If you would like to track how Chloe Watson is doing at the State Finals (race start time is 11:00 AM on Saturday morning), here are some links to use:

1) MHSAA live streaming/announcing of the XC Finals will be available. For more details please go to MHSAA.com and the XC Finals page.

2) XC Finals Live timing and scoring is available at www.superiortiming.com during each race. Races will be video reviewed. The chip time will be shown in tenths, while the video reviewed and potential corrected time will show in hundredths.

Haylee Bauer has been selected by the faculty of Hemlock High School as the DAR Good Citizen Representative of the Class of 2021. Students are selected based on their representation of the qualities of dependability, service, leadership and patriotism. Congratulations Haylee!

This is our tenth week of the 2020-2021 school year.

We can currently report that we have had one staff member test positive at K.C. Elementary, one student at the middle school, and two students at the high school. We have currently, suspended face-to-face instruction for that specific classroom and contact traced for close contact for those impacted at the middle and high school.

Please rest assured if there are any concerns specific to you or your children that either a building principal or myself will contact you directly.

We continue to follow our return to learn plan and guidance from the health department, the department of education, and other oversight that has been provided.

We are also considering providing an option for our fall high school athletes to avoid close contact as we are heading into post-season play. We are utilizing some of our larger spaces at the high school that allows for students to stay 6 feet apart from one another. Student athletes will continue to report to school as they have in the past, receive help on their work, and be provided supervision. This format however will avoid any close contact as defined by the CDC, which places our healthy athletes at risk for a 14 day quarantine and out of competition. By doing this, it has also allowed us to provide more social distancing in many of our other classroom helping keep all students and staff safer.

Please continue to encourage your child to utilize our free breakfast and lunch program for all; it makes your morning easier knowing that breakfast and lunch are already taken care of.

We still remain cautiously optimistic that we can continue our positive trends but need everyone to do their part by doing daily health screeners, keeping sick children home, and following the 3 W's: wear a mask, wash your hands, and watch your distance.

There continues to be a trend of more and more virtual students returning to face-to-face instruction. Our rate of face-to-face students remains relatively the same at slightly less than 90% +/-.

Our goal is to be back in school five days a week; at this time, we continue to review our format and will continue remote Friday on November 6th.Below is a proposed draft calendar for the remainder of 2020 (November and December). Please understand as we are experiencing issues this calendar may be altered and right now we are considering adding additional remote days to our proposed calendar to keep everyone as safe and healthy as possible.

If you should have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me at 989.642.5282.

All the best,

Don Killingbeck, Supt.

The following are lessons learned from this week.

1. All good streaks come to an end.
2. Data is important in the decision-making process.
3. Close contact is a big issue when navigating these situations.

Hemlock High School vs. Bad Axe High School Event Link: https://gofan.co/app/events/136797

Sports Boosters is looking for concession volunteers for this Saturday's home football game. To sign-up click the link: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0d4faaac2aa3f85-volunteer

This year's tennis season was very exciting, first of all because we were actually able to play the entire season without any incident due to Covid 19, but also because of a special accomplishment by one of our players - Max Hauffe.

Coach Ludwig said, “I have never witnessed in all 10 years of coaching, a player able to go undefeated for the entire season with a final record of 16-0. Unfortunately, we were not able to hold our playoffs the way they are traditionally held, so he could not be crowned as 1st place in the region, but we are confident he would have achieved that status if he were given the chance.”

Max was instrumental in helping to push and develop the other players around him by inspiring them and being a role model. He showed them the proper form and technique and most importantly, he showed them how dedication to a sport can really pay off in the end.

“Our team did not make it to the state competition this year, but we had a pretty solid 6-6-3 record. We sustained a late season injury in our number 2 player, which forced other players to step up into a tougher role than they had anticipated, but they did it with courage and honor held high. I am very proud of my players and I thoroughly enjoyed coaching them this year because they are a great bunch of kids who not only enjoy the sport of tennis, but they are a lot of fun to be around,” said Coach Ludwig.

For more information about this or other positive happenings at Hemlock Public School District please call (989) 642-5282 or visit us on the web at www.hemlockps.com

Looking to get a jump on Christmas presents? The Hemlock Athletic Department is holding a water bottle fundraiser now until winter break.

These water bottles/tumblers come in navy or pink and can be customized with a jersey # or first name on the front and a last name on the back. This keeps others from guessing who's bottle is who's.

Samples are available in the high school office to view. There is a quick turn around on the orders so no waiting for weeks or months to get your order back. All order forms should be turned into the high school office as well.

DEADLINE TO ORDER: December 11th

Your senior photos for the yearbook are due by December 4th. There is a link under "classwork" in the Student Services Google classroom. See Mrs. Netzley if you have questions - netzley@hemlockps.com.

Picture day has been rescheduled! It will take place on Tuesday, November 24th 8am-2:30pm in the new Stem Center.

We will not be using Lifetouch for this service, we have switched to Jostens. If you already purchased a picture package through Lifetouch you should be receiving a refund. Please call Lifetouch if you have questions.

As soon as we have more information from Jostens, we will share that with you on how to purchase your student's pictures.

Wednesday, November 4th

- Both Teams Report

Thursday, November 5th

- Both Teams Report

Friday, November 6th

- All Students Remote

Saturday, November 7th

- CC State Final @ MIS

- V Football District Round #2 vs. Bad Axe - 1pm

Sunday, November 8th

- Nothing Scheduled

Monday, November 9th

- Girls Basketball Practice Begins

- Both Teams Report

Tuesday, November 10th

- Both Teams Report

Wednesday, November 11th

- Veteran's Day

- Both Teams Report

Important Upcoming Dates:

- November 12th, Parent/Teacher Conferences (Virtual)

- November 12th, Half Day for Students

- November 16th, Boys Basketball, Wrestling & Bowling Begin

- November 24th, Picture Day

- November 25th-27th, Thanksgiving Break

10/28/20 - F Volleyball @ Ithaca - W (17-25, 25-23, 15-10) The Freshman team finished their season with an exciting win over Ithaca. Reilie Netzley led the team in serving. Madi Penny was also top in serving and passing. Ana Rodriguez had excellent passes. Lexi Ladrig added 10 assists with her setting. The entire team worked together and contributed to this win!

10/31/20 - V CC @ Regional - Chloe Watson led the way, finishing 15th, passing 8 people in the final mile, running her season record time of 21:40 and qualifying again this year to run in the State Finals at MIS. She's 2/2 in qualifying for State. Alex Grzenia ran 23:41. Reagan Keyser ran 26:01. Kyrie Rames ran 24:33 to finish in the top 50--a good accomplishment for a freshman.

Tyler Jones, Carson Penny and Xander Nichols closed out their HHS cross country careers with good races. Tyler ran 19:48. Carson ran 20:15. Both returned from injuries to run. Xander Nichols ran his best time of the season--21:38. Great job, each of you and thank you for your leadership this season. David Hensler ran 23:15--not far off his best time. Dennis Schafer ran a season record of 20:38. Hayden Rondy ran 23:33-very close of his PR from last week. Nathan Scherzer ran 23:58 to set a NEW PR! Boys finished 8th as a team with 202 points.

10/30/20 - V Football vs. Vassar - W (48-0)

Vote for Knapik! He is up for top playoff player performer in week one.

https://www.mlive.com/highschoolsports/2020/11/saginaw-area-top-playoff-performances-player-of-week-voting.html

Hemlock High School’s football team has reached a historic benchmark with an undefeated regular season. This feat has not been accomplished by the Huskie Pack, under the Friday night lights, since 1974.

Like with anything else that happens in 2020, there are some fair and unfair comparisons and questions that will get asked. The bottom line this team has worked extremely hard on and off the field and has faced a tough schedule to accomplish a final regular-season record of 6-0.

Coach Clark shared, “These young men are special. Not everything has been squeaky clean for us. Adversity has had to be conquered. As a result, we keep improving. I don't like making comparisons to other great Hemlock teams or making wild claims and creating what-if scenarios. This team has already earned a special spot in the hierarchy of Hemlock Football. I don't think we're finished with that story quite yet.”

The Huskie Pack faced the Vassar Vulcans in the first round MHSAA State Playoffs on Friday night, October 30th, and defeated Vassar 48-0.

Their next game will be at home against Bad Axe on Saturday, November 7th at 1:00 pm. Tickets may be purchased via GoFan online.

Superintendent Killingbeck said, “This season, like with all good things did not happen by chance or luck. These student-athletes have been working toward competing at the highest levels since before high school. Our coaches have been working overtime to prepare for this season, watching film, organizing plans, and so much more.”

Planning on playing a winter sport? Make sure you are signed up in FinalForms. Parents need to login and update their athlete's information and complete signatures.

Make sure ALL sports are listed that your athlete plans on participating in, otherwise you may miss early communications.

Lastly, if you plan on using last year's physical that is on file with the Athletic Department, you are still required to complete and turn in the MHSAA Health Questionnaire. This completes the physical requirement.

Girls Basketball begins November 9th. All other winter sports begin November 16th.

Plans have been discussed to proceed with some of the events for our annual Hometown Holidays Celebration! As expected, due to Covid restrictions and in an effort to keep our community safe, we have had to make some changes. Stay tuned for further details!

Once again Hemlock High School is a drop-off location for Toys for Tots. New, unwrapped toys can be brought to the front lobby of the high school during office hours, 7am-3:30pm. The collection is through December 11th.

There are some traditions that even COVID-19 cannot stop! The Hemlock Business Association is excited to announce their third annual Christmas wreath decorating contest and raffle, “Festival of Wreaths”. This tradition is a local favorite.

To purchase tickets, visit local participating businesses or attend the Holiday Market at the Richland Township Park on December 4, 2020 starting at 4:00 p.m. Winners selected at 6:30 p.m., attendance is not required to win. Tickets are $1 each or six for $5.

For full article, click here.

“The Andersons, Inc. of Hemlock is proud to serve it’s community! We provide our loyal customers with a place to purchase lawn and garden products, pet food, and much more with our retail store. We love that we are a place for our farmers to bring in their harvested crops and while also being able supply them with their fertilizer, chemical, and seeds. With Covid-19 cases rising it has made our business quite a challenge, but know, even though our doors are closed to the public we are still eager to serve you with curb side service. Just pull up to the store doors and call 989-642-5291 and we will bring out whatever you need!”

Thank you for being an essential asset to our rural area! #WeAreHemlock #HemlockProud

Email: galbraith@hemlockps.com
Website: www.hemlockps.com
Location: 733 North Hemlock Road, Hemlock, MI, USA
Phone: (989) 642-5287
Facebook: facebook.com/HemlockHighSchool
Twitter: @MIHemlock_High