• PTO info
• After school events
• Playground Use
• Attendance
• Self-Discipline
• Body Safety Lessons
• 4th Grade Growing Up
• Spell Bowl
• Music Concert Information
• Riding the Bus Home with a Friend?
• Libby App
• Extra Curricular Info
• Arrival and Dismissal
• Meals
• New Social Media Info

Wednesday, November 27th-29th-No School-Thanksgiving Break

K-Kids Toy Drive Dec. 2-13th

*Popcorn December 6th

*Santa Shop December 9th-12th volunteers needed https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0D4CACAF2FAAF4C61-53360895-santa

*Hot Chocolate with Santa December 12th 5-7pm

*Popcorn December 13th

*PTO Meeting December 19th 2:40pm

*Popcorn December 20th

Great job!! Our Spell Bowl team came in 2nd place. Special shoutout to Brooklyn N. for getting 6 out of 7, near perfect, and Cole V. for getting a 7 out of 7 perfect! We are so proud of all of you.

All students will be given digital access to our Lake County Library on their I-Pads via an app called Libby. This app allows the students to check out and read books at their convenience. If you do not want your child to have access to this, please email lbastaic@highland.k12.in.us, and Mrs. Bastaic will ensure they do not get a digital library card. Thank you!

If your child is riding the bus home with a friend, you need to send in a note with your child's name, the date, and who your child will be riding home with. The principal will need to sign off on those each time.

4th Grade Parents/Guardians,

Students in 4th grade throughout the School Town of Highland are about to study an important lesson on the early stages of puberty, which many students this age are beginning to experience.

The School Town of Highland Health Services Department partners with Procter and Gamble and uses the Always Changing and Growing Up© program that helps both girls and boys. This program allows students to understand the physical and emotional changes they experience during puberty and acknowledges them as a regular part of growth and development. It also helps students learn the physiology of their bodies and correct terminology for parts of the reproductive system. Lastly, for the 4th-grade girls, it allows the students to learn how to manage periods while continuing normal activities.

The Always Changing and Growing Up© Program is based on national research and consultation with school nurses, health educators, parents, and medical professionals. It has been a trusted source for over 30 years and has been taught to millions of students nationwide. Procter and Gamble brands provide it as a free education resource to our schools.

We will have this program on November 26, 2024. The female and male students will be separated and shown a video. They will review the video and have a short question-and-answer session with the teacher and/or nurse who is facilitating the lesson.

If you would like to view the videos that will be shown, they can be found at:

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gv21b3ZpSLg (Female Lesson)

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzVKrDDarjs&t=2s (Female Lesson)

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XF0awGRTWs (Male Lesson)

Mrs. Jennings will present body safety lessons to grades K-5 this year. The lessons will be given over several weeks, November 25-December 16th. These are the most important lessons of the year. Please take this opportunity to discuss with your child the importance of keeping their body safe and what to do should they ever find themself in an uncomfortable situation. Below are the links to the videos that will be used in the classrooms. Please note that the videos are age-appropriate and will be watched and used as a teaching tool. If you have any questions, you can contact Mrs. Jennings by email.

Protect Yourself Rules Grades K-3

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8R2g5QrDAw

Protect Yourself Rules Grades 4-6

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RteEiMNIdYo

We love having our students enjoy the playground after school hours!

Please remember that students must go home first after school and are welcome to return to the playground after checking in with an adult. Alternatively, an adult can meet them at the school and accompany them to the playground.

Please note that we do not provide staff supervision on the playground outside of school hours.

I am the new music teacher at Johnston Elementary. The yearly music concert is upon us and I would like to welcome you all to a night of music to welcome in the holiday season!

The students have already been working hard on learning their music as the end of the semester is fast approaching. I wanted to include a few details about our concert night, as well as get a more accurate head count of those planning on attending. We will take a bus to practice that morning at the high school on the stage to get them ready.

Concert Dress: students should try to dress up for the occasion, but fun is also highly encouraged. Ugly holiday sweaters, Santa/elf hats, etc. are also perfectly fine things to wear. Try to have students dressed for the occasion!

Arrival Time: Please have your students at the high school by 6:00pm so we have time to make sure everyone is in the proper spot before the concert begins.

See permission slip below:

Black Friday Camp with basketball. It’s all online registration.

Here is the info:

Link for baseball only

https://public.eventlink.com/registrations?id=c03e972c-e3c8-4945-aae8-08dcf9061f5f

link for basketball and baseball:

https://public.eventlink.com/registrations?id=4b978af1-1143-4d8d-7ff0-08dcf831c136

If you use the code HLL24 for baseball only link AND sign up with little league at our camp, it’s $25 for our camp. Plus $15 off of Highland Little League fees.

For their own safety and the safety of our community, pre-high school students can attend STOH events ONLY if accompanied by a paying parent or adult chaperone. The parent/chaperone will be responsible for the supervision of the student(s) throughout the duration of the event. All students may be required to show proper STOH identification at the ticketing window prior to entering STOH events. STOH reserves the right to deny entry to any individual 18 and under who cannot provide proper identification and demonstrate they are of high school age.

Here is a link to the full policy.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vTkKU2kYoUp_qq5Vb-W4oyCnJVxYHAgfKLmILeiLfmdS5_AQf9LtJwWM9zgmIhIsfSuRv7CaeZGpvHV/pub

Only those that are eating breakfast can come in to the cafe at 7:20am. All other students can enter the building starting at 7:35am.

Breakfast is $1.50

Lunch is $2.00

You can find both menus here: https://www.schoolnutritionandfitness.com/index.php?sid=2809100435083594&page=menus

• • Doors open for students at 7:35 a.m. daily. Students who eat breakfast at school will be allowed entry beginning at 7:20 a.m. Anyone arriving after 7:50 a.m. will need to buzz and come into the main office to sign in.

  • Cars will enter the parking lot off Duluth Street (right turn only) and follow the curve to drop off students. Please pull up as far as you can and drop all your students off at one time. Have your children ready with their backpacks, lunch money, hugs, and kisses, so that when you stop they may exit the car quickly, and we can keep the drop-off line moving. The line can become backed up onto Duluth Street very quickly which causes safety issues for our parents, as well as other drivers.

  • Please drop off curbside only. Avoid dropping children off where they have to cross the street, this is extremely dangerous. It will be your responsibility to cross them if you choose to do this.

  • Please be mindful of other drivers and walkers. We know many of you have to get to work, and we want all children to be able to enter the building safely and on time.

  • 1st, 2nd, and 5th grade should be dropped off at Door C.

  • Kindergarten, 3rd, and 4th grade should be dropped off at Door B.

  • 5th graders and Mrs. Torres's class will use Door G.

At the end of the school day, the following doors will be used for dismissal:

• Grade K will exit through door J (FIVE minutes before the rest of the grade levels)

• Grade 1 will exit through door C (main doors)

• Grade 2 will exit through door B

• Grade 3 will exit through door J

• Grade 4 will exit through door I

• Grade 5 and Lifeskills class will exit through door G

• Bus riders will exit through door J (a few minutes prior to the remainder of the school being dismissed where the buses will be waiting).

Cars may enter the parking lot off Duluth Street and follow the curve to pick up or park in the parking lot to walk up to get students.

PLEASE DO NOT PARK IN THE BUS LANE ON GRAND STREET.

We would like to thank you in advance for your cooperation as we strive to keep our Johnston families safe.

Please don't hesitate to contact us in the office for any ideas, thoughts, concerns, or words of encouragement! We are all part of this large extended mix of wonderful people we affectionately refer to as our Johnston Family.

Email: aharring@highland.k12.in.us
Website: https://www.highland.k12.in.us/o/jes
Location: 8220 5th Street, Highland, IN, United States
Phone: 219.923.2428
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Johnston-Elementary-School/61563407999318/
Twitter: @johnston_stoh

Instagram: @johnston_STOH

TikTok: @Johnston_STOH