December 15, 2008
Gumbo, Beignets, Jazz, and… Diversity!
Take Note AbracadAfrica Dinner order forms are due on Wednesday December 17! Mark Your Calendar The Parents of 4th 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.
Known for its eclectic music, culture, and cuisine, New Orleans served as an ideal host city for the People of Color Conference (PoCC). Four teachers from Highlands School – Tynley Baker, Treasure Horton, Cindy Peavy, and Candace Spivey – attended the conference sponsored by the National Association of Independent Schools. Their goal? To learn more about bringing greater diversity to the Highlands community. Highlights of the trip—besides the gumbo, Preservation Hall jazz, café au lait, and time to build friendships—included a Thursday night performance of Incognito with Michael Fosberg and the opening session with actor-author Sydney Poitier. But the focus of the conference was the information-packed sessions on topics ranging from teaching a multicultural curriculum and empowering students as diversity practitioners, to promoting social action and fostering diversity in both faculty and students. For the attendees, the benefits were significant. ―Personally, PoCC provided a great avenue to see people of color and many others who could come together to discuss and share ways to continue to improve our communities,‖ says Mrs. Horton. ―Professionally, it gave me a great perspective of things to come in our own community.‖ As the attendees learned, passively appealing to different cultures or quietly diversifying just doesn’t work; achieving a goal of diversity has to be premeditative and proactive. With its commitment to diversity stated in its long-range plan—and new ideas to implement from the PoCC—Highlands is on the right track.
Calendar Highlights Mon. Tues. Wed.
15 EDP Recital 6:30 p.m. See page 2 for details 16 EDP Recital 6:30 p.m. See page 2 for details 17 Middle School Read-a-thon Permission Slips Due We look forward to AbracadAfrica Dinner Order Forms are due seeing you there! Thurs. 18 School Wide Spelling Bee 8:05 a.m. Spencer Center Friday December 19 Noon Dismissal - ALL All School Holiday Community Meeting Tell a Friend! 8:05 a.m. Spencer Center Class Holiday Parties begin at 11:15 a.m. The next Open House for Prospective Parents will be held Dec. 22, 2008 - Jan. 2, 2009 No School/Offices Closed for Winter Break Mon. January 5, 2009 Students Return for Classes on Sunday, January 11 at 2:00 AbracadAfrica - Dinner Order form on page 4 p.m. Please encourage friends Thurs. January 8 Fri. January 9 Middle School Read-a-thon 1:00 p.m. - 12 midnight who may be interested in Sun. January 11 Open House for Prospective Parents Highlands School to join us. Those interested in helping Please See Page 3 for the on this day, please contact January Color/Number Class Schedule Judy McDonald. Thank you.
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EDP Care on December 19th! EDP will have care available on Friday, December 19th from 12pm until 6pm before the winter break. Please note the following: Students enrolled in Professional Day packages may come during noon dismissal at no additional charge. (Other packages are not included) Other students, however, may ―drop-in‖ for the half day for a charge of $10 until 3:00pm and $20 until 6:00pm with a 48-hour written notice. All students must bring their own lunches! If a sandwich is provided, your account will be charged accordingly. We will not be serving lunch. All EDP Activities ended the week of December 8-12. EDP care will resume when we return from Winter Break on January 5th, EDP activities will resume the week of January 12th. Feel free to call Gabe if you have any questions. Thanks and have a wonderful winter break! Gabe McCool Highlands School EDP/Summer Camp Director (205) 956-9731 ext. 105
Second Grade Presents The Big Chill (Hoping for a Snow Day) We were all a little disappointed in the amount of snow that fell (or didn’t fall) in Birmingham Friday but the second grade did not disappoint with their performance of The Big Chill (Hoping for a Snow Day). Weather reporters set the scene as they warned about a coming snow storm and then an excited classroom of students presented a report on precipitation with the focus on, what else but SNOW! Finally after some great songs pleading for snow the students got their wish and the head of school declared a snow day. As for Highlands, we’ll all keep hoping!
Short Notes GIRL SCOUT COOKIE TIME! Highlands 1st grade Troop # 32 will be selling Girl Scout cookies beginning in January 2009. 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).
Congratulations to Zola and Maxime Thompson on the arrival of their baby sister. Congratulations to Coach Smith and his wife, Becky, on the arrival of their son. Austin Arthur Smith was born on Sunday at 1:04pm. He is 4.10 lbs and 18 ¾. Becky and Austin are doing great!
Reminder: Holiday Class Parties begin at 11:15 a.m. on Friday, Dec. 19, and school will dismiss at noon.
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January 2009 Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
1
Friday
2
Saturday
3
HOLIDAY 4
11
18
5
6
7
8
9
Day: 3 Color: Yellow
Day: 4 Color: Green
Day: 5 Color: Blue
Day: 1 Color: Red
Day: 2 Color: Orange
12
13
14
15
16
Day: 3 Color: Yellow
Day: 4 Color: Green
Day: 5 Color: Blue
Day: 1 Color: Red
Day: 2 Color: Orange
19
20
21
22
23
Day: 3 Color: Yellow
Day: 4 Color: Green
Day: 5 Color: Blue
Day: 1 Color: Red
27
28
29
30
Day: 4 Color: Green
Day: 5 Color: Blue
HOLIDAY 25
26 Day: 2 Color: Orange
Day: 3 Color: Yellow
STUDENT HOLIDAY Parent and Teacher Conferences
10
17
24
31
A Note from the Board of Trustees: The Board of Trustees is interested in helping high performing students access the challenging academic program at Highlands School. On occasion, families may not be able to pay full tuition on the school’s annual or semi-annual schedules. In response, there are established policies for helping families find alternative resources which may include tuition payment plans, financial aid or a combination of both. Information about enrolling in a 10-Monthly Payment Plan through Tuition Management Systems (TMS) will be included with all 2009-10 enrollment contracts. New for 2009-10, parents may enroll with TMS for credit card payments. And finally, limited funds will be available in 2009-10 for need-based financial aid; these funds are awarded through an assessment process on a first come, first served basis for students entering kindergarten through eighth grade. The Highlands School need-based financial aid season began December 1, when assessment forms were first made available through the Business Office, and runs through March 1, when need-based award notices will be mailed. If you’d like a complimentary copy of A Family Guide to Financial Aid or if you’d like to receive a financial aid packet, please visit Jane Jenkins in the Business Office. More information about paying for an independent education is available at www.nais.org/financialaid/sss. Or, you may email sssfinancialaid@ets.org.
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Letters about Literature: A State and National Writing Contest The middle school students participated in ―Letters about Literature,‖ a state and national reading and writing promotion program which is sponsored by The Alabama Center for the Book and the Alabama Humanities Foundation. The contest requires students to write to authors and explain how their novel, poem, essay, or speech affected their lives. Sixth grade letters are considered Level I entries and will be judged against other fourth, fifth, and sixth grade students. The students had to write no less than 100 words and no more than 400 words. The sixth grade winners from Highlands were the following: Eli Cohen, Dakotah Murphree, Patrick O’Neal, and Sarah Polhill. Seventh and eighth grade letters are considered Level II entries and will be judged against other seventh and eighth grade letters. The winners in Level II from Highlands were the following students: Elizabeth Anne Brown (not pictured), Rebekah Denard, Jake Martin, Cori Mazer, Mac Muse (not pictured), Sarah Noone, and Emily Polhill. These students had to write no less than 300 words and no more than 600 words. Letters will be judged on the following criteria: exposition, content, and voice. First place winners on each level will receive a $50 Target gift card, plus additional prizes and recognition. First place winners will then advance for national judging. Judges for The Center for the Book in the Library of Congress will select six National Winners and twelve Honorable Mention Winners. The National Winners will receive a $500 gift card, plus each will win a $10,000 LAL Reading Promotion Grant for their or community or school library so that others can experience personal relationships with authors and the stories they tell. Additionally, the National Honorable Mention Winners will receive a $100 Target gift card and a $1,000 LAL Reading Promotion Grant for a community or school library. State Centers for the Book will notify state winners by March 19, 2009; National Winners and Honorable Mention Winners will be notified by April 30, 2009. Highlands School anxiously waits!
Highlands Students Participate in AMC 8 Highlands School students in grades 4-8 participated in the AMC 8 mathematics competition last month. Students are recognized for their achievement within their class, the school, and the nation. This year is the first time that Highlands students have received national recognition. Congratulations to all of our honorees! National Achievement Roll (scores in the top 40% or above 12 for students in 6th grade or lower): Kathryn Cotton, Will Pannell, Hugh Perkins, and Graham Rutledge School Winner: Graham Rutledge School Team Members: Jake Martin, Cori Mazer, Jack O’Malley, Will Pannell, Hugh Perkins, and Graham Rutledge. Class Gold Awards: Jake Martin, Cori Mazer, Maggie McClintock, Jack O’Malley, Hugh Perkins, Grace Robinson, Graham Rutledge, Issy Schweibert, Chase Styslinger, Dewey Wilbanks Class Silver Awards: Thomas Barr, Elizabeth Anne Brown, Elliot Chen, Henry Giattina, Quinn McCormick, Katie O’Neal, Will Pannell, Emily Polhill, Alexis Rueve, Lincoln Sorcher, Gordie Stewart, and Connor Walker Class Bronze Awards: Moran Bend, Sarah Margaret Corley, Will Crain, Kris Haikala, Elizabeth Holland, Hannah Kindervater, Alexander Major, Andy Orphanos, Kiana Perkins, Sarah Rosenthal, Sam Simpson, Roderick Smith, Colton Steinbeck, and Emma Turner
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Highlands School AbracadAfrica Order Form January 8, 2009 4:00-7:00pm DEADLINE: All Dinner reservations will be due on Wednesday, December 17th. Student’s Name: __________________________ Homeroom Teacher’s Name & Grade: _______________________ 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.