HAWKINS HAPPENINGS

Chris McAuliffe - Principal

Address: 8900 Lee Road, Brighton, MI 48116

Website: https://www.brightonk12.com/Domain/52

First Bell: 9:01 AM

Second Bell: 9:05 AM

Dismissal Time: Begins at 3:55 PM (Final Bell 3:58)

10/9 - PTO Meeting 9:30 am

10/13 - NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS

10/24 - PICTURE RETAKES

Lunch/Recess Schedule

JK/K - 11:10 - 11:55

1st - 11:40 - 12:25

2nd - 12:10 - 12:55

3rd - 12:40 - 1:25

4th - 1:10 - 1:55

Happy Sunny Friday Hawkins,

I won’t lie, it has been a bit of a stressful week here at Hawkins. I want to thank all of the parents who reached out for the fire alarm, accident, and Color Run. Whether giving suggestions, concerns, or thanking us, it was all appreciated. I also want to say the thing that lifted my spirits and made me smile were all the smiling faces at the Color Run and during Pink Week activities. Even with dodging the weather, the Color Run was such a huge success!! Thank you so much to all of the parents who made this happen and were so flexible. I love the Pink Week attire, you really went all out. I need to find a Pink Michigan jersey to step up my game. I did want to mention we had a Lockdown drill today. During a drill like this students practice staying in rooms and a safe place in each room to be. Sometimes they move to another room if we deem that more safe. The Police Department stops by and gives us suggestions. We also had discussions today about what we would do if we had a lockdown and students were at recess. If this last week taught us anything, it was the importance of being prepared. I want to give a shout out to our picture day volunteers, Veronica Henwood, Jessica Johnson, Molly Jourden, Catherine Keister, Angela McFadden, and Lisa Piegdon. Picture day would not have run a smoothly as is did without you so THANK YOU!

It is looking like a beautiful weekend. My daughter who works on the cruise ship is home, so the whole family is heading to Petoskey to join me in delivering a live edge fire table I made. It will be a great way to relax and get ready for the week ahead. I want to send a shout out to my amazing staff for the way they have handled everything this week, they truly care about your children above all else. Have a great weekend, Go Lions and Tigers!

Mr. McAuliffe

Bulldog Brew is a student-run coffee shop operated every Friday by our incredible special needs students at Hawkins. Designed as a hands-on learning experience, Bulldog Brew gives students the opportunity to develop real-life skills such as communication, teamwork, and customer service—all while spreading joy through coffee! Hawkins staff looks forward to their weekly Bulldog Brew served with a smile, knowing they're supporting meaningful growth and inclusion in our school community.

Art Room News!

Hello Hawkins Families!

We have been busy in the art room starting our annual art to remember fundraiser! Students are creating beautiful masterpieces in art class and soon you will be able to order special keepsakes with their featured art!

This is a WONDERFUL way to buy gifts for friends, relatives and the artist just in time for the holidays!!!

I will send out an email and add to this newsletter when the personalized order forms arrive so you can be on the look out!

Artfully yours,

Ms.V

vermiglioj@brightonk12.com

The STEAM lab appreciates donations of toilet paper and paper towel tubes. It's one of students' favorite building materials. Thank you for inspiring our young engineers!

Ms. Tchoryk

Supporting Students through the McKinney-Vento Act

Brighton Area Schools is part of a county-wide consortium dedicated to supporting students who are experiencing temporary living situations. Through this program, students can receive:

• Assistance with educational expenses
• Housing referrals
• Access to clothing and other essentials
• General support and technical assistance

To comply with federal law, staff and families are encouraged to help identify students who may be living in:

• Emergency shelters or transitional housing
• Motels or hotels
• Cars, parks, or public spaces
• Shared housing due to loss of housing or financial hardship
• Temporary arrangements with someone other than a parent or guardian

Our district’s homeless liaison is Starr Acromite, and each building has trained staff available to provide support. Brighton also partners with Candice Olrich at the Livingston Educational Service Agency.

📞 For more information or assistance, please contact your building principal or Starr Acromite at 810-299-4040.

Shorter Version below:

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McKinney-Vento Act Support

Brighton Area Schools supports students experiencing temporary housing through the McKinney-Vento Act. Assistance is available for school needs, housing referrals, clothing, and more. If you know a student in need, please contact your building principal or district liaison Starr Acromite at 810-299-4040.

The Hawkins Running Club only ran one day this week. That didn’t stop 36 kids from completing their first 5K and getting their glow toe (glow in the dark toe token)! CONGRATULATIONS!

Thank you again to all the volunteers that make this possible, you are all amazing!

Dear Parents,

We’d like to share some important information about Free & Reduced-Price Meal eligibility.

While all students currently receive meals at no cost through the Michigan School Meals Program, qualifying for Free or Reduced-Price Meals can provide additional benefits for your child and family—including reduced fees for school activities, athletics, and testing.

In past years, most students’ eligibility was determined through a process called Direct Certification. This automatically qualifies students without the need for families to apply. However, this year Direct Certification has not identified as many eligible students as in the past.

If your child has qualified for Free or Reduced-Price Meals in previous years but you have not received a notification this year, you may need to complete a short application. Also, if you feel that you may now qualify, you should fill out this application as well (Link to Qualification Standards). The good news—it’s quick and simple to do!

• Paper applications are available in all schools.

• Applications can also be printed from the district website.

• An online Application is available on Parent Connect

If you are unsure of your eligibility status or have any questions, please call the Food Service Office at 810-299-4175 and we’ll be happy to help.

Thank you for taking a few minutes to ensure your child receives all the benefits they are entitled to.

Sincerely,

The Brighton Area Schools Student Nutrition Department

*if the hyperlink to the qualification standards does not work, the following is the direct link: https://www.michigan.gov/mde/news-and-information/press-releases/2024/09/17/income-guidelines-for-free-and-reduced-price-meals-announced

All parent volunteers must undergo a background check in order to volunteer at Hawkins. If you have not done so yet and are planning on volunteering at Hawkins on field day, click on the link below to access Brighton Area Schools Background Check Form.

Parents, please remember to be checking your students head for head lice. After a long summer of sleep overs and interaction with friends, family and sporting events, it is that time of year again to be diligent about checking for lice and eggs . While they are not harmful they most certainly are a nuisance and difficult to get rid of. Should you need any more information here is a link for your reference: https://www.cdc.gov/lice/about/head-lice.html

A quick reminder about the board policy regarding medication: All medication including over-the-counter medication (i.e. Tylenol, Motrin, TUMS, cough drops, etc.) must have a MEDICAL AUTHORIZATION FORM. This form requires both the parent's and the medical provider's signature. Without both signatures, we cannot give medication to your student. Also, the school cannot provide this medication. You must supply this medication for your student. The clinic does not have extra. This comes from board policy found here: https://meetings.boardbook.org/Public/Organization/2615

Please make sure your child has an extra set of clothes in their backpack and/or locker in case of accidents or emergencies (i.e. bathroom accidents, playground mishaps, lunchroom spills, ripped or torn clothes, etc.). We do not have extra clothes to lend out. An extra set here at school saves parents an extra trip to Hawkins during the school day. We appreciate your help!!!

Parent Connect a web-based application that allow parents/guardians to view information for your child's current school year. Logging into Parent Connect will enable you to see your child's placement (date to be determined), report card, and lunch account. In addition, parents/guardians can add or change emergency contacts. Please click on the link for more information.

Parent Connect FAQ

Parent Connect

Attending school regularly helps children feel better about school - and themselves. School success goes hand in hand with good attendance. Missing 10 percent of the marking period can make it harder to learn to read. Students can fall behind if they miss just a day or two days every few weeks. Good attendance will help children do well in high school, college and at work. Providing a physician's note for absences does not effect absenteeism and is not counted towards the number of days your child is absent. If you feel your child has anxiety about attending school or struggles to stay at school for a full day, Hawkins has resources to help.

If your child is going to be absent, please call the Hawkins attendance Line (810-299-3900 then press 2). Please state your child's name, teacher, date of absence and reason for the absence (type of illness, doctor appointment, vacation etc). If your child has been diagnosed with a specific ailment (COVID, strep throat, pink eye, influenza, chicken pox) please state that in the voicemail message. If your child has not been diagnosed with a specific ailment but is having specific symptoms please let us know the symptoms your child is experiencing. Hawkins appreciates your help!

A new feature in Parent Connect will allow you to enter your student’s absence. Simply log into parent connect and click on the link Report Absence. The Report Absence link will open a screen for you to complete. If you have more than one student check the name of the student for whom an absence is being submitted. Add the applicable dates. If you check the All Day flag attendance will be submitted for the am and pm periods. If you do not check the All Day flag times must be entered and attendance will be submitted for whichever periods meet during the time range (based on period schedule).

If you need to change a contact phone number or email address you can do so through Parent. Connect at Parent Connect

If you do not know your Parent Connect login information, please follow the instructions on the Brighton Area Schools website.

PLEASE NOTE: Address changes CANNOT be completed through Parent Connect. Address changes must be completed by filling out a change of address form along with 3 copies of proof of residency. Details are listed on the change of address form which is available by clicking on the link below. Since in person drop off is not an option at this time, forms can be scanned and emailed to samanij@brightonk12.com

Parents, do you have a 4th-8th grader who might be interested in participating in Brighton a Cappella Camp? The camp meets Tuesday, September 30th and Wednesday October 1st, between 4:30pm and 6:00pm at Brighton High School. There will be a culminating performance at the beginning of Scranton Idol at the BCPA on Thursday, October 2nd at 7:00pm. Please see the linked form for more information, and feel free to reach out to Sarah Hamilton at hamiltons@brightonk12.com or Phil Johnson at johnsop@brightonk12.com if you have any questions!