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School Closing Information
Dear Staff, Parents, and Students:
I would like to start this letter with a big thank you! The staff, parents, students, and our community have been incredibly supportive of the crazy amount of snow days our school has had to endure. Your patience and understanding is appreciated more than you know. Anytime a snow day is called, it causes difficulties with our families. Many of our families have had to make accommodations to stay home from work to be with their children. Thank you to our local community for giving our families the flexibility to do just that. Your understanding doesn't go unnoticed. We are proud to be a part of such a great community.
The safety of our students is always our first priority. Every single day that there is a potential weather event, all 9 local Superintendents and all 9 Transportation Directors in Gratiot and Isabella Counties begin conversations between 4:30 a.m. and 4:45 a.m. Many additional conversations go into the final decision. These often include the local authorities, County Road Commissioners, County Emergency Managers, and during the two most recent storms, have included the National Weather Service.
As you know we have had a substantial amount of snow days and delays this school year. To date we have had 14 snow days and 3 delays. This year has been one of the worst winters I have encountered as a Superintendent. I have been asked several times in the last week about the last day of school and when it would be. I realize that people have made travel plans or other plans after school gets out, but it is impossible for me to give an end date for the 18-19 school year at this point. We still have a lot of winter left, and we could have more days off in the future.
There have also been some bills introduced to the legislature that if made into law, could change how we have to calculate the time we need to make up. The State of Michigan allows us 6 days. We also have the ability to request 3 additional days of forgiveness, but there is no guarantee we will be granted those days. We have to make up 8 school days based on what we know today.
I want to thank all of you again for your patience and understanding as we attempt to get through this winter weather together.
Educationally yours, Kristi TeallShark Wrestling Title
The varsity wrestling team earned its fourth consecutive district title February 11, at home. They also earned their seventh consecutive TVC West title the week prior.
Little Free Library
Take a Book ~ Share a Book
You may have noticed a new addition outside of Carrie Knause! We now have our own little free library! One of our 2nd graders in Mrs. Jenkin's class thought this would be a great addition to our school. Her and her classmates then pursued a grant through the Youth Advisory Council with the Gratiot Community Foundation to secure the funds for this project! Please feel free to grab a book when your child needs something to read or swap us books after your child has finished reading one of their books!Kindergarten Roundup
When: Tuesday, March 19, 2019 from 8:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Where: Carrie Knause Early Childhood
Registration takes about 45 minutes. Call to schedule a time that works for you!
Did you know? For the 2019-2020 school year, a child who resides in a public school district may enroll if the child is at least 5 years of age on September 1st, 2019. If the child is NOT eligible for kindergarten enrollment per the guidelines, but will be five years old by December 1st, the child’s parent or legal guardian can sign a waiver to enroll their student in school.
CALL (989) 681-3535 to register your child for a today!FFA District Conference
On Monday, February 4th, 17 Students from St. Louis High School competed in FFA District Leadership Development Events at Alma High School. These events are designed to build student leadership skills and teach them skills which they will need to be successful in the future. The Sharks competed in four different events; Prepared Public Speaking, Parliamentary Procedure, Greenhand Conduct of Meetings, and Demonstration.
Lauren Sherwood, senior at St. Louis High School gave her prepared speech on “​Agri-Business Ethics”. ​ Lauren placed 4th and received a District Gold Award for her presentation.
The Shark Parliamentary Procedure team took a ​bite out​ of the competition and took 1st place, a District Gold Award. The team consists of; Olivia Anderson, Kacie Allen, Aynslee Koutz, Brian Conn, Blake D. Fisher, and Dawson Fisher.
Greenhand Conduct of Meetings took 2nd Place and a District Gold Award! Greenhand Conduct of Meetings is for our first year FFA Members. The team is comprised of Leah Chvoljka, Rafael Orta-Vazquez, Kolin Lyon, Andrew Zimmerman, Cody Hartman, Blake Siefka, and Deagon Dosson.
Demonstration is a contest designed to teach the audience a skill, our Sharks decided to demonstrate the proper technique for showing a Beef Steer. Aubrey Sherwood, Hailey DeRosia, Kassidy Acker, and Taylor Marr are the dedicated FFA members of this team. Their demonstration ​showed​ up the competition and took 2nd Place and a District Gold Award.The Michigan State FFA Degree is awarded to FFA Members who have been active for more than 2 years, completed 360 hours of agricultural education, have a developed SAE, achieved academic success, and committed 25 hours of community service. The following students received state degrees: Kacie Allen, Hailey DeRosia, Blake D. Fisher, Nick Harry, and Aubrey Sherwood.
Regional Contests will be held at 1:00 PM at Delta College on February 14th, 2019. We invite family, community members, and supporters of the FFA to come and cheer on our teams as they compete.
BPA Regional Conference
Outstanding business students will travel to Grand Rapids to participate in the 47th annual Business Professionals of America (BPA) State Leadership Conference, “Rely on Your Rarity." Overall, 31 students placed at the Regional Leadership Conference bringing home 59 awards.
The skills that students learn through participating in a variety of business experiences are beneficial and will help prepare them for a career in the workforce. This year we had 41 students represent us at the regional conference at Central Michigan University and 31 will go on to compete at the state level.Digital All-State Athlete Display
Please check out our new interactive touch screen display just outside the gym for All-State athletes at SLHS! All you have to do is walk up and touch the display to interact with it. This is an ongoing project by some of our business students and we are working to get it updated and current. If you have additions to this site, please email Mr. Hemker. Also, for most of the athletes we had to scan in old yearbook photos so if you have an updated photo of yourself, please send it on as well. Check out the video in the recent Shark Scene article to see it in action. You can also view the site online.
Schools of Choice
Schools in Gratiot and Isabella counties participate in a cross-district Schools of Choice Program. Parents can consider a school that best fits their child's individual needs. Schools of Choice applications must be completed and submitted to the Gratiot-Isabella Region Education Service District. Visit the Schools of Choice Program website for more information.
