March 9, 2009

Take

Note

Calendar Highlights

Tues. Mar. 10 Middle School Honor Roll Presentation 8:05 a.m. Spencer Center Fri. 13 Pi Day Observed Pi Recitation Contest 8:05 a.m. Spencer Center Pi Parade Pi(e) throwing on the Quad 1:30 p.m. Mon-Fri 16-20 Spring Break No School and Offices Closed Mon. 23 Classes Resume - Orange Day 2 Wed. 25 Kindergarten Classes go to McWane Center Dr. Kristen Berthiaume Parent Presentation 2:00 p.m. Spencer Center Fri. 27 Fourth Grade World’s Fair 12:30 p.m. Spencer Center Fri. April 3 Grandparents and Special Friends Day

Lost & Found Items will be donated to a

local charity on Friday, March 13.

Please check the box (located in the Boyen Gym) before this date

for any items your student may have lost

on campus.

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.

Congratulations to the Parents of the 8th Grade

for achieving 100% participation in the

Spring Break Challenge!

Dear Parents,

We know that as parents you have many concerns about raising your children. You might worry about whether your kids are eating enough healthy food, whether they are making good progress in school, whether they have enough time to spend with you, or any number of other things. As parents ourselves, we sometimes have those worries about our children as well, and as educators, we are interested in the well-being of our students.

One worry many parents have is whether schools offer a safe and caring environment and whether their child is being teased or bullied. Some of us aren’t even sure what differentiates the two. We invite you to attend a parent presentation by Dr. Kristen Berthiaume of Grayson and Associates about teasing and bullying on Wednesday, March 25 at 2:00 p.m. in the Learning Center. Dr. Berthiaume is a licensed clinical psychologist who specializes in children and adolescents. She will define teasing, differentiate “normal” teasing from bullying, describe when issues are most likely to occur, list factors that can lead to increased teasing, and offer ways to address the problem. After speaking to you, our parents, Dr. Berthiaume will address the faculty.

We hope that you will be able to join us, and we look forward to seeing you there.

Amy Mendel and Shelby Hammer

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HIGHNOTES

Short

Notes

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 High-lands 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.

The Faculty and Staff would like to thank the Second Grade Parents for the delicious lunch they provided on Monday, March 2. We appreciated every bite!

Laissez Les Bon Temps Roulez!

The French 4th grade class enjoyed French culture through a Mardi Gras celebration on Friday February the 27th. Madame Foster was queen of her Krewe known as the Gold Gras Krewe. The Krewe celebrated by wearing masks, throwing beads and candy, listening to Cajun French music and, of

course, feasting on King Cake. The 4th grade also enjoyed a bit of Cajun culture through cuisine, which included sampling red beans and rice with turkey sausage. Oh la la! What a fun day we had!

Gracen Vinyard and Spencer Shirley participated in the Platinum National Dance Competition February 28th. The girls were the overall platinum winners with their solos and duet. Congratulations to Highlands very own Platinum winners!

Congratulations to the K/1st grade Basketball team (Coaches Sands and Kutsch) who went undefeated during this year’s season! Each player scored at least one goal during the season! Way to go team!

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 K through 8

th

grade. We’re going to have a great time this year!

HIGHNOTES Page 3

Middle School Spirit Week Monday, March 9 - Friday, March 13

Monday – Beach Day – Wear your flip-flops, beach hat, etc. (but no swim suits!) Tuesday – Character Day – Dress as your favorite character

Wacky Wednesday – Wild and Crazy Thursday – Decades Day – Show off your vintage look

Friday – Pi Day

Remember that except for flip-flops, the dress code still applies.

Middle School Learns about Citizenship and Community

by Leila Haikala ’10

The week of March 2nd

, two staff members from Youth Serve, a group dedicated to uniting youth, ages 13-18, from different backgrounds and different areas in performing community service and working for social change in the Birmingham area, visited the Middle School.

The middle school was divided into two groups for the week’s activities. One met with Brian Sherrell, and the other met with Shermetria Massingale. First, they played games so the facilitators could get acquainted with the students. After this, they discussed citizenship: what it is, how it is shown, and who shows it. The Middle School kids answered with the following: Citizenship is taking part in and taking care of one’s community. They built on this when the organizers asked “What are some of the communities that we live in?” The responses include the world, the United States, Alabama, Bir-mingham, Hoover, Mountain Brook, Forest Park, and Jefferson County. The kids were then broken into groups to discuss an area. They thought of what they liked about each area, disliked about the area, and never wanted said about each area.

On Wednesday, the groups watched a movie called The Boys of Baraka. It is about boys from Balti-more whose situations prevent them from getting a good education. It was a meaningful film that taught the students about how lucky they are and how they could affect their communities if they tried.

Thursday, their last day, the students participated in a community service project. There will soon be an event for the homeless people of Birmingham at the BJCC. The students set up an assembly line in the school lunch room to put together pamphlets about the affair for the planners to hand out both on the streets and at the occasion.

On the whole, the students learned a lot from their experience and about the little things that they can do to influence their societies.

Kindergarten Play Teaches a Valuable Lesson

Imagine doing the same job day after day! Red, blue and yellow workers at the Color Factory felt that they are doing exactly that and they needed a change. With the help of two friendly professors they learned that by working together they could create new colors and make something really beautiful. The rainbow at the end of the show reminded us all that when we work together wonderful things hap-pen. The presentation of “The Color Factory” was a great example of that lesson because it took all 40 kindergarten-ers working together to create a wonderful show!