School District of Howards Grove

Superintendent Update

Dear Parents & Guardians:

Thank you in advance for taking the time to read my monthly newsletters. These newsletters, along with our website (www.hgtigers.org), and our district facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/howardsgrovesd) are the best ways to stay informed of the news, celebrations, and happenings in our district. Also, don't forget- each month I also include the newsletters from each of our 3 principals in these newsletters. Open and honest communication is a top priority, so please continue to stay connected with me each month.

I continue to be impressed and amazed at the outstanding community support for our school district. Way to go TIGERS! Last week, from January 8-14, Parker John's committed to donating a portion of its pizza sales to the top-voted area high school's athletic department ($1 for every 12" pizza and 2" per 16" pizza sold).

Howards Grove High School was voted #1!

This support generated $229 from the Sheboygan Location to donate to Howards Grove High School Athletics!

Every penny counts!

Thank you for your ongoing support-

Sincerely,

Shannon L. Kilton

Superintendent of Schools

School Safety Drills

Keeping our students and staff safe while in our care is a top priority. Throughout this week our School Resource Officer, Scott Niemi, will be attending staff meetings at each school to review our updated safety manual and discuss building specific drills to ensure we are prepared to respond in the event of a crisis.

State Statute requires schools to perform fire drills, tornado drills, and safety drills on an annual basis. Most of our students are accustomed to the monthly fire drills, as a standard practice.

On Wednesday, January 25th, students at all 3 schools will participate in a soft safety drill which will be tailored to the age group at each school. Officer Niemi and members of our safety team, will be onsite to observe and support our students and staff during these drills.

If you have questions about how the drill will be implemented in your child's school or classroom, please contact the building principal for further details. AGAIN, all 3 drills will be conducted as a SOFT drill as to not cause undue stress or anxiety in our students.

Jon Hess- High School Principal: jhess@hgsd.k12.wi.us

Angie Houston- Middle School Principal: ahouston@hgsd.k12.wi.us

Sarah Ellinger- Northview Principal: sellinger@hgsd.k12.wi.us

On Monday, January 23rd, the staff will be engaged in professional development focusing on mental health and the social emotional needs of our students and staff. We will be reviewing the results of the Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) that was completed last year by our high school and middle school students. In addition, the staff will be introduced to the next module of our Adult Social Emotional Learning Curriculum on Managing Stress.

To help support our students, we have several experts in the field coming to present on the following topics:

Anxiety in Schools
Executive Functioning
Compassion Resilience

Our next professional development day is scheduled for Monday, February 20th.

Ice Skating

Looking for something to do on January 23rd? The Howards Grove PTO has arranged an ice skating event at the Sheboygan Lakers Ice Center. The rink will be open ONLY to Howards Grove families from 9:30-11:30am on Monday, January 23rd. Admission will be $3/participant and the PTO will be providing a popcorn and hot cocoa treat!

Parents must be in attendance at the ice skating event.

Referendum Update

Are you wondering what is going on with our building projects?

PLANNING AND DESIGN UPDATE

The team is working on “big idea” floor plan concepts for the High School entry and Middle School additions based on feedback received from district staff. Discussions include right-sizing spaces, planning for future expansion, and ensuring we have the right spaces adjacent to each other. Narrowing in on maintenance work and athletic projects is also taking place.

WHAT’S NEXT

The design team will meet with staff again to review floorplan concepts and refine these based on feedback. Design work on the athletic complex and elementary school will begin full steam.

January 23rd: The architectural and engineering teams from PRA will be in the district to field verify/measure and compare our actual spaces at Northview and the High School against existing drawings to make sure they are correct.

January 26: The architects from PRA will begin talking with Sarah Ellinger at Northview on the updates to occur at the elementary school, as well as starting conversations with a team around the athletic spaces.

February 6-7: Round 2 of staff interviews with middle school and shared high school staff to discuss floor plans, layouts and needs for our new school.

March 20: PRA & CD Smith will provide a full Board presentation at the School Board Meeting

Finally, to keep our parents and community members more informed, we will begin postcard mailers as we get further along with the process including pictures and visuals.

Child Development Days

Screening dates for all Howards Grove School District children who will be three or four years old by September 1, 2023 have been scheduled for March 6 and 7 at Northview Elementary School. Children who wish to attend Junior Kindergarten for the 2023-2024 school year must be four years old before September 1, 2023, for school admittance.

Letters explaining the screening process will be mailed to families based on the school census information. Communication, vision and hearing screenings, motor skills, problem solving, and personal-social skills will be assessed by the professional educational staff at the screening.

Parents are reminded to complete the questionnaire with the mailing and return it to Northview before March 6. If any parents of a three- or four-year-old child living within the Howards Grove School District does not receive their informational letter by February 1, they are asked to call the Northview Elementary School office at 920-565-4457.

School Newsletters

Check out each link to find out what's happening in our schools!

High School

Middle School

Northview

Mark your calendar!

The next school board meeting is scheduled for Monday, February 20 at 6:00 PM in the high school library.

In person visitors are welcome, but we also have a virtual link each month.

Join Zoom Meeting

https://zoom.us/j/96296511830?pwd=QVhxNWpmSUNYbnlWbXdNNWZKdjgyQT09

Communication Chain

As questions or concerns arise, please continue to follow this communication chain.

FIRST, Reach out directly to your child's teacher/team/coach.

In the event your concerns are not addressed or you need further support, NEXT reach out to the building principal or activities director.

Jon Hess- High School Principal: jhess@hgsd.k12.wi.us

Angie Houston- Middle School Principal: ahouston@hgsd.k12.wi.us

Sarah Ellinger- Northview Principal: sellinger@hgsd.k12.wi.us

Tracy Mueller- Athletic/Activities Director & Special Education Director: tmueller@hgsd.k12.wi.us

FINALLY, if you still need additional support, please reach out directly to me, Shannon Kilton, Superintendent: skilton@hgsd.k12.wi.us

In the event, we have all failed to help you navigate your questions & concerns, your last stop would be to reach out to the school board. Here is the actual board policy on navigating this process.

I am personally asking for this communication chain to help us all develop positive and trusting relationships, which are always grounded in open and honest conversations. Most often, concerns can be easily solved when we all talk directly to the person involved with the question or problem.

Thanks in advance for the support and understanding of this process.