The Weekly Whinny

Dear Highland Park Elementary Community,

In this Weekly Whinny, find out more about:

• Let's Finish Strong in the "Mustangs Read-a-Thon"!
• Staff Lunch Lead and Volunteers Needed for Nov 18
• Help 5th Graders Go to Camp! Highland Park Mustangs Night with the Seattle Thunderbirds
• Volunteering for the Community Safety Program / ICE Watch
• Wonderful Wednesdays Staff Recognition
• Join the PTA
• Connect on WhatsApp
• Upcoming Events and Activities

Let's Finish Strong in the "Mustangs Read-a-Thon"!

The Mustang Read-a-Thon is wrapping up over the next two weeks, and we want to finish strong. Check out the School Spirit Days and Read-a-Thon Events coming up!

As a reminder, the read-a-thon helps promote reading and raises funds for the PTA to all the great work we do in the school.

Read-a-Thon Events and School Spirit Days

• Wednesday Oct 21 – "A Book You Love" (bring a book you love to read in class)
• Friday Oct 23 – "Read-In Night" from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. in the library with Ms. David. Kids can wear pajamas (if they want) and bring a stuffed animal, a book, and/or a blanket. They must be accompanied by an adult. There will be activities, games, and read-alouds.
• Wednesday Oct 28 – "Wordy Wednesday" (wear something with letters or words, OR dress cowboy/cowgirl style with a hat or boots)
• Friday Oct 30 – Dress up as a book character! Sometimes classrooms do group costumes; ask your teacher if there is a plan. Also, Final Read-a-Thon assembly in the afternoon. Winners will be announced. Mr. Woods will get a pie in the face.

Prizes

• Individual Goal: Students with the highest number of minutes read in each classroom will receive a squishy (stress toy).
• Individual Goal: The student who raises the most money will win a gift card to Paper Boat Booksellers.
• Classroom Goal: The classroom with the highest number of minutes read in the entire school will win a pizza party.
• Schoolwide Goal: If the whole school reaches 200,000 minutes read during the month of October, the top reader in the school will get to throw a pie in Mr. Woods' face!

Staff Lunch Lead and Volunteers Needed for Nov 18
We need someone to lead our annual Staff Lunch on November 18th at 11:00 AM, and we need volunteers to support the lead.

Please sign up to lead or volunteer!

If you are interested in leading this event or helping out, please email hpemustangvp@gmail.com.

Help 5th Graders Go to Camp! Highland Park Mustangs Night with the Seattle Thunderbirds
Join us for a special night of hockey for some community fun and to support a great cause!
When: Saturday, November 14; the game starts at 6:05 p.m.
Where: ShoWare Center in Kent, WA.
Cost: $30 per person.
By purchasing your tickets, you will be helping raise funds for 5th-grade students to attend their school camp while supporting the Seattle Thunderbirds in their game against the Spokane Chiefs.

You can purchase your tickets online now.

If you have questions, you can contact Gretchen Lenihan (dgretchen@hotmail.com) or Ellen Nichter (hpemustang@gmail.com). We hope to see you there!

Volunteering for the Community Safety Program / ICE Watch
Starting last year and continuing this year, community members from Highland Park Elementary School have self-organized to create a community safety and ICE watch program. In this program, community members wear blue vests and station themselves on street corners during drop-off and pick-up times to ensure the safety of our community and stay vigilant for the presence of federal immigration agents.
And we need many volunteers! All volunteers are Highland Park community members, just like you, who care about Highland Park Elementary School, our neighbors, and our neighborhood. Some have students at the school, and others do not. They are here to build community, meet people, and, if federal agents show up, they are prepared to alert the community, observe, record, and report, as well as provide support to families following any incident.
If you are interested in participating, please go to this link: Seattle, Highland Park Elementary, 98106: Adopt A School to sign up. Or, talk with someone in a blue vest to get connected on the Signal app.

Please share this information with neighbors who might be interested in helping.

Wonderful Wednesdays Staff Recognition
Show our teachers and staff how much we appreciate their hard work by providing snacks for "Wonderful Wednesdays"!
Sign up!

What to bring: Healthy, grab-and-go snacks (fruit, protein bars, nuts, etc.). Please aim for 50+ individual portions.
Drop-off: Bring items to the main office on Wednesday morning or request them to be delivered to the staff room at 1012 SW Trenton.
Personal touch: A handwritten note or drawing from a student is a wonderful way to show appreciation.

Join The PTA

We encourage ALL families to join the PTA, regardless of your ability to pay the membership dues. We have scholarship funds to cover the cost for any families who would prefer not to pay for any reason.

Being a member of the PTA allows you to vote on how we spend our resources and to have a voice in making decisions about the activities and events we work on during the year.

Connect on WhatsApp

The PTA and school community uses WhatsApp extensively to share information and communicate amongst ourselves.

Please join the HPE Volunteer WhatsApp Group to learn about volunteer opportunities and to stay connected with the school community about all sorts of things.

NOTE: You are not required to volunteer if you join this WhatsApp group.

Upcoming Events and Activities

OCTOBER

· Oct 21 – "A Book You Love" (bring a book you love to read in class)

· Oct 23: "Read-In Night" from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

· Oct 28 – "Wordy Wednesday" (wear something with letters or words, OR dress cowboy/cowgirl style with a hat or boots)

· Oct 30: Book Character Day

· Every Wednesday: Wonderful Wednesdays (Bring snacks and treats for Staff)

NOVEMBER

• Nov 5th: Individual Picture Makeup Day
• Nov 6th: Popcorn Friday
• Nov 10th: School Veterans Day Assembly
• Nov 11th: No School Veterans Day Observed
• Nov 14th: Thunderbirds Hockey fundraiser for 5th grade camp
• Nov 17th: 5:30pm Pizza; 6pm HYBRID PTA Meeting - Families/children welcome
• Nov 18th: Lunch for Staff from HP Families
• Nov 23-25: Family-Teacher conference days in elementary and K-8 schools (no school)
• Nov 26-27 Thanksgiving and Native American Heritage Day (no school)
• Every Wednesday: Wonderful Wednesdays