State MATHCOUNTS Team Competition Held in Grand Rapids

The State MATHCOUNTS competition was held on March 7, 2008 at Grand Valley State University. Culminating an outstanding season, the SASA MathCounts team finished sixth in the state. Instructor Michael Aide was the 2008 team coach for SASA, assisted by SASA student Nicholas Triantafillou, Gr. 11.

SASA Math Students Leave Impression at SVSU Math Competition

In April 2008, Saginaw Valley State University hosted the region's Math Olympics competition.

SASA's Level 2 team (older students) captured 1st Place overall; the llevel 1 team of younger students captured 3rd place. The teams from SASA were recognized with the overall First Place Team Award.

Individuals Nicholas Triantafillou, Gr. 11, took the 1st Place Individual Award, and 9th grade student Dalton Allen was awarded the 2nd place individual trophy.

SASA High School Band Members Earn Accolades at State Festival

On Saturday, March 15, 2008, members of SASA’s High School Band competed in the Michigan School Band & Orchestra Association (MSBOA) State Festival. The competition was held at Central Michigan University and included band students from all mid-Michigan High Schools. All SASA band students in the competition earned medals.

Students receiving first place awards were: Alexandriya Emonds, Ayesha Yalamarthy, Devin Langham, Erica Trigg, Karyn Bate-Defoe, Sarah Lumsden, James Smith. Students receiving second place awards were: Carly Veverka, Stephanie Squanda, Mary Krapf, Adam Kidder, Jordan Riley, Newton Davis, Alicia Trevino, Lisa Greif and Logan Verner. Congratulations to SASA’s High School Band members and to Mr. Tim Kasten, SASA Bands Director.

Writers Learn their Art Well at SASA -- Six Selected in 2008 for Scholastic Gold Key Awards

Announced winners of the 2008 Scholastic Writing Awards competition were announced the week of March 13. Scholastic “Gold Key” winners from Mr. Joseph Center’s 9th and 10 grade English Concentration class are: Nickolette deClerck (Gr. 10) for a short story entitled "Where is that Gorgeous Woman?" , and Kandi Crockett (Gr. 10) for a poem entitled "Freedom, Autumn, Lost."

In the 11th and 12 grades, ELA Concentration teacher Rebekah Rogers celebrated the following Gold Key winners in the category of Short Story: Evan Eastman, "Sands of Freedom"; Samantha Hempsted, "Jocelyn's Garden"; and Devin Langham, "A Portrait of a Painter"; and for a Short, Short Story, a Gold Key was awarded to Tyler Soule, for "Best Wishes From Mr. Finnegan".

The Scholastic Writing Awards are a prestigious national competition for high school students to submit original works in both writing and art each year. This, together with two SASA student winners from visual arts, is one of the highest number of students from SASA to be selected to receive the Gold Key awards in one year in recent history.

Congratulations to Mrs. Rebekah Rogers and Mr. Joseph Center for guiding your students to excellence in their writing work this year.

SASA High School Band Brings Home Resounding Results from MSBOA Solo & Ensemble

On Saturday, Feb. 16, 2008, members of SASA’s High School Band competed in the District V Solo & Ensemble Festival sponsored by the Michigan School Band & Orchestra Association. The competition was held at Owosso High School and included band students from all mid-Michigan High Schools. All SASA band students in the competition earned medals, capturing 21 FIRST PLACE awards and one SECOND PLACE award.

Students receiving first place awards were: Alexandriya Emonds, Ayesha Yalamarthy, Logan Verner, Devin Langham, Erica Trigg, Karyn Bate-Defoe, Sarah Lumsden, James Smith, David McMillon, Carly Veverka, Stephanie Squanda, Mary Krapf, Adam Kidder, Jordan Riley, Newton Davis, Alicia Trevino, Lisa Greif. The student receiving a second place award was Alexandriya Emonds.

First place award winners have qualified for the State competition on March 15th at Central Michigan University.

A rousing ovation to our dedicated SASA High School Band members and Mr. Timothy Kasten, Bands Director.

SASA’s 8th Grade Concert Band and High School Band will also compete in the MSBOA District V Band Festival on Friday, March 7th at Midland Central Middle School at 5:35pm & 7:00pm respectively.

Seniors Sarah Chappell and Adam Kidder Named as National Merit Scholarship Finalists

Congratulations are in order for seniors Sarah Chappell and Adam Kidder, both recently named finalists in the National Merit Scholarship Competition. Sarah and Adam are two of this year's 47 seniors graduating from SASA.

The National Merit Scholarship Program is a U.S. academic scholarship competition based initially on scores received from the PSAT exams in the Junior year. The competition provides recognition and college scholarships administered by National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC), a privately funded, not-for-profit organization. NMSC conducts two annual competitions for recognition and scholarships: the National Merit Scholarship Program, which is open to all students who meet entry requirements, and the National Achievement Scholarship Program in which only Black American students participate. Each year a total of approximately 10,500 scholarships are awarded through NMSC programs.

Of the 1.4 million entrants, about 50,000 qualify for recognition and approximately the top 25% go on to become Finalists. Over half of the Finalists are selected to receive scholarships underwritten by corporations and business organizations, colleges and universities, and by NMSC with its own funds.<,br>
Sarah is a senior enrolled in the Language Arts Concentration and Adam is a senior enrolled in SASA's Math/Science Concentration. Both are still deciding where they will be attending college, with the potential NMSC scholarship serving to greatly broaden their choices.

Math/Science Concentration QUIZ BOWL Teams Sweep Midland Regional Competiton, Heading to Phildelphia March 19-23

SASA Math/Science teachers Matthew Miller and John Barnes lead their teams of students from SASA's Math/Science concentration to two firsts and one second place victories in Midland this semester.

Middle school and high school students from Saginaw Arts and Sciences Academy won the annual regional quiz bowl competition held at Midland High School on March 9, 2008.

The contest, sponsored by the National Organization of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE), tests general science knowledge as well as African-American history in a head-to-head format. Competitors include students from other high schools and middle schools in the Tri-county area who compete for a chance to represent the local NOBCChE chapter at the national science bowl, which will be held in Philadelphia in March. The teams must be comprised of at least 50% African American students.

The local NOBCChE chapter has held the contest for the last 3 years, but this is the first time they will be sponsoring both a middle school and a high school team.

The senior (high school) team includes; Newton Davis (grade 12), Adam Kidder (12), David McMillon (12), Nicholas Triantafillou (11), and Jon Young (11).

The junior (middle school) team includes; Dalton Allan (grade 9), Owais Ansari (8), Jordan Drake (8), Sam Wilkins (8), and Nate Wilkins (7).

SASA Receives National Recognition From U.S. News and World Report

Saginaw Arts and Sciences Academy was awarded a bronze medal in U.S. News and World Report’s first-ever list of America’s Best High Schools.The award puts the Saginaw Arts and Sciences Academy squarely among the top 10% of high schools in the nation.

Nearly 18,000 schools in 40 states were evaluated, using a formula produced in collaboration with School Evaluation Services, a K-12 data research and analysis business run by Standard & Poor’s. The list was included in the magazine’s Dec. 10 issue and is on-line at www.usnews.com/sections/education/high-schools .

Just 100 high schools received a gold ranking, 405 received silver status and 1,086 schools earned bronze honors. “It is encouraging to see the dedication and devotion that Saginaw Arts and Sciences Academy has demonstrated in student achievement, class offerings and college-readiness,” says Kathleen Straus, President, State Board of Education. “The State of Michigan is richer for their efforts, they are the cornerstone to a brighter future for our state. Congratulations, to staff and students on this tremendous accomplishment.” Bronze schools exceeded state proficiency standards in reading and math, factoring in levels of student poverty, and their least-advantaged and minority students performed better than average on state tests. Silver and gold schools scored better in preparing students for college as measured by Advanced Placement Tests taken by most or all seniors and by the scores obtained on the AP exams.

In response to the Bronze Medallion award, Principal Janet Nash said, “Now that SASA has knowledge of this new ranking system, we are setting our sights on being the first Gold Medallion school in Michigan next year. We are well-positioned to do so with all of our juniors and seniors now taking at least one AP class, and from the wide array of AP courses offered at the academy this year and next in mathematics, science, social studies, and language arts. We welcome the challenge to earn this distinction for our students and our school’s programs.”

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