February 3, 2009

Take

Note

Calendar Highlights

Thurs. Feb. 5 Middle School Trip Parent Meeting 6:30-7:30 p.m. Learning Center Thurs. 12 Soccer Registration Form Due 4th - 8th Grade Field Trip to Symphony Fri. 13 Weather Make-Up Day Mon. 16 Presidents’ Day No School and Offices Closed Wed. 18 3rd - 5th Grade Field Trip to Children’s Theatre Fri. 20 Middle School Dance 6:30 - 9:30 Mon. 23 5th and 6th Grade National French Contest Tues. 24 Preschool to Children’s Theatre Wed. 25 3rd and 4th Grade National French Contest Thurs. 26 Creativity Convention Middle School Exams Fri. 27 Middle School Exams

Attention Middle School Parents:

Mark your calendar to attend the Middle School Trip Parent Meeting on Thursday, February 5 at

6:30 p.m. in the Learning Center.

The Admis-sions Office is pleased to report a very strong appli-

cant pool to be considered for the fall of 2009. In addi-tion, we have received in-quiries regarding admission for the fall of 2009 from families moving to Birming-ham from Arkansas, North Carolina, Georgia, Massa-chusetts, and Spain! So, we look forward to introducing these families to our High-lands community and to hopefully welcoming their students into our classrooms next fall.

All sibling applications should already submitted to the Admissions Office at this time in order to be consid-ered for the fall of 2009.

Dear Parents,

If you should happen to ask me what the Barrs did last weekend, I would probably say, “We bunked Thomas’s beds and planted daffodils.” These tasks are unusual occurrences in the Barr household. What I probably wouldn’t mention is that we cooked a pot of chicken chili, watched a movie together, drank tea, de-cluttered a bookshelf, did umpteen loads of laundry, wrote letters and essays, went to church, ran the dishwasher at least a half dozen times, and dusted the hall and living room furniture. The activities that I would not mention actually describe the essence of the Barr family far more than bunk beds and daffodils.

When folks ask about Highlands School, or when reporters call wanting a story, we often mention Chinese or AbracadAfrica or other unusual hap-penings. Sometimes we forget to talk about the reading, writing, and arithmetic that take place every single day.

I know that almost all of you were at parent-teacher conferences last week, and you were able to hear about the progress your children are making. As both parent and head, I continue to be thankful for teachers who understand the importance of the basics and who know how to teach them in ways that are interesting, challenging, and meaningful. Without the reading, writing, and arithmetic, our students would be in a bind when they grow up, and without clean laundry and dishes, the Barrs would be in a bind on Monday morning.

So, help us celebrate the special events throughout the year, but please take a moment to thank your teachers for the excellent work they do each and every day.

Kathryn Woodson Barr

Page 2

HIGHNOTES

Short

Notes

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.

It is time for Spring Soccer Registra-tion. Please fill out the form on page 4 and along with a check for $145 (or $135 by February 6

th for Early Bird

Registration) return to High-lands, Attention: Gabe McCool. The deadline for registration is February 12

th. Games will begin the

weekend of March 14

th. Coaches will contact

you regarding practice day and time and when practice will begin.

Thank you! Gabe McCool

French MS students now have pen pals in California. We are very excited

to begin corresponding in French with students at Monterey Highlands Elementary School. Each MS student has received his or her first letter from California and is anxious to reply. Our students will have a lot of fun talking with other students their age in California. They will talk all about sports, hobbies, school, family and more. Best of all, we will learn French at the same time! Bravo!

Highlands Initiates 8th

-Grade Capstone Project for 2009-2010

The Middle School faculty is pleased to announce the implementation of a capstone project for 8th graders, beginning in 2009-2010. The purpose of the project is to allow 8th-grade students, working closely with a faculty mentor, to pursue a particular passion or interest. Projects can range from reading literature in a second language to researching and performing a piece of music to designing and implementing a longitudinal scientific study to building a creative writing or art portfolio to an infinite number of choices.

All 8th graders will consult with a faculty member to decide on a topic and frame a thesis for their projects. The projects will culminate in presentations to parents and students at the end of the year. Faculty will evaluate the projects and presentations on a pass/fail basis and, with input from outside judges, award a cash prize to the top project. The student will receive half of the prize, and the other half will be donated in the student’s honor to a charity of his or her choice.

Teachers will provide school time for students to meet with mentors and work on their projects to supplement the time students spend on their projects at home. Students will learn organization, time management, self-reliance, and research and presentation skills through this endeavor as well have the opportunity to delve deeper into a subject that interests them as they prepare to enter secondary school. Our hope is that this project will be the exclamation point at the end of a student’s Highlands career.

Continue to watch Highnotes and communication from the Middle School faculty for more details about this exciting new program at Highlands School. We are already looking forward to the projects we will see next year! In the meantime, please feel free to contact Shelby Hammer with any questions.

HIGHNOTES Page 3

Highlands School

Basketball Schedule

1

st grade Division (K-1

st)

Sands Team Feb. 7 @Highlands 10am

Feb. 14 @Jefferson Christian Academy 12pm

Baker Team

Feb. 7 @Highlands 10am Feb. 14 @ Jefferson Christian Academy

11am

3rd grade Division (2nd

-3rd

graders) Winston Team

Feb. 7 @Highlands 11am Feb. 14 @Highlands 10am

Boyen Team

Feb. 7 @Highlands 1pm Feb. 14 @Highlands 9am

5

th grade Division

Winston Team Feb. 7 @Highlands 2pm

Feb. 13 @Highlands 6pm Feb. 14 @ Highlands 11am

Middle school Division

O’Neal Team Feb. 7 @Highlands 3pm

Feb. 10 @Highlands 6pm Feb. 14 @Highlands 12pm

Highlands Faculty and Staff Celebrate Chinese New Year

(Information on Chinese New Year from www.123chinesenewyear.com )

On Monday, January 26, Ms. Ping and Ms. Huini (aka Whitney), threw a “Chinese New Year Party” for the Faculty and Staff to celebrate the year of The Ox. The Chinese New Year is celebrated as the symbol of spring's celebration. In fact in China the Chinese New Year is still called the Spring festival. It is celebrated after the fall harvest and before the spring planting season. The date of the Chinese New Year is always changing and is dependant on the Chinese calendar. Emperor Huangdi in the year 2637 B.C.E invented the Chinese calendar.

The Chinese calendar is a combined solar/lunar calendar and is somewhat similar to the Chinese calendar. For the purpose of determining the dates of the Chinese New Year some astronomical calculations need to be taken care of. Firstly, we need to determine the dates for the new moon. The new moon is the black moon that is when the moon is in conjunction with the sun. The date of the new moon is taken as the first day of the new month. Secondly those dates are determined when the sun's longitude is the multiple of 30 degrees. These dates are termed as Principal terms and are used for determining the number of each month.

Creativity Convention 2009 Thursday - February 26th, 2009

Featuring — Roger Reid, Deborah Wiles, Susan Eaddy and Charles Tortorici

HIGHNOTES Page 4

HIGHLANDS SOCCER CLUB REGISTRATION FORM

SPRING 2009 DUE FEBRUARY 12

TH!

NAME: _____________________________ MALE/FEMALE DATE OF BIRTH:________________

NEW PLAYERS: PLEASE REMEMBER TO INCLUDE A COPY OF YOUR BIRTH CERTIFICATE AND A PICTURE FOR YOUR PLAYER CARD!

PARENTS: _____________________________ INTERESTED IN VOLUNTEERING? _____________________________ FOR WHAT?______________________________ (COACH, TEAM PARENT, ETC)

PHONE #’S: MOM_______________________ EMAIL:___________________________________

PHONE #’S: DAD________________________ EMAIL:___________________________________

ADDRESS: _____________________________ CITY, STATE, ZIP: _________________________

SPECIAL REQUEST: _____________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________ DATE: __________ FEE______________ SIGNATURE OF PARENT OR GUARDIAN BEFORE FEBRUARY 6TH - $135

BY FEBRUARY 12TH - $145 AFTER FEB. 12TH - $160

Mail Form (w/ Payment) to:

Highlands Soccer Club 4901 Old Leads Road

Birmingham, Alabama 35213 or you may bring it by the school and leave it for Gabe McCool. Make checks payable to: HIGHLANDS SOCCER CLUB

See soccer information sheet for uniform information and other important information.