Highland gears up for first day of school
Officials explain what goes into preparations
Members of Highland High School Marching Band have already been back to school through summer band camp. Band members are pictured here getting in order for picture day. Photos by CHRIS STUDOR
HIGHLAND – For a veteran educator such as Hinckley Elementary School principal Jim Carpenter, you would think the first day of school is old hat.
Carpenter, however, said the first day of school “is just as invigorating as when I started teaching.” The week before school Carpenter said he wished the kids were already back “because they bring energy back to the building.”
Carpenter and other principals of the Highland School District are more than ready for the swarms of students to come rolling in Aug. 23 (Aug. 24 is the first full day for all students grades K-12). Enrollment for the 2017-18 school year will remain nearly steady at about 3,196 students from Hinckley, Granger and Sharon Elementary schools along with Highland Middle School and the high school.
Carpenter, along with Granger Elementary principal Dr. LeAnn Gausman and Sharon Elementary principal Kathryn Kowza, has been working on basically the same back-to-school projects. Carpenter explained preparing for a new school year always involves making class lists, scheduling, meeting with the PTO and ordering loads of supplies.
“Supplies are a big thing,” said Carpenter. “Books and especially work books must be counted. For instance, if we ordered 100 math work books, we need to make sure we have 100 math work books. As for individual supplies, students have the option of ordering them through school. Our PTO will come in and have those boxes on any students’ desk who ordered them via this method while other students will be hitting the stores with their supply list.
Carpenter added that although technology has changed, “kids are still kids.” He credited his building PTO for building up the number of Chromebooks so that the building has nearly a one-to-one ratio. He added students come into the building “technology ready” but they all go through the growing up process.
“The fifth graders will come into the building on the first day of school knowing they are top dogs,” he said. “The kindergarteners and first graders still come into the building with a look of wide-eyed wonder.”
Teachers go out of their way to make students feel at home at the start of a new school year. An example is Hinckley second-grade teacher Ashley Schroeder, who has an “About Me Bag” on each student’s desk the first day of school. The little white bag asks students to decorate their bag, put in several items about them, and bring it back to school on Monday for discussion.
As far as getting the physical building ready, Hinckley Elementary building manager, Matt Douglas, said “we start upstairs and work our way down.” He said everything is removed from the classrooms, which are washed from ceiling fans to floors including disinfecting students’ lockers. Hallway floors take extra scrubbing and in the school’s gymnasium, bleachers are pulled out and cleaned underneath. He said the district’s maintenance staff is always busy attending to things like roof leaks.
“The kids know me as ‘Mr. Matt’ and over the years students come to know me and I enjoy getting to know them,” Douglas said.
At Highland Middle School, Principal Rob Henry said “students are eager to see their friends as well as meet new people.”
“Over the summer we have been making schedules, the cleaning staff has hallways shining and lockers cleaned out,” said Henry.
Academically, more middle schoolers than ever will be taking algebra I for high school credit. Henry said in past years just a select group took algebra I. Last year a text book review took place and new algebra books were purchased. This year, taking algebra I will be more of the norm than exception.
Highland High School will be rolling out a new program this year. On the first day of school, Aug. 23, only freshmen and their mentors will attend school, explained Principal Carrie Knapp. She served as assistant principal in recent years and is assisted by Paul Gerycz and Dr. John Deuber.
“This is a new idea which replaces freshman orientation. Parents will be visiting the school at a later date,” said Knapp. “With high school students it’s all about the comfort level. The seniors come in excited knowing all that comes with the uniqueness of a senior year. For the freshmen, it’s not quite their place yet but we feel our peer mentor program will help them ease into their new building.”
Knapp explained through the peer mentor program, each freshman is matched with a senior mentor. In addition to meeting with their mentor on the first day of school, freshmen will meet with their mentor formally at least once a month throughout the school year and most mentors keep in touch with “their” freshman more often. Knapp added in the area of curriculum, students take an average of five to six classes and more advanced placement programs were added last year. This year, a new communications class is offered addressing both written and digital communication as well as publications such as the high school year book.
“While every month during the school year is busy, at the beginning of the year we are already helping students prepare college transcripts and helping them choose a college and/or plan for the future,” said Knapp.
Making lunch time possible is district food services director Evelyn Makarek. During the summer months, she’s working with 12 different vendors for food orders to receive the best possible pricing.
“Summer allows time for creating new menu and snack ideas for grades K-12 and they must all meet USDA nutritional guidelines,” said Makarek. “We also provide a two-hour training to keep staff up to date with USDA professional guidelines and this training includes using a fire extinguisher correctly and what items on a tray constitute a ‘lunch’ as well as food safety lessons.”
For those in sports and extracurricular activities, practice already started in August. It won’t be long before district residents will be “swarming” into the stadium for the first home football game and band show. Ed Marquette, band director, said this year students will be performing to songs from such groups as AC/DC, The Eagles and Earth Wind & Fire.
Carpenter, however, said the first day of school “is just as invigorating as when I started teaching.” The week before school Carpenter said he wished the kids were already back “because they bring energy back to the building.”
Carpenter and other principals of the Highland School District are more than ready for the swarms of students to come rolling in Aug. 23 (Aug. 24 is the first full day for all students grades K-12). Enrollment for the 2017-18 school year will remain nearly steady at about 3,196 students from Hinckley, Granger and Sharon Elementary schools along with Highland Middle School and the high school.
Carpenter, along with Granger Elementary principal Dr. LeAnn Gausman and Sharon Elementary principal Kathryn Kowza, has been working on basically the same back-to-school projects. Carpenter explained preparing for a new school year always involves making class lists, scheduling, meeting with the PTO and ordering loads of supplies.
“Supplies are a big thing,” said Carpenter. “Books and especially work books must be counted. For instance, if we ordered 100 math work books, we need to make sure we have 100 math work books. As for individual supplies, students have the option of ordering them through school. Our PTO will come in and have those boxes on any students’ desk who ordered them via this method while other students will be hitting the stores with their supply list.
Carpenter added that although technology has changed, “kids are still kids.” He credited his building PTO for building up the number of Chromebooks so that the building has nearly a one-to-one ratio. He added students come into the building “technology ready” but they all go through the growing up process.
“The fifth graders will come into the building on the first day of school knowing they are top dogs,” he said. “The kindergarteners and first graders still come into the building with a look of wide-eyed wonder.”
Teachers go out of their way to make students feel at home at the start of a new school year. An example is Hinckley second-grade teacher Ashley Schroeder, who has an “About Me Bag” on each student’s desk the first day of school. The little white bag asks students to decorate their bag, put in several items about them, and bring it back to school on Monday for discussion.
As far as getting the physical building ready, Hinckley Elementary building manager, Matt Douglas, said “we start upstairs and work our way down.” He said everything is removed from the classrooms, which are washed from ceiling fans to floors including disinfecting students’ lockers. Hallway floors take extra scrubbing and in the school’s gymnasium, bleachers are pulled out and cleaned underneath. He said the district’s maintenance staff is always busy attending to things like roof leaks.
“The kids know me as ‘Mr. Matt’ and over the years students come to know me and I enjoy getting to know them,” Douglas said.
At Highland Middle School, Principal Rob Henry said “students are eager to see their friends as well as meet new people.”
“Over the summer we have been making schedules, the cleaning staff has hallways shining and lockers cleaned out,” said Henry.
Academically, more middle schoolers than ever will be taking algebra I for high school credit. Henry said in past years just a select group took algebra I. Last year a text book review took place and new algebra books were purchased. This year, taking algebra I will be more of the norm than exception.
Highland High School will be rolling out a new program this year. On the first day of school, Aug. 23, only freshmen and their mentors will attend school, explained Principal Carrie Knapp. She served as assistant principal in recent years and is assisted by Paul Gerycz and Dr. John Deuber.
“This is a new idea which replaces freshman orientation. Parents will be visiting the school at a later date,” said Knapp. “With high school students it’s all about the comfort level. The seniors come in excited knowing all that comes with the uniqueness of a senior year. For the freshmen, it’s not quite their place yet but we feel our peer mentor program will help them ease into their new building.”
Knapp explained through the peer mentor program, each freshman is matched with a senior mentor. In addition to meeting with their mentor on the first day of school, freshmen will meet with their mentor formally at least once a month throughout the school year and most mentors keep in touch with “their” freshman more often. Knapp added in the area of curriculum, students take an average of five to six classes and more advanced placement programs were added last year. This year, a new communications class is offered addressing both written and digital communication as well as publications such as the high school year book.
“While every month during the school year is busy, at the beginning of the year we are already helping students prepare college transcripts and helping them choose a college and/or plan for the future,” said Knapp.
Making lunch time possible is district food services director Evelyn Makarek. During the summer months, she’s working with 12 different vendors for food orders to receive the best possible pricing.
“Summer allows time for creating new menu and snack ideas for grades K-12 and they must all meet USDA nutritional guidelines,” said Makarek. “We also provide a two-hour training to keep staff up to date with USDA professional guidelines and this training includes using a fire extinguisher correctly and what items on a tray constitute a ‘lunch’ as well as food safety lessons.”
For those in sports and extracurricular activities, practice already started in August. It won’t be long before district residents will be “swarming” into the stadium for the first home football game and band show. Ed Marquette, band director, said this year students will be performing to songs from such groups as AC/DC, The Eagles and Earth Wind & Fire.