Attention Parents of Young Children! Visit Fulton K-5 on June 4th at 9:00am

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FultonHere in Highland Park we are fortunate to have two of the top ranking elementary schools in the city – Fulton and Dilworth. If you have a child under five years old, please join Principal Bivens for a tour of Fulton elementary – which one teacher called “Pittsburgh Schools’ best kept secret.” Fulton is a STAR school, having achieved the top 1% for student growth in Pennsylvania in 2012. The tour will be held on June 4th at 9:00am.

Pittsburgh Fulton is located in Highland Park across the street from St. Andrews. Fulton offers a unique blending of a structured, traditional neighborhood setting with a French-emphasis magnet program that promotes the study of French culture and language. All children in K–1 get an exposure to the French language-through movement, songs, poetry, basic vocabulary and simple greetings. A distinction is made in the educational programming for magnet and non-magnet students starting in grades 2–5. Basic French vocabulary is taught and expanded into sight words, sentences and simple paragraphs. Emphasis is on developing oral and auditory language skills (speaking and listening). The instructional program is based on the District’s comprehensive curriculum.

Those students in the magnet program have the opportunity to progress to Obama International Academy in 6th grade. In 2012, Obama Academy graduates were accepted into 55 colleges and universities including CMU, Pitt, Penn State, University of Pennsylvania and many other well respected institutions. Graduates can earn up to a full year of college credit though the IB diploma and up to $40,000 in Pittsburgh Promise Scholarship money for in state tuition – just a few steps away from Highland Park.

Visit the Pittsburgh District, A+ Schools and the Kid’s Zone page on this HPCC website for more detailed information. Please RSVP for the tour to Dave Atkinson at westpennworks@gmail.com prior to June 4th.

Please complete the Pittsburgh District School Survey

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Here’s a message from the School District looking for your in input about local schools. Please take a moment to complete – thank you!

“Pittsburgh Public Schools has an urgency to think differently about how it delivers a 21st Century education to all students – especially during a time when revenues are flat and expenditures are increasing. The District faces the challenge of closing a $50MM budget shortfall while ensuring that the structures are in place to support its vision that 80% of Pittsburgh Public Schools students earn a post-secondary degree or workforce certification. In January 2013, the District embarked on a large scale visioning process called Envisioning Education Excellence: A Plan for All of Pittsburgh’s Students to address the current state challenges and future goals of the District. Continued engagement of students, teachers, principals, funders, and the broader community is critical to the success of this project.

In an effort to incorporate the community’s feedback on Pittsburgh Public Schools into the Envisioning work, we’d like for you to take this short survey. It should take ~10 minutes to complete and your responses will remain anonymous. We really value your feedback as it is critical to the success of our work. Your input will be used internally to assist in future decision making and evaluate proposed actions for the District.

You can find the link to the survey here: Pittsburgh Public Schools Online Survey. It will be open until Friday, June 7th.

If you want to learn more about the work we are doing, please visit our website: Envisioning Educational Excellence. You may also feel free to email envisioning@pghboe.net with any questions.”

220 Trees Planted During HP Spring Planting 2013!

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We hope you get a chance to look at our newest 60 trees on Sheridan and Farragut and at the Farmhouse. There are also 120 new trees on the Zoo Trail.IMG_0654

We’d like to thank the many people and organizations who helped with this planting:

-We had a total of 200 Volunteers from Highland Park and surrounding neighborhoods
-Comcast and the Mayors office for provided food and volunteers
-Tazza D’oro donated coffee
-Representative Ed Gainey, Senator Jim Ferlo and Councilman Patrick Dowd for cheered us on.

Additional thanks to:
TreeVitalize and the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy
The Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy:
TreePittsburgh
The Highland Park Community Council

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Cinema in the Park Dates Announced for Highland Park this Summer

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Grab your lawn chair and join your neighbors for a free family film under the stars. Shows start at dusk and will be held third Mondays in June, July and August. Films will be shown on the hill behind the reservoir at the north end of Reservoir Drive. Visit Citiparks Cinema in the Park for the complete schedule, an interactive map and more details.

June 17 – Hook
July 15 – Rise of the Guardians
August 19 – Jack the Giant Slayer