Highcroft Hotline

At Highcroft, we help learners grow in a safe, caring community where ALL are valued and supported to become leaders.

August

• 12: Meet the Teacher, Grades 1-5, 3:00-4:00 pm
• 13: First Day of School
• 13: Kindergarten Parents Boo Hoo Yahoo Breakfast, 9:15 am
• 22: PSO Meeting, 7:00 pm
• 23: Kindergarten Meet the Teacher, 5:00-6:00 pm
• 24: Hotdog with Highcroft at Forest Park, 4:00-6:00 pm
• 28: Late Start, School begins at 11:05 am
• 29: Curriculum Night, 6:30-8:00 pm

Welcome,

It is with great pleasure we welcome you and your student(s) to the 2019-2020 school year! While the slower pace of summer is always a joy, nothing is more exciting than having the energy of our children in the school. Their spirit and laughter bring our space alive.

The staff has put a lot of thought and energy into creating caring learning spaces and planning engaging lessons for our students. As we strive to meet our school's mission, we will integrate learning about the seven habits of highly effective individuals and continue our focus on fostering strong leadership skills within our students.

As a reminder, this is our weekly school communication. We email the Highcroft Hotline to families early Sunday evenings. This communication will provide informative pieces regarding upcoming events. As we strive to share critical information and our school story with the community, we will continue to utilize Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Please follow us on Twitter @HighcroftRidge, on Facebook at Highcroft Ridge Elementary School, and on Instagram at highcroftridgeelementary for daily updates. Please know while we use these media outlets to share information, we do not use them to correspond. If you have a question or concern, please contact us here at school by phone or email. We are happy to discuss matters with you.

Respectfully,

Cartelia Lucas
Principal

To ensure that all students are dismissed to go home safely, we ask that you complete a dismissal plan for each individual student and bring it to your child's teacher during our Meet the Teacher event on Monday, August 12th, from 3:00 - 4:00 pm. This plan will inform the staff of your child's regular dismissal plan, as well as how he or she should be dismissed in the event of an emergency. You can also send the completed plan to school with your child on the first day. Copies of the form will also be available in your child's classroom for completion during our Meet the Teacher event.

Click here for the dismissal form.

In the interest of student and staff safety, Parkway implemented a visitor check-in system in all schools last fall. All visitors need to show a photo ID when they come to school and will receive a printed visitor badge to wear with their name on it. Please remember to bring a photo ID when you visit so we can check you in. Thank you in advance for helping us ensure the safety of all students and staff! Watch a video here to see how the check-in system works.

To help ensure the safety of our students, we ask that the designated person picking up your child from school visibly display a pick-up sign in the vehicle’s front window. Pick-up signs will be provided to each family. We ask that you either hang the sign from the rearview mirror or place it in the front window of the vehicle on the driver’s side. Pick-up signs will be distributed during Meet the Teacher, August 12th, from 3:00 pm until 4:00 pm. After Meet the Teacher, signs will be available in the main office. Even if your child will be a bus rider, please pick up your pick-up sign to have in the event of an unplanned change in dismissal.

If you would like to apply to be a volunteer at Highcroft, please go to www.parkwayschools.net, click on Employment in the top red bar then click on Volunteers in the drop-down box or click here. There you will find the link for the Volunteer Application. All volunteers who might work with or around children without a staff member present, including chaperoning on a field trip, must apply. Completion of the application process must occur annually. New this year, everyone's credentials expired June 30 and will expire at the end of June going forward. All volunteers will need to reapply with the beginning of each new school year. If you only intend to volunteer at school parties, you do not need to submit an application.

The first 2-hour late start day in Parkway is Wednesday, August 28th. The school day will start 2 hours later than usual and buses will pick up 2 hours later.

Late start days are designed to allow teachers to collaborate in Professional Learning Communities and commit to helping every child be more successful in school. Late start days allow teachers time to:

- Study data on student performance

- Identify students who need extra help or more challenging work

- Review best practices to help all students

- Take action to help each child improve

- Monitor results during the year

We look forward to seeing all of our families during Curriculum Night, August 29th, from 6:30-8:00 pm. Curriculum Night is an opportunity to hear from your child's teacher and learn more about what your child will learn this year. This evening is an adult-only event. Devices will be available in each grade level's project area for you to complete the volunteer background check. This application must be completed annually for all volunteers who might work with or around children without a staff member present and attend field trips. Sign up forms for volunteer opportunities will also be available in the project areas. We appreciate you attending Curriculum Night in support of the collaborative work ahead of us.

It is with great joy we share Highcroft Ridge Elementary has been named a 2019 U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon School! This honor is in recognition of our efforts to reduce environmental impact and costs, improve health and wellness, and offer effective sustainability education.