
All the Buzz
News and Info from HCS -- September 30, 2022
From Your Superintendent
HCS Families,
Hornet Pride is on full display this week, as we celebrate Homecoming. I started wondering how homecoming first started, and being a history teacher at heart, I decided to do a little research .
From what I can tell, back in the late 1800s, a few colleges began inviting alumni football players back to the first home football game. Over time, this spread to all college alumni. Sometime in the 20th century, high schools began celebrating homecoming as well, inviting back their alumni to join in the festivities.
Regardless of origins, homecoming is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate our past, present, and future stories. We really do hope that we have a great showing of proud Hornet alumni at the parade and the game, and at the same time, we also would like to see and connect with our alumni at all times during the year. Our alumni are a huge source of #HornetPride, and their willingness to share their stories and support our current students' future stories is critical. One of our goals is to continue to spread the good news about our district, and continue to attract families to make the affirmative choice of Harrison Community Schools as their destination.
Speaking of destinations, I remain grateful that Harrison is mine. As I come to the end of my first ninety days in our district, I wanted to share the progress I made on the entry plan I presented during the interview process. I still need to set up my shadow-a-student experiences; I needed more time to build trust with students and staff, and my new goal is to have those experiences accomplished by mid-November. Throughout these ninety days I have learned so much and feel so lucky to be a part of Hornet Nation.
Thank you for your continued partnership and trust.
Hornet Pride,
Judy
989.539.7871
New Safety & Security Protocols
As you know for your own child, school picture season is upon us over the next few weeks. This year, all of our staff will be photographed as well, and will begin wearing IDs whenever they are in a building. In this way, by the end of October, if a student sees an adult without an ID badge, they will be encouraged to let a teacher or other trusted adult know.
Similarly, we will be seeking a picture ID for any parent, caregiver, or visitor who seeks to enter any of our schools. Please be prepared with it when you approach the video doorbell. While staff may admit you if they know you by name and face, there may be someone operating the entry system that does not yet know you. It can feel like a bit of a hassle when you forget to walk up with your ID and have to return to your vehicle, but please remember that we share your goal: keeping all kids safe in our schools.
For anyone who seeks to leave the secured office area and enter the hallway/classroom portion of any school, we will be requiring them to sign in and wear a visitor badge. Again, for safety reasons, we want to make sure that any unregistered person may be quickly identified by a student or staff member.
Upcoming Conferences To Check In With Teachers
Also upcoming in our schools are parent-guardian/teacher conferences. There is a helpful resource from the Michigan Department of Education, available here in both English and Spanish. As a sample, we offer this:
Use the formal teacher-parent/guardian conference for a focused, two-way conversation:
• Ask questions about grade level learning goals and your child’s progress.
• Discuss any standardized test scores (for example, NWEA) you have received: » Are they consistent with the strengths and weaknesses the teacher sees in your child’s performance? » How will the teacher use them to guide instruction for your child? » What can you do to help your child be successful?
• Tell the teacher more about your child so they can do the best job possible.
• If your child is having difficulties in class (either academic or behavioral) discuss them constructively and agree together on an action plan.
School Board Election: November 8
For information purposes only, we have three (3) open seats up for election on November 8. Eligible voters will be choosing no more than two (2) candidates for six-year terms, and not more than one (1) candidate for the remaining two years of a term due to a resignation from earlier in the year.
Upcoming Varsity Athletic Events
September 30
- Football vs. Shepherd (7:00 pm)
October 1
- Cross Country at Lancer (Midland) Invitational (10:30 am; MS @ 9:30 am)
October 5
- Volleyball vs. Farwell (6:00 pm)
October 7
- Football at Beaverton (7:00 pm)
October 8
- Cross Country at Pentwater Invitational (TBD)
October 10
- Volleyball at Charlton Heston (6:00 pm)
October 11
- Cross Country at Pumpkin Patch (MP) invitational (4:00 pm; MS @ 5:00 pm)
October 12
- Volleyball vs. Gladwin (6:00 pm)
Board of Education Meeting
The Pledge of Allegiance will be led by students from our middle school, and Principal Jennifer Thrush will present an instructional/school highlight.
Mon, Oct 10, 2022, 05:30 PM
Hillside Elementary School, North 4th Street, Harrison, MI, USA
Dress Like A Rock Star Day
Larson teachers and students alike enjoyed getting geared up this week!
Pink-Out
Middle schoolers went all out in pink on Tuesday!
Candy Land
At the high school, board games were the theme by class. The Class of 2023 had Candy Land!
On the Tech Trek
Ms. Tisak, Mr. Smalley, and Mr. Bennett keep our district up to date and running smoothly. We truly could not do it without them.
Honoring the United States
Each and every day, all students and staff across our district are invited to stand and recite the Pledge of Allegiance.
The Bill of Rights
What's better than a beautiful sunny day at Larson? Learning about the Bill of Rights.
Volleyball
Our middle school players continue to improve their skills and teamwork.
Seniors at Mid-Michigan
Our senior class went to Mid-Michigan Community College to learn about opportunities post graduation.
Food Service
Our wonderful food service staff works hard everyday to provide healthy and great-tasting meals for our kids.
DISTRICT INFORMATION
Non-Homestead Millage Renewal
Funding for schools in our state fundamentally changed with the adoption of the 1978 Headlee Amendment and Proposal A in 1994. School districts became limited in what and how they could seek money from their local community.
Currently, the state taxes all real estate at a uniform rate of 6 mills (1 mill = $1.00 for every $1,000 in value) and collects those funds for a more equal distribution per pupil across the state. Michigan law also requires local communities to ask voters for 18 mills ($18.00 on every $1,000 in value) on non-homestead property (basically, all real estate that is not your primary home, such as vacation homes, commercial real estate, etc.). The money collected goes toward the total dollar amount per pupil that the state pledges to us.
As an example, this year the state is pledging $9,150 per pupil across the state. However, a portion of that dollar amount comes from our local 18 mills. If voters choose not to approve the renewal, we will get less money per pupil from the state and our budget is impacted.
The Headlee Amendment also requires us to reduce our 18 mills by fractional amounts when annual growth on property is greater than the rate of inflation. This is called a “roll back.” A “Headlee override” is a vote by the electors to return the millage to the amount originally authorized to counteract the roll back. On the ballot this November, voters in the Harrison Community Schools district will be asked to renew the non-homestead millage at the rate of 17.6524, and through the override, to restore 0.3476 for a total of 18 mills.
What might this mean for property owners of real estate that is not their primary residence? Let's say there is a vacation home in Harrison valued at $200,000, and the owners have their primary residence somewhere else in Michigan. In addition to the 6 mills the state collects from all real estate for schools ($1,200 on this property), the impact of the renewal of 17.6524 mills ($3,530.48 on this property) and an override for 0.3476 mills ($69.52 on this property) amounts to a total of $3,600.00 from the vacation home owners in this example.
If you would like to learn more about the Headlee Amendment, Proposal A, or the Headlee Override, please click on the links provided.
Health Information
We are at the point in the pandemic where public health officials are viewing COVID-19 much in the same way as other communicable diseases. Therefore, we will be starting our school year with the following protocol for positive cases, staff or student:
- With a positive case, the person must isolate for 5 days and not attend or be in school. In counting those days, the first date of symptoms (or the test, if no symptoms) is day 0.
- The COVID-positive person may return to school on Day 6, assuming symptoms are subsiding. We recommend, but do not require, masking for days 6-10 in school.
We are also attaching a handy resource from public health officials that provides guidance on when to keep a child home from school in a variety of illness-related situations.