Update #105 from Dr. Derek Arrowood, Superintendent, Hamilton Heights School Corporation

Welcome back! I hope everyone was able to take advantage of spring break to rest, reenergize, and are ready to finish the semester strong. The next seven weeks will be a flurry of activity including spring sports, testing, awards, recognitions, prom, art shows, concerts, and graduation among a few. Prom is Saturday, April 29. The annual senior trip to Gatlinburg, Tennessee is May 12-14. The last day of school for students is Thursday, May 25 and last day for staff is Friday, May 26. Graduation takes place on Saturday, June 3.A

Last week was National Assistant Principals Week. Our assistant principals, Whitney Gray and Mitch Street (HHHS), Nicole Ridens (HHMS), and Ken Watson (HHES) are among some of our amazing unsung heroes. They play a vital role in ensuring the success of our schools. They make powerful contributions to improving our schools, maintaining a safe and welcoming learning environment for our students, and in supporting our teachers in their professional development to name a few. Your leadership and commitment to our community is truly inspiring. Thank you for enhancing student achievement and outcome at Heights.

April is also National School Library Month. School libraries (media centers) are integral to our schools. These spaces offer unlimited opportunities for growth through access to technology, multimedia, and incredible resources of every variety. Our school media center specialists, Karen Jones (HHES), Emily Beechler (HHMS), and Lori Hippensteel (HHHS) play an essential role in the education of our students. They are a teacher of information literacy and skills and an instructional partner. Thank you for helping to positively transform lives at Heights!

I want to give a shout out to our middle and high school robotics teams who qualified to advance to the VEX Robotics World Champions in Dallas, Texas, April 25 – May 4. They include HHMS Teams 214C (Alayna Kauffman, Dylan Bryan, Johanna Lecher, Kennedy Dreher, Kaiden Lawson, and Austin Kappes), 214D (Reece Blanton, Olivia Higgins, Illiana Bowyer, Nash Biddle, and Ethan Miller), 214G (Noah Heuer, Levi Heuer, Selah Heuer, Levi VanAlstine, and Kaelynn Fidler) and HHHS Teams A (Josh Ozolins, Wade Brown, and Eli Heuer) and C (Landon Brasky, Josh Steffen, Connelly Schuster, and Nick Stumpf).

I also want to give a shout out to students in our BPA and DECA programs who will be competing on the national stage later this month. Six DECA students qualified in their categories to compete at nationals in Orlando, Florida, April 22-26. Representing Hamilton Heights and the Husky Fan Shop School-Based Enterprise are Hannah Smallwood and Melissa Lovell. In addition, 20 members of Heights’ Business Professionals of America (BPA) chapter have qualified to participate at the national competition in Anaheim, California, April 26-30. Congratulations! Best of luck at DECA and BPA nationals and the VEX Robotics World Championship!

If you are interested in the latest and greatest taking place throughout our campus, you won’t want to miss our next Superintendent Advisory Group meeting. HHSC Business Manager Kristin McCarty and HHSC Facility Director Dori Hochstedler will share facility updates that are underway and the plans we have for future enhancements. The meeting will take place on Thursday, April 20 at the HHSC Student Activity Center in Arcadia beginning at 6 p.m.

Thank you for your continued partnership in the weeks ahead as we work together to finish the year strong! #WeAreHuskies

– Dr. Derek Arrowood is the Superintendent of the Hamilton Heights School Corporation.