Crossing Guard Appreciation Week

One more "Don't Forget:"

This week (1/13-1/17) is Crossing Guard Appreciation Week, so be sure to give our Highland View Crossing Guards a great big thank you for putting themselves between the cars and our kids!

Our Latest Musical Lunch Guest

Hello again!

I just wanted to take a moment and share more about our latest musical lunch guest performer.

Her name was Mary Keppeler, and she was amazing!  She shared her knowledge and her enjoyment of the harp in a way the kids all connected with.  We were so lucky to have her perform for us.

For more information, or to tell her "Thanks!" again, her website is here:

http://www.milwaukeeharpist.com/milwaukeeharpist/Home.html

Thank you so much Mary!

Bruce Paprocki Volunteer Award

Earlier this year the PTO voted to establish the Bruce Paprocki Distinguished Volunteer Award.  This is a recognition of a person who performs outstanding volunteer service for Highland View throughout the year.  Any person who volunteered at Highland View during the school year is eligible to win, but must be nominated by a member of the PTO (if you got a phone book, you're a member) or by staff at Highland View.

The award committee will meet in April, so if you know someone you'd like to nominate, now's a good time to get that in.

Any PTO or school staff member can nominate an eligible volunteer by submitting a typed letter to a member of the PTO executive committee or the school principal stating:
1)  The name of the person being nominated
2)  The name of the person making the nomination
3)  A description of the nominee's volunteer work
4)  A short statement describing why the nominee should be the award recipient

Thanks, and thanks to all of our hard-working Highland View Volunteers!

Next Meeting: January 13th, 2014

Our next meeting is:

Monday January 13th, 2014 at 

6:00 in the Highland View library.

There's a lot going on and we could surely use your input and help!  Just for starters we'll be discussing:

• The Sock Hop
• Read-me-a-Story Night (February)
• Crossing guard appreciation week 1/13-1/17
• February conference dinners
• Getting winter outdoor equipment
• Changing election polling places update
• Bruce Paprocki volunteer award

As usual, the teacher whose classroom has the highest attendance will get a gift certificate to the learning store!

Don't forget the Sock Hop!

Highland View

Sock Hop

January 17th 6:00-8:00 P.M.

Pre-order forms for tickets went home last week and are due back to school by Friday (1/10).  It makes it a lot easier for everyone, so please send it back in if you can!  If you can't that's OK, there's admission at the door too.

If you want to enter your favorite chili in the annual Highland View Chili Cook Off, that's also at the sock hop, so be sure to turn in your registration form!  You could be Chili Champ!

And remember, it's a Crazy Hair Sock Hop--so get your student's hair as outrageous as you can!

President's Report January 2014

I hope everyone's break went well!  (Especially the two bonus days courtesy the polar vortex!)

There are just a few PTO projects I've been working on over break.

1)  The election/polling places issue.  We've taken quite a few early steps on this project and more are on the way.

First of all though, thanks to everyone who took the school schedule survey put out by the school district.  Of the four options parents were given concerning elections in schools (do nothing, move polling locations, reschedule students, provide village staff to manage traffic) switching election locations was far and away the most common choice.

On to where we are in the process:  Several Highland View parents spoke at the School Board meeting in December, and shared our concerns.  The PTO also approved the letter and sent it to members of the Greendale School District administration and the Greendale School Board.

We're on the agenda for College Park's January 15th PTO meeting, as well as the January 30th meeting of the Canterbury PTO where we'll ask them to get involved too.  We'll also be talking with members of the Greendale Teachers' Union on the 15th to see how they can be involved, since this is an issue that affects faculty too.

We're also planning on attending PTO events at all three schools with a table to collect signatures and postcards from families to deliver to the Greendale Board of Trustees who ultimately decide where election polling places will be located.  We'll also work on getting families to Board of Trustee meetings to continue to apply pressure and show the Village Board that this is an important issue to school families and staff.

2)  On a lighter note, I met with several 3rd grade students to make a brainstorm list of ideas for winter equipment for the PTO to purchase so the kids have something to play with during winter.  The next step is to narrow the list by safety and by pricing then to actually by the equipment.  The list we came up with is below, feel free to let us know if you have other ideas!

Sleds
Pulling sleds (for moving snowballs, like sleds with ropes or sledges)
Snow block/brick makers
Snow shovels
Small shovels
Hula hoops
Chinese jump ropes
Plastic balls
Wiffle balls and bats
Buckets
Containers with lids
Skip-its
Snowman kit (with plastic facial features a la Mr. Potato Head, like plastic carrots for noses, etc.)
Tug of war rope
Books
Benches
Dividers/plastic walls/fences
Snow slide
Snow sculpting tools (like sand rakes and scrapers, etc.)
Cardboard boxes
Snow snakes (Toys that slide across the snow)
Plastic animals
Bowling set
Hand helicopters (not the remote control ones—ones you spin between your hands and they fly)
Snow molds (different shapes, like the old fashioned jello molds)
Plastic igloo
Fort builder

3)  Musical lunches.  After a couple month break, tomorrow (1/9) is our next musical lunch at Highland View.  We'll be hosting a harpist, so that should make for a great dining environment for the students!

PTO Discussion on Polling Places and Student Security

Tonight we'll discuss parent's concerns about having the schools wide open during election days, compared to the effort devoted to student security during the rest of the year.  This discussion comes in response to several parent's voiced concerns and the school boards inclusion of the question on a recent parent survey about school scheduling next year.

We'll discuss the following letter, and vote on whether to send it to the district school board and administrative staff.  We'll also discuss other options available.  The next school board meeting is next Monday (12/16) at GHS in the Library, and if you consider this an important issue, we would appreciate you attendance there too.

Letter to the Greendale School District:
------------------------------------------------------------------------

December 12, 2013

Greendale School District

6815 Southway

Greendale, WI 53129

Dear Greendale School District Administrators and School Board,

With the anniversary of the tragedy in Newtown Connecticut upon us, the safety of students, their teachers and school administrators is on many parents’ minds.  While we are confident that safety is a priority for the district, and confident that generally the students are in as secure environment as possible, there is one glaring issue of concern:  election days.

We would like to express our appreciation to the district for including this issue in the recent school schedule survey that was made available to parents online, and are very happy to see that the school district is looking into closing this distressing gap in school security.  We also hope the school district understands the urgency and significance this is due.  It’s safe to say that if the events in Connecticut had happened on a Tuesday in November, this would already be solved. 

In the school schedule survey, three options were presented to parents:  1) Request that the Village of Greendale move voter polling locations, even if this inconveniences some residents; 2) Arrange the calendar to have days off for students on known election days; 3) Assign Village staff to manage voter traffic in the schools on election days.  As a PTO we would like to recommend the school district prioritize the first two options.   No matter what Village staff are managing traffic, the simple fact is that if the doors are open, anyone can get in.  Furthermore, separating the polling from the students’ school days will not only make it safer for students, but will also make it easier for staff to do their job of educating and developing our future without having to worry about or cater to strangers in the classroom.

And while adjustments can be made to the 2014-2015 school calendar, we would also like to urge the school district to look into what can be arranged for the three election dates remaining during the current school year (12/17/2013, 2/18/2014, 4/1/2014) all of which fall on days when students are in class. 

We understand there are many demands on your time and resources.  We also feel that the safety of our students should be a priority amongst those demands, and thoroughly appreciate your continuing resolution to share that priority with us.

Thank you again for considering this issue.

The Highland View PTO