Highland Park Senior High Headliner
September 30, 2023
Message from Principal Dr. Winston Tucker
Highland Families,
This week starts our annual Homecoming celebration. We are excited for a variety of fun events with the students and returning alumni. Please pay special attention to the communications that are being sent out asking for help from parents to make sure their students are making Homecoming a positive event. As parents you play an important role in helping your child make positive decisions.
We are also very excited to play Central in both boys and girls soccer at Allianz field this coming Friday, October 6. These are big games and Central is one of our athletic rivals. We look forward to a great turnout and exciting play. Many thanks to Allianz for hosting our students.
Mark Your Calendars!
Saturday, October 7, 2023
- Homecoming Festivities (7:00-10:00pm Dance)
Monday, October 16, 2023
- PSAT/NMSQT
Tuesday, October 17, 2023
- PSAT/NMSQT
Thursday, October 19, 2023 - Friday, October 20, 2023
- No School/MEA
Monday, October 30, 2023
- Picture Retakes
Homecoming Reminders
Dear Highland Park Senior High School Families,
We are excited to celebrate our annual Homecoming event this school year starting on Monday, October 2 and culminating on Saturday, October 7. As part of Homecoming, we celebrate the following school and community events:
Spirit Week Daily Themes
Pep Fest
Homecoming Court
Homecoming Dance
Power Puff Football Game
Tailgating prior to the Football Game
Homecoming Football Game
While there are many positive aspects of Homecoming, unfortunately every school year there are a group of students who engage in destructive mischief late in the evening in the community during Homecoming Week. Activities include but are not limited to throwing toilet paper in trees, dumping garbage on lawns, throwing eggs at houses and much more. These activities are usually between juniors and seniors who generally know each other. Some students and parents view these as harmless pranks. They are not harmless and tarnish the positive aspects of Homecoming despite not being affiliated with Highland nor Homecoming. I am respectfully requesting that parents carefully monitor the whereabouts of their children during Homecoming week and not allow students to participate in any negative activities.
Thank you for your continued support of Highland Park Senior High School, for helping to keep our community safe and helping our students to make good decisions.
Dr. Winston H. Tucker, Principal
Homecoming Spirit Week Themes
- Monday - Dress like your type
- Tuesday - White lie
- Wednesday - On Wednesdays we wear Barbenheimer
- Thursday - Class colors
- Friday - RED OUT!
Saint Paul Cup Information
Highland Park and Central boys and girls soccer teams will headline the 2023 Saint Paul Cup presented by Bell Bank! Cheer on your Scots as they battle the Minutemen in the second-annual Saint Paul Cup on Friday, October 6 at Allianz Field. Girls kick-off at 5:30pm with the boys following at 7:30pm.
Admission for both games is free, but you must claim your ticket by using SeatGeek.
*The same ticket will get you into both games.
Ticket Information: SeatGeek.com
Official Release from Minnesota United FC:
https://www.mnufc.com/news/minnesota-united-bell-bank-host-second-annual-saint-paul-cup-at-allianz-field
Attention families of 9th graders!
All freshmen are taking an academic support class this year, either AVID or Scots Strategies. In addition to doing community-building activities, we have started the year off strong by working on the following skills:
• organizing documents in Notability (an app that allows students to write on digital documents and file them in folders)
• planning work and making to-do lists of assignments
• creating SMART goals and reflecting on them
• writing formal emails
• communicating needs and questions / self-advocacy
• using notes in ways that help students think more deeply about the topic (focused notetaking)
Here are some ways you could reinforce these skills with your child at home:
• Help them develop an after-school routine that includes doing schoolwork.
• Remind your teen to turn off notifications or power off their phones while doing schoolwork to help them focus. (Many students wrote their weekly goal around this!)
• Talk to them about getting more sleep. Going to bed even 15 or 30 minutes earlier can be helpful.
• Ask to see your student’s grades weekly on Schoology. Parents can also view student progress through the parent portal.
• Encourage your child to ask for help if they do not understand. The staff at Highland want to support students!
We appreciate your 9th grader!
Julie Eddy
Kathrine Walter
and the 9th grade Academic Support team
Student Parking in Lot
Highland Families,
The following communication was shared with all students via Schoology and through the daily announcements from Dr. Tucker. If your child drives to school, please remind your child of this expectation.
Scots,
Please only park in the parking lot if you are a senior and have purchased a parking permit. We will be having the police ticket the parking lot throughout the school year, and I do not want you to get a ticket. Students are not permitted to park in the middle school lot even with a Highland parking permit. Thanks for your cooperation.
Highland Park Swag!
Need swag? Order here!
Highland Park CCRC News
Click here to see the latest CCRC newsletter! This newsletter highlights upcoming college and career-related opportunities.
Highland Park CCRC - The CCRC is here to help students with college and career planning! The CCRC provides the following resources to students:
- Interests and skills exploration tools
- Career Information
- Resume Help
- College and Post-Secondary exploration tools
- College Admission, Career and Military Representative Visits
- College Admission test information such as ACT and Accuplacer
- Scholarships
- Financial Aid
- Summer and Community Opportunities
- And more!
CLICK HERE to check out the new CCRC website! This site will be updated throughout the year with important information, resources, and opportunities.
Athletic News
Weekly athletic event schedule
New Social Media Connection
Check out what our awesome Scots are up to by following Highland Park Senior High on Facebook and highlandparksr.scots.pride on Instagram.
Financial Aid Webinar for Students & Families
2023-24 Yearbook Information
You can now order your 2023-2024 yearbook. Follow this link:
https://www.balfour.com/minnesota/saint-paul/highland-park-senior-high-school/yearbook-packages
Contact Nancy Michael with questions. nancy.michael@spps.org
Virtual Parent/Guardian Info Meetings
GTK- (Good To Know) information about HPSH for parents and guardians, especially those new to Highland. New this year- virtual parent/guardian informational meetings around relevant topics and commonly asked questions. Click here for more details.
First Meeting - September 21
Here are the links to the slides and recording from the first Virtual Parent/Guardian Meeting. Hope to see you all in October!
Meeting Dates:
October 26, 2023
November 30, 2023
December 14, 2023
Teacher Wish List
As the school year begins, there are two ways to support our terrific Highland Park teachers and staff:
- By purchasing items on the Wish List for use in the classroom: Wish List This list is always being updated—teachers are in the process of adding their lists for this school year.
- By purchasing general school supplies—Kleenex, hand sanitizer, pencils, pens, highlighters, dry erase markers, post-its and snacks. General supplies can be brought to the school office any time.
The PTSA will also be collecting Kleenex, hand sanitizer and general school supplies at the Open House event—if you can bring even one box of Kleenex, it will have a positive impact! It is the number one requested item from teachers and staff!
Thank you from the Highland Park PTSA.
Interested in ski racing?
Join the St. Paul Alpine Ski Team (SPAST)! The team is open to SPPS students in grades 7-12. While some alpine skiing experience is necessary, racing experience is not required. It should be noted this is a race team and not a ski club. The team practices on Tuesdays and Thursdays at Afton Alps. The activity fee is $250/$20 for free and reduced lunch. In addition, a season pass to Afton is required. Bussing is provided and departs from Central and Highland High School. Please fill out this form to sign up to be invited to our informational meeting or email annekettler@yahoo.com for more information.
Allianz Field Fundraising News
The final games of the season leading up to possible playoff position for the Loons are here! September through October 7th is packed with games. There are many slots remaining for 10/7. Playoff decision day for hosting home games will be decided on October 21st with playoffs to begin October 25th. We need to be ready for anything! New games will be added to the signup website as they become known. Check back often as slots may open up overnight. Get on the waitlist for a game, or playoffs, by sending a request to the Volunteer inbox at hpshptsa.vol@gmail.com.
Parents and students (ages 14+) can sign up for a 5-hour volunteer shift at Allianz Field, home of the MN United Football Club, to raise money for their club, team, and classrooms. We receive $125 per volunteer! Site Leads receive an additional $50 for their group. All shifts are climate controlled indoors at the Premium Stadium Club level. Please sign-up here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0944ADAE2EAAF85-allianz.
Spring Break 2024 in New York
Hello New York Trip Participants and Possible Participants,
I am so excited that you are interested in learning more about our HPSH New York Trip Spring Break 2024.
Please make sure to block off the following dates on your calendar April 6th-14th. The travel company will be looking for the best ticket prices as we get closer to the date so we may need to leave a little earlier or later within this possible travel window for our 5 days; hopefully the 8th-12th, but again it might start a little earlier or later.
The link for more detailed information and signing up is www.efexploreamerica.com/2611215kk
I am planning a google meet October 27th from 6:00-6:45pm. Our Google Meet Nickname will be HPNewYork2024
AGENDA
• Welcome New Interested Travelers:We may be welcoming a few final interested travelers!
• Behavior Expectations Form: I will have a form for people to download, sign and return to the school about safety and behavior expectations.
Students will also be able to pick this form up from me in room 150 in the link.
• Slide Introduction Tool: Here is a link to a slide show you can use to introduce yourself to the group.
You may enter information before the meeting, during the meeting, or after the meeting.
Link: Introduce Yourself to Fellow Travelers:
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1tBZqsBimHDGgAmSVTiYvd1Gl9E0FhksTGCw9y2zuJjA/edit?usp=sharing
Looking forward to seeing you there. Please reach out to me anytime with any questions.
Warm Wishes,
SPPS Grading
There will be some positive changes to grading practices at all SPPS high schools beginning in the 2023-24 school year. SPPS is shifting to more consistent and equitable grading practices across all high schools to ensure that students’ grades truly reflect what they’ve learned. Visit the Grading Practices FAQ webpage for more information. More details will be provided this fall, including information sessions with language support for families.
Nutrition Services
In-person students will receive free breakfast and lunch under the Minnesota Free School Meals program. All students are eligible to receive one free breakfast and one free lunch each school day. Second meals, incomplete meals and single item purchases, such as milk only, must be purchased.
- Student Second Breakfast: $2.85
- Student Second Lunch: $5
- Milk Only: $0.50
- For a complete list of prices, visit spps.org/ns.
Visit schoolcafe.com/spps to manage your student’s meal account, view menus, ingredients and nutritional information, and complete the Application for Educational Benefits.
A Message from Saint Paul Public Schools Nutrition Services
- While all in-person students will receive free breakfast and lunch under Minnesota’s Free School Meals program, it remains critical that all families complete an Application for Educational Benefits each school year. These applications determine how much funding your child’s school receives for educational programs and supports. Additionally, eligible families can qualify for other benefits. The application can be completed online at schoolcafe.com/spps. Paper applications are available at your child's school.
Parent Portal - Access Your Student's Progress
Use Parent Portal and see your child’s attendance, homework assignments, grades and more. Log on to spps.org/onestop and click on “parent portal”. This valuable tool will provide both information on your student and a means of communicating with your student’s teachers. Report cards are not mailed to homes.
For access please contact the main office at 651-293-8940.
MTC Unlimited Transit Pass Available for Purchase
MTC Bus Pass Quarter Dates
8/21/2023 to 11/1/2023 payments due now
11/2/2023 to 1/14/2024 payment due by Monday, October 30, 2023
1/15/2024 to 3/31/2024 payment due by Monday, January 8, 2024
4/1/2024 to 6/14/2024 payment due by Monday, March 25, 2024
Highland Park Senior High School
Website: https://www.spps.org/highlandsr
Location: 1015 Snelling Avenue South, Saint Paul, MN, USA
Phone: 651-293-8940