Highland Park Family Newsletter

Happy Memorial Day! Let's remember and honor the brave men and women who have served and sacrificed for our country. Take a moment to remind our students the importance of this day.

Last week was busy but fantastic. We celebrated all grade levels PK-5th grade with our End of the Year Awards, and Graduation ceremonies for Pegasus, PK, Kinder and 5th Grade!

Tuesday we will be hosting our end-of-the-year classroom parties, and Senior Walk. Wednesday we will close up the school year with the final 5th Grade walk. I hope you enjoy these very busy but fun upcoming days celebrating the end of the school year. We look forward to seeing you.

As always, Thank you for all you do for our Highland Park Bulldogs. Highland Park Bulldogs Woof!

With Thanks,

Lizbeth Ruiz

Principal

Highland Park Elementary

Parents of graduating seniors will be allowed to enter the building and line the main hallway as we the Highschool seniors walk the Highland Park Hallways one last time. Parents will only be allowed in the main hallway and not the hallway wings.

Parents may sign up to receive a pre-printed badge to attend the End of the School Year parties on Wednesday, May 28, 2024. To be eligible for a pre-printed badge you must have scanned your driver's license in the front office prior to 05/28/2024. Front office staff will prepare visitors badges in the morning and have staff available for parents to quickly check out their badge. Please have your ID available to verify identification.

New visitors to campus must enter through the front office with a driver's license to be scanned through the Raptor system and have a badge printed.

All visitors must still enter through the front office and have a visitor's badge visible above the chest area at all times. All visitor badges are returned prior to parents exiting the campus.

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Los padres pueden inscribirse para recibir un gafete preimpreso para asistir a las fiestas de fin de clases el miercoles 28 de Mayo de 2024. Para ser elegible para un gafete preimpreso, debe haber escaneado su licencia de conducir en la oficina principal antes del 05/28/23. El personal de la recepción preparará los pases de visitantes por la mañana y tendrá personal disponible para que los padres revisen rápidamente sus pases.

Por favor tenga su identificación disponible para verificar la identificación.

Los nuevos visitantes al campus deben ingresar por la oficina principal con una licencia de conducir para escanear a través del sistema Raptor y tener una insignia impresa.

Tired of waiting in line to purchase school supplies? You don't have too, our PTO has partnered with EPI to get you all the school supplies your child needs in one box for one price! You simply press the button below and order. I am also liking the school supply list in case you prefer to purchase on your own.

Have a co-worker who really matters and whom you want to recognize? Let’s recognize our HPES Bulldogs, no kudos is too big or too small! If you have any kudos you’d like to share, you can submit kudos here: HPES Bulldog Weekly News Kudos or the PfISD Pfamily Pflyer: Click here to submit your staff shoutout!

Campus Kudos:

• Kinder Teachers, 5th Grade Teachers, Coach Blair, Coach Smulski, Support Staff, and Admin Team: Thank you for helping set up and breakdown kinder adn 5th grade graduation. It was beautiful, but a ton of work, and we couldn't have done it without you. Thank you, thank you, thankyou!
• Mr. Emmanuel Zapata; Thank you for going to Dessau Middle School and Connally H.S to pick up the graduation bridge. You worked behind the scenes to make this happen, and didn't think twice about it. Heartfelt thanks and appreciation to you!
• All Teachers and Staff! You did it! All Awards assemblies were organized and beautiful. We heard lots of positive feedback from families. Thank you for making it a fun celebration!
• Sped Department at HPES!! The created and SHARED a document with us so we can make the best choices for students when preparing to split them for the following year. This collaboration makes this task much more meaningful. Thank you for all your hard work and dedication this year!!
  
• Big thanks to everyone: for their hard work and dedication in making Field Day a blast!
• Anna Vazquez: Thank you for organizing Career Day and the GT showcase! Both events were fantastic! Heartfelt thanks!

District Kudos:

• Veronica Jimenez, Marsha Munoz and HPES Ballet Folklorico Team: (from Chinwe Onjuwaba) We are officially at 1 week past Diversity Night, and I wanted to give a great big THANK YOU! to both of you and the the gorgeous Folklorico dancers who brought such joy to our Murchison community! All of you made the night possible. The feedback and comments from students, staff and the rest of the community was all positive. The dances, audience engagement and, beautiful dresses and the expression of generosity that you all displayed was amazing! I know our students and families experienced your openness to share in a positive and engaging way. I am truly honored to know both of you and I will forever be grateful that you answered the call to be the face of diversity in Murchison. You are appreciated! ❤

Remember, one small positive thought or compliment can change a person's entire day. :)

2023-2024 School Year Calendar with grading periods, student holidays, etc.

May 27- Student/Staff Holiday

May 28- Senior Walk at 8:30

May 28- End of Year Classroom Parties

May 29- Last Day of School, 5th Grade Walk at 11:30 and Early Release at 12:00

ALL campus visitors will be asked to sign in to the front office through our raptor security system. The exception will be the first day of school arrival between 7:10-7:35 and any after-school events such as Meet the Teacher Night.

• HPES doors will open at 7:05 a.m. for bus riders and 7:10 a.m. for car riders and walkers.

• Bus riders will enter the building through the 100 hallway doors adjacent to the bus loop at 7:05 a.m. Upon entering the building they will make their way to the gym where they will wait to be dismissed to class.

• Car riders and walkers will enter the building through the front entrance at 7:10 a.m.

• Walkers and car riders that arrive early will wait outside (back up plan for weather)

• Upon entering the building car riders, walkers, and bike riders will go to either the cafeteria or the main hallway.

• Students eating breakfast will be asked to go to the cafeteria

Breakfast: Parents are welcome to eat breakfast with their children. Breakfast is served from 7:10-7:35 in the cafeteria. Parents will need to sit with their students at the stage tables or the three round tables in the foyer. Please only invite your child to eat with you. Inviting your child's friends is not allowed. With close to 750 students, we are limited in space and kindly ask that you save this treat for special occasions. Parents will need to sign in the raptor system in the front office.

Lunch: Parents are welcome to eat lunch with their children. Please check with your child's teacher for specific class time lunch. Parents will need to sit with their students at the stage tables or the round tables in the foyer. Please only invite your child to eat with you. Inviting your child's friends is not allowed. With close to 750 students, we are limited in space and kindly ask that you save this treat for special occasions. Parents will need to sign in the raptor system in the front office.

• Student birthdays will be announced and celebrated over morning announcements. Students will also sing Happy Birthday in the classroom.

• Parents will have an opportunity to purchase a birthday announcement to be displayed on the school marquee through PTO.

• Parents may bring cupcakes/treat to celebrate their child's birthday. However, notice must be given 24 hours in advance. Cupcakes/treats may only be passed out the last 30 minutes of class.

• Student treats (i.e., store bought cupcakes) cannot be served in the cafeteria during lunch. Treats cannot be a full meal (i.e., pizza) Teachers must receive parent permission prior to students eating store bought cupcakes/treats due to student food allergies.

• For classroom food activities such as party days or food-related learning activities, parents will need to complete an allergy permission form stating which foods their student is allowed to eat or handle. If this form is not returned prior to the event, the student will not be able to participate in the activity.

• We appreciate the care and time that the teachers and allergy committee members have given to this very important matter. We are dedicated to keeping our kids safe here at HPES and believe that this will help achieve that for all our students.

Here a few ways to stay informed. Follow us on Facebook @HighlandParkES and on Twitter @HighlandPark_ES. School communications will also be sent out through school messenger via email. On Tuesday’s an HPES folder will be sent home with flyers and information. Please be sure to look out for the folder on Tuesday’s. Additionally, please sign-up for our mailing list at You will receive a monthly campus newsletter through the mailing list. You can also find a copy of a newsletter like this one in our campus webpage under “Principal’s blog”.

Senior Admin. Associate: Anita Moreno– anita.moreno@pfisd.net

General questions regarding scheduling, procedures, teacher information, leave requests, substitutes, purchase orders (for your classroom/students), monthly and bi-weekly payroll, supplemental pay, staff travel, events, field trips, website updates, FB page, maintenance orders, after-hours events, fundraisers (any collection of money), Picture days, etc.

Registrar: Miriam Ruvalcaba – miriam.ruvalcaba@pfisd.net

Student records, registration, residency questions, attendance, transfers, withdrawal, cumulative records, and folders, grade-book, etc.

Student Support Clerical Support: Yaira Torres- yaira.torres@pfisd.net

Schedule LPAC and 504 meetings, and gather student grades, relevant classroom, and health data.

Nurse: Lauren Hohle- lauren.hohle@pfisd.net

Shot records, allergy information, distribution of medication, general student health, Section 504, and SpEd as related to health, etc.

Instructional Coach: Brianna Thompson- brianna.thompson@pfisd.net

General questions regarding master scheduling, campus procedures, curriculum, resources, SWAT, professional development, mentoring, lesson modeling, and virtually anything teachers need regarding curriculum and instruction.

Counselor: Anna Vazquez – anna.vazquez@pfisd.net

Student care and concerns, parent and student support, Credit by Exam, Gifted and Talented information, assessment, and Section 504

Assistant Principal: Pamela LeDay–pamela.leday@pfisd.net

Primary contact regarding discipline, LPAC, and SpEd. Additionally, virtually everything you would contact Ms. Ruiz for. It is a good idea to copy Ms. LeDay on emails sent to Ms. Ruiz because both of them are able to respond to questions or concerns.

Principal: Lizbeth Ruiz – lizbeth.ruiz@pfisd.net

Any and all topics not covered by the staff members listed above.

Please feel free to email or call us if you are needing support. We look forward to passionately serving the families of Highland Park Elementary!

For questions, please click on the "Let's Talk" link: https://www.pfisd.net/Page/7772 or reply to this newsletter on the upper right hand corner.

Website: https://www.pfisd.net/site/Default.aspx?PageID=37
Location: 428 Kingston Lacy Blvd, Pflugerville, TX, USA
Phone: 512.594.6800
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HighlandParkES/
Twitter: @HighlandPark_ES