Highland Happenings
October 4th, 2024
Happy October!
Good Afternoon Highland Families,
This week the Highland Student Council held their first meeting of the year. It is great to see so many of our students take on leadership roles and give back to our school in such a meaningful way. This week we also celebrated Custodian's Day! This was a great opportunity to celebrate all of the hard work that Mr. Tony and Mr. Chuck do every day to make sure our school is safe, clean, and great place to come and learn. Just a reminder, parent-teacher conferences are next week. Conferences are a great opportunity to strengthen our home-school partnership and collaborate on how to best support our Huskies. We are excited to see many of our Highland Huskies at our annual PTA Bingo Night, tonight! If you have any questions or need any assistance, please don't hesitate to reach out to us at 630-719-5835. Take care and have a great weekend!
My Best,
Zac Craft
Principal, Highland School
Attendance Letters Sent Home Today
Regular school attendance is crucial for your child’s academic and social development. We appreciate your partnership in helping them arrive at school on time each day.
District 58 is focused on improving student attendance, and as a part of this effort, an attendance awareness letter was sent home to each student’s family today . This letter includes the number of days your child has been in attendance. Please reach out to me should you have any questions about your child’s attendance or this letter.
Last Chance to Apply to a District 58 Committee!
District 58 is recruiting new members for its District and School Board committees/councils. Please consider participating! Applications are due TODAY Friday, Oct. 4. See the links below for more information:
View Superintendent Dr. Kevin Russell’s letter regarding committee recruitment.
View committee and council descriptions, goals, meeting dates and membership needs.
Thank you for your interest!
Reflections art program entries due Nov. 1
Is your student interested in visual or performing arts? Please consider participating in PTA Reflections!
Each year through Reflections, more than 300,000 students around the country in preschool through high school create original works of art inspired by a student-selected theme. This year's theme is "Accepting Imperfection" and categories for entry include visual art (painting, drawing, sculpture, textile art), photography, film-making, music composition, dance choreography and literature. Visit our local Reflections website to learn more about the program, read the guidelines and download an entry form. All entries are due to your local school by Friday, Nov. 1.
Projects are judged and have the opportunity to advance through Council, Region, State and National levels of competition. Our Council level is called the Downers Grove Area Council and includes all District 58 schools as well as Darien School District 61. All District 58 students whose projects advance to the Council level are invited to attend a recognition ceremony on Dec. 3 at O’Neill Middle School, where they will receive a ribbon and see their work on display.
All students whose projects advance to the State level are invited to Spotlight, a state-wide Reflections celebration in May. Students with projects advancing to the National level are eligible for bronze, silver and gold medals and scholarships ranging from $200-$800.
Looking for inspiration? Browse the virtual gallery of projects that made it to Nationals in last year’s Reflections program inspired by the theme “I am Hopeful Because …”
Outdoor Learning Space
As many of you know, earlier this calendar year we lost one of our beloved kindergarten teachers, Christina Wallace. Mrs. Wallace enjoyed spending time outside and to honor her memory, the staff at Highland decided to dedicate an outdoor learning space to her.
The outpouring of support last Spring as we fundraised for this memorial was remarkable! We wanted to ensure that we communicated with our Highland families our plans for the allocation of those funds as well as a timeline for completion.
The most important part during our planning stage was ensuring that any current or future construction projects would not disrupt the outdoor space. Recently, a space on the South side of the front lawn was identified for the outdoor learning space. Highland administration is working to obtain renderings and estimates, which we should have within the next few weeks and will share with our families. Our goal is for the project to be completed by the end of this calendar year.
Again, we thank you for your support and will keep you updated on the progress of this project! Here are some inspiration photos being used to design the space.
PTA All Day
Family Bingo Night
Join the PTA *TONIGHT* for Bingo at the Highland Gym. Prizes are provided by the PTA and the event is free for all Highland families (including siblings, parents, and family members of current students.) Our celebrity callers (Mrs. Costello, Mrs. Roegner and Mrs. Cottrell) will ensure everyone has a great time!
Doors open at 5:15 for session 1 and 6:30 for session 2. No RSVPs needed!
Please bring small bills if you plan to purchase drinks or snacks. We can't wait to see you!
***Thank you Highland Parent Nickolas Kusen of @properties for a generous donation that allowed us to purchase bigger and better bingo supplies this year!***
Partners in Art
ATTENTION! Parents for 2nd grade, 3rd grade & 5th grade!!!! These grades still have spots available! Sign up today so your kids don’t miss a chance to have this experience!
Partners in Art is a great program that allows parents to pair up and present a lesson on a famous piece of artwork, and then lead the class in a brief activity. We'll be able to provide you with the art, materials, and ideas for your presentation. We have PowerPoint presentations for each art piece. You don't need prior knowledge of art. The dates and times are flexible; you and your partner will work with the classroom teachers on the date/time that will work for both. We have 4 opportunities for each grade level.
For more details and to sign up please go to:
If you have any questions, you may reach out to Fon Boonyapredee (boonfamily2012@gmail.com).
Yearbooks
Online sales are open for the 2024-1015 Highland yearbook! If you order before Oct.31, you can save 10%! The sale ends after Oct.31. If your family needs financial assistance to purchase the yearbooks, please reach out to the PTA at highlandpta58@gmail.com.
Any questions please contact Christina Zycinski at clzycinski@gmail.com
Buy your yearbook today and save 10%
Book Fair
Highland’s Book Fair will be back during Parent Teacher Conferences Oct. 8-10. Students can shop during the day on Wednesday, 10/9. Parents can shop during Parent Teacher Conferences on 10/8 & 10/10. Have your child be cashless and sign up for a Student E-Wallet Here. Also, don’t forget to add a bit more for sales tax!
Fall Fundraiser
The 3rd Annual Fall Fundraiser is going to be “FIRE”
Get ready to experience the great outdoors... indoors! Join us November 15th at 7pm at Moose Lodge aka “Camp Highland”. Leave the kids and the bug spray at home for this adventure to “pitch” in for a great cause.
Dress in your favorite camping attire or cozy fall classics to enjoy all the best parts of camping - s’mores, spirits and sport. Whether you’re a seasoned camper or a city dweller, everyone will be pine-ing for this year’s gift baskets and donated experiences.
How can you help ahead of time? We're looking for donations! All in-kind donations will be appreciated & we're actively seeking experiences to sell at the event! Last year's experiences included:
Casino Night
Kids Kickball Tournament
Adult Pickleball Tournament
Blitzen’d Holiday Party
Wine tasting
For event questions or donation inquiries please contact: Jeannie Binz at Binz.jeannie@gmail.com
Forget the hiking boots and just bring your sense of adventure and generosity for an unforgettable night “under the stars”!
Reflections
Calling students who love the arts to participate in Reflections!
All Highland students are invited to participate in the PTA Reflections program! This nationally sponsored art contest provides opportunities for recognition and access to the arts, which boost student confidence and align with our Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) goals. Entries will have the chance to advance to the Council, Region, State and National Levels!
Here’s how you can help support your student’s participation:
Read more about the Reflections program and this year's theme, "Accepting Imperfection."
Learn about the categories for entries and look over the contest rules.
Download and print an entry form to fill out with your student (or wait until a form comes home in backpacks).
Encourage your student to start creating! They can make a drawing, painting, dance routine, poem, short story, song, film … how they interpret this year’s theme is up to them.
Entries are due Friday, Nov. 1
Drop off visual art and written projects with Mrs. Blahous and Mrs. Schneider in the front office. Digital entries (music, dance, film, photography) can be uploaded to a free hosting service (Vimeo, YouTube) and emailed to jgmaschek@gmail.com or turned into the office on a flash drive, CD or DVD.
Questions? Email Julia Maschek at jgmaschek@gmail.com
6th Grade Yearbook “Shout Outs!”
Parents and relatives of 6th Grade Students have the opportunity to purchase 1/8 page
or 1/4 page “Shout Outs” in the 2024-25 yearbook to celebrate their student’s
promotion to Middle School!
Creating Your “Shout Out” is Easy!
1. Please visit https://web.treering.com/createAccount/1016950792033554?PassCode=1016950792033554 or scan the
QR code below.
2. Set up an online account if you don’t have one already (this is the same account
used for ordering yearbooks).
3. Click on ”Purchase a Yearbook Ad.”
4. Select your size (1/8 or 1/4 page) and choose from many design and photo options.
5. All “Shout Outs” are full color and are $5.00 for 1/8 page, $10.00 for 1/4 page.
6. Payments can be made online once you have completed your design.
Important Reminders!
• “Shout Outs" are for 6th Grade Students Only.
• “Shout Outs” can only be ordered and paid for online through the Treering’s website.
• Multiple “Shout Outs” can be purchased, but we kindly ask that you limit your
student’s total space to 1/2 page due to page constraints.
• The deadline to design and purchase “Shout Outs” is Friday, December 20, 2024.
This is the day before Winter Break!
• Shout Outs are completely optional, but no late purchases will be accepted.
• Money collected from Shout Outs goes directly back to Highland!
Questions? Please contact Yearbook Chair, Christina Zycinski, at clzycinski@gmail.com
Always Here!
Item's that can be found in every edition of the Highland Happenings, such as the Highland Playbook and our student attendance form can be found below. We want to ensure that these resources are always available to our families while also making each week's Happenings as reader-friendly as possible!
Personal Electronic/Technology Devices Policy in DG58
It is amazing how far technology has come over the last decade and continues to advance. We recognize the value technology has not just in education, but our world. However, we hope that we can work together to remind students that during the school day, personal electronic devices should be turned off or silenced and out of sight. This includes wearable devices if they become distracting to the learning environment. Students should not be using phones, Apple Watches, or other devices to send or receive text messages or phone calls during the school day.
Keep In Touch
Email: zcraft@dg58.org
Website: DG58.org/HG
Location: 3935 Highland Avenue, Downers Grove, IL, USA
Phone: (630)-719-5835
Facebook: facebook.com/HGHuskies
Twitter: @HGHuskies