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Heritage Junior High Weekly Newsletter

May 8, 2023

Happy Friday, Hornet families,

I hope your week is off to a great start! It's hard to believe we're down to the last 5 weeks of the school year. State testing is complete, and we are looking forward to some fun activities to wrap up the school year.

Freshmen parents, if you received an Honors Night invitation, please be sure to RSVP to Mrs. Russell at debra.russell@uticak12.org. Honors Night is Tuesday, May 23rd @ 6:00.

NHS Tutoring

Believe it or not, there are only 3 Thursdays remaining this school year. Unfortunately, the UAIS NHS Tutoring sessions are cancelled for the rest of the school year. The NHS tutors did a great job working with our Heritage students this year. We are looking forward to offering tutoring again in the fall.

Summer School Programs 2023

Summer Programs for students entering grades five through twelve begin on June 19, 2023 and will end on July 28, 2023. All summer programs will be supported by grant funds and will be free of charge for all participants. Students will be served a free breakfast and lunch and transportation will be provided. If your student is behind in credits, their counselor will contact you with summer school information or you may contact the counselor for details about the programs being offered. Please be sure to check your email for summer school communication.

Registration begins May 8, 2023 through Community Education using the following link:

https://ucscommunityeducation.ce.eleyo.com/

Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander Heritage Month

Facts about our Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander Heritage Month

Asian/Pacific, encompasses all of the Asian continent (46 countries like Japan, China, India, all of the middle eastern countries, Israel and many more) and the Pacific Islands of Melanesia (New guinea, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Fiji and the Solomon Islands) Micronesia (Marianas, Guam, Wake Island, Palau, Marshall Islands, Kirbati, Nauru and the Federated States of Micronesia) and Polynesia (New Zealand, Hawaiian Islands, Rotuma, Midway Islands, Samoa, American Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu, Cook Islands, French Polynesia and Easter Island). Included in this group this year is the Native Hawaiians. (Source: asianpacificheritage.gov)

Asian Pacific American Heritage Month goes back to May 1979, when President Jimmy Carter signed the first Asian Pacific Heritage Week into effect. In 1992, Congress extended the celebrations from a week to a month. May was selected because Japanese immigrants first arrived in the U.S. in May 1843 and Chinese immigrants helped to build America's first transcontinental railroad, completed in May 1869. This year, it has become Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander Heritage Month. (source: the juggernaut.com/asian-pacific-american-heritage-month-2023)

According to the 2020 census, about 20.6 million people identify with this group and it makes up about 6.2% of the population.

Freshman Farewell

The Freshman Farewell is still on! Fortunately, we received enough permission slips to avoid canceling this event. We're looking forward to a great night at the Vintage House (31816 Utica Rd). The Farewell is set from 6:00-9:00 on Wednesday, May 31st. There will be dinner, dancing and fun for all! Students who submitted their permission slip and paid the $25 fee must bring their current Heritage ID in order to get in. The Freshmen Farewell is for current Heritage 9th graders only. No guests allowed.

Lacrosse Summer Camp

Titan Elite Basketball Camp

basketball camp
UCS Strategic Plan
UCS Strategic Plan

Student Behavior Concerns

Parents, unfortunately, we have been noticing many behavioral concerns in the past few weeks. Some students are disrespecting staff and each other, loitering in the hallways and reporting to class tardy, and engaging in other behaviors that are disruptive to the normal functioning of our school. These behaviors are escalating, and do not represent our values. Mr. Mueller has shared our concerns on the weekly announcements and our teachers are taking the time to reset their classroom expectations for appropriate behavior. Students who are not cooperating or complying with our school-wide rules & policies will face consequences. We need your support! Please talk to your student and reiterate the importance of following our district handbook and school rules. Students who are consistently disruptive will face disciplinary procedures, including suspension, and will be placed on the "Low Citizenship" list. These students WILL NOT be allowed to participate in school activities such as dances, sporting events, field day or other special events.

We appreciate your support and look forward to a school climate that is productive, safe and fun for ALL of our Hornets.

Debate Club

Debate Club

Heritage Junior High is starting a Debate Club! The first meeting was on April 20th, in Mrs. Curtis' room, from 3:00pm - 4:00pm. If you would like more info, please email either JaigirderA@stu.uticak12.org or SarkarR@stu.uticak12.org.

May 8-12 is Teacher Appreciation Week! Here at Heritage, we have some of the most dedicated and caring teachers you will ever find. Our teachers and staff work so hard to make a difference in the lives of our students. We would like to say thank you for the many hours they dedicate to teaching, grading papers, making lesson plans, coaching, mentoring, listening to and providing guidance to our students. During the week of May 8th, feel free to send a teacher a note of thanks to let them know how much you appreciate all they do! A little appreciation goes a long way!

Teacher & Staff appreciation

Builders Club

JOIN BUILDERS CLUB!

Yearbook News

Yearbooks

If you haven't ordered your yearbook yet, you can still get one. The price will be $40. You can order at jostensyearbooks.com. If you have any problems with the website, see Mrs. Tafoya in room 354. The yearbook staff is also requesting any photos from sports practices, fun pics, or any other interesting school pic. Contact anyone from the yearbook staff or Mrs. Tafoya.

Student Council News

Neon Day

Our next Spirit Day will be Friday, May 12th, Neon Day! Get out some of those HOT summer colors and wear them on this Spirit Day!

Below is a list of the Spirit Days and themes for the rest of the school year! Only 3 more to go!

Caught Being Good

Caught Being Good

The Caught Being Good Bucket is filling up. The bucket has been removed momentarily to select for April. It will be located on the table by the printer during IB testing. Time to start filling up for May!

The staff has been hard at work to set a positive tone for this school year. We all have great aspirations for providing excellent experiences for our students. Our collective vision for Heritage is as follows.

Our Vision

Heritage Junior High School will provide a safe and welcoming environment where all are respected and valued, where different needs are acknowledged, accepted, and met for future success.

School & Community Wellness Newsletter

It's important for us all to take the necessary precautions to stay healthy. The Henry Ford Winter Newsletter provides many reminders and helpful tips to ensure we are at our best! Click on the button below for the newsletter.

Item drop-off procedure

Parents, we realize that students will forget items from time-to-time and you may be asked to drop something off at the school for your child (i.e. lunch, gym clothes, homework, projects, etc.). Our item drop-off procedure is very simple and designed to avoid unnecessary disruptions to the school day. If you need to drop something off for your student, there is a table in the lobby. Please put the item on the table with your student's name on it with one of the Post-it notes on the table. In an effort to minimize classroom interruptions, you can notify your child by sending a text or we can email your student and his/her teacher about the item that was dropped off and ready for pick up. We will not call into classrooms to disrupt class and call students down for forgotten/dropped off items. We appreciate your understanding and cooperation with this procedure.

Athletics

Tennis Anyone?

Eisenhower High School is sponsoring a Tennis Camp. If you students ever wanted to try tennis or want to improve their skills this is a great way to do it. The information is in the flyer below:

Tennis Anyone?

Hornets of the Month

Hornets of the Month! Each month, our staff has the opportunity to nominate students from each grade level who represent an outstanding character trait. After all, we all want our students to be responsible, good citizens and this is a great way to acknowledge the winners and encourage these admirable qualities in every student.

The following students were selected and recognized as Trustworthy Hornets!

Our Trustworthy Hornets

Pictured left-to-right 1st row: Raffi Ghazarian, Nhi Tran, Roby Ghazarian, 2nd row: Mary Al Kabara, Jillian Kosta, Lauren Timbuc, and Nathan Rourke

  • Helpful
  • Outstanding
  • Respectful
  • Nice
  • Eager
  • Trustworthy
  • Scholarly

Student Attendance

Excellent attendance is important to your child's success at school. Of course, we understand that students may have to miss school due to appointments, illness or other family obligations. Please be sure to call the attendance line at (586) 797-3199 if your student is going to be absent from school. The office is open from 7:00am-4:00pm, but our attendance line is 24 hours. When your student returns to school be sure he/she gets their missing work from each teacher. Students are afforded one additional day for completing assignments for each day they were absent.

Saturday School

At Heritage, we are committed to providing a safe and orderly environment for our students and staff. In an effort to address some building-wide violations and behavioral concerns, we will begin assigning Saturday School for various student infractions. Saturday School is an alternative to suspensions and provides an opportunity for students to reflect on the infraction and modify their behavior. Students may be assigned Saturday School for infractions such as repeated violations of the ID policy, skipping class, excessive absences, repeated classroom disruptions, etc. Students will be under staff supervision for each Saturday School session. Parents will be notified of the date their student must serve and must sign the notification form. Failure to attend the assigned Saturday School will result in suspension.

In addition to a behavioral intervention for certain school infractions, we are extending Saturday School to students who may need to "get caught up" on some schoolwork. Teachers may recommend Saturday School or Homework Club to students who are missing assignments and need a quiet environment to complete their work. These students will be issued a make-up ticket that will be returned to the teacher once the work is completed. Please see/contact our assistant principal, Mr. Mueller, if you have questions regarding Saturday School.

Lost and Found

LOST AND FOUND PILING UP!

There is an abundance of lost and found items in the main office, cafeteria, and locker rooms. The piles are overflowing the containers holding all this stuff, so students need to retrieve their lost items. Everything MUST GO! If items are not retrieved by the end of the school year, these items will be donated to charity.

Stevenson Instrumental Music Program

Here is a quick and easy way to support our Stevenson Instrumental Music Program. It does not cost you anything, just do your normal shopping at Rite Aid and their community fundraising program donates to our music program. As we all know, the pandemic and funding cuts have hit everyone hard, and the music program is no different. In addition, the district only pays a portion of instrument repairs and some transportation costs. The music booster organization pays for all of the professional and specialized instruction, performance uniforms, awards and varsity letters, costumes, flags and color guard equipment and music for all of our performances. The district does not pay for any of these necessities. With all of these needs and the last few years of impact from the pandemic, we need to raise more funds. This easy fundraising opportunity can make a big impact in supporting our students. Please consider signing up for the Rx rewards program and share with family and friends. We need all the support we can get to continue to provide our SHS students with the amazing and award-winning music instruction and performance opportunities we have come to expect.

2022-2023 Yearbook--Sale Extended!

Even if you missed the special low price of $38, you can still order a 2022-2023 yearbook. Click on the button below for the flyer with all the details.

Heritage Medical Club

The Heritage Medical Club is back! Students interested in exploring careers in the medical field or simply learning more about the body, medical terms, injuries, and various diagnoses should consider joining this after school club. Meetings are held in Mrs. Larue's classroom (room 360), 3:00-4:00. Click on the tab below for the club flyer and additional details.

College Shirt Mondays are back!

At Heritage, we promote a culture of college and career-readiness (and a little healthy competition😊) Each week, staff and students are asked to wear their favorite college shirt on Mondays. Get your gear ready...Let's see if we can all join in on the fun on Monday!

Go Blue! Go Green! Go Team!

UCS Wellness

The UCS Wellness team is happy to announce the seventh episode of their podcast series. The team worked with community members to create a podcast regarding different areas of physical, mental, and social health for UCS staff, students, and families. These podcasts are available on the UCS Wellness page. Click here to access the page: UCS Wellness - Utica Community Schools (uticak12.org)

Below is a list of the podcasts available on the Wellness page:

  • • Mental Health with guest, Nancy Buyle
  • • Grief and the Grieving Process for Children
  • • Family Communication
  • • CARE of Southeastern Michigan
  • • Discussing Dating Violence with Turning Point
  • • Tackling Tough Topics with the Macomb County Sheriff’s Office
  • • Our Youth and Vaping

Virtual Library Card

UCS students have access to the Virtual Library for their assigned school. All can access the Virtual Library on their UCS issued device via their ClassLink dashboard. Please click on the tab below for instructions.

The UCS ID policy is in effect for all secondary students. This policy supports our safety and security measures. Now that our students have taken their ID and yearbook photos, they are expected to wear their current school ID daily. We will begin assigning detentions and/or Saturday Schools for students who are repeatedly violating the ID policy.

PLEASE ENCOURAGE YOUR STUDENT TO KEEP THEIR ID IN THEIR LOCKER TO AVOID FORGETTING IT DAILY

Parents, please be sure to check PowerSchool periodically for any fines your student may have accumulated from the 2021-2022 school year or for the 2022-2023 school year. This includes damaged laptop fees, ID replacements, broken/damaged supplies, etc. Make checks payable to Heritage Junior High School. Outstanding fines/fees and donations to the Hornets' Nest can also be paid using our PaySchools account: Heritage PaySchools Online Payment Processing.

Donations for our Hornets' Nest benefit all Heritage students. If every parent/family donated $5, $10, or $20, we would have more than enough funding to support field trips, assemblies, special celebrations like Hornets of the Month, the Freshmen Farewell and provide supplemental classroom resources for our students. Your donations are greatly appreciated. NO AMOUNT IS TOO BIG OR TOO SMALL! As always, we appreciate your support.

School Communications

Parents, two-way communication is important to our partnership with you. We will provide important updates through our Heritage Newsletter, website, SchoolMessenger emails & robo calls. Please note...if you "unsubscribe" from any UCS emails, you will not receive communications from the school. The unsubscribe feature automatically blocks you from our email distribution list. Also, be sure to keep your current email up-to-date and on file with the office if you want to continue to receive information from the school.

School Meals/Food Service

Please click on link for a video from the UCS director of food service https://youtu.be/ukSHx6zqPro for important updates about our meal service program. You may also click the button/tab below for more details about our secondary schools' meals for 2022-2023.

We know that your time is valuable. In order to avoid unnecessary delays in getting the help you need, please review our Communication Flowchart and follow this process to get the answers you need as quickly as possible. Emailing or calling the principal, may not be the best way to get a fast response to a question about something that occurred in the classroom. It is always best to communicate directly with the staff member who is closest to the situation. Review the flowchart below and follow the outlined process to ensure you are connected with the right personnel.

Created By
SHAUN GREENE-BEEBE
Appreciate

Credits:

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