Dear Parents,

The 2016/17 school year is off to a great start. I had the privilege of visiting each of our schools on the first day of school. It was wonderful to see how excited our students and staff were to be back after the summer vacation. I always enjoy getting out and witnessing first hand the teaching and learning that is happening in Howell Public Schools.

In my last message, I shared information about our district level M-STEP results and mentioned that we would be uploading students’ results into the PowerSchool Parent Portal. I am happy to share that this has been completed, and you can now view your child’s M-STEP results online. To view the document you will need to login to PowerSchool from a desktop or laptop computer. If you would like a paper copy of your child’s M-STEP results, please contact their school’s main office.

One of the goals of the district’s strategic plan is to review our district's facility utilization to ensure that we are making the best use of our buildings and resources. To that end, I have formed a committee of district stakeholders to review how we are using our buildings. The Board of Education has approved a process and scope of work that the committee will follow as they complete their work. I want this to be a transparent process and have scheduled two community forums to share with community members the scope and process that the committee will follow. The forums will be held on Monday, September 19 and Wednesday, September 28. The September 19 community forum will be held at Parker Middle School in the Commons area at 6 p.m., and the September 28 community forum will be held at the district’s Board of Education room.

Last week, Southwest Elementary School celebrated its new playground with a school-wide ribbon cutting ceremony. This week, Highlander Way Middle School students learned about the importance of cyber safety. In just over two weeks, Howell High School will hold its annual College and Technician Education Night. You can read more about each of these below.

Southwest Elementary Celebrates New Playground

On Thursday, September 8, Southwest Elementary held a grand opening and ribbon cutting ceremony for its new playground equipment. The playground equipment was installed over the summer and includes new swings, structures, and even a gaga ball pit. The Southwest PTO raised the majority of the funds to cover the cost of the new playground. To read more, please visit https://goo.gl/xar4dU.

Michigan CSI Visits Highlander Way

On Wednesday, the attorney general's office brought their Michigan Cyber Safety Initiative program to Highlander Way Middle School. During the program, students learn about bullying, cyber safety and Michigan’s OK2SAY tipline. The Michigan CSI program will visit Parker Middle School later this month. To learn more about the Michigan CSI program, please visit https://goo.gl/cCOaEb.

Howell High School To Host College and Technical Education Night

Howell High School will host its annual College and Technical Education Night on Tuesday, September 27. This event is an outstanding opportunity for parents and students to learn about the post-secondary education options that are available to them. Representatives from more than 50 higher education institutions will be in attendance to answer any questions that parents and students may have. To find more information on this event, please visit https://goo.gl/QKLVYD.