Highland Weekly

It is officially the last Friday of summer! Highland will welcome back all staff on Monday, as we continue to plan and prepare for the upcoming year. We have many returning staff members, and are excited to introduce the new members of our Highland team!

• Special Education - Robin Brosius
• Middle School Math - Danelle Spalla
• Middle School Science - Emily Roseberry
• Paraprofessional - Monica Ratliff
• Administrative Assistant - Jessica Blackson

We will be rolling out the red carpet for all students on Thursday, August 15th for our first day back to school. Come hungry, as we will be providing pancakes for all students first thing in the morning. We are looking forward to a great start of the year!

Empower is up and running for the 2024/2025 school year. If you are new to Highland, please use the following login information to access your account:

Username: FirstnameLastname

Password: Welcome2025!

Once you log in, please change your password to something you will remember. If you have any trouble logging in to Empower, reach out to Ms. Crosby for support (crosby_nicole@asdk12.org).

If you haven’t already done so, take some time to familiarize yourself with Empower, Highland’s learning management system. Empower is an integral part of student learning, as teachers assign and assess work through this program. Students should be logging in everyday to access and submit work, receive feedback, check scores, etc. We highly encourage parents/guardians to log into Empower with their child on a regular basis to view progress. Please take a few minutes to watch this Empower tutorial video.

Students should have the following items on a daily basis:

• Pens/pencils
• 3-ring binder with dividers and lined paper
• (2) Composition notebooks
• Charged Chromebook
• Reusable water bottle

Other helpful items include:

• Sticky notes
• Highlighters
• Athletic shoes for those students in PE

Teachers always accept donations of:

• Clorox wipes
• Hand sanitizer
• Low odor dry erase markers
• Poster markers
• Sticky notes
• Kleenex

We encourage all of our students to bring their own lunches to school every day. Highland does have a school store, stocked with a variety of drinks, chips, burritos, pizza pockets, cup of noodles, and uncrustables for purchase. We also serve Costco pizza every Friday, $2 a slice! As we move toward a cashless system, lunch punchcards can be purchased at the front office with cash or check or on Q/ParentConnect with a credit card. Punchcards can be purchased in increments of $20.

As a reminder, Highland has moved to an 8:30 AM start time for the 2025 school year. On Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday our bell schedule will be 8:30-3:00, and our building hours will be 7:30-4:00. We will still have our early release Wednesday, ending the day at 2:00. The building will remain open at 7:30 AM for early drop off, and close at 4:00 PM. Students will be permitted to stay in the building until 4:00 if they are participating in a school sponsored club/activity (clubs/activities will begin in September).

Highland will continue to use a 7-block modified bell schedule this year. Student schedules will be available in Empower on Tuesday, August 13th. Log in to Empower and change the date to August 15th to see the full class schedule.

All families are invited to join us on Tuesday, August 20th between 5:00-6:30 for our Open House and Back to School BBQ event. Highland’s PTSO will be grilling food and hosting activities, while teachers are available for meet and greets. This is a great opportunity to connect with staff members and other Highland families. We look forward to seeing you for an evening of family fun!

Students that do not already have a Chromebook, will be assigned a school Chromebook and charger at the beginning of the year. It is their responsibility to take care of the device, bringing it fully charged, to and from school every day. Computers are used on a regular basis, and it is critical to the learning environment that students are using technology appropriately. The school network and computers are not intended or provided for personal use. It is our expectation that students adhere to district policy, as well as Highland policy and classroom expectations.

All students are assigned a Google Account (asdk12.net), providing them access to school issued Chromebooks and their Google Drive. The Anchorage School District monitors student accounts, flagging inappropriate content and use. Misuse of a school device may result in a restrictive technology plan or temporary suspension of a student’s account.

As a reminder, Highland implemented a revised cell phone or headphone/earbud policy last semester. Students are expected to have their earbuds/headphones put away and cell phones turned off and out of sight during class and passing time. They are permitted to use their device before school, during lunch, and after school. If a student has their cell phone or earbuds/headphones out in class or during passing time, regardless of the reason, teachers will confiscate the device to be stored at the front office for the rest of the school day.

Volunteers help make field trips and events possible! If you are interested in volunteering, please complete the required ASD Volunteer Form as soon as possible. We appreciate your time and support!

We request that all families pay a $150 supply and activity for the school year through Q/ParentConnection. These funds help pay for intensives, student-led activities, class sets, and more. If this is a hardship, or you would rather donate your time, we would be happy to work with you.

As a charter school, Highland Academy is governed by an Academic Policy Committee (APC). It is the APC's responsibility to oversee the implementation of the school's mission and vision, oversee finances, and develop a strategic plan to support the continued growth of the school. Our first regularly scheduled board meeting of the school year is August 15th from 5:00-6:30 via Zoom (please note the time change). All community members are invited to attend APC Meetings. All APC meeting dates, Zoom links, and agendas will be posted on our website in advance. For more information about our APC, please check their page on our school website.

https://asdk12.zoom.us/j/2314599803?pwd=eGNTbVE5eU9mV251a3NHeUdDVVRrQT09

Thank you for your continued support and dedication to the Highland community! Be on the look out for weekly communication from the school every Friday. Please feel free to reach out with any questions. Enjoy your last weekend of summer!

-Ms. Crosby, Principal

crosby_nicole@asdk12.org

https://www.asdk12.org/highlandacademy

Educating for Leadership, Educating for Life