August 18, 2014
Take Note New Parent Welcome Breakfast Wednesday, August 20 7:45—8:30 a.m. Learning Center Parents’ Night 4K-3rd Grade Tuesday, August 26 6:00 p.m. Refreshments 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. Program begins in Spencer Center, then continues in classrooms Parents’ Night 4th - 8th Grades Thursday, August 28 6:00 p.m. Refreshments 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. Program begins in Spencer Center, then continues in classrooms Office Hours: Monday - Thursday 7:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Friday 7:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Welcome from Ms. Kavita Vasil, Head of School Dear Highlands School Families, What a great first day of school on Friday! Lots of smiling faces from students, parents, and grandparents, lots of hugs from teachers, and a productive morning getting back into school routines. I attended my first All School Community Meeting (ASCM) as Head of School Friday morning and was beyond blown away. Our 8th graders led the Meeting, had a back to school song for everyone, acknowledged all of the new students and faculty, shared their favorite memories of Highlands, and engaged the audience with the Quote of the Week. They were so confident and congenial, taking the time to talk to our younger students. For me, it was a glimpse into the amazing education they have been fortunate to receive at Highlands. I would like to welcome all of our new families to Highlands School. Our new families come from 14 different zip codes, with the overall Highlands population representing 30 zip codes. This says a lot about the decisions that you, our families, are making when it comes to choice of school. While many of you could have chosen the public or private school down the street, you chose Highlands, and we are so grateful—especially as we consider the distances you must drive daily to entrust your students to our care. Please take time to review all the various mailings and email blasts you have received in the last few weeks and contact us if you have any questions. We are looking forward to a great year! In the love of learning, Kavita Calendar Highlights Monday, August 18
Registration begins for 7th & 8th Grade CrossCountry Team Wednesday, August 20 New Parent Welcome Breakfast Monday, August 25 EDP Activities begin Tuesday, August 26 Parents’ Night, 4K - 3rd Grade Thursday, August 28 Parents’ Night, 4th - 8th Grades Friday, August 29 8:05 a.m., All School Community Meeting Middle School Student Council Induction Monday, September 1 Labor Day Holiday. School and FC closed.
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Welcome New Faculty and Staff!
From Left: Ms. Lisa Wever, Third Grade Teacher; Mr. Chris Nickell, Middle School Math Teacher; Ms. Cathy Fullan, Administrative and Admissions Assistant; Ms. Sue-Yuan Lin, Chinese Teacher; Ms. Paige Tatarek, Physical Education Teacher
Welcome New Students! 4K
Kindergarten
3rd Grade
Nicholas Borasino
Tristin McCall
Serena Blutter
Ben Lefkovits
Zac Burgess
Sohum Chaudhari
Alexis McKenzie
Jake Burgess
Harris Murphree
Ava Lefkovits
Marley Cramer
Otto Medo
Emerson Coleman
Benjamin Poczatek
Misbah Meghani
Alonso de Idiaquez
Michaelis Mehra
Nolan Connor
Braxton Quinney
4th Grade
Lucy Edmondson
Anna Mrug
Adalia Flomo
Tanner Thacker
Graham Haynes
Richard Frankowski
Ruby Neiman
Andrew Grover
Katie Xie
Sophia Haynes
Paulina Frei
Margaret Overton
Walter Grover
1st Grade
Caroline Reddington
Stella Gancayco
John Pope
Tillman Hamric
Sam Elkin
5th Grade
Coryn Gonzalez
Asher Reddington
Alyssa Hutton
Cecilia Reddington
Davis Reese
Whitney Hall
Grayson Roberts
Hearne Kelly
Hayes Reddington
6th Grade
Ishaan Jain
William Rowland
Alexander Kirksey
Aarvi Shah
Ella Haynes
Andie Linton
Jackson Shah
Twinkle Kukreja
2nd Grade
7th Grade
Tricia Maddux
Arman Sultan
EllaGrace Lawrence Jay Pickett
Wyatt Markstein
Haden Ryan-Embry
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Spotlight on Highlands Faculty and Staff Ms. Michele Crawford, 3rd Grade Teacher: Ms. Crawford took several trips this summer—her most favorite, to the Canadian Rockies. She and her family encountered bear, deer, wild goats, and big horned sheep. The highlight of the trip was walking around on a glacier! Ms. Bree Holland, Spanish Teacher: Ms. Holland was elected treasurer of the Alabama Association of Foreign Language Teachers (AAFLT). Ms. Charlotte Leffel, Music Teacher: Ms. Leffel attended Samford University classes and received Level II Orff Certification. Ms. Erin Williams, Physical Education Teacher: Ms. Williams and her husband went to Africa on a mission trip. They helped build a community in rural Rwanda.
Spotlight on Highlands Students Fifth Grader, Andrew Glassford, played the part of Gavroche in the Dorothy Jemison Day Theater at the Alabama School of Fine Arts production of Les Miserables. The show ran from July 8 to August 3. Andrew was interviewed by the Highnotes Staff: How old were you when you developed an interest in the theater? I was about 4. I took Drama Kids class with Ms. Jill at Highlands. I was hooked! What plays/musical performance have you been in? With Red Mountain Theater, I played: “James” in Willy Wonka, “Gus” in Cinderella, “Lt. Brannigan” in Guys and Dolls, “Lefou” in Beauty and the Beast, “The Sultan” in Aladdin, and of course, “Gavroche” in Les Mis. In the last year, I also performed in “Tis the Season” (Christmas Show), their Youth Program Showcase, and had the opportunity to sing with “Brendin Milburn & Valerie Vigoda” in concert. What training is necessary for you to prepare for your roles? I take voice and dance lessons weekly. As part of Red Mountain’s Youth Program, we rehearse weekly throughout the school year, plus we have a 3 week, full day, workshop during the summer. (Continued on page 7.) Fourth Grader, Laura Joy Simpson, grew an amazing cabbage over the summer! While in Ms. Crawford’s 3rd grade class, she and other classmates participated in the Bonnie Plants Cabbage Growing Contest. Each student was given a cabbage plant to take home for the summer. Laura Joy took her cabbage-growing project very seriously: How did you become interested in growing plants, Laura Joy? My family has a farm with a big garden and I help to plant and pick our fruits and vegetables. I also help to seed and pick wildflowers. Our farm is in Ashville, Alabama. What is the very first plant that you grew? A golden beet is the first plant that I grew. (Continued on page 7.)
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Country of Study travelers visit Japan On Friday, May 23, 2014, Ms. Brittany O’Brien and Ms. Tynley Baker embarked on their exciting journey through the country of Japan. This is the first article in a series detailing Ms. O’Brien’s and Ms. Baker’s adventures! During their two plus weeks in Japan they crisscrossed Honsu, the largest of Japan’s four main islands, visiting important cultural and geological locations, elementary and middle schools, and many famous temples and shrines. Stay tuned for tales of their adventures and if you haven’t seen it yet, check out their blog posts from Japan. Next week Highlands School will host students from Hitachi,
Thought for the Week “Actions speak louder than words.” Abraham Lincoln, 1856
Special Thanks The Highlands Community would like to express our most sincere thanks to… Larry Bender and Mr. David Carter for the improvements made over the summer: new bathrooms in the primary building, new gutters in the Learning Center, new fascia boards and painting in the gym, rear parking lot drainage and enlarged bus area, newly-painted 4K and K classrooms. Our campus looks beautiful! Beba and Tasos Touloupis for the delicious “Back to School” breakfast for faculty and staff during our In-service Week. And our teachers for all the hard work they did over the summer to prepare for this school year.
Middle School Students visit Spain During the summer, Ms. Bree Holland and Mr. Kage Cavanah led a group of Middle School students and parents throughout parts of eastern, southern, and central Spain. They traveled from May 23rd until June 2nd. During that time, they saw numerous sights and landmarks in Barcelona, Valencia, Granada, Costa del Sol, Sevilla, Cordoba, and Madrid. In addition, they were even fortunate enough to travel to Tetouan, Morocco in Africa! This was certainly an enriching, educational and exciting trip, and everyone who went had a fabulous time. All the travelers look forward to sharing their stories and favorite sights from the trip.
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Welcome to Highlands for the 2014 - 2015 school year!
We are pleased to announce a record enrollment of 310 for the 2014-2015 school year! This year, we have 66 Middle School students, including 22 in the graduating Class of 2015. We welcome 60 new students representing 29 new families! This is going to be an amazing year at Highlands! Many thanks to all of our Highlands’ Parent Ambassadors who worked hard over the summer to welcome our new families to the Highlands School community!
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EXTENDED DAY PROGRAM (EDP) Don’t forget about EDP! Highlands’ Extended Day Program offers care and after school activities. This year we have some new activities like “Get Outside Alabama” (GOAL), Group Piano, Art Seekers (for older students), and MAD Learn (App creating class). We also still have spots available for piano. Contact Gabe McCool for details! See you after school!
HIGHLANDS SCHOOL PARENT AUXILIARY Happy back to school! I hope everyone had a great summer vacation! I am so very excited to be part of your Parents’ Auxiliary Leadership Team, and we have a terrific Team this year. The PA plays an important role at the school. We support Highlands’ mission, foster family relationships while promoting school efforts, support the school’s needs through fundraisers and other projects, and help improve Highlands through mutual efforts of parents, faculty, the Board, and the administration. Over the next several weeks, I’ll try to highlight current efforts of the PA that meet these goals, and I hope to explain how you can make a positive difference for Highlands and for all of our children. The 2014 - 2015 Parent Auxiliary Officers Chair…………...Shannon Lisenby Chair Emerita…..Anne Rand Vice Chair……...Mary McInnis At Large…………………....Connie Hill Secretary……....Amy Neiman Fundraising Chair………...Kathy Green Treasurer……....Doug Turner Communications Chair…..Susan Evans On behalf of the Parents’ Auxiliary, I welcome you to the 2014-2015 school year!
CARPOOL RULES
Please do not use cell phones in the carpool line. For grades K-8, please do not park and walk your child to the school buildings. Please go through the carpool line where your child can be supervised by a faculty or staff member. If using carpool line for drop off and/or pick up, please do not get out of your car. If you must get out of your car for any reason, including assisting your children, please park in a designated parking spot. Please use the designated crosswalk when walking from your parked car to the school. Please make sure your child has all of his/her backpack and school supplies in the car and is ready to exit the car when it is time to unload. When navigating the carpool line, please be alert to the movement of other cars and pedestrians. Families served by our Family Center have designated parking spaces for drop-off and pick-up in the Learning Center parking lot. Please do not park in these spaces unless you are taking a child to or from the Family Center. Please use only your assigned lot. If you need to carpool with another family, Ms. Beverly LeBoeuf can arrange for both families to be on the same side. Four cards are provided for your use. Any person allowed to pick up your child, including carpool families, may do so with this tag. Please be sure it is plainly located on your dashboard or rear view mirror so that the teachers can see the numbers.
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Highlands Parents’ Auxiliary Family Pack The PA Family Pack is your fast pass to all of the annual PA events for the year. Lock in last year’s event prices! Write one check and you are covered for: Fall Festival Spring Fling Faculty/Staff Appreciation, AND One Highlands t-shirt per child! Pricing is based on the number of children in your family and includes event passes for 2 adults: PA Family Pack—1 child $120 PA Family Pack—2 children $175 PA Family Pack—3 + children $235 Buy it now and save time and money! Family Packs will be available until Fall Festival and may be purchased at Parents’ Night.
Interview with Andrew Glassford (continued from page 3) We get acting, singing, and dance instruction from top instructors all over the country. Would you say you have a “passion” for acting/singing? Yes! While I am on stage, I feel I was born to be there! Though, I still have other “passions” like sports and chess, but most of all science. How have your parents helped you/supported you with this passion? Well, of course, they pay for all of my lessons…….which is huge. They come to see me at all my shows. They drive me to all the lessons, rehearsals, and shows. But mostly, they encourage me to keep trying to achieve my goals. How do you manage your busy schedule—school, extra-curricular activities, theater? Good time-management! One thing my parents have been teaching me is how to prioritize, schedule, and organize my activities. The hard part is making choices. Some days that’s tough. What was your experience like working with a mostly adult cast in a play that has some adult subjects? At first I was a little uncomfortable, but the adults treated me so well, welcoming me and helping me, I quickly settled in…...I learned a lot! About a lot of things! :) Anything else you want to add? Thanks to all of my Highlands friends that came to see the show! I sure hope everyone enjoyed it. It was very really awesome to get so much support and encouragement!
Interview with Laura Joy Simpson (continued from page 3) Has gardening become a passion with you? Yes, I love to garden and be outside. You clearly have a green thumb. What is your secret to growing such a large cabbage? Patience and good care. We actually grew the cabbage at our house in Birmingham in a ‘grow bag’, and we used homemade compost dirt from dry leaves and peelings of fruit and vegetables. What else are you growing in your garden? At our farm, we grow lots of things including cabbage, corn, beans, tomatoes, cantaloupes, and we have an orchard full of apples, plums, and blueberries. Will you please keep us posted and let us know how your garden is growing? Yes, we grow things year around. Would you like to say anything else about gardening…..or anything about your Highlands School experience? Gardening is hard but can be fun and rewarding when your plants grow well. Highlands School is the best because we get to learn about plants and Highlands School has a greenhouse and a school garden. Highlands teachers are the best!