Calendar
School Tour
Enroll
October 2025 Blazer Gazette
Candy's Corner
What an incredible fall it’s been across the Career Academy Network of Public Schools! From experiential learning adventures to career exploration and hands-on business opportunities, our students are diving into learning in creative, meaningful ways.
At Success Academy South Bend, our 5th graders took their learning outdoors with a trip to Warren Dunes, where they studied dune ecosystems and connected classroom science to real-world experiences. There’s nothing like learning surrounded by nature!
Across our Kindergarten through 5th grades network-wide, students have launched into the World of Work program. Each grade level will explore six new careers every year—meeting professionals, engaging in interactive activities, and reading stories that bring each career to life. By middle school, our students will have explored 36 unique careers, helping them discover their interests and begin to dream big about their futures.
Students are also participating in the RIASEC interest inventory, which helps identify personal strengths and passions. Beginning in grade 3 and continuing through grade 12, this tool will guide both students and teachers in connecting learning to future goals and career pathways.
We’re also proud to celebrate the second year of CASEC (Career Academy Student Enterprise Corporation) and Bend Manufacturing, our student-run corporation and manufacturing business. These programs give students the chance to earn work-based learning credit, develop employability skills, and experience firsthand how a business operates. This month, a team of seven traveled to Cardinal Manufacturing in Wisconsin, a student-run company that has been thriving for over 20 years, to learn from their success and bring new ideas back to our network.
October has been a vibrant, hands-on month of learning and discovery. From classrooms to career labs to outdoor adventures, our students are growing in confidence, curiosity, and purpose. We’re so proud of the incredible work happening across all five of our schools — and we can’t wait to see where our learners go next!
With gratitude,
Dr. Candy Van Buskirk
October HR News!
Get Ready for Open Enrollment! 🎉
It’s that time of year again — Open Enrollment is coming soon!
This is your once-a-year opportunity to review your benefits and make sure they still fit your needs (and your family’s).
Start Preparing Now:
- Log into Employee Navigator to review your current benefits, dependents, and plan details.
- Take a few minutes to think about any changes you may want to make for next year — new coverage, new dependents, or updating beneficiaries.
- Keep an eye on your inbox! You’ll soon receive an email with the dates and times for our Open Enrollment Meetings.
New Trainings in Public School Works!
Continuous learning keeps us strong — and compliant!
There are new required trainings now live in Public School Works (PSW).
Please log in, review your assigned courses, and complete them before the deadline.
WillSub+ Update!
Never entered an absence before? No worries!
If you’ve never added an absence in WillSub+, take a practice run BEFORE you actually need a sub.
It’s quick, easy, and ensures you’re ready when the time comes.
Keep Your Info Up to Date!
Moving? New phone number? Changed banks?
You can update all your personal information, contact details, and banking info right in the Self Service Portal in Paylocity — anytime, from anywhere.
HR is here to help
Questions about benefits, open enrollment, or anything HR-related?
We’ve got you covered — just reach out!
Let’s make this Open Enrollment season smooth, simple, and maybe even a little fun!
Have an idea for the next HR Newsletter?
Email Jane Schlichter | jschlichter@mycanops.com
Where Curiosity Meets the Coastline: Success Academy 5th Grade Experiential Learning
SASB’s 5th grade students engaged in some amazing experiential learning opportunities as they climbed towering sand dunes, splashed their toes in chilly Lake Michigan, and hunted for natural treasures during a scavenger hunt!
Students also became nature detectives, discovering how plants and animals survive in this sandy ecosystem while hearing ancient Native American stories that explain how these magical dunes came to be.
This experience will help build content connections between their novel study, The Wild Robot Escapes, Earth Systems, and learning about Native Americans.
Success Academy @ Boys & Girls Club Student-Led Conferences: Young Learners to Take the Lead
On October 3, 2025, Success Academy @ Boys & Girls Club came together for Student-Led Conferences, a special event that celebrates our students’ growth, reflection, and ownership of their learning. Unlike traditional parent-teacher meetings, these conferences put students at the center, allowing them to guide their families through their academic progress, goals, and achievements.
In the weeks before the conferences, students prepared by selecting work samples, setting personal learning goals, and practicing explaining their thinking and growth. During the conferences, each student proudly shared their learning portfolio—highlighting successes, challenges, and next steps—with their parents and teacher.
“When students explain their own progress, they gain confidence and take real responsibility for their learning,” said Principal Myers.
Parents appreciated hearing directly from their children about what happens in the classroom every day. Many said the conferences gave them a deeper understanding of their child’s strengths, interests, and learning process.
Student-Led Conferences reflect our commitment to developing self-directed learners, strong communicators, and thoughtful goal-setters. We are so proud of our students for taking the lead—and we thank our teachers and families for supporting this meaningful experience.
Portage School of Leaders Students Redefine Learning Through GeoThemes
For the past three weeks, students immersed themselves in geometry, mastering the skills needed for accurate structural measurement. The core of the unit included the Pythagorean theorem and its converse, special right triangles, and trigonometry. They are now applying this knowledge to a real-world project: designing the layout of the undeveloped space around PSOL. Equipped with these tools, students will be able to translate their visions into technical architectural plans.
For the ELA portion of the stack, students did an in-depth investigation into a short story, a poem, and a non-fiction article in order to develop a stance on what the legacy of humanity should be, what the legacy of our school should be, and how to design a building that reflects what one cares about. Students also participated in a class discussion where Mr. Ebersol shared about his role in designing the PSOL building and how his relationship with the space beforehand created meaningful spaces currently.
One student said about this experience: “In my opinion, the best way to treat a space with empathy is just to tweak it slightly, but keep some of the original message. It still does what it was meant to, but in a slightly different way. I feel like, in a way, you absolutely did that. It’s a place of learning now, not a place of worship, but to some people those might feel like similar things.
From what was said, it still has a good amount of the symbolism it used to. Just changed slightly. Recontextualized, not defaced.”
Career Academy High School Students Intern at University of Notre Dame’s Aerospace Department, Contribute to Graduate-Level Research
Two Career Academy students spent their summer working side-by-side with graduate researchers and faculty at the University of Notre Dame’s Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, breaking new ground as the first high school interns to participate in the university’s aerospace research program.
Rebecca (“Becca”) and Holden, both Career Academy students, joined Notre Dame’s Institute for Flow Physics and Control (FlowPAC). Traditionally, the program recruits graduate and undergraduate students for research in areas such as aircraft propulsion, and flow physics. This summer, however, marked the first time high school students were invited to engage directly in graduate-level aerospace research.
“This is something we’ve never tried before,” said Dr. Scott Morris, a faculty member in Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering. “We wanted to see if high school students could contribute meaningfully to our projects, and the results were outstanding. Becca and Holden not only kept up they made real contributions.”
Career Academy’s robust STEM curriculum, which introduces students to CAD design, robotics, manufacturing, and 3D printing as early as elementary school, prepared Career Academy student interns to excel in Notre Dame’s demanding lab environment. Their technical expertise in 3D modeling and additive manufacturing even helped educate graduate students who had less exposure to these emerging technologies.
“Their knowledge of CAD software and 3D printing was unreal,” said Notre Dame graduate student Matias, who worked closely with the interns. “I had to remind myself several times that they were high schoolers. They worked at the same level as many of my peers.”
Over the course of the summer, the interns presented their work not only to faculty and graduate students but also to executive-level leaders from major aerospace companies, including Pratt & Whitney and NASA. In one case, Becca and Holden delivered a 20-minute technical presentation to industry representatives.
“This experience has been a win-win-win,” Dr. Morris said. “The university benefits from closer ties to the community, Career Academy students get hands-on exposure to real-world research, and our graduate students gain fresh perspectives from younger students who are fluent in cutting-edge technologies.”
Given the success of this pilot, both institutions are exploring ways to continue and potentially expand opportunities for high school students to experience aerospace research firsthand.
Career Academy Middle School: 8th Grader Mya Jones Transforms Novel into Custom Clue Game
For many middle school students, a novel study is just another assignment. But for Mya Jones, an eighth-grade student at Career Academy Middle School, it became an opportunity for a massive, creative undertaking that combined her love of art, games, and reading.
Mya is part of Ms. Dransoff’s WIN group—a group intended to extend and enrich honors students. This fall, the group chose to read Chomp by Carl Hiaasen. Mya explained that the group opted for the sixth-grade-level book because the students “didn’t want to read a serious book” and were looking for something fun.
A Game Plan for Learning
After reading the novel, the group decided to “teach” the book to sixth graders. Instead of a traditional presentation, the students were given the choice to create a group or individual project, such as puzzles or games. Mya, whose mom’s side of the family always plays Clue, knew exactly what she wanted to do: a custom-made board game based on the book.
“I was happy to be able to decide for myself to work on something by myself,” Mya noted. Her affection for the classic game and her enthusiasm for the novel, which she “loved so much,” provided the perfect motivation.
An Epic Creative Process
Mya’s project was an ambitious one. She purchased a standard Clue game board and used it as a foundation, painting the entire surface white before sketching out her new designs. She then recreated nearly every component of the game, reimagining it through the lens of the novel Chomp:
- Game Board and Box Top: She used acrylic paint to bring the locations from the book to life, finishing the painted surfaces with Modge Podge for protection.
- Cards: She designed and created all the game cards—Character cards, Place cards, and Events.
- Score Card.
- Characters and Pieces: Mya, who loves trying new art supplies and techniques, even taught herself digital art, using her dad’s iPad to draw the characters freehand for the pieces.
Mya estimates she spent an astounding 60 to 70 hours physically working on the project, using her entire fall break to complete the work. This total doesn’t even count the design time—she drew out many of her initial designs during the 10-hour round-trip car ride to and from Columbus, Ohio.
“I didn’t expect it to get so big,” Mya reflected on the project’s scale, “and I’m really grateful that I put a bunch of effort into it.”
Sharing the Joy of the Novel
Mya’s ultimate hope is that the game will inspire the sixth graders to want to know more about the book. She is thrilled to share the finished product, stating, “I had a really fun time making it, and I have a fun time sharing it, and I enjoy exposing people to things I enjoy.” Her final masterpiece stands as a true testament to student engagement and the power of creative learning.
The custom game is a creative and successful example of how students can take ownership of their learning and transform a traditional class assignment into an imaginative, hands-on experience.
574-299-9800 
Fax: 574-288-6125 
info@careeracademysb.com