Dear Huskie Pack,
Our Fall 2022 semester is off to an incredible start at Hemlock Public School District. We strive to positively impact every classroom and every student with improvements and more. We continue to expand opportunities to our students with athletics, clubs, and more.
On September 30, 2022, at our home varsity football game, we inducted Carl Gippert into the Hemlock Public School District Hall of Fame as a special contributor; click here to learn more. That same night we hosted our annual staff tailgate sponsored by our partnership with HSC and DuPont. We had over 200 people attend for an amazing time of train rides, a drone obstacle course, face painting, food, and fellowship. This was followed by a wonderful homecoming week with a special spirit week, an assembly, parade, game, and dance. Click here to see some of MLive's coverage.
Right now, we are looking at ways to increase our footprint at our Early Childhood Center and elementary programs due to the increased demand. More and more young families recognize Hemlock Public School District as the destination for a great education in a family-friendly community.
In addition, to growing services and major projects through our 2022 Bond and continued maintenance with our 2020 Sinking Fund, we have two other privately funded opportunities. First, the expansion of the STEM Center; this facility was erected in May of 2020 and opened to students later that fall. The STEM Center has become a dynamic space filled with students and energy, but more space is needed. We currently have raised $80k of the approximately $400k plus needed for this expansion.
The second is a project focused on getting school-aged children more active and more engaged year-round. Did you know that our region and area are amongst the highest for childhood obesity? The Hemlock Field House at Wallace Field would provide an indoor area for students to participate in activities year-round and help us keep students healthy, engaged in the community, and safe. We are fortunate to have a large donation of over $400k by a generous family as matching funds, but we need to raise more dollars and in-kind work to make this vision a reality. If you or someone you know might be interested in making a tax-deductible donation to either or both of these projects, please contact my office at (989)642-5282 or email wamack@hemlockps.com today.
The Hemlock Business Association Annual Fall Harvest Dinner and Awards was held at Maple Grille on Tuesday, October 11, and had some very special individuals recognized. Educator of the Year, Lori Gensch, Citizen of the Year, Leon Zastrow, and Organization of the Year, Hemlock Community Pep Club.
Next month on November 8, registered voters of our school district will have two items to consider that have implications for our school district. The first is our regular Board of Education member election. We have four seats and five candidates.
Katherine Ellison, Incumbent
Hilary House, Incumbent
David Messing, Incumbent
Jamie Rivette, Incumbent
Trevor Schmidt, Challenger
Alpha Order
You can watch our "Meet the Candidates" event to become a more informed voter.
The second item before voters that will impact our school district is the Saginaw ISD has a Special Education mileage. Our school district receives an annual invoice for special education services from the ISD for services like speech, occupational therapy, physical therapy, and more. The invoice is more than $300k. If the voters of our county approve the ISD's initiative, the school will be able to spend these dollars on continuing the support systems that we have worked hard to increase, like additional social work, counseling, college and career services, and more.
Thank you for your passion for our students and Hemlock Public School District. Our Huskie Pack is strong because of students, alumni, families, and the community as a whole who continue to share our story and advocate for our mission. I am grateful to you, and I hope to thank you in person sometime soon. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to give me a call at 989.642.5282.
Until we chat again, be safe, and be well; all the best:
Don Killingbeck Jr., Ed.D., Supt.
Go Huskies!