SASA Summer Hours 7:30-5:30, Monday - Thursday

SASA and the Saginaw School District will move to summer hours beginning June 16 and continuing through August 14, 2008. Offices are open daily for 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. throughout the school district. The EXCEPTION is the week of June 30-July 3, when offices will be open from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. daily due to the July 4 holiday closing.

Seniors Sarah Chappell and Adam Kidder Named National Merit Scholars

Two Saginaw Arts and Sciences Academy seniors, Sarah Chappell and Adam Kidder, have been named National Merit Scholars by the National Merit Scholarship sponsoring organization, The College Board.

The National Merit® $2500 Scholarships are single payment scholarships, which are awarded on a state representational basis. Winners are selected without consideration of family financial circumstances, college choice, or major and career plans.

From an initial applicant pool of over 1.4 million U.S. seniors, 8,400 are presented with the National Merit Scholarship each year.

Both Sarah and Adam plan to attend the University of Michigan in the fall, majoring in English and Computer Sciences, respectively.

Considering the Class of 2008 at SASA numbers only 48 seniors, the school is highly pleased to see both Sarah and Adam attain this achievement, placing them among the strongest seniors anywhere in the United States, and as a credit to the teaching and learning that occurs at SASA each year.

Five SASA Students Attend INTEL International Science and Engineering Fair This Year

The Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (Intel ISEF), the world’s largest international pre-college science competition, annually provides a forum for more than 1,500 high school students from over 40 countries to showcase their independent research. The Intel ISEF is the premiere science competition in the world exclusively for students in grades 9–12.

Each year, millions of students worldwide compete in local and school-sponsored science fairs; the winners of these events go on to participate in Intel ISEF-affiliated regional and state fairs from which the best win the opportunity to attend the Intel ISEF. The Intel ISEF unites these top young scientific minds, showcasing their talent on an international stage, enabling them to submit their work to judging by doctoral level scientists—and providing the opportunity to compete for nearly $4 million in prizes and scholarships.

The "Society for Science & the Public" partners with Intel, along with dozens of other corporate, academic, government and science-focused sponsors—who provide support and awards for the Intel ISEF each year.

The Intel ISEF 2008, presented by Agilent Technologies, was held May 11-17, 2008 in Atlanta, GA.

SASA students were selected to attend the ISEF as top students in several regional science fair convocations including: The Saginaw County Science and Engineering Fair (SCSEF), the Flint Area Science Fair (FASC) and the Michigan State Science Fair (MISEF). Four were chosen as competitiors and one accompanied them as an observer/alternate finalist.

Representing the Saginaw Arts and Sciences Academy as the top Michigan SEF finalist was: David McMillon, Gr.12, John Barnes, Instructor; for David's project, "Optimizing The Accuracy Of A Universal Positioning System". David took first place at Flint's Kettering University in the Michigan SEF and was sponsored by the MISEF to attend the ISEF, leaving room for an additional finalist from the SCSEF to attend. Further information on the MISEF is available at the link http://msef.sciencefair.info/

Representing the Saginaw County SEF were: Christen Robinson, Gr. 12, Dan Sealey, Instructor; for his project, "Harnessing The Filtration Abilities Of Caustic Hydroxides Through Solid Absorption Processes As Means Of The Abation Of Carbon Dioxide From Automobile Exhaust."

Also attending the Intel ISEF as a competing finalist from the SCSEF was: Nolan Ford, Gr. 12, Matt Miller, Instructor; for his project, "The Use Of Alamar Blue Assay For Quantitative In-Vitro Assessment Of Oxidative Reduction Potential (ORP) In A Cell Culture Model Of Huntington's Disease".

Dalton Allan, Gr. 9, Stephen Tack, Instructor, was selected as a non-exhibiting ISEF alternate for his SCSEF mathematics project, "An Analysis Of Error In Rational Approximations".

The ISEF program is made available each year to Saginaw area students through the generosity of Dow Corning Corporation, in cooperation with the Community Education Department of the Saginaw Public School District, which hosts the competition, now in its thirtieth year.

Complete SCSEF Awards are listed at the following link for grades 5-12. http://pub.spsd.net/communityeducation/SCSEF08AwardList.htm

Four SASA Students Invited to Represent MI in National I-SWEEEP Competition in Houston, TX

The First International Sustainable World (Energy, Engineering & Environment) Project Olympiad (I-SWEEEP)competition was held in May 2008 in Houston, Texas. The mission of I-SWEEEP is to stimulate interest in sustainability related problems we are facing today as humanity, and practical solutions to these challenges.

I-SWEEEP 2008 was held at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, Texas from May 1 to May 5, 2008. Further information can be found at http://www.isweep.org

There were five named National Finalists from Michigan, according to information provided on the I-Sweep website at http://www.isweep.org/images/stories/national_finalists.pdf. Four attending MI finalists are students of the Saginaw Arts and Sciences Academy. Students qualified to represent Michigan through applications submitted, based on adjudicated independent scientific research completed in Michigan Science Fairs in the winter or spring of 2008.

Students were housed, fed, registered and transported in Houston without charge for the five days of the I-SWEEEP conference. Students’ families provided airfare or transportation, or obtained grants from I-SWEEP to do so.

The SASA students and their project titles are:

“Water Quality: An Analysis of City Water in the Saginaw Valley”, Erika Trigg, Gr 10. Erika received an Honorable Mention award for her project at the I-SWEEEP.

“A Riveting River Revelation of a River Rat: A Comparative Analysis of Michigan Rivers through the Investigation of Common Pollutants and Heavy Metals”, Nicole Smith, Gr 10. Nicole also received an Honorable mention Award for her project at I-SWEEEP.

“Airbags and Force -The Effects of Side Impact Force Using Different Materials as Airbags”, Ryan Sarmiento, Gr 9.

“Harnessing the Filtration Abilities of Caustic Hydroxides as a Means of the Abation of Carbon Dioxide from Automobile Exhaust”, Christen Robinson, Gr 12.

The four SASA students were accompanied by SASA teacher, Mr. John Barnes, and/or their parents.

According to the official competition website, one other MI student, Jacob Isley, was selected to attend I-SWEEEP, but his school is not named.

Adit Venkatarman Lands 5th Place in State Geography Bee

Aditya Venkataraman, Grade 8, placed fifth in the Michigan State Geography Bee in Kalamazoo on April 3, 2008. The competition was quite intense and Aditya is said to be proud of his results.

There were 100 participants who had qualified from throughout Michigan to make it to the finals. The top 10 had to face the final round that was held in a large auditorium filled with parents, teachers and onlookers and was moderated by a member of Jeopardy's Clue Crew team and was held at Western Michigan University. For placing in the top 10, Adit received a personally addressed letter from the Governor of Michigan commending him as one of the top 10 finalists. As a token of his thank you to SASA, Adit donated to the media center a globe that he was awarded from his previous Goebee efforts.

Aditya and his family wish to thank so much the staff at SASA, and especially Mrs. Joan Klenk, for sponsoring the Geography Bee and providing this opportunity to Aditya.

Over 100 Eighth Graders From SASA "Bring Books to Life" in Annual Washington D.C. Experience

Four students were selected to present wreaths at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Washington D.C. on Monday, March 31, during an annual 8th grade trip from SASA to the national capitol.

Through an essay contest at the Saginaw Arts and Science Academy, John Bihn, Neha Chavali, Imani Coney and Michelle Correra-Rivera were selected to present the wreaths on behalf of SASA. Applications for the wreath presentation must be made months in advance with the Arlington Cemetery authorities. It is considered a privilege for SASA to be selected for participation in the ceremony again this year.

This was the ninth consecutive year that SASA eighth graders were able to partake in the Washington D.C. "Living History" learning experience. More than 110 eighth grade students from SASA spent five days in our nation's capitol beginning March 30 and returning on April 3, 2008. The trip is tied to the Social Studies curriculum as a culminating experience for a year's study of U.S. History in classes at SASA taught by Mr. Brian Feldman.

Over $12,000 in scholarships are provided annually to students by Mr. Feldman through his work with students and parents in various fundraisers and through the school store. These fundraising efforts allow all students who wish to attend the opportunity to do so.

Students and their adult chaperones will also visit Mount Vernon, tour the Capitol Building and White House, explore famous monuments and memorials throughout Washington D.C., visit the National Holocaust Museum, the Smithsonian Institute, Ford's Theater, and more. Students, parent chaperones and staff travel each year by charter bus.

While visiting the Capitol Building, the students and their chaperones will meet our area legislators and have an opportunity to hear about the Washington D.C. experience from a professional perspective.

Instrumental Music, Dance, Voice, Art and Theatre Students Enjoy Trip to Chicago Musical "Wicked"

During the first weekend in May, you may have seen three Blue Lakes charter buses full of SASA students brimming with anticipation over a two-day trip to Chicago to enjoy the professional production of 'Wicked' at Chicago's famed Ford Theatre.

Students and staff from every performing arts program at SASA combined to fill the 156 seats on the buses and to make the trip a memorable experience. While in Chicago, students also toured the Chicago Institute of Arts or the Chicago Field Museum.

The trip was conceived early in the fall by SASA's Instrumental Music Director Timothy Kasten. Mr. Kasten and had no problem gaining support from other SASA teachers and their students, including: Visual Arts teachers Becky Sullivan & Sally Allan; Dance teacher, Susan Harrigan; Theatre teacher, Jenny Rogers; and Voice-Keyboard Teacher, Mike Brush.

Math Competition at Delta a Strong Showing for SASA

On Saturday, April 5, 2008, SASA competed in Delta College’s annual Middle School Math Competition. After many months of hard work preparing for this and other competitions, we had a number of excellent performances.

In the 6th grade, Jad Zreik tied for 25th place, Anton Graf and Sharon Kim tied for 18th, Safwaan Mir placed 6th, Vikram Shanker placed 2nd, and Broderick Allan took 1st place.

In the 7th grade competition, Lillian Moncman tied for 22nd, Tyler Kemerer tied for 15th, Noah Kihata tied for 12th, Waleed Khan placed 8th, Alex Berka placed 3rd, and Magda (Max) Hlavacek took 1st.

And finally in the group for the 8th graders, Adit Venkataraman tied for 23rd, Owais Ansari placed 14th, Neha Chavali was 6th, Sam Metevia placed 5th, John Bihn 4th, and Philip Bernstein placed 3rd.

Congratulations too all who competed and school's Math/Science concentration Math teachers: Jerusha Joiner, Martina Leslie, Michael Aide and Stephen Tack. Good job one and all!

Scholastic GOLD KEY Awards Granted to Six SASA High School Writers

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.

SASA Theatre Students Bring Art to Life in PICASSO BECOMES YOU and Raise Money for Saginaw Art Museum

Saginaw Arts and Sciences Academy (SASA) Theatre students are wrapped up their original production of "Picasso Becomes You", a live art exhibit and play, which made its debut on the SASA stage February 22 and 23rd, 2008 with two performances each evening and a Saturday matinee.

SASA Theatre students also ‘adopted ’ the 28-piece WWI poster collection for restoration at the Saginaw Art Museum. This project involves raising $6000 to have the entire collection properly matted and framed.

The play, "Picasso Becomes You", written by SASA Theatre instructor Jenny Rogers-Belleau, involves the story of two young students; one is an art lover who has been assigned the task of recreating a Picasso art piece on the human form and the other, the antagonistic friend who doesn’t understand the world of modern art and wants to go home. The play veers from traditional play structure and turns a portion of the school into an art gallery filled with the works of Picasso and a selection of art pieces found in the Saginaw Art Museum.

“In this play, audience members will be put into tour groups as soon as they walk in the front door. At that moment, they are enveloped in the play by enjoying the tour of the ‘museum’ with the young art students (actors Joe Faust and German exchange student Caroline Sieger). The tour is about thirty minutes long and ends in the auditorium, where guests will be seated for the remainder of the play,” explains Rogers-Belleau, director. “During the course of the evening, various pieces of art come to life and return to their static state, as they dodge notice of the real world and engage in a lively discussion regarding the importance and beauty of certain works of art. Students have put in many hours over the course of the last few months and have surprised themselves at what they’ve accomplished,” finishes Rogers-Belleau.

Attendees were treated to approximately two and a half hours of enchanting entertainment from meeting the docents who emerge from a painting at the nod of Madame Picasso at the door to the final diatribe of the artworks in the gallery at the end of the show.

Refreshments were available for sale; proceeds are marked for donation along with door proceeds to the Saginaw Art Museum for the WWI poster collection fundraiser.

The entire cast and crew of the performance numbered nearly 60 students, including actors as "artworks", their designers, prop artists, stage crew and marketing volunteers. The group came from every available Concentration at SASA and from both the middle and high school programs.

Thank you to Drama instuctor Jenny Rogers Belleau for a superlative performance and for her vision in bringing this multi-disciplinary experience to SASA.

Dance to Perform at Michigan Youth Arts Festival -- AGAIN in 2008

Saginaw Arts & Sciences Academy Dancers will be performing once again at the 2008 Michigan Youth Arts Festival to be held at Western Michigan University, May 8-10, 2008.

The following students will be performing at the festival for Dance; Kelsey Christiansen (11), Priscilla Connelly (12), Ashley Crittle (11), Jessica Davis (12), Domonique Freeman (9), Symone Parker (12), Carlishia Smith (11) and Taylor Thompson (11). The piece was choreographed by Susan Harrigan, SASA instructor of dance, and is titled “Help Me/Help You”, with accompaniment by Kronos Quartet. This energetic, modern dance piece was selected through the process of statewide adjudication. Michigan Dance Council sponsors the dance division of the Michigan Youth Arts Festival. SASA Dance Department is under the direction of dance teacher, Susan Harrigan.

Christine Janowiak, a student of Becky Sullivan’s 2-dimensional SASA Art class, and Haley Fowler and Michelle Perry, students of Sally Allan’s 3- dimensional art class, designed and painted the costumes of brown leotards and shorts, to complement the dance.

SASA Band Students Perform 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.

SASA Art Entries Named Tops in State, Two Chosen to Exhibit at MI Youth Arts Festival

The Michigan Art Educator's Association has selected the top pieces of art in the state of Michigan for this school year.

At the middle school level, three exhibitors from Becky Sullivan's 2D art class received recognition: Jacob Jean -Gr 7 (top 100) and Merretta Mast- Gr 8 (top 15). Also, Senior Christine Janowiak 's mixed media still life will be exhibited in the top 100 at the high school level.

Amelia Cortez's (Gr. 12)work is in the top 18 in the high school show. She is Sally Allan's student in the 3D Visual Arts class at SASA. Both Christine and Amelia will be invited to participate in the prestigious Michigan Youth Arts Festival at Western Michigan University in May.

Junior Nicholas Triantafillou Wins Kettering University Math Olympiad

From the Kettering University website located at link http://www.kettering.edu/visitors/storydetail.jsp?storynum=2731

"A junior at the Saginaw Arts & Sciences Academy won the prestigious Kettering University Mathematics Olympiad and was awarded a full-tuition, 4 ½-year scholarship to the nationally ranked engineering, mathematics, science, and business university in Flint.

"Nicholas Triantafillou of Saginaw won the top scholarship prize and a $1,000 gift certificate to Best Buy during the seventh annual mathematics competition.

"Second place went to Neil Gurram of Sterling Heights, a sophomore at Detroit Country Day. He won a half-tuition, 4 ½-year scholarship and a $700 Best Buy gift certificate.

"Third prize was awarded to Philip Hu of Troy, a senior at Troy High School. He received a $300 Best Buy gift certificate.

"Four fourth prizes of $100 each were also awarded to: Ram Bhaskar of Farmington, a sophomore at the International Academy; Andrew Jeanguenat of Grosse Pointe Woods, a junior at Detroit Country Day; Roger Jia of Rochester Hills, a senior at Wylie E. Groves High School; and Allen Yuan of Northville, a freshman at Detroit Country Day.

"In all, 45 high school students took the examination at Kettering on Saturday, Dec.1, 2007. The examination is designed for students in grades nine through twelve, however, any student working toward a high school diploma who is currently enrolled in a public school, private school or a home-school program can sit for this examination.

"The competition consists of four-to-six challenging problems and has a time limit of four hours. Mathematics faculty members Ruben Hayrapetyan, Ada Cheng and Joe Salacuse organize and run the competition. “Our goal is to identify and encourage students with interests and abilities in mathematics,” Salacuse said.

"For more on Kettering’s Mathematics Olympiad, including examination questions and solutions, and previous winners, visit: www.kettering.edu/olympiad2007. This year’s competition was financially supported by the Flint Area School Employees Credit Union, Chase Bank, and Kettering University."

"Written by Pat Mroczek; 810.762.9533; pmroczek@kettering.edu "

SASA Band Students Bring Home the Medals

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.

SASA Sweeps NOBCChE Science Quiz Bowl Regional and National Titles - Teams Take Phildelphia Finals By Storm

Middle school and high school students from Saginaw Arts and Sciences Academy won the annual regional and national Quiz Bowl competition held at Midland High School on March 9, 2008 and in Philadelphia, PA on March 19-22, 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, where teams converge from across the country each March. The teams must be comprised of at least 50% African American students in order to compete.

The local NOBCChE chapter has held the contest for the last 3 years, but this is the first time they have sponsored both a middle school and a high school team.SASA is honored to have cinched both titles for the region and the nation.

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

The junior (middle school) team included: Dalton Allan (grade 9), Owais Ansari (8), Jordan Drake (8), Sam Wilkins (8), and Nate Wilkins (7). The SASA team coaches are Math/Science teachers Matthew Miller and John Barnes.

Look for a photo and the results of SASA's teams taking the national competition by storm at the following website: http://www.nobcche.org

Students and Staff Travel to Japan in June

Thirteen students and two SASA teachers will be leaving June 12th for over 2 weeks of study and cultural experiences in Japan.

The group will be visiting Tokyo for three days, Saginaw's sister city, Tokushima, for eight days and Kyoto for three days.

SASA Teachers Brian Feldman and Stephen Tack are the trip coordinators and chaperones for SASA. Brian's wife, Christina Feldman, will be accompaning them. This is the third time Mr. Feldman and Mr. Tack will be traveling to Japan with a group of students through the Laurasian Institute and the United States Japan Foundation’s “New Perspectives Japan” program. Due to support from the Japan Foundation Center for Global Partnership and the Freeman Foundation, the 16-day Japan experience is supported for students with Jackson Bailey Scholarship grants ranging from $400 to $1,100 each.

U.S. News and World Report Awards SASA a Bronze Medallion

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.”

Take A Look at the Model United Nations Team and Program

From Wednesday, November 28 until Saturday, December 1, 2007 the Saginaw Arts and Sciences Academy Model United Nations (SASAMUN) team attended the Great Lakes Invitational Model United Nations Conference (GLIMUN) at the Radisson Hotel in downtown Lansing, Michigan. SASA continued to build its reputation as the state's strongest Model United Nations program with another very successful conference. Here are the details:

What SASAMUN Students Did at GLIMUN

GLIMUN is a conference that simulates the United Nations. There are six committees and the United Nations Security Council at GLIMUN. SASAMUN assigns each student to a country and a committee and researches the topics which that committee will debate over the course of the week. This year, SASA students represented the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK) and Canada. Afterward, the committees combined to create two plenary sessions, where delegates teamed up to represent their nations (the Legal, Political, and Special Political Committees become the General Assembly (GA), and the Environmental, Social, and Humanitarian Committees become the Economic and Social Council (EcoSoc)). For example, this year James Smith represented the UK in the Special Political Committee, and debated the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (the bloodiest conflict since World War II) and in regard to the status of the Korean Peninsula. Eventually, the goal of each delegate is to pass a resolution that represents his or her nation's views. Compromise is sometimes necessary, but delegates advise each other to stay as close to their nation's policies as possible.

What SASAMUN Students Learned at GLIMUN

A Model United Nations conference, particularly one as well organized as GLIMUN, is an amazing instructional asset for real-world applications of classroom ideas, such as: global studies, language arts, theater (and occasionally, as in the topic of climate change, one will even apply knowledge learned in the natural sciences). First, students must spend hours researching topics. These topics can range from those shown in the news every day, such as the Security Council debating Iran's nuclear program-—to the obscure, as in the aforementioned humanitarian crisis in the Congo -- that never seems to make the front page of American newspapers.

At the MUN conference, delegates firmly hold to their position, speaking in front of large panels (sometimes up to 80 people, or as in the General Assembly -- over 200!), but they must also learn the art of making backroom deals and communicating on a more personal level. In a mere matter of hours, they must be able to draft large resolutions that can both frame the question and resolve the problem. They must think critically and strategically in order to understand and head-off plans of opponents and convince delegates to ally themselves to their nation's bloc. It is with great pride that SASA's committee recognizes they now possess a deep understanding of all of these aspects of Model United Nations, and they ways the new delegates have gained an appreciation for Model UN, and for the work that goes into becoming a successful delegate.

What Recognition SASAMUN Students Earned at the 2007 GLIMUN

An exciting part of GLIMUN is the chance to win awards if one is the best in his committee or plenary session. No school has excelled more per capita than the Saginaw Arts and Sciences Academy delegation in the past few years. This year was no exception. All of our students acquitted themselves well in committee, but GLIMUN especially rewarded one individual. Global studies senior Aryan Pedawi won best delegate in the Political Committee. The significance of this honor is breathtaking to any delegate or observer. To be named best delegate, one must be the most prepared, most articulate, and most perseverant of approximately eighty delegates in committee, many of whom are excellent debaters in their own right. In addition, SASAMUN won best delegation in both GA and EcoSoc as the United Kingdom. Members of these teams included Sarah Chappell, Aryan Pedawi, James Smith , Munim Mohibi, Elizabeth Williams, and Nicholas Triantafillou.

What Else?

SASAMUN will continue to meet throughout the year, and members are planning to attend the Michigan State University Model United Nations conference (MSUMUN) and fulfill their obligations to our grant by giving a Model United Nations presentation at Zilwaukee School. Questions can be directed to jnash@spsd.net for forwarding to MUN leaders, or speak to Mrs. Schneider, MUN adviser. (information provided by James E. Smith, Secretary General of the SASAMUN Committee).

North Central Association Quality Assurance Review Team Gives SASA a Resounding "Thumbs Up" in 2007-8 Five-Year Accreditation Review

The North Central Association Quality Assurance Review Team completed the first-ever AdvancEd Accreditation Review for SASA on December 5, 2007. The team of four evaluators, trained by NCA, conducted an intensive two-day schedule of interviews with stakeholders, reviews of artifacts for school quality initiatives, and tours of the program and facility.

In their exit review oral report, the NCA team, headed by team leader Ann Trovillion-Timm of Fenton, stated: "SASA is a school that is full of JOY. As opposed to some schools where students crawl to school and run home, in this school, they run to school, and crawl home - tired and fulfilled - after a day full of challenges. It is evident that everyone -- students, parents, staff, administration, support personnel, Board Members and community stakeholders are extremely pleased with their affilitation with the Saginaw Arts and Sciences Academy."

Needless to say, the staff, students and other stakeholders affiliated with the school are delighted at the good news and are anxious to begin working on the next five-year plan for North Central Accreditation through NCA and the AdvancEd organization of schools in the U.S.

The staff of the Saginaw Arts and Sciences Academy wishes to thank Ann Timm and her team members Bill Gesaman, Principal of Riverside Elementary, Waterford; Matt Gonzales, International Academy, Bloomfield Hills; and Michael Flannery, Henry Ford Academy, Dearborn, for their tireless hours of hard work on behalf of all the students at SASA and their families.

The AdvancEd Quality Assurance process is aligned with the State of Michigan Ed YES! evaluation process, and will provide NCA-Accredited schools with a quality review and evaluation process to use to measure their performance in the years ahead.

Congratulations to all of the staff, students and parents at SASA, and all of those who support SASA in the Saginaw School District and the community. There are so many who have worked so hard to make the Academy not just a school, but a JOYFUL place to learn and work.

© 2008 Saginaw Arts & Sciences Academy
200 Congress Ave. • Saginaw, MI 48602 • Tel: (989) 399-5500 • Fax: (989) 399-5515 • Email Us