Huron High School
As the year is winding to an end, the credit recovery classroom is full of students diligently working to finish classes they have previously failed. So far, 95 classes have been recovered by students, placing many of them back on track to graduate. Students who are struggling during this final quarter of the school year to pass their class(es) for a variety of reasons are getting a little extra help to make-up work, tests, or quizzes.

Submitted by Sonia Malley, Credit Recovery instructor

HMS Diversity Club
Happy spring from the Middle School Counseling Office! Did you know that HMS has students in the Huron School District from 20 different countries? These countries include Belize, Burma/Myanmar, Cambodia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guam, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Malaysia, Mexico, Micronesia, Palau, Peru, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Tanzania, Thailand, U.S.A., and Vietnam.

The Diversity Club at HMS met during the months of February and March to create posters that highlight the unique cultures of each country. Some of the things that students wanted to share on their artwork were food, dress, and important holidays specific to each culture, as well as the country’s geography/climate, important people, and much more. The posters are hung in the HMS hallway for the students and staff to enjoy.  

Their hope for the project was to get students involved in celebrating the diversity that is in the Huron School District. Helping students understand the aspects of each culture shows that each group has extraordinary aspects that make them unique. It helps teach acceptance and respect for the full range of characteristics in each cultural context. Staff often see students walk by the posters and point at their countries with pride. 

Diversity is about what makes each individual unique and includes backgrounds, life experiences, and beliefs. These things make us who we are and the combination of our differences are what shape our perspective and view of the world. When these differences are brought to a community, the results can be extraordinary. A diverse community is a strong community — well versed in acceptance, inclusion, and culture. If students are proud of who they are as an individual and have respect for each other and their differences, the sky is the limit to what they are able to accomplish.

Submitted by Akina Decker, Certified School Social Worker at HMS

HMS Library
Reading is rebounding at the Huron Middle School. During the 2019-2020 school year, 12,854 items circulated. During the 2020-2021, school year items circulated increased to only 13,345 items. Now with eight weeks of school still to go, over 16,000 items have circulated. They are averaging over 2,000 items circulating every month school is in session.  

In addition, thanks to the support of the school board, the average age of collection is 10 years old, the age recommended for school libraries. Finally, due to the importance of diversity to school libraries, librarian Robert Behlke has summited the school’s collection for evaluation and 10 percent of their collection is considered diverse, with their largest sections African American, Asian/ Pacific Islander, Hispanic, and Own Voices.

Submitted by Robert Behlke, HMS librarian

Washington 4-5 Center
In class counseling, students at the Washington 4-5 Center work on developing social emotional skills through examples and fun activities. They covered a variety of subjects from bullying, to coping with stress, to friendship, to feelings and problem solving.

This month they have been working on understanding feelings and how to ID them as well as using empathy when interacting with others. Other things students learned this month were the steps for problem solving.

Students were able to ID the problem and develop solutions from an example.

The last part of the month, they have been working on the benefits of games and good sportsmanship, followed by a day of playing games and then a discussion about what they learned from the activity.

Submitted by Jeff Johnson, counselor