Hastings High School
December 2016
Newsletter
As principal of Hastings High School I just wanted to take this opportunity to wish all of
our families best wishes during the holiday season. We are approaching the end of the first
semester and I wanted to thank all of the students and families for the adjustments that
have been made to accommodate the 8th grade students being at the high school. Your
students have been extremely understanding and resilient through all of the changes.
On Tuesday, December 6th, the Student Council will be spending time at a local nursing home with the
residents as part of #GivingTuesday, a world-wide day of giving. Council members plan to eat, converse,
and play games with the residents!
The Student Council is holding a clothing drive starting Monday, December 5, continuing
through December 9th. Students and staff are able to donate any gently used outdoor clothing that could
be used by those in need during the cold winter months. The clothes will be donated to Caleb's Closet.
Knowing these clothes will bring some kind of security and comfort to those in need over the cold winter
months is both heart-warming and gratifying.
Student Council is also sponsoring a Christmas Tree Decorating contest. Any HHS club can participate!
Decorating will take place directly after school on December 2nd in the high school lobby. The canned
food drive will begin December 5th and continue through the 15th. Staff, students, and community
members can vote for the best decorated tree by placing non-perishable food items under the tree of their
choice. The tree with the most cans will win a contest and the club in charge of the tree will win free
snacks for an upcoming meeting. All food items will be donated to the local food pantry. Trees will
remain on display throughout the holidays. Come out and enjoy the holiday decorations and show your
Saxon spirit to help local families!
Hastings High School would greatly appreciate your support in publicizing this information to the
community. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Cathy Longstreet or Kelly Ibarra at the
High School at 945-6169. Thank you for your support and Happy Holidays!
Band/Choir Holiday Concert
The band and choirs will perform their traditional Holiday Concert on Sunday, December 11, 2016, at 4
PM in the high school gym. Please come out and enjoy the beautiful sounds of our instrumental and vocal
music program.
Interact Club Blood Drive and News
Hastings High School Interact Club successfully sponsored their first blood drive of the year on October
28th. We had 83 students attempt to donate blood with 70 pints of blood collected at the drive. That means
that at this drive over 200 lives were potentially saved. The Interact members put a lot of time and effort
into planning and organizing the blood drive to make it a success. Interact will be hosting the second
blood drive of the school year February 2nd.
On Saturday, December 17th, Interact Club is putting on a Christmas shopping trip with a student from
each of Hastings Elementary Schools. Interact members will assist the elementary students in buying gifts
for their families. After the shopping trip they will return to the high school to wrap the gifts and enjoy a
pizza party with the Interact members.
Key Club
The Hastings High School Key Club went trick-or-treating for UNICEF on Halloween and raised more
than $600 for the program! Thanks to everyone who helped that evening and who donated and supported
this fantastic cause. After the trick-or-treating, members were treated to pizza, pop and snacks Key Club
meets every other Wednesday in the library at 7:15 am. We are connected to the local Kiwanis Club and
we are dedicated to student service. See Mr. Key for more information.
Holiday Break
Please note that the Holiday Break begins after school December 16, 2016, and ends with the first day
back on Monday, January 3, 2017.
Student Services Office News
Financial Aid (FAFSA)
The FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) is open for all seniors planning on attending any 2
or 4-year college or tech school after graduation. The FAFSA can be completed on-line (FAFSA On The
Web) any time and should be finished no later than March 1, 2017, which is the deadline date for upmost
aid consideration for Michigan colleges. The FAFSA is important regardless of income level, as most of
the information is needed even for many scholarship applications. The FAFSA form has an IRS retrieval
tool that is very helpful and will upload all your tax information onto the form. Remember: you should
never pay to fill out your FAFSA! If you need assistance with this process, please contact Student
Services for assistance referrals.
SAT
All juniors will be participating in state-mandated testing beginning in April 2017. On April 11, juniors
will take the SAT exam. On April 12 juniors will take the ACT WorkKeys exam. On April 13 all juniors
will complete the M-STEP examinations. Please keep these dates in mind and, if possible, avoid all
doctor visits, appointments, etc. that would lead to absences on these dates. A reminder that completion of
all of this testing is a state-mandated graduation requirement for Hastings High School.
Hastings High School is offering access to SAT Online Preparation tool through each student's Career
Cruising account. This is a free, valuable resource for all our students in preparation of the SAT exam. If
students need their Career Cruising log in information, they can stop down in Student
Services. Additionally, Khan Academy (www.khanacademy.com) offers free, personalized SAT prep
services for students. All juniors will receive information regarding Khan Academy when they receive
their PSAT scores mid-December.
Pride Club MG,CN
This group will be active in many aspects of Saxon Pride including Student Cheer sections at events,
Good Sportsmanship towards our opponents, increased attendance at all activities, and
increased opportunities for all students. The Club is open to all students and staff.
Winter Sports Season
Winter Sports are well underway! The individual schedules can be found by going to the school website,
clicking on facilities, clicking on athletics, clicking on sports schedules and then following the prompts on
the ScheduleStar site. There is also a PDF file that can be downloaded that is a pocket schedule with all
the sports on it. If you have any questions, contact Mike Goggins, Athletic Director, at 269-948-4409.
Winter season athletes are reminded that the MHSAA provides insurance to fill the gaps left by other
insurance when medical care is sought for a suspected concussion. If interested, go to mhsaa.com for
details.
Yearbook Information
2016-2017 YEARBOOK CAN BE ORDERED ONLINE!
Starting August 22, 2016, you can order your copy of the 2016-2017 yearbook by credit card ONLINE
at www.jostensyearbooks.com for $50. You may also pay by cash or check, made payable to “Hastings
High School.” Please write “HS Yearbook” on the memo line. Online order forms are included in the HHS
Orientation Day mailing and printed order forms are available in the student office and from Mrs.
Kingma.
QUICK REFERENCE YEARBOOK DEADLINES:
Yearbook pricing: $50 until November 18, 2016; $55 until December 23, 2016; $60 until April 14, 2017.
If copies are still available, the price will go up to $70!
Last day to order a personalized yearbook May 15, 2017
Last day to order yearbooks online (if available) June 9, 2017
Senior Portrait Deadline January 17, 2017 (Contact Mrs. Kingma for guidelines)
Proud Parent Ad Deadline April 30, 2017
Senior Academy Awards - March 2017; exact date to be announced
2015-2016 yearbooks are still available in limited quantities - $70.00 ea. - available by emailing inquiries
to Mrs. Kingma at the high school, [email protected]. Voicemail messages will be returned during
school hours, 269-948-4409. Special discount rates are available with the purchase of 3 or more books.
Daily Announcements on Web Page
Curious about the daily events at Hastings High School? Announcements can be reached by going to
www.hassk12.org and go to the high school, then documents and forms, or if you would like to be added
to a group that is sent the announcements daily, please email Andrew Keller at: [email protected] and
ask to be added to this group.
Signing In and Out of the Office
Due to safety issues, please make sure that before leaving school during the day your student signs out at
the office via a student pass. When a student leaves without notifying the office, and needs to be found, it
raises many concerns with the staff. This also should be done when your student returns to school. When
arriving late to school, please remind your student that they should go to the main office before going to
class in order to sign in for the day.
Reminders from the Assistant Principal
Cell phones All cell phones must be TURNED OFF during class hours no matter where a student is in the building.
Phones may only be used on campus before school, between classes, during lunch, and after school.
Any student who has their phone on, and it is turned in to the office by a staff member, must have their
parent come to school to pick their phone up from the assistant principal.
Tardies Tardiness will be defined as missing 15 minutes or less at the beginning of the class period. There are no
excused tardies.
Snow Ball
Save the Date! Snowball 2016 will be Saturday, February 11, 2017, at the Hastings Community Education
and Recreation Center, from 8 - 11 pm. The dance is semi-formal and will be a fun-filled evening with
dancing to awesome tunes, chocolate fountains and other food, fantastic decorations and of course all your
friends! More information and details to come in the next newsletter about ticket sales and guest passes!
December Students of the Month
Elizabeth Brabon, Logan Fish, Gracie Gillons, Dakota Lumbert, Wesley McClelland, Kassidy Morgan,
Taylor Pickett, Alan Rivera, Katie Shook, Aubree Shumway, Teight Turnes, and
Stephanie VanRavenswaay
Calendar
DECEMBER
11
16
Holiday Concert - Band and Choir, 4 PM
Holiday Break Starts, at the end of the school day
JANUARY
3
18,19,20
23
School Resumes
Exams – see schedule below
2nd Semester Begins
FEBRUARY
6-10
9
11
WinterFest Week
No School in the Afternoon/PD for Teachers, PM
Snow Ball
January 2017
EXAM WEEK SCHEDULE
Monday, January 16, 2017
Regular Monday Schedule
Tuesday, January 17, 2017
Regular Tuesday Schedule
Wednesday, January 18, 2017
1st Hour
7:45 AM – 7:50 AM
1st Hour
7:50 AM – 9:40 AM
9:40 AM – 9:50 AM
2nd Hour
9:50 AM – 11:40 AM
11:40 AM – 12:40 PM
12:40 PM – 1:40 PM
1:45 PM – 2:45 PM
Announcements
110 minute EXAM
Passing Time
110 Minute EXAM
Lunch Break
Subject Area Study
Subject Area Study
Thursday, January 19, 2017
3rd Hour
7:45 AM – 7:50 AM
3rd Hour
7:50 AM – 9:40 AM
9:40 AM – 9:50 AM
4th Hour
9:50 AM – 11:40 AM
11:40 AM – 12:40 PM
12:40 PM – 1:40 PM
1:45 PM – 2:45 PM
Announcements
110 minute EXAM
Passing Time
110 Minute EXAM
Lunch Break
Subject Area Study
Subject Area Study
Friday, January 20, 2017
5th Hour
7:45 AM – 7:50 AM
Announcements
5th Hour
7:50 AM – 9:40 AM
110 minute EXAM
9:40 AM – 9:50 AM
Passing Time
th
7 Hour
9:50 AM – 11:40 AM
110 Minute EXAM
No School for Students after 11:40 AM
Monday, January 23. 2017
2nd Semester Begins