SLCS District Update
11.18.2021
Note from the Superintendent
Greetings SLCS Families and Staff Members!
This school year our district is working to develop what we will be calling “Snapshot of our Learners.” The purpose of this work is to collaboratively develop a timeless set of inclusive, universal skills and ways of being that unify and define South Lyon Community Schools. In other words, we are developing the compelling “why” that drives all of our work and interactions with students.
We are working with facilitators from Oakland Schools and our district steering committee to develop a series of questions we would like to ask of our stakeholders across the district, including district staff and families, to help identify the universal skills and dispositions we would like to include. We will be gathering feedback from our stakeholders through surveys and focus groups this winter and plan to use that input to help develop a final product over the spring of 2022.
In closing, as we prepare to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday next week, I want to take this opportunity to offer thanks to the members of our tremendous school community for helping to make this such a wonderful place in which to work and live. I also want to wish everyone much good health and happiness as we enter the holiday season.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Sincerely,
Steven Archibald
Superintendent
School Closing Information
As we near the Thanksgiving break, this is a good time to prepare for winter weather. Our hope is to avoid school closures, but there are times when inclement weather leads to cancellations to help ensure the safety of our students and staff. A few reminders about our school closing procedure:
Members of our leadership team participate in calls with other Oakland County superintendents and meteorologists when making decisions regarding weather related school closures. We will work to make the decision and communicate to families and staff members as early as possible. Once the decision is made to cancel, Skylert communications will be sent to all members of the SLCS community. School closing updates will be posted on our social media pages and shared with local media outlets.
Staff from our District team will survey local roads in the early hours of the morning if school has not been cancelled the night before. We give careful consideration to the fact that our school district is more than 83 square miles and is made up of main thoroughfares, subdivisions and also gravel roads. While there are times when some streets may be clear, others in the district remain hazardous. The district’s ability to safely clear our parking lots, roadways, and sidewalks in time for students and staff members to arrive also impacts our decision making.
When we close school, all building activities are also cancelled, including athletic events, unless a determination is made later in the day for specific activities to resume due to improved conditions. Students and staff in the VLP will have a snow day when SLCS closes due to inclement weather. This will help maintain consistency for our programming and potential make-up days at the end of the year.
Swim Teams at States
SLHS Football
The Lions will travel to Greenville High School on Saturday November 20th @ 1:00 to take on Traverse City Central in the MHSAA Football Division 2 Semifinal. This is just a reminder that all tickets must be purchased using Go Fan.
· There are no tickets or cash sales at the gate
· Tickets must be purchased online
· No passes are accepted
· No artificial noise makers allowed
· PARKING is $2 per vehicle
Here is the link:https://gofan.co/app/events/445292?schoolId=MI10083
Greenville High School
111 N Hillcrest St
Greenville, MI 48838
For those of you that can’t make it:
*Subscription based live stream through NFHS network (in collaboration with Rockford HS Student Broadcasting).
https://www.nfhsnetwork.com/events/rockford-high-school-rockford-mi/gamf9eb4e8e76
*Live on-air with WHMI Radio, Livingston County 93.5
Go Lions!
SLEF GivingTuesday
The South Lyon Educational Foundation is kicking off the holiday season with GivingTuesday - A day to do good.
SLHS Pool Renovation Update
As was shared during a bond update presentation at the June 7th Board of Education meeting, the South Lyon High School pool is scheduled for major renovation. The original time frame had construction beginning in March 2022 with the project being completed in Fall 2023.
The proposal to bid the steel as an early package ahead of the remainder of the project was approved by the Board in September in hopes we would be able to procure the material in accordance with our original schedule. Due to continuously changing market conditions in the construction industry, the only bid received was nearly double the cost estimated for the steel portion of the project. In addition to the increased cost, lead times to get the steel onsite would delay the completion of the project to August 2024.
At this time, we have decided to put a hold on this project, monitor the market conditions related to the cost of steel and lead times, and rebid when conditions are more favorable than they are currently. We are extremely excited for the SLHS pool project to eventually get underway as the new design will be a tremendous benefit to our students and community members who utilize the pool. The delay of this project will allow us to move some other projects ahead in the schedule.
The next bond update presentation will take place at the December 7th meeting of the Board of Education.
Special Education
November PAC Up Date
Oakland Schools hosts the countywide Parent Advisory Committee (PAC) meeting once per month during the school year. The November PAC meetings are attended by the district’s PAC representative and their special education administrator. On November 3, 2021 our meeting was held virtually and we listened to an Outreach Representative from Special Education Mediation Services present about active listening. One great take away from the presentation was the concept of using scripted questions to find answers while at IEP meetings:
Statement or Situation
You are uncertain about something in your child’s school day....
You May Want To Ask
“What does this look like in my child’s day?”
*Adapted from PACER Center How to Improve Communication - Special Education
Food Service
VLP Only: Pickup time is 7:45 - 8:15 am on Tuesdays in the SLHS bus loop. Orders need to be pre-ordered.
Thanksgiving Break Schedule: Meal pickup will be Tuesday, November 16th consisting of meals for November 15 - 19th and November 22 and November 23rd.
Next meal pickup will be Tuesday, November 30th. Pre-order meals by Friday, November 19th.
Pathway Changes
As a reminder, families are only able to make pathway changes from January 3-7, 2022. Changes would be effective as of January 31, 2022.
Please note, requests to move out of VLP and into in-person are dependent on space being available within in-person sections. Information regarding secondary schedules and elementary school and classroom placement will be sent following the January 3rd through 7th pathway change window.