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Great Lakes Bay Early College |
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December/January Newsletter for Great Lakes Bay Early College |
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As we wrap up the first semester of the 2025–2026 school year, we are proud to celebrate the hard work, growth, and success of our students. Cohort 15 has shown tremendous progress, becoming more confident, engaged, and independent as the semester has unfolded. We look forward to their continued success in the winter semester, especially as many begin transitioning into their college coursework.
As we prepare for second semester, we want to remind families that GLBEC staff and GLBEC classes will transition to Delta College’s campus for the winter semester. This move has been discussed extensively with Cohort 15. For students who are already taking college classes, the only change will be their meeting location for mentor meetings.
GLBEC Staff Offices & Classroom Locations at Delta College:
Rodney Woods, Program Director – Office S047
Sharmee Gloss, Career Navigator – Office S048
Mr. Christensen, Math – Office S042 | Classroom A221
Ms. Kojak, English Language Arts – Office S043 | Classroom S228
Mr. Conklin, Science – Office S044 | Classroom S059
Stay connected with us on our social media platforms for updates, student highlights, and details about upcoming Informational Sessions. Please help us spread the word by sharing these opportunities with family, friends, and community members who may be interested in learning more about GLBEC.
From all of us at GLBEC, we wish you and your family a warm, safe, and joyful holiday season!
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Mr. Woods, Program Director
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Student Leadership Council |
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The Student Leadership Council (SLC) has been very active this fall, hosting two engaging events in October alongside coordinating SLC elections. On October 17, SLC hosted a fun afternoon at John’s Pumpkin Farm, followed by a festive pumpkin decorating night at SVSU on October 30. Students who attended both events shared positive feedback and expressed excitement for future activities.
SLC elections were also a success. We are pleased to welcome the newly elected members:
Cessaly Fichtner – Treasurer
Julia Kretz – Board Member
Mayla Harris – Board Member
The SLC Team is already planning exciting opportunities for the winter semester, and we encourage all students to join in, get involved, and be part of the fun!
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GLBEC next Information Session is January 22, 2026. We believe the best advertisement is you, and the staff invite you to share the attached flyer with family, friends, work colleagues, and social media platforms.
Thank you for helping to spread the word, and helping us grow our GLBEC community. #GLBEC
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Cohort 15 has demonstrated clear academic and personal growth throughout the semester. Through consistent work in both lessons and lab activities, students have strengthened their understanding of challenging material and developed a better sense of how they learn.
At the beginning of the semester, most students were unlikely to consider optional homework. By mid-December, this changed noticeably. Many now request additional practice and challenge assignments, and I receive regular emails asking for more opportunities to improve. This shift reflects their resilience and the effort they have put into their work throughout the semester.
A key development has been the practical use of the soft skills students have built over the past 16 weeks. These skills have been especially important as we worked through the demanding material in GLBEC science methods.
As we transition into the winter semester, my role will adapt to meet each student’s individual needs. For some, I will provide more individualized support as a tutor; for others, I will continue as their instructor.
I look forward to seeing what Cohort 15 achieves next semester and will continue to support their progress as they advance in their studies.
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As we wrap up the semester, our English students have been deeply engaged in their final unit on Dystopian Literature. This project brings together the reading, research, and writing skills they’ve developed throughout the year while encouraging them to think critically about real-world issues.
Students began by studying how dystopian texts use imagined futures to comment on problems we face today, such as environmental concerns, technology, and social inequality. Each student then chose a real-world issue to research and created an annotated bibliography that summarized their sources, evaluated credibility, and explained how their findings could inspire a dystopian scenario.
After completing their research, students transitioned into world-building. In this part of the project, they designed their own dystopian societies by defining the rules, systems, conflicts, and power structures that shape life in their imagined worlds.
The unit concludes with an original short fiction piece in which students bring their dystopian worlds to life through character, conflict, and narrative detail. This final step allows them to apply both their research and their understanding of the genre in creative and meaningful ways.
I’m incredibly proud of the thoughtfulness and creativity students have demonstrated. Their work shows how literature can help us question, reflect, and better understand the world around us.
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Career Navigation with Mrs. Gloss |
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Math with Mr. Christensen |
Winter brings a new year and a fresh start for our math classes. That means college classes for some and a change of topics for others. Algebra II students who stay will dive deeper into concepts in trigonometry and algebra, along with new ways of thinking such as matrix algebra, vectors, and combinatorics. Algebra I and Geometry students will proceed into Algebra II and build a strong foundation in functions, trigonometry, and polynomials before heading off to college math in the Fall semester. All classes will continue to focus on critical thinking and communicating with clarity and thoroughness. With smaller class sizes, there will be even more opportunity for feedback and improvement.
Students who are heading out to a college math class should take advantage of the many ways to receive continuing support, both from the college tutoring centers and from GLBEC staff. Friday support class is as much for those in a college class as it is for the students in GLBEC classes. Each campus has excellent tutoring services in the library. Students are also encouraged to find mentoring times that they can consistently attend. They should be on the lookout for the sign-up documents.
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GLBEC Contact Information
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Rodney Woods, Program Director: 989-964-6374. Email: rwoods1@sisd.cc Sharmee Gloss, Career Navigator. 9989-964-6373. Email: sgloss@sisd.cc |
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