December 1, 2008
HIGHLANDS SCHOOL
Take Note The Annual Scholastic Book Fair begins on Wednesday, December 3 at 2:00 p.m. See page 2 for more details!
AbracadAfrica Thursday, January 8, 2009 The deadline to place orders for t-shirts and to make dinner reservations has been extended. All t-shirts orders will be due on Thursday, December 4th. All dinner reservations will be due on Wednesday, December 17th. See page 5 for the Order Form.
Please join Kathryn Barr and Jane Jenkins for a Q & A about Financial Aid on Tuesday, Dec. 2nd from 8:00 - 9:00 a.m. in the Conference Room. Did you know that 40 of 47 students attended the Middle School dance on November 21? Have you accepted the Annual Giving 10-Day Challenge? There are only 5 days left to help your students grade achieve 100% parent participation!
Calendar Highlights Mon. Tues. Wed. Fri.
December 1 2 3-5 12
Financial Aid Packets Available from Business Office Financial Aid Discussion 8:00 a.m. Conference Room Scholastic Book Fair Second Grade Play 8:15 a.m. Parents Spencer Center Second Grade Play 10:00 a.m. Students Mon. 15 EDP Recital 6:30 p.m. See page 2 for details Tues. 16 EDP Recital 6:30 p.m. See page 2 for details Thurs. 18 School Wide Spelling Bee 8:05 a.m. Spencer Center Friday December 19 Noon Dismissal - ALL Dec. 22, 2008 - Jan. 2, 2009 No School/Offices Closed for Winter Break Mon. January 5, 2009 Students Return for Classes
Please see page 3 for the December Color/Day Class Schedule
HIGHNOTES
Page 2 Habari! Or hello in Swahili. We are excited about our upcoming Book Fair Safari. An amazing selection of books is headed our way. We hope to see you at our Family Event where the whole family can join in the fun. Stop by the Learning Center anytime Wednesday afternoon between 2:30 and 7:30 to join in the fun. If you plan to visit between 5:30 and 7:30 wear your pajamas to our PJ story time. We will have fun, fun, fun with snacks, stories, and a craft.
Short Notes It will be here before you know it!
Feel free to browse the featured books and make a student wish list online to bring with you. Contribute books to your child's classroom library by making a donation to One for Books. Don’t miss this chance to light up a young reader’s face with a good book. See you at the Book Fair! From easy readers to picture books, to best sellers and more, the Scholastic Book Fair connects kids with books they want to read! Visit our Book Fair Homepage to see a sample of some of the popular titles you may find at our upcoming Book Fair.* You can also check out these fun book-related activities: - special author video clips - downloadable student activities - teacher lesson plans - booktalks and read alouds
*Remember that not all books are available at all Fairs. EDP Recital Announcement and Last Days for Activities Happy Holidays (almost)! Please read the following to find out about EDP Recital dates and EDP activity ending dates. Please note that not all activities will be participating in the recitals and that individual instrument players may or may not be participating. The students and their teachers decided together about whether or not they were prepared to play in the recital. Feel free to call if you have any questions. *Please note that Creative Writing will be doing a Read-Around on their last class in the Learning Center. Recital One Monday, December 15, 2008 at 6:30 pm Piano Violin Guitar Rock Band Recital Two Tuesday, December 16, 2008 at 6:30 pm Karate Music Makers (Preschool) Kids Stage Kids Choral Theater Tai Chi
GIRL SCOUT COOKIE TIME! Highlands 1st grade Troop # 32 will be selling Girl Scout cookies starting as early as January or February. Be thinking of all those different type of cookies you would like to buy for loved ones, teachers, and of course yourself! If you or a group have an upcoming event after the first of the year that you would like for the troop to come and sell cookies, please contact: Mandy Vinyard (avinyard@bellsouth.net), Tanya Nix (tanya06@bellsouth.net) or Kellye Allen (kelleallen@bellsouth.net).
Save the Date The Parents of 4 and 5th graders are invited to join Shelby Hammer and the Middle School faculty for a Sneak Peek at the Middle School on Tuesday, January 13 at 6:30 p.m. in the Learning Center. th
Last Days for Activities By some miracle, this year all activities end the same week, December 812. The only exception is that your child may have music make-up lessons with their individual teachers. Please contact their teacher if you have questions regarding this. Keep in mind teachers typically only do make-up lessons if they have had advanced notice of absences. Thanks! Gabe McCool Highlands School EDP/Summer Camp Director (205) 956-9731 ext. 105
We look forward to seeing you there!
HIGHNOTES
Page 3
December 2008 Sunday
7
14
21
Monday
Wednesday
1
2
3
Day: 4 Color: Green
Day: 5 Color: Blue
Day: 1 Color: Red
8
9
Day: 4 Color: Green
Thursday
Friday
4
5
Day: 2 Color: Orange
Day: 3 Color: Yellow
10
11
12
Day: 5 Color: Blue
Day: 1 Color: Red
Day: 2 Color: Orange
Day: 3 Color: Yellow
15
16
17
18
19
Day: 4 Color: Green
Day: 5 Color: Blue
Day: 1 Color: Red
Day: 2 Color: Orange
Day: 3 Color: Yellow
22
23
24
25
26
HOLIDAY
28
Tuesday
29
HOLIDAY
HOLIDAY
30
HOLIDAY
HOLIDAY
HOLIDAY
Saturday
6
13
20
27
HOLIDAY
31
HOLIDAY
A Note from the Business Office: The Board of Trustees for Highlands School is committed to helping families who may not be able to pay tuition on our annual or semi-annual schedules by offering a 3-part Tuition Assistance program. One part of that program is need-based financial aid for students entering kindergarten through eighth grade. If you would like general information about paying for an independent education, please visit www.nais.org/financialaid/sss or email sssfinancialaid@ets.org. Specific information for need-based financial aid at Highlands School is available from the Business Office beginning December 1, 2008. Please plan to attend the December 2 Coffee with the Head at 8:00 a.m., in the Conference Room, to hear more about the opportunities available to parents for Tuition Assistance.
HIGHNOTES
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Block Out Hunger This year, Highlands students participated in the annual Block Out Hunger Food Drive. The word “HUNGER” was laid out, in tape, on the Spencer Center floor and students were encouraged to bring food to help “block out” the letters. On Monday, November 24th, Highlands’ parents and younger siblings volunteered their time to box up all of the food collected. After boxing the food and loading it into three cars, parents and families delivered the food to Magic City Harvest. The food was then distributed to other organizations around the city in time for Thanksgiving. Thank you to all the Highlands students and families who helped the less fortunate have a happier Thanksgiving.
Highlands Community Gives Thanks for Employees On Tuesday, November 25, the Highlands School Community gathered in the Spencer Center to offer their thanks and to recognize employees for their years of service. This year the Middle School students presented the program and gave a short speech recognizing each employee. The following employees were recognized for their years of service. Wendy Wesson Cramer - 5 years Isabelle Parker Silko - 5 years Elizabeth Cooke - 10 years Randy McDonald - 15 years Carolyn Jones - 20 years Please join us in thanking these employees for their loyalty and dedication to Highlands School and our students.
Freaky Friday Planned On Friday, December 12, the 4th/5th-grade team and the Middle School teachers have a special event planned for the 5th and 6th graders. As 5th-grade students contemplate their move to Middle School, we want them to preview what’s in store, and we want to give 6th-grade students the opportunity to revisit their former haunts. On Freaky Friday, the 5th and 6th graders switch places and enjoy a pizza party lunch. Feel free to contact Shelby Hammer (shammer@highlandsschool.org ) with any questions.
HIGHNOTES
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Highlands School AbracadAfrica Order Form January 8, 2009 4:00-7:00pm DEADLINE: All T-shirts orders will be due on Thursday, December 4th. All Dinner reservations will be due on Wednesday, December 17th. Student’s Name: __________________________ Homeroom Teacher’s Name & Grade: _______________________ T-SHIRTS ($16.00 per t-shirt) – Please add $2.00 for a 2XL or 3XL Youth Small Youth Medium Youth Large Adult Small Adult Large Adult X-Large Adult XX-Large Adult XXX-Large Total # of T-shirts Total cost of T-shirts
#______ #______ #______ #______ #______ #______ #______ ($18.00 per shirt) #______ ($18.00 per shirt) ___________ $_________
T-shirts will be distributed in the students’ class no later than Wednesday, January 7 th.
DINNER ($10.00 per person – Ages 3 & under are free) Total # that will eat dinner ______ Total cost of dinner $__________ Tentative Menu: Moroccan Style Roasted Chicken; Cous Cous with orange zest; Roasted Pepper, Cucumber, & Tomato salad; Garbanzo Beans with potatoes in a curry sauce; and Naan Bread
Rhythm in Motion: Sunu ($0) 4:00 Show – Total # Attending _____ 5:00 Show – Total # Attending _____ Please return this form along with a check made payable to Highlands School. If you have any questions, please contact Cindy Talbird at ctalbird@highlandsschool.org or 956-9731 ext #101.