Hawk Weekly
September 20th-24th
Havel Elementary
Our mission is to educate students, promote life long learning and encourage students to become productive citizens within a positive and safe learning environment.
Email: kristina.tepper@uticak12.org
Website: havel.uticak12.org
Location: 41855 Schoenherr Road, Sterling Heights, MI, USA
Phone: 586 7975200
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HavelElementary/
Open House/Curriculum Night
We are off to a great start this school year in both our in-person instruction and our virtual academy. Through your continued partnership, our students started the school year and were quickly engaged in their learning, allowing our teachers to make important connections.
Our Open House is an important way that we can keep the positive energy moving forward. The Open House allows our teachers and parents to address course expectations for students and establish avenues for communicating during this school year. Please plan on taking part in our school’s Open House beginning at 6:00 PM on Tuesday, September 28. Please note for elementary virtual academy families – you will be attending an open house for the academy on - Wednesday, September 29th. You will be receiving additional information regarding meeting your child’s teacher from the program administrator, Dr. Blum.
This year, our Open House will be held virtually using a Teams format. The virtual Open House is consistent with health and safety protocols to limit large gatherings inside our school. Within the next couple of days, I will be sharing additional information with you regarding how to access this direct link to your child’s teacher(s).
The home-school partnership is an integral part of our school’s success. We look forward to meeting with you to provide updates on our school, hear directly from your child’s teacher(s), and continue the conversations on how we continue to work together for the success of all of our students.
Open House Schedule
UPDATED TIMES:
Session I (6:00-6:35 PM)
- Principal and Superintendent's Welcome
- Teacher Session via Microsoft Teams
Session II (6:45-7:10 PM)
- Teacher Session via Microsoft Teams (repeat of Session I)
Holding two sessions allows for a parent to attend sessions for two children. Session II is a repeat of Session I; you need only attend one session per teacher/child.
UCS Transportation Update
Update from UCS Transportation
The UCS Transportation Department is committed to safety and efficiently transporting our UCS students. We realize that we carry precious cargo and that we make a positive difference in how our students start and end every day. We are excited to be back on the road!
While it is not unusual for it to take a few weeks for our routes to fall into place, this year has been particularly challenging. The nationwide shortage of bus drivers as well as local construction projects have created significant challenges for us. We are actively working to address both situations. We are in regular contact with the Macomb County Road Commission on project timelines and have identified alternate routes until construction is completed. These alternates, however, often add to pick up and drop off delays. In addition, we have been actively advertising our open positions and have held several job fairs to recruit candidates.
The Transportation Department has been contacting families when it is anticipated that delays will be greater than 10 minutes through automated phone calls, emails and text messaging. If you have not signed up for the UCS text system, text “Y” to 67587.
The good news is that we should be seeing some relief over the next few weeks. As road construction project season comes to an end, we will be able to return to our normal routes and you should see some improvement in many areas. In addition, we have more than 10 new drivers going through the training process and should be on the road shortly once the process is completed (training and certification takes several weeks). We are still in need of about 30 more drivers; if you are aware of individuals interested in becoming a bus driver, please have them contact 586-797-7113.
Thank you for your continued support and understanding.
Passcode: 836226
Repeated News From Previous Hawk Weekly Newsletter
NWEA Testing
Picture Day
Covid-19 Quarantine Procedures
We send the letter home if there is a confirmed or probable case of Covid-19 in the building. (A person with symptoms and who has had close contact with a person who has tested positive for COVID-19 within 10 days is considered a probable case of COVID-19. Please note.... a student who has symptoms but has not been in direct contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19 is not considered probable.)
We work with the teachers and staff to identify close contacts of the affected person. A close contact is someone who is within 6 feet for more than 15 cumulative minutes throughout the day. We look at all areas such as the classroom, lunch room, bus, recess, specials, and SACC.
We then personally call each of our families that are affected and let them know that their student has been identified as a direct contact and will need to quarantine.
The quarantine guidelines have been adjusted this week to reflect the following for contacts:
- Direct contacts are to quarantine for 10 days from the date of exposure- we will provide the families with their return date
- After the 5th day of quarantine the family has the option of having the affected person take a PCR or Rapid Antigen Covid test through a medical provider (it cannot be a home test). If the test is negative and no symptoms develop, the student can return on day 8.
- A copy of the PCR test must be provided to the office prior to the student returning.
Attendance Policy
Your child will be excused from class for illness, bereavement, recognized religious holidays and medical or dental treatment that cannot be scheduled after school or on weekends.
Your child is responsible for makeup work.
Homework requests may be made for an absence of two or more days in the case of both excused and pre-excused absences.
Homework requests require 24 hours to process.
VACATION POLICY
Absence for family travel during scheduled school days is discouraged.
However, should family travel be necessary, parents must submit a written request to the teacher for a pre-excused absence at least one week in advance.
Arrangements to complete classroom assignments can be made with the teacher.
You can arrange for home study through the school principal should your child be absent from school for an extended period due to physical disability or illness.
LATE ARRIVAL
If a student arrives late to school, the parent must accompany the student into the office, and the student must be signed in before he or she can go to class.
Truancy officials will be contacted in the event of a student having excessive tardies or absences.