THS Weekly
May 9, 2008 | Issue #33

 

Directory Updates

 

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From the Executive Director

 

Reminder: Dress Uniform Monday: All School Picture will be Monday May 12th.

 

Thank you to all the parents, faculty, consecrated and priests for the wonderful celebration of Mother’s Day Mass. We appreciate the efforts of the parents for providing an after Mass brunch. Great job by our students who provided an excellent addition to our liturgy during the Mass and some entertainment at the brunch.

 

We would like to thank Ms. Prudence Lidbury and the other parent volunteers for an excellent Prom last weekend for our students. Over 150 tickets were sold.

 

The Texas Catholic: In the May 2nd issue: article about Jose Pecego, his coach John Holbrook with comments by Alexis Davis and Noah Eshlemen. The link to the article: http://www.texascatholic.com/default.asp?NodeId=844

 

Parent Club Co-Presidents announced for 2008-2009: Thanks to Kim Austin and Donna Terreri for stepping forward to the challenges for next year’s Parent’s Club.  We are extremely grateful to Kim Austin and Jeannie Williamson, the other officers, committee chairs and volunteers for the Parent’s Club effort for the school this year.

 

Seismic Ground Survey: You have probably seen the survey crews on our campus and the University of Dallas. This survey is part of the Barnett Shale harvest of natural gas. There will be no impacts of this endeavor on the mission of the school.

 

New Principal Announced: In case you missed the THS alert, Dr. Paul Sullivan will be our new principal effective July 15, 2008.

 

Thank you to the Amos family for your donation of grounds keeping equipment for our maintenance staff.

 

Correction to today’s THS Alert:  The Middle School Athletic Banquet will be held in the Assembly Hall.

 

A Family Celebration of Vocations Invitation:  The Consecrated Women and Vocation Action Network invite the Highlands School families to A Family Celebration of Vocations, Sunday, May 18, 2008, at The Highlands School.  This celebration will begin at 3:00 p.m. in the Assembly Hall and end at 5:45 p.m.  We hope that you will be able to join us to hear vocation testimonies, words and music from the Consecrated Women, share refreshments and conversation with family members of those in the Dallas area with Legionary and Consecrated vocations, and participate in the solemn rosary for vocations with Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament and Benediction.  Please RSVP to  Charlene Alexander at  (214)930-0717 or email her at  dmdallas@inteducators.org, by Monday, May 12th,.  We hope to see you all there!  If you have questions, please contact: Alden or Connie Kielhorn at

(972-570-9129) or Alexandra Hochhaus at ahochhaus@thehighlandsschool.org.

 


 

Auction Photos Available for Viewing:  Please use the following link http://gallery.mac.com/ceciarreola.  Each group of photos is categorized by last name.  Once you click on the appropriate group, select the Mosaic view for the best browsing of photos.

 


 

Academic Events – Public Classes:  Please see the scheduled at the end of the calendar of the “Weekly”.  VERY IMPORTANT.  This list has event details beyond the normal calendar.


 

Used Uniform Sale:  Thursday, August 14 and Friday, August 15, 2008 in the Black Box Theater.  Click here for more info…  and more here…

 


 

The 2008-2009 Academic Calendar is now on THS website.

 


 

LC Pastoral End of the Year Men’s Retreat:  The Mass of Appreciation Retreat for Men will take place Friday, May, 30 thru Sunday, June 1, 2008 at the Montserrat Retreat House – 600 N. Shady Shores Drive in Lake Dallas.  Registration fee for this event is $250 and due by May 5, 2008.  Please contact John Austin at 972.922.6052 or j.austin@meditec.zeiss.com.

 

From the Parents Club

 

The Parents Club is looking for volunteers to help with the Back to School Picnic, which will be held Sunday, August 17, 2008. Please email Tina Wysk (tina@metroplexbaby.com) if you can help.

 

 

From the Development Office

 

Annual Fund Campaign

Currently we have pledges totaling $202,000 representing 72% participation. 

You may continue to send your pledges through May 31, 2008. Thanks to all who have contributed to the Annual Fund Campaign.

 

Click and Pledge for the Annual Fund:

The Annual Fund Campaign is vital to the success of operating The Highlands School.  All of the funds raised go directly to support the annual operating budget.  Specifically, contributions fund financial aid and scholarships, academic programs, faculty enrichment and athletics.  As tuition does not cover the full cost of educating our students, we must rely on the support of our families and friends to close the gap. 

 

Our expectation is that each family contributes at least $1,000 and we achieve 100% participation. Our community is the foundation of our existence.  Be part of it and participate.

 

 

Contribute today and together we will attain our goal of $275,000!

Just click below and you can complete your contribution:

 

http://www.thehighlandsschool.org/ths/forms/fundraising/annualfunddrive.asp

 

 

Gifts-in-kind: The following items would be very helpful if anyone has any personal or corporate connections to donate to THS:

 

Donated:  16 HP Riding Mower and attachments – sprayer, trailer and fertilizer, hedge trimmer, small tiller, push mower and weed eater  thanks to Frank and Connie Amos.

 

     Donated:  Anti-bacterial ozone cleaning service of the athletic equipment       thanks to Jeff and Terri Baum.

 

Event Chairs:  300 in bulk, new – contact Brad McKinnie, ext. 237 or             maintain@thehighlandsschool.org.

 

Six (6) - Computers – capable of 1.6GHz Pentium Dual Core Processor or 2.2GHz AMD Athlon 64 Processor,512MB RAM (Memory), 80GB or better Hard Drive, DVD-ROM, Video Card, Sound Card, Network Adapter, No Operating System Required.  Contact Mr. Mulvaney at ext. 252 or mmulvaney@thehighlandsschool.org.

 

One (1) defibrillator – child or adult – contact Nurse Karin Brown at ext. 212 or kbrown@thehighlandsschool.org.

 

One (1) new or used vehicle in good operating condition such as a mini-van.  Contact Brad McKinnie at ext. 257 or maintain@thehighlandsschool.org.

 

Fifteen (15) Digital Projectors – contact Kyle Roberts at ext. 217 or kroberts@thehighlandsschool.org.

 

New or Used Band Instruments - Suitable for beginning or intermediate Middle School musicians. Please contact Martha Lamberti at ext. 224 or mlamberti@thehighlandsschool.org.

 

 

In-kind gifts are tax deductible and will be recognized by Cris Hannis in our Development Office, ext. 261.

 

“Every time you give your child receives”

 

 

From the Guidance Counselor

 

Tracey Bonini, our guidance counselor, recently underwent surgery and will be out of the office for a couple weeks while she recovers.  If you need to get in touch with her, she can be reached by e-mail at tbonini@thehighlandsschool.org

 

You may also call Debbie Hurley at 972.554.1980 ext. 233 and she can direct you to someone who can help you.  Join us in praying for Tracey’s speedy recovery.

 

 


Achieving Your Goals

 

Setting and meeting goals in college can be a struggle, but by following a few guidelines, anyone can be on the fast track to success.

College offers a clean slate for many students, regardless of how they did in high school. Setting personal goals and striving to achieve them is crucial to starting over and to not reverting to old habits.

 

Don’t blow them off. Goal setting is an important method to achieve what you want out of life. It is serious business that allows you to determine what is important to you; separate the important from the distraction; motivate yourself; and build confidence through successful goal attainment.

 

Think big. Start by setting your big-picture goals of what you want to do with your life. After all, you can’t know where you’re going without knowing where the finish line is. These goals include anything from career and artistic to financial and physical/athletic.

 

Break them down. Once you have these larger goals set, you can break them down into smaller targets you must hit so you reach the larger goals. For instance, you would like to get your first full-time job three months after graduation. This turns your big-picture goal into a step-by-step process that can be measured.

 

Take control of your goals. Your goals should be your own and you should have as much control over them as possible. Likewise, don’t let someone try to set goals for you, which can often occur in the business world. Make sure they are realistic goals that you can achieve.

 

Get SMART: SMART goals stands for:

·         Specific

·         Measurable

·         Attainable

·         Results-oriented

·         Time-bound

For example, instead of saying, “I want to be financially successful,” set your goal as “I want to make X amount of money by the time I am 30.”

 

Write down your goals. This gives them permanence.

 

Set your priorities. While in school, put academics first, and reward yourself by doing something fun later. If you know your favorite TV show is on at 9 p.m. and that you can’t watch it unless you finish your work, you’ll be less likely to procrastinate.

Some students list their tasks, objectives and assignments. It’s not until they cross items off their list that they rewards themselves by going out with friends or doing something else they enjoy.

 

Expect failure. Not necessarily on a grand scale, but on the path to achieve goals. Realize there will be setbacks, but persevere.

 

Analyze your achievements. It’s up to you now. Only you know what it will take, and only you can make it happen. If you achieved your most-recent goal easily, make your next goal more difficult. Likewise, if it took much longer than expected, make the next goal easier.

 

Don’t hesitate to revise. In the achievement of one goal, you might learn that your subsequent targets need to change.

 

Enjoy it. When you achieve a given goal, don’t be afraid to reward yourself. “You may not always get the grades you want, but succeeding in other areas keeps you motivated and confident,” says Scott Greenberg, president of Los Angeles-based Jump Start Performance Programs.

 

 

From the Athletic Office

 

VARSITY SPRING FOOTBALL

Varsity practice will continue through the 21st of May with a Varsity Spring Game on

May 22nd at 6:30 p.m.

 

VARSITY SPRING VOLLEYBALL

Varsity practice will continue through the 21st  of May with a Varsity Spring Game on

May 22nd at 5:00 p.m.

 

DPL BASEBALL

Division 2 Baseball

Sunday, May 11       Highlands vs. MIS     6:00 p.m.      OG #1

ATHLETIC DEPARTMENT NOTES

-          The Varsity Athletic Banquet is set for 6:30 p.m. on Friday, May 16th in the gymnasium.  Guest speaker will be former Dallas Cowboy George Teague.

-          The Middle School Sports Banquet is set for 6:30p.m on Tuesday May 20th in the Assembly Hall. (Note:  Previous THS Alert was incorrect.  The Middle School Banquet will be in the Assembly Hall).

-          We are requesting names of volunteers for BLAZER BOOSTER CLUB (BBC) positions for the 2008-2009 school year.

-          Please contact Mark Diaz at mdiaz@thehighlandsschool.org and help your sons and daughters Highlands athletic experience be the best it can be.

 

 

News from the Lower, Middle and High Schools

 

Lower School Parents, please note that your child is required to wear the summer dress uniform on the following days in May. Please do not send your child in the PE uniform.

 

Monday, May 12     All-School Picture

Public Class Days   May 19, Grade 3

          May 20, Grade 2

          May 21, Grade 1

          May 22, Pre-K

          May 23, Kinder

Friday, May 30       Lower School Awards Ceremony (Grades 1-3)

 

 


Middle and High School Parents, please note that students are required to wear summer dress uniforms on the following days:

Monday, May 12     All-School Picture (Winter sweaters are also required, although students may wear the summer polo shirts.  High School boys should wear shirt and tie with their blazers.)

May 12-16              Students wear dress uniforms to participate in their Public Class (see schedule at the end of the Weekly.)  If students are scheduled to have PE on their Public Class day, they may bring their tennis shoes.    

 

From the School Store

 

The Highlands School Store News