HEMLOCK MIDDLE SCHOOL
Apr. 10th - Apr. 16th
Weekly Update from our Superintendent
This week is our 30th week for the 2020-2021 school year.
In so many ways, this journey feels like an episode of the old sitcom Gilligan's Island. The group expected a three-hour tour and ended up stranded on an island, constantly seeking a way to get back home. Our journey started with what we were told was a three-week hiatus from school to flatten the curve, and it turned out to be so much more.
Much like the crew and passengers of the S.S. Minnow, we have responded to the emergency, recovered from the shock, and are working to reinvent ourselves. Like many of you, we hope to get off the "island" that we have been trapped on due to COVID-19. We hope, like many of you, to return to the world we once knew and loved, but we won't return the same; we will take these lessons learned and do things better.
As we work to reinvent, we plan to lead the pack much as we did with remote learning, return to school, technology innovation, teaching, and learning in multiple modalities. To continue to lead the way, we need everyone to continue to pull the sled together. To keep our focus on our students and helping support them learn and achieve at the highest levels.
We have been very fortunate to provide face-to-face instruction throughout this school year with minimal disruption. All facets of our school community have worked together to make this possible for our students.
As I mentioned in previous updates, we know that some students need to catch up academically. With that in mind, we are developing a robust learning program offering for our students and families to help all children achieve at their personal best.
At this time, we do have some COVID-19 cases to report; click here to review our COVID-19 Dashboard with data updates in real-time. This link brings pertinent information together into one easy-to-access place. These recent cases occurred over our spring break; having a remote day on Tuesday really helped bring some of these cases to the surface before our students and staff returned to school.
As mentioned previously, we will start to work on version 3.0 of the district's strategic plan this spring and seek input from our stakeholders. Click here to view our current plan.
If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to let me know.
All the best,
Don
HMS HONOR ROLL
Mrs. Kato's Tech News
Have you ever tried coding before? You might be amazed if you were to ask your kids
today if they have ever coded before inside or outside of the classroom. Coding is for everyone, no matter their age or occupation. The best part about learning to code is
that you will also develop a wide range of soft skills needs to be successful in the world
we live in. Here are just a few communication, empathy, creativity, logic, problem-solving, enterprise, abstract thinking, project planning, attention to detail, and resilience.
Check out these sites where you and/or your children can learn to code.
MUSIC FOR ALL INITIATIVE #LET_THEM_ALL_PLAY
Hemlock Public School District is committed to providing students with a world-class educational experience and removing educational barriers. Music for all initiative is a project that has been designed to give EVERY student at Hemlock Public Schools the opportunity to participate in band at the beginner level. Now, more than ever, the importance of a school set of instruments is crucial. The economic downturn that has been caused by COVID-19 left a good deal of parents in a place where they couldn’t afford to rent or purchase an instrument. While some students were able to borrow school-owned instruments, some missed out because their parents did not want to take school handouts. With a full set of instruments, every 5th-grade student will be able to participate in our music program. Should they want to rent their instrument, they will still be offered that opportunity to do so. Funding will go to purchase 90 instruments through Conn-Selmer’s Instrument Stimulus Program, to be used for the 5th-grade beginning band rotations.
The total cost for the project will be $50,552.65. We have secured an internal grant that will match up to half of the total cost of any external funds that we raise, or up to $25,276.33. For us, this is more about friend-raising than fundraising, we want to connect with musicians and band supporters in our community, area, region, and beyond.
Funds will need to be raised by May 1, 2021, which is the expiration date of the matching internal grant. The instruments will be in the school’s hands shortly after and will be issued to students in the first three weeks of the 2021-2022 school year. The residual instruments will be going out to students for the last bit of the 2020-2021 school year who need a better instrument than what the school can currently provide. The first community impact will occur at the 2021 Holiday Concert, where the 5th grade will perform. The long-term impact on the community will be seen as the bands grow. In five years, those first students who were issued school instruments will be in the high school groups and will be eligible to participate in the community bands that will be established by then.
This project will be sustained in the future in three ways.
- The directors will keep a detailed inventory of the purchased instruments, and use a tech-based sign-out system to keep records of instrument assignment, as well as instrument condition upon sign-out and sign-in.
- The class set will be used for the 5th grade only, and remain in use for that grade for years to come; 6th graders will have access to the smaller amount of currently-owned school instruments if they can’t rent or purchase one by that time. They may also be moved onto the various instruments that they want to play, such as Tuba or Bass Clarinet, which are usually only available from the school, as they are typically cost-prohibitive to individual students.
- We are in the process of establishing an on-site repair center for school and student-owned horns, with the intention of building a curricular repair program for students. This class set of instruments will be maintained in-house as much as possible, providing great practice subjects for students to work with.
While the directors in charge of this project are new to the district, they have already gotten equipment donated for two smaller projects; the Hemlock Instrument Center and the future recording studio. Grants and fundraising have procured new tech for the music program as well; roughly $4,500 worth for a computer and software powerful enough to write music and marching drill on. This was all accomplished in roughly one semester.
The directors and students thank you for your consideration and hope that you will collaborate on this project. Our goal is to build a community music and theatre program in Hemlock that rivals that of much larger communities; something that is very possible with help from organizations like you.
If your student is interested in participating, they must be registered on FinalForms (add Boys Track or Girls Track for their sport) and have a NEW physical on file or last year's physical along with the complete MHSAA Health Questionnaire. (https://www.mhsaa.com/portals/0/Documents/health%20safety/healthquestionnaire.pdf)
If you have any questions regarding the above information, please feel free to contact our Athletic Secretary Jamie Galbraith at galbraith@hemlockps.com.
WHAT'S GOING ON AROUND TOWN ........
Rauchholz Memorial Library News
It's National Library Week - April 4th - 10th. Be sure to visit your library! #NationalLibraryWeek #librariestransform #librariesmatter #MyRML
FREE BREAKFAST AND LUNCH TO ALL STUDENTS FOR 2020-2021 SCHOOL YEAR
More people use blue toothbrushes than red ones.
The common garden worm has five pairs of hearts.
Mosquitoes are more attracted to the color blue than any other color.
The Oreo is the world's best selling cookie.
Spence Burns, 4/11
Kendall Keel, 4/11
Raymond Vega, 4/11
Jessilyn Morgan, 4/12
Aaralyn Garrett, 4/14
Jericho Orange, 4/14
Mrs. Kaczynski, 4/14
Cody Krueger, 4/15
Blake Lepla, 4/15
Nathan Jarabeck, 4/16
Kara Kienitz, 4/16
Wyatte Near, 4/16
Lissa Stephan, 4/16
WHAT'S COMING UP NEXT ..................
- Tuesday, 4/20: Track - St. Louis Tri at 4 pm
- Tuesday, 4/27: Track - Hemlock Tri at 4 pm
HEMLOCK MIDDLE SCHOOL
Email: kienitz.kris@hemlockps.com
Website: hemlockps.com
Location: 525 North Maple Street, Hemlock, MI, USA
Phone: 989-642-5253