Dear Parents

The saying “in like a lion, out like a lamb” is certainly holding true this month. Last week we experienced tropical storm force winds, followed by widespread power outages. I would like to thank all of our teachers, support staff, administrators and the transportation department who made the best of a bad situation last Wednesday. I also need to say a big thanks to our maintenance and technology departments who worked almost around the clock throughout the end of last week to ensure that damage to our buildings and equipment was minimized. I have received some questions as to why we did not release our elementary students early when their buildings lost power. The simple answer is safety. We cannot send elementary students home early without the knowledge that there will be someone there to meet them. If at any time we felt that the students were not safe in their building, we would have arranged to relocate them to one of our schools that had power. However, my team and I were in constant contact with our principals, I visited each elementary that lost power, and we did not feel that is was necessary to move students.

Tonight is opening night for the high school’s production of “The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.” Showtimes for tonight and tomorrow are at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. The student actors have been working very hard, and I am excited to see this great show.

On March 31 and April 1 we will host a FIRST Robotics District Competition at Parker Middle School. This is always a fun event that highlights our community and schools. Our FIRST Robotics team the S.C.O.T.S. Bots have completed their robot and are ready to compete in this year’s game, FIRST Steamworks. That same weekend one of our middle school robotics teams will compete at the FIRST Tech Challenge Super Regional Competition in Iowa. I would like to wish both the S.C.O.T.S. Bots and Team Kaos good luck at their competitions.

As part of our school improvement process, we are collecting stakeholder feedback. If you have not already done so, please complete our parent feedback survey at http://bit.ly/HPSImprove2017Parent. Your responses will help our district and school improvement teams as they create our annual school improvement plans. The deadline to complete the survey is Friday, March 24.

Three Fires Elementary students recently held their annual coin drive and collected more than $800 for an organization that supports Howell families in need. Highlander Way Middle School has opened its student-run LOC Federal Credit Union branch, and several Howell High School students will have their artwork displayed at the Lansing Art Gallery. I have shared more about each of these stories below.

Three Fires Students Collect Coins for Howell Gold Cross

Recently, Three Fires Elementary wrapped up its annual coin drive. This year the students collected donations for the Howell Gold Cross, an organization that supports families in need in our community. The fundraiser was planned by the school’s student council and raised an amazing $887.75. To read more about this fundraiser and the Howell Gold Cross, please visit https://goo.gl/MJlLcp.

Highlander Way Middle School Celebrates New Credit Union

On March 8, Highlander Way Middle School held the grand opening of its student-run LOC Federal Credit Union branch. Seventh-grade students work in the various jobs of a financial institution. The grand opening featured the school’s pep band and a visit from the president of LOC Federal Credit Union. To learn more about this great program, please visit https://goo.gl/8PSuSu.   

Howell High School Student Wins Top Honors in Art Contest

Nine Howell High School art students have been selected to have their artwork displayed in the Lansing Art Gallery’s Art Scholarship Alert exhibit. The gallery received 688 submissions and selected 89 to be displayed. Nicolette Thompson was selected for the Eleventh Grade Portfolio Award Scholarship, and Kaden Staley was selected for the gallery’s top honor the Sara Jane Venable $1000 Scholarship. To read more about all of the students selected to have their work exhibited at the gallery, please visit https://goo.gl/I2rPvf.