Happy Cold Friday Hawkins,

It has definitely been a challenging week with the weather, and I will address that at the end of my notes. I wanted to start by thanking our PTO and all of our families for all they do. I attended the PTO meeting this week, and continue to be impressed with all that they do for our staff and students. I wanted to give you a heads up that on February 13th, staff will be participating in our annual cardiac emergency drill. On that day, we will do a shelter in place and staff on our MERT response team will run through a scenario of doing CPR and using the AED. No student will be involved, or witness any of this. If you have any questions or concerns please reach out to me.

We moved our Kindergarten roundup from February 14th to February 15th from 6:30-8 to allow our families to enjoy Valentine's Day, please spread the word if you know of any new families.

Now to the weather. Temperatures this cold cause a few issues, the main one being that salt does not work. Salt is expensive, so to just throw salt down for appearance does not make sense. We monitor the temperature closely and when salt is effective we will put it down. The suggestion was made to have a salt bucket put out by the 3rd and 4th grade drop off, I will work on that. We will follow the district policy (stated below) on going out for recess, and use AccuWeather for our temperatures.

Daily outdoor recesses are a valuable factor in promoting healthy classroom conditions. Children are expected to participate in recess activities. They should wear adequate clothing. Coats, boots, hats and gloves are mandatory during winter months and boots may be necessary when playground areas are muddy.

Our policy is that all students go outside for recess. It is assumed that the students who are too sick to be in school would benefit by staying home. On days when the weather is extremely cold or rainy, recess breaks are shortened or held indoors. If the temperature and/or wind chill is 0°(F) or below, the children will stay inside. A doctor’s note is necessary if a child is to stay in for recess for a specified period of time after an illness.

I also wanted to address what students are wearing. Our rule is that if the students leave the blacktop or playground area, they need to have on snow pants. We also require that they wear the coats that they brought to school. We often have questions with students who have on short sleeve shirts or shorts. When this occurs, I will call the parent to find out their wishes, but please understand that if I feel it is a case of safety, (shorts in single digit temps) I may have to override a parents wishes. In the morning I am using 10 as a baseline for having the students line up outside. Remember, if you see the green flag out it means the student can come in and wait at their lockers. There may be mornings where I only bring in kindergarten, but usually it will be all or nothing.

One last reminder…if your child is coming in late, please do not drop your child off to walk up to the front doors by themselves. We ask that you park and walk your child up to the front doors and ring the bell located on the brick wall. Officer Roy will get your child signed in and headed to class. We appreciate your help!

Stay warm Hawkins and have a great weekend.

School success goes hand in hand with good attendance! Encouraging regular school attendance is one of the most powerful ways you can prepare your child for success both in school and in life. When you make school attendance a priority, you can help your child get better grades, develop healthy life habits, and have a better chance of graduating from high school. Starting in kindergarten, too many absences can cause children to fall behind in school. Students can still fall behind if they miss just a day or two days every few weeks. Attending school regularly helps children feel better about school...and themselves. We understand that there are circumstances requiring students to miss school due to illnesses or for appointments. When this is the case, please provide us with medical notes from the doctor.

If your child is going to be absent, please call the Hawkins attendance Line (810-299-3900 then press 2). Please state your child's name, teacher, date of absence and reason for the absence (type of illness, doctor appointment, vacation etc). If your child has been diagnosed with a specific ailment (COVID19, strep throat, pink eye, influenza, chicken pox) please state that in the voicemail message. If your child has not been diagnosed with a specific ailment but is having specific symptoms please let us know the symptoms your child is experiencing. Hawkins appreciates your help!

All parent volunteers must undergo a background check in order to work with Brighton Area Schools students. ONLINE Volunteer Form

Brighton Area Schools reserves the right to "approve" or "deny" any volunteer service upon review of the background check returned. The determination will be based upon individual fitness to have responsibility for the safety and wellbeing of children. Providing false information is grounds for immediate volunteer denial.