Principal Update - BHS Families

• Upcoming Events this Week
• Senior Sunrise Reschedule
• Student Class Schedule Changes
• Student Pick-Up/Drop-Off Information for Parents
• Reminder from the Nurse
• Open House - This Week (9/10)
• Ordering Your Student's Class T-Shirt
• School Pictures
• Ordering Your Student's Yearbook
• Pink Week Events and Shirts
• Pink Week Survivor Walk - Sign-Up Link Included
• Pink Week Sponsorships and Donations
• 9th Grade Vision Screening
• Incoming Senior Specific Information - *Includes Senior Information Sheet from Sr. Class Council, and Information on Senior Fee and Senior Sunrise (this week)
• Opportunities to Meet with BHS Administration
• BHS Counseling Department - *August Newsletter Information Included
• Brighton Area Schools Student Wellness
• BHS Students - Opportunities to Get Involved
• School Meals for the 2024-25 School Year
• Buying Breakfast/Lunch - Know Your Student ID Number
• Cafeteria Table Clean Up
• BHS Football Game Student Section Themes
• Livingston County College Fair
• Big Red Barrel Project
• 2024 Ruck To Live - Veterans Connected
• Student Event Pictures

Monday, September 9th through Friday, September 13th - Freshman Class Council Election

• Students must sign up in order to be able to run for an elected position
• Any campaign posters must be initialed by a BHS Administrator PRIOR to being hung up
• See Mr. Grabowski's email for more information (including on how to sign up)

Monday, September 9th - Senior Sunrise @ 6:30 am in the BHS Stadium

Tuesday, September 10th - PTO Meeting @ 7:30 am in the Main Office Conference Room

Tuesday, September 10th - Open House from 6 pm to 8 pm

As a reminder, the Senior Sunrise Breakfast was moved from Friday morning to Monday morning (9/9) due to the Friday's weather. It will begin at 6:30 am in the BHS Stadium. The weather may be a little chilly, so we encourage all Seniors to dress accordingly so they can be comfortable in the morning. Students are also encouraged to bring blankets to sit on. We appreciate the flexibility of all of those making donations and volunteering their time to allow us to pivot and still hold this event for our Senior students.

As previously shared, the last day for student schedule changes was Friday, September 6th. If they go down to the Counseling Office and ask about switching out of a class, this will be what is relayed to them. Moving forward, any type of schedule change for the 1st Semester would require an extreme circumstance and/or administrative approval. If this occurs, please have them go see either their counselor or administrator to discuss why any type of change may be warranted. We appreciate your understanding in needing to have a deadline for student schedule changes in order to set all parties involved up for success.

We would like to take a moment to remind everyone of the proper drop-off/ pick-up procedures for your students at the High School. First thing, we want to make sure your students are safe. This will always be our #1 priority! This includes our security staff who our out directing traffic, rain or shine, to ensure your students’ safety, while also attempting to keep traffic flowing through the loop.

There is an increase in student drivers this year and the lots are already filling up! This means A LOT of NEW drivers who may not be familiar with the traffic volume before/after school.

Parents———PLEASE use the drop-off loop off Seventh Street. Do not use the side streets to drop-off your student to walk across Seventh Street towards the school.

#1—— It is posted NO stopping, standing or parking during drop-off and pick-up times.

#2—— It is safer to get closer to the building. It is staying darker later, which means it will be harder to see students as they cross the street.

PLEASE NOTE—— For the traffic on Seventh Street and those trying to turn left from Washington St. onto Seventh Street, PLEASE try to alternate. Unless, of course, there are cars leaving the school preventing vehicles waiting to turn Left from Washington onto Seventh Street. Although there is no stop sign on Seventh Street at Washington, the traffic on Seventh usually stops to let someone in. This keeps things from backing up too much on any one street at any point in time.

Please do NOT use the rear of the school or the BCPA Lot to drop-off —— This area will be blocked off with cones preventing cars from entering the drop-off line. Also, there is NOT a turnaround option in this lot. There are so many students and staff coming into and leaving the lot it creates an added hazard to all. The goal is to maintain ONE direction traffic into these lots as much as possible in an attempt to avoid any traffic collisions.

Every year, we hear about the traffic congestion in the morning and afternoon. PLEASE understand with 2000 plus students and staff packed into this building there is a lot of traffic around the school. We do the best we can to keep things moving as quickly as possible while still keeping all of our students and staff as safe as possible. If you are looking to avoid the congestion, here are a few things to look at:

#1—— Have your students ride the bus or car pool

#2—— Pull all the way up to the end of the sidewalk in front of BHS. This will maximize the amount of cars that can drop-off at one time (especially since all three doors on the front side of BHS are open for student entry each morning).

#3—— Plan to get to the high school before 7:10 am. If you get your student up and are arriving at BHS before 7:10 am, you can usually just drop-off and continue on your way without getting caught in a long line up.

For Pick-Up——— Make sure when you are lining up waiting to ONLY utilize the lane CLOSEST to BHS. The LEFT lane MUST be left OPEN for drive -thru traffic! Also, as the pick-up gets longer out to the road and down Seventh Street, you can park in the front parking lot and wait for your student there as well.

As a reminder, all Emergency Action Plans and Medication Administration Forms must be renewed for the new school year. Forms and orders from last year cannot be used. Medication listed on any of our forms MUST be accompanied by medication in the matching, original container. Our student health website includes any and every form parents may need related to medical information.

We will have our medical staff present on both Registration Days in order to collect forms and medications.

Our annual BHS Open House will take place on Tuesday, September 10th, from 6 - 8 pm. For those of you who have not attended Open House previously, we will kick off the night with a brief welcome while you are in your student's 1st Hour class. Parents/guardians will then attend their student's classes, in order, the same way their students would during the day. This is an opportunity to hear class and teacher-specific information, straight from the source to aid in helping set them up for success this year. While teachers may reserve some time for any questions that you may have, it is not designed to be a parent/teacher conference (those are coming up in a little over a month. We look forward to hopefully having you in the building on Tuesday night!

As you may be aware, each year the elected Class Council designs and sells Class t-Shirts. It is a new design each year. Students wear these class shirts periodically throughout the year, including at the school-wide Homecoming Assembly in October. In order to get students their t-shirts in time for Homecoming, orders need to be placed sooner rather than later. If your student is interested in getting a Class T-Shirt, please order the appropriate size via Parent Connect (purchases can be made via their SBA Account like any other purchase) ASAP. Class t-Shirts will be on sale through the end of this week (9/13). After that point in time, there is no guarantee that shirts will be able to be purchased.

*Senior Class T-Shirts are included as part of their Senior Fee (more information on this is included in the Incoming Senior Specific Section below). In your SBA account, you would just select the Senior Fee with their appropriate shirt size.

As you already know, students had their school pictures taken at Registration in August. The photography company (schoolpictures.com) provided students with an "Online Code" that is unique to the particular student and allows parents (or the students themselves) to view their picture and determine if they would like to purchase a picture package or not. Many of you purchased pictures in advance of Registration, and if you did, this does not apply to you. If you have not purchased pictures yet and/or would like view your student's picture, you will need their UNIQUE Online Code. If your student does not have the code that was provided to them, we can provide you with that information. In order to find out the specific code for your student, please contact either myself (evansm@brightonk12.com) or Amie Konieczny (konieca@brightonk12.com or (810) 299-4106) and we would be more than happy to assist.

If your student missed Registration, or they are not happy with the picture they took at Registration, they should plan to take advantage of Picture Retake Day on Tuesday, October 15th. Students who missed Registration and would like to get a Student ID Card can either wait until Picture Retake Day, or they can stop into the Main Office before school, after school, or during passing time, to get a picture taken for a Student ID Card.

Our Yearbook students are already busy capturing moments and memories to create a keepsake that you and your students will look back on for many years to come. Get ahead now and order your yearbook today! Prices will begin to increase after October 1, so take advantage of this deal now!

Yearbooks are available for order at https://www.yearbooknerds.com/brighton-high-school

Senior parents, consider purchasing a personalized yearbook ad for your student to allow for a personal message with your favorite photos! Yearbook ads can be purchased from the same site listed above.

As many of you know who have experienced it, Pink Week is one of the best weeks of the year at BHS! Our entire school and the Brighton community come together through both school and community-wide events to raise money for the Trinity Health Cancer Center in Brighton. More information will be coming out as the week gets closer, but we do want you to have a few key dates now to be able to plan accordingly as it will come quick. We appreciate any and all support this week as it is a fantastic opportunity to raise money for a great cause and to keep funds local! We also have shirts available for purchase via the BHS school store, The Paw as well as through Ivory Vines.

The week's events are outlined below:

• Monday 9/16 - Powderpuff Football Game at BHS Stadium @ 7pm. $5 entry fee. All are welcome and encouraged to attend!
• Wednesday 9/18 - Pink Run/Walk 5K (we also will have a kids run/walk that is shorter)
• Friday 9/20 - Pink Out Football Game; Survivor Ceremony on the field at halftime

As mentioned previously, BHS' school store, The Paw is OPEN for Pink Week ONLINE pre-orders starting Monday 7/15 and running through 9/2. There is a limited amount of pre-order online inventory available. This year there are also some YOUTH t-shirts (but not a lot). The remaining inventory will be sold in The Paw once school starts.

Link to order BHS Pink Week Items from The Paw

Pre-orders will be available for pick up (or delivery to BAS employees) starting on 9/11 and running through 9/20. As always, 100% of proceeds generated by The Paw from Pink Week items will go toward BAS' donation to the Trinity Health Cancer Center in Brighton.

One of our Title Sponsors, Ivory Vines, also has a number of Pink Week items available for purchase. Apparel can be purchased online via their online store, with additional items available for purchase in-store. Online store purchases need to be made by 9/13.

We hope to see you at the week's events!

During the Pink Out Game (Friday, 9/20) cancer survivors and people currently battling cancer are invited to come on the field at halftime and release balloons for cancer awareness. There will be a table at the front where individuals can check in and cancer survivors and those currently battling cancer get into the game for free. The informational flyer on the Pink Week Survivor Walk can be found here.

If you would like to sign up to participate, please do so using the QR code on the flyer itself or you can do so through the link provided.

In addition to participating in BHS' Pink Week events, we are also offering businesses the opportunity to serve as Pink Week Sponsors or make donations to our Pink Week Raffle. If you or someone you know may be interested in participating in either of these opportunities to support a great cause, feel free to share our Pink Week Sponsorship and Donation Flyer.

Each year, the Livingston County Health Department conducts vision screening for all of our 9th grade students. This year, vision screening will take place on Wednesday, October 2nd and Thursday, October 3rd. For additional information please see the Vision Screening Information for Parents.

As a reminder, unless we are notified in advance that you would not like to have your 9th grade student screened, they will be included in the vision screening for the current school year. If you would like to opt your 9th grade student out of this year's vision screening, please contact either member of our building medical staff. Their contact information is listed below:

Cadie Godfrey - godfreyc@brightonk12.com

Sam Argento - argentos@brightonk12.com

Senior Class Council has put together a 1-page document with important information for the upcoming year that will be made available to all students at Back to School Registration, and can also be found here. However, there are some dates included below that you may want to put on your calendar now and your student may want to participate in.

Monday, September 9th - Senior Sunrise in the BHS Stadium starting @ 6:30 am

Wednesday, October 23rd - Senior Meeting in the BCPA during 1st and 2nd Hour

Wednesday, February 5th - Junior vs. Senior Volleyball Game in the BHS Fieldhouse @ 7:30 pm

Wednesday, March 5th - Senior Class Council 3 on 3 Basketball Tournament

Tuesday, April 22nd - Staff vs. Student Basketball Game

Friday, April 25th - BHS Lip Dub

Monday, May 19th to Friday, May 23rd - National Honor Society's Senior Survivor Week

Tuesday, May 27th - Seniors' Last Full Day

Wednesday, May 28th to Friday, May 30th - Senior Exams

Thursday, May 29th - Senior Sunset in the BHS Stadium starting @ 8 pm

Friday, May 30th - Cap and Gown Pick Up starting @ 8 am

Friday, May 30th - Senior Walk at BHS starting @ 9:45 am (family and friends encouraged to attend)

Friday, May 30th - Senior Picnic in the BHS Stadium following the Senior Walk @ approx. 10:30 am

Friday, May 30th - Senior Elementary Walk (more information to come) @ approx. 11:30 am

Wednesday, June 4th - Summa Cum Laude Breakfast (invite only) in the BHS Cafeteria @ 8 am (parents invited)

Wednesday, June 4th - MANDATORY Graduation Practice in the BHS Fieldhouse @ 10 am

Friday, June 6th - Brighton High School Commencement Ceremony in the BHS Stadium @ 7 pm (rain date is Saturday, June 7th @ 7pm)

Saturday, June 7th - Senior All-Night Party at BHS from 10 pm - 4 am

We have received a few questions about the Senior Fee you may have seen in your student's SBA account that you can pay for, and would like to clarify what is included in this fee. The Senior Fee includes:

• Class T-Shirt (when you select a Senior Fee to add to your student's account, pick the one with their correct shirt size)
• Senior Gift (selected and distributed by the Senior Class Council later in the year)
• Yard Sign (these are the signs with your student's picture on them that are posted in front of the school at the end of the year and outside the stadium during Graduation that will go home with you following Graduation)
• Graduation Expenses (including unlimited tickets for each student)
• Other Senior-Only Events during the year

*If you have not done so already, please pay this Senior Fee as soon as possible as it will allow our Senior Class Council to order the correct number of each size shirt. This will enable us to have all Senior Class T-Shirts on hand prior to the Homecoming Assembly and also for the 1st Senior Class Meeting in October when we will be taking the class composite picture.

Senior Sunrise is this week! On Monday, September 9th at 6:30 am out at the BHS Stadium, we will have our annual Senior Sunrise Breakfast. Much planning by the Senior Class Council and their advisors goes into this event and making it one our Seniors will remember. Thank you to those of you who have volunteered to help pull this off, either by donating your time or provided the resources needed to feed a hungry group of students on Monday morning!

We are still looking for donations for a number of items for Monday morning if you are interested in contributing. The sign-up for donations can be found here. Thank you for considering!

Earlier this summer, Mrs. Richards sent out the BHS Bulldog Senior Bulletin. It includes information on the college application process, including tips for completing applications, admissions essays/personal statements, and letters of recommendation. Mrs. Richards also shared information about the Michigan Achievement Scholarship and Community College Guarantee that you may find useful as you investigate postsecondary options available to your student.

In addition to this, each year the Senior Class Council produces an information sheet that is a one-stop shop for all things Senior year. View this year's Senior Class Council Information Sheet here. We would encourage you to have your student follow the social media accounts listed and also join the Remind App listed at the bottom of the page based on their last name to receive updates over the course of the year.

As a reminder, Common App officially open for this year's Seniors. If you have any questions prior to applying, please don't hesitate to reach out to the BHS Counseling Department or to any BHS Administrator and we would be more than happy to assist you. Common App can be a great option depending on your application plans, but there is no rush to get your applications in as soon as it opens. You want to make sure your application is as strong as possible prior to submitting and we are here to assist with that to the best of our abilities.

You may not be able to apply to some schools via Common App, or you may make the decision to apply directly to a certain school via their website. You will, however, still need to submit a copy of your transcript as part of the application process. For prospective college athletes, you will also need to send a copy of your transcript to the NCAA Eligibility Center to ensure you are eligible to compete. If you need to send a copy of your transcript to a school for any reason, you have the ability to submit a request via Parchment. All schools have the ability to receive transcripts through this method. Directions for how to create an account and request a transcript be sent via Parchment can be found here. Please do not request transcripts be sent to a personal email address via Parchment. We can get your student a copy of their transcript, but we do not utilize Parchment to do this. They can stop in the Counseling Office at any point in time to receive a copy of their transcript directly.

We held our meeting for the parents of all incoming Seniors last spring in preparation for students' Senior year. Mrs. Richards, Mrs. Grossfeld, and Ms. Farina discussed a number of different things that are part of a student's Senior year, including the college application process. Scholarships, FAFSA, and financial aid are all a part of that.

If you were unable to attend the meeting, linked below are three documents to help get you organized for your big senior year.

Class of 2025 - Future Senior Presentation

Future Senior Quick Info Sheet (this is a one-pager condensed version of the presentation)

Future Senior FAQs (we will continue to add questions and answers to this document as they arise)

We want Senior year to be a year students and parents enjoy, not something that is stressful for them! Having the right information and getting your questions answered is an important part of helping make that happen. We are here to help!

We are regularly looking for potential scholarship for our students to help offset the cost of any type of postsecondary education our students pursue. One of these options is the scholarship directory. Within this directory, you can find scholarships available for a variety of different categories. Scholarships specific to this year's Seniors can be found here. You will find scholarship information for a multitude of scholarships dated as far out as August 31, 2025. You may also be interested in some of the Michigan-specific scholarships listed as a separate category. This page is one of many resources available for students when it comes to potential scholarship opportunities so we would encourage you to check it out! Our counseling website also includes pages for both local/state and national scholarships that your student may apply for.

If you need to meet with your student's Grade Level Principal for any reason, please don't hesitate to reach out. If your student has a 504 and is returning to BHS this fall, you should have received an additional communication offering you the opportunity to have your student's support plan continue as written, or the chance to meet to address any necessary changes. If your student has a 504 and is an incoming Freshman, you have received an additional communication asking you to set up a time to meet to discuss the plan in greater detail, in order to help facilitate a smooth transition to a new environment in the fall. To contact your student's Grade Level Principal, please see the information below:

Mr. Matt Evans (10th grade)

Phone: (810) 299 - 4101

Email: evansm@brightonk12.com

Schedule an Appointment Directly

Mrs. Tracie Richards (12th grade)

Phone: (810) 299 - 4114

Email: richardst@brightonk12.com

Schedule an Appointment Directly

Mr. Nate Grabowski (11th grade)

Phone: (810) 299 - 4103

Email: grabown@brightonk12.com

Schedule an Appointment Directly

Mrs. Jennifer Napuli (9th grade)

Phone: (810) 299 - 4112

Email: napulij@brightonk12.com

Schedule an Appointment Directly

The August Edition of the BHS Counseling Newsletter can be found here.

You can also view the BHS College and Career Calendar here.

As a reminder, if you would like to meet with your student's counselor for any reason, you can reach the Counseling Office at (810) 299-4150. You can also schedule an appointment with their counselor using the following links below:

Incoming 9th Grader: Mrs. Petit - https://bit.ly/MrsPetit

Incoming 10th Grader: Mrs. Caverly - https://bit.ly/MrsCaverly

Incoming 11th Grader: Mr. Miner - https://bit.ly/MrMiner

Incoming 12th Grader: Mrs. Grossfeld - https://bit.ly/MrsGrossfeld

As a part of the BAS Strategic Plan, we are always trying to find ways to maximize and support Student Growth. One of many ways we do this is through the Brighton Area Schools App. This app can be downloaded for free on iTunes and Google Play. It is loaded with resources for students and parents. In addition, consider using the "Your Best, Your Growth, Your Future" part of the app to submit a goal and receive 1:1 support and feedback to help you achieve it!

Each year we remind students of the importance of finding ways to get involved within their school community. In addition to being academically engaged, another excellent way to accomplish this is through participation in BHS athletics or extracurricular clubs. We share this information now as many of our fall athletics teams have tryouts/practices prior to school starting. The same is true of some of our clubs/teams. For more information on these groups, please see the information below:

Brighton High School Fall Athletics Information

Brighton High School Clubs/Extra Curriculars

The Michigan School Meals program was approved again for the 2024-2025 school year. We will provide breakfast and lunch at no cost to students or families again this year. Families are still encouraged to fill out an Education Benefits Application, formerly known as the Free/Reduced Meals Application. You can do this online through MiStar, download a PDF from the BAS website or request a paper copy.

Please see the Michigan School Meals Flyer for more information on the program or review the information from the Student Nutrition Department on accessing this program within Brighton Area School.

Just a reminder that students will need to know their Student ID Number in order to make purchases in the BHS Cafeteria this year. Their Student ID Number is the same number that makes up their school email address and they will be able to type it in when going to make any type of cafeteria purchase. If a student does not currently know their Student ID Number, they can stop into any office and we would be happy to provide it to them.

We will be reminding students about this over the course of the week, but we would appreciate your assistance in reminding students at home as well. Please encourage our students to make sure they are doing the best they can to clean up after themselves in the cafeteria or any other building space they may be eating their lunch. It goes a long way, even if they are just making sure all of their trash ends up in a garbage can. This helps keep tables clean and ready for the next student that comes in to sit down and enjoy their lunch. Our custodial and student nutrition staff do an excellent job keeping things running smoothly and available for our students, so we would appreciate any support in this area. Thank you!

Brighton High School's student section, Ruff N Rowdy, has announced the themes for this year's football games. Themes for each week are listed below:

• 8/29 @ Saline - White Out
• 9/6 vs. Salem (Youth Night) - Orange Out
• 9/13 @ Northville - Hawaiian
• 9/20 vs. Novi (Pink Week) - Pink Out
• 9/27 @ Hartland - Neon
• 10/4 vs. Canton (Veteran's Game) - USA
• 10/11 vs. Plymouth (Homecoming) - Black and Orange
• 10/18 @ Howell - Student Choice
• 10/25 vs. KLAA Crossover (Senior Night) - Country vs. Country Club

This year we will be bringing the Big Red Barrel Project to Brighton High School! After numerous deaths throughout Livingston County that were attributed to drug overdoses, the Big Red Barrel Project was created as a place to allow community members to safely dispose of their unwanted medications. Since it began, the Big Red Barrel Project's efforts have resulted in the secure and environmentally safe disposal of over 30 tons (or 60,000 pounds) of drugs.

Volunteers will be set up at BHS Football games on September 20th and October 25th with the goal of providing attendees the opportunity to dispose of unused medications/sharps/etc. safely. For more information on the Big Red Barrel Project, click here.

This year, Cleary University will be hosting the Livingston County College Fair. The event will be held on Wednesday, September 25th from 6 - 8 pm. The Livingston County College Fair is open to students of all grades, and it is never too early to just start gathering information about what options may be available to your student as they begin their postsecondary planning. Students are strongly encouraged to register in advance if they plan to attend. For more information, or to register to attend, click here.

On September 28th, Veterans Connected will be holding their 4th Annual Ruck To Live Event. This year, Veterans Connected is making a special effort to include civilians in the remembrance as they recognize that mental health is a concern for all of us, not just the veteran community. In addition to their 8 Mile Ruck, their 1 Mile Patriotic Family Walk is perfect for everyone in the community to support each other in raising awareness for this crucial cause. It is filled with educational and patriotic displays of our nation's history, military branches, our flag, Pledge of Allegiance, and more. They have partnered with several civilian mental health and suicide prevention organizations for this event and would like to see the event grow even more this year. This year, they will also have elementary-aged children lead the Pledge Of Allegiance prior to the beginning of the closing ceremony, roughly around 12:30pm as another opportunity to get involved.

For more information, or to get involved with this upcoming event, please see the information below:

Registration Link: https://cbo.io/veteransconnected/Participants

Facebook Event Page: https://www.facebook.com/share/Akf96f3hoHN8yJ7B/

Veterans Connected, located right in downtown Brighton on Main Street, has been proudly serving veterans and their families in Livingston County and surrounding areas since 2019, with assistance, support, and resources to ensure our local veterans are never left behind.

Each year, former BHS Counselor Lynn Gregg spends his time at BHS events taking pictures to capture the special memories made by our students. He was at the football game Friday night doing just that. If you are interested in the pictures from Friday night's game or any of the other events he has previously been in attendance for, you can view his online gallery. Pictures are also available or purchase if you see anything you like!

Matt Evans, Lead Principal, Grade Level Principal Class of 2027

Website: https://www.brightonk12.com/Domain/465
Location: Brighton High School, Brighton Road, Brighton, MI, USA
Phone: (810)299-4100
Twitter: @BrightonHS