Principal’s Notes
11/15/17
Ambassador to the Netherlands (awaiting confirmation), Pete Hoekstra joins us today. He will be spending time with Topher Hansen’s and Zach Lienau’s classrooms. Ambassador Hoekstra was a Representative in the US House and served on the Intelligence Committee for many years.
The Fast$50 program, which originated with Silent Observer, was announced again this week. It provides $50 to any student willing to provide information leading to arrests for drugs. All names are kept in confidence. We have had many tips which have been passed onto the Fremont Police Department. Discussions have occurred about the difference between a snitcher and a citizen. A snitcher/rat is trying to get people in trouble who have not caused the reporter any harm. A citizen is a person who cares about their community, neighbors, and environment and protects them from people who want to do harm. Drugs destroy communities. Heroin, meth and prescription drugs create a tidal wave that washes communities away. That tidal wave is approaching Fremont. There is no doubt about that. We’ve also talked about the fact that criminals use terms like narc, snitcher, rat, etc., to control and force people to remain silent. Those of us who want a drug free school and community far, far outweigh those who don’t. Needless to say, I’m not a real popular principal right now with a segment of our student body. I was never going to win Prom King anyway.
We had very positive results from our recent MIPHY survey. The survey is administered to students every other year and looks at sex, bullying, violence, drugs, alcohol, and other health-related issues. It is completely anonymous. Our bullying rates dropped for the fourth consecutive time (over an 8 year span). We will provide the full report as soon as the State allows us to provide specific numbers. I think the community will be happy. That doesn’t mean we are bully free. We deal with the issues and try to prevent them from reoccurring. In the overwhelming vast majority of cases, the behavior stops as reported by the students. It is great to have student survey data to evaluate our programs!
Scott Sherman
It's A Great Day To Be A Packer!
Support Information
Arbor Circle in Newaygo County: http://www.arborcircle.org/programs-services
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 1-800-273-8255 24/7 trained support
Crisis Text Line for Teens Text "Listen" to 741-741 24/7 trained support
Please remember to remind your child to report any neglect or bullying they see. 