Superintendent's Scoop
August 2019
Dear Parents/Guardians and Community Members:
Balanced calendar classes begin on Monday, August 12th. School begins at 8:00 AM and dismisses at 2:55 PM, with classes running from Monday-Thursday. We will hold an open house for families on Thursday, August 8th from 5:30-6:30 PM. Please come and visit the building, meet the staff, and take a look at the changes in the elementary!
With the balanced calendar, Houghton Lake Community Schools received a $750,000 grant from the state of Michigan to upgrade our heating and cooling systems to assure a comfortable climate during the August and June extended year sessions. As school construction goes, the process from accepting the grant, to approving bids, and the actual construction work has been extremely time consuming. We finally have a project start date of Tuesday, August 13th. While the air units will not be installed for the first day of the balanced calendar, we do have a plan!
Each balanced calendar classroom will be cooled using a room air conditioning unit. Testing units this week, the classrooms have maintained temperatures ranging from 70-73 degrees. Once the air handler units are fully installed, the room units will be used in other community areas of the district. Construction will be conducted after school hours and on the weekends - avoiding times students are in attendance. Late October is the estimated project completion timeframe. A timeline for the entire project will be shared at Monday's board of education meeting.
Important dates to keep in mind:
Thursday, August 8th Balanced Calendar Open House at Collins Elementary; 5:30-6:30 PM
Monday, August 12th First Day of School for Balanced Calendar; Full Day of School
Monday, August 12th First Day of High School Fall Athletics
Monday, August 26th First Day of Junior High School Athletics
Tuesday, September 3rd Traditional Calendar Open House; 5:00-6:30 PM.
Wednesday, September 4th First Day of School for Traditional Calendar; 11:15 AM Dismissal
Wednesday, September 11th Community Task Force Meeting; TBD; 6:00 PM
Thursday, September 12 Community Tailgate at Bobcat Field; 6:00-7:00 PM
On September 11th, HLCS is hosting our first of many community meetings to begin the discussion on the future of education for our communities! See the flyer below for details. This first session is meant as an informational gathering session that will help the school district begin shaping the future state of Houghton Lake Community School District! Please RSVP to bit.ly/HoughtonLakeSchools .
We look forward to this next year of school with all of our families and community members! For more information from the August Superintendent's Scoop, please visit the Houghton Lake Community Schools web site, www.hlcsk12.net.
Looking forward to a great year,
Julie A. Brown, superintendent
School Numbers
Houghton Lake Junior/Senior High School (989) 366 - 2006
Athletics (989) 366 - 2045
Community/Alternative Education (989) 366 - 6161
School-Based Health Center (989) 366 - 2062
Collins Upper Elementary (989) 366 - 2018
Collins Lower Elementary (989) 366 - 2048
Transportation (989) 366 - 2029
Technology (989) 366 - 2021
Maintenance (989) 366 - 2010
Food Service (989) 366 - 2013