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Tuesday, November 6 - Election Day
Please remember that there is no school on Tuesday, November 6 for election day. We also ask that you please remember to vote on that day. On your ballot will be the Howell Public Schools Securing Our Future Sinking Fund proposal. This is an expected no tax rate increase proposal that will provide the district with approximately 1.3 million dollars annually for ten years to fund upgrades to district security and perform major repairs to district buildings. To help educate voters on this proposal, the district has put together a short video, which you can view here. The district has also created a webpage to share details of the proposal which can be found at HowellSchools.com/SecuringOurFuture.
Fall Conferences
Conferences are November 8th and 13th (4:30 - 7:30 pm) Our goal is to have 100% parent participation for fall conferences. At this time you should have a meeting set with your child’s teacher. If not, please contact the teacher soon to schedule a day/time for your child’s conference.
Support and Service Person of the Year Nominations
We are accepting Nominations for the 2018/19 Support Person of the Year (secretary, main office clerk, library services coordinator, computer technician) and Service Person of the Year (special needs aide, general education aide, food service, and maintenance). These two awards honor our outstanding support and service people who make up the backbone of the district. Parents associated with Howell Public Schools are invited to nominate a candidate for these awards. Nominations may be submitted online by clicking here. Paper copies of the nomination form are available for pick-up in the main office of each school.
3rd Grade Music Concerts - Thursday, November 15th at 6 and 7 PM
Mark your calendars for our 3rd grade music performances on Thursday, November 15th. Ms. Hughes, Ms. Rainer, and Mrs. Swansey’s students will sing at 6 PM and Mrs. Dittmer’s and Mrs. Karaska’s students singing at 7 PM. Each performance should last around half an hour. Contact Mrs. Welty if you have any questions. You can also follow Ms. Welty’s classroom updates and pictures at her classroom Facebook page. Click hereto access her site.
Online Report Cards
Just a reminder that the district has moved to online report cards. First quarter report cards are now available in the PowerSchool Parent Portal. Instructions on how to set up your PowerSchool Parent Portal and how to access your child’s report card can be found at www.howellschools.com/powerschool. Please remember that online report cards are only available through the PowerSchool Parent Portal website, not the mobile app.
First Responders at Three Fires
We are lucky to have a great relationship with our local first responders (Livingston County Sheriff’s Department and Brighton Area Fire Department). They are always willing to support our school and help ensure that we are doing all that we can to help keep our students safe. To that end, our local first responders do attend and monitor our fire, lockdown and tornado drills. The goal of this is to help us evaluate our current practices and see if there are areas for improvement.
Welcome Karen Socia - Library Services Coordinator
For those of you who were not aware, Linda Cunningham, our Library Services Coordinator, took on a new position in Central Office on October 15th. If you are ever in the Registration Office she would love to see a familiar face! With Mrs. Cunningham’s departure, we are pleased to welcome Karen Socia as our new Library Services Coordinator. Mrs. Socia was the clerk at Southeast and Hutchings before accepting this position at Three Fires. Mrs. Socia comes to us with experience in an elementary school library and she is looking forward to this new role and getting to know and serve our students. She possesses experience that will allow her to immediately meet our staff and students’ needs.
Counselor’s Corner: What is Social-Emotional Learning?
It is an exciting time to be a student in Howell! Not only are classrooms committed to teaching academic and subject-area knowledge, but there is a district-wide trend of teaching social-emotional skills too! Social-emotional topics include, but are not limited to, fostering awareness of one’s own emotions, cultivating respect and care for others, establishing strong relationships, making ethical and responsible decisions, and handling adversity constructively. Classrooms use innovative techniques and interactive activities to teach these skills at school, but here are some easy strategies for practicing social-emotional skills at home!
- Empathize and Allow Them to Feel: Avoid shaming or talking kids out of feeling mad, sad, or frustrated. These emotions are inevitable and normal. Our job in those moments is to share our calm and offer strategies to get through the discomfort as quickly as possible. Go online and find a feelings chart. Use it to talk about different feelings and appropriate responses. Work together as a team to solve problems and manage feelings.
- Encourage a Growth Mindset: Kids need to know that our intelligence and skills aren’t fixed – they can change. They can get stronger or weaker depending on how much effort we are willing to apply. Just as a baby isn’t born talking but learns over time, they don’t know everything but can learn over time with work. Encourage kids to be resilient.
- Share a Story in a New Way: Read a book to your child that shows characters who experience different emotions (e.g., sad, happy, scared, worried, confused, etc.). Stop on a page where the character is showing the expression. Ask your child “What do you think he is feeling?” “Why is he feeling that way?” or “Look at her face, how can you tell that she is __?” Other questions could be “Have you ever felt___? What made you feel that way?” or “What will happen next?” or “What should he do?” Do not pause too long on one page and only continue the discussion as long as your child shows an interest.
- Use “I-statements”: “I feel…when you...I would like…”. This is a safe way to communicate your needs without offending someone or further upsetting a situation. For younger kids, you can use “bug” and “wish.” “It bugs me when...I wish you would…”.
- Reflect and Debrief: When it’s not the heat of the moment, talk to your child about past experiences. What worked? What could be improved for next time? Make a plan and set them up for success.
For more insight or support, please reach out to our School Counselor, Jeanie Nemeth at [email protected].
Early Childhood Programs Through the Livingston Educational Service Agency
The Livingston Educational Service Agency Early Childhood Programs currently has openings in its Head Start and Great Start Readiness Programs in Howell. These programs offer no-cost/ low-cost preschool to income eligible or children “at risk” who qualify under federal and state guidelines. Families meeting eligibility guidelines have access to learning opportunities, health and wellness, social and disability services, and other community resources. Children of all abilities are encouraged to apply. To find out more information about applying and to see if you are eligible, call 517-548-2100 or go to www.LivingstonESA.org.
Find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/threefireselementary, find our PTO on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ThreeFiresElementaryPTO/, find us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/HowellTFE
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