Highland Happenings

Good Afternoon Highland Families,

While a mid-week snow storm and e-learning day was certainly a change to our normal routine, I am very grateful for all of our Highland families for supporting their Huskies during e-learning and for our wonderful Highland staff for being able to pivot to e-learning so quickly. It is hard to believe that we are already to the mid-point of February and Valentine's Day, but it was wonderful to see so much love and kindness being spread throughout Highland today, capped off by great Valentine's Day parties in each classroom. Thank you to all of the parent volunteers who made our Valentine's Day class parties fun and engaging. Thank you to all of the families who have registered their students for the 2025-2026 school year. If you have not completed your registration for next year, please do so at your earliest convince. As a reminder, there is no school on Monday, 02/17 due to Presidents' Day. If you have any questions or need any assistance, please reach out to Highland main office at 630-719-5835. Take care, have a great weekend, and Happy Valentine's Day!

My Best,

Zac Craft

Principal, Highland School

• 02/17/25: No School - Presidents' Day
• 02/19/25: 5th Grade Safety Patrol Meeting
• 02/20/25: 3rd Grade Field Trip - Museum of Science and Industry
• 02/20/25: Scoop Meeting
• 02/21/25: End of the 2nd Trimester
• 02/21/25: Treat Day

• 02/24/25: February All-School Meeting
• 02/25/25: 5th Grade Intramurals
• 05/28/25: No School - Dupage County-Wide Institute Day

Will your child attend kindergarten at Highland next school year? Or do you have a friend or neighbor whose child will? Here are four steps to prepare!

1. If we don’t already know that you have an incoming kindergartner, contact the Highland office at 630-719-5835 or zcraft@dg58.org and let us know! We will add you to any school-specific kindergarten contact lists.

2. Attend Kindergarten Roundup at Highland on March 20th, at 6:00 p.m. Kindergarten Roundup gives parents and guardians the opportunity to visit their child’s future school, meet the principal and staff, and ask questions.

3. Visit our Kindergarten Resource webpage for kindergarten resources and helpful information.

4. Attend Kindergarten Dual Language Information Night. Learn more about the Dual Language Program below!

Thank you to our incredible school community for making a lifesaving difference this year by participating in the American Heart Association’s Kids Heart Challenge! Our school helped create a team of lifesavers by learning hands-only CPR and how to spot the signs of a stroke, we collected funds to support the AHA’s lifesaving

mission, and we couldn’t be more proud!

This year, Highland Elementary had 34 students registered, 4 students completed Finn’s Mission and learned hands-only CPR and the warning signs of a stroke, and altogether raised $3,088!!

Together, we have helped so many people with special hearts and we have made our homes, school and community safer. Learn more about how your donations and heart healthy actions help families HERE

Incoming kindergarten families are invited to an informational meeting regarding District 58’s Dual Language Program on Wednesday, Feb. 26 from 6:30-7:30 p.m. at El Sierra School, 6835 Fairmount Drive. The meeting will be in both English and Spanish. It is intended specifically for parents and guardians of incoming kindergarteners for the 2025-26 school year.

Learn about:

• Understand the benefits of dual language learning.

• Learn more about District 58’s bilingual learning model and how to participate.

• Meet some of the dual language teachers and staff. Get answers to your questions.

• Learn how to enroll.

District 58’s Dual Language Program opens up a world of opportunities for young learners. We welcome your child to join this journey! To learn more, visit our Dual Language Program webpage.

llnesses such as flu, RSV and COVID-19 are spreading in the community. District 58's Health Services website has great resources on preventing these illnesses, and steps to take if you get sick.

In addition, winter break is a great time to clean your child's coats, winterwear, book bag, lunch box and anything else your child takes to school to help fight the spread of germs!

Do you have young children at home? Do you have friends or neighbors with little ones? Please share this information!

District 58 offers free preschool and developmental screenings designed to identify young children, ages 0-5, who might have developmental delays and who would benefit from special education prior to beginning kindergarten.

Each week, a member of the Highland staff will be highlighted in the Highland Happenings! This is a great opportunity for our Highland community to learn more about our staff members and all of the information featured in the Happenings can be found in the staff directory on our website. This week we are highlighting Mrs. Roegner.

Library FUNdraiser

The best way to raise money is to do something FUN while making memories with your child!

For a donation of $25 to the library fundraising project, you can sign up for a slot to come in and read to your child’s class during their scheduled library time.

We will be starting with our younger grades, K-2, and opening it up to the older grades in the coming weeks.

Visit https://evite.me/fSQsEEkk1H to view the schedule.

Please reach out to Cara Baran with any questions.

Thank you for your support of this important initiative!

We hope that everyone got a moment to stop by the beautiful posters of the library project during parent/teacher conferences last week. We are so very extremely close to being able to close the gap on Phase #1 which is the library classroom!!

As you can see, we are just shy of meeting the Phase #1 goal. The great thing is that once we have the Phase #1 funds closed out - we'll be able to start on this project immediately and get it finished this school year - how great is that?!

And for those of you who might be waiting to donate in a large way, we are in early planning stages for a permanent door wall, which will live in the library forever.

Highland Husky Read-A-Thon

The PTA is currently hosting its fourth annual Read-A-Thon fundraiser until February 28th, 2025. The Read-A-Thon is a marathon of student reading to raise money for the PTA. Donations can be a flat dollar amount or you can pledge an amount for each minute your child(ren) reads. We are suggesting donations of $50 per student - $30 of that will help us meet our operating budget goal for the year and above that will go towards our library fundraising efforts. We recognize the ability to donate varies across families and truly appreciate whatever you can offer.

Please check your email registered with the PTA to make donations and log minutes throughout the fundraiser. Givebacks sent an email for every student on Wednesday, January 29th. There will be rewards given to students for the top readers per grade level, readers that pass 100, 250, 400, and 600 reading minutes and more! Prizes will be based on each student's total reading minutes logged by the end of the fundraiser. Can our Huskies read 80,000 minutes to earn an extra spirit day? We think so!

Please reach out to Erin Grady at etgrady32@gmail.com with any questions

Math & Science Night

Math and Science Event will be hosted on March 13, 2025! In order to be successful, volunteers are needed for this event!

Volunteer Opportunities

• Lead a session on a scientific topic of your choice (each session last 12-15 minutes and will be presented 6-8 times throughout the evening)

• Assist in one of the sessions listed above (no need to have any knowledge, just be able to assist the presenter)

• Supervise a math station in the gym (families will visit 8 different stations, your role will be to provide directions to the families. These directions and supplies will be provided to you!)

Volunteers will remain in their assigned area for the duration of the event, so if you volunteer, you must arrange to have your children attend with your spouse, their grandparents, or another family member.

If you are interested, please contact Katie Hurckes at katiehurckes@gmail.com.

Donut Day!

Help Highland Fundraise with Do-Rite Donuts!

The Highland PTA is partnering with Do-Rite Donuts for a fundraiser. Donuts ordered will be delivered to Highland and handed out by our wonderful volunteers. Order donuts and fundraise for Highland at the same time: https://portal.tripleseat.com/direct_bookings/yzvvmmr99twm

Family Event

Tickets on sale now! Go to the Givebacks store and buy your tickets! Buy your tickets here

Get ready to glow at our All School Neon Party!

Date: March 7, 2025

Time: 7:00-9:00pm

Location: Herrick Cafeteria

Put on your brightest neon outfits, grab your special someone and join us for a night of fun, dancing, and unforgettable memories!

Stay tuned for more details

PTA Board Nominations

Now is the time to nominate yourself or someone else that would be a good candidate for the PTA Executive Board! Please fill out this Google form by Friday 3/21. We will be establishing a nominating committee at the March PTA meeting and final voting will be at the May PTA meeting.

Descriptions of each board position can be found here, including responsibilities and time commitments. Please don't hesitate to reach out to any of the current board members with questions (contacts listed above).

Any questions please reach out to us at any time, or even just say hi, highlandpta58@gmail.com

Yearbook

Order Your 2024-25 Highland School Yearbook - The Deadline is Friday, April 11, 2025!

• To place your order, please visit https://www.treering.com/purchase?PassCode=1016950792033554

• If your family needs financial assistance to purchase the yearbook, please reach out to the PTA at highlandpta58@gmail.com.

• Not sure if you ordered your yearbook? Please search your email for "Treering Order Confirmation". Still not sure? Please contact Christina Zycinski at clzycinski@gmail.com or via text 312-371-8781.

Valentine's Day Class Party Pictures Needed for the Yearbook!

• Please send Valentine's Day class party pictures to Christina Zycinski at clzycinski@gmail.com. Be sure to include the teacher name and grade in your email!

• The yearbook committee is still accepting photos from any other Highland events - Science Fair, recess duty, class parties, Partners in Art, etc!

• The deadline for ALL yearbook photos is Friday, March 28, 2025 - this is the Friday before Spring Break.

Item's that can be found in every edition of the Highland Happenings, such as the Highland Playbook and our student attendance form can be found below. We want to ensure that these resources are always available to our families while also making each week's Happenings as reader-friendly as possible!

The Highlanad Playbook is your place to find important information about Highland including a staff directory, arrival/dismissal procedures, informaion about social-emotional learning, and much more. Click the image to the right to access the 2024-2025 Highland Playbook.

It is amazing how far technology has come over the last decade and continues to advance. We recognize the value technology has not just in education, but our world. However, we hope that we can work together to remind students that during the school day, personal electronic devices should be turned off or silenced and out of sight. This includes wearable devices if they become distracting to the learning environment. Students should not be using phones, Apple Watches, or other devices to send or receive text messages or phone calls during the school day.

Email: zcraft@dg58.org
Website: DG58.org/HG
Location: 3935 Highland Avenue, Downers Grove, IL, USA
Phone: (630)-719-5835
Facebook: facebook.com/HGHuskies
Twitter: @HGHuskies