Highlander Charter School
District Newsletter - March 2023
Important Dates:
- March 1st: District Wide Yearbook Dress Down Day Fundraiser
- March 2nd: 4th Grade Trip to Boston Science Museum
- March 3rd: PVD Student of the Mont Celebration 8:15am; PreK trip to Library
- March 4th: Warren Open House
- March 7th: CSIT meeting at PVD Campus 5:30pm
- March 7th & 8th: Middle School Scoliosis Screening
- March 10th: Warren MLL students trip to Trinity Rep; Prek trip to Pea Poddery
- March 13th: District Wide Early Dismissal
- March 16th: PVD SIT meeting 5:00pm (in person)
- March 23rd: HS Music students to PPAC
- March 27th-31st: Reading Week and Spring Book fair
- March 27th: 3rd & 4th Grade RICAS Prep Rally
- March 28th: 5th & 6th Grade RICAS Prep Rally; Read to Succeed Kick off (grades 2nd-7th grade) 5:00pm at PVD Campus
- March 30th: Reading Night PVD Campus 5:00pm
- March 29th-31st: 5th Grade Farm School trip
To All of the Highlander Community:
After twenty years of work here at the Highlander Charter School, seventeen as the Head of School, I have made the bittersweet decision to announce my retirement effective July 31, 2023. Together we have celebrated our successes, weathered our challenges, and built our K-8 school into a school serving grades Pre-K through grade 12 that we can be proud of. I am forever grateful for having had the privilege to serve the Highlander Community and grateful for the support of each of you as I navigated the political and economic barriers associated with Charter Schools in Rhode Island.
Succession and change are never easy; however, it is inevitable. I discussed this transition with the members of the Highlander Charter School Board at our January Board Meeting, and we are working on the process for selecting the new Superintendent of Highlander Charter School. In order to ensure the continued growth and success of the school, it is imperative that whoever assumes the role of superintendent is knowledgeable about all aspects of running a charter school in the State of Rhode Island. The ideal candidate will need to understand the political and financial landscape specific to Rhode Island. The new Superintendent will also need to be able to build trust and garner confidence from the Highlander Community.
In order to have an inclusive process, a hiring committee composed of board members, parents, staff, and community members will be created within the next few weeks to vet applications and attend interviews of selected candidates. The job posting will occur once the committee is in place. When the committee identifies finalists, candidates will spend time at each campus to allow for meetings with parents, students, and staff who were not on the committee.
In closing, I want to reiterate that I am deeply appreciative for your trust and support over the past twenty years and for my years at Highlander Charter School.
Ms. Grant
Middle/High School - Principal
Middle/High School Assistant Principal
Literacy Department
Department of Teaching and Learning
Highlander Health Department
Peace Week was a SUCCESS!!!!
Please see the Classroom Spotlight section below for details of Peace Week. Yes, keep scrolling, trust me it is worth it 😉.
Now let's get ready for Reading Week - March 27th-31st.
We will share information with our families and community members as they are finalized. For now please mark your calendar, Thursday, March 30th at 5:00pm is our Reading Night at the PVD Campus - hope to see you there.
Reading and more reading or should I say Read to Succeed. On Tuesday, March 28th from 5-6:30pm we will have our Read to Succeed Kickoff event. This event is for students and families in grades 2nd-7th grade. For those of you not familiar with the R2S program, this program allows students rising 3rd grade (current 2nd grade) to rising 8th (current 7th graders) the opportunity to select 5 books of their choosing from a list provided + a mandatory reading for a total of 6 books for free that they get to keep. But wait, there is more, if a student reads all 6 and completes and passes a reading comprehension quiz for each book they earn $1,000 College Bound Fund, pretty cool -right. Well if you are in that age group, join us on Tuesday, March 28th (we will also have pizza 🍕)
...and now the more serious, but equally important stuff.
CSIT
Thank you again to everyone who was able to attend our first CSIT meeting. We know that some people had scheduling conflicts that prevented them from attending. Our next Comprehensive School Improvement Team (CSIT) meeting will be on Tuesday, March 7th from 5:30-7:00 PM at the Lower School Campus. The focus will be on identifying the root cause analyses for our 4 Priority Areas of ELA, math, graduation rate, and attendance. We will work in groups to address each priority area and then will share their ideas with the whole group. We want and need to hear your voice and ideas! If you have not completed the Root Cause Analysis Survey and plan on attending please do so.
School Improvement Team for PVD
We need you!!! We will be convening our first School Improvement Team for Providence campus on March 16th at 5:00 in person. We need families to be part of this committee as well as teachers and community members. Please consider joining us, we will be creating a plan for our school as we address the priority areas of ELA and Math and MLL as well as attendance. Childcare and snacks will be provided.
Scholarships
Rhode Island PBS Foundation Scholarship
The Rhode Island PBS Foundation Scholarship offers awards to residents of Rhode Island and Bristol County, Massachusetts who demonstrate promise of a successful career in the fields of broadcasting, communications, or journalism. Applicants must be either a graduating high school senior planning to attend a 4-year post-secondary institution, or a currently enrolled college/university student studying in any of these fields. Awards of up to $15,000 will be awarded annually and are renewable for an additional three years. For application details, please go to www.ripbs.org/education. Applications are due by 5:00 pm on April 10, 2023.
Navigant Credit Union Scholarship
The Navigant Credit Union Scholarship opportunities are available by visiting www.navigantcu.org/scholarships. It is open to any graduating high school senior entering an accredited junior college, college, university or tech school. The applicant or parent/guardian must be a member of Navigant Credit Union in good standing. The deadline to apply for this scholarship is Friday, May 5th 2023.
Community Service/ Community Opportunities
New Gammbassadors (Youth Ushers) Program Launching at the Gamm Theatre: Are you a high school student aged 16-18 who loves theater? If so, you can learn about professional theater and see shows for FREE — plus earn community service hours. It's easy and fun! For details, click here Roles include: scanning tickets, directing patrons in the lobby and the theater, stuffing and/or passing out programs, seating patrons, and answering patron's questions. In return, you have the option to earn community service hours and see Gamm productions for free! Please contact the Volunteer Coordinator, Lauryn Sasso at 401-723-4266 x 163 or volunteer@gammtheatre.org with any questions. Remaining Performance Dates: Bad Jews, Mar 2 - 26, 2023, The Children, Apr 27 - May 14, 2023.
FEMA Seeks Leaders for Youth Preparedness Council: FEMA is accepting applications for the Youth Preparedness Council, a program that brings teens together from across the nation who are interested and engaged in community preparedness.
Council members are selected based on their dedication to public service, their efforts in making a difference in their communities and their potential to expand their impact as national leaders for emergency preparedness. Students in grades eight through 11 are eligible to apply. During their one-year term, council members will collaborate virtually with each other to develop projects that promote preparedness on a local and national scale. Members will also attend the council summit in July and engage with top leaders within FEMA, the federal government, and national non-profit organizations. Youths interested in applying to the council must submit a completed application form and provide two letters of recommendation. All applications and supporting materials must be submitted no later than 11:59 p.m. PT, March 6, 2023. New council members will be announced in June. To access the application materials, read about the current council members, and for more information about the Youth Preparedness Council click here.
MENTAL HEALTH RESOURCES FOR
FAMILIES OF KIDS UNDER 18
Kids’ Link RI™ is a behavioral health triage service and referral network. A program offered in collaboration with Gateway Healthcare, Lifespan, Hasbro Children's Hospital and Bradley Hospital, Kids’ Link RI is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week to help triage children and youth in need of mental health services and refer them to treatment providers.The free, confidential phone line, 1-855-543-5465, connects parents and caregivers to an experienced clinician that can help them access children’s services in Rhode Island, and determine the best place to go for treatment and counseling.
Contact Kids’ Link RI™ if your child is:
Feeling excessive anger or sadness.
Lashing out at siblings, friends, and adults.
Having behavior problems at school.
Having severe worries.
Hurting himself/herself or others.
Adult Education: Are you or someone you know in need of adult education? https://enrollri.org/adulted
Affordable Internet: Is your family in need of affordable internet? "The Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) helps to ensure that families can afford the broadband they need for work, school, healthcare and more. The benefit provides a discount of up to $30 per month towards internet and eligible households can also receive a one-time discount of up to $100 to purchase a laptop, desktop computer, or tablet from participating providers if they contribute more than $10 and less than $50 towards the purchase price." Learn more here.
One initiative we are piloting this year is the Handle with Care. If your child is coming to school after a difficult night, morning, or weekend, please know that we want school yo be a safe and comfortable place for them. We don't need to know the details, please send me a message and let me know to "handle with care". This will alert us to make sure your child has space, time, and love throughout the day.
All families have been invited to Class Dojo, if you need assistance or haven't received an invitation please email me at tromero@hc.school
The program with RI Builders Association is off to a great start. First the books, then the work! These students passed a 20 hour course to gain OSHA 10 Certification before stepping into the workshop. Then, they have coursework to complete each day before getting their hard hats and tool belts on to put their learning into practice. And to top it all off, this group plans to build a shed for Highlander to be used with our Farm to School program that is also in the works. See pictures below.
OUR STUDENTS NEED YOU!
Highlander has a great opportunity to raise funds to create outside learning spaces at both campuses!
April 1st is 401 Gives days and we need a big team to share our fundraising page. The more we share, the more we raise! So, we need all hands on deck! Our goal is to raise $20,000 and with a big group of staff and family members we can do it!
If you can give us a few minutes of your time we will teach you how this works and provide all of the tools you need. Then all you have to do is share it far and wide. 3 years ago we raised nearly $10,000 with a very small group. Imagine what we can do if all of our families help out?!
If you want to be on our team please email Ms. Jeanne at jdagostino@hc.school or Ms. Tatiana at tromero@hc.school
Don’t forget to like us on Facebook, join our Facebook Family Engagement page and subscribe to our Youtube Channel!
Did you know that when you are shopping for everyday items you can help our students? The link Amazon Smile will take you directly to Amazon Smile for Highlander! AmazonSmile is a simple way for you to support Highlander every time you shop, at no cost to you. AmazonSmile is available at smile.amazon.com on your web browser and can be activated in the Amazon Shopping app for iOS and Android phones. When you shop at AmazonSmile, you’ll find the exact same low prices, vast selection and convenient shopping experience as Amazon.com, with the added benefit that AmazonSmile will donate 0.5% of your eligible purchases to Highlander Charter School if you designate us!
Peace Week
Highlander celebrated Peace Week during the week of February 13-17th. We all know that our world can be hectic, highlighting peace was something good for our school community. This year peace week highlighted the Kingian Nonviolence Principles, including the philosophy of Beloved Community.
We had many inspiring events, students from Warren on the Global Service Learning group presenting the pilar of the Kingian Nonviolence Principles to our elementary student to joining us on Friday as we marched for Peace to the Nonviolence Institute.
We also had some great speakers in the lower school from Providence Police Chief Oscar Perez, Cedric Huntley and Shane Lee from the Nonviolence Institute to our very own Allie Toribio (2nd grade) and Brianna Montero (5th grade)
Warren students also had some great speakers during grade level Town Halls.
7/8th grade received Juan Carter who discuss topics of nonviolence, he has over 13 years of experience as an violence intervention and prevention specialist. Juan Carter Bio
9/10th Town Hall, had Shane Lee from the Nonviolence Institute in Providence. Shane is one of the lead instructors at the Institute and joined Highlander recent trip to Ireland last fall to help spread the message of nonviolence across borders. He is a firm believer of the Beloved Community and that the way to prevent violence is through direct action, not passive reaction.
11/12th Town Hall had to two speakers, Night Jean Muhingabo and Kamar Gure. Night is the Youth Coordinator at the Refugee Dream Center in Providence, he is a senior at RIC studying Public Administration with minors in CIS and Data Science, he is fluent in 5 languages, advocate for mentoring and refugee services in Rhode Island and a refugee from the Rwandan Genocide, first fleeing to a refugee camp in the Democratic Republic of the Congo before coming to Providence RI. Kamar is fluent in 5 languages, and working on #6, she is a Junior at RIC having earned a full ride scholarship after graduating from Classical in Providence. Her future goals are to work for UNICEF, an international organization dedicated to supporting youth in need around the world. She spent several years in refugee camps before being relocated to Providence, during that time it was UNICEF that stepped in and helped to support her and the other youth in the camp with books and educational resources allowing them to continue moving forward in life, when life as they knew before had abruptly ended.
A special thank you goes out to James Stringer, Marc Bayha and Jeanne D'Agostino who reached out and helped schedule our guest speakers.
Enjoy some of the pictures and the amazing video created by Jacqueline Joly (Class of 2024).
Shoutouts!
Lexia Star
Allie Toribio
Brianna Montero
Global Service Learning
Jacqueline Joly
PVD Student of the month
Connect with us
Providence: 401-277-2600
Warren: 401-247-3585
Class Dojo : https://www.classdojo.com/
Mrs. Grant: rgrant@hc.school
Mrs. Roseberry (ES): jpicciotti@hc.school
Mr. Pabst (Warren): wpabst@hc.school
Mrs. Goulart (Warren): agoulart@hc.school
Email: info@hc.school
Website: highlandercharter.org
Phone: 401-277-2600
Twitter: @highlanderChart