Congratulations to Ms. Cunningham's Advisory and the Raja family for winning this year's Sauce-off Competition! A special thank you to the PTSO, Mr. Klauschie, and the families that hosted tables for the Multicultural Fair. It was a great experience, and we look forward to seeing this event grow every year!

Over 200 cans were collected for this year's Thanksgiving Blessing fundraiser! A huge shout out to Mrs. Spalla's Advisory for collecting the most cans and winning a pizza party.

Intensives are a long standing Highland tradition, providing students with the opportunity to dive deep into a content or skill set that is unfamiliar or of high interest. All classes address a variety of standards, most commonly Personal, Social, Service (PSS) and College and Career Preparedness (CCP). Students take two classes which are 2 hours each and run for five days. Please note that during the week of Intensives (December 12th-December 18th), students will be released at 2:00 everyday. During this time, all teachers will be teaching Advisory and both Intensive sessions. The early release will allow teachers a consistent planning period to plan and execute quality Intensive instruction and assessment. Please review the Intensive Course Catalog with your child prior to sign-ups on Monday, November 25th.

We would like to inform you that The Anchorage Health Department will be offering several lessons for High School students (9-12) utilizing the TUPP Program/HEART curriculum at Highland Academy on various Mondays and Fridays in December, January, and February. The first presentation will be on Friday, December 6th. HEART (Healthy, Empowered, and Responsible Teens) materials consists of two (2) PowerPoint in-person or virtual lessons of 60-90 minutes long each with anonymous knowledge quizzes, activities, visual aids, and honest youth-oriented discussions. Topics of discussion include:

For additional information regarding the Reproductive Health Lessons, please see the letter below.

I am excited to share that Highland Academy will implement a new visitor management software system in our school beginning December 5th. The Raptor Technologies safety software will add an extra layer of campus security. Upon entry, visitors, volunteers, and ASD staff whose primary location is outside of our campus must sign in using the self-serve kiosk. Please see the letter below with additional information about this change. We appreciate your continued commitment to help keep Highland a safe learning environment.

Feel free to reach out with any questions. Have a great weekend!

-Ms. Crosby, Principal

crosby_nicole@asdk12.org

https://www.asdk12.org/highlandacademy

Educating for Leadership, Educating for Life

Please mark your calendars for the following dates/events at Highland:

• Saturday, November 23rd - Barnes and Noble Book Fair
• Thursday, November 28th and Friday, November 29th - Thanksgiving Holiday
• December 3rd and December 5th - Winter MAP Testing
• December 12th-December 18th - Intensives
• Thursday, December 19th - MITs (Advisory Competition) and last day of the semester for students
• December 20th-January 3rd - Winter Break
• Monday, January 6th - Highland Staff In-service (NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS)

Dear Parents/Guardians,

We would like to inform you that The Anchorage Health Department will be offering several lessons for High School students (9-12) utilizing the TUPP Program/HEART curriculum at Highland Academy on various Mondays and Fridays in December, January, and February. The first presentation will be on Friday, December 6th.

HEART (Healthy, Empowered, and Responsible Teens) materials consists of two (2) PowerPoint in-person or virtual lessons of 60-90 minutes long each with anonymous knowledge quizzes, activities, visual aids, and honest youth-oriented discussions. Topics of discussion include:

• Day 1: reproductive anatomy, gender inclusivity, how pregnancy occurs, preventative birth control options and effectiveness including abstinence, hormonal and non-hormonal methods, and how youth and young adults can gain autonomy in accessing reproductive health services

• Day 2: prevention, basic information, and treatment of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and condom effectiveness and practice on phallus models per organization/youth guidelines

All lessons address Highland’s Reproductive Health standards in PSS as well as National Health Education standards. Please see the topic list below:

• Anatomy and Reproduction - Students understand and normalize anatomy, gender, and how a pregnancy will occur to help them understand their body and what they might expect in puberty.

• Abstinence and Birth Control Methods - Importance of abstinence for pregnancy and disease prevention, while discussing alternative methods for individuals who are (or become) sexually active.

• Sexual Consent - Develops a clear understanding of sexual consent including how to ask for and show consent in verbal and non-verbal ways along with recognizing consent given by others.

• Sexually Transmitted Infections - Focuses on how sexually transmitted infections and diseases can be transmitted, prevented, and treated while discussing access and testing.

The curriculum materials are approved yearly by the Anchorage School Board to be taught in the Anchorage School District for 8th grades and up, and a health educator is approved as a sensitive topic speaker, who may teach the curriculum if invited by an ASD teacher. ASD youth are not given healthcare referrals. Approved presenters and ASD staff may answer any ‘hot topic’ questions from students factually and without bias. During TUPP educational presentations, all methods of pregnancy prevention are mentioned: abstinence, prevention with contraception, parenting, adoption, and medically ending a pregnancy.

Per ASD policy, at the secondary level, explicit parent permission is not required for participation, but advance notice and an opt‐out opportunity is to be provided. If you would like to opt your child out of these lessons, please contact your child’s advisor, call the front office at 907-742-1700, or email me at crosby_nicole@asdk12.org.

Thank you,

Nicole Crosby, Principal

Dear Parents and Guardians,

I’m excited to share that Highland Academy will implement a new visitor management software system in our school beginning December 5th.

The Raptor Technologies safety software will add an extra layer of campus security. Upon entry, visitors, volunteers, and ASD staff whose primary location is outside of our campus must sign in using the self-serve kiosk.

The software has been piloted at ASD schools and is now being rolled out District-wide. The District is implementing the visitor management system to aid in the standardization of visitor check-in procedures in all schools, which complies with Board Policy 3515.5

Starting December 5th, all adult visitors to Highland Academy will be required to present and scan a current government-issued photo ID upon entering the school. This adjustment to our visitor management policy is a significant step forward in strengthening our school’s safety protocols.

As part of our ongoing commitment to ensuring the safety and security of our students, staff, and school community, we are excited for this important enhancement to our ASD visitor management policy.

This new requirement will enable us to:

• Quickly and accurately verify the identity of all visitors.

• Enhance our ability to maintain a secure environment for our students and staff.

• Ensure that we have accurate records of who is in our buildings at all times, further enhancing our ability to respond in the event of an emergency.

What is Raptor?

The visitor management system records the visitor’s name, date of birth, and last four digits of the ID, and checks against a national database of registered sex offenders. Schools will follow School Board policy regarding registered sex offenders in the building (see: Restrictions on Sex Offenders on Campus BP 3515.5). The registered sex offender database is the only official database checked by the system. No other data from the ID is gathered or recorded and the information is not shared with any outside agency.

We understand that changes in protocol may require adjustments from our community, and we appreciate your cooperation and support in making our school a safer place for everyone. Please rest assured that all information collected will be treated with the utmost respect for privacy and confidentiality, used solely for the purpose of enhancing the security of our school premises.

Thank you for your understanding and your continued partnership in keeping our school community safe.

Nicole Crosby, Principal

Did you know? In Alaska's dark winters, your choice of clothing can be a lifesaver. Here's a startling fact:

• Drivers can only see someone walking in dark clothing from 55 feet away.
• But with reflective materials? That distance jumps to 500 feet!

That's why we've teamed up with the Center for Safe Alaskans to provide you will free reflective tape. Reflective tape can be picked up from the front office any time.

Tips for using reflective tape:

1. Cut the reflective tape into smaller pieces to maximize use.
2. Stick it on clean, dry surfaces.
3. Add it to winter gear, backpacks, bikes, helmets, wheelchairs, and even dog leashes.
4. Place tape to outline your shape and highlight moving parts like sleeves and pant legs.

Need more tape? Order additional tape directly from the Center for Safe Alaskan's -https://safealaskans.org/reflectivetape/

Let's shine bright and stay safe this winter!

Highland has established a positive and respectful school culture and CORE (Culture of Respect for Everyone) plays an integral role in Highland's philosophy. All stakeholders work together to ensure a productive and safe environment for all learners and guests.

College and Career Preparedness (CCP) standards also play a significant role in setting students up for success after high school. These standards address critical life skills including digital citizenship and technology use, collaboration, effective communication, professional etiquette, career exploration, financial literacy, and much more. Similar to PSS standards, CCP standards can be earned in a variety of ways including Advisory, core classes, elective classes, workshops, and outside of school experiences. Students are required to complete three levels of CCP to meet Highland graduation requirements.

Please see the attached "Earning PSS and CCP Standards - Student Guide" for additional information on how students can earn these important standards.

Personal, Social, Service (PSS) standards play a significant role in developing skills necessary for success after school. These standards are critical to Highland's philosophy and supporting growth of the whole child. Embedded in these standards is skill development of communication, critical thinking, collaboration, and creativity. Each level has a series of standards broken into 5 different categories: (1) Health, (2) Personal, (3) Social, (4) Personal Expression, and (5) Service. Students have many opportunities to demonstrate their knowledge and learning in school through Advisory, core classes, electives, Intensives, etc. They can also bring in their experiences outside of school to show their knowledge and learning of PSS standards (i.e. sports, musical instruments, first aid cards, volunteer work, etc.). This evidence should be brought to the Advisor to discuss how they connect to PSS. After completion of all standards, students complete a presentation of their learning to a panel of their choice. Students are required to complete three levels of PSS to meet graduation requirements at Highland.

Please see the attached "Earning PSS and CCP Standards - Student Guide" for additional information on how students can earn these important standards.

If students receive feedback from teachers asking them to revise their assignments, projects, papers, etc., please encourage them to do so. Once they use the feedback to improve and revise their work, it should be resubmitted to the teacher for an updated assessment. I would recommend letting the teacher know whenever a revised assignment has been resubmitted. In a competency based program, feedback and revision are crucial steps in the learning the process.

Check out the video below to learn more about a student's homepage in Empower. It explains the homepage features, as well as demonstrating how to access activities and assignments and view student scores and teacher feedback. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to your child's Advisor. If you would like to schedule a one-on-one Zoom tutorial, please email Ms. Crosby with your request.

Dear Parent(s)/Guardians,

Highland Academy Charter School will be teaching the Alaska Safe Children’s Act/ Personal Safety lessons throughout the 2025 school year during our Advisory period. Our teachers will present an age-appropriate lesson about personal body safety in a non-threatening way, along with the skills needed for self-protection. The focus of these lessons are to empower students with the information and skills to protect themselves and seek help from the physical, psychological and emotional harm that can occur from abusive situations and is part of the Anchorage School District’s plan to enact the Alaska Safe Children’s Act and will be handled in a sensitive, respectful manner.

ASD Prevention Tools

• Climate – Creating a safe and respectful learning environment, which is well managed, supportive, and engaging with active participation.
• Direct instruction – Using a variety of evidence based curricula and programs to deliberately teach about risk factors and healthy relationship skills.
• Infusion – Integrating social and emotional learning skills throughout the day and in all curriculum areas through modeling of instructional practices that promote SEL skill practice and maximize learning.
• At home and community supports – Developing awareness about available supports and resources outside of the school day.

The Alaska Department of Education and Early Development (DEED) developed curriculum is comprised of three separate age and developmentally appropriate bands for grades 7/8, 9/10 and 11/12. Each grade band contains five modules and is designed to help prevent childhood sexual abuse and teen dating abuse.

The five modules for each grade are organized around the following topics:

• Module 1: Defining Healthy Relationships
• Module 2: Building Healthy Relationships
• Module 3: Defining Unhealthy Relationships
• Module 4: Warning Signs
• Module 5: Help and Support

For 6th Grade students, they continue utilizing The Great Body Shop (which was also utilized in grades K-5) for their lessons.

If you have any questions about the content of the program or if you wish to inquire about opting out, please contact your child’s Advisory teacher or the school office (907-742-1700).

Thank you for partnering with us as we continue to provide learning opportunities to improve the safety and well being of our students.

When your child is absent or tardy, please contact the school as soon as possible. The best way to report an absence is through Q/ParentConnect. You can also call the front office (907) 742-1700.

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.

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.