A Note From Ms. Sickler

Enjoy my final message to our Harvest Hornets with the read aloud of The World Needs More Purple People.

Important Dates for the 2021/22 School Year

• August 25 – Elementary (Y5-5th Grade) Evening Open Houses
• August 30 – First day of school for students
• August 31 – Saline Middle School Evening Open House
• September 9 – Saline HS / Alt. HS Evening Open House

HERE is the link for the complete 2021/22 SAS Calendar

Ms. Sickler

District Notes

From Superintendent Laatsch’s June 10th Community Message:

The 2020-2021 school year will be remembered as the year of resilience in the face of unexpected circumstances. As a collective whole (staff, families, and our Saline community), we have found countless ways to support our students and provide them with the best experience possible during a global pandemic. 

I want to take this opportunity to wish you all a safe, relaxing summer break. Our wish list for students is below:  

• Put down devices

• Play outside

• Read something new every day

• Lend a helping hand

• Create something masterful 

Students will return to school on Monday, August 30th, 2021. This means we have 82 days to make memories with friends and family. Our staff will be eager to teach them when they return, until then we hope they spend time being kids. 

Read entire message HERE.

Sweet Tweets of the Week

Did You Know?

Did you know Viva Voce Youth Choir is holding online auditions for students who will be in grades 4-12 in the 2021-22 school year? Click HERE for more information. Current 3rd graders at Harvest Elementary School have been invited to audition for this local program.

Ms. Sickler Reads!

Check out all read alouds on Ms. Sickler Reads! YouTube playlist HERE and follow Harvest Elementary School on Facebook for read alouds to be posted throughout the summer!

A Note From Ms. Sickler

THANK YOU for sharing your child with us this year.  It has been my pleasure and privilege to watch your child unfold academically and socially day by day both in virtual and in-person settings.  This year, despite the struggles of the pandemic, we still loved, laughed, played, studied, learned, and enriched our lives together!

Reminder – 3rd Grade Clap out on Thursday

Last Chance – Input forms close June 11th!  If you would like to provide input for your child’s placement for the 2021-2022 school year, please use the Google Forms listed below:

Entering Young5s/Kindergarten

Entering 1st Grade Input Form

Entering 2nd Grade Input Form

Entering 3rd Grade Input Form

Entering 4th Grade Input Form

Upcoming Dates:

Ms. Sickler

Here are your “home school” updates:

• PR Weekly Update
• WM Weekly Update

Harvest Specials Rotation

In-Person Students: Here is the schedule and rotation for the days that you are in school.

Check out CHOICE DAY activities HERE.

Virtual Students: You will be following your daily special schedule.

District Notes

Summer Reading is right around the corner!  The Saline District Library’s theme this year is “Tails & Tales.”  Just like last year, our Summer Reading presentation is virtual.  

What will summer look like at the library?  We’re not sure.  Things have been changing quickly!  Right now, patrons are coming in Monday-Saturday for Quick Browse visits:  they sign up for 30 minutes of time to browse and check out.  We don’t have study rooms, computers, chairs, puzzles, etc., but families are taking large stacks of books.  This is Step 3.5 of our 5-step phased re-opening.  We hope to start adding things back over the course of the summer.

Families are encouraged to sign up for Quick Browse visits, but we also are glad to pull holds or “Surprise Me”  books (we choose!) for them.  

As in past years, registration for summer reading will be online. The SRP button will go live on our website on Monday, June 14, at 9 a.m.  Summer Reading ends on Saturday, August 14 at 5 p.m.  For families without online access, we will have telephone registration and will be able to update logs by phone.  

We’ve added more to our online ebook and audiobook collections available through Hoopla and Overdrive.  Younger students should also be looking at Scholastic BookFlix and Tumblebooks–particularly struggling readers, since both have read-alongs.  MeL also has many kids’ books available.  

Most of our summer programs will continue to be virtual.  They will include Zoom presentations from Mad Science of Detroit and the owls from Howell Nature Center.  For more, check out our Events page.

It’s going to be fun!  We’re excited to have patrons back in the building and hope to see YOU this summer!

Paula Schaffner, Head of Youth Services

Sweet Tweets of the Week

Did You Know?

Did you know that this summer, Saline Volleyball is offering a variety of new camps for the community? We would love to have you join us!  Click here for all the information!  There is still time to sign up! You can register here using this link!  We hope to have you join us this summer!
– Coach Palazzolo

Ms. Sickler Reads!

A Note From Ms. Sickler

Last Chance – Input forms close June 11th!  If you would like to provide input for your child’s placement for the 2021-2022 school year, please use the Google Forms listed below:

Entering Young5s/Kindergarten

Entering 1st Grade Input Form

Entering 2nd Grade Input Form

Entering 3rd Grade Input Form

Entering 4th Grade Input Form

Upcoming Dates:

Ms. Sickler

Here are your “home school” updates:

• PR Weekly Update
• WM Weekly Update

Harvest Specials Rotation

In-Person Students: Here is the schedule and rotation for the days that you are in school.

Check out CHOICE DAY activities HERE.

Virtual Students: You will be following your daily special schedule.

District Notes

From Dr. Laatsch’s May 28th Community Message…

Latest Covid-19 Health Guidance

As mentioned previously, we will continue to require masks to be worn in our school buildings for the remainder of the school year. 

As it relates to outdoor recess,  the Washtenaw County Health Department has determined that it is OK for students to NOT wear masks IF there are less than 100 students out at any one time. Building principals and teachers are monitoring this closely when out on recess duty.

As we move to the end of the year, there are some school-building celebrations that are starting to take place. We are applying the same recess rule to these events. If these celebrations involve less than 100 students at any one time, masks will not be required to be worn. If there are over 100 students, we will require masks.

As it relates to the following school year, District Nurse, Karan Hervey, and I will be working closely with our local health department to determine how the vaccination process, covid rates, and other mitigation strategies will impact the start of the 2021/22 school year on August 30th. Again, we are planning for a full 5-day a week in-person instructional model.  We will make sure to keep the community informed throughout the summer regarding our planning processes.

Read entire message HERE.

Sweet Tweets of the Week

Did You Know?

Did you know that this year’s art show happened digitally?  Check out art from all SAS buildings HERE.

Ms. Sickler Reads!

Enjoy Evie’s Field Day!

A Note From Ms. Sickler

Thursday, May 27th from 4:00-6:00pm at the Harvest Playground.  Bring your own chair and learn about Harvest PTA while your kids play on the playground.

Field Day – This FRIDAY

• Click on this Equipment List for all 21 stations organized by difficulty.  Feel free to substitute any equipment that is similar to that you already have in your home!
• The Field Day Score Card can be copied and printed off to keep track of the day’s activities.  Don’t forget to share your Field Day scorecard, pictures, and videos using #salineFD2021 on Friday.

• 9:00 – Morning meeting with classroom teachers
• 9:30-10:00am – View introductory Field Day video and Field Day Activities presentation to get prepped and ready!
• 10:00-12:30pm – Have a blast going through as many of the Field Day activities as you can!

Upcoming Dates:

Ms. Sickler

Here are your “home school” updates:

• PR Weekly Update
• WM Weekly Update

Harvest Specials Rotation

In-Person Students: Here is the schedule and rotation for the days that you are in school.

Check out CHOICE DAY activities HERE.

Virtual Students: You will be following your daily special schedule.

SAVE THE DATE: VIRTUAL FIELD DAY THIS FRIDAY

District Notes

The newest guidance from the health department states that students can take off their masks for recess if there are 100 or less students out on the playground at any time.  If we have over 100 students outside, masks should be worn at that point. Indoors, students should continue to mask as we have all year.

Sweet Tweets of the Week

Did You Know?

Did you know that there is a SEAC event tomorrow?

Ms. Sickler Reads!

A Note From Ms. Sickler

Calling All Books!  We are officially done with book check out in the media center for the year.  While it’s a highlight of our time together in media, getting all of the books collected now will ensure that everything is back and ready to start the year in the fall.  We are asking that all books be returned to the media center by June 1st.  If you are unsure of which books your child may have checked out or still needs to return, please email Mrs. Reeves (reevesm@salineschools.org) directly and she will send you that information.  Thank you in advance for your help in this process.

Third Grade Families: Reminder that students are taking the ELA MSTEP on Monday and MATH MSTEP on Wednesday.

You can assist your child in preparation for testing by doing the following: 

Test Anxiety:

Students may experience anxiety about tests and may experience heightened anxiety before a testing situation. A certain degree of test anxiety is normal. Too much anxiety, however, can negatively affect performance. The following strategies may assist students and parents in reducing test anxiety.

• Discuss the test openly and in a positive way.
• Have realistic expectations of your child’s performance while encouraging their best efforts.
• Emphasize that the test is only one measure of academic performance.

We very much appreciate your support! 

Ms. Sickler

Here are your “home school” updates:

• PR Weekly Update
• WM Weekly Update

Harvest Specials Rotation

In-Person Students: Here is the schedule and rotation for the days that you are in school.

Check out CHOICE DAY activities HERE.

Virtual Students: You will be following your daily special schedule.

SAVE THE DATE: VIRTUAL FIELD DAY FRIDAY, MAY 28th!

District Notes

From Dr. Laatsch’s May 14th Community Message:

As it relates to the latest CDC guidance on not needing to wear masks for those people who are fully vaccinated, it is very unclear on how this will apply to school settings in the future. MDHHS (Michigan Department of Health and Human Services) is in the process of reviewing the updated CDC guidance regarding masks. We will keep you updated if our local guidance changes. For now, we continue to operate under the state of Michigan Gatherings and Face Mask Order as advised by the Washtenaw County Health Department. Therefore, we will continue to require masks in our schools. 

Read his entire message HERE.

Sweet Tweets of the Week

Did You Know?

Did you know that third graders are able to visit Heritage on May 25th?  If you have any questions prior to the visit feel free to contact Mrs. Megan DeGrand (degrandm@salineschools.org) or Mrs. Musetta Deneen (deneenm@salineschools.org)

Ms. Sickler Reads!

A Note From Ms. Sickler

Wishing all our moms a Happy Mother’s Day!  We are so appreciative of YOU!

A few items to note:

• Thank you for continuing to support a healthy learning environment for our students. It’s nice to see COVID positive cases trending in a better direction in our community.  Understandably, it is important that we continue to be cautious.  Before and after school drop off/pick up are busy times at Harvest.  Our community is experiencing different levels of comfort during this pandemic.  Though wearing masks is not obligatory outdoors, please consider supporting others by wearing your mask at arrival and dismissal times, when leaving your car, to drop off and pick up your students.
• Parking Loop Reminder – only use the loop at pick-up to pick up your 2nd or 3rd-grade student.  We ask our Y5-1st grade families to park and meet your child.

Thank you for the team effort!

Ms. Sickler

Here are your “home school” updates:

• PR Weekly Update
• WM Weekly Update

Harvest Specials Rotation

In-Person Students: Here is the schedule and rotation for the days that you are in school.

Check out CHOICE DAY activities HERE.

Virtual Students: You will be following your daily special schedule.

SAVE THE DATE: VIRTUAL FIELD DAY FRIDAY, MAY 28th!

District Notes

Sweet Tweets of the Week

Did You Know?

Did you know that Saline Special Education Advisory Committee has a partnership series? Check out the next one on May 24th!

SEAC event spring2021

Ms. Sickler Reads!

A Note From Ms. Sickler

Make sure you thank a teacher (or five!) this week and let them know how much you love and appreciate them. Harvest has the best teachers in Michigan!  ALL the adults in our building are teachers, teaching in the classroom, the office, in small groups, in the cafeteria, and all other spaces where our students learn and grow.

Our amazing PTA has organized special events each day for our staff including snacks on Monday, lunch on Tuesday, breakfast on Wednesday, and an extra-long lunch on Thursday.  We need your help.  Please sign up HERE if you can help cover a post-lunch recess for your child’s grade level.

Ms. Sickler

Here are your “home school” updates:

• PR Weekly Update
• WM Weekly Update

Harvest Specials Rotation

In-Person Students: Here is the schedule and rotation for the days that you are in school.

Check out CHOICE DAY activities HERE.

Virtual Students: You will be following your daily special schedule.

District Notes

Washtenaw County Health Department just updated their guidance regarding the quarantine time period required for close contacts of COVID positives. The quarantine time has been reduced from 14 to 10 days!

If you test positive for COVID English

If you test positive for COVID Spanish

FAQ parents quarantine isolation English

FAQ parents quarantine isolation Spanish

Sweet Tweets of the Week

Did You Know?

Did you know that there are great job opportunities in Saline that align right with our school schedule?  Come be a para-educator in our district.

Ms. Sickler Reads!

A Note From Ms. Sickler

Recently we have seen an uptick in distracted driving in the parking lot. We have had some close calls recently. Please continue to give your full attention to driving if you are using the Harvest parking lots when dropping off or picking up. Children are never released to cross into the parking lot without an adult escort. If you are dropping off or picking up curb-side, please do not leave your vehicle.

Upcoming Dates:

• May 17 & 19: 3rd Grade MSTEP
• May 31: No school- Memorial Day
• June 9: Half day (12:10PM dismissal)
• June 10: Half day, last day of school (12:10PM dismissal)

Ms. Sickler

Here are your “home school” updates:

• PR Weekly Update
• WM Weekly Update

Harvest Specials Rotation

In-Person Students: Here is the schedule and rotation for the days that you are in school.

Check out CHOICE DAY activities HERE.

Virtual Students: You will be following your daily special schedule.

District Notes

Please join us for another opportunity to engage in conversation around equity. We will be using the Saline Bridge to Civility Protocol to better help us engage in civil discourse. Please note that due to the number of trained facilitators we have to run breakout rooms, we are limiting participation to the first 120 people. Click HERE to join the conversation!  It is not necessary to have attended session #1 in order to attend this upcoming session on May 4th. NOTE: After you sign-up, a confirmation ZOOM link to allow you to access the engagement session will be sent to the email address that you provided. 

Read entire message HERE.

Sweet Tweets of the Week

Did You Know?

Did you know that students can participate in a STEM camp in person OR at home this summer?  Camp Invention is back!

Ms. Sickler Reads!

A Note From Ms. Sickler

If you would like to provide input for your child’s placement for the 2021-2022 school year, please use the Google Forms listed below:

Entering Young5s/Kindergarten

Entering 1st Grade Input Form

Entering 2nd Grade Input Form

Entering 3rd Grade Input Form

Entering 4th Grade Input Form

Ms. Sickler

Here are your “home school” updates:

• PR Weekly Update
• WM Weekly Update

Harvest Specials Rotation

In-Person Students: Here is the schedule and rotation for the days that you are in school.

Check out CHOICE DAY activities HERE.

Virtual Students: You will be following your daily special schedule.

District Notes

From Dr. Laatsch’s April 16th community message:

Although we are moving forward with more in-person instruction in our buildings in a time with significant COVID-19 activity, we are recognizing that we can operationalize more in-person instruction safely. Yet, it will continue to present quarantining challenges. It’s not ideal to have to quarantine whole or partial sections of classrooms in any of our buildings. We will continue to work through this with the support of our students, staff and community.

Quarantining FAQ

Read the entire message HERE.

Sweet Tweets of the Week

Did You Know?

Did you know that you can still order the Harvest 2020-2021 Yearbook?  Order HERE.

Ms. Sickler Reads!

Ramadan Mubarak to all our Harvest Families celebrating this season.  Enjoy this story from Olympic medalist, Ibtihaj Muhammad on a story of hijab and family.

Learn more about Ramadan HERE.

A Note From Ms. Sickler

Order yearbooks now – April 23rd HERE.  If you are unable to purchase a yearbook and would like one for your student, please contact Mrs. Pickett or me and we can make arrangements for your family to receive one.

Can you find me in my first-grade yearbook class photo from a long, long time ago?

Ms. Sickler

Here are your “home school” updates:

• PR Weekly Update
• WM Weekly Update

Harvest Specials Rotation

In-Person Students: Here is the schedule and rotation for the days that you are in school.

Check out CHOICE DAY activities HERE.

Virtual Students: You will be following your daily special schedule.

District Notes

From Dr. Laatsch’s April 9th community message:

Even though we have experienced no spread of COVID-19 transmission in our classrooms over the past 13 months, we know students are contracting COVID-19 in the community. This is why your partnership is so important to us. When students are away from school, please continue the following practices:  

• Please make a very concerted effort to practice mitigation efforts when your kids are engaging with other households, socializing in the community, participating in athletics, etc.

• As you have consistently been doing all year, please do not send your children to school if they have any symptoms of illness.

Read the entire message HERE.

Sweet Tweets of the Week

Did You Know?

Did you know that you can share input for 21-22 classroom placement for any student entering Young 5s – Fourth grade next year?  If you would like to provide input for your child’s placement for the 2021-2022 school year, please use the Google Forms listed below:

Entering Young5s/Kindergarten

Entering 1st Grade Input Form

Entering 2nd Grade Input Form

Entering 3rd Grade Input Form

Entering 4th Grade Input Form

Ms. Sickler Reads!

Enjoy learning why kindness counts with The Potato Chip Champ