HOUGHTON COUNTY — In a Tuesday email, Houghton High School Principal Cole Klein said that the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services extended the Emergency Order that suspends in-person instruction to all 9th-12th grade students through Dec. 20, 2020. That date overlaps that of the start of Houghton Schools’ Christmas break.

“Our Houghton High School students will continue with remote learning through Friday, Dec.18, which is the last day of school before our two-week Winter Break,” Klein stated. “We plan to resume in-person instruction on Monday, Jan. 4, 2021.”

Klein added:

• During this extended remote learning period, teachers will continue to instruct, through Google Meets, using the normal daily schedule.

• All students need to continue accessing their Google Classroom during each class period of the day. Teachers will have live lessons using Google Meet, and will be posting assignments and videos in Google Classroom.

• It remains important for students to maintain a daily schedule at home in order for them to stay committed and focused on their academics. While looking at the past three weeks, we have found that students are most successful when attending these Google Meets.

“Remote learning has been a real challenge for everyone,” said Klein. “We appreciate the support that our students have been receiving at home.”

Klein stated that the teachers have been working hard to provide quality instruction while balancing reasonable and compassionate expectations.

“We will continue to make adjustments along the way,” he said. “I would like to thank our teachers and support staff for their continued and tireless efforts to teach and support our students virtually. We are learning to master the craft of virtual teaching. I would also like to thank our students for their perseverance with regard to remote learning.”

The absence of face-to-face interactions (for classes) athletics and clubs have made this all the more difficult, he said, and the school and staff share the frustrations as they look forward to the return of normalcy.

The absence of face-to-face social interactions, athletics, and clubs have made this all the more difficult. We share your frustration and look forward to the return of normalcy.

“Please reach out to me, or to teachers directly, if you have any questions or concerns regarding your child’s learning,” he said.

Hancock Schools Superintendent Steve Patchin, issued a similar statement in a Monday email, adding”

“Classes for our students in grades kindergarten through 8th grade will continue with face-to-face instruction as we have been,” Patchin said. “We continue to follow our return to learn plan that also includes options of synchronous/asynchronous and virtual school learning for all K-12 students.”

Patchin requested that high school students please pay attention to their emails from teachers and principal regarding packets and on-line class sessions. They will be continuing until Christmas break.

“As a reminder, our Christmas break begins on Saturday, Dec. 19, 2020,” he stated. “We will return to instruction on Monday, Jan. 4, 2021.”

The suspension on athletics will also continue until Dec. 20, 2020. The staff and Athletics Department remains hopeful that athletics will resume on December 20, but will wait to hear directions from MDHHS leadership.

“We understand there are many disappointed that our high school will not move back to face-to-face instruction,” said Patchin, “and our sports will not restart training (or) their seasons. Our district education team shares in this disappointment. We will continue to look for creative ways to serve our students, educating them, and helping them grow both personally and academically.”