Dear Parents
Yesterday afternoon we launched our new district and school websites. Over the past several months we have worked to organize and streamline the navigation and content of the site to make it easier for students, parents, community members, and prospective families to find the information they need. Our new site features a responsive design that will allow the site to respond to various screen sizes providing a much better mobile browsing experience than our previous website. With the site live, I am sure there will be a few bumps in the road. However, I am confident that we will be able to quickly resolve any issues.
I would like to thank everyone who took the time to complete the school calendar survey that I shared a few weeks ago. We had more than 1,200 parents and staff members share their opinion on when we should start the school year. Just under 60 percent of the survey respondents stated that they would like to continue to start school after Labor Day. Using this feedback we have set the first day of school for the 2017-2018 school year for September 5, 2017. In addition, the Livingston Educational Service Agency has set the county calendar establishing our winter holiday break (December 21 - January 2) and spring break (March 26 - 30) for the 2017-2018 school year. We are working with the Howell Education Association to negotiate the rest of the school year calendar and will share it as soon as it is complete.
The week of April 10 is National Assistant Principals Week. The National Association of Secondary Principals, the National Association of Elementary School Principals, and the American Federation of School Administrators have designated this week to honor the hard work of assistant principals and thank them for their dedication to their schools and students. The Board of Education will recognize our middle and high school assistant principals during the April 10 Board meeting. If you happen to run into one of our outstanding assistant principals during that week, please be sure to thank them for their hard work.
Seven Southeast Elementary students are headed to the Michigan History Day State Competition in April. Our Technology Department has been busy installing new technology in our elementary and middle schools and last Friday, cadets in the Howell Public Schools Fire Academy had the opportunity to take part in a destructive training. I’ve shared more on each of these items below.
Southeast Students Advance in Michigan History Day Competition
Seven Southeast Elementary students will compete in the Michigan History Day State Competition at the end of April. The students advanced to the state competition after finishing in one of the top three spots for their age group and category at a district level competition earlier this month. For the competition, the students had to select and research a topic relating to this year’s theme “Taking a Stand in History” and create a presentation to showcase their research. You can read the students and competition at https://goo.gl/Sda6Wy.
New Technology Installed at Elementary and Middle Schools
Over the past week, our Technology Department installed new technology in our elementary and middle school classrooms. Each middle school English Language Arts classroom received a classroom set of 35 Chromebooks. Additionally, all third through fifth-grade classrooms received 15 new Chromebooks. We have ordered iPads for each kindergarten through second-grade classroom in the district and will be installing them once they arrive. These devices were funded through the technology bond.
Fire Academy Cadets Practice Skills in Destructive Training
Last Friday cadets in the Howell Public Schools Fire Academy had the opportunity to participate in a destructive training at some Livingston Educational Service Agency buildings that are scheduled for demolition. The cadets practiced forced entry and exit techniques by breaking through both interior and exterior walls. They also worked on running hoses into the buildings. This is one of the many career training opportunities that we offer our students. Several of our former cadets are now employed by local fire departments. The fire academy is open to all juniors and seniors in Livingston County. If your student is interested in enrolling in this program, they should speak to their counselor.