Teacher and Student Points of Pride

The eighth grade students in Mrs. Colburn's Technology class are learning positive ways to use technology as a way promote better understanding and awareness for classmates that have disabilities. We all have something that makes us a little different than one another, but when those differences effect a persons abilities to fit in with their peers, a little understanding and kindness can go a long way. There are many disabilities, some are easier to notice than others. For example a person in a wheel chair its easier to understand that they have difficulty walking, where as a person with Asperger's (High Functioning Autism) may have difficulty with social situations and changes to their routine that are not as easily recognised. At Highlander Way the 8th grade students in Mrs. Colburn's Technology class have worked hard this quarter to provide a better understanding of their peers that have disabilities. They want to educate their fellow classmates and teachers on the facts and myths that are associated with some of these disabilities. The students put together videos similar to a Public Service Announcement. These videos captured three disabilities that affect students in their school, Autism, Cerebral Palsy and OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder). The students researched the facts and myths of each disability, did personal interviews and produced these short films. People with a disability can do everything a so called normal person can do, they just may do it differently. It is the hope of these 8th grade students that through their videos there will be more understand and kindness and less teasing and bullying given to all those that have so much to offer just in a different way. Please take the time to watch the outstanding job done by the HWMS 8th graders that with a little understanding, creativity and desire to make a difference... everyones abilities shine!

The Howell High School A cappella Choir has been invited to perform at the Michigan Music Convention, January 23, 2010 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. A cappella Choir will be the demonstration choir for this year's keynote speaker, Tom Clark. Mr. Clark has authored a book titled "Choral Charisma...Singing with Expression".
The concert/lecture session will take place in the Grand Ballroom of the J.W. Marriott in downtown Grand Rapids, from 1:00-3:00 on Saturday, January 23rd. The choir will perform seven choral selections and Mr. Clark will work on connecting the text with the music while connecting the music with the audience.
We are honored to be representing Howell High School and the Howell School District. Our singers will present excellence in their performance and decorum at this prestigious event.

Vetrans Day can be celebrated in many ways, some celebrate with songs and performances, others with parades, but the students in Mrs. Gardner's first grade class at Voyager Elementary celebrated with letters. This Veterans Day Mrs. Gardner and her students spent time reading about the importance of Veterans Day and what it means. They watched a video and had wonderful discussions. The students then wrote and sent letters to the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Battle Creek. The students were excited when they received the response to the letters they wrote. This was a positive way to celebrate Veterans day!

It's beginning to smell a lot like the holidays at Challenger Elementary School in Howell. The student's are baking and decorating holiday cookies, and the delicious smells coming from hallways are putting a smile on everyone's face. Music teacher, Brenda Hillaker, has coordinated the baking and has said it's something she's always wanted to do. She said, "Not only are we helping the community, but some of the students have never made Christmas cookies."

The students are rolling out, cutting and decorating sugar cookies which will be sold at the 3rd grade Holiday Spectacular concert at Challenger, December 3rd. The proceeds will be donated to LACASA. Some of the cookies will be given directly to LACASA for their fundraiser. The rest of the cookies will be given to seven Challenger families that staff and students are helping, this year.

Challenger Elementary staff helped LACASA last year with donations of paper goods. This large effort prompted the school's yearlong theme, S.O.G.G.Y. which stands for Spirit of Great Giving Year. Challenger students and staff kicked off their giving spirit at the beginning of the school year by holding a raffle of a handmade quilt featuring some of past Challengers Field Day t-shirts. The proceeds from the raffle and another quilt were donated to LACASA.

In past years Challenger has helped out a few families during the holidays with gifts and food donations. This year, the school is helping out seven Challenger families at Thanksgiving and Christmas and two Challenger families all year long. During these poor economic times, it's important to keep the spirit of giving going all year long. Each month these families will receive donations from the staff including winter wear, personal hygiene items, paper goods,books, and
more. The generous staff is really working together by donating items each month, and, they are a huge force in teaching the students about the importance of giving, doing the common good, all part of their curriculum.

Some of Challenger's classes or grade levels are doing special projects throughout the year, too. Kindergartners have made holiday placements for residents at Medilodge. Third graders are in charge of recycling efforts at Challenger and are teaching students about giving back to the Earth. Most students made a Christmas card for a young boy in South Lyon (who recently passed away) to celebrate his last Christmas. Many students wrote letters to veterans and military personnel during Veteran's day. When the Howell Post Office heard about Challenger's giving spirit, they wanted to take part and help out, too! They are helping one of the families with donations and have spread the giving even more. Future plans for giving include helping out the emergency service organizations, Humane Society, and more. The old saying, "It's better to give than receive", is really being taught at Challenger!

On Sunday October 18th, six staff members from Northwest Elementary participated in the Detroit Free Press 1/2 marathon. They laced up and were on their way to support the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. What started out as Mrs. Cotton, Northwest Principal supporting her mother who has been living with Multiple Myeloma, turned into to much more. "It was a great way to stay healthy, fit and a wonderful opportunity for team building",Cotton said. The six staff members paired up over the summer to train for the big event, some ran and some walked but ALL finished with impressive times! There are approximately 12 staff members signed up for a similar event taking place in May in Cleveland, OH and they already have a team established for next years Detroit Marathon. Three Cheers for, Kara Cotton, Joan Debrie, Sarah Needham,Tami Rossman, Kristi Terry and Liz Brown-Nall what a terrific accomplishment!

Howell Elementary School Students will soon have their artwork available across Michigan. That's because Their artwork contributions were included in a new book by Detroit Tiger Curtis Granderson called "All You Can Be" that tries to get kids excited about learning. Granderson and publisher Triumph Books are donating copies of the book to every public elementary school library in Michigan. The illustrations in this book were contributed by 29 fourth grade students from across Michigan. Among them are two students from Howell, Megan Pietila of Southwest Elementary and Ashley Hann of Hutchings Elementary. Their drawings were selected after the Michigan Department of Education held a contest asking kids to draw a picture of how they saw themselves in high school and how education could help them achieve that vision. Granderson chose the finalists to be included in the book, each of whom received a free autographed copy. All of the proceeds from the sale of the books will go towards purchasing school supplies for needy families as well establishing baseball programs in Michigan's urban areas.

Celebrating HWMS Choir Students

Three students from Highlander Way Middle School choir, Rachel Taylor, Rachel Dziabuda and Makayla Millington auditioned for and MADE the Michigan JH Honors Choir. They will sing in Grand Rapids at the DeVos Center for the Michigan Music Conference in January. We are very proud of their achievement!

Howell High School Principal Aaron Moran announced today that Hannah Schmidtke and Terese McQueen have been named Commended Students in the 2010 National Merit Scholarship Program. A Letter of Commendation from the school and National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC), which conducts the program, will be presented by the principal to these scholastically talented seniors.

About 34,000 Commended Students throughout the nation are being recognized for their exceptional academic promise. Although they will not continue in the 2010 competition for National Merit Scholarships, Commended Students placed among the top five percent of more than 1.5 million students who entered the 2010 competition by taking the 2008 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®).

"Recognition of high-achieving students is essential to advancing educational excellence in our nation," commented a spokesperson for NMSC. "As demonstrated by their outstanding performance in our highly competitive program, the young men and women named Commended Students represents some of the most academically talented students in our country. We sincerely hope this recognition will enhance their educational opportunities and encourage them in their pursuit of academic success."

Thirty-three students at Howell High School have earned AP Scholar Awards in recognition of their exceptional achievement on AP Exams.

The College Board's Advanced Placement Program® (AP®) provides motivated and academically prepared students with the opportunity to take rigorous college-level courses while still in high school, and to earn college credit, advanced placement or both for successful performance on the AP Exams. About 18 percent of the 1.6 million students worldwide who took AP Exams performed at a sufficiently high level to also earn an AP Scholar Award.

The College Board recognizes several levels of achievement based on students' performance on
AP Exams. At Howell High School: Nine students qualified for the AP Scholar with Distinction Award by earning an average grade of at least 3.5 on all AP Exams taken, and grades of 3 or higher on five or more of these exams.
These students are: Michael Brown, Alex Carignan, Stephen Harvey, Matthew Lewis, Terese McQueen, Zachary Murphy, Benjamin Preiser, Erica Shekell and Sarah Welock.

Seven students qualified for the AP Scholar with Honor Award by earning an average grade of at least 3.25 on all AP Exams taken, and grades of 3 or higher on four or more of these exams. These students are Monica Cauley, Samantha Gerutta, Stephanie Onderchanin, Jack Palmer, Tyler Smart, Jesse Soerries and Nathan Williams.

Seventeen students qualified for the AP Scholar Award by completing three or more AP Exams with grades of 3 or higher. The AP Scholars are Christopher Callaway, Renata Costa, Andrew Dhaenens, Eleanor Getschman, Joshua Grabijas, Ronald Heslip, David Hurley, Nora Kandler, Julie LaFond, Darcy McCreight, Brianne Papendick, Alexander A. Perkins, Michael Roskamp, James Rutkowski, Parisa Shahbaz, Audrianna Stevens and Tyler Zimmerman.

Of this year's award recipients at Howell High School, 10 are sophomores or juniors. These students have at least one more year in which to complete college-level work and possibly earn a higher-level AP Scholar Award.

Through 37 different college-level courses and exams, AP provides motivated and academically prepared students with the opportunity to earn college credit or advanced placement and stand out in the college admissions process. Each exam is developed by a committee of college and university faculty and AP teachers, ensuring that our exams are aligned with the same high standards expected by college faculty at some of the nation's leading liberal arts and research institutions. AP is accepted by more than 3,600 colleges and universities worldwide for college credit, advanced placement or both on the basis of successful AP Exam grades. This includes more than 90 percent of four-year institutions in the United States. Research consistently shows that AP students who score a 3 or higher on AP Exams (based on a scale from 1 to 5, with 5 being the highest) typically experience greater academic success in college and higher graduation rates than students who do not participate in AP.

The College Board is a not-for-profit membership organization whose mission is to connect students to college success and opportunity. Founded in 1900, the association is composed of more than 5,400 schools, colleges, universities and other educational organizations. Each year, the College Board serves seven million students and their parents, 23,000 high schools and 3,500 colleges through major programs and services in college admissions, guidance, assessment, financial aid, enrollment and teaching and learning. Among its best-known programs are the SAT®, the PSAT/NMSQT® and the Advanced Placement Program® (AP®). The College Board is committed to the principles of excellence and equity, and that commitment is embodied in all of its programs, services, activities and concerns.