Highlands Highlights

9/27 All school assembly - Theme: Respect - wear Edina green or Highlands wear

9/29 Kindness in Chalk 5:30 -7pm

10/3 Firefighters visiting kindergarten & 1st grade

10/3 Indian Music Performance - 3rd grade discovery

10/4 No school for students

10/8 1st Grade Hearing and Vision Testing - school hours

10/8 PTO Exec Meeting 1:30 - 3:15pm

10/9 Davanni’s Fundraiser 4 - 8pm

10/10 Kindness retreat - 5th grade students

10/11 Evacuation Drill

10/14 - 10/16 Deep Portage camp - 4th grade discovery

10/15 Discovery Kitchen at lunch - Korean Chicken Bulgogi

10/17 - 10/18 MEA Weekend

For more Highlands dates, please Go to the Highlands website at: https://highlands.edinaschools.org/

This fall all students in grades K-9 took the FASTBridge Universal Screening assessment in both reading and math. You can view your child's scores in the assessment portal on or after October 4th.

Here is more information on the assessments:

English

Spanish

Somali

How can I help at home?

FASTBridge: Cómo ayudar en casa

How do I access the assessment portal?

Change of End of Day Transportation?

Please communicate this to both the classroom teacher AND the front office no later than 1:00pm to ensure the communication is received. Teachers do not typically have time during the day to review all emails as they are teaching.

Need to Pick Up your Child Early?

If you need to pick up your child early, please schedule this to happen before 2pm. At 2pm and after, our buses are rolling into the parking lot. Please use the Pick Up/Drop Off designated parking areas or park in an empty spot. Do not park in the handicap lanes unless you have a placard or license plate.

Click here to watch a video with instructions for entering and exiting Highlands for car rider pick up/drop off. Click here for a one-pager with directions and map.

In the mornings, please leave the middle lane open for buses and staff. Please also keep in mind that staff start at various times in the morning including 7:30, 7:45 and 8:00am and will be allowed to come through the drop off line. Please kindly let them through.

As always, please drive slowly through the parking lots at Highlands. We have many students that are walkers and it is all of our jobs to keep them safe.

We have Highlands staff who are allergic to pumpkins. Please not bring decorative pumpkins into the school. Did you know any hard-skinned squash could be called a pumpkin? There's no botanical distinction that makes a pumpkin a pumpkin. Thank you in advance for your understanding.

We already have volunteer opportunities and we always need volunteers! Use the sign up button below to sign up on Membership Toolkit (MTK).

• Open PTO positions: There are a few open positions this year as well as a few shadow positions, where the parents who have been leading the events have 5th graders and would like to pass the torch for new year.
• Art Adventure: This program engages students with artwork from the Minneapolis Institute of Art's collection. Volunteers are trained on pieces from the collection and then bring a copy of that piece into the classroom to share with the class. No teaching experience or experiences with art is required and training is provided. Artworks are introduced once a month starting in November and times are scheduled directly with participating classroom teachers. The format is traditionally a short discussion with the kids followed by a related art project.
• Discovery Kitchen: Encourage students to try new foods by handing out food samples during the lunch hour. Samples are provided by Chartwells, our food service provider, and will be offered on the regular menu the following day.

• Hearing & Vision Screening: Assist the health office with 3rd and 5th grade Hearing and Vision Testing on September 17 or October 8.
• Lunch Volunteers: Help students with PIN numbers, getting food and utensils, open drinks, clean up routine and make sure kids eat and drink, The need is highest the first few weeks of school.

Volunteer Here!

Join fellow Highland parents on Sunday, September 29 5:30-7:00pm to decorate the sidewalks leading into school to kick off National Bullying Month at Highlands.

Bring your best kindness quotes (drawing skills optional!) and help us “surprise” the students on Monday when they arrive at school!

Chalk will be provided so stop by the school to help spread the kindness vibe!

Celebrate the GREEN & GOLD at the 2024 Highlands Great Gathering at Edina Country Club. Enjoy sips, snacks, fun, and games as you connect and reconnect with Highlands parents at this casual, adults-only evening. Wearing Green and Gold is encouraged, get your Edina Spiritwear for the Great Gathering (and for Homecoming), shop HERE!

HOW TO GET INVOLVED:

• Be an event SPONSOR! Do you or a family/friend own a small business? Get your business in front of hundreds of Highlands families and support the Great Gathering as a sponsor! Please contact Sarah Valenziano to learn more.
• Donate a SMALL GATHERING HERE!
  • You can host a small gathering (in person or virtual) to be sold off at the event! Small gatherings are fun and a great way to meet other Highlands families.
  • Have questions? Reach out to Aditi Steinbruchel.
• Have access to a “big ticket” item for our AUCTION? We are accepting items like game tickets (i.e. Vikings, Twins, Wild, Timberwolves or Gophers), concert tickets or even a vacation home or cabin you would be willing to donate. Please contact Kate Morrison.
• Want to help plan to create another fun, successful event? Sign up to be an EVENT VOLUNTEER on one of the GG committees here!
• Buy your event TICKETS here!
  • Early Bird: $50/person through October 16th
  • Standard: $60/person through November 7th
  • Last Minute: $75/person thereafter

We hope to see you there!

We’d like to remind you to download MTK and our school calendar to help you stay connected and organzied.

Download MTK in the Apple Store or Google Play. Having the app on your phone will help you sign up for volunteer slots faster and quickly look up names in the PTO directory. Tip: If you have kids at multiple Edina schools, you can toggle back and forth with the different PTO MTK sites.

Download the calendar feeds for Highlands, Edina Public Schools, etc HERE. Click on the RSS Feed button in the upper right hand corner above the calendar to find subscription options.

If you missed the last PTO newsletter you can find it HERE.

Main Office Line: 952-848-4500

Attendance Line: 952-848-4502

Website: https://highlands.edinaschools.org/
Location: 5505 Doncaster Way, Edina, MN 55436
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HLHappenings

Tech and Infinite Campus Help: The Help Desk is available to answer media and technology related questions from 7am -4pm. For live assistance, please call 952-848-4915