District Updates: Wednesday, August 11, 2021 

Dear Families,

It is hard to believe that we will be starting the 2021-2022 school year in a week. As we near the first day of school on August 18, 2021, I wanted to provide you with some information regarding how we will return to school and resources to make the start of the new school year easier.

Currently, we will start the school year recommending that all students and staff wear a mask while indoors except while eating meals. This is not a mandate but does align with the guidance we have received from the Livingston County Health Department (LCHD) and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS). With that said, due to a Center for Disease Control mandate, masks will be required by students and staff while on school buses.

While most of the MDHHS Epidemic Orders have been rescinded, an order issued on October 6, 2020, regarding the Reporting of Confirmed and Probable Cases of COVID-19 at Schools remains in effect. This means that it is still likely that we will need to contact trace and quarantine students when there are positive cases affiliated with our schools and programs. School leaders in the county have been working closely with the LCHD on this matter to limit the impact that this will have on our schools and students. While nothing is official, at this time, we are looking at the following options:

  1. Students and staff will be excluded from school and school programs for the duration of their quarantine.
  2. Students or staff may be provided home testing kits to be taken up to three times a week and results reported to the LCHD. Individuals agreeing to this may continue to attend school and school programs while wearing a face mask for the duration of the quarantine period.
  3.  If fully vaccinated, students and staff may be able to maintain a normal school schedule without testing, mask-wearing, or being excluded from school or school programs.

The Livingston County Health Department is currently hosting walk-in COVID-19 vaccination clinics Monday-Thursday from 9:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m.. At these clinics the health department will be administering the Pfizer vaccine which is approved for individuals ages 12 and up. To learn more about the clinics, please visit https://bit.ly/3xsqC0n. Additionally, there will be a vaccination clinic at the Hartland Educational Support Service Center on M-59 on Saturday, August 14, 2021 from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. This clinic is open to all individuals ages 12 and up.

The Back to School Edition of Highlander Nation has been posted to our Back to School webpage. In this edition of Highlander Nation, you will find important back-to-school information as well as annual notices from the district. You can read Highlander Nation at https://adobe.ly/2VNPnXu.

Our Back to School webpage is also active at HowellSchools.com/BacktoSchool. On the webpage, you will find our tentative bus routes, important dates for the start of the school year, and our school meal menus. Please remember that we will have half days on Wednesday, August 18, Thursday, August 19 and Friday, August 20.

Additionally, there are printable first day of school signs on the Back to School webpage. We want to invite you to share a photo of your child on the first day of school with us. The photos will be posted on the district’s Facebook page in a first day of school photo album. To submit a photo, visit the Howell Public Schools Facebook page at http://goo.gl/PQDg2N and send us a message with the photo.

I hope you enjoy the last week of summer vacation, and we look forward to a great school year.

Sincerely,
Erin J. MacGregor, Ed.S.
Superintendent
Howell Public Schools

Posted by gouldt On Wed, Aug 11, 2021 at 1:23 PM  

 
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