Mustang Newsletter

Highland Park Elementary receives additional funding through the state Learning Assistance Program and Federal Title 1. These programs are designed to provide supplemental support to eligible students who are identified as in need of additional assistance to meet the state's academic reading and math standards. Funds provide extended day classes and opportunities to include parents in the education of their children.

Thank you for your partnership, your time, and your full participation in our Parent–Teacher Conferences this week. Conferences are an essential part of our school community’s commitment to supporting every Mustang’s academic, social, and emotional growth. We are grateful for the conversations, the questions you asked, and the genuine care you showed in learning more about your child’s progress.

Parent–Teacher Conferences are one of the most important opportunities of the school year. Conferences provide a dedicated space for families and teachers to come together to understand how each child is doing academically—in reading, math, and writing—and to discuss their strengths, areas for growth, and next steps. Conferences also allow us to share classroom routines, intervention supports, assessment data, and goals so families walk away with clear strategies to help their child at home. When families understand how their student is progressing and feel empowered with tools and resources to support learning, students thrive. Your participation this week demonstrated your deep commitment to your child’s success, and we appreciate the intentional questions and the collaborative spirit you brought to each conversation.

Throughout the three days of conferences, I had the privilege of visiting and observing several classroom teachers. I was truly impressed with the strong partnership between teachers and families, the thoughtful conversations about student progress, and the shared focus on celebrating growth while planning forward. I saw families actively engaging with teachers, looking closely at work samples, discussing assessments - MAP (Reading/Math), DIBELS, Writing and classroom data, and setting meaningful goals together. What stood out most was how clearly families and educators communicated the same message to students: We believe in you, we are proud of your progress, and we will support you every step of the way.

As we move into the next part of our school year, we want you to continue feeling informed and empowered. Please reach out to your child’s teacher at any time if you have questions or want additional strategies to support learning at home. Whether it’s reading together each night, practicing math facts, encouraging writing, or reinforcing the Mustang Way—your involvement makes an enormous difference.

Thank you again for showing up for your child and for our school community. Your partnership strengthens the work we do every day, and we are grateful to be on this journey with you.

With appreciation,

Principal McDaniel

Highland Park Elementary School

If a child is absent, please call our attendance office at 206-252-8242 or email HighlandPark.Attendance@seattleschools.org

Please try and make appointments and/or family vacations during days when school is not in session. All minutes missed add up over time.

Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday

• 7:55 a.m.-2:25 p.m.

Wednesday

• 7:55 a.m.-1:10 p.m.

Please drop your student off on the back playground no earlier than 7:30 a.m. They may go to the cafeteria for breakfast - Highland Park is a free breakfast and lunch school.

Pick up at the end of the day is on the back playground. You may park on one of the streets around the school and go to the playground, or pull into the bus lane and we will bring your student to you.

YSA Corner write-up

Hello and welcome back to Highland Park! My name is Deron Woods and I am the YSA (Youth Services Assistant) at Highland Park Elementary. This is my second year at the school and I am looking forward to this school year. Last year we started student school announcements and students leading our school awards assemblies. This year we will be adding some more programs to increase student voice:

Student council:

We had our first student council meeting 11/7/25 we went over expectations and ideas on what we should focus on for the year. Looking forward to working with this group of students.

SEL (Social Emotional Learning) lunch groups:

These groups will be per grade with a focus on leadership, following the Mustang Way, and being resilient. These groups started the week of 11/10 and we meet once a week.

We are looking forward to helping to increase our student’s voices and building strong future leaders.

For the month of December our focus will be on being kind and we will have our awards assembly on Dec. 19.

Immunizations: If your child is due for more of the immunizations that are required for school attendance, you should have received a letter about this from the Health Services Department. I will also contact you. Also, it is not too late to get flu and covid vaccinations. Our school-based Neighborcare clinic has all of these vaccines, and your student can receive them even if you have a different primary care clinic.

December is here and the weather is rainy! Physical activity is important for physical health, mental health and for a good night’s sleep. Bundling up and getting outside or doing indoor activities like dancing, obstacle courses, scavenger hunts, building forts out of couch cushions, etc can be a great way to get the wiggles out.

Winter fun ideas

Information on when to keep your student home due to illness

Take good care everyone. I am here 3 days a week and am happy to answer questions or help. You can call school and ask to speak with the nurse or email me at jmmasonsmith@seattleschools.org.

Counseling Supports:

• Individual Counseling
• Wellness Check-ins
• Group Counseling
• Restorative Circles / Problem Solving
• Community Circles
• Lunch Bunches
• Personal Safety
• Referral to Mental Health Therapy or community agency supports

Lunch Bunches:

This fall, the counselor will begin holding lunch bunches. Lunch Bunch is an informal but structured space for students to enjoy lunch while learning and practicing conversational social skills through verbal games! I can hold about 6 students for lunch bunch at a time.

Mental Health Therapy:

At Highland Park, we have two mental health therapists (Seneca Agency and Neighborcare Agency) who can see students at school. If you are interested in therapy supports for your student, or would like to learn more about the difference between therapy and counseling, please contact Ms. Rykiel at rbeufeminian@seattleschools.org.

Mental Health Matters Information Board – Under Construction:

Rykiel, Brettyn, and Priscilla will be creating a Mental Health Matters information board near the front office, and we would love to hear your feedback regarding school counseling and therapy services at Highland Park! Could you please take a couple minutes of time your time to fill out this anonymous survey?

Thank you for your time!

Mental Health Matters Info. Board Survey for Families – Fill out form

Alexander G P - Valery P V - Anabel U G - Jesus T - Sofia C G - Nathan S - Madelynn M - Saint C - Inna K - Zy'Aire N - Isaias M - Jesus A B - Thomas F - Andre G M - Penina A - Carter O - Hayes F - River M - Betsabe V V - Leif M - Aspen T - Edwin D - Valorae J C - Hyacinth C - Lincoln B - Noah P - Aaron S - Valiant G - Miles B - Joy N - Carla R - Journee I

Hello,

I am Priscilla Kang-Rubesh (LSWAIC), a mental health therapist here at Highland Park through Seneca Family of Agencies. I meet with students during the school day to provide a safe, supportive space to build confidence, strengthen social-emotional skills, and work through challenges that may be affecting their learning and/or relationships. Because services happen right at school, students can easily access support without needing to leave campus. If you are interested in learning more or exploring services for your child, please contact me directly via phone or email.

Thank you!

Email: priscilla_kang@senecacenter.org

Phone: 253-993-6216