School Bell … 2/24/23

HPS student Sammr Sammin, pictured with her family and HPS Interim Superintendent Nabil Nagi, is a recipient of this year’s Superintendent Award.

Student spotlight
This month, we’re excited to feature Sammr Sammin for our student spotlight. A recipient of this year’s Superintendent Award, Sammr continues to go above and beyond the call of duty in addition to her studies.
She is the president of the Social Justice Club and an active member of several student organizations. We’re so proud of her and will continue to cheer her on.

From the Interim Superintendent
HPS Interim Superintendent Nabil Nagi shared his thoughts about the recent MSU shootings with district students and families:
Our hearts are heavy this morning, as we process the news of a shooting at Michigan State University. Another senseless tragedy has taken place and our community grieves the innocent people who were injured and the senseless loss of life.
During this difficult time, our thoughts remain with the families and loved ones of each person impacted by yesterday’s devastating incident.
The safety and well-being of your students is our top priority. We are committed to working together as a community to maintain a safe school environment where every student can learn and grow. As incidents of violence continue to impact schools and communities nationwide, our thoughts are also with each of you this morning, as you send your children to our schools, relying on us to keep them safe. Hamtramck Public Schools is working closely with our local law enforcement partners, including the Wayne County Sheriff’s Department and the Michigan State Police.
It is my hope this communication addresses some of your immediate concerns, by reassuring you that District officials and staff are trained and confident in our safety protocols. Some of the security measures in place to support the safety of your student and our staff, include and are not limited to:
• ALICE Trainings
• BUILDING SECURITY GUARDS,
• ACTIVE SHOOTER DRILLS,
• MENTAL HEALTH RESOURCES, ETC.

In addition to our safety protocol, we need the support of our entire community to protect your children who we are privileged to serve. We ask that you speak to your children and urge them to immediately reach out to school officials directly, or through the State of Michigan’s Okay2Say tip line at 8-555-OK2SAY or OKAY2SAY@mi.gov, if they learn of any potential threats that could harm our school community.
We take all incidents involving student and staff safety seriously and deeply value the diligence of our law enforcement partners as well as our full community.
We understand that our students, families, teachers and staff will need support in the coming days. Please know that counselors will be available to our school community. Do not hesitate to reach out to our counselors should you or your child need support. Your children are our children, and we will continue to do everything in our control to maintain safety in our schools. These are some resources to help you discuss this with your children:
• Helping your children manage distress in the aftermath of a shooting: https://www.apa.org/topics/gun-violence-crime/school-shooting
• Helping youth after community trauma: https://achieve.lausd.net/cms/lib/CA01000043/Centricity/Domain/156/helping_youth_after_community_trauma_for_educators_final_explosions.pdf
• Resources for parents and educators on talking to kids about trauma and loss: https://www.gse.harvard.edu/news/uk/16/07/coping-community-crisis
We remain committed to working together as a community to ensure your child has the resources they need to continue to learn in a safe environment. Please continue to make every attempt to remain hopeful and resilient.
Thank you for your partnership and trust in us on behalf of our children. If you have any questions, contact my office at (313) 591-7413.

HHS Writing Center
Rachel Tibai of the high school Writing Center has some exciting news about the school’s program.
Tibai explains:
“These impressive young people went through a rigorous application process to gain positions as our very first Peer Consultants at the inception of our Writing Center.”
Here is what the students have to say about the program:
“The writing center is a place that helps students that are struggling with any English based assignment. Our goals as the writing center are to further better the community of Hamtramck English writing and reading comprehension,” said Benjamin Arnautovic.
“Helping students further excel in writing and giving an opportunity to grow in the subject, those are our goals.
We want to help any struggles in any class that contains writing, to the best of our ability. We want to put students in the right direction,” said Ava Baldoumas.
“The HHS Writing Center is a safe place run by ‘Writing consultants,’ which are students who assist other students with their writing/assignments. At the writing center everyone is welcome to get any help/advice regarding school assignments.
“This help will be available during and after school hours. Our goal as writing consultants is to help students think for themselves. We want our students to feel more comfortable and confident in their writing. We writing consultants don’t want to just edit the paper, we want the writer to learn something new and approve their skills,” said Aujanea Carter.
“The writing center is a class of students who have been selected to help other students in Hamtramck High School. We hope to help any student in need of help with writing and even help ourselves improve with our writing skills,” said Royce Hammock.
“The HHS Writing Center is a friendly and supportive workspace for the students of HHS to get help with their assignments or any other literary assignment.
“In HHS Writing Center, our goal is to provide all students with required support or guidance in writing related assignments. Our main priority is to help students and get all their thoughts on paper so that they can do their best writings as well as improve their writing skills,” said Uday Parom.
“The writing center is about assisting students with assignments. Luckily, for students, it’s not only for English work. It’s for other projects dealing with writing. It is for every student striving to reach their goal,” said Ghaida Saleh.
“We are Peer Consultants who make it easier for students to make the best of their work. We were chosen to help others expand their knowledge of writing,” said Shanjida Sharif.

Published Feb. 24, 2023