Author: Yale

Bulldog Spotlight

YALE PUBLIC SCHOOLS

January
2023

Bond Construction Set For Summer

We greatly appreciate the trust and support of the community with the passing on the 2021 Bond Proposal that will result in the replacement of boiler systems, classroom heating units across the district, Yale Junior High (YJH) roof, YJH classroom floors, YJH doors, and much more. As you may recall, the scheduled bond work was delayed due to supply chain constraints and delays that may have jeopardized the junior high being open in late August. The district has been working with contractors and finalizing our plans to begin the work this summer. We elected to split the building work into two summers (2023 and 2024) and prioritized Yale Junior High for this summer. If you are on the main campus this coming summer, you’ll see a great deal of work being done in and around Yale Junior High.
The community has also supported Sinking Funds that allow us to complete various maintenance projects every year. This past summer, sinking funds were used to replace the roofs at Yale and Farrell Elementary. Additionally, sinking funds were used to seal and stripe parking lots at Avoca and Yale Junior High. We plan to use these sinking funds this summer for a partial roof replacement at Avoca, bathroom partition replacement at Yale High School, and much more. The district has studied the age and structures around the building and have created a prioritized list that gets re-evaluated every year. This is all possible because of the support and trust of our community and we will continue to be careful stewards of the resources provided.

Yale Students Best in County & Region on Several Tests
Yale students have done exceptionally well on state and national assessments that are required each year across the state. Students in third through seventh grade are tested using Michigan’s Student Test of Educational Progress (M-STEP). Students in eighth through tenth grade complete the Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test (PSAT) and students in eleventh grade take the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT). We are very proud of the academic achievement of our students under the direction of our outstanding staff. Out of the 60+ districts in St. Clair, Genesee, Lapeer, Macomb, and Sanilac Counties, Yale was:
First in 5th, 7th, 8th grade ELA on M-STEP
Second in 4th & 5th grade ELA on M-STEP
Third in 3rd, 4th grade ELA on M-STEP
Fifth in 8th grade Math on M-STEP
Sixth in 7th grade Math on M-STEP
In St. Clair County:
First in 8th, 9th grade Math & ELA on PSAT
Second in 10th & 11th grade ELA on PSAT, SAT

Hands-On Learning at YPSD

Bulldog Spotlight

Our elementary students are loving the hands-on learning activities, projects, and problems that build upon each other and relate to real world applications. In the last two years, we have placed an even greater emphasis on creating more of these authentic opportunities for students in science classes at the elementary level using a program called Project Lead the Way. These hands-on projects or modules have many math, engineering, science, and English components embedded in them. Often the students are presented with a problem and they must design and/or engineer a solution with a few limited materials. Often this work is done in collaborative groups so students also learn and apply team building skills and strategies as well.

Students from Mrs. Monarch’s class build an inclined plane.

Developing Leaders at YHS

There is a lot of excitement around the new classes that are being offered at Yale High School, including the new Leadership class. The intent of this class is to create leadership skills that facilitate problem solving by using innovative communication strategies with a focus on community action. This class, led by Mrs. Gerardy, has taken on a variety of projects this year including: helping to change the admission policy for students entering sporting events, starting a birthday club at YHS, helped Mr. Dykstra initiate a commitment to graduate plan and wall, planned a homecoming parade, pep assembly, spirit week, and were an integral part of the planning of the Veterans' Day ceremony. This class has also worked with Mrs. Jordan’s first grade class at Yale Elementary to serve as ‘reading buddies’ and pen pals. In December this class organized basket raffles for Julie's Kids' Spaghetti dinner as well. The plans for the rest of the year include attending one school board meeting and possibly even a city council meeting.

Our Leadership class at YHS volunteered at Greenwood Athletic Association Thanksgiving luncheon.

Successful Fall for Bulldog Athletics

Our fall sports season was very successful both in terms of achievement on the field of competition and also in the classroom. With over one hundred sixty high school students competing in cross country, football, soccer, volleyball, golf, and tennis our student athletes were busy! Our boys cross country team earned their sixty straight BWAC title and also earned academic all state status. Our football team earned a trip to the playoffs for the first time since 2018 and also earned academic all state status this year. In addition to our high school athletes we also had just over one hundred junior high student athletes representing our school this fall. We believe in the value of educational athletics as a continuation of the lessons learned in the classroom and look forward to a successful winter sports season ahead!

Yale Boys Cross Country

Yale High School Play Coming Soon

Last year’s play was a HUGE success

Students at Yale High School have enjoyed a return to school plays and a dedicated Theatre class this year led by Mrs. McIntyre. Students are working hard to learn the critical aspects of planning, producing, marketing, and performing a play. The students are planning a multiple act play entitled Murder Runs in the Family on March 3rd & 4th in the Yale High School cafetorium. In addition to this, our Theatre students will produce a one act play on April 29th as well. Because of the interest generated by this new class and the play performed last year, we will also have a play with Yale Junior High students on April 14th & 15th. We eagerly await seeing our young Bulldogs perform in these productions in just a few short months!

Security Upgrades at YPSD

Bulldog Spotlight

Over the last several months, the district has increased the number of safety measures in place to keep our students and staff safe each day. There is an increased police presence each day as the Yale Police Department continues to provide support to our schools. This has also included some visits to Avoca and Farrell by our school resource officer Jodi Soucy. Presently the district has Officer Soucy two to three days per week and we are actively pursuing grants to extend her time in the district.
Additionally, our staff have reviewed safety protocols and practiced various scenarios using the ALICE and CRASE responses to intruders being on our campus. Through the school safety grant, we have installed the Nightlock secure door barricades and will be improving our secure keyless entry into each building over the next month. The District invited the Department of Homeland Security and St. Clair County Emergency Response teams to evaluate what we can do to further secure our buildings this fall. It is our belief that these measures do make our buildings safer, but we need your continued support and cooperation each day. Our staff may ask for identification, ask questions about a visitor’s reason for arriving at a building, and more each day.

Computer Science Expands Across the District

Computer Science is now the most common language used across the globe in countless aspects of our lives. In our digital society, much of what we do depends on functioning technology that is embedded with code that tells the computer or device to complete a task. In Yale, we are committed to offering students more experiences with computer science and ‘coding’ beginning in elementary school. Our technology teacher, Mrs. Pung, has students play around with different coding platforms before students move on to the junior high and high school for more extensive exploration and study.
At the secondary level students have the chance to begin writing computer programs, such as the work being done in Mrs. Morgan’s class at Yale Junior High. Students have been working to complete several tasks including developing a better understanding of the hardware and writing code for simple games or application (apps). At the December Board of Education meeting, Ms. Morgan had a few students present on what they have learned in their junior high computer science courses. Our impressive young Bulldogs gave Board members a quick tour of the programming they have created and plans for improving their skills over the next several months.

Alumni Luncheon

We had a fantastic turnout for this year’s Yale High School Alumni Luncheon on September 24, 2022. This outstanding event had a two-year hiatus because of the pandemic, this event returned as strong as ever with well over three hundred alumni and their spouses in attendance. The luncheon, sponsored by the Yale Alumni Association, welcomes Yale graduates that have been out of school for fifty or more years to on their time in Yale, tell stories, and catch up. Many of our Bulldog alumni were very complimentary of the food, company, and student helpers from our National Honor Society that helped during the event. Our active and supportive alumni association gives scholarship money every year through the donations that come from this event. We are so fortunate to have such a caring, supportive alumni group that want our present Bulldogs to have a great experience at Yale Public Schools!

Yale Public Schools
198 School Drive
Yale, MI 48097

BOARD OF EDUCATON
Mr. Peter M. Bullard, President
Dena French, Vice-President
Ronald Charney, Treasurer
Mark Hurlburt, Secretary
Greg Hoppe, Trustee
Meghan Butler, Trustee
Dr. Michael McClelland, Trustee
SUPERINTENDENT
Kurt Sutton

Non-Profit
Organization
US POSTAGE
PAID
Permit NO. 14
Yale, MI
POSTAL PATRON

THANK YOU!
For Your Service

Veterans Day
Each year our students and staff find ways to celebrate and honor the citizens in our community that have served our country during our Veterans Day celebrations. Celebrations at Yale, Avoca, and Farrell elementary schools included songs, thank you cards, artwork, and much more. We stress to our students the sacrifices made by our veterans and how our freedom is not free. In addition to the programs in the buildings, the YHS band played a few songs, including Amazing Grace, at the Yale Veterans Memorial Park during the town’s Veterans Day program. Words can never fully express the gratitude we have for those that have fought and continue to fight for the freedoms we all enjoy. To all of our active military personnel or served previously, thank you for your service and sacrifices. As a small token of our appreciation, veterans or active military personnel will not be charged to attend athletic events at Yale

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