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 The Language Arts/Global Studies program is designed to integrate Language Arts and Global Studies for sixth, seventh and eighth graders. This enriched and accelerated curriculum allows students to use originality, creativity and leadership skills.
This program promotes a lifelong growth in the understanding, awareness and appreciation of the world community and the interdependency of its people and systems--social, cultural, racial, economic, political, artistic, linguistic, technological, ecological, religious, and historical.
The Language Arts/Global Studies program also allows for flexibility and differs from traditional curricula. Students will be learning about Language Arts and Global Studies through various activities such as: cooperative learning, simulations, role play, presentations, writing workshops, computer programs, and independent studies. Career exploration, guest speakers and field trips are integrated into the program to enhance the learning.
Click here for detailed
Program Goals for Language Arts/Global Studies.
News & Announcements
SASA ranked FIFTH in Michigan on State's 'Top to Bottom' Schools List
Congratulations to SASA Faculty, students and parents -- you deserve the ranking for your hard work and dedication!!!
http://www.mlive.com/news/saginaw/index.ssf/2010/08/saginaw_arts_sciences_academy_1.html
Fall Student Orientation Dates -- RETURNING Students' Orientations scheduled for August 24 at 10 am or 5:30 p.m. in SASA Aud., ---- NEW STUDENTS' Orientation will be September 1 at 6:30 p.m. in SASA Aud., teachers will be present
Fall Student Orientation Dates -- RETURNING Students' Orientations scheduled for August 24 at 10 am or 5:30 p.m. in SASA Aud., ---- NEW STUDENTS' Orientation will be September 1 at 6:30 p.m. in SASA Aud., teachers will be present Sept. 1.
Fall Student/Parent Orientation Dates -- RETURNING Students and parents Orientations are scheduled for August 24 at either 10 am or 5:30 p.m. in the SASA Auditorium, need only choose one time to attend, allow approximately 1 hour.
Class schedules will be distributed and students will be able to submit needed corrections or necessary preferences prior to the start of school.
NEWLY ENROLLED STUDENTS and Parents -- a New Student Orientation will be held on September 1 at 6:30 p.m. in SASA Auditorium, teachers and school administration will be present for overview, questions and classroom visits. Plan to be with us until about 8:00 p.m.
Attendance at one annual Fall Orientation is required for all new AND returning students, accompanied by at least one parent or guardian, according to district procedures.
Call the SASA office at 989-399-5500 if you have questions or concerns.
School Supplies Needed for Fall Entry to SASA
Supplies needed by students for schooling at SASA are pretty simple -- basic ink pens, #2 pencils, a set of colored pencils, some fine tip markers, and notebooks (1-2 100-sheet spiral notebooks, and 1-2 1" 3-ring binders. Lined paper can be college or standard ruled. Scissors should have rounded tips for middle schoolers. Each student is asked to contribute 1-2 boxes of Kleenex or tissue to their homeroom teacher's classroom.
Most students will eventually need a graphing calculator for math homework, so it is best to have parents plan to get them one capable enough to last them for several years. It should handle through Algebra II/Trig or Calculus, especially if they are in Math/Science as a Concentration. We ask that all parents engrave their child's names on the backs of their calculators to avoid loss. The following statement is from the ACT exam permitted calculator rules. Most commercial packaging for Texas Instrument calculators and other brands will note whether they are allowed on the ACT exam and through which course level the particular calculator model is appropriate. We encourage only those that are permitted on the ACT and MI Merit exam to be purchased for school use. The Texas Instrument models TI-83 and TI-84 (or comparable brands) will meet most students' needs for at least 4 years of math in grades 6-10.
From the ACT rules:
"Only certain types of calculators may be used during the ACT test. Most four-function, scientific or graphing calculators are permitted, but some features may have to be disabled before the calculator can be used. Devices that include calculators among their functions, such as cell phones, laptops, and PDAs, are forbidden, as well as calculators with built-in algebra capabilities or QWERTY keyboard buttons. Also, certain specific models of calculators are forbidden, including the following: all Texas Instruments model numbers that begin with TI-89 and TI-92, as well as the TI-Nspire CAS (the non-CAS TI-Nspire is allowed); the Hewlett-Packard hp 48GII model and all model numbers that begin with hp 40G, hp 49G, or hp 50G; the Casio Algebra fx 2.0, ClassPad 300, and all model numbers that begin with CFX-9970G; and all electronic writing pads or pen-input devices, except for the Sharp EL 9600."
"Prohibited calculators include all calculators in all of the following series:
* Casio CFX-9970G (including, for example, CFX-9970GE)
* Casio Algebra fx 2.0
* Hewlett-Packard HP-40G
* Hewlett-Packard HP-49G
* Texas Instruments TI-89
* Texas Instruments TI-92
(including, for example, TI-92 Plus)"
At SASA, much of the work students will do throughout middle and high school will include electronic research using computers and the internet. SASa is an installed wireless school, so personal student and teacher laptops can be brought to school if they are equipped for wireless access to our network. Laptops that bypass the district network server and filter are prohibited, such as those that operate wirelessly with a direct phone service modem card. SASA has over 140 wireless laps for classroom use, and over 100 desktop units, so individual student laptops are not needed, but are permitted. However, the school is not responsible for loss or damage to student-owned equipment of ANY kind.
We provide students each fall with notebook-style Student Agendas/Planners suitable for recording daily assignments and integrated use in our daily instructional lessons.
Student cell phones and all electronic communication devices are not permitted in keeping with the Board of Education's policy. Non-transmitting Ipods or CD players can be used before or after school, or during the lunch period but are brought to school at the student's own risk in case of loss. The school is building-wide wirelessly-accessible so students may bring personal laptops to school for use through the district network. Like other devices and belongings, students choosing to do so assume all risks for doing so.
Band instruments are discussed in each respective level of Band classes. If students own their own musical instrument, they can bring it after consulting with the teacher on the first day of school. Student in the first level Beginners Band class will have 6 weeks to decide on their instrument and will be fitted at school by a representative from Herter Music. Most SASA parents purchase or lease-to-own an instrument for their child(ren), but are advised to do so only after consultation with the teacher. The investment will pay off -- students can take up to 7 years of band instruction at SASA for credit. We have a limited number of instruments to rent at $40 year; first priority is given to approved free and reduced lunch-eligible students. Percussion kits run about $250.
Any other particulars regarding needed supplies for specific visual arts, theatre or dance classes will be covered in classroom visits during SASA's new student orientation tentatively scheduled for Wed., Sept 1 at 6:30 p.m. at the school.
Specific supply questions can be e-mailed to the principal, Mrs. Melleretha Johnson, at mjohnson@spsd.net for forwarding to the child's teacher(s).
Congratulations, Mrs. Nash, MI Youth Arts Festival 2010 Arts Administrator of the Year!
Retiring Principal Janet Harris Nash was named the MI Youth Arts Festival Arts Administrator of the Year for 2010, receiving her award at the MYAF annual Festival at Western Michigan University on May 14.
Mrs. Nash was deeply honored to be named as the "MYAF Arts Administrator", a recognition granted for the first time ever by the MYAF organizational board. The MYAF is a state-wide convocation in May of each year for some of the most talented and promising youth artists and teachers from high schools around the state.
Of particular joy to Mrs. Nash was the honor coming in a year when over 25 SASA students qualified to attend the MYAF as student finalists in areas of dance, visual arts, creative writing and music. Many of her students and SASA parents and faculty were in the audience to offer applause highlighting their appreciation and recognition as she was called to the stage of Miller auditorium to receive her award following the MYAF honorees' dinner. Mrs. Nash gratefully thanked the MYAF Board, their Board Member Ruth Ann Knapp who nominated her, the administration of the School District of Saginaw, her SASA community, and her husband, Jack, and her two children, Philip and Gretchen, for supporting her years of efforts on behalf of the arts in Saginaw. She noted that the arts program at SASA has now grown to serve students from over 5 counties in mid-Michigan, and has continued to do so in spite of rising milege costs and other economic hardships for many parents and students. "We may have science and mathematics and industry to thank for much of what has made this country great," she said, "but it is the humanities and the arts that bring joy to our souls to enrich our lives and sustain our hearts."
Congratulations Mrs. Nash, from all of us at SASA, and best wishes to you in all your future experiences in retirement!
SASA Student Kellie Rankey Earns Top Honors at National and State History Contest
SASA soon-to-be 8th grader Kellie Rankey placed best in the state and one of the best in the nation in June 2010 at a National History Day competition.
Rankey, from Bay County, was ranked above her competitors at the district and state level with an historical research paper on the invention of Kevlar — used as the main component in the construction bulletproof vests.
You can read Kellie Rankey's award winning essay "A report on the history of Kevlar" in the Bay City Times at this link:
http://www.mlive.com/special-sections/bay-city/index.ssf/2010/06/sasa_student_kellie_rankeys_st.html
National History Day competition has students challenge each other and lets them present their work as a historical paper, exhibit, performance, documentary or a website. The contest is sponsored by The History Channel and this year’s theme was innovation in industry.
Rankey made the unusual choice in her topic in order to inform the public and bring to light a little-known product outside of law enforcement circles. She was quoted in the article by Andrew Dodson for the Saginaw News as follows:
“Kevlar stood out,” she said. “It’s something I’ve heard of before, but it’s obscure enough and important enough to write about.”
In March, Rankey took top honors for the middle school level at the Delta College Planetarium. In April, her 20-page essay rose to the top at the state competition at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn.She won state honors and went on to finish 13th at the national competition in Maryland.
For her research, she interviewed retired Saginaw Police Officer Michael Jarabek, who was shot twice in the chest in the fall of 1990. Jarabek was saved by his bulletproof vest, a uniform item now required of officers on patrol.
Joining Kellie Rankey at the Nationl Competition was John Bihn, a SASA Math/Science Concentration junior. John competed at the state level with a qualifying finish for the nationals with his video documentary exploring the history of the riverfront Saginaw site that SASA sits on today.
Congratulations, Kellie and John, for helping to make a new piece of history in awarded excellence for SASA students!
TWENTY-FIVE AND COUNTING -- SASA'S NUMBER OF MI YOUTH ARTS FESTIVAL STUDENTS QUALIFIERS REACHES RECORD LEVEL
With the Michigan Youth Arts Festival just weeks away (May 13-15) at Western MI University, news is arriving nearly daily at SASA identifying additional students as qualifiers to attend the prestigious state-wide convocation of student talent in all areas of visual arts, performance, music and writing.
Our current qualifiers to the 2010 MYAF are as follows:
Rachel Reid 11-12 Gr English/Language Arts (ELA) Concentration Instructor -- MYAF Invitees/Honorees:
Fiction Winners-Certificate of Merit & MYAF Invitees/Honorees:
1. Nickolette DeClerck, "Machine", 12th Grade,
2. John Hanskett, "Pebble Road", 11th Grade,
3. Nick Herd, "More Bars, 11th Grade,
Poetry Winners-Certificate of Merit -- MYAF Invitees/Honorees:
1. Kiri Brasseur, "Thaumatrope", 12th Grade,
2. Jacob Gorski, "You Bring Out The Old Woman In Me (from Sandra
Cisneros)", 11th Grade,
3. Katie Francis, "Tuesday Afternoon" 11th Grade,
4. Sevonna Brown, *The Inside of Me Was Stenciled in Colors of You", 11th Grade,
5. Carly Veverka, "My Grandmother’s Afghan, 11th Grade.
Jared Morningstar, Instructor, ELA Concentration, Gr 9-10; MYAF Invitees/Honorees:
Fiction Winners-Certificate of Merit:
1. Jessica Lalonde, "Waking Dream" (GR 9),
Poetry Winners-Certificate of Merit:
1.Philip Bernstien, "Plastic " (GR 10),
2. Christin DeFord, "Butterflies and Wishing Wells" (GR 10),
3. Precious Humphrey, "Once Golden Eyes" (GR 9),
4. Hope Kemerer, "June Night", (GR 9),
5. Caroline Sawatzki, "Impostor", (GR 9).
Visual Arts 2d: Becky Sullivan, Instructor:
Danny Millar, Gr 12, AHHS/SASA 2D Art.
Senior Danny Millar's work will be exhibited in the Governor's Traveling Show (Top 30 in state), and was adjudicated in the Top 18 in the state.
Music Composition; Mike Brush Instructor:
Hope Currie, Gr 11, SASA.
Dance Performance and Choreography:
This year the SASA High School Dance Concentration will perform two pieces at Michigan Youth Arts Festival at WMU. The two pieces are "Realign", choreographed by Ryan Schmidt (SASA guest teacher), and "Frantic, Fear, Foreseen", choreographed by Alyssa Sauvie (sophomore, SASA).
Both pieces will be performed at the Saturday Morning Dance Showcase Concert. " Frantic, Fear, Foreseen " has also been chosen as one of two dances to be performed at the Thursday night Grand Opening Gala Celebration.
Alyssa Sauvie is the first student choreographer ever to have her work chosen for MYAF performance the opening night Gala Celebration.
Mrs. Meagan Bublitsz is the dance program instructor and principal choreographer for the SASA instructional program.
The nine dancers participating in the MYAF 2010 Dance Showcase are:
Kamahria Crittle (9),
Domonique Freeman (11),
KeeLee Holihan (11),
Starletta King (9),
Jaden Moten (11),
Alyssa Sauvie (10),
Shatarea Simms (10),
Maureen Sullivan (11),
Erika Thomas (11).
Music Performance -- Matthew Corrigan, Bands Instructor:
Three instrumental music students qualified as state semi-finalists; Samuel Wilkins, Erika Trigg and Alex Emonds.
Mr. Morningstar and Mrs. Bublitz will attend the festival as chaperones.
Deepest thanks to the Morley Foundation for funding assistance to make the MYAF experience possible for our students!
Many SASA Students Gain Natonal Recognition Through Scholastic Art & Writing Awards
Congratulations are in order for the SASA Visual and Language Arts students with regard to the Scholastic Art and Writing 2010 Awards. The Gold Key is the most prestigious of these awards, and pieces earning Gold Key Awards for art were placed on exhibit at the Belin-Blank Center for Gifted Education and Talent Development at the University of Iowa from March 7 through March 31, 2010. Gold Key Award winners were recognized at the opening of the show. Portfolios and individual pieces earning Gold Key Awards are forwarded to New York City for further judging and possible exhibition.
Visual Arts Awards
797 students submitted 1866 pieces of art for adjudication in the “Region-At-Large” competition consisting of 12 participating states.
Awards from the SASA 2-D Visual Arts Class – Teacher Becky Prine Sullivan include:
Gold Key Awards: Portfolio of 8 pieces – Marianne Elizalde – Grade 12;
Portfolio of 8 pieces – Danny Millar – Grade 12;
Monster #1 – Drawing - Marianne Elizalde – Grade 12;
Coke Bottle – Drawing - Marianne Elizalde – Grade 12;
Mother Earth – Drawing - Marianne Elizalde – Grade 12;
Prismatic Reflections; Personal Deceptions – Drawing - Danny Millar – Grade 12;
Smoker – Nicolas Sarmiento – Painting - Grade 12;
Infant Swallowings – Painting - Sydney Veverka – Grade 10.
Additional Silver Key Awards from the 2-D Visual Arts Class – Teacher Becky Prine Sullivan include:
Portfolio of 8 pieces – Nicolas Sarmiento – Grade 12;
Urban Angst – Drawing - Marianne Elizalde - Grade 12;
Reaching Happiness - Batik – Marianne Elizalde – Grade 12;
Nelophobia – Painting - Danny Millar - Grade 12;
Weeping Woman – Painting - Anna Mahan – Grade 10;
Alienation – Painting – Jalita Patton Grade – 10;
Honorable Mention Awards, 2D Art, Becky Prine Sullivan, Instructor:
Portfolio of 8 Pieces – Brianna Fulmer – Grade 12;
Move Over – Drawing - Brianna Fulmer – Grade 12;
Pensive to the Point of Perplexity – Painting - Brianna Fulmer – Grade 12;
His Last Word was “Moo” – Painting - Danny Millar – Grade 12;
Manifestation of Imagination – Drawing - Danny Millar – Grade 12;
(Alexander Graham) Bell Sent a Letter, He Wants His Phone Back – Drawing - Danny Millar – Grade 12;
A Day at the Zoo – Drawing - Nicholas Sarmiento – Grade 12.
Senior Danny Millar will attend the prestigious MI Youth Atrs Festival at WMU in May. His work will be exhibited in the Governor's Traveling Show (Top 30 in state), and was adjudicated in the Top 18 in the state.
Awards from the 3-D Visual Arts Class – Teacher Sally Allan include:
Gold Key Awards:
Play Ball – Ceramics – Ce’ Erica Roland-Ferguson – Grade 9;
Orb of Confusion – Ceramics – Donovan Webb – Grade 11.
Silver Key Awards, 3-D Art, Sally Allan, Instructor: Sharpie Monstrosity – Mixed Media – Audrey Berkan – Grade 10;
Double Stuffed – Mixed Media – Donovan Webb – Grade 11;
Heavenly Bodies – Ceramics – April Weber – Grade 12;
Black Horse – Ceramics – Michelle Perry – Grade 12;
Tea Puzzle – Ceramics – Austin Kemp – Grade 10.
Honorable Mention awards, 3-D Art, Sally Allan, Instructor: The God of Corn – Ceramics – Donovan Webb – Grade 10;
Teapot 2009 – Ceramics – Michelle Perry – Grade 12;
Grace – Ceramics – Julius Woo – Grade 12.
Language Arts Awards
Over 900 entries were submitted to the Multi-state Writing Regional competitions. Students were invited to the Regional Scholastic Art & Writing Awards ceremony and the Gold Key Art Exhibit, held at the DesMoines State Historical Building on Sunday, March 7, 2010. The multi-state regional program celebrates both young artists and young writers. All Scholastic Art and Writing award winners present were honored on stage.
2010 Language Arts Scholastic Writing Awards, Instructor Rachel Reid, SASA's \Language Arts Concentration 11/12 Grade class included:
Silver Key Award:
“Bicycles”-Short Short Story- Ben Beltran- Grade 11.
Honorable Mention Awards:
“My Grandmother’s Afghan” – Poetry- Carley Veverka- Grade 11.
Following is an excerpt from SASA’s Silver Key Award winner Ben Beltran’s Short Short Story, “Bicycles.”
Glass shattered, falling down like sharp raindrops onto the sidewalk.
The door was now an empty frame. A man strolled through it. In his large fist was a wooden baseball bat. He walked casually into the bicycle shop, to the wall by the register. On a small box he typed in a code, putting an end to the high-pitched alarm that had been ringing. Then the man strolled over to the first aisle. He lifted the bat, swinging it upward in one hand. He swung down. The wood struck the thin metal crossbar of a Huffy. He swung again, and again. The deafening sound of metal crying out echoed throughout the shop. The man’s eyes shifted in every direction. He made his way through the short aisles, slashing everything with his bat.
Beads of sweat emerged on the tops of his brows. He swung rhythmically like a pendulum, from left to right. The bikes fell feebly to the ground and their tires slowly shriveled. They reminded him of his son’s bike, bent and deformed, lying in the road.
Within a few minutes, he had made his way to the back. In front of him was a Schwinn. It was a sparkling, navy blue like the ocean, or a night sky speckled with starlight. It had a soft leather seat and padded handlebars that stretched outward in each direction and curled back delicately.
The bat dropped to the ground, bouncing on the hard white floor…
Excerpt from SASA’s Honorable Mention winner Carley Veverka’s poem, “My Grandmother’s Afghan”:
It started with my grandmother.
She wove it into our lives
the same way she wove us all an afghan blanket.
Clumsily,
sipping stale coffee and watching late-night TV.
They were itchy.
Mine was an ugly shade of purple,
like grapes that had gone bad in the bottom of a plastic bag.
But every night it wrapped me up,
a violet burrito,
and I slept soundly…
2010 Scholastic Language Arts Writing Awards given to entries from Jared Morningstar’s SASA Grade Language Arts 9/10 Concentration class include:
Excerpt from Honorable Mention winner Lauren Ingram’s poem collection, “Falsifier”:
Lies exude out of you,
Smooth and easily like a stream,
You're oblivious to your ailment,
Eventually the truth smacks you in the face,
It’s so unyielding, you don’t know what to do…
Excerpt from Honorable Mention winner Hope Kemerer’s poem, “Picture Book”:
I open the picture book
My fingers leaving marks on the dusty cover
The first picture is taken from a bird’s-eye view
We are about three years old lying in the grass
I’m wearing a white dress splotched with chocolate ice cream
Both of us smiling a gapped tooth grin…
Congratulations to SASA's dedicated students for their many hours of hard work on these awarded pieces, and congratulation also to their teachers, Becky Sullivan, Sally Allan, Rachel Reid and Jared Morningstar for their mentoring and instructional support in pursuit of excellence!
Scholastic Arts and Writing Awards Brings SASA Students National Recognition
Congratulations are in order for the SASA Visual and Language Arts students with regard to the Scholastic Art and Writing 2010 Awards. The Gold Key is the most prestigious of these awards, and pieces earning Gold Key Awards for art were placed on exhibit at the Belin-Blank Center for Gifted Education and Talent Development at the University of Iowa from March 7 through March 31, 2010. Gold Key Award winners were recognized at the opening of the show. Portfolios and individual pieces earning Gold Key Awards are forwarded to New York City for further judging and possible exhibition.
VISUAL ARTS AWARDS
797 students submitted 1866 pieces of art for adjudication in the “Region-At-Large” competition consisting of 12 participating states.
Gold Key Awards presented to works from the SASA 2-D Visual Arts Class, Teacher Becky Prine Sullivan, include:
Portfolio of 8 pieces – Marianne Elizalde – Grade 12;
Portfolio of 8 pieces – Danny Millar – Grade 12;
Monster #1 – Drawing - Marianne Elizalde – Grade 12;
Coke Bottle – Drawing - Marianne Elizalde – Grade 12;
Mother Earth – Drawing - Marianne Elizalde – Grade 12;
Prismatic Reflections; Personal Deceptions – Drawing - Danny Millar – Grade 12;
Smoker – Nicolas Sarmiento – Painting - Grade 12;
Infant Swallowings – Painting - Sydney Veverka – Grade 10.
Silver Key Awards given to submissions from the 2-D Visual Arts Class, Becky Prine Sullivan, Instructor, include:
Portfolio of 8 pieces – Nicolas Sarmiento – Grade 12;
Urban Angst – Drawing - Marianne Elizalde - Grade 12;
Reaching Happiness - Batik – Marianne Elizalde – Grade 12;
Nelophobia – Painting - Danny Millar - Grade 12;
Weeping Woman – Painting - Anna Mahan – Grade 10; ,br>
Alienation – Painting – Jalita Patton Grade – 10;
Honorable Mention Awards, 2D Art, Becky Prine Sullivan, Instructor:
Portfolio of 8 Pieces – Brianna Fulmer – Grade 12;
Move Over – Drawing - Brianna Fulmer – Grade 12;
Pensive to the Point of Perplexity – Painting - Brianna Fulmer – Grade 12;
His Last Word was “Moo” – Painting - Danny Millar – Grade 12;
Manifestation of Imagination – Drawing - Danny Millar – Grade 12;
(Alexander Graham) Bell Sent a Letter, He Wants His Phone Back – Drawing - Danny Millar – Grade 12;
A Day at the Zoo – Drawing - Nicholas Sarmiento – Grade 12.
Awards from the 3-D Visual Arts Class – Sally Allan, Instructor, include:
Gold Key Awards:
Play Ball – Ceramics – Ce’ Erica Roland-Ferguson – Grade 9;
Orb of Confusion – Ceramics – Donovan Webb – Grade 11.
Silver Key Awards, 3-D Art, Sally Allan, Instructor:
Sharpie Monstrosity – Mixed Media – Audrey Berkan – Grade 10;
Double Stuffed – Mixed Media – Donovan Webb – Grade 11;
Heavenly Bodies – Ceramics – April Weber – Grade 12;
Black Horse – Ceramics – Michelle Perry – Grade 12;
Tea Puzzle – Ceramics – Austin Kemp – Grade 10.
Honorable Mention awards, 3-D Art, Sally Allan, Instructor:
The God of Corn – Ceramics – Donovan Webb – Grade 10;
Teapot 2009 – Ceramics – Michelle Perry – Grade 12;
Grace – Ceramics – Julius Woo – Grade 12.
LANGUAGE ARTS AWARDS
Over 900 entries were submitted to the Multi-state Writing Regional competitions. Students were invited to the Regional Scholastic Art & Writing Awards ceremony and the Gold Key Art Exhibit, held at the DesMoines State Historical Building on Sunday, March 7, 2010. The multi-state regional program celebrates both young artists and young writers. All Scholastic Art and Writing award winners present were honored on stage.
2010 Language Arts Scholastic Writing Awards, Instructor Rachel Reid, SASA's \Language Arts Concentration 11/12 Grade class included:
Silver Key Award:
“Bicycles”-Short Short Story- Ben Beltran- Grade 11.
2010 Scholastic Language Arts Writing Honorable Mention Awards given to entries from Jared Morningstar’s SASA Grade Language Arts 9/10 Concentration class include:
“My Grandmother’s Afghan” – Poetry- Carley Veverka- Grade 11;
Lauren Ingram’s poem collection, “Falsifier”;
Hope Kemerer’s poem, “Picture Book”.
Excerpts from SASA’s Silver Key Award winner Ben Beltran’s Short Short Story, “Bicycles", as well as portions of several Honorable Mention short poetry pieces by Carly Veverka, Lauren Ingram and Hope Kemerer can be found on this SASA website under "Awards".
Congratulations to these SASA students, Mrs. Sullivan, Mrs. Allan, Mrs. Reid and Mr. Morningstar for the pursuit of excellence and much dedicated creative energy!
SASA Wordsmiths Sweep Local Essay Contests
Five students at SASA have been recognized in February 2010 for their completed essay entries in two regional annual contests.
Senior Nicole Smith was selected as the high school level D.A.R. Good Citizen for 2010 for her essay addressing the issues of equality and racial prejudice. Her essay was entered in the 2010 Daughters of the American Revolution annual contest for the chapters covering Saginaw and Bay counties. Nicole completed her essay while in school as required over two hours; students are given the prompt when they are seated at the table to write. The 2010 essay topic was "Our American Heritage and Our Responsibility for Preserving It-- Our Greatest Challenges Today". Her essay will now advance to the state level, where further recognition and scholarships are provided.
In the younger student forum, SASA 7th Grader Kellie Rankey received the first place 7th grade honors in the D.A.R. American History Essay Contest, the third time she has placed as a grade level winner in this event.
D.A.R. Awards were presented at an annual D.A.R. luncheon on February 12, 2010 in Saginaw, which was attended by the students, their parents and SASA Counselor Mrs. Tina Gutierrez as the school's representative.
Three students from SASA were named local winners in the 41st annual "America and Me" Essay Contest, sponsored by Farm Bureau Insurance Company. Sweeping the first through thirds places respectively were Sabrina Vernier, Parker Bradford and Kate Hurtig. As the school's first place winner, Sabrina's name will also be engraved on a plaque for permanent display in the school. Several thousand 8th graders from throughout MI competed in the essay contest. The 2009-10 topic was "My Personal Michigan Hero."
Sabrina's essay will advance to the state level competition, from which the top 10 essays in Michigan will be selected. Each of the 10 state winners will receive a plaque, a medallion, and a cash award of $1,000, and will be honored at a banquet in Lansing. At the banquet they will meet with the state's top governmental leaders and be featured guests at a Lansing Lugnuts minor league game dedicated to their honor.
SASA Named Silver Medalist School in U.S.News and World Report for Second Year in a Row
In December 2009, the Saginaw Arts and Sciences Academy was again
named among the top 2.2% high schools in the nation, and this year was the
sole recognized high school in Saginaw County in the 2009 “U.S.
News and World Report Top U.S. High Schools” ranking report.
In all, twenty high schools in Michigan were recognized with
silver or gold medal standings.
The ranking, which began in 2007, is released annually to
recognize the achievements of American High Schools that
achieve highly in preparing significant number of seniors well for
college readiness, as evidenced by quality performance on
Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate exams.
The index also measures school performance in achievement for
minority and economically disadvantaged students at a rate
comparable to white and higher income students. SASA was
elevated from a bronze medal winner in 2008 to silver medal and
remains as a silver medalist winner this year due to continuing
progress in the areas mentioned above.
Congratualtions to SASA's students, faculty and parents for making SASA a standout program in all of Mid-Michigan!
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