Homer Highlights
Week of December 7, 2020
Dear Families,
We know that remote learning is hard for all involved. Students miss their teachers, teachers miss their students, parents miss the consistency and stability of students learning in the classroom environment. We know that our students learn best when they are with us, but we also know that the back and forth and last minute changes are frustrating and disruptive to the learning process. Please know that your concerns from both perspectives are being heard and that there is no one easy answer.
We have been in regular communication with the Calhoun County Public Health Department (CCPHD), as they provide our local data and recommendations. Please know, that at all times, our decisions are made with the full guidance and support of the CCPHD. We also know that Governor Whitmer and MDHHS Director Robert Gordon will be speaking this afternoon. Please expect that we will be providing a call-out with any updated information later this evening. We want our families to know that if the MDHHS order is extended, it will be applied to all buildings in Homer, K-12.
Watch for a call-out and website posting this evening with updated information following Governor Whitmer's press conference later today.
Issues with Sprint...
Trojan Learning Lab Academic Support for Grades 9-12
Trojan Learning Lab will be available on the following days, from 3 pm - 6 pm. You MUST contact the office at 517-568-4464 to sign up for a slot.
- Tuesday, 12/8
- Wednesday, 12/9
- Thursday, 12/10
- Monday, 12/14
- Tuesday, 12/15
- Wednesday, 12/16
- Thursday, 12/17
All assignments are required and will be graded as part of a student's overall class grade. Be sure to contact your child's teacher directly if you have any questions or concerns. All staff emails can be found in the Staff Directory.
All building offices are also open from 8 am - 3 pm each day. You can call the office to speak with someone that can help address your needs! Please do not wait if you are having issues with accessing Google Meets, assignments, or internet accessibility. We want to help you now to remove any barriers from remote learning success!!!
- LFE Office: 568-4452
- HMS Office: 568-4456
- HHS Office: 568-4464
- Superintendent's Office: 568-4463
Be sure to set up a PowerSchool Parent Viewer Account to check your MS/HS student's grades!
The end of the first semester is December 18, 2020. At that time, all grades will be final for first semester. All students will need to have work completed by this date to count. It is very important that all students stay in regular communication with their teachers to be successful! Please be sure to check PowerSchool for accurate class grades for middle school and high school students.
To monitor student grades, create a Parent Viewer account on PowerSchool:
- Select Resources - Parent Resources from the district homepage.
- Click on Parent Viewer
- Go to Create an Account & follow the instructions.
- To link students to your account, enter your child's name. The access ID and access password are both your child's student ID number. You can call the office for this information.
- Click enter. You have now created your account and can login to view your account!
Virtual parents: To view student coursework in Canvas, access the Canvas Parent Portal:
- Request a Pairing Code from any of your child's online teachers or the office.
- On district homepage under Quick Links select Canvas /Accelerate Education. This will take you to the Canvas login screen.
- Up in the top right corner, look for Parent of a Canvas User, Click Here for an Account Select this and create an account, entering in the pairing code.
Please be sure to contact the school is you have a change to your email address or telephone number.
Meal Sign Up!
First semester ends on Dec 18, 2020. Second semester begins on Jan 4, 2021.
Student Learning Commitment for 2nd Semester - Due December 11th
For the 2020-21 school year, families were provided with the option of selecting In-Person Learning or Full-Time Virtual Learning for their child. A semester commitment was required for selecting Full-Time Virtual Learning. We realized as we began the semester that some of the expectations for both learning formats were not fully explained, and reasons for changes became apparent...lack of home support, lack of dependable internet, difficulty understanding online format, or even concern for health and safety. We did allow for some changes, but this also caused some issues, with students transferring mid-semester into a new class, with a new teacher, and new curriculum.
We have learned from these challenges, and would like to start the second semester with even more clarity of expectations. Right now, we will continue to offer two learning format choices to our families for the second semester. We are asking ALL families to return the Student Learning Commitment Form, either online or in person, so that we can know for certain how to plan staffing for the second semester. If you are planning on switching from in-person to 100% virtual, we will request that you complete a parent assurances document. This semester, we will only allow changes between either format for the first two weeks of the semester. We will not allow changes after this time. Please be sure to carefully review each option. School staff are available to help answer questions that you may have to ensure that you are picking the option that is the best fit for your student and your family.
Click on the document below to access information on each learning format, as well as PDFs of the forms to return. You can also complete the form digitally by selecting the appropriate format below.
Student Congrats!!!
- Austin Pitts
- John Edler
- Sophia Patrick
- Brayden Scott
- Sonora Barrington
Also, below are the LFE November 30th Good Listener Trojans of the Week!
Check out the Family Engagement Calendar!
Hat Day a Success!
Homer Community Schools
Email: homer@homerschools.net
Website: www.homerschools.net
Location: 403 South Hillsdale Street, Homer, MI, USA
Phone: 517-568-4463
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hcstrojans