Happy Friday Hawks!

Happy first day of September!

No School on Monday, September 4 in recognition of Labor Day. Enjoy your 3-day weekend!

Next Thursday, September 7 is our first HHS Blood Drive of the year. Students, staff, alumni, parents and other member of the Hawk Community are welcome to donate blood to save lives. The HHS Blood Drive program has a long-standing legacy of life-saving. After collecting the most donations of any high school in the state last year for the 16th straight year in a row, this year Highland is trying to win a 17th STRAIGHT state championship by once again collecting the most blood donations of any school in the state of Arizona. With a strong showing at our first blood drive, Highland has the chance to show the rest of the state that we don't plan on ending our dominating dynasty of blood donations anytime soon! Please see information below about the Blood Drive next Thursday.

Next Friday, September 8 is our Varsity Football's first home game of the season vs Lone Peak High School from Utah. We encourage you to come out to The Nest to support our student athletes and experience the excitement at one of our games. We have a strong tradition of excellence on the field and off the field. Come see and hear our amazing band perform during the game and at halftime. Our Tuba TurnUp is a must see (and hear) along with cheering with our incredible student section. Our Cheer and Pom teams are annually competing for state and national championships, you can see both perform Friday night. We look foward to seeing you Friday night!

Each year our district asks each family to complete the Annual Update through Infinite Campus. If you have not done that yet, please take a moment to do so. Below are instructions. Right now our campus has 35% of our families who have completed the Annual Update. Let's get to 100% Hawks! Last week we were at 30%

We are four weeks away from our two-week long Fall Break, please calendar the dates! We do not have school from Monday, October 2 to Friday, October 13. School resumes on Monday, October 16.

Thank-you for choosing Highland High School to send your child, we are grateful for the opportunity to be with them daily!

Brian Yee

Principal

NEXT Thursday, Sept. 7th, HHS will be hosting our first blood drive of the year (in the mini-gym and in the student parking lot from 8am - 12:30pm). Students, Staff, Alumni, Parents, and other members of the Hawk Family/Community are welcome to donate blood and help to save lives!

If any students still would like the chance to donate, they can come to room 1237 or 1280 to pick up minor donor permissions slips and to sign up for an appointment. Students who have already signed up should be receiving their blood drive appointment slips later this week or on Tuesday of next week.

The HHS Blood Drive program has a long-standing legacy of life-saving. After collecting the most donations of any high school in the state last year for the 16th straight year in a row, this year Highland is trying to win a 17th STRAIGHT state championship by once again collecting the most blood donations of any school in the state of Arizona. With a strong showing at our first blood drive, Highland has the chance to show the rest of the state that we don't plan on ending our dominating dynasty of blood donations anytime soon!

In 2016 HHS received a national award for having the best school blood drive program in the country through the ABC (America Blood Centers) organization. Then, in 2017 HHS won an international award for having the best school blood drive program through ABC's international affiliates. The tradition and culture of saving lives at HHS is strong! Let's keep it going!

On behalf of all the patients that will receive these life-saving blood donations....THANK YOU IN ADVANCE FOR ALL YOU DO TO HELP HAWKS SAVE LIVES!

Bob Allen & Marissa Lopez

Highland High School

GC105 Community Outreach Class Coordinators

Extra Mile Community Service Program Advisors/Mentors

Juniors,

Do you want to travel the world this summer? The 2024 Gilbert Sister Cities Youth Ambassador

Program is the program for you! Gilbert Sister Cities is a nonprofit that offers juniors in Gilbert a

chance to host an exchange student in their home and travel for free to either of our sister cities

in China or Northern Ireland.

In addition to providing an opportunity for students to visit Leshan, China, or

Antrim-Newtownabbey, Northern Ireland, for free next summer, the 2024 Youth Ambassador

Program will include workshops for essay writing, fundraising, interviewing, and networking.

Taught by local business leaders, these clinics will help participants develop skills that will help

them with college admissions, scholarship applications and interviews, job interviews, and in the

workforce.

Our first informational meeting is on September 14 at Sonoma Ranch Elementary, and we

would love to see you and your parents there! In the meantime, please visit our website

gilbertsistercities.org, and visit our Facebook and Instagram @gilbertsistercities for more

information.

If you have any questions, please email nicole.schuermann@gilbertsistercities.com or

lori.schuermann@gilbertsistercities.com.

Meets on Mondays and Tuesdays in room 1216 from 2:30-3:30

We aim to make the jobs of teachers and students easier by opening more hours for tutoring.

Students often find it easier to learn from other students, and would be more likely to come to a peer for help.

We offer tutoring on nearly every level of math, science, and English: even ACT and SAT prep.

We have accomplished tutors (30+ ACTs, and 3.9+ unweighted GPAs) and vet potential tutors to ensure high-quality tutoring.

Tutors have the potential to earn volunteer hours for college or GC105.

We provide some material, but recommend students come prepared with their math book, notes, or a former assignment.

Tutoring is one-on-one or in small groups based on the subject.

In short, the Highland Tutoring Club is a strong option for students who may be struggling in their classes or simply want a leg up in their academics, but cannot or do not wish to meet with their teachers.

Welcome to all of our Hawk Families to the 2023-24 School Year!

We are happy to announce that two new counselors have joined our team this year. Candice Horrocks is coming to us from Boulder Creek Elementary where she was a counselor with special education and Adam Nyswaner is returning to Arizona from Nashville where he was a school counselor and baseball coach. Both have years of experience working with students and we are excited to have them on board!

Now that the bustle that comes with a new school year is behind us, we are looking forward to our future opportunities to meet with students to help support them with their high school success and post-secondary goals. Here are some events that are coming up in the next few weeks:

August

Schedule Changes

The only changes taking place at this time are level changes which are limited to Honors and AP courses. An Academic Success Plan is required before any level change is completed. The last day for first semester class drops is Friday, September 29th. Any drop made after this date will result in a WF (Withdraw/Fail) on a transcript.

Senior Credit Checks

This week concluded Senior credit checks. Every senior had the opportunity to meet with their counselor through their English class to review credits and ensure they are on track for graduation. Counselors will be working next week to connect with those students who were absent or who do not have an in-person English class.

Freshman Hello Visits

Next Thursday and Friday, counselors will be stopping by all Freshman English classes to say a quick “Hello” and welcome our new Class of 2027.

Junior Class Visits

We will be exploring post-secondary options including community college, university, trade/certificated vocational programs, apprenticeship/work experience, and military. Students will have the opportunity to conduct research in these areas and will be given information on resources that can be utilized to help with the pursuit of post-secondary goals.

Club Fair

There will be a Club Fair during lunch on Thursday, August 17th. Studies show there is a direct correlation between school involvement and school success. We encourage students to come and check out all of the opportunities to get involved in our HHS community. There is something for everyone!

Reminders:

Global Academy/Online Classes: If your student needs to enroll in an online Gilbert Global Academy class, you will use the following link and follow instructions on how to enroll as a concurrent student GGA Concurrent Enrollment

Collaborative Credit: If you intend to take a college course for collaborative credit, please remember that there is a form that needs to be submitted for prior approval. Collaborative credit will not be issued if approval has not been given prior to enrolling in the class.

AP TESTING: AP registration begins September 25th and closes October 27th. If your student is in an AP class, it is an expectation that they register and participate in AP testing. Registration is processed through the bookstore; students will need to know which exams they will be taking and the cost is $100 for each test.

PSAT Testing: The PSAT will be given campus-wide to all Sophomore students on Tuesday, October 24th. The test is free to all 10th grade students and it is an expectation that students participate in the testing session. If your student is a Junior who would like to take the exam, they must register and pay a fee of $25 in the bookstore by September 25th. Extra tests are not provided so if your Junior student does not register, they will not be permitted to take the test.

Free and Reduced Lunch: Families will need to fill out a new application in order for their student to receive free and reduced meals for the 2023/24 school year. Students who apply and are eligible for the free and reduced meals also receive additional benefits such as waived summer school fees, reduced internet fees, waived college and AP testing fees, and much more! The free and reduced meal program also ensures your school continues to receive funding for many school programs. Apply securely online starting July 1, 2023 for the 2023/24 school year.

From the HHS College & Career Center

There is an Arizona College Consortium Fair happening in The Commons on August 9th during both lunches. If your student is interested in attending an Arizona college, please encourage them to stop by.

There will be a parent/senior FAFSA/Scholarship Night on August 17th 6:00 p.m.- 8:00 p.m. in The Commons. Use this link to register - https://forms.gle/ESrBR9S2QSXWdJ8T8

Senior Countdown

Need to register for the ACT or SAT? If you have already created an account, do not create a new one. This will prevent problems with accessing your scores. Click on these links to get started with registering:

ACT https://www.act.org/

SAT https://satsuite.collegeboard.org/sat

Check Your Transcript

Be sure to take care of any incomplete grades or grade replacement changes. As you start to submit your transcript to postsecondary institutions, you want to make sure that it is cleaned up and looks its best. Grade change/replacement forms can be picked up in the counseling office.

Need a Transcript?

For all current and future transcript requests, you will need to create a Parchment account. This will allow you to send transcripts to most institutions effortlessly and without delay. Once you graduate, it will not be the responsibility of HHS to submit transcripts when requested so it is important that you create a parchment account. There is no fee to set up an account and there is a nominal fee to have a transcript sent. To get started, click here https://www.parchment.com/

Need to order a cap/gown, announcements, or some grad-swag? Visit the Josten’s website to place your order: https://www.jostens.com/apps/store/customer/1012899/Highland-High-School/

We are here to support your students and help facilitate their success. Let us know what we can do to assist you.

Bridget Anderson A-Arc & Special Education

Matthew Van Holten Are-Cop

Rosie Gorton Gro-Le

Sam Weiss Li-Pap

Adam Nyswaner Cor-Gri

Candice Horrocks Par-Sok

Brandi McMahan Sol-Z

Raina Rios Mental Health Counselor

Barb Dwyer College & Career Liaison

Francia Ward Career Center Coordinator

Christina Jordan Counseling Secretary

Per Arizona Statute 13-13-104B10, which states: During loading or unloading of passengers at a designated school bus loading area at a school, the school shall restrict the loading area to school buses, passengers and school employees assisting in the loading or unloading of passengers.

As a campus we are responsible to have a designated area for our bus loading zone. That area is located on the East side of our campus. We can not have students dropped off or picked up on Roadrunner Dr, which is located on the East side of our campus. Please do not pick-up or drop-off students in this area.

Parents have 2 options for student drop off and pick up:

Option 1 will be in front of the school. Please do not make a left turn onto Guadalupe as this is an illegal turn and presents dangers on the road.

Option 2 will be to use the back lot for drop off and pick up. This option should provide for faster drop off and pick up due to the traffic light timing and the ability to go all directions out of the lot.

PLEASE DO NOT pick up or drop off on Roadrunner Drive on the east side of school. We are required by A.R.S to have a separate drop off area for buses in which there is no parent drop off intermingled.

Thank you for helping us to keep traffic flowing smoothly here at HHS and our students safe!

Click link below to download the map of our drop-off areas:

Gilbert Public Schools has School Resource Officers (SROs) assigned to all of our High Schools and Jr High Schools. The United States Department of Justice defines School Resource Officers (SROs) as "sworn law enforcement officers responsible for safety and crime prevention in schools". SROs are typically employed by a local police or sheriff's agency and work closely with administrators in an effort to create a safer environment for both students and staff.

The responsibilities of SROs are similar to regular police officers in that they have the ability to make arrests, respond to calls for service, and document incidents. SROs typically have additional duties, including mentoring and conducting presentations on youth-related issues.

Here at Highland we are grateful to have Officer Churchman as our SRO. If students or parents have any questions or concerns you are encouraged to reach out directly to Officer Churchman.

I have been a Police Officer with Gilbert for 18 years. During that time, I have worked patrol, night traffic focusing on DUI enforcement, and as a bike officer in downtown Gilbert. I am an FTO, HGN Certified, ARIDE Certified, IPMBA Certified, CIT Certified, TLO, and a phlebotomist. Prior to law enforcement I obtained my Commercial Pilots License along with a Certified Flight Instructor Certification including instruments. I am grateful for the opportunity to be the SRO at Highland High School and be there for the students and staff. Go Hawks!

Follow us on Instagram for updates, information and pictures.

Find us on Instagram: highland.hawks

Link to the 2023-2024 Calendar:

Gilbert Public Schools Website: https://www.gilbertschools.net/Page/1

Please complete the free and reduced meal application each year for your student!

Link to our GPS Nutritional Services Website: https://www.gilbertschools.net/site/Default.aspx?PageID=769

It is crucial that all GPS families complete the online 'Annual Update' in Infinite Campus. The information provided will be used by the district or your school to directly communicate with you regarding your student, or in the event of an emergency on campus. Please log into your Infinite Campus Parent Portal and complete the 'Annual Update' today! | Update Here

The confidential GPS Tip Line was designed to promote school and student safety and wellbeing. Students and parents can report a threat or potential threat about a student or school. The Tip Line also provides information on other topics, which may affect our students, staff, or schools. | Submit Tip

The Families Hub offers a wide range of resources to help you and your student(s) throughout the school year, including back to school updates, menus, nutritional information, enrollment details and more. | Read More

Our GPS Mobile App is free and easy to download! From a smart device, go to the App Store® or Google Play Store® and search for "Gilbert Public Schools." Don't forget to customize your app by selecting to follow your student's school calendar and notifications!

We are excited to announce the introduction of 'Here Comes the Bus,' a new service for our families whose students ride the school bus. The app allows GPS parents and families to track the real-time location of their student's school bus, to know when and where their student boards or exits the bus, and helps ensure GPS students get to the bus stop on time. Read more by clicking on the following link: https://www.gilbertschools.net/Page/2597

Check out our district calendar for the latest details on GPS events, holidays, breaks and more. | View Here

Phone: 480-813-0051

Fax: 480-813-0258

4301 East Guadalupe Road

Gilbert, AZ 85234