Hornet Nation,

Next week we will welcome more than 1,230 K-12 learners into our school community. As I was sharing with our teachers earlier this week, free public education is one of the great American success stories. Like other countries, both before and after the American Revolution, available schools typically were not in rural areas, required tuition, and often excluded non-white children.

By the latter part of the 19th century, many more children were attending publicly-supported schools. Rural areas still lacked the number of schools needed, and segregation still existed in many parts of the country. In the first quarter of the 20th century, we saw the implementation of public high school, and the structure of many neighborhoods, town, and cities building up around the local school system, with the schools as the community hub. Today, in Michigan, we have over 500 school districts serving more than one million learners.

The word "community" is right there in our name. We don't exist separately from you - we are a vital part of our Harrison community, just as you are. On August 12, our Board of Education approved our five year Strategic Plan (see below), which seeks to strengthen and grow our schools and our whole community. Our three main goals are Achievement, Culture, and Excellence. They were formulated in large part based on the feedback we received from you in the spring survey.

As we proceed into the fall, please keep an eye out for community events that will feature our Strategic Plan and our daily/weekly actions to implement it and measure its impact. Elevating our students' future stories requires that we all lift together, and our individual loads are lighter when we do so.

Have a great start to the school year!

In partnership and with Hornet Pride,

Judy

Judy Walton

juwalton@harrisonschools.com

989.539.7871

The staff of Harrison Community Schools, in the spirit of a growing and changing community, pledge to educate all students by teaching the District Curriculum and beyond, ensuring the development of responsible learners prepared to take an active role in a complex society.

Honesty: We believe in being truthful in our actions and communications, and fostering a culture of honesty, trust, and integrity.

Openness: We believe in a culture of collaboration and transparency, where students, staff, and families openly share ideas and information.

Respect: We believe in an inclusive and respectful learning environment for all, and we value the diverse background of each individual.

Neighborliness: We believe in being welcoming and inviting to each person who walks through our doors. We also believe in being a good neighbor beyond our schools’ walls, actively engaged with our local community, and instilling a sense of civic pride and responsibility.

Excellence: We believe in striving for excellence in all we do, and encouraging both academic and personal growth through hard work and commitment.

Trust: We believe in a culture of reliability and confidence, where students, staff, and families work together to foster trust.

Stewardship: We believe in embedding good stewardship and governance into our decisionmaking to ensure long-term success and well being.

Please help us welcome the following new teachers to Hornet Nation:

• Cori Bingham (Larson)
• Dillon Decker (Middle School)
• Kaitlin Glazier (Larson)
• Kayla Junge (Larson)
• Clint Kern (High School - Hive Campus)
• Vanessa Lang (Larson)
• Quinton Larion (Middle School/High School)
• Gretchen Martin (Middle School)
• Baylee Mashue (MIddle School)
• Hannah McGahey (Larson)
  
• Chelsea Overholt (Middle School)
• Luke Prielipp (Middle School)

Always, but especially next week, please pay attention to approved traffic patterns and parking if you are driving to and/or picking your students up from school. Scroll toward the bottom of this newsletter, and you will see those approved patterns. Please also remember that the speed limit on campus is 25 mph.

We welcomed our teachers back on Tuesday, August 20, for three days of professional learning. One of our first goals was to fully lean into our Guiding Beliefs. Each team was given seven eggs to care for -- each one representing a different belief -- while they went out into the community to find or display each belief.

We welcomed our students and families into our schools on August 21 to meet teachers, pick up schedules, and just enjoy a sense of community.

August 24: JV & Varsity Volleyball @ Morey Courts (Irish Invite), Time TBD

August 27: Varsity Volleyball @ Roscommon, 5:30 pm

August 28: JV Football @ Pine River, 6:30 pm

August 29: Varsity Football vs Pine River @ Home, 7:00 pm

Immunizations are available at the Central Michigan Health Department. For more information, click here.

Any parent/guardian who wants to claim a nonmedical waiver will need to receive education regarding the benefits of vaccination and the risks of disease from a county health department before obtaining the certified nonmedical waiver form through the Local Health Department. The new rule requires the use of the State of Michigan nonmedical waiver form dated January 2023. You can use the same link above for more information.

Beginning this school year, all kindergartners are required to have a dental assessment. If you have a private dentist, please use the form below. If you do not have a private dentist, you can obtain a dental assessment at no charge from the Central Michigan Health Department.

Would you like to be more involved in your child's school? Do you have time during the school day or just after to volunteer? We would welcome you with open arms!

In order to volunteer, you simply fill out and submit an iChat form (linked below). This enables us to run a criminal background check in short order, to ensure the safety of all students you may come into contact with. Assuming nothing of concern shows up, you are all set to help out wherever your school may need you -- the cafeteria, the playground, the gym, a field trip, or an individual classroom, just to name a few. If you would like to view our Board Policies in regard to volunteering, please view Board Policy 4205 and Board Policy 4205 on our website.

If your home/work responsibilities don't allow you to spend time with us during or right after school, there are still ways to support. Perhaps that might be chaperoning an evening event, or helping to organize a fundraiser for a team or group. Just reach out!

Based on information from the CDC and our local health department, upon testing positive, children should stay out of school until: 1) if there was a fever, 24 hours of being fever-free without the use of medicines to reduce fever; and 2) symptoms are improving. It is also recommended that a mask be worn for 5 days after returning to school. We will be following the same protocol for our staff.

All Board meetings are open to the public, and are conducted in compliance with the Michigan Open Meetings Act. On rare occasions, the Board may go into closed session, but only as allowed by the OMA.

If it is your first time attending a Board meeting, you may not be familiar with the structure. Make sure you pick up an agenda on your way in, and if you intend to speak during the portion designated for public comments, please pick up a copy of Board Policy 2504, which is near the copies of the agenda. This will explain the parameters of the public comment portion of the agenda.

As you observe the Board conduct its business, the agenda will guide you. Common agenda sections are as follows:

• Opening of the Meeting (welcome, Pledge of Allegiance, additions/corrections to agenda/minutes, building instructional highlight, any other "organizational" items)
• Consent Agenda (items for approval that do not require a roll-call vote, and without objection from a Board member, can be considered all together)
• Non-Consent Agenda (one or more items that require a separate roll-call vote, such as budget approval)
• Informational Items (examples include resignations, other presentations, etc.)
• Public Comments (3 minutes each, Board members do not respond during the 3 minutes so that each speaker gets their full time; after, Board members may, but do not have to, pose questions or make statements)
• Communication (Superintendent's Report - includes subject matter of public comments; any other Board communication)
• Discussion Items (other matters any Board member may choose to speak about; may relate to public comments but not required)
• Adjournment

Within 8 business days of the meeting, minutes are posted on our website.

Zachary Driver -- Kendra Durga -- Therese Haley

James Neff -- Chelsea Roland -- Betsy Ulicki -- Carrie Whitaker

August 12: Board of Education meeting, 5:30 pm

August 19: High School CTE students begin their CTE programs at the CGRESD

August 26: All K-12 students begin in Harrison Community Schools

August 26-29: GSRP (preK) home visits (will be scheduled)

August 29/September 2: No school

September 3: GSRP (preK) first day of school

• Early Childhood & Larson Elementary, 989.539.3259 (Principal Andrea Andera, aandera@harrisonschools.com, Assistant Principal Sandy Hargraves, shargraves@harrisonschools.com)
• Middle School, 989.539.7194 (Principal Jennifer Thrush, jthrush@harrisonschools.com, Assistant Principal Brad Carlstrom, bcarlstrom@harrisonschools.com)
• Hive, 989.539.7417 (Principal Stacey VanAntwerp, svanantwerp@harrisonschools.com)
• High School, 989.539.7417 (Principal Joe Ashcroft, jjashcroft@harrisonschools.com, Assistant Principal/Athletic Director Brad Carlstrom, bcarlstrom@harrisonschools.com)

Superintendent, 989.539.7871 (Judy Walton, juwalton@harrisonschools.com)

Special Education (Stacey VanAntwerp, svanantwerp@harrisonschools.com)

Homeless Child/Youth Services (Shannon Haines, shaines@harrisonschools.com)

Bus Services, 989.539.7082 (Kelli Whitaker, kwhitakerclaffey@harrisonschools.com)

Allowed waiting area for afternoon pick-up at Larson is on West Hornet Drive, highlighted in orange