The new school year begins today. I hope and expect that it will be a great one for all at Highland.
I am sorry to say that I won’t be able to continue to run this website. We have moved. We’re still in Montgomery County, but no longer at an address that would keep Maddie at Highland. The whole family will miss Highland, where Maddie had a great year and a half. That’s not a long time to be at one school, especially at such a wonderful school. We certainly didn’t expect to be moving again so quickly when we moved down here from Boston, and I didn’t expect to be moving so quickly when I offered to set up this site.
If any member of the Highland community is interested in taking over this site, I am very willing to help with the transition. Please email me: andrew.watson@yahoo.com.
Sincere thanks to all from Andrew and the rest of the Watson-Liu family.
International Night provided a great start to spring break. For those who missed it, it was held on the Thursday before the break (April 14, which seems like a long time ago now). It was so successful that it overflowed the school building. The weather was just right for an outdoor evening. I’ll try to get some more details (number attending, photos, etc.) to post later.
Now spring break is over, and I hope everyone had a good one. We’re in May already, which means that summer break starts next month.
There are two more PTA meetings before the summer break. The May meeting will be next Tuesday, May 10. As usual, it will be at 9am in the all-purpose room. I expect to be there, and hope that you can make it too.
The next PTA meeting will be on April 5. This is as usual: it’s the first Tuesday of the month, and the meeting will be in the cafeteria/all-purpose room, starting at 9am.
The agenda will include the important item of school restroom renovation, and how to advocate for it happening soon enough at Highland. The county education website includes a schedule for bathroom renovation (pdf, actually appendix G of the Capital Improvements Program/Master Plan). It shows that Highland’s bathrooms are not due for renovation until financial year 2016. Staff and parents present at today’s meeting gave examples of how PTA advocacy can influence the county and its spending.
Important April dates include, not only the PTA meeting and spring break, but also International Night. It will be held on Thursday the 14th. For more information, including how to help, contact Parent Community Coordinator Claudia Silva.
You might have seen the sign outside the school report that Brian Freiss has received a Marian Greenblatt Excellence in Teaching Award. The MCPS Bulletin reports that this is in effect a shortlist for the county’s Teacher of the Year award.
I’d like to add that, at the March meeting, Ms McNelly received thanks, flowers, and applause for once again running the book fair, an important source of funds for the PTA.
The PTA’s February meeting was held yesterday. Topics included upcoming activities, PTA budget, new vacuum cleaner for building services (purchase from PTA funds approved by vote), and Maryland School Assessment (MSA).
MSA is Maryland School Assessment, a testing program. All students in grades 3 through 8 are tested in reading and mathematics in March. Grade 5 students are also tested in science in March/April. You can read more at the Maryland Public Schools website.
We’ll be hearing more about the MSA, and about activities (book fair! movie night!!) as we move on into 2011. I wanted to make sure to post a link to MSA information.
Talking of moving on into new years, we’re about halfway through the 15-day celebration of Chinese new year. It’s the year of the rabbit. I hope that it has started well for you.
We had our first snow day on Tuesday, and as I write this on Thursday evening, I’m checking the Montgomery county schools website to see if snow is going to get in the way of school again tomorrow. I see at that same site the story about the “MCPS On the Move” competition.
Staff members at Highland Elementary claimed the biggest prize from Kaiser Permanente—winning $25,000 for their school for logging more than 4,100 hours of physical activity since October.
Congratulations to our very active staff!
The first PTA meeting of 2011 has yet to take place. There was no January meeting. So the first PTA meeting of the year will be on the first Tuesday of February, which is February 1, at 9am, in the cafeteria/all-purpose room.
Yes it December already. The PTA meeting for this month is as usual on the first Tuesday, at 9am, in the cafeteria/all-purpose room. Â Babysitting is available during the meeting. So that’s December 7. See you at the meeting?
I’ve just updated this website to make it more mobile-friendly. So if you view it on an iPhone or other mobile phone, you should see the site in a different, more compact form (although you can switch into the usual web browser view if you want, and this won’t affect how you see the site from a computer).
On a personal note, tomorrow (December 3) will be the first anniversary of our move to Maryland. Maddie started at Highland soon after, and settled in very quickly. Thanks to the staff, students, and families at Highland for making our first year here a good one.
Andrew, wishing a safe and happy holiday season to all.
Posted in Meetings, Web
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Here are three more ways to help the PTA raise funds. For a list of ways to help, see the You Can Help page.
Box Tops for Education – Highland PTA is collecting box tops. We will receive 10 cents for each Box Top turned in. Box Tops can be put in the PTA box or in the box in Claudia Silva’s office. You can find out more at the Box Tops for Education site, but you do not need to register there in order for your box tops to help Highland.
My Coke Rewards – Donate your Coke rewards points to Highland so that the school can receive items for the school! This currently involved going to the MCR web site, which Highland already has a page, to register. More information will follow about how you will be able to turn in the bottle caps or reward codes to the PTA directly.
Mascot Books – Our personalized, bilingual book, “Hello, Highland” is still for sale!! It is $15.00 and can be purchased from a PTA board member. You can also go to the Mascot Books website and purchase other books. Use the code “highland” and not only will you receive 20% off each book, but Highland PTA will also receive $5 per book purchased!
The next PTA meeting will be held on Tuesday November 9, at 9am, in the all-purpose room/cafeteria. This is a change from the usual schedule for meetings on the first Tuesday of each month.
Highland will be closed on Monday November 1 and Tuesday November 2. That’s why the meeting won’t be held on November 2. I see from the school calendar that Highland will close early on November 11 and 12.
Flu vaccine is available for Highland students at the school on the afternoon of Thursday November 11. A form should have gone home with each student about this. My daughter’s form didn’t make it home for some reason, but I called in at school to get it. In order for your child to get the vaccine, you must:
- Complete and return the form.
- Make an appointment for a specific time.
- Accompany your child to the appointment.
Earlier this week, a note went home to parents about the web site PTA.org. I’m not sure whether it went out to all parents, or to parents who had signed up for the Highland PTA.
I fear that there may be confusion between that site (PTA.org) and this one (highlandespta.org). I’m writing this in an attempt to clear up any confusion. There is a very big difference, and here it is.
- PTA is the national, USA-wide, organization. It is unlikely to carry any information specific to Highland, to Montgomery County, or even to Maryland.
- Highlandespta.org is specific to Highland Elementary School in Silver Spring. It will include notes about meetings, fundraising, and other things relevant to our school, our neighborhood, and our kids.
Posted in Web
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Tagged pta.org
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Some stores will donate money to Highland whenever you shop. We currently have details of three such programs.
To sign up for a program, just click on the link (the name of the store and its program) below, and use the Highland PTA’s group number to make sure the money goes to the right place. I’ve also included links to details of the programs, and some of my own comments.
Giant’s A+ School Rewards program. Group number: 00855. More: FAQ. Very quick to sign up for if you already have a Giant card.
Safeway, via Escrip. Group id: 500024795. More: about the program.
Target’s Take Charge of Education program. School id: 58145. More: FAQ. Looks quick to sign up for if you already have a Target REDcard (which I currently don’t, but probably will soon).
