculum was created to holistically put students’ perspectives and voices first while allowing flexibility for each school district and high school to integrate into the schedule." This course will be embedded into Sand Creek's Seminar 9 course. Sand Creek was one of 50 sites selected to soft launch the redesigned curriculum. We were also awarded $3,000 to support implementation and enhance the student experience by scheduling field trips, bringing in speakers, etc. We are excited to bring this opportunity to the students of Sand Creek.
Society of Women Engineers Certificate of Merit Awarded
The Aggie Academic Career and Counseling Center awarded Certificate of Merits to Junior Erika Meckley and Senior Leah Smotherman on behalf of the Michigan Technological Chapter of the Society of Women Engineers. Meckley and Smotherman were nominated based off feedback from their teachers in the Math and Science departments. This award recognizes female students that excel in STEM courses. According to Michigan Tech, the purpose of the program is "to give deserved recognition to female students demonstrating excellence in science and mathematics, while introducing them to the field of engineering." Congratulations to both students for this accomplishment.
Sand Creek 9-12 Career Fair
The Aggies Academic Career and Counseling Center, in partnership with Align Lenawee, hosted a career fair on Wednesday, November 23. All students grades 9-12 had the opportunity to meet with local employers and learn about various careers. It was a wonderful way to have students start thinking of their future and exploring options. We hope to continue this tradition and see it grow through the years. Thanks to all of the local employers that took the time to come and meet with our students and discuss your field!
Creek Enterprise-Ashley King/Ron Hillard
Realtor-Danielle Stepp
Entrepreneur-Hannah Stepp
Airforce-Sgt. Trevor Jones
Automotive-Brandon Bailey & Sarah Perry
MDOT-Amy Rich
DNR-Shane Morse
Architect-Brenda Rigdon
Adrian School of Massage-Christy
Migrant Services/State of Michigan-Rudy Flores
Nurse-Karli Estes
Sheetmetal Union Representative-Eric Stack
3DTP/Athletic Trainer-Heather Strong & Alyssa McKenzie
Kapnick Apprenticeship Presentation
Kapnick Insurance visited Mr. Disbrow's Personal Finance classes to discuss their apprenticeship program that recruits graduating seniors. This program allows a student to work three days a week and recieve a salary. They will also give the student two days a week to attend classes at JCC. Kapnick pays for all JCC classes and at the end of the program the student will earn an Associates degree in Business Administration. If you are a senior interested in this program please see the flyer posted on the "opportunities page" of this website or email info@kapnick.com!
Manufacturing Day 2023
A group of students in grades 9-12 had the opportunity to participate in Manufacturing Day on Friday, Nov. 3. They toured Anderson Development and Autokiniton. This is a national event created to introduce high school students to local manufacturing careers and targets a range of students, from those already interested in a manufacturing career path, to students who are not sure what their next step in life will be.
(Some of our wonderful seniors filled out locker flyers for schools to which they applied!)
College/Career Readiness Week at the Creek (10/16-10/20)
Monday: Dreaming About My Future/College Trivia
Tuesday: Dress for Success/College Bingo/Just Build It Expo
Wednesday: Get in Character (dress for your future career)/Career Exploration
Thursday: College Day (dress in college gear)/I Applied Day…
Friday: Your Future Starts Here/Oh the Places You Will Go