Career Academy Middle and High School Weekly Principal Newsletter 2023-24

9/15/23

Happy Friday CASB Families,

Our first dress down day is over and the Robotics team would like to thank everyone who dressed down and supported their fundraiser.

  1. Play Fighting and Horseplay. We need parents’ help with cutting down on horseplay, play fighting, and shadow boxing in the MS and HS.  All students have been told that laying hands on each other or pretending to fight is plainly against the rules, even if they are just playing.  There always comes a point when someone goes too far and things become aggressive.  We are cracking down on this.  After many reminders, they have been told that suspensions will be issued.  We wanted to keep you informed of what is happening and ask you to speak to your students about this as well.
  2. African American History Challenge. CASB is looking for a minimum of 10 students to compete in the African American History Challenge through St. Joseph county. Students will read and study a book and go to at least 1 competition. Please let Mrs. Wigfall (awigfall@careeracademysb.com) and/or Mrs. Cooper (acooper@careeracademysb.com) know if you are interested. We will have our first meeting on Wedensday, 9/20 in Mrs. Cooper’s room 157 afterschool.
  3. Vision and Hearing Screening information. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1d2UbnMsIRUvkX3tusscqqZBzGDjmfh3z/view?usp=sharing
  4. September – October, Attendance Incentive. All students who have perfect attendance between September 11 and October 12 will be entered in a drawing for a family fun gift card(bowling, movies, Dairy Queen).  One HS and one MS student will will be drawn for one gift card each. Individual students who have perfect attendance will receive a small reward along with being added into the family drawing.
  5. Spanish Club

Our club meets on Mondays/Wednesdays from 4 pm-5 pm in room 206. It’s open to all grade levels and no prior knowledge of Spanish is needed! We’re currently raising funds for t-shirts, materials, and supplies for an upcoming event. Support our club members while also treating yourself! See the attached flyer: HERE.

  1. All Things Athletics

 Academic Eligibility Requirements for Athletics

All athletes must be passing 6 or more classes to be eligible for sports at Career Academy.

*Winter Sports Eligibility (Basketball & Cheerleading) is based on the first quarter grades from this school year!

 “A special thanks goes out to Melissa of Left Turn Grafix for her generosity in providing the graphics on our new track leaderboard. The leaderboard was finished Tuesday evening.  Check it out here!

High School E-Sports

Callout will be held from 3:45-4:00 on Tuesday September 19th.  The season will run on Wednesday’s and Thursday with a start date of September 27th.  Lookout for more information on the scrolling announcements at school or click here for the QR code.

Middle School Boys Basketball

Open gyms will continue on some Saturday’s and all Tuesdays at Success Academy.  Tuesdays are 6:30-8:30.  Athletes need a new physical to participate.  The official start date is October 9th.  This team is expected to be large and there will be tryouts.  Paperwork must be turned in on time and you should be attending open gyms to have the best chance to make the team.  Students must pass 6 classes from the first quarter to be eligible to play basketball.  Reach out to Coach Reggi Swanson for more details rswanson224@icloud.com

Boys High School Basketball

Conditioning will continue on Mondays, Wednesday’s and Thursday’s from 6:30 – 8:30 @ Success Academy.  Paperwork must be turned in on time and you should be attending open gyms to have the best chance to make the team.  Students must pass 6 classes from the first quarter to be eligible to start playing basketball.  Athletes need a physical to participate – Coach Leon Johnson – ljohnson1@careeracademysb.com

Girls High School Basketball – If interested in playing, reach out to Coach Brown for information on joining the Band App and for workouts/information- bbrown@careeracademysb.com.  Open gyms are on Wednesdays from 6-7pm at Success.  The season start date is 10/16.

Girls Middle School Basketball – Open gyms are on Wednesdays from 6-7pm at Success. Reach out to Coach Isaac Moore for information – imoore@successacademysb.com

Cheerleading

High School Cheerleading – Tryouts will be held on October 18, 19, 20th from 4-6pm at Career Academy.  You MUST have a physical turned in prior to tryouts.  See the handout here.

Middle School Cheerleading – The first day will be Monday October 9th.  You MUST have a physical turned in prior to the first day.  More information to come in future newsletters.  Attached is the link to the band app for more information.

Middle School & High School Baseball

Workouts will continue on Monday and Wednesday from 4:00 – 6:00.  Athletes need a physical to participate – Coach Phil Beasley – pbeasley@careeracademysb.com.

Upcoming Home Events

*any student wishing to stay for volleyball should attend homework club from 4-5 and then move to the gym for the game

Tuesday 9/19 – MS Volleyball 5:30 pm at Career

Thursday 9/21 – MS Volleyball 5:15 pm at Career

Thursday 9/21 – HS Volleyball 6:30 pm at Career

October 3rd – Senior Night for HS Volleyball

Career Academy Gear

Looking for cool gear.  Check out the new Trailblazer store through Eventlink.  These options are available at any time.  https://teamstore.frecklesgraphics.com/shop/careeracademysouthbend01/

**All Athletes will need new athletics paperwork.  If your kid goes to the doctor, take the physical form with you!  The physical form is attached here.

Have a great weekend!

Mr. Garstka and Mrs. Reilly

9/1/23

 

Happy Friday CASB families, 

 

Reminder that Monday is Labor Day, we do not have school. We will be back on Tuesday, September 5 and Tuesday will be the same Orange day as it normally is, so periods 5 – 8. 

 

  1. Picture Day Retake Day. Retakes for High School and Middle School pictures will be September 14. Reminders for retakes and links to order photos will come closer to the date. https://my.lifetouch.com/mylifetouch/#/ School Code: EVTJJXJ2W 

  2. Staff Email Addresses. Please make sure when you are sending emails to CASB staff you notice there isn’t an “s.” in front of the email. If you see “s.” you are emailing a student. Staff emails are always their first initial with their last name and nothing in front of the email. 

  3. ID’s. We handed out and got student ID’s to them this week. Students MUST have their ID’s on and around their neck during the school day. 

  4. Calendar: CASB is no longer running all 8 periods on Fridays. We will be operating on an alternating Friday schedule for our block periods. Block periods 1 – 4 (Blue Day) or Block periods 5 – 8 (Orange Day). Please see the calendar included, HERE. NEXT Friday (9/8) is a Blue Day.

  5. All Things Athletics – Many teams starting workouts this week!

 Academic Eligibility Requirements for Athletics

All athletes must be passing 6 or more classes to be eligible for sports at Career Academy.  

*Winter Sports Eligibility (Basketball & Cheerleading) is based on the first quarter grades from this school year!

Cheerleading

High School Cheerleading – Tryouts will be held on October 18, 19, 20th from 4-6pm at Career Academy.  You MUST have a physical turned in prior to tryouts.  See the handout here.

Middle School Cheerleading – The first day will be Monday October 9th.  You MUST have a physical turned in prior to the first day.  More information to come in future newsletters.  Attached is the link to the band app for more information.

E-Sports

Callout will be held from 3:45-4:00 on Tuesday September 19th.  The season will run on Wednesday’s and Thursday with a start date of September 27th.  Lookout for more information on the scrolling announcements at school.

 Middle School Boys Basketball

Open gyms will continue on some Saturday’s and all Tuesday’s at Success Academy.  Tuesday’s are 6:30-8:30.  Athletes need a new physical to participate.  The official start date is October 9th.  Reach out to Coach Reggi Swanson for more details rswanson224@icloud.com

Boys High School Basketball

Conditioning will continue on Mondays, Wednesday’s and Thursday’s from 6:30 – 8:30 @ Success Academy.  Athletes need a physical to participate – Coach Leon Johnson – ljohnson1@careeracademysb.com

*All freshman basketball players will begin on Tuesday September 5th

Girls High School Basketball – If interested in playing, reach out to Coach Brown for information on joining the Band App and for workouts/information- bbrown@careeracademysb.com.  Open gyms start on Wednesday 8/30 from 6-7pm at Success

Girls Middle School Basketball – We encourage you to join the open gyms along with the high school girls on Wednesdays from 6-7pm at Success. Season does not officially start until after winter break. 

Middle School & High School Baseball

Workouts will continue on Monday and Wednesday from 4:00 – 6:00.  Athletes need a physical to participate – Coach Phil Beasley – pbeasley@careeracademysb.com.

Upcoming Home Events

*any student wishing to stay for volleyball should attend homework club from 4-5 and then move to the gym for the game

Tuesday 9/5 – HS Volleyball 5:30pm at Career

Thursday 9/7 – HS Volleyball 6:00pm at Career

Friday 9/8 – HS Volleyball 6:00 at Career

 **All Athletes will need new athletics paperwork.  If your kid goes to the doctor, take the physical form with you!  The physical form is attached here.

 

Have a wonderful 3 day weekend.

Mrs. Reilly and Mr. Garstka

8/24/23

 

Happy Thursday CASB Families,

 

Reminder that tomorrow we will have our first E-Learning Day. Students will have work from their Orange Day classes (Periods 5 – 8). Please make sure your student is working on the work for these classes. They will have 1 week from today to get the work completed if they are unable to work. Please encourage your student to utilize WIN time if they were unable to complete their work. 

 

  1. Middle School Schedules. Almost all middle school schedules will be changing on Monday. We will have a new paper schedule for students when they get into the building. Students can also check PowerSchool for their new schedule come Monday morning.
  2. ID’s. Most students should have received their new IDs for the 23-24 school year and are required to wear them around their neck at all times. We will work to get students who did not get their picture taken their ID next week.
  3. Weight Lifting Club. Any high school student will be allowed to join the weightlifting club until Wednesday, August 23rd. We will not accept anyone after this date. If you would like to join, please pick up the paperwork (medical waiver AND club rules) from Mrs. Druyos’ office or from Mrs. Zumbrun in room 208. You will not be allowed to participate until these forms are signed and returned.
  4. Calendar: CASB is no longer running all 8 periods on Fridays. We will be operating on an alternating Friday schedule for our block periods. Block periods 1 – 4 (Blue Day) or Block periods 5 – 8 (Orange Day). Please see the calendar included, HERE. NEXT Friday (9/1) is a Blue Day.
  5. Picture Day Retake Day. Retakes for High School and Middle School pictures will be September 14. Reminders for retakes and links to order photos will come closer to the date.

 

Have a great weekend!

Mrs. Reilly and Mr. Garstka

8/18/23

Happy Friday CASB Families!

Our first full week is in the books! Have an amazing weekend and we are back with a short week next week ending on Thursday and our first E-Learning Day on Friday.

  1. E-LEARNING DAY Friday 8/25. No students will report to CASB on Friday, 8/25. It is a professional development day for our staff. Students will have assignments for their Orange Day schedule, periods 5 – 8.
  2. Dry-Fit T-Shirts Available. We have CASB t-shirts available to purchase for $10. We have sizes ranging from Youth XL through Adult 2XL. If you are interested, you can email Mr. Garstka (ngarstka@careeracademysb.com) and then send the money with your student to pick up. We have a light blue shirt and an orange shirt to choose from.
  3. Any high school student will be allowed to join the weightlifting club until Wednesday, August 23rd. We will not accept anyone after this date. If you would like to join, please pick up the paperwork (medical waiver AND club rules) from Mrs. Druyos’ office or from Mrs. Zumbrun in room 208. You will not be allowed to participate until these forms are signed and returned.
  4. Calendar: CASB is no longer running all 8 periods on Fridays. We will be operating on an alternating Friday schedule for our block periods. Block periods 1 – 4 (Blue Day) or Block periods 5 – 8 (Orange Day). Please see the calendar include, HERE. NEXT Friday (8/25) will be an ELEARNING Orange Day meaning if your student is scheduled periods 5 – 8 they have class.
  5. Morning Drop Off. Please make sure you are following our morning traffic pattern. 1 line on both sides. Stop dropping off in the lane away from the building and allowing students to walk through traffic, it isn’t safe. Also, Door D and Door L will be locked at 7:58 and students will report to Door A to enter the building when we have done a sweep of the students who have been here and are late to class. Expect the door to open around 8:04. Please get students here early for their 8 am classes!
  6. Picture Day Retake Day. Retakes for High School and Middle School pictures will be September 14. Reminders for retakes and links to order photos will come closer to the date.
  7. Traveling Trailblazer Program

Interested in traveling abroad this upcoming summer? All CASB students and staff are eligible to enroll by September 30th. Please click on the links below to view information about our 2024 trip options:

Italy with Ms. Garibay            

Japan with Mr. Ebersol

Already enrolled? Mark your calendars! We will have our first Traveling Trailblazer meeting in the auditorium on August 22nd from 5:30 pm-6:30 pm. At least one parent or guardian must be in attendance with their enrolled student (s).

  1. All Things Athletics (gdruyos@careeracademysb.com) 

 Academic Eligibility Requirements for Athletics

All athletes must be passing 6 or more classes to be eligible for sports at Career Academy.

*Fall Sports Eligibility (Cross Country and Volleyball) is based on the Second Semester grades from the 2022-2023 school year!

Middle School & High School Cross Country

Runners can still join!  The last day to join is August 25th.  Practice is every day after school from 4-5:45 pm at Career Academy.  Athletes need a physical to join.

High School Weightlifting Club

Any high school student will be allowed to join weightlifting club until Wednesday, August 23rd. We will not accept anyone after this date. If you would like to join, please pick up the paperwork (medical waiver AND club rules) from Mrs. Druyos’ office or from Mrs. Zumbrun in room 208. You will not be allowed to participate until these forms are signed and returned.  Weightlifting Flyer

Middle School Boys Basketball

Open gyms starting Saturday August 28th from 12-2pm at Career Academy.  Athletes need a new physical to participate.  The official start date is October 9th.

Boys High School Basketball

Conditioning begins on August 28th Monday through Thursday from 6:30 – 8:30 @ Success Academy.  Athletes need a physical to participate – Coach Leon Johnson – ljohnson1@careeracademysb.com

Girls High School Basketball – If interested in playing, reach out to Coach Brown for information on joining the Band App and for workouts/information- bbrown@careeracademysb.com.  Open gyms start on Wednesday 8/30 from 6-7pm at Success

Middle School & High School Baseball

Workouts begin August 28th on Monday and Wednesday from 4:00 – 6:00.  Athletes need a physical to participate – Coach Phil Beasley – pbeasley@careeracademysb.com.

HS Cheerleading

Tryouts will be held on October 18, 19, 20th from 4-6pm at Career Academy.  You MUST have a physical turned in prior to tryouts.

MS Cheerleading

The first day will be Monday October 9th.  You MUST have a physical turned in prior to the first day.  More information to come in future newsletters.

Osceola Eagles Football

We have a connection for middle school and high school football with the Osceola Eagles.  See their flyer!

**All Athletes will need new athletics paperwork.  If your kid goes to the doctor, take the physical form with you!  The physical form is attached here.

Have a great weekend!

Mrs. Reilly and Mr. Garstka

8/11/23

Happy Friday CASB Families!

The first 3 days of school have come and gone. Thank you everyone for making this week a great week! Computers have been distributed to almost everyone except for a couple students who were recently enrolled. Our tech team is working on getting those issued and rolled out as soon as possible.

  1. Car Line. Please see the DIAGRAM HERE for before school and after school car line reminders. Thank you for being patient in the afternoon with the car line and dismissal. As clubs open up next week, the times will get shorter. But we shaved 15 minutes off the dismissal line from Wednesday to Thursday, way to go!
  2. Dress Code (link). CASB is going to start enforcing dress code next week. Students MUST be in the student dress code next week or they will not report to class. Please let CASB know if we can assist with any dress code needs. Please email, awigfall@careeracademysb.com, if you need anything.
  3. Supply List (link)
  4. Student Handbook (link)
  5. New CASB Policy. CASB will be starting a lockout system. Students that are late to class will report to ISD for lockout. Students that are known to run late will have passes to get into class. Please express the importance of being on time and not spending the class period in lockout.
    1. Students that are late to school MUST go through the front office doors and get a pass to report to class. This system will be in place at the start of the day as well.
  1. Boys and Girls Club – currently waitlisted. Conversation is happening to open more spots, so please go to the link, HERE, and sign up. Or you can reach out to Lucinda Reese at lreese@bgcsjc.org.
  2. CASB clubs start Monday, 8/14 (link). Career Academy clubs will start 8/14. Club list is provided and will continue to be updated as we start the school year.
  3. Title 1. Career Academy is a Title 1 school. If you missed our Title 1 meeting, please view the slides, HERE, to understand what Title 1 means for your student.
  4. Calendar: CASB is no longer running all 8 periods on Fridays. We will be operating on an alternating Friday schedule for our block periods. Block periods 1 – 4 (Blue Day) or Block periods 5 – 8 (Orange Day). Please see the calendar include, HERE. This Friday will be an Orange Day meaning if your student is scheduled periods 5 – 8 they have class.
  5. Picture Day Retake Day. Retakes for High School and Middle School pictures will be September 14. Reminders for retakes and links to order photos will come closer to the date.
  6. Athletics – Athletics information will be sent after this newsletter goes out. There is a lot of information this week.

All Things Athletics

Academic Eligibility Requirements for Athletics

All athletes must be passing 6 or more classes to be eligible for sports at Career Academy.

*Fall Sports Eligibility (Cross Country and Volleyball) is based on the Second Semester grades from the 2022-2023 school year!

Middle School Volleyball 

Middle schoolers can still join through August 14th.  Practice is every day after school from 4-6pm at Career Academy.  Athletes must have their physical in by 8/14 to join the team.

High School Volleyball

Opening home game is 8/21 – put it on your calendar and come support our athletes!

Middle School & High School Cross Country

Runners can still join!  Practice is every day after school from 4-5:45 pm at Career Academy.  Athletes need a physical to join.

Middle School Boys Basketball

Open gyms starting Saturday August 28th from 12-2pm at Career Academy.  Athletes need a new physical to participate.  The official start date is October 9th.

Boys High School Basketball

Conditioning begins on August 28th Monday through Thursday from 6:30 – 8:30 @ Success Academy.  Athletes need a physical to participate – Coach Leon Johnson – ljohnson1@careeracademysb.com

Girls High School Basketball – If interested in playing, reach out to Coach Brown for information on joining the Band App and for workouts/information- bbrown@careeracademysb.com.  Open gyms start on Wednesday 8/30 from 6-7pm at Success

Middle School & High School Baseball

Workouts begin August 28th on Monday and Wednesday from 4:00 – 6:00.  Athletes need a physical to participate – Coach Phil Beasley – pbeasley@careeracademysb.com.

HS Cheerleading

Tryouts will be held on October 18, 19, 20th from 4-6pm at Career Academy.  You MUST have a physical turned in prior to tryouts.

MS Cheerleading

The first day will be Monday October 9th.  You MUST have a physical turned in prior to the first day.  More information to come in future newsletters.

High School Weightlifting Club

Athletes not involved in a fall sport are encouraged to join the first quarter weightlifting club offered through the after-school club options.  Monday 8/14 is the first day and it runs Monday, Wednesday, and Friday’s from 4-5:00pm.  Weightlifting Flyer

Osceola Eagles Football

We have a connection for middle school and high school football with the Osceola Eagles.  See their flyer!

**All Athletes will need new athletics paperwork.  If your kid goes to the doctor, take the physical form with you!  The physical form is attached here.

Geriann Druyos

8/2/23

Happy Wednesday CASB families!

We are getting ready to start the new school year. Thank you to everyone who attended the back to school nights last week, we start school 1 week from today! Please see information below regarding back to school at CASB.

  1. PowerSchool. Please make sure you as the parent/guardian have PowerSchool access. This is the quickest way to know your student’s grades.
  2. Transportation. If your student is using our before school or after school shuttle, you must fill out the information via the link, HERE.
  3. Car Line. Please see the DIAGRAM HERE for before school and after school car line reminders.
  4. Dress Code (link)
  5. Supply List (link)
  6. Student Handbook (link)
  7. Boys and Girls Club – currently waitlisted. Conversation is happening to open more spots, so please go to the link, HERE, and sign up. Or you can reach out to Lucinda Reese at lreese@bgcsjc.org.
  8. CASB clubs start 8/14 (link). Career Academy clubs will start 8/14. Club list is provided and will continue to be updated as we start the school year.
  9. Morning Drop off of Elementary students. Please drop off all elementary students on the Middle School drop off side (Door L) so they can wait in the cafeteria for their bus. Bus schedule will be released soon. If your student is riding the bus from Career to their elementary school – please see the transportation area on Monday to get a tag for your student so we at Career know what bus to get your student on.
    1. Success Boys and Girls Club bus will leave CASB at 7:35. Students not here by that time will miss the bus.
    1. Success Academy bus will leave CASB at 7:50.

Please reach out to the school with any questions.

Mr. Garstka and Mrs. Reilly