MacGregor's Message 1/14/2022 
Dear Families,

January is School Board Recognition Month. Being a school board member is not an easy job. Over the past 22 months, our Board has faced many challenges and difficult choices. Throughout the pandemic, the Board has always done what they feel is best for our students given the ever-changing dynamics of the situation. I am so thankful for their continued leadership and support. Please join me in thanking our Board for all they do for our district.

The #OneHowell Committee continues with its work to review and revise the district’s Adaptive Plan to align to the Portrait of a Highlander. The committee has scheduled two community forums to gather stakeholder feedback on the work of the committee. The first forum will be held on Tuesday, January 25, from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. in the Meabon Room at the Howell Carnegie Library. The second forum will be held on Monday, January 31, from 6 p.m. to 7: p.m. at the Howell Opera House.

While our goal is to keep our students in school, given the current surge in COVID-19 cases, there may be times when that is not possible. Due to staffing constraints, we have temporarily shifted Highlander Way Middle School to remote learning for next week. We are also closely monitoring staff and student attendance rates at other schools. We would be doing a disservice to our students, staff, and families if we did not begin implementing contingency plans for several possible situations. I would ask that, like with snow days, you have a backup plan if a building closure or switch to remote learning is needed.

With the current high number of COVID-19 cases in our schools, community and state, students must stay home when showing any signs of illness. In talking with the LCHD, many individuals have very mild symptoms from the Omicron variant of COVID-19. These symptoms are very similar to the common cold or the flu. We can only sustain in-person learning if we all work together. Aside from staying home when sick, the LCHD still strongly recommends that all individuals wear a mask while in public, practice frequent hand washing and avoid large gatherings.

We are currently accepting nominations for the Howell Public Schools Teacher of the Year and Support Person of the Year. These annual awards honor an outstanding teacher and an exceptional support staff member for their dedication to our students, families, and community. To learn more about these awards or submit a nomination, please visit https://bit.ly/3n4zvec.

Our four middle school robotics teams wrapped up their season last month at the FIRST in Michigan State Championship event. All four of our teams, KAAS, KRASH, KUDUS, and KILTS, qualified to compete based on their performance at qualifying events during the season. Team KAOS finished qualifying matches in third place at the state event and was an alliance captain for playoff matches. The team selected teams KUDOS and KRASH to be part of their alliance and advanced to the finals of their division before being eliminated. To read more about the teams and their accomplishments at the state event, please visit, https://bit.ly/3tpMF9F.

We are now registering students for begindergarten and kindergarten for the 2022/2023 school year. All registrations will be completed online. Our elementary schools will host a virtual meet and greet for new families in March and offer tours of their schools in June. To learn more about our begindergarten and kindergarten programs or register your child, please visit HowellSchools.com/kdg. If you have any questions, please contact Karen in our district registration office at 517.548.6232.

Please remember that we do not have school on Monday, January 17, in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. In honor of this, I want to share an upcoming event that will be held at Cleary University. The Black History 101 Mobile Museum will visit the Cleary University Student Commons from Saturday, January 29 through Tuesday, February 1. The traveling exhibit includes over 7,000 artifacts dating from the transatlantic slave trade to the modern day. The museum will be on display from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Dr. el-Hakim, the museum’s founder, will also give a lecture in the Commons on Wednesday, February 2nd from 11:30-12:30pm.

Sincerely,
Erin J. MacGregor, Ed.S.
Superintendent
Howell Public Schools
Posted by gouldt On Wed, Jan 19, 2022 at 1:16 PM  

 
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