DH Virtual Backpack

• DHES Picture Retakes - October 23
• 3rd Grade Music Performance - October 27
• Bus Evacuation Drills - October 29
• Halloween Parties/Parade - October 29
• NO SCHOOL - October 30

Erin’s Law requires schools to provide age-appropriate sexual abuse awareness and prevention education for students in pre-kindergarten through 12th grade. For additional information about these presentations, including when they will begin, please see the letters below. Don't hesitate to reach out to Mr. Kouri directly if you have additional questions.

Each year, Dundee Highlands proudly honors the Veterans within and beyond our community. We invite local Veterans to join us on Wednesday, November 11th, for our annual Veterans Day celebration and all-school assembly.

Schedule of Events:

• Light Breakfast for Veterans: 7:30 AM – 8:30 AM

• All-School Assembly: 8:30 AM – 9:30 AM

During the assembly, our students will recognize our nation's heroes through research projects, patriotic songs, and presentations on each branch of the Armed Forces. We are also honored to welcome a local Veteran as our guest speaker.

RSVP: We cordially invite all local Veterans to join us for breakfast and stay for the assembly. If a Veteran in your family would like to attend, please complete this Google Form to RSVP.

For any questions, please reach out directly to Mr. Kouri.

We are seeing an increase in squishies that are coming to school and we understand the hype! However, it has led to some messes being made throughout the building and some student disagreements. We are asking that students please leave these at home in order to continue to focus on their academics. Each classroom is equipped with a fidget box that all students have access to. They should speak to their teacher if they are in need of a fidget throughout their day. We understand that some students may have a 504 plan that includes specific accommodations for fidgets, which are still allowed if written in that plan. Thank you for understanding and supporting our classroom environments.

A few key items for Halloween costumes:

• Students should wear a costume that they are able to manage themselves when they need to use the bathroom.
• Students should not bring any toy weapons as part of their costume.
• Students should not wear masks or inflatables to school.

We look forward to a successful Halloween celebration at Dundee Highlands this year.

Mark your calendars for your grade level Music Performance!:

• October 27th, 6:30PM-7:15PM: 3rd Grade
• December 8th, 6:30PM-7:15PM: 5th Grade
• March 16th, 6:30PM-7:15PM: 2nd Grade
• March 9th, 6:30PM-7:15PM: 1st Grade
• April 20th, 6:30PM-7:15PM: 4th Grade
• May 4th, 6:30PM-7:15PM: Kindergarten

This month, students will be continuing to discuss Habit1: Be Proactive and move into Habit 2: Begin With the End in Mind. Our new video is linked below! Way to go Student Council.

More information about Leader in Me:

Leader in Me is an evidence-based, PK–12 leadership development process that helps schools build students who have the character, competence, and confidence to lead their own lives.

Developed in partnership with educators, Leader in Me is a whole-school system that builds leadership in every student, fosters a high-trust culture, and drives measurable academic results. It equips students with the skills they need to thrive academically, socially, and personally—at school, at home, and in their future.

At its core is a simple belief: every child has unique strengths and the ability to lead.

Leader in Me is grounded in timeless principles of effectiveness and integrates two powerful frameworks:

• The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People® provide a shared language that helps students develop leadership, responsibility, and strong character.

• The 4 Disciplines of Execution® (4DX) give students and educators practical tools to set goals, track progress, and achieve results that matter most

Through Leader in Me, students learn to take initiative, set and achieve goals, communicate effectively, solve problems, and work collaboratively. Schools bring this process to life through leadership roles, goal tracking, student-led conferences, and schoolwide leadership events—making leadership visible and actionable every day.

Leader in Me also strengthens alignment across the entire school community—connecting students, educators, families, and leaders around a shared vision of developing the whole child.

Today, more than 8,000 schools in over 70 countries are implementing Leader in Me and seeing meaningful outcomes, including improved academic achievement, stronger engagement, increased student confidence, and more positive school cultures.

Leader in Me is more than an initiative—it’s a process that helps schools create environments where every student is empowered to lead, learn, and thrive.

Meals can be purchased in cash, or meal accounts can be funded via PushCoin, the online payment platform used by the district that is accessible to families via www.PushCoin.com.

District 300 encourages parents and guardians to set up a PushCoin account before the first day of school by following these PushCoin account instructions. (Additional details about PushCoin are available via this FAQ sheet.)

Please note: For students making cash payments in the cafeteria, any remaining change will be added to the student's PushCoin account.

District 300’s transportation provider, Durham School Services, is making available a bus tracking app called BusZone, which replaces the Durham Bus Tracker app.

BusZone allows parents, guardians, and students to monitor the location of a particular bus and/or possible delays in a bus arriving at a specific stop.

In addition, BusZone prioritizes security: All user information is locked down and password protected within the app to prevent unauthorized people from opening the app and viewing a student’s bus information.

The app can be downloaded from the Apple App Store or Google Play. A parent must have a smartphone, tablet, or similar device to download the app.

Use of the app is purely voluntary. No cost is associated with the app; however, associated data charges may apply and will be the user's responsibility.

BusZone app: Additional information, including how to set it up once downloaded and how it works with Zonar ZPass.

There could be a $3 fee charged to students who need to have their ZPass card replaced more than 2 times during a school year. The fee would be charged to the student's account for each additional replacement card issued after the first 2 cards issued to the student. This amount covers the cost of the ZPass card.

DHES is partnering with the D300 Food Pantry to feed families in need in our community. Any nonperishable food items can be brought to the office. Additionally, personal hygiene, cleaning supplies, and baby items are all needed. For more information visit https://www.d300foodpantry.org/. Thank you so much for your help!

Directions for subscribing to the DHES Calendar

Our PTC is always looking for additional help to run our special events for students. Our Bingo Night is coming up on March 20th and we will be in need of a lot of helpers to pull it off! Below you can express your interest in volunteering your time! Thank you for your consideration!

Website: https://www.d300.org/dhes
Location: 407 South 5th Street, West Dundee, IL, USA
Phone: 224-484-4700
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/D300DHES