Category Archives: Schools

Huron School District staff receive COVID vaccination; March 1 classes to be held virtually due to expected staff shortages

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By Scott Bolthouse | THE HURON HUB
Posted Friday, Feb. 24, 2021

Over 200 Huron School District staff have received the COVID-19 vaccination, according to Supt. Donovan Rowe.

Rowe said in a letter Wednesday that staff will receive the second dose of the vaccination Saturday, and that staff shortages are expected following the second dose.

This means that classes on Monday, March 1 will be held virtually.

Here is the entire letter sent out today by the superintendent:

Dear Huron Family,

The health and well-being of students and staff continues to be a top priority, and we have been working hard to ensure all Huron School District staff who wish to get the COVID-19 vaccine are able to do so. We’re pleased to report more than 210 staff have already received the first dose of the vaccine and the majority of them will be receiving their second dose on Saturday, February 27, 2021.  

According to the CDC patients receiving the second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine can have symptoms like body aches, swelling, fever, chills, tiredness, and headache for up to two days following the second COVID-19 vaccine.  The majority of patients report mild to moderate symptoms, and most patients recover in one to two days.  It is important to note that these symptoms are not contagious, as the vaccine cannot make people sick with COVID-19. 

Given our vaccination timeline, we are anticipating the possibility of staff shortages on the Monday after the second dose of vaccines have been administered.  As a result, all classes in the Huron School District will be held online on Monday, March 1, 2021. This will allow teachers and staff to rest and recover, in the event they experience symptoms that are a normal part of the body’s reaction to the second dose of the vaccine, and we want to prepare for this without a last minute cancellation of school due to staff shortages.  Students will return to their normal class schedule on Tuesday, March 2, 2021. 

On Monday, March 1, 2021, students will log-in and follow the remote learning schedules that we have established for other remote learning days we have had. 

Food service will be running a food distribution on Monday evening from 5:00-6:00 PM.  This will take place in the parking lot between Renton Jr. High School and Huron High School. 

Thank you for your ongoing patience and understanding as we continue to navigate these challenging times together.  Should you have any questions pertaining to this, do not hesitate to contact my office. 

Sincerely,

Donovan Rowe

Superintendent of Schools

Huron School District

 

 

Huron School District to resume in-person learning on Jan. 11

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By Scott Bolthouse | The Huron Hub
Posted Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021

The Huron School District will resume in-person learning on Monday, Jan. 11.

Huron Schools Supt. Donovan Rowe informed the community about the decision in a letter posted today.

“Given the trend data, the regional health situation, and the change of recommendation from the Wayne County Health Department, we are planning to return students to face-to-face instruction on Monday, January 11, 2021. We will be returning to the modified face-to-face model that we have been using during this school year, and we will continue to provide our remote options for students who have chosen to participate remotely,” Rowe said in the letter.

“Transportation schedules will return to their previous times and pick-up locations. We will also continue to implement our mitigation strategies and protocols that have been largely successful for students and staff during this school year,” he said.

You can read the entire letter by visiting this link.

Rowe said he is pleased that the trend data has vastly improved and that Wayne County Health Department representatives are supporting the return to in-person learning.

“We are eager to return students to in-person learning on Monday, January 11, 2021, and we are excited to continue providing the safest and most purposeful learning environment possible,” he said.

Related article: Huron School District Food Service program supplies food to students amid COVID-19 shutdowns

Huron School District Food Service program supplies food to students amid COVID-19 shutdowns

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The meals being distributed consist of a variety of different foods that would have been offered in the situation that school wasn’t closed down for COVID, including various fruits, vegetables, milk, cookies, pizza kits, and more. (Photo courtesy of Nella Shock)

By Garrett Harper For The Huron Hub
Posted Dec. 21, 2020
Article updated

With COVID-19 shutting down schools all over the country, students are left without the ability to get the lunch that they would normally get from their school cafeteria.

As a way to remedy this, the Food Service team in the Huron School District decided to come up with a solution to this problem to help the students get the food they need.

Nella Shock and the rest of the Food Service team have set up a system where parents can drive to the East entrance of Huron High School and receive food for their kids for the week on Mondays and Thursdays.

The meals being distributed consist of a variety of different foods that would have been offered in the situation that school wasn’t closed down for COVID, including various fruits, vegetables, milk, cookies, pizza kits, and more.

This food distribution program has been running since the original lockdown in March, when schools started shutting down due to COVID concerns. Around the time the school year would have ended in June, they put the program on hold.

It was resumed on Nov. 16 to continue giving meals to the students, but will be going on a hiatus for Christmas break on Dec. 18.

After Christmas break, the Food Service team will be back on Jan. 4 to continue distributing food on Mondays and Thursdays until Jan. 19, when they will only be distributing the meals on Mondays from that point forward.

Every Monday and Thursday during the program, Nella and her team arrive at the school at 7:30 a.m. and spend over four hours making sure that everything is in order.

They also would spend days preparing for their next distribution day.

The team would then hand out the meals for the families of more than 600 kids from 1:00-3:00 p.m.

To help spread some holiday cheer for all the students, the team went above and beyond by writing Christmas cards for the kids to go along with their meals last week.

In addition to being an important nutritional resource for the students in the district, the program has also helped the Food Service members by allowing them to work during these difficult pandemic times.

Nella and her team work tirelessly to make sure that this operation can work smoothly, and it shows with how many people are able to still get food from the school.

 

Huron School District suspends in-person learning through Jan. 15

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Posted by Scott Bolthouse
The Huron Hub
Dec. 2, 2020

The Huron School District announced Tuesday that in-person learning for all grades will be suspended through Jan. 15.

The district was already on a two-week pause when the decision was made this week to continue the suspension of face-to-face classes.

Donovan Rowe, superintendent of Huron School District, explained the decision in a letter to parents posted Tuesday.

Letter summary:

-Huron School District is suspending face-to-face instruction for all students (K-12) through Jan. 15, 2021.

-Students will be working remotely during this time and will be scheduled to return to in-person instruction on January 19, 2021.

-Recently, the Wayne County Health Department issued a Public Health Advisory pertaining to school districts in Wayne County. This advisory has a direct impact on schools and instructional programming.

-Advisory outlines direction from Wayne County Health Department to all Wayne County school districts to temporarily shift to a remote learning model through Jan, 15, 2021.

-Wayne County Public Health Director calls for the suspension of extra-curricular sports and related school sponsored gatherings during this time.

-During online learning, students will continue to learn remotely 5 days per week, with synchronous instruction every day.

-District Food Service will be continuing their pick-up service model; Pick-up will take place on Mondays and Thursdays.

You can read the superintendent’s full letter by visiting this link

Support local journalism: If you’ve valued The Huron Hub’s consistent local news coverage during this pandemic, please consider supporting us.

Andie Martin signs NLI to play golf at Saginaw Valley State University

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(Photos courtesy of Karen Martin)

Posted by The Huron Hub
Nov. 25, 2020

Andie Martin, senior at Huron High School in New Boston, signed a National Letter of Intent to play golf at Saginaw Valley State University.

Martin placed in the top 10 at the girls high school state tournament this year, and received all-state honors for division two high school.

 

Do you have an announcement you’d like to see posted to the Huron Township community? Email announcements and shout-outs to Editor@HuronHub.com. 

 

Gracie Brinkerhoff signs letter of intent with Purdue University Fort Wayne softball

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Gracie Brinkerhoff, senior at Huron High School in New Boston, signed a letter of intent Nov. 11 to play softball for Purdue University Fort Wayne. (Photos courtesy of Roxanne Brinkerhoff)

By Scott Bolthouse

The Huron Hub – Nov. 18, 2020

ScottBolthouse@HuronHub.com

Gracie Brinkerhoff, senior at Huron High School in New Boston, signed a letter of intent Nov. 11 to play softball for Purdue University Fort Wayne.

Brinkerhoff will pitch for the Mastodons in the fall of 2021 following a season off due to the current pandemic.

She has played with Huron’s varsity team since her freshman year under Coach Tedi Belsile.

Do you have an announcement you’d like to see posted to the Huron Township community? Email announcements and shout-outs to Editor@HuronHub.com. 

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Huron Schools to pause face-to-face learning for all grade levels through December

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By Scott Bolthouse
The Huron Hub – Nov. 16, 2020
ScottBolthouse@HuronHub.com

Huron Schools are pausing all face-to-face learning due to a spike in coronavirus cases.

Supt. Donovan Rowe sent a letter to parents in the district Monday afternoon laying out the details.

Here is a summary:

-MDHHS order requires the Huron School District to pause face-to-face instruction in grades 9-12 for the next 3 weeks.

-The restrictions are in place starting Wednesday, November 18, 2020 and will run through Tuesday, December 8 (3 weeks).

-This means that the last day of in-person instruction for Huron High School students will be Tuesday, November 17, 2020.

-In addition, the Huron School District is pausing in-person instruction for grades K- 8 for 2 weeks, starting on Wednesday, November 18, 2020 and running through Wednesday, December 2. This means that the last day of in-person instruction for students in grades K-8 will be Tuesday, November 17, 2020.

-The number of positive cases and quarantined staff and students has pushed staffing and classroom coverage to the limit, making it difficult to sustain face-to-face instructional model with available staff.

-This rapid increase in positive cases has been correlated with increased activity outside of schools (For example: parties, travel sports, and other activities) and increased prevalence of the COVID-19 virus within our community (positive parents, grandparents, and siblings.)

To view the entire letter from Supt. Donovan Rowe, visit this link.

Support local journalism: If you’ve valued The Huron Hub’s consistent local news coverage during this pandemic, please consider supporting us.

Huron girls basketball program hosting drive-thru bottle/can donation event on Nov. 3

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(Photo/Scott Bolthouse–The Huron Hub)

Posted by Scott Bolthouse
The Huron Hub
Oct. 23, 2020

The Huron girls basketball program is hosting a drive-thru bottle and can donation event on Nov. 3.

Proceeds will help create the Huron girls basketball program for grades 7-12.

View the flyer below for more information:

Click to enlarge

 

COVID-19 confirmed at Renton Junior High School

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Posted by The Huron Hub
Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2020

COVID-19 has been confirmed at Renton Junior High School in New Boston.

The Huron School District sent out a communication to parents in the district on Oct. 5.

Here is the communication:

A confirmed case of coronavirus (COVID-19) has been identified at Renton Junior High School. We are working closely with Wayne County Health Department to identify exposures and prevent further cases. This letter is informational only; no further action is required from you at this time.

The virus that causes COVID-19 is thought to spread mainly from person to person, through respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs, sneezes or talks. These droplets can land in the mouths or noses of people who are nearby or possibly be inhaled into the lungs. Spread is more likely when people are less than six feet from each other for at least 15 minutes. A person who is a close contact of someone who is infected with COVID-19 may experience COVID-19 symptoms typically within two to fourteen days after a person is exposed.

The symptoms of COVID-19 are similar in children and adults. Symptoms can include: Fever (>100.40 F), cough, shortness of breath, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, runny or stuffy nose, loss of taste or smell, abdominal pain.

At this time close contacts with exposures have been notified separately by the local health department and instructed to self-quarantine the Wayne County Health Department.

There are many things that can be done to keep our schools, homes, and communities “COVID-19 free” and protect ourselves and loved ones:

Children and adults should stay home when ill.

  • Washing hands often with soap and running warm water for at least 20 seconds.
  • If a hand washing station is not available, use hand sanitizer properly.  Gels, rubs, and hand wipes must contain at least 60% alcohol. Dispose of wipes in the trash after use.
  • Practice Good Respiratory Etiquette (cover a cough with elbow versus hand).
  • Follow guidance for wearing a face covering and social distancing.

If you have questions, please contact the Wayne County Health Department at (734) 727-7078.

As a precaution, we will be disinfecting applicable areas of the school. This may include spraying classrooms, hallways, locker rooms, and common areas as needed with a sanitizer, along with other methods of disinfection.