April Updates from HMS
April 7, 2021
Haley Street, Assistant Principal
Mark Mattingly, Counselor (A-L)
Kristin Godoshian, Counselor (M-Z)
Phone: (248) 328-3400
Attendance Number: (248) 328-3426
Fax: (248) 328-3404
April Note from Mr. Curl
Hello HMS Families!
I hope Spring Break provided everyone with the rest and relaxation that they sought!
As we reminded our students this week, we are entering the home stretch of the 2020-2021 school year!! With 9 more weeks to go we are continuing to encourage our students to stay on top of their assignments and reach out to their teachers if they need any help!
Reflecting back on our shared journey to this point in the school year fills me with immense pride. I am incredibly thankful for the perseverance, effort, and sacrifice that our staff, students, and families have made this school year. 20-21 has thrown unprecedented challenges and adversity at all of us and it has been amazing to watch how the HMS community has responded. Let's finish the year strong!
As we move into the last phase of the school year there is still much to accomplish. Some of our upcoming items:
- Spring Testing will begin next week. Please see the updated testing calendar and daily schedules in this newsletter. The days and dates have not changed from what we shared with you last month but we now have more detail regarding daily schedules and class times.
- Next week I will be sending all of our current 6th and 7th graders a communication about selecting a "Mode of Instruction" for the 2021-2022 school year. This information about whether your child will be choosing In-Person learning or 100% Virtual learning for the 21-22 school year is a crucial part of our scheduling and planning process.
- While COVID continues to present us with challenges, we are working to find creative ways to celebrate our Spring Awards. We will share more information as we get closer to these events.
Have a great month!
State Testing Begins Next Week
As we shared last month, following the Michigan Department of Educations guidelines, we will be moving forward with State testing. We have finalized testing times and building schedules for our Spring Tests. Please use the links below to access each grade levels testing schedule.
Update for Virtual Students:
Local school districts are required to administer state assessments as scheduled to both In-Person and Virtual students. However, virtual-only students will not be required to come into school for the sole purpose of taking the assessments. These tests include M-STEP for students in grades 3-8; PSAT 8/9 for students in 8th grade; MME, including SAT, for students in 11th grade; MI-ACCESS for students receiving special education services in grades 3-8 and 11.
Holly Area Schools values the data that we collect from student participation in these assessments. This is one set of data that we use to monitor and improve district instruction and programming. We also understand that there are families who currently may not be comfortable bringing their children into school for these assessments.
State of Michigan Offering "Michigan Secure"
The state of Michigan is pleased to announce the release of Michigan Secure, a mobile device security application that warns users when suspicious activity is detected on their mobile device. They are asking schools to share this free application with our communities to help students, teachers, and families remain safe while operating online!
To learn more, please click the link.
Leader in Me Habit of the Month: Seek First to Understand
Communication is the most important skill in life. You spend years learning how to read and write, and years learning how to speak. But what about listening?
If you're like most people, you probably seek first to be understood; you want to get your point across. And in doing so, you may ignore the other person completely, pretend that you're listening, selectively hear only certain parts of the conversation or attentively focus on only the words being said, but miss the meaning entirely. (From franklincovey.com)
This month's habit is focused on the art of listening. This is an art that unfortunately, in today's society, there are too few examples of. From sports to politics (and everything in between) we are flooded with people focusing on getting their point across, giving their take, or picking 1-2 words someone else says and focusing their entire rebuttal on those, not the whole message. Often this advances a particular point of view but it does nothing to move the conversation ahead productively. To effectively create solutions and solve problems we have to adopt this habit.
Attendance Reminders!!
If your child needs to call home to be picked up because they are not feeling well, please remind them that calls need to be made from our Main Office. We have had a few instances where a student uses their personal device to contact a family member to pick them up. When the family member arrives, our staff is not prepared to follow the procedures and this often leads to a considerable delay in processing the student for an early dismissal. If you have any questions about this or to prearrange an early dismissal please call Mrs. Curtis at (248) 328-3400.
If your child will not be able to attend school (either In-Person or Virtually) please call our Attendance line at (248) 328-3426 to report their absence. If you require a callback, please leave your request and contact information on the voicemail someone will return your call.
All attendance questions or concerns should be directed to the HMS building only. Please do not call the district offices.
Mrs. Godoshian
Mr. Mattingly
Students, please use the Counseling Referral Link to sign up to see your counselor.
Schoology Access for Parents!
Athletic Updates
COVID Testing for All Spring Sport Athletes
Mandatory COVID testing for athletes 13-19 years of age from the MDHHS. Athletes that are under the age of 13 will have the option to participate in this program but are not required to test in order to compete.
Spring Sports!!
Please read Mr. Lombard's recent Spring Sports communications:
- April 5th - Spring Sports communication - Middle School specific
Middle School Spring Sports begin on April 15th!!
Don't forget you will need a sports physical to try out.
Link to MHSAA Physical Form:
https://www.mhsaa.com/portals/0/documents/health%20safety/physical2page.pdf
Your student can also pick one up outside the Main Office!
You can always get the most recent Athletics information by visiting the Holly Athletics website.
"Drop Box" for Forgotten Items
Parents - please use the secure drop box located next to our buzzer/camera system outside the school for dropping off items to your student. Please be sure to label the item!
Press the buzzer to let our secretary, Mrs. Curtis, know what you have, and then place it in the drop box. Mrs. Curtis will come out and get the items to distribute them to your student.
You can leave items such as:
- Athletic gear
- Textbooks/homework
- Lunch/money (use envelope)
- If you are dropping off a Chromebook, please notify the secretary as it should not be placed in the drop box.
Important Upcoming Dates
- Tuesday (4/13): PSAT 8 - Impacts building schedule for all grades (see above info.)
- Friday (4/16): No School for Students - Professional Learning Day for Staff
- Friday (4/30): Progress Report 3 Ends
- Friday (5/7): Half-Day for Students
Follow us on Social Media
Website: hask12.org
Location: 14470 North Holly Road, Holly, MI, USA
Phone: 248 328-3400
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Holly-Middle-School-Sherman-Campus-634705656664993/
Twitter: @HMSBronchos