Hawks,

Happy Friday Hawks! I hope you enjoy our last weekend before our first day of school next week. We look forward to welcoming you on Tuesday, July 25!

A few reminders for the start of the 2023-2024 school year:

* Please check your Infinite Campus (IC) account to see what your schedule is, we are continuing to make adjustments to our master schedule and there may be slight changes to schedules. Please look at your schedule in IC Monday night and Tuesday morning next week before the first day of school. We appreciate your patience and understanding!

* All of the GPS secondary schools are requiring students to wear their student ID card while on campus. They must be visible and we recommend that they are worn on a lanyard or a clip. When students enter campus our HHS staff will assist students as they walk onto campus and ensure they are wearing their student ID's. This allows our staff to identify potential visitors who are not supposed to be on our campus. Students will receive their student ID and a lanyard on July 31 and August 1 when school pictures take place. Once students receive their student ID's they are expected to wear them immediately while they are on our campus. Thank-you for helping our students with wearing their student ID's and contributing to the safety of our campus.

* Our traffic in the morning before school and after school is full of fun - we thank-you in advance for your patience and understanding as you navigate to our campus. We encourage you to carpool, utilize our school bus transportation, ride a bike or walk as it is a daily challenge to accommodate 3200 students arriving to and from campus. We thank-you in advance for your patience, attention and care while navigating to and from our campus.

* Here is a link to our student handbook: https://www.gilbertschools.net/site/default.aspx?PageType=3&ModuleInstanceID=3800&ViewID=C9E0416E-F0E7-4626-AA7B-C14D59F72F85&RenderLoc=0&FlexDataID=2492&PageID=894&Comments=true

Please take a moment to look at it and familiarize yourself with our district's rules, policies and expectations.

* Please take a moment to look at the links at the end of this newsletter for important information regarding transportation, breakfast/lunch prices and other areas that pertain to our campus.

We are excited to welcome all of our Hawks to campus next week, our family of educators has been preparing, working hard and collaborating. The energy and excitement is high and we look forward to the start of an awesome school year. Thank-you for choosing Highland High School,

Brian Yee

Principal

Entrepreneur and writer Nat Eliason on the importance of challenging yourself to do hard things:

"The ability to do hard things is perhaps the most useful ability you can foster in yourself or your children. And proof that you are someone who can do them is one of the most useful assets you can have on your life resume.

Our self-image is composed of historical evidence of our abilities. The more hard things you push yourself to do, the more competent you will see yourself to be.

If you can run marathons or throw double your body weight over your head, the sleep deprivation from a newborn is only a mild irritant. If you can excel at organic chemistry or econometrics, onboarding for a new finance job will be a breeze.

But if we avoid hard things, anything mildly challenging will seem insurmountable. We’ll cry into TikTok over an errant period at the end of a text message. We’ll see ourselves as incapable of learning new skills, taking on new careers, and escaping bad situations.

The proof you can do hard things is one of the most powerful gifts you can give yourself."

Our Back to School Guide packet was emailed to families on July 10, 2023 using the emails that are attached to your family profile in Infinite Campus (IC). If you did not receive our Back to School Guide email, please check your spam folder and also verify in IC what email address you have on file. Here is the IC link: https://gilbertaz.infinitecampus.org/campus/portal/gilbert.jsp

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