Announcements

Summer Reading 2025-2026

For nearly ten years, Homestead High School has promoted summer reading for all grade levels as a way to connect students with an engaging, entertaining, and enriching reading experience. Encouraging our Spartans to read over the summer is one of the many ways we prepare our students for academic excellence while fostering a life-long love of reading. During this time, public schools were allowed to charge curriculum fees and could ask parents to purchase summer reading materials.

Unfortunately, due to recent state-mandated changes to public school funding, Homestead can no longer ask families to purchase summer reading books. As a result, there will not be a required summer reading for the 2025-2026 school year.

However, we still believe that reading over the summer is an important way for students to prepare for the upcoming school year. Reading over the summer helps prevent the loss of academic gains made during the school year and supports the lifelong habit of reading.

As such, Homestead has created a suggested reading list for the summer. The selection of books has been carefully curated to balance academic rigor with engaging content based on grade level. Our goal is to inspire a lifelong passion for reading while ensuring that students continue to develop critical thinking skills and expand their knowledge. The chosen books span a variety of genres and topics providing students with opportunities to explore new ideas, cultures, and perspectives.

Please see the link below for 3 pages of book titles that your student may enjoy reading.

Arts Under the Lights!

It’s an Allen County tradition to gather on a Friday night at the local high school football field and cheer on the team. SACS is excited to announce our next Friday night event “Under the Lights,” taking place on September 18, 2025! Last year’s “Read Under the Lights” was a huge success—a fun, family-friendly evening that brought together all our schools and the community. This year, we’re shifting the spotlight to the visual and performing arts in our schools and community with “Arts Under the Lights.” Come out for a fun night of music and dance performed by your very own SACS student. In addition to promoting the love of the arts, we are looking forward to fellowship and camaraderie between local vendors, our SACS families, and the greater Fort Wayne area community. Tours of Homestead High School will be available to both SACS families and community members throughout the evening. If it rains, activities will be moved into HHS. Please contact Alyssa Braman if you have any questions.

abraman@sacs.k12.in.us

Mr. Swinford

Our principal Mrs. Summers announced her retirement effective at the end of the 2024-2025 school year. She has been an educator here at Homestead for many years and took on the role of head principal at the start of the 2021-2022 school year. We wish her well in retirement and are happy to announce the new principal at Homestead, Mr. Adam Swinford! Mr. Swinford brings 25 years of experience in education with Fort Wayne Community Schools, including 17 years in leadership roles. Most recently, he served as Principal of Northrop High School. We look forward to welcoming him into the position for the 2025-2026 school year.

IMPORTANT INFO FOR THE CLASS OF 2025!!!

Graduation

Graduation for the Class of 2025 will be on Sunday, June 8th at the War Memorial Coliseum Expo Center. No tickets are needed for parents, family members, or friends to attend the event, but parking at the Coliseum costs $8 for everyone (including seniors).

Graduation Information & Itinerary

The Graduation Ceremony will be in the Coliseum's EXPO-Center on Sunday, June 8 at 2:00 PM. There is a mandatory Graduation Rehearsal on the same day at 11:30 AM.

Seniors: Handbags, backpacks, etc., are not to be carried into the ceremony, and there are no secure areas to leave any items. These items should NOT be brought to the rehearsal, so come with everything done & ready before rehearsal, wearing your cap & gown. Lifetouch Photographers will take photos of students with their diplomas between the rehearsal and the actual ceremony. The Memorial Coliseum EXPO Center doors will open at 1:15 pm for families, and the ceremony will be approximately one hour and 15 minutes.

Additional Information for the Class of 2025

Higher Ed Students: If you are taking higher ed. courses at one of the college campuses during the 2nd semester, please remember it is your responsibility to provide a copy of your college transcript to Mrs. Boneff in Student Services for that credit to be transferred onto your Homestead transcript and count towards graduation. Please provide that transcript no later than May 23, 2025.

If you are not planning to participate in the graduation ceremony on June 8th, please email Mrs. Boneff at jboneff@sacs.k12.in.us no later than May 29th so she can remove your name from the seating chart.

Seniors do not receive their actual diplomas at the graduation ceremony. All graduating seniors (or their parents/guardians) must pick up their diploma from Homestead High School from 10:45 am to 2:45 pm on June 17th and 18th, at Door #33 (Door #33, off Homestead Rd). IDs will be required.

Your college requires your final high school transcript including your 2nd semester grades and graduation date to complete your college enrollment for this fall. You will need to place your order for your “Final Transcript” to be sent to your college destination at the end of this semester on www.Parchment.com, selecting the option “HOLD FOR GRADES” in the drop-down box after you have selected your college destination. This will place a pending Parchment order for your final transcript to be automatically sent after grades are finalized by mid-June to the destination you have chosen.

Class of 2025 transcript orders are free when ordered on www.Parchment.com before July 31st of your graduation year. Class of 2025 transcripts ordered on or after 08/01/2025 will be charged an “Alumni” processing fee of approx. $4.00 by Parchment.

Graduating students must update their email address on their Parchment profile to show their personal email address instead of their SACS email address. In the event you forget your Parchment password, Parchment will send the password reset link to the email address listed on your Parchment profile. Your SACS email address will be deactivated as of June 26, 2025, therefore you must have your email address listed on your Parchment profile.

Class of 2025 SACS student email accounts will be deactivated as of June 26, 2025. If you have anything that you need to save to a flash drive, please do so before that date. It will not be available afterward.

Immunization Requirement for Class of 2026

Attention class of 2026: A 2nd Meningitis MCV4 vaccine is required for Senior year. All vaccines must be up to date with the nurses’ office by the first day of school. Students not up to date will be unable to attend school beginning September 3rd, 2025 and will use Parent Excused (PX) days to cover those absences.

Senior Activities

As this academic school year is coming to an end, senior events will be underway. A Senior Fact Sheet was sent out via student's school email listing all the events seniors should be aware of and their details. This includes Academic Awards Night, Graduate Activities Day, Final Exams, Graduation Ceremony, and Diploma Pick-Up. Be sure to keep an eye on event dates and information as they approach! Look at the Senior Fact Sheet HERE.

Homestead High School Driver Education Program: Summer Book & Driving Sessions

Driver's Ed through Homestead will be available to all Homestead students who meet the age requirement. To take Driver's Education, one must be 15 years old. Both the book portion and driving times are available over the summer. An email will be sent in late April with a link to register.

Once you register online, you MUST attend one of the following registration completion nights listed:

Monday, May 12 - ONLY students signing up for BOTH the book and the driving may attend this night from 6-7pm in the café annex inside door #1.

Wednesday, May 14 - Students signing up for DRIVING ONLY may attend from 6-7 pm in the café annex inside door #1.

Summer Book Dates: All classes are from 1:00-4:00 p.m. in the Grey Box at Homestead. Cost: $125

· June 2-17 (we will not meet on Friday, June 6th or Friday, June 13th)

· June 18 --Make-up date (for those students who missed one of the dates listed above)

**You must attend all the sessions. If you miss one, you must attend the make-up day on June 18**

Summer Driving Times: (All driving days are weekdays unless special circumstances arise). Cost: $325

Drive Session DATES Drive Time

Session I June 2– 9 8-10 am; 10:15-12:15; 12:45-2:45; or 3:00-5:00

Session II June 10 – 17 8-10 am; 10:15-12:15; 12:45-2:45; or 3:00-5:00

Session III June 18 - 25 7-9 am; 9:15-11:15; 11:45-1:45; or 2:00-4:00

Session IV June 26 – July 3 7-9 am; 9:15-11:15; 11:45-1:45; or 2:00-4:00

Session V July 7– 14 7-9 am; 9:15-11:15; 11:45-1:45; or 2:00-4:00

Session VI July 15– 22 7-9 am; 9:15-11:15; 11:45-1:45; or 2:00-4:00

*Students must only sign up for ONE two-hour drive time during ONE drive Session.

Example: Bill chose Session V at 9:10 – 11:10 totaling 12 hours in the car (six behind the wheel and six observing his driving partner.)

The Collaboratory

The Purdue Fort Wayne Liberal Arts College would love for you to join them this summer for a day camp full of activities!

The Collaboratory gives teens ages 14-17 an opportunity to participate in collaborative activities, take field trips to museums and archives in Fort Wayne, as well as have thought-provoking conversations centered around liberal arts. This would be perfect for anyone interested in the studies of humanities and social sciences to get a glimpse of what college would look like!

For the full week (June 9th - June 13th) there is a registration fee of $50, but there are also waivers for those that would be prohibited by the cost.