Hawk Highlights

⭐️ We are excited for a week of learning, Book Fair, and Friday's Picnic on the Playground with VIP guests! 📌 Please forward this email to all VIP so they can pull up the above Event Ticket on phone s(or print out) for security entry. All guests will enter through the outdoor playground gates and show this electronic ticket.

Upcoming Events:

• 📊 Science State Testing (grade 5): 4/8 & 4/10
• ❗️MVP Training: April 7th @ 2:15 in the Highlands Library
• MVP training is good for 5 years. You will need to be MVP trained in order to attend field trips and volunteer in the lunchroom or classroom.
• 📚 PTA Scholastic Book Fair: April 9, 10, 11
• 🧺 PTA Picnic on the Playground with VIP Guests: April 11th
• ALL students eat on the playground (even if they don't have a special guest)
• Can bring a lunch or purchase from the lunchroom and then bring outside
• Shop the Scholastic Book Fair after eating!
• 📊 Math State Testing (grades 3-6): week of 4/14
• 🚌 Pre-K Round-Up: April 16th @ 6:00-6:45
• 🚌 Kindergarten Round-Up: April 17th @ 6:00-7:30
• 🚫 No School: Teacher Professional Learning
• 🎭 Highlands Variety Show: April 25th @ 6:30
• 📌 All School Mindful Morning (Creativity): 3/31 @ 2:30
• ⛳️ Field Day: May 14th
• 🎓 6th Grade Graduation + Celebration: May 22nd

It's great to be a Highlands Hawk!

Laura LaHue

Principal

Instagram: @HighlandsHawks512

Twitter: @512Hawks

Highlands will conduct a Code Red Drill on Wednesday, April 9th @ 8:15 (please note this is a time change from earlier correspondence). This drill includes: lights off in the classrooms, classroom doors locked, and students are moved to a location in the classroom that is not visible from the classroom door window. This drill lasts about 4 minutes.

We are excited to host our spring Book Fair! We are in need of volunteers. SIGN UP HERE. Thank you!

Students are encouraged to ask a "VIP Guest" to join him/her for lunch outside on the playground on April 11th. See the top of this newsletter for additional information and class lunch times.

Prairie and Highlands help each other out with volunteering at auctions. Are you able to help with check-in?

WHEN: This Friday, 4/11 @ 6:00 pm

WHERE: J. Rieger & Co.

**Email Kaitlin Holt at kaitlin.bowen@gmail.com if you are able to help!

The Variety Show is just around the corner!

This is always a memorable, fun night. We need more fun adults to make it happen!

Please reach out to Katy Hageman (katyhageman@gmail.com ) if you are interested in helping produce the show.

IMPORTANT DATES

April 4th – First Looks 3:15pm -- Music Room

April 17th – Second Looks 3:15pm -- MPR

April 24th – Final Dress Rehearsal 3:15pm -- MPR

April 25th – VARIETY SHOW -- 5:45pm Arrival -- 6:30pm Showtime

** The number of required rehearsals has been reduced, which means that preparation is even more important this year. Please, make sure that your child's act is prepared in advance, to make use of rehearsal time.

Do you have an incoming Pre-K or Kindergarten student? Please enroll on Skyward ASAP and join us for our kick-off events!

🍎 Kindergarten Kick-off: April 17th 6-7:30pm

🍎 PreK Kick-off: April 16th 6-6:45pm

⭐️ Highlands will continue the work of belonging and inclusion through the newly-adopted district Social-Emotional Resource Character Strong for grades K-12. We will kick off each theme from Character Strong at our monthly All-School Mindful Moments and continue throughout the month at Hawks Nests and daily social-emotional lessons.

⭐️ Shout-out to our amazing 6th graders for helping to plan these Mindful Moments!

HI WIG #1: Implement a system-wide monitoring process that utilizes collaborative instructional teams who meet regularly to review student data from screening, progress monitoring, and common formative assessments (CFAs) to identify next steps for instruction. (Intentional Tier 1, Tier 2, Tier 3 instruction)

• ✅ Lead Measures (to get us there):
• Intentional Core Instruction: Students are doing the talking (thinking); teachers are asking questions to encourage students to think and generalize what they know to new situations.
• Intentional Core Instruction: Teacher teams will use information from CFAs and real-time observations during core instruction to strategically target skills that will accelerate achievement
• Educational Equity: How will we get EVERY student there? A collective responsibility to provide students with what they need, when they need it, and with an urgency to master essential outcomes.
• IXL: students will engage in personalized learning plans using the IXL app to master skills for each priority standard with an 80% proficiency in both ELA and Math.
  

HI WIG #2: Prioritize social/emotional personalized learning through explicit instruction, modeling, classroom norms, school rituals/routines, and caring attention.

• ✅ Lead Measures (to get us there):
• Character Strong SEL Curriculum: Tier 1 daily instruction.

• Attendance Team: The office attendance team will monitor excessive absences by proactively sending out 7-day & 10-day absence letters and excessive tardy letters (10+ tardies) each week.

• Chronic Absenteeism rate will be communicated each month via school parent newsletter, as well as grade-specific rates through individual classroom newsletters.

• Mindful Mornings: 8:00-8:30 daily, building-wide. Students know they can softly enter the school day through friendship and connection. Device-free.

• Schoolwide System of Mentorship: all-school monthly Mindful Moments, Class Buddies, Hawks Nests, StuCo

• BIST + PBIS: building-wide system of grace, accountability, and positive reinforcement

• Weekly student SOAR tickets

• SOAR student store

• Quarterly PBIS assemblies + Highlighted Hawks

• BIST continuum: Implement buddy pass system and monitor usage/efficacy of buddy intervention