Dear Families,

Over the past two weeks, we have celebrated three outstanding staff members, several athletic accomplishments, and welcomed a unique career exploration opportunity, proving once again that great things are always happening across Highlander Nation.

In this edition of MacGregor’s Message

• Teacher and Support Person of the Year winners

• WHMI Making the Grade

• 2026-27 School Year Calendar

• Tools for Schools visits Parker Middle School

• Athletic Accomplishments

• Livingston County Parent Summit

This year, we received 137 nominations for Teacher of the Year and 53 nominations for Support Person of the Year. This is a true reflection of the incredible staff who support our students each day.

Last Friday, we surprised Three Fires Elementary fourth-grade teacher Ms. Elizabeth Halberg with our Teacher of the Year Award. Ms. Halberg creates a welcoming classroom environment where students feel valued, supported, and inspired to learn. Through engaging lessons and hands-on, real-world learning experiences, she helps students become future-ready. In her nominations, Ms. Halberg was consistently described as an engaging and knowledgeable educator who builds strong relationships with students and families, differentiates instruction to meet diverse learning needs, and creates meaningful learning experiences. To read more about Ms. Halberg and this honor, please visit https://bit.ly/4uaGtz5.

On Monday, Mrs. Lena Rossetter, a multilingual tutor at Southwest Elementary, was named our Support Person of the Year. Mrs. Rossetter works tirelessly to support students academically and ensure they have the resources they need to succeed. Working closely with classroom teachers, she provides targeted instruction through classroom support and small-group lessons that help students access the curriculum while strengthening language and literacy skills. To read more about Mrs. Rossetter and this award, please visit https://bit.ly/4rduiPA.

On Wednesday, WHMI visited Three Fires Elementary to honor Mrs. Lindsey McDowell as one of its Making the Grade winners. The award recognizes exceptional teachers in the Livingston County area who are making a difference in the lives of their students. Mrs. McDowell, a begindergarten teacher at Three Fires Elementary, was nominated for the award by the father of one of her former students. In his nomination, he highlighted Mrs. McDowell’s dedication and her willingness to go the extra mile to keep him informed and involved in his child’s education while he was deployed overseas.

The 2026–2027 school year calendar at a glance has been posted under the Parents tab of our website. You can also access the calendar at https://bit.ly/4ct3pn4. Next year’s calendar is similar to this year’s, with the first day of school on Wednesday, August 19, 2026. Holiday break will run from Monday, December 21, 2026, through Friday, January 1, 2027, and Spring Break will take place from Monday, March 29, 2027, through Friday, April 2, 2027. The last day of school is scheduled for Friday, May 28, 2027.

Last week, Parker Middle School seventh-grade students had the opportunity to experience the Schools to Tools Mobile Field Trip. Schools to Tools is a hands-on career exploration program that allows students to learn about careers in the skilled trades. The program features a 44-foot mobile training trailer that travels directly to schools. During the visit, students rotated through a series of stations featuring hands-on tool demonstrations, trivia games, and virtual reality simulations to introduce them to careers such as carpentry and millwright work. Schools to Tools highlights the benefits of skilled trade careers and union apprenticeship programs, which combine classroom learning with hands-on training while offering competitive wages and industry-recognized credentials. Career exploration programs like Schools to Tools are another way we are working to ensure that all students are future-ready, for careers, for college, and for life.

Our winter sports teams continue to impress as they move through the postseason. Our boys boardercross team claimed the state championship trophy, making them back-to-back state champions. Individually, Anson Forsyth earned his second individual state championship title, while Parker Maupin was named the individual runner-up. The girls boardercross team also had a strong performance, finishing third at the state meet. Our varsity hockey team captured the regional championship before being eliminated in the quarterfinals in a hard-fought game against Detroit Catholic Central. Our girls basketball team claimed the KLAA League Championship, defeated Hartland in the district semifinal, and will face Milford in the district final tonight at 7 p.m. at the Howell High School Fieldhouse.

As a reminder, the Second Annual Livingston County Parent Summit and Wellness Fair will be held on Saturday, March 21, from 8:15 a.m. to 12:35 p.m. at Parker Middle School. This free event will feature TED-style talks, interactive workshops, and family resources centered on this year’s theme: Tech, Talk, and Well-Being: Finding Balance in a Digital World. To learn more or view the full event agenda, visit: https://bit.ly/4bccaAx.

I hope you have a great weekend. Go Highlanders!

Sincerely,

Erin J. MacGregor, Ed.D.

Superintendent

Howell Public Schools