Husky Nation Highlights

We're very excited to announce that our vocal Winter Program is back, featuring several grade levels! We are also showcasing our Instrumental Music Program during an evening performance and schoolwide assemblies.

The vocal program will be held on-campus during school hours. Our Cafetorium has limited space and we need it to run our meal program, so a few guidelines are in place:

1. We will have two identical showings of each program on each day. A recording of the combined program will be created and published on our school website over the Winter Break.
2. We can only seat parents according to their ticket color (see below). Please plan to arrive for your scheduled ticket time. Thank you for understanding.
   
3. Tickets will be made available to your child by their homeroom teacher. We can only issue 2 tickets per child. Thank you for understanding.
4. Please stay for the duration of the program (~45 minutes) to limit distractions for performers. Again, please do NOT leave after your child has performed as this is very distracting (and discouraging) for students.
   
5. NO TICKET, NO ENTRY

Tuesday, December 10 - Grades TK, Kinder, 1st and 2nd will perform for each showing

• RED Ticket Showing is 8:15-9:00am
• YELLOW Ticket Showing is 9:15-10:00am

Wednesday, December 11 - Grades 3rd, 4th (+ 4/5 Combo) and 7th will perform for each showing

• GREEN Ticket Showing is 8:15-9:00am
• BLUE Ticket Showing is 9:15-10:00am

(corrected schedule for 12/11)

Tuesday, December 17 - Grades 5th-8th Instrumental Music Students will perform

• This performance is not ticketed. All community members are welcome.
• The performance starts at 6:30pm in the Cafetorium
• Please arrive early to limit distractions to our performers

We're excited to announce that the preliminary round of the Highlands Spelling Bee is complete. The highest scorer from each homeroom in Grades 4th-8th will be invited to participate in the Schoolwide Spelling Bee on Wednesday, January 15, 2025 at 1:30pm in the Cafetorium. Winners will be announced next week once each classroom representative is finalized.

This event will be open to the public and all Monterey Highlands community members are welcome to attend. This is a live spelling bee and it we estimate the event may run between 30-90 minutes.

This month’s focus is Empathy. One way to think about Empathy is “understanding and connecting with other people’s feelings.” Empathy is a practice that can help us grow strong relationships.

Empathy is 1 of 3 traits we will focus on throughout the year that helps students Be Kind. Across grade levels, students will be developing skills like perspective-taking, conflict resolution, and leadership.

The Monterey Highlands PTA invites you to Frosty Fest! Inspired by Nightmare Before Christmas, this festive gathering will be held on Friday, December 13, from 5-7 PM in the Cafetorium and outdoor dining area.

Outdoors:

• Santa will make a special appearance for photos!
• Enjoy holiday carolers, falling snow, and festive vibes!
• Activities include Bingo, exciting raffle drawings, and an ugly sweater contest!

Indoors:

• Watch Nightmare Before Christmas, the holiday classic!
• Savor food and drinks to keep the holiday cheer going!

All activities are free as part of our commitment to fostering community joy and togetherness. Bring the whole family for a magical evening of fun and holiday spirit. We can't wait to celebrate with you!

Please note food, drinks, and prizes are available while supplies last and activities are subject to change based on inclement weather. Event information and FAQ available here.

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)

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 December, 4th Grade teaches us how to show Empathy. Our morning PA messages to start the week will also focus on this theme. Our Wonderful Wednesday video will debut soon!

Support 6th Grade as they raise funds for Outdoor Science Camp! We will be accepting drop-offs of clothing in the School Valet circle from 10am - 1pm.

• Please enter the bus circle/valet to drop-off your items
• Items Accepted: Clothes, shoes, purses, blankets
• NO HARD TOYS or BOOKS
• Items must be in good condition and bagged in LARGE trash bags

Support 8th Grade as they raise funds for 2025 Promotion Activities! 8th Grade will be selling Holiday Grams ($1 each) in the breezeway daily the week of 12/9 - 12/13. Grams will be delivered by 12/17.

This past week before Fall Break, we held a combined Middle School Honors Assembly on the Lower Blacktop. Homeroom group photos were taken in front of our new Marquee! We also honored our Highlands Mock Trial team (pictured at right) for an excellent inaugural season this year!

Shout is a vibrant celebration where individuals can express themselves through art, poetry, rhyme, song, skit, music, and dance. This time, our theme is Gratitude, which is also our schoolwide theme in November. Thank you to our Peer Leaders Uniting Students (PLUS) leaders who put on this wonderful event!

After more than a year's absence, the Husky Store is back! By all accounts, it was a great success! Students of all ages enjoyed the store format and the various ways to use their (now retired) blue Husky Bucks - buy store items, purchase tickets for raffle items, or pitch in so their homeroom can win a pizza party with Mr. B and Mrs. Saldivar!

Thank you SO MUCH to PTA for recruiting parent volunteers who helped staff the store! Thank you to Ms. Nguyen and Ms. Safa for decorating the store. Finally, a huge thanks to Mr. Perez and Mrs. Saldivar for organizing this wonderful event! We hope to have one more store event before the end of the year.

Our Husky Hero joined us to celebrate our Students of the Month for November. These student exemplified the schoolwide theme of Gratitude. We also honored 3 students with the Principal's Award for LEAD-ership! Here are just a few of our Husky Leaders!

The Adventures Afterschool program publishes a newsletter periodically to update everyone on their fun and exciting programs.

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

• 12/5 - Reading is Fundamental Assembly (1st-3rd), Cafetorium @ 8am
• 12/5 - Disney Spirit Day (Wear Disney Gear)
• 12/6 - 3rd Grade GATE Testing @ 8:15am (in homeroom)
• 12/7 - 6th Grade Clothing Drive, Valet Circle @ 10am-1pm
• 12/9 - Title 1 Annual Meeting, Library @ 8:15am
• 12/9 to 12/13 - 8th Grade Holiday Gram Sales, Daily in the Breezeway
• 12/10 - Winter Program (TK-2nd) @ 8:15am (RED tickets), 9:15am (YELLOW tickets)
• 12/10 - AUSD Board of Education Meeting
• 12/11 - Winter Program (3rd, 4th and 7th) @ 8:15am (GREEN tickets), 9:15am (BLUE tickets)
• 12/11 - School Site Council Meeting (in-person), Library @ 1:15pm (new date)
• 12/12 - English Learner Reclassification Celebration, Cafetorium @ 8am
• 12/13 - PTA presents Frosty Fest, Cafetorium and Garden, 5-7pm
• 12/17 - Instrumental Holiday Program, Cafetorium @ 6:30pm
• 12/17 - AUSD Board of Education Meeting
• 12/18 - Staff Holiday Luncheon (school office closes at 1:30pm)
• 12/19 - Student of the Month (Empathy), Cafetorium @ 8am
• 12/20 - Minimum Day (school office closes at 1:30pm)
• 12/23 to 1/4 - WINTER BREAK - NO SCHOOL
• 1/6 - School Reopens

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