MacGregor's Message: Updates from the Superintendent

Dear Families,

I hope you have had a wonderful summer. We are excited to welcome our students, staff, and families back next week, and I look forward to an outstanding school year. 

In this edition of MacGregor’s Message:

• Back to School Information

• Child Nutrition and Education Benefits Application

• Livingston County Job Shadow Day

• Highlander Reading Express Book Returns

Our first day of school is Tuesday, August 20. To help students and families prepare for the new school year, we have created a Back to School webpage at HowellSchools.com/BacktoSchool. This page includes important dates and information, bus routes, and our popular first-day-of-school printable signs. You can download and print the signs and send us a message on our Facebook page with the photo to be included in our First Day of School photo album. 

Please remember that Tuesday, August 20, and Wednesday, August 21, will be half days. Middle and high school students will be dismissed at 10:50 a.m., and elementary students will be released at 12:05 p.m. While we will do our absolute best to keep our buses running on schedule, it is not uncommon for buses to run slightly behind during the first few days of school. We appreciate your understanding as we work to ensure that all students are on the correct bus.

On Monday, August 20, all of our school buildings and district offices will be closed until 1 p.m. so that all teachers and staff can attend a district-wide meeting. 

Again this year, the State of Michigan has made school meals free for all students. Each student can receive one free breakfast and lunch each day. This does not include a la carte items, which must still be purchased. While school meals are free, it is still essential that families complete a Child Nutrition and Education Benefits application, formerly known as the Free and Reduced Meal application. For qualifying families, completing the application may provide benefits such as reduced college application and academic test fees, reduced home internet costs, and Summer EBT funds to purchase groceries during the summer months. Additionally, the number of applications determines a portion of the district’s funding. To learn more or to complete an application, please visit HowellSchools.com/Food. 

The Livingston Educational Service Agency’s (LESA) Career Development Department organizes the Livingston County Job Shadow Day event twice a year. The event connects juniors and seniors from local high schools with businesses to allow the students to learn about the employment opportunities in our county and build relationships with potential future employers. If you would like to have your workplace participate in this event, please visit https://bit.ly/3SLnGJN. Student registration for the event will open soon and be shared with students and families when it opens. To learn more about all the events LESA’s Career Development Department offers, please visit https://bit.ly/3X5GCWj.

We had an incredible summer with the Highlander Reading Express. Over the summer, more than 1,100 books were checked out, and it was so fun seeing our students and families visiting each week. If your child still has books checked out from the Highlander Reading Express, please have them return the books to their school office once the school year begins. I want to thank everyone who visited this summer and our staff, teachers, and administrators who volunteered to drive the Highlander Reading Express and help students find the perfect books. 

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

Sincerely,

Erin J. MacGregor, Ed.S.

Superintendent

Howell Public Schools