Highnotes: March 2, 2009 by Highlands School

March 2, 2009

Take Note Summer Camp Catalogs are here! All parents should have received a copy of the summer catalog by email. Hard copies are available in the front office and at the EDP desk by the EDP room in the Spencer Center building. Please feel free to contact Gabe McCool for any questions. There are over 60 camps to choose from this summer for ages Kindergarten through 8th grade. So please look through the catalog thoroughly. We’re going to have a great time this year!

Have you taken the Spring Break Challenge?

Dear Parents, Have you heard about the ―Spring Break Challenge‖? We are making this challenge to increase our parent participation rate in annual giving. The School is working toward 100% participation from our parents so that when we write grants to foundations we can demonstrate that even in these tough economic times our parents are 100% committed to Highlands. Each class that has 100% parent participation will receive a Pizza Pi Party on March 13, Pi Day.

I want to share with you a true story that best illustrates how a gift, no matter the size, can make a difference in the life of our school. Miss Darby was sitting at her desk when one of the Preschool teachers walked into the office with a little girl clutching something to her chest. The teacher said, ―Miss Darby, my student has something she wants to give to you.‖ Miss Darby got up from her desk and kneeled in front of the little girl, not really knowing what to expect, when the student put her little hand out to her and put a crumpled dollar bill in Miss Darby’s hand. The student told Miss Darby she wanted to give it to the school so that her class could have a pizza party. As Miss Darby thanked her for the gift, she asked the preschooler if she knew how her dollar was going to be spent. The student shook her head, so Miss Darby told her it would help to buy things like computers, books, and toys. When the young donor realized she was helping to buy things for her classroom and library she got very excited and had the biggest grin. Then Miss Darby gave her a big hug, and her teacher took her back to class. Just think of how excited this student must be to know that she has helped buy something for her school. This is what the Annual Fund does – it makes our classrooms better, helps to buy new computers (and maintain the ones we already have) and provides a wealth of other resources that directly impact the lives of our students. Please consider joining this Preschool Student in making a gift to Highlands. Your participation, whether it is one crumpled dollar bill, a check for one hundred dollars, or somewhere in between, will help our parents achieve 100% participation and will make it possible for us to apply for grants from outside foundations. Thank you, in advance, for your support of Highlands School!

Kathryn Woodson Barr

Calendar Highlights Mon. March 2 Noon Dismissal for Students Wed. 4 7th and 8th Grade National French Contest Fri. 6 Kindergarten Play for Parents 8:05 a.m. Spencer Center Kindergarten Play for Students 10:00 a.m. Spencer Center Spring Break Annual Giving Gifts Due! Fri. 13 Pi! Day! Mon-Fri 16-20 Spring Break No School and Offices Closed

The March Color/Number Class Calendar is on Page 4.

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It’s a Boy! And a Girl! And Another Boy! Please join us in wishing the following teachers many years of joy, happiness and wonderful memories as they celebrate the arrival of their children! Greyson Foster Horton Son of Treasure and Frederick Horton Born 12:35 PM February 25 8 lbs 14 oz Story Reese Kinsley Daughter of Liza and Chris Kinsley Born 4:45PM February 26 8 lbs 4oz 21 inches Asa Cruze Kizer Son of Candace and Ashley Kizer Born 10:55 AM February 25 7 lbs 12 oz 20 1/2 inches

Kindergarten Class Learns the Value of Money Earlier in the year, Miss Suzan’s kindergarten class talked about recognizing the difference between a need and a want as part of a social studies standard. In math, we recently have introduced all the coins and the value of each coin. We were also talking that week about the two sounds for ―C‖ (coin, cost, cents). It was time to integrate all this learning together for the last part of one of the standards that states being able to demonstrate that money could be used to obtain goods/services. The class had a great time taking 5 cents of play money to spend on treats to eat or a game to do as an activity. Each choice cost one cent. No restrictions were placed on what he/she had to used their money on, however, once the money was gone, it was gone. Some chose to use their money all on treats to eat. Most did some of both and a very small group had some money that he/she did not spend but must have been planning on saving for a savings account. All in all, NO one complained about participating in this fun learning activity.

Short Notes Save the Date! School-wide Grandparents and/or Special Friends Day 2009! Friday, April 3 9:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. Invitations to this annual event will be mailed on Friday, March 13. Middle School Parents Save the Date Middle School students who achieved Honor Roll for the second trimester will receive their certificates during Middle School Community Meeting on Tuesday, March 10 at 8:05 a.m. We will notify the parents of students to be recognized no later than Friday, March 6. Please contact Shelby Hammer with any questions. The UAB Bookends performed for the Preschool—5th grade on Friday morning. They presented The Amazing Traveling Aesop. The performance included catchy songs and several great fables from Aesop’s Fables.

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Friday, March 13th is Pi Day! Let’s celebrate! (of course, this is a technicality, Pi Day is really March 14th, 3.14, but school on Saturday?) We would like to extend you an invitation to join in our Pi Day festivities on March 13. Students in grades 3 through 8 will participate in a pi recitation contest and how fun would it be to showcase our parents as well! If you are interested in participating in a parent digit naming contest, please email Laurie Hunsicker (lhunsicker@highlandsschool.org). Our students here at Highlands are very unique and have many, many talents, so we know they come from very intelligent and talented parents as well! There are many, many different pi activities planned for that day and throughout that week! Alabama Public Television will be here on Friday, March 13th filming our various activities throughout that day! The kindergartners up through the 8th graders will be creating a chain of pi digits and going on a ―pi parade‖ before the class winners of the pi digit naming contest throw pies at Ms. Mendel, Mrs. Hammer, Mrs. Hunsicker, Mrs. Steinbeck and Mrs. Barr. Mrs. Hunsicker has sent home via email, an attachment with 240 digits of pi for you and your child to begin memorizing for the big Pi Recital Contest. More digits can be found online if you need them.

Kindergarten Students Send Flat Stanley Around the World This year Mrs. Drew’s Kindergarten Class has had a few special travelers with Flat Stanley. He has climbed the mountain in Tanzania –Mt. Kilimanjaro (pictured right) with Isabella Yaghmai’s uncle. Now he has traveled on a National Geographic trip around the world with Amelia Neiman’s grandparents, Nana and Pop (AKA Mike and Ann Warren). They sent emails back to the classroom. The class has been tracking the adventures of Flat Stanley on our world map in the classroom. Nana and Pop were so good to send us pictures of their travels around the world. Flat Stanley was seen in Peru, South America and on Easter Island. He visited the island of Samoa and went snorkeling at the Great Barrier Reef. He went to Cambodia, China and Tibet. They visited Africa and toured a Maasai school there. They even visited a Kindergarten class in the Maasai village. Those students were also learning their ABC’s. Flat Stanley visited Morocco and Cairo, Egypt. Every few days we were excited to receive updates on their travels and see the people that they met on their trip. This past week, Nana came to visit the classroom to talk about her trip. While here she presented the class with a book of pictures highlighting Flat Stanley’s trip around the world. She also brought gifts for the students from the different countries that Flat Stanley visited.

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March 2009 Sunday

Monday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Day: 4 Color: Green

Day: 5 Color: Blue

Day: 1 Color: Red

Day: 2 Color: Orange

Day: 3 Color: Yellow

Day: 4 Color: Green

Day: 5 Color: Blue

Day: 1 Color: Red

Day: 2 Color: Orange

Day: 3 Color: Yellow

Spring Break Holiday 22

Tuesday

Spring Break Holiday

Saturday

Spring Break Holiday

Day: 2 Color: Orange

Day: 3 Color: Yellow

Day: 4 Color: Green

Day: 5 Color: Blue

Day: 1 Color: Red

Day: 2 Color: Orange

Day: 3 Color: Yellow

Creativity Convention 2009 Students, faculty, parents and guests alike all had a great time during this year’s Creativity Convention – held on campus Thursday, February 26th. The fifth grade did a wonderful job of opening the Creativity Convention with a Community Meeting introducing our guests. Throughout the day students attended various guest presentations designed for their age group. Preschool through first grade attended presentations with illustrator Susan Eaddy and musician Charles Tortorici. Following the large group presentation with Susan Eaddy the younger students illustrated a picture with modeling clay and visited with Susan Eaddy in their classrooms. Our third through fifth grade students had the busiest day – they attended all four presentations, and had great question and answer sessions with all of our guests. Creativity Convention provided a nice break for our Middle School students – they were able to attend the presentations just after reaching the half-way point in their trimester exams. Ask your older students to tell you about the ―yoga of writing‖ introduced by our final presenter of the day, Deborah Wiles. Our campus was buzzing with energy and excitement all day and thanks to the hard work of the Parent’s Auxiliary Creativity Convention committee everyone involved has wonderful memories of the 2009 Creativity Convention.