May 31, 2024

The end of the school year is in sight. It's been a busy couple of weeks as we wrap up an outstanding school year. Here's what I observed in buildings this week.

Harvest

• Students visiting the Ag Field Day at Saline High School

• Reading But No Elephants as a guide to teaching phonics components

• Young 5s and 3rd graders paired together in iLab and Media classes to work on Summer Stations geared around the 4 Cs (communication, collaboration, creativity, critical thinking)

• Families enjoying a family picnic with Kindergarten students

• Second graders engaged in a class read aloud of Hummingbird (the story of Olive, her bone disease, her magical bird, and a desire for friendship)

• Second graders concentrating on literacy skills

• Kindergarten students preparing a project for Father’s Day honoring dads, uncles, grandparents, and other important father figures

Woodland Meadows

• Students working on memory books to capture their second-grade classroom experience

• Second graders participating in a Junior Achievement lesson from a special guest speaker, Board of Education Vice President Steben, related to buying, bartering, and selling goods

• Third graders hosting the final Community Meeting to thank teachers for their memories at Woodland Meadows.

• Spending a half day with special Kindergarten students as a thank-you for their teacher’s participation in a Foundation for Saline Area Schools fundraiser.
  

Heritage

• 4th graders presenting their simple machines as part of the Rube Goldberg Expo- linking levers, pulleys, inclined planes, and other simple machines to accomplish a task

• 4th graders multiplying fractions and mixed numbers

• 5th graders participating in a Junior Achievement lesson on business and entrepreneurship

• 5th grade art students leaving their mark on the school completing a tube world- including an expression, image, or pattern the student wants to leave behind

Middle School

• 6th graders preparing their National Park Presentations in Canva

• 7th grade scientists participating in Science Olympics with events such as Making Waves Relays, Cell Charades and Olympic Science Trivia

• Multimedia II students working on storyboards to turn into animatic videos

• Geometry students studying for an exam on transformations (rotations, translations, etc.)

• ELA students preparing to give speeches on “something that relates to you”

High School

• FFA members hosting an Ag Field Day including animals, tractors, and hay rides

• Marketing II students taking inventory and cleaning as they close down the store for the year

• Attending a “Shark Tank” event where I asked questions and provide feedback to Marketing students related to student-created marketing ideas

• Architecture II students using Lumion software to make renderings for a “Downtown Shop Studios” project

• Seniors saying farewell on their last day enjoying a pancake breakfast, signing yearbooks, and collecting their alumni yard signs

Liberty

• Alternative High School senior recognition highlighting a 100% graduation rate and adding the names of graduates to the Wall of Fame

• Young Adult students enjoying an end-of-the-year picnic

• Pooh Corner preschool students walking across the Millpond Bridge at their graduation

I am pleased to congratulate District Nurse, Karan Hervey, on her recent Distinguished Service Award from the Michigan School Nurses Association. The award acknowledges a person who has continually supported or uniquely contributed to the Michigan Association of School Nurses, school nursing, or school health services in the past five years. Karan is a gift both to her profession and to our entire District. Congratulations Karan!

June is National Gun Violence Awareness month. The State of Michigan passed the Safe Storage Law (Public Act 17 of 2023) to help protect Michigan families – particularly children – from the tragedies of gun violence and unintentional firearms injuries, requiring secure storage of firearms. The law requires individuals to keep unattended weapons unloaded and locked with a locking device or stored in a locked box or container if it is reasonably known that a minor is likely to be present on the premises.

We encourage families to Be SMART around firearms by securing all firearms in your home and vehicles, modeling responsible behavior around firearms, asking about the presence of unsecured firearms in other homes, recognizing the role of firearms in suicide, and talking to peers about safe firearm storage. The City of Saline offers free gun locks which can be picked up at Saline City Hall during normal business hours.

The Saline Area Schools Board of Education’s Sex Education Advisory Board will host two public hearings to present their recommendation for updated adolescent health curriculum for students in grades 4-8. These updates will provide students with high-quality, evidence-based curriculum that addresses the needs of students to make informed decisions about their health and interact appropriately with peers. The selected curriculum will also align our adolescent health program with state and national education standards. The selected curriculum will be presented at the first public hearing, scheduled for June 10 at 6 p.m. at the Liberty Board Room. A second public hearing will be held before the curriculum is recommended to the SAS Board of Education for adoption this fall in order to be delivered in classrooms during the 2024-25 school year.

Families interested in a more thorough review of the proposed curriculum may access it at

The Saline Area Schools District Office at Liberty School starting on June 11 within normal business hours. Appointments to review the curriculum are recommended by calling the District Office at 734-401-4000. Families unable to review the curriculum during scheduled business hours that would like to request a special accommodation may contact the District Office.

As we look ahead to 2024-25 school year, existing families will be asked to complete an Intent to Return form by accessing a unique link/snapcode. We will begin sending these codes to families on a rolling basis throughout the week of June 3. These forms provide important information about your student so we can plan their successful return to the District in the fall.

Starting the week of June 17, the Saline Area Schools District Office will be observing summer hours, open Monday-Thursday, 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Additionally, the District Office will be closed to the public July 1-12. Individuals may be available to meet by appointment outside of these times. Regular business hours will resume the week of August 5.

We recognize that a summer without school breakfast and lunches can create a hardship for families. Saline Area Social Services provides supplemental food to anyone who needs it in the form of a to-go bag. Additionally, Saline Area Social Services is able to provide additional support to families who meet certain income parameters. Learn more about the services and resources provided by Saline Area Social Services on their website.

SAS and Saline Community Education are excited to offer the new Summer Boosters series for students who could benefit from a review of key academic content from the previous year(s). These classes cover a range of academic subjects and grades, are taught by SAS teachers, and are meant to:

• Address unfinished learning

• Help to meet grade-level academic standards

• Provide additional academic assistance to students at risk of falling behind their peers

Boosters are NOT meant to:

• Accelerate learning beyond grade/course level

• Earn credits

Registration is open now and there are still spaces available in most classes! We are able to offer a limited number of scholarships through the 23g State MiKids Back onTrack grant. For further information on Boosters classes, please refer to the Frequently Asked Questions.

Saline Area Schools has partnered with Care Solace to help families ease the burden of identifying mental health and substance abuse services. Care Solace is a confidential care hub with a network of over 425,000 providers and services, available to families 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Care Solace is a complimentary and confidential service provided to Saline Area Schools students, staff, and their families. Care Solace can help families navigate providers, insurance, Medicaid, Medicare, and sliding scale payment options for those without insurance.

Families can access Care Solace in three ways:

• Call 888-515-0595 anytime. Multilingual support is available 24/7/365. A dedicated care companion will help you research options, secure appointments, and follow-up to make sure the provider is a good fit.

• Search anonymously to get matched with an extensive list of care providers at www.caresolace.com/salineschools.

• Contact your school social worker, and they will submit a referral on your behalf.

Information on individual treatment providers is gathered by Care Solace based on criteria such as geographic proximity, whether the provider accepts the authorized user’s insurance, and whether the provider is accepting new patients. The school district does not recommend, endorse, promote, or refer to any of the individual treatment providers.

Families or students experiencing a life-threatening emergency or mental health crisis, please call 911 or The Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988. Care Solace is not an emergency response service or mental health services provider.

• June 2: High School Commencement, 6 p.m., Hornet Stadium
• June 3 (Week Of): Intent to Return Forms Sent to Families via Email
• June 5: K-12 Half Day
• June 6: K-12 Half Day- Last Day of School
• June 10: Sex Education Public Hearing, 6 p.m., Liberty School Board Room
• June 11: Board of Education Meeting, 6:30 p.m., Liberty School Board Room including recognition of our retirees
• June 21: Saline Area Schools Historical Archive Open House, 1-4 p.m., Liberty School Board Room
• June 21: Saline Alumni Banquet, 5 p.m., Saline Middle School Cafeteria (Ticket Sales End June 10)

This is the last Community Update as we head into summer break. I am always impressed at the growth that your students demonstrate over the course of a year. I am grateful for the dedication of our teachers and staff, the hard work and focus of our amazing students, and for the support of this community!

We will resume our Community Updates in August as we head into the 2024-25 school year. We are already excited to welcome your students back on August 26! Have a tremendous summer break!

Sincerely,

Stephen D. Laatsch, PhD
Superintendent
Saline Area Schools, The Pursuit of Excellence
7265 N. Ann Arbor St., Saline, Michigan 48176
734-401-4001
laatschs@salineschools.org

Instagram:@educatesaline