Dear Parents
Today was the final day of Howell High School’s Senior Survivor fundraiser. Over the past week, our community has rallied behind this fundraiser and the 14 students selected as this year’s Senior Survivors. It is amazing to see the pride and school spirit shown as everyone works together to support an amazing cause. I am very excited to share that this year our students raised an incredible $78,000.35 for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. Over the past ten years, this event has raised more than a quarter of a million dollars for various charities. This year’s winner of Senior Survivor was Aiden Pressel who raised more than $10,000 in the final days of the event. We have a full story on Senior Survivor posted at https://goo.gl/5pWodV.
This past Wednesday was Administrative Professionals Day. I would like to thank our outstanding administrative professionals for their hard work and dedication to making sure our school and district offices run smoothly, that each guest and visitor receives a warm welcome when visiting our district, and supporting our students in many ways.
The month of May is Teacher Appreciation Month. Each time that I have the opportunity to visit a school and classroom I am truly amazed by the teaching and learning going on in our schools. Our students are engaged, having fun, and supported as they work on various projects and lessons. This is all thanks to our teachers and support staff who go above and beyond to ensure that each student achieves success. Please join me in thanking and honoring our amazing teachers and support staff throughout the month for all that they do for our students.
Our final half day of the school year is scheduled for Friday, May 12. The dismissal times for the May 12 half day will be slightly later than our first two half days to ensure that we meet the required number of instructional minutes set by the State of Michigan. On May 12, our high school students will be dismissed at 10:52 a.m., middle school students will be dismissed at 10:53 a.m. and elementary students will be dismissed at 12:07 p.m. Please remember that according to our Student/Parent Handbook, all students kindergarten through third grade must be met by a parent or older sibling at the bus stop.
It is hard to believe that we are down to the last month and a half of the school year. Even with summer break drawing near, our students and staff are keeping busy. Recently, Voyager third grade students shared their product testing research during a celebration with their family and friends. I will host my final Coffee Chat of the year in a few weeks, and some of our high school art students have advanced to the semi-finals of a national art competition and need your votes to make the top five. I’ve shared more about each of these stories below.
Voyager Students Put School Supplies to the Test
Recently, Mrs. Laviolette’s third grade class at Voyager Elementary completed a project based learning unit where they become product testers. The students selected, researched, and tested different school supplies to see which brand performed the best. The students then created posters to showcase their research and invited family and friends to a celebration where they shared their knowledge of the different products. Please visit https://goo.gl/EAcn8J to learn more about this project.
Final Coffee Chat of the School Year Set For May 18
On Thursday, May 18 from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. I will host my final Coffee Chat of the school year. This Coffee Chat will be held at the Highlander Restaurant located on the west side of Howell High School. I have enjoyed connecting with our community during each of the previous Coffee Chats, and I hope that you will consider attending this informal gathering. You can read more about this upcoming event at https://goo.gl/RPy2Jn.
Howell High School Students Advance in Vans Custom Culture Art Competition
On Wednesday we learned that students in the Howell High School Advanced Digital Imaging course had advanced to the semifinals of the Vans Custom Culture Art Competition. For the competition, students had to create custom Vans shoe designs. Our students created their designs using a 3-D printer pen. As a semifinalist, our students need your votes to advance as one of the five finalists in the competition. You can vote once per day between now and May 10 at https://goo.gl/RrWR6f. To read more about the competition, please visit https://goo.gl/H3bEzg.