Dear Families,

I hope this message finds you and your family doing well. With 11 days left before spring officially begins, we are heading into one of the busiest times of the school year.

In this edition of MacGregor's Message:

• Teacher and Support Person of the Year Award winners
• Family perception survey
• Incoming Northwest begindergarten and kindergarten students sign letters of intent
• Parker Middle School's production of "Shrek, the Musical"
• March 13 Late Start Day

Last Thursday, we surprised our Teacher of the Year and Support Person of the Year with their awards. This is always one of my favorite days of the year as we celebrate two individuals' hard work and dedication. This year's Teacher of the Year is Ms. Sarah Needham, a second-grade teacher at Northwest Elementary. With over 23 years of dedicated service within the district, Ms. Needham has profoundly impacted students, staff, and the Howell community through her innovative teaching methods, commitment to excellence, and unwavering advocacy for her students. Mrs. Sharyn Tormanen, Three Fires Elementary building secretary, was named this year's Support Person of the Year. Mrs. Tormanen has dedicated more than a decade of service to the district and was honored with the award recognizing her commitment and exceptional contributions to the school community. To read more about Ms. Needham, please visit https://bit.ly/3SQageI. To read more about Mrs. Tormanen, please visit https://bit.ly/3If9qmW.

On Monday, you will receive an email with a link to participate in the MI Student Voice Family Perception Survey. Like the student perception survey, the family survey allows us to gauge how we are doing as a district to help guide district improvement planning. We ask that, at a minimum, you take the survey for the school at which your oldest child attends. If your schedule allows, you may also take the survey for any other schools in the district that your children attend.

Last evening, our elementary schools hosted their annual Begindergarten and Kindergarten Information Nights. Northwest Elementary took the event up a notch, transforming it into an unforgettable moment for our future Highlanders. They hosted a Begindergarten and Kindergarten Signing Event, similar to a college signing day. Our incoming students were excited to sign their letters of intent, pledging their commitment to attend Northwest Elementary. By signing these letters, they promised to work hard and always do their best throughout their journey at Northwest Elementary. If you have an incoming begindergarten or kindergarten student and you still need to register them for the 2024-25 school year, please visit HowellSchools.com/kdg to begin the enrollment process.

Last night was also the opening of Parker Middle School's production of "Shrek the Musical." I had a sneak peek of the performance earlier this week, and I was so impressed by the talent of the 63 cast members. "Shrek, the Musical" is the story of Shrek (Nathan Walker), an ogre who embarks on a daring quest alongside his loquacious sidekick, Donkey (Reagan Kromer), to rescue Princess Fiona (Sophia Tarnowski). There are three more opportunities for you to catch up on this outstanding production. There will be shows tonight, Friday, March 8, at 6:30 p.m. and tomorrow, Saturday, March 9, at 1:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. To read more about this production, please visit https://bit.ly/3V9df4G.

Please remember that next Wednesday, March 13, is a district-wide late start day. During this time, our staff will be engaged in professional development to better serve our students. Our middle and high school students will begin their day at 9:05 a.m., and our elementary students will begin school at 10:20 a.m. For bus stop times for the late start day, please visit https://bit.ly/3DDrgym.

As we near the end of our winter sports season, I would like to wish our girl’s basketball team, gymnastics team, and Blake Kasprzak and Peter Mick from our swim and dive team the very best as they continue to compete in the postseason.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend, and Go Highlanders!

Sincerely,
Erin J. MacGregor, Ed.S.
Superintendent
Howell Public Schools