Dear Parents,
The month of February is Career and Technological Education (CTE) Month. I am proud that Howell High School offers a wide variety of CTE courses to our students. Some of our programs include Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) training, Firefighter training, Construction Trades, Ground School for Pilots, Manufacturing and Engineering, Health Occupations and Early Childhood Careers. All of these programs provide an outstanding foundation for our students who leave Howell High School both college and career ready.
Last week was National School Counseling Week. Throughout the week, I was able to visit with all of our school counselors to express my gratitude for their work with our students and also hear some of the new ways they are supporting students. Our counselors are an integral part of our student support system. As such, one of the items outlined in our strategic plan was to increase support for our elementary students, and I am thankful that we were able to add a third elementary counselor this year.
I’d like to take a moment to remind you of a few upcoming dates. On Friday, March 3, we will have our second half day of the school year. On that day, our teachers will spend the afternoon engaged in professional learning. The half day bell schedule can be found at https://goo.gl/bdHYjQ, and the after school bus drop off times for elementary students can be found at https://goo.gl/eAHOF2. Our annual Kindergarten Registration event is scheduled for Tuesday, March 7 at each elementary school. In the event of a snow day on Tuesday, March 7, the event will be held on Tuesday, March 21. More information on Kindergarten Registration and the kindergarten registration packet can be found at https://goo.gl/b6okB6. Registration packets are also available in each elementary school office. Lastly, I need to correct the dates that were previously shared for when the Transition Team overseeing the consolidation of Three Fires and Southeast Elementary will provide updates to the Board of Education. The dates changed due to the change in the Board of Education meeting calendar. The first update will be given on March 13, with additional updates on April 24, May 8, and June 19.
Recently, Northwest students visited the Sea Life Michigan Aquarium to see the informational flyers they created on display. The Board of Education has approved a new middle school STEM program for eighth-grade students, and our football team has earned state academic honors. I have shared more about each of these exciting stories below.
Student Created Informational Flyers on Display at Aquarium
Students in Sarah Needham’s second-grade class at Northwest recently engaged in project-based learning to create informational flyers and books on endangered and vulnerable sea life. The students selected their sea creatures and conducted extensive research on them. Using that research, the students created informational flyers for the Sea Life Michigan Aquarium to display. The students also authored informational books that have been placed into circulation in the school's library. To read more about this unique project, please visit https://goo.gl/lc27Z5.
Expanding STEM Program at the Middle School Level
On Monday, night, the Board of Education approved a new STEM course for our middle school students. The course, Aerospace II, will build on what students learned in Aerospace I, and allow students to begin to explore aspects of powered flight such as propeller and wing design while developing a foundation for the Pilot Ground School course at the high school. Aerospace II will be an elective course for our eighth students. I am very excited to see the district expanding its STEM offerings and thank the Board of their support of these types of programs.
Varsity Football Team Earns State Academic Honors
We were recently notified that our 2016 Varsity Football Team earned Academic All-State Honorable Mention honors from the Michigan High School Football Coaches Association. Additionally, senior Matthew Mimnaugh earned Academic All-State Individual Honorable Mention honors. This honor highlights the high academic expectations that our coaches and athletic department hold our student-athletes to. Congratulations to the team and Matthew.