Husky Nation Highlights

ASB & PTA are excited to announce that the Drama Club will produce Disney's Frozen Kids in Spring 2025!

Auditions start in October! Check out the Drama website for more information!

This Friday is a Minimum Day as we prepare for Conferences. Please plan to pick-up your child at their dismissal time. Thank you for your cooperation.

Parent Conference Week is scheduled for September 23-27, 2024. Your child’s teacher(s) will be working to schedule conferences with you. We encourage parents/guardians to schedule an in-person conference with your child’s teacher(s). A virtual zoom option is available if needed. Please let your child’s teacher know if you will need translation (available in Mandarin or Spanish).

Reminders for parents/guardians attending conferences:

• Check-in through the Front Office/Gate 1 to obtain a visitor badge.
• Present a current Photo ID upon arrival.
• Conferences are scheduled for 15 minutes.
• Fri 9/20, Mon 9/23, Tue 9/24, Th 9/26 and Fri 9/27 are all MINIMUM Days
• Wed 9/25 is a normal short Wednesday schedule

The following staff members were recognized for AUSD's "Spotlight" or "Beyond the Call of Duty" badges. Thank you for all you do for Husky Nation!

Hispanic Heritage Month, celebrated annually from September 15 to October 15, honors the history, culture, and contributions of Hispanic and Latinx Americans. Originally established as Hispanic Heritage Week in 1968 by President Lyndon B. Johnson, it was expanded to a month-long celebration by President Ronald Reagan in 1988.

The observance begins on September 15 to commemorate the independence days of several Latin American countries, including Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. September 16 is Mexican Independence Day, a day commemorating the moment when Father Hidalgo, a priest and leader, called for Mexico's liberation from Spain in September of 1810.

To celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, Husky Nation classrooms are invited to participate in a Door Decorating Contest. Doors can highlight different countries, music styles, foods, art movements, artists, authors, or cultural traditions from the many Hispanic cultures of the world. Winning doors in each division (TK-3rd, 4th-8th) will receive an extra 20-minute recess in the yard of their choice! Entries are due Friday, October 11, 2024!

Help us ensure that Monterey Highlands School receives the maximum amount of federal funds.

The collection of household income is a necessary step to receive thousands of dollars in federal funds for the school that your child attends. All families should complete the Alternative Income Form(AIF), irrespective of their household income.

One AIF per student is necessary. Thank you for helping our school!!

Character Strong is our schoolwide social-emotional learning (SEL) curriculum. We are continuing our implementation of this curriculum this year! Our weekly student-led Monday Messages in September will connect to the theme of Respect. Students in every homeroom exemplifying this theme will be recognized at the end of the month during our Student of the Month breakfast.

As we work to build a more inclusive and welcoming school community, it is critical to remind our students that their language matters. It is one of the best ways to show respect to ourselves and others.

Unfortunately, there is no shortage of biased and prejudiced language on TV, in movies, video games, music lyrics, social media posts/comments and more. Our children often repeat language they hear normalized on these platforms.

During our LEAD Expectations Assemblies with every grade level we reiterated that we do NOT use language at school that makes anyone feel bad about: skin color, race, religion, food/customs, hair style, body shape (no body shaming), ability/disability, mental health, etc. This type of language is not LEAD.

Please remind your child about the importance of their words as we will continue to do at school. We appreciate your partnership!

Explore the arts and express yourself! No matter what grade you're in, we encourage you to submit your unique work of art to the PTA Reflections Art Program and unleash your creativity. This year's theme is "Accepting Imperfection” – a powerful and inspiring topic that invites you to explore and express what it means to embrace the beauty of imperfections.

This is your chance to showcase your creativity in one of our many categories:

• Dance Choreography
• Film Production
• Literature
• Music Composition
• Photography
• Visual Arts

All participants with eligible entries will be entered into a raffle to win a $10 gift card for Yogurtland. In addition, all participants with eligible entries will receive a participation ribbon. All category winners in each division, receive a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd award ribbon and certificate, with the 1st place recipient receiving a medallion.

How to Get Started? Visit bit.ly/mhreflections for more information on how to participate and to submit your entries. Submission Deadline: Wednesday, October 2, 2024 at 11:59PM.

Interested in being a judge? Let us know by clicking or tapping here!

Get ready for our BIGGEST school community event of the year!

Mark your calendars for Friday, October 25th from 4:00 PM to 8:00 PM for a spooktacular time at our annual Spooky Bash!

Planning is already underway, and we can’t wait to share more details soon. Stay tuned for updates—it’s going to be a frightfully fun event!

Join us in making a difference in our children's education by becoming a member of the Monterey Highlands Elementary PTA!

Whether you're a new parent or a returning member, your involvement is crucial to our success. Together, we can create an enriching and supportive environment for our children.

Join or renew your PTA Membership by clicking or tapping here.

Thank you for your continued support. Let's make this school year the best one yet!

We are grateful for our volunteers. Here are some of our volunteer needs at this time:

Ongoing PTA Volunteer Opportunities:

• Interested in helping plan and organize our PTA events? Let us know by submitting your interest here! (PTA)
• Interested in being a judge for our Reflections Art Program? Let us know by submitting your interest here! (PTA)

Ongoing School Volunteer Opportunities:

• Morning Valet: Please sign up here if you are interested in lending a hand!
• Husky Store: We're looking for volunteers to help re-open our Husky Store in October! Please contact Mr. Perez, School Counselor if you are interested!
• Library: Our Library continues classroom visits and lunch hours! Contact Mrs. Sarah Taylor, our new Librarian, if you are interested in being a Library Volunteer!

The Associated Student Body (ASB) oversees all fundraising and school activities at Monterey Highlands. The ASB Cabinet meets most weeks to review activity and fundraising requests.

Useful ASB Information:

• ASB Fundraiser Request Form
  
• ASB Approved Fundraisers

ASB produces our monthly Wonderful Wednesday virtual assembly. In the month of September, 7th Grade teaches us how to show Respect. Our morning PA messages to start the week will also focus on this theme.

We're excited to support 6th Grade as they raise funds for Science Camp from May 5-9, 2025 and 8th Grade as they raise funds for Promotion Activities in May 2025. We will hold parent meetings throughout the year to plan activities, provide updates on fundraising and more. Our first parent meetings are:

• 6th Grade Parent Meeting on 9.9.24 - Zoom Recording
• 8th Grade Parent Meeting on 9.9.24 - Zoom Recording

PS: Next meetings will be held after Spooky Bash

If you feel your child may need some support, check-ins or possibly a referral for counseling services, please connect with our Licensed Mental Health Counselor, Mr. Christian Perez - perez_christian_1@ausd.us.

Mr. Perez will reach out to parents/guardians to complete a Gateway to Success (GTS) referral and explore linkage options with you. We're proudly collaborating with Sycamores to ensure mental health services are accessible to everyone.

The Apollo Afterschool program publishes a newsletter periodically to update everyone on their fun and exciting programs. Enrollment is open!

• 9/16 - Expected Connection of Electronic Marquee
• 9/17 - AUSD Board of Education Meeting
  
• 9/17 - Mock Trial Practice @ Library, 5-6pm
• 9/18 - School Site Council Meeting on Zoom @ 1:15pm
• 9/18 - Back to School Night for Reading Intervention, Rm I-38, 5:30-6:30pm

• 9/19 - Erika's Lighthouse Parent Meeting, Zoom @ 8:30am
• 9/19 - Mock Trial Practice @ Library, 5-6pm
• 9/20 - Lockdown Drill
• 9/20 - Minimum Day (Parent Conferences Prep)
• 9/23 to 9/27 - Parent Conferences
• 9/22 - Mock Trial Practice @ Library, 5-6pm
• 9/24 - English Learning Advisory Council Meeting, Library @ 8am
• 9/26 - Erika's Lighthouse Parent Meeting, Cafetorium @ 5:30pm
• 9/26 - Mock Trial Practice @ Library, 5-6pm
• 9/27 - Student of the Month in Cafetorium @ 8am
• 10/1 - Mock Trial Practice @ Library, 5-6pm
• 10/2 - MPPD presents National Walk to School Day (meet at Casuda Canyon Plaza) @ 7:15am
• 10/2 - PTA Reflections Submissions are Due at midnight
• 10/3 - Safety Committee on Zoom @ 3pm
• 10/3 - Mock Trial Practice @ Library, 5-6pm
• 10/4 - Parent Engagement Meeting - PBIS and LEAD on Zoom @ 9am
• 10/8 - AUSD Board of Education Meeting
• 10/8 - Mock Trial Practice @ Library, 5-6pm
• 10/9 - Parent Engagement Meeting - English Learner Night, Cafetorium @ 5:30pm
• 10/9 - PTA Association Meeting, Cafetorium @ 6:30pm
• 10/10 - Mock Trial Practice @ Library, 5-6pm
• 10/11 - Minimum Day (Site Professional Development)
• 10/11 - 4th Grade Walkthrough CA On-Site Experience
• 10/31 - AUSD Food Fair (please call school office to RSVP)

📥 Email: highlands@ausd.us
🌐 Website: www.montereyhighlandselementary.org
📍 Location: 400 Casuda Canyon Drive, Monterey Park, CA, USA
📲 Phone: (626) 570-6220