Each week, Mr. Slavik shares a quick recap of what’s happening across Breckenridge Community Schools and a look ahead at upcoming events. Huskie Happenings is your go-to source for staying connected with school news, celebrations, and important reminders. Whether you're a student, parent, staff member, or community supporter, this newsletter keeps everyone in the loop as we grow and learn together. Stay informed. Stay engaged. Stay Huskie Strong!new paragraph block.

🗓️ District Weekly Activity Schedule

📅 Sat, Dec 6

🎶 All Day: MSBOA Middle School Solo & Ensemble Festival

🚜 9:00 AM: FFA Alumni Toy Tractor Show in HS gym

🤼 9:00 AM: Varsity Wrestling at Richmond High School

📅 Mon, Dec 8

🏀 5:00 PM: MS Girls Basketball (Home vs. St. Charles)

🏀 5:00 PM: Varsity Girls Basketball (Home vs. Midland Calvary Baptist)

⛹️ 7:30 PM: Varsity Boys Basketball (Home vs. Midland Calvary Baptist)

📅 Tue, Dec 9

🏀 5:30 PM: JV Girls Basketball at Beaverton

📅 Wed, Dec 10

🤼 5:00 PM: Varsity Wrestling at Bullock Creek

🏀 5:00 PM: MS Girls Basketball at Fulton

📅 Thu, Dec 11

🤼 4:30 PM: MS Wrestling at Sanford Meridian

⛹️ 5:30 PM: JV/Varsity Boys Basketball (Home vs. Montabella)

📅 Fri, Dec 12

🎉 3:15 PM - 5:15 PM: MS Fun Friday

🏀 5:30 PM: JV/Varsity Girls Basketball at Montabella

📅 Sat, Dec 13

🤼 9:00 AM: Varsity Wrestling at Garber

Learning Environment/Culture

Breckenridge Community Schools will build relationships with a focus on creating engaging opportunities that encourage student involvement. 

Huge thanks to the Breckenridge Elementary PTO for their incredibly thoughtful gift! 🙏 Our staff is already looking forward to rejuvenating and taking a much-needed break in our new chair. We appreciate your support!

Communications/Community Engagement

Breckenridge Community Schools will promote collaborative partnerships between school, parents, and community to increase communication and engagement. 

This year, the BES Title Team with the help of our Amazing NHS Student Team, parents and student family members put on an incredibly successful holiday gift shop for our students.  The shop ran from 8:15-2:15 Wednesday through Friday.  Students from every classroom ‘shopped til they dropped’ and had a great time purchasing gifts for their family and friends.  BES made almost $900 to put back into opportunities for our students.  We thank each and every one of you who sent in money and supported your children to make this such a special occasion for them.  Students were so generous and their focus was making purchases for those they loved instead of themselves.  They learned and shared valuable lessons about budgeting and the gift of giving.  Well done BES students, we are so proud of you!

What a great Christmas celebration in Breckenridge! Thank you to all the businesses and volunteers who make this annual tradition happen.

Seeing our students shine in so many activities was the best part! Keep up the great work, Huskies! You make us proud. 🐾

Our Community at its best! ❤️

A huge thank you to the Gratiot Community Foundation for providing a wonderful opportunity for our BES families to shop for their loved ones this holiday season. It is partnerships like this that make our community so special.

We also want to send a special shout-out to the staff members who volunteered their time to assist with the shopping. Thank you for going above and beyond to help make this a memorable holiday season for our students and their families! 🎁🐾

Academics/Programs

Breckenridge Community Schools will provide the time and resources to collaboratively and continually align PK-12 curriculum.   

Our November AI Taskforce meeting wrapped up with some exciting progress. We are moving quickly to provide clarity and support for AI integration in our district. Here are the top 5 takeaways every staff member should know:

📚 Resource Hub In-Progress: We are currently building a library of short "How-To" training videos and guides to help you navigate AI tools.

⚖️ Defining Usage: A "Teacher and Student Use Scale" is nearly complete and slated for review in January. This will help standardize how we approach AI across grade levels.

🤝 Ethics & Integrity: To support the new scales, we are developing disclosure and pledge statements to ensure transparency in AI use.

🌟 Spotlight on Innovation: We are preparing to showcase how our region is using AI. Action Item: Start thinking about colleagues (or students!) who are using AI in creative ways—we want to highlight them soon!

✅ Streamlined Requests: A new AI tool/tech app request form is being built with integrated workflows to make approvals faster and easier.

Stay tuned for the official rollout of the Use Scale in January!

At a special meeting on December 4th, the BCS Board of Education took strategic action to preserve our eligibility for state mental health and safety funding. This funding (Section 31aa) has historically been vital to our district, specifically helping cover the cost of a social worker to support our students.

The Challenge This year, the state attached new conditions to these funds requiring districts to waive attorney-client privilege in certain emergency situations. Originally, the Board declined the funds because these legal risks were too broad.

The New Strategy Due to ongoing litigation and a strict state deadline of December 4th, the legal landscape shifted. To ensure BCS does not permanently lose this opportunity while the courts decide if the new mandates are legal, the Board adopted a resolution to accept this funding that is contingent on this court litigation.

What This Means This resolution acts as a "safety net." It allows BCS to:

Opt-in immediately: Ensuring we meet the deadline to remain eligible for the funds.

Retain the right to withdraw: If the courts do not rule in favor of schools regarding the waiver requirement, the district will automatically rescind this decision by December 30.

This approach maximizes our chances of retaining critical funding for student mental health while continuing to protect the district from unreasonable legal risks. We look forward to continuing our focus on student safety and well-being at BCS.

Huge thank you to Chuck Krafft and The Bleacher Denizen for making the trip to cover our Varsity Boys Basketball season opener against Fulton! 🏀

It was a hard-fought battle, but the Huskies came away with the 46-38 victory to start the season 1-0. Great to see the detailed write-up on the game and our players.

Check out the full article and game recap here: https://thebleacherdenizen.com/2025/12/05/breckenridge-at-fulton-boys-basketball-the-bleacher-denizen-december-4-2025-by-chuck-krafft/

Shoutout to our amazing library & media center!

It’s more than just books - it’s a place where students explore, create, and connect. From puzzles and chess battles to quiet reading moments, our library is full of energy and curiosity every day.

6th grade STEM students have been putting their coding skills to work with our Dash and Cue robots. They complete coding challenges and have some fun too!

From anatomy to harvest, it’s been a busy week in Ag Science! 🌾🔬

Our students got hands-on with biology by dissecting deer hearts to learn about anatomy. 🦌 On the horticulture side, we continued monitoring "Fred’s cucumbers"—and we finally got to harvest a batch! The verdict? They were delicious! 🥒😋

We love seeing our students learn by doing!

6th and 7th grade science welcomed back Mr. Bovee from the Cranbrook Institute of Science this week to learn about Groundwater Pollution. Students tested acidity levels of soil samples and designed a filter to neutralize the soil. This is a fun, hands-on learning experience every year!

Personnel/Leadership 

Breckenridge Community Schools will support, recruit, and retain highly qualified personnel to collaborate and meet the needs of our students. 

Operations 

Breckenridge Community Schools will strategically utilize resources to provide an optimal environment for staff, students, and community.

🎄 Mark Your Calendars, Huskies! ❄️

As we head into the final stretch of the semester, here is a reminder of the upcoming schedule for Christmas Break:

🗓 Friday, December 19: Half Day for Students ⏰ 🗓 Dec. 22 - Jan. 2: Christmas Break (No School) 🎁 🗓 Monday, January 5: School Resumes 📚

Let’s finish these last couple of weeks strong!

⏰ School Schedule Reminder – Let’s Start the Day Right!

A quick reminder of our daily schedule! It's important for students to arrive on time and start their day with a consistent routine. Routines help set a positive tone for learning, and arriving by the start time helps avoid tardies and potential truancy issues.

Please help your student build strong habits by ensuring they are at school on time each day.

🏫 Breckenridge Elementary School (BES)

• Doors Open: 7:30 AM

• School Starts: 7:50 AM

• Dismissal: 2:50 PM

🏫 Middle School / High School (MS/HS)

• Doors Open: 7:30 AM

• School Starts: 8:00 AM

• Dismissal: 3:00 PM

We appreciate your support in helping every Huskie get the best start to their day! 💙💛