March Students of the Month
The presentation of Highlands Students of the Month drew in a large crowd at the March 19 Board of Education meeting.

Highland Elementary Schools Principal Joel Freer honored fifth grader Rylie Klein. Described by her teachers as studious, helpful and always asking great questions, Rylie interacts well with her peers and helps resolve conflicts.

Highland Middle School Principal, Dan Wetzel, named Hanin Mohammed as the March Student of the Month for overcoming adversity and obstacles. Ms. Mohammed is new to the United States and a recent addition to the Highland Middle School community. Principal Wetzel praised Ms. Mohammed for her ability to handle the transition with ease.

Finally, Highland High School proudly announced Joseph Lyons as their March Student of the Month. Mr. Lyons is a high school senior who takes part in various school activities including the National Honor Society and lacrosse. Outside of school, Mr. Lyons is a volunteer firefighter, earning his EMS certification in June. In the fall, Mr. Lyons will attend the University of New Haven in the hopes of becoming a professional fireman.

Tuning up middle school math
Principal Dan Wetzel of the Highland Middle School took center stage with a presentation on the purpose of middle school math assessments.

Principal Wetzel and Karen Brooks analyzed the results of the various math assessments to assist teachers in finding weak points in the curriculum. Students in grades 6-8 take three different math assessments throughout the year; benchmark assessments developed by the Highland Central School District, the STAR math assessment and the New York State Assessments in Math. By looking at student scores and other data, educators can perform a root-cause analysis to help students overcome these obstacles.

While this type of analysis has been done in past years, Principal Wetzel hopes that educators will brainstorm and come up with creative ways to teach key concepts. Math testing will continue at Highland Middle School throughout the spring.

The Clynk competition update and a music collaboration

Highland Elementary School continues their journey towards becoming the top Clynk school in New York State. Currently in 2nd place out of 77 participating schools, the students of Highland elementary are embracing the recycling competition. Highland Elementary school and the community have recycled enough bottles and cans to power 27.9 light bulbs, 24 hours a day for one year. Principal Freer thanked all those who participated in the Clynk competition.

On March 19, students from the Highland High School Band visited the SUNY Ulster Wind Ensemble and visiting conductor Johan de Meij for a collaboration session. Highland was one of four area bands to work with de Meij, who has conducted at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Hague and has written various compositions. The SUNY Ulster Wind Ensemble performed with Johan de Meij on March 19th at Quimby Theater at SUNY Ulster.

School budget updates
Budget presentations continue as the May 21st Highland Central School District School Budget Vote draws near. Lissa Jilek once again went in front of the Board, this time to go over the revenue and expenditures for next year’s budget. While the district hopes to see an increase in state aid, concerns over federal cuts to the state government may result in a decrease in federal aid and grants to the district. Currently, the budget revenue has a difference of $410,025. This will be addressed prior to the presentation of the final budget to the Board of Education for approval.

The next Highland Central School District Board of Education meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, April 2, 2019 at the Highland High School starting at 7 p.m. There will be two meetings in April with the BOCES vote scheduled for the Board of Education’s Wednesday, April 24 meeting.