THE PENGUIN POST

Highland Park Area Elementary

Joseph P. Maginnis, Principal                                          E-mail: jpm48@mcsdk12.org

 

PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE

We had another day where the weather permitted us to have a Halloween Parade outside.    We were pleased to have the IVHS band to lead the parade.  They do a nice job. As last year, Mr. Baylor is compiling a DVD of photos  put together with music, captions, and cover art which he has made available the past few years.

 

OPEN HOUSE

Our annual Open House will be held on Thursday, November 12, from 6:30 to 7:30.  This is a time to
celebrate your child’s accomplishments in school. The classrooms will have students’ work on display.
This will be a good opportunity to meet teachers and visit all the classrooms where your children spend
their days in school. Parents, students, and friends are all welcome during Open House. Finding a place
to park can be difficult during Open House.  Feel free to use the high school lot for overflow parking
and be cautious crossing the street.

 

H1N1– SWINE FLU- REG FLU

We have been taking the precaution of sending children home quickly if they begin showing flu symptoms such as fever over 100 degrees.  We are asking parents to have a plan to have their children picked up very quickly if they receive a call from the school.  Do not be alarmed if you see your ill child wearing a mask - the Department of Health gave us a large supply of masks for ill children to help curtail spread of the airborne virus.  Hopefully this disease will subside on it’s own but we want to make parents aware of the need for a rapid pickup of ill students. On a  positive note:  The virus only lives 8 hours outside a living host which means the building automatically disinfects itself each and every night and we open school virus free every day.

 

SKI CLUB

Weather permitting, the Ski Club has designated these trips for the year:  January 14, 21, 28, and February 4.   Ski Club advisors for this year are Mrs. Weber and Ms. Corbin.  Signup information will be available to students next week and will need to be completed quite quickly as Tussey Mountain is requiring all signups be submitted before Nov. 19.

 

HOME AND SCHOOL

The next Home and School meeting will be held Thursday, November 5, at 7:00 p.m., in the
library. 

 

MESSAGE FROM THE SPECIAL EDUCATION OFFICE

The next Special Education Parent Advisory Council meeting will be held Thursday, November 19,  at 6:00 p.m. in the library of Highland Park Elementary School.  The meeting should last about one hour.  Parents of students with IEP and Section 504 service plans, as well as other interested individuals, are welcome to attend.  Please direct questions to the Special Education Office at 248-0148, extension 2.  We hope you will join us.

 

MORNING ARRIVALS

A reminder that students should not be dropped off at school before 7:50 a.m.   While the doors may be open, there is no one to supervise students until 7:50 a.m. All students are provided bus transportation but we realize some will sometimes have a ride from a parent. The teachers officially start at 8:00 a.m., and the student homerooms start at 8:25 a.m.

 

TEACHER QUALIFICATIONS

Each year schools are to give parental notification regarding professional qualifications of their children's teachers and of the paraprofessionals who provide instructional services to their children.  The No Child Left Behind Act requires that parents be notified if their child is assigned to or being taught for four or more consecutive weeks by a teacher who is not highly qualified in the core academic subject the teacher is hired to teach.  At Highland Elementary School, all teachers and paraprofessionals who provide instructional services to children meet the requirements of being highly qualified.

 

TITLE I READING

Highland Park is successfully transitioning to a schoolwide Title I school.  All students now needing help can benefit from the expertise Title teachers.  Previously they were only permitted to target specific students.  Title teachers are now able to assist in helping all students.  The entire scheduling of our school was modified to allow this to happen and it is progressing quite well.

On Nov. 19 we are having a Parent Activity Night starting at 6:30 where we will there will be food and fun while covering the topic of homework. 

Child care too.  More to come.