Honey Creek Community School

The Sunday News from Honey Creek

Sunday,

Sept. 3, 2023

Summer Turns to Fall

Good Afternoon Honey Creek Families,

On behalf of the entire Honey Creek staff, we are looking forward to the start of school this Tuesday and the fun and educational year ahead!

As we begin the year, we want to review some last-minute but very important safety items.

New Parents

If you haven't done so already, please make sure all enrollment paperwork has been submitted to Mariolga. If you're unsure, you can email her here.

Returning Parents

If you haven't already done so, please stop by the office to review and update your emergency contact information. Every family must review and sign-off on this information even if there are no changes. Please make it a priority so we have accurate phone numbers to reach you when needed.

Urgent Text Alert Enrollment

If you haven't already or didn't receive the test text on August 25, please sign up for our urgent text alert system here. We use this platform to alert parents to unexpected changes in school scheduling (snow days, power outages, etc.). This is our primary method of communication in urgent situations so subscribe today.

Afternoon Carline

We consider afternoon carline to be a serious and important safety procedure. Speed is not our goal and patience is required from all. As we practice the process in the weeks ahead, it will soon take no more than 15 minutes. Please review our carline procedure here.

Parents can move through the carline as indicated to pick up their children or park in one of our lots and walk to the front of the school. Children in grades 4 and up are permitted to meet their parents/guardians in the parking lot by crossing at the main crosswalk. Please make sure to discuss your pick-up plans with your student(s) so they know what to do.

I'm sad to say that members of our staff as well as other drivers have been subjected to verbal abuse and obscene gestures during afternoon carline in recent years. Not only is this inconsistent with Honey Creek's values, it's unsafe to drive while angry. This year we're asking for and looking forward to every adult's help in making the start and end of each school day a safe and positive experience for students, families and staff alike.

Medications of Any/All Kinds

If your child takes a prescription medication or an occasional over-the-counter medication when needed at school, you must complete a state-required medication form in the office and leave the medications in their original bottle with us. Please make this a priority during the first few days of school.

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If you have remaining questions about school procedures or would like to learn more about our academic interventions, special services, board of trustees or PTO, join us in the cafeteria on Tuesday from 8:30 to 9:00 am where each will be represented.

Please note we're also archiving our past Sunday Newsletters on our website here. Scroll down and they are listed by both date and subject.

See you Tuesday morning!

Thank you,

Kevin

Kevin Kelly

[email protected]

Executive Director

REMINDER:

Tuesday is a Half-Day of School from

8 am to Noon

23-24 Academic Calendar

Family Feedback Portal

Volunteer Sign-Up Site

Parent-Teacher Organization

Teaching Supplies Sign-Up

HC Media Center Link

Click for Pandemic Response Resources

Click for Latest 10-Day Transmission Table

Interested in Girl Scouts?

Troops are being organized at all grade levels but we need more adult leaders and troop volunteers to make it happen!

For more information on joining scouts or helping with a troop, complete this Interest Form. Heidi Ellis, our current troop coordinator at Honey Creek, will contact you with more details.

Middle School Camp Fall 2023!

The middle schoolers are going to CAMP! Since the beginning of Honey Creek Middle School we have attended camp in the fall, with the exception of the COVID years. Beginning our year at camp brings wonderful opportunities to build community, get to know each other (outside of the school), play hard and work hard together to expand our comfort zones, and to have a lot of fun! It’s truly a great way to start the year that has rippling benefits throughout the year.

There will be an information meeting after the first half day of school, Tuesday, September 5th at 12:15 pm in the cafeteria. We will be leaving for camp on Monday, September 11th and returning on Thursday, September 14th. Since building community is one of our goals, we welcome parents to participate. There will be many opportunities for you to be involved, whether you’re able to come to camp or help prepare from home. After the information meeting we will send out a sign-up sheet with description of different ways to be involved. We will discuss the cost of camp for your child and financial support as needed.

The packing list for camp can be found here.

We are truly grateful for this opportunity to work with your child and look forward to talking about it more with you.

The Middle School Team,

- Joe, Chris C., Chris P., Josh & Cindy

PTO 2023-24

Welcome back from the HC PTO!

Bridgette Carr (PTO President)

Amie Andersen (PTO-Vice President)

Melanie Baird (PTO Secretary)

Elizabeth Meurer (PTO Treasurer)

The PTO's first meeting is this Friday, September 8th from 8:00 - 9:15 a.m. in Room 144. Please join us to review and share your feedback on our budget for the year, to hear about the exciting plans we have coming up and to learn more about opportunities to volunteer.

September 8th Meeting Agenda

June 2023 Meeting Minutes

Can't make it? No problem. You can review the 2023-24 budget and email any feedback to our PTO Chair at [email protected].

We could also use your help. If you haven't done so already, please complete the PTO Volunteer Interest Form to indicate which volunteer areas you are interested in and someone from that committee will connect to share more information.

Thank you!

After-Care Spanish

K-5 w/ Language Adventure

This After-Care program will feature eight (8) weekly sessions starting September 26.

Day: Tuesday

Time: 3:30-4:30 PM (students are supervised until Spanish starts)

Dates: 9/26 to 11/28/23 (no class 10/31 & 11/21)

Fee: $185 (early bird fee $175 by 9/18)

Program Highlights:

Students have lots of fun while learning useful Spanish vocabulary, phrases, and dialogs for daily conversation
Our highly interactive curriculum includes games, songs, stories, and engaging activities designed for each age group
All class materials are included in the fee

Email Sue here for more info or to sign up!

Meet Jo Brown

New Honey Creek Social Worker

Jo Brown is an Eastern Michigan University School of Social work alumni. Jo started her social work career working with parents in recovery from a substance use disorder. She also worked with adults who have intellectual or developmental disabilities for Washtenaw County Community Mental Health.

Jo is passionate about mental wellness and equipping our students with the language and coping skills they need to be successful at Honey Creek. As a mother of four, Jo understands the importance of parent input and involvement in students’ education.

In her spare time, she enjoys gardening, singing, crafting and playing board games with her family.

Welcome Jo here!

Honey Creek After-Care 2023-24

There's Much to do After School at Honey Creek!

We're looking forward to another fun and busy year of after school programming at Honey Creek. All after school clubs and activities fall under the Honey Creek After School Program. All students who wish to participate in any after school club, sport, care, or activity (except children participating ONLY in Girl Scouts, A2 Rec & Ed, or other groups which carry their own insurance) must be enrolled in the Honey Creek After School Program.

If your child has already attended camp this summer, you only need to add the "After School Enrollment 2023" registration if you have not already done so.

You can learn more about the After School Program here.