9/30/26 Fine Arts Department News

Show your support for the Scots and the Highlander Band at the October 9 Home Game against RL Turner! Don't forget to wear your Blue Out shirt! Go Scots!

HPISD is now accepting artwork submissions for the Annual Comprehensive Financial Report. Students from all grade levels are encouraged to participate by submitting their artwork for consideration. The selected winner will have their artwork featured on the cover of the audit report and will be recognized at a future board meeting.

Submission Guidelines:

· 2D painting or drawing

· Vertical orientation, 8.5 x 11 inches

· HPISD Theme: Artwork should reflect or highlight HPISD

· Deadline: Friday, October 16, 2026

Submission Form: Submit Artwork Here. For any questions, please contact the Communications Department at (214) 780-3007 or hponline@hpisd.org.

Highland Park High School celebrated 16 students who were named National Merit Semifinalists! Eight of the outstanding students are members of HPHS music ensembles! Sabrina Taylor, Antony Moussa, and Raymond Wu from Orchestra and Romi Segal, Nicholas Garretson, Vishal Manhas, Jason Peng, and Will Forsberg from Band!

Juniors Madeleine Mayfield and Chelsea Sun were recognized at the HPISD School Board Meeting on September 15th for earning Division One ratings at State Solo & Ensemble Contest this past summer! Both students are members of the Lads & Lassies Varsity Mixed Choir and performed class one solos for judges at TSSEC in Austin. Congratulations on this State recognition!

HPISD commemorated America250 during Constitution Week. Campuses planned instruction centered on American symbols, freedom, civic duty, the Declaration of Independence, and key historical figures. Fine Arts classes across the district participated with relevant artwork and music! The Music programs at Hyer and Bradfield Elementaries helped close out the week with red, white, and blue celebrations!

The Highland Park Drumline earned 5th place in the Medium Drumline Class out of 12 total drumlines at the North Texas Drumline Contest in Forney. The HPISD Bagpipe Corps just welcomed 12 new members, ranging from 6th through 9th grade. These students are beginning to learn the fundamentals of bagpiping in hopes to one day be one of our kilted bagpipers! We hope you can catch the Highlander Band at our upcoming contests or Friday night performances!

Congratulations to the HP Scots Choir students advancing to Region on the road to TMEA State!!! And bravo to those who made the 9/10 Honor Choir! Our Singing Scots are well represented - We are super proud of all of you. Go Scots!

AP Studio Art students learned about Cyanotype printing, a photographic printing process developed in 1842 by Sir John Herschel, producing distinctive blue-and-white images. The process uses light-sensitive iron compounds brushed onto paper, which turn deep blue when exposed to UV light, while objects placed over the surface create lighter silhouettes. Students were able to try this 19th century way of taking photographs, and expand it by changing the color with different chemicals and using digital negatives to create images taken with more modern cameras.

Choir students in 6th-8th grade choirs are preparing for their Fall Concert on October 14th! The 6th Grade Boys Choir is singing from music while the 6th Grade Girls Choir practiced from solfege. The students have had plenty of opportunity to get to know each other and have fun, with classroom games and competitions that combine music and a little bit of athletics!

On September 11th, the HPMS Orchestra had a Back to School Social at Dave and Busters! Orchestra students had the opportunity to hang out and welcome new members! In the classroom, 6th graders have been building strong bow holds while Chamber and Philharmonic Orchestras are preparing music for their first concert of the year, the Hauntcert!

5th Grade Theatre students learned about audience etiquette in a theatre or musical performance. They each selected a rule of audience etiquette and gave it their own dramatic interpretation in their WANTED poster assignment.

Second grade artists celebrated Texas culture by designing and painting their own creative versions of the famous Big Tex! Along the way, they explored a variety of important art skills, including mixing skin tones, creating patterns and details, and using color to bring their artwork to life. Students also learned how artists create the illusion of space by painting a colorful Ferris wheel and fairground background. This project was a fun Texas-sized opportunity to combine creativity, art skills, and a little State Fair spirit!

America 250! For our sketchbook prompt during Constitution week, our Hyer artists were all challenged to draw symbols that represent America. Some even altered those symbols to represent themselves as Americans.

Kindergarten students in Mrs. Conklin's music class learned to play the wood block this week while singing! They sang Engine Engine Number Nine while playing the sand blocks. They also added notes so and mi, expanding their singing voices this week.

Students have enjoyed working on their America 250 projects! Each grade level made a different food item to celebrate America, including ice cream sundaes, hotdogs, watermelon, hamburgers, and cherry pie. 4th Graders collaborated with the library, combining our Cherry Pie art with the book 4th grade students read, “How to Make a Cherry Pie and See The USA”. Pre-k students created fireworks with a photo of themselves!

UP musicians are performing multi part music on mallet instruments! It takes a great musician to rock partwork! :)