Dear Families,

Over the past few weeks, our district has been buzzing with excitement over upcoming events, a great Highlander football win, and some incredible achievements by our students.

In this edition of MacGregor’s Message:

• Howell High School student named National Merit Scholarship Program semifinalist
• Howell Public Schools Homecoming Week
• Our Kids, Our Community, Our Future Bond Proposal
• Open interviews for special education paraprofessionals
• Howell Athletics elementary student cross county race
• Howell High School Freshman sets new county Cross County record
• Gleaner’s Mobile Food Pantry

This week, it was announced that Liam Clark, a senior at Howell High School, has been named a semifinalist in the National Merit Scholarship Program. Liam is one of only about 16,000 students, representing less than one percent of all U.S. high school seniors, to earn this prestigious honor. Over 1.3 million students nationwide entered the 2024 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2022 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. We are all very proud of Liam. To read more about this accomplishment, please visit https://bit.ly/3r8GRTl.

Next week is our annual Homecoming Week. Homecoming Week is always one of the best weeks of the year as we all come together to celebrate our Highlander pride. From the spirit days at each school to the Friday night game, there is always a sense of fun and excitement throughout the district. This year’s Powder Puff games will be held on Wednesday, September 20, at 6:30 p.m. in Howell High School’s Memorial Stadium. The Homecoming Parade will be held on Friday, September 22, at 5 p.m. and will run down Grand River from National Street to Center Street. Kick-off for the Homecoming Game is set for 7 p.m. in Howell High School’s Memorial Stadium, where our Highlanders will take on the Northville Mustangs. I want to give huge kudos to the Howell High School Leadership classes who plan and organize many of the Homecoming events.

On Tuesday, November 7, our community will vote on the Our Kids, Our Community, Our Future Bond Proposal. If approved, the bond proposal would provide $258 million for improvements to our district while expecting to maintain the current tax rate of 5.5 mills. If approved, the bond proposal would provide funds dedicated to teaching tools such as the district’s 1:1 device program and classroom instructional technology, ensuring that students continue to have access to state-of-the-art learning tools. To learn more about the bond proposal, please visit HowellSchools.com/Bond. Please remember to vote on November 7 on the Our Kids, Our Community, Our Future Bond Proposal.

We are still looking to hire additional special education paraprofessionals for positions at several of our schools. On Tuesday, September 26, from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m., we will hold open interviews for these positions. This is a gratifying job making a difference in the lives of our students. To learn more about the position and the open interviews, please visit https://bit.ly/3RuIuVQ. If you know of anyone who may be interested, please share this information with them.

Last weekend, Howell High School Freshman cross country runner Jack MacGregor set a new county record for the fastest high school cross country debut by a Livingston County runner with a time of 16 minutes, 12.6 seconds. That time was 33.2 seconds faster than the previous record of 16 minutes 45.8 seconds, which was set by a two-time state champion, Hartland runner, in 2021 during his high school debut.

The Howell Athletic Department would like to invite all Highlander elementary students to run on the Howell middle school cross country courses. We will host two K-5 races this year. The Parker race will take place on Wednesday, September 20. The Highlander Way race will take place on Wednesday, September 27. The girls’ races will start at 5:30 p.m., and the boys’ races will begin at 5:45 p.m. This event is free and open to all Howell Public Schools elementary school students. For more information and to register, please visit https://forms.gle/NU5YcFuZc71Yq5PH9.

On Thursday, September 21, Gleaners Food Bank will have a Mobile Food Pantry in the bus lot at 411 N. Highlander Way (between Highlander Way Middle School and the Freshman Campus). The Mobile will be open from 4 p.m.-5 p.m. Anyone in the community needing food can drive through and pick up food from the Mobile. If you have any questions regarding the Howell Food Mobile or food access in Howell, please contact Gleaners Food Bank at 517-548-3710.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend, and Go Highlanders!

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