Hastings High School 520 W. South St., Hastings, MI 49058

Office (269) 948-4409 Fax (269) 948-8081 Principal Teresa Heide, teresa.heide@hassk12.org

From the Desk of Mrs. Heide

Happy November! November is certainly a month to show grace and mercy to others! Thanksgiving has always been a favorite holiday for my family. Tradition puts all of us together at my brother's house to eat a lot of turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, and certainly not least, stuffing!

I’m especially thankful for another year with my aging parents. To think about all of the ways in which they showed me love, grace, and humility certainly brings joy to my heart, not to mention a few tears. I am thankful, as I know you are as well, for the memories you hold near and dear to your heart! Here at school, I continue to be amazed at our student body and the positive energy they bring to Hastings High School every day! I’m thankful for them and all of the hard-working staff who put their heart and soul into everything they do! As we look to the remainder of the semester, I have a few strategies from Marzano to share that may help us all instill a passion and purpose for our students: • Academic goal-setting: Helping our students to identify long-term academic goals, especially over the

course of a unit or semester. • Encourage a growth mindset: Instead of “wrong” or “right”, we want to inspire a growth mindset in our

students to help them develop new skills and remain optimistic about challenging tasks. • Possible “selves” activities: This strategy can help students imagine what they could develop into

later in life, motivating them to develop skills and acquire the knowledge necessary to achieve specific goals. Our Counseling Department does a wonderful job in this area, helping our students to navigate a program called Naviance to do just this!

• Personal projects: This requires students to select a personally relevant goal they are truly interested in and work toward it, encouraging their desire for personal growth.

• Encouraging mindfulness: Helping students to become aware of their thoughts and feelings about both their internal and external worlds has been linked to positive increases in attention, behavior, academic performance, and physical health.

• Inspirational Media: Whether it comes from a movie, book, historical quote, internet clip, news article, or picture, an inspirational story can help students overcome adversity and believe in the underdog victory.

Again, I’m so very thankful for you, our families, for the continuous support of our efforts to help our students be successful. Without your support and “teamwork” attitude, our students would suffer. May you all have a very happy and healthy Thanksgiving! We certainly have plenty for which to be thankful! Take care! Teresa Heide

HHS News November 2019

Athletics Winter Sports The Winter Sports season will soon be underway at Hastings High School! All students interested in trying out for, and/or participating in a Winter Sport must have a current physical on file in the Athletic Department. A current physical is one that was performed by a physician's office on or after April 15, 2019.

Try-outs and practices will begin on the following dates:

Monday, November 11 Girls Freshman, JV, & Varsity Basketball, and Competitive Cheer.

Monday, November 18 Boys Freshman, JV, & Varsity Basketball, Wrestling, and Co-Ed Bowling.

Monday, November 25 Boys Swim & Dive

For more information regarding Winter Sports, please frequent our Daily Announcements listed on our High School website at www.hassk12.org/hs. Once there, the Daily Announcement tab is listed in the left hand column of the High School page. You may also reach the Athletic Department by calling 269-945-6160. We are always happy to answer any questions you may have!

Upcoming Events

November • Nov. 1 - Hope College Trip • Nov. 11 - NHS Induction Ceremony • Nov. 13 - AP Bio & Environmental Science Trip • Nov. 18 - Board of Ed. Meeting at MS Commons • Nov. 22-23 - Fall Play: One Act Festival • Nov. 27 - Half day of school (dismiss 11:15 am) • Nov. 28-29 - Thanksgiving Break December • Dec. 7 - Hastings Christmas Parade • Dec. 8 - HHS Band & Choir Collage Concert • Dec. 12 - Band Jazzy Christmas • Dec. 16-30 - Exam Week • Dec. 16 - Board of Ed. Meeting at MS Commons • Dec. 20 - Half day of school (dismiss 11:15 am) • Dec. 23-Jan. 3 - Winter Break January • Jan. 6 - School resumes

• Jan. 10-11 - Drama Murder Mystery Play

• Jan. 17 - Half day of school (dismiss at 11:15 am) • Jan. 20 - Board of Ed. Meeting at MS Commons

Upcoming Fall Sports Banquets

• Friday, November 1 - Sideline Cheer

• Tuesday, November 5 - Boys Varsity & JV Soccer

• Wednesday, November 6 - Boys & Girls Varsity Cross Country

• Thursday, November 7 - Freshman, JV, & Varsity Football

• Tuesday, November 12 - Freshman, JV, & Varsity Volleyball

• Tuesday, November 26 - Girls Varsity Swim & Dive @ Thornapple Kellogg HS

When attending sports banquets at Hastings High School, please enter the building using the front or back Athletic entrances located near the main gym.

Cold/Flu Season Supplies

To help combat this cold/flu season, we are in need of the following supplies:

Hand Sanitizer, Facial Tissues,

Disinfecting Wipes or Bleach Wipes, and Lysol Spray.

If anyone feels led to donate any items, it would be

greatly appreciated! You can send them in with your student or drop them off in the high school office.

Thank you!

Mr. Smith’s Corner

Attendance - Students are only allowed 10 absences in a class per semester. As the semester

continues, some students are close to this limit. On a student’s 11th absence, they are in danger of losing credit in the class. Parents, please continue to monitor absences and help to ensure that your students are here at school. If at all possible, plan appointments/vacations outside of the school day. If attending a medical/dental appointment during the school day, you can get a School Excuse note from that appointment and bring it to the high school office.

Grades - Please continue to review your grades consistently and if you have any questions,

please contact your teachers. Do not wait until the last week of the semester to inquire about how to improve a grade. Be proactive and work on those grades now!

Senior Shout-out - Senior discipline referrals are way down this year. A huge shout-out to our

upperclassmen for being positive role models on what it means to be Saxon STRONG. Keep it up, seniors!

STRONG - Here at Hastings High School, we are Saxon STRONG! Let’s continue to be

Supportive, Trustworthy, Respectful, Open-minded, Noble, and Gritty. Have a Happy Thanksgiving! -Mr. Smith “Of all the characteristics needed for both a happy and morally decent life, none surpasses gratitude. Grateful people are happier, and grateful people are more morally decent.” - Dennis Prager

Saxon STRONG

If you want your

child to be successful at

school then, YES, attendance

does matter!

Do a few absences really matter?

Advisory/Lunch Time Visits

The Counseling Department schedules college and

military representative visits during lunch time and

Advisory. For lunch time visits, students bring their

lunches to the designated area to meet with reps

while they eat. Students interested in learning more

about these organizations need to sign up with Mrs.

Collins in Student Services by 9 a.m. the day of the

visit.

Advisory Visit

Nov. 4—Douglas J Aveda Nov. 5—Savannah College of Art and Design Nov. 6—Calvin University Nov. 7—University of Minnesota-Deluth Nov. 14—Oakland University

Lunch Time Visit Nov. 1—Aquinas College Nov. 5—Kuyper College Nov. 6—Olivet College

Check out The Counseling Department on Social Media!!!!

Like or follow us at the handles below to stay up-to-date on Hastings High School events, view pictures and learn helpful info related to college and career planning!

@hhscollegeandcareer

@hhscollegebound

hhs_collegeandcareer

Upcoming College Trips • Hope College—Nov. 1.

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Counseling Department

Erin Bargo, Counselor Cathy Longstreet, Counselor Renee Herbert, Counselor Kimo Cox, College Adviser Amy Collins, Counseling Secretary

ASVAB—Students interested in taking the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery multiple choice test on Wednesday, Nov. 6, need to sign up with Mrs. Collins in Student Services.

Breakfast Celebration

The Senior College Application Month Celebration Breakfast will be in the high school library

on Tuesday, Nov. 12, at 8 a.m., where we look forward to celebrating this month’s efforts with raffles for college gear, gift cards and miscellaneous prizes. Students must be present at the breakfast to win! October’s College Application month involved multiple classroom lessons on college applications, financial aid, scholarships, career searching and resume creation. Additionally, we hosted a college application workshop, financial aid night, FAFSA completion and College Night, local business and industry tours as well as several college visits. There was something for everyone! And the planning continues! Mrs. Longstreet, Ms. Bargo and Mr. Cox will meet individually with each senior student to continue working on their post-secondary plans.

Healthcare Tour

Financial Aid Night

If you were not able to attend this helpful presentation, please view the attached presentation link HERE.

FALL PLAY

The HHS One Act Play Festival will be held on Friday, November 22, at 7pm and Saturday, November 23, at 2pm and 7pm. Come support the drama department for an evening of laughs and entertainment! This year there will be three one acts, each directed by a student director. There will also be teacher judges to determine the winners of best actor, best comedic player, etc. and the audience will get to cast a vote for best play!

HHS Bands & Choirs Collage Concert

Mark your calendars for the December Collage Concert! On Sunday, December 8, the HHS Bands and Choirs will

perform at 2pm and 4pm in the Performing Arts Center (PAC). Expect a wonderful afternoon of music that will

bring about the holiday spirit. You won't want to miss this!

Fall Choir Concert Update On Sunday, October 20, the combined HMS and HHS Choirs performed their Fall Choir Concert. This was the first full Choral Program performance in the new Performing Arts Center. In addition to this milestone, this was the debut concert for the beautiful Steinway Concert Grand Piano that has just made the Hastings Performing Arts Center its permanent home. The Choirs are grateful for the opportunity to perform in this incredible space and with this unrivaled instrument. All seven of the Middle and High School Choirs brought a variety of pieces of different genres and sounds to share at the concert. Thank you to all of those that came to support our students as they grow in their journey as musicians. Look for our

upcoming performances in the PAC on Dec. 8 (HS) and Dec 17 (MS)!

Mystery Drama

The WhoDunIt play performances will be on January 10 and January 11, 2020. Mark your

calendars and plan to attend!