☀️ As Highland Summer Adventures comes to an end, we are celebrating an incredible first summer of fun, friendship, and new experiences!

Last week, our students enjoyed a bounce house slip ’n slide and a special visit from Moo Moo’s Ice Cream Truck! Both were a huge hit and provided the perfect way to celebrate one of our final week together. The smiles say it all!

We are incredibly grateful for the support our families and community have shown throughout the 1st summer of this program. We also want to thank our dedicated staff members for investing their time, energy, and care into creating a safe, welcoming, and memorable experience for our students.

We are already excited about what the future holds! ❤️🐾

🎉 BIG NEWS FOR HIGHLAND STUDENTS! 🎉

Every Highland student. Every home athletic event. All year long.

Pending Board approval, home athletic admission fees will be waived for all Highland students throughout the 2026–2027 school year!

We are sharing this exciting news now in hopes that it helps families plan and prepare for the year ahead.

This opportunity is possible because of the tremendous support of the Highland Athletic Booster Club and the generosity of a special group of donors. Their investment will help ensure that more students can fill the stands, support their classmates, and proudly cheer on the Huskies—without the cost of admission.

Get ready to fill the stands and bring the Husky spirit!

🐾 Go Huskies! 🐾

Highland Families,

We hope everyone is enjoying Family Week and Iowa’s annual no-contact period. As coaches and activity staff continue to step away from activity-related contact, we want to ensure families receive this important information as we prepare for the upcoming school year.

Beginning August 1, 2026, Iowa law will allow eligible eighth-grade students to participate in high school athletics when approved by their local school district. In response, the Highland Board of Education recently adopted Board Policy 504.06, which permits eighth-grade students to be considered for high school participation.

We recognize that situations will arise in which eighth-grade participation at the high school level may be appropriate and beneficial. These opportunities will be considered thoughtfully, with each decision reflecting the student’s best interests and supporting a positive educational and athletic experience. Middle school athletics will remain the primary experience for eighth-grade students, while high school participation may be utilized when a student’s readiness, individual development, and the needs of the program support that opportunity. Adoption of this policy does not create automatic eligibility for high school participation; each situation will be reviewed individually.

To ensure each opportunity is considered carefully and consistently, Highland will use a two-phase review process:

• Phase One: Program Review
  District administrators and coaching leadership will first determine which high school programs may be appropriate for eighth-grade participation. We will be particularly mindful of activities not currently offered to Highland students at the middle school level.

• Phase Two: Student Review
  If a program is identified as appropriate, individual students may then be considered based on safety, readiness, educational benefit, program impact, and long-term development.

  Neither an activity’s availability nor any single student or program factor will automatically determine participation. Each decision will be made thoughtfully, individually, and in collaboration with families and student-athlete.

Families with questions should begin by contacting the appropriate varsity head coach and Athletic Director, Jody Fink, at jfink@highlandhuskies.org—after Family Week and the no-contact period have concluded, of course! These conversations will help families understand program expectations, Highland’s philosophy, and the review process. A formal individual review may be initiated by the varsity head coach, Athletic Director, or building principal when appropriate.

Additional guidance for high school activities beyond athletics is still being developed by the organizations that oversee those programs. Highland will review the guidance as it becomes available and share relevant procedures and opportunities with families.

As we begin this new process, we recognize that we may not have every answer immediately. We will continue to learn, collaborate, and refine our approach as additional guidance becomes available. What we do know is that Highland remains committed to doing what is best for students while supporting the continued growth of both our middle school and high school activity programs.

For additional information, we have attached Highland Family 8th Grade Participation FAQ and the IHSAA and IGHSAU House File 2591 Frequently Asked Questions. Thank you for your patience, understanding, and partnership as we implement this new legislation. We remain committed to making thoughtful decisions that place students first.

Go Huskies!

Jody Fink, Athletic Director
Angela Hazelett, Secondary Principal
Spencer Lueders, Superintendent

🏈❤️🤍🖤 JUNIOR HIGH FOOTBALL SEASON IS ALMOST HERE! 🖤🤍❤️🏈

Attention all Highland-Lone Tree Junior High Football players! It's almost time to hit the field, and we can't wait to kick off another exciting season! 💪🔥

📱 Stay Connected with GroupMe!
All team communication—including practice updates, schedule changes, announcements, and reminders—will be shared through our GroupMe.

✅ Signup by August 10 to make sure you're ready for the 2026 season!

📷 Scan the QR code below OR click the link to join:
🔗 https://web.groupme.com/join_group/116081474/dRWao8ID

Let's have a great season filled with hard work, teamwork, and Husky Pride! ❤️🏈🖤

Questions? Reach out to Coach Joe Bandow or Coach Austin Dell.

#HLTFootball #JuniorHighFootball #FutureHuskies #GoHuskies #HuskyPride 🏈🔥

🏈❤️🤍🖤 HIGHLAND-LONE TREE FOOTBALL FANS... IT'S TIME TO GEAR UP! 🖤🤍❤️🏈

Show your pride all season long by grabbing your 2026 Highland-Lone Tree Football apparel!

Whether you're cheering from the stands, supporting your favorite player, or repping the team around town, we've got you covered! 🔥🐾

🛍️ Order your 2026 football gear today using the link below! ⬇️

🔗 https://stores.teamelitesports.com/hlt_football/shop/home

Don't wait—orders close soon! Get ready for an exciting season of Highland-Lone Tree Football! ❤️🏈

#HighlandLoneTreeFootball #GoHuskies #FridayNightLights #HuskyPride 🐾🔥

🐾 Leader of the Pack! 🐾

We are proud to see Highland’s own Adisyn Prottsman featured in this wonderful article highlighting her leadership, determination, and outstanding accomplishments—including her incredible runner-up finish at the 2026 State Golf Tournament!

Congratulations, Adisyn, on this well-deserved recognition. You have certainly made the entire Husky community proud!

Thank you to Cori Jobman for writing this feature and to The News for continuing to highlight our Highland students and programs!

Read the full article here:
https://thenews-ia.com/stories/adisyn-prottsman-leader-of-the-pack,201050

📅❤️🤍🖤 MARK YOUR CALENDARS, HUSKIES! 🐾✨

The 2026-2027 school year is just around the corner! Be sure to save these important dates:

🍂 School Breaks
📚 Friday School Days
❄️ Potential Snow Make-Up Days

Planning ahead helps make the school year smooth and stress-free! Check out the calendar graphic below and save it for easy reference all year long.

🗓️ View the complete Highland CSD 2026-2027 School Calendar at the link below.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1qTk0cGU3kDkc3pGwBKpE4EmdC8DOgtWe/view

📅 Looking for athletic events, activities, and other school happenings? Visit our Highland Activity Calendar:

🔗 https://www.gobound.com/ia/schools/highlandriverside/calendar

Here's to an amazing year of learning, growing, and making memories together! ❤️🤍🖤

#HighlandHuskies #HuskyPride #MarkYourCalendars #20262027SchoolYear #GoHuskies 🐾📅✨

🌱📚🐾 That’s a Wrap for the 2026 Ainsworth Summer Reading Program! 🐾📚🌱 

What an incredible summer of reading, learning, and fun! ❤️🤍🖤

 For our final week, we explored seeds by reading LMNO Peas 📖🌱 and got an up-close look at real ears of popcorn thanks to Eaton Good Kettlecorn 🌽🍿.

 The kids were amazed to discover just how hard popcorn is before it’s popped! 

A huge thank you to our special guests from Hills Bank—including Penny Bear, Colleen Bean, and Dana Renoux—for stopping by with delicious Eaton Good Kettlecorn for everyone to enjoy! 🐻🍿💚 

To finish the day, our young readers created bird feeders and filled them with birdseed to take home, helping our feathered friends too! 🐦❤️

 A very special THANK YOU to Hills Bank for sponsoring our 2026 Summer Reading Program and providing t-shirts, treats, and support throughout the summer. Your generosity helped make this program such a wonderful experience for our Highland Huskies! ❤️🤍🖤

Thank you to all of our families for making this summer one to remember. We can’t wait to read with you again next year! 📚☀️🐾

🌟 We also want to give a heartfelt THANK YOU to Ms. Brenda Bean for coordinating and leading another outstanding Ainsworth Summer Reading Program. Your time, creativity, and dedication helped create a summer filled with learning, laughter, and lasting memories for our young readers. Thank you for making such a positive impact on our Highland Huskies! ❤️📚🐾

 #HighlandHuskies #AinsworthSummerReading #ReadGrowLearn #HuskyPride 📖🌱🍿

🎒✨❤️🤍🖤 Unpack Your Backpack & Load Your Locker! 🖤🤍❤️✨🎒

The countdown to the first day of school is on! Join us on Sunday, August 23 for an exciting evening as we kick off a brand-new school year!

🎒 Highland Elementary – Unpack Your Backpack Night
🕔 5:00–6:00 p.m.

🔒 Highland Secondary – Load Your Locker Night
🕕 6:00–7:00 p.m.

🏫 Find your classroom or locker. ✏️ Bring your school supplies.

We can't wait to welcome all of our Highland Huskies back for another fantastic school year! ❤️🐾

#HighlandHuskies #HuskyPride #BackToSchool #UnpackYourBackpack #LoadYourLocker #ReadySetHuskies

📣 Introducing the Highland Virtual Backpack! 🎒

We're excited to announce the launch of the Highland Community School District Virtual Backpack—your one-stop location for community flyers, youth activities, camps, and other approved informational resources throughout our communities.

The Virtual Backpack serves as a central location on our website where families can easily find information about opportunities happening throughout the year.

📍 Visit the Highland Virtual Backpack here:
https://www.highlandhuskies.org/o/hcsd/page/virtual-backpack-high

If your nonprofit organization, community group, or youth organization would like to have information shared with Highland families on the website, please submit your flyer for review to:

📧 Traci Vonnahme – tvonnahme@highlandhuskies.org

As new events and opportunities are shared throughout the year, we will continue updating the Virtual Backpack with new flyers and refreshed images, making it easy for families to stay informed about what's happening across our communities. Please note that approval to post materials in the Virtual Backpack does not imply district sponsorship or endorsement of the organization or event.

We hope this new resource makes it even easier for Highland families to stay connected with the many outstanding opportunities available throughout our communities.

🎙️ New Episode of Conversations with the Superintendent Now Available!

The latest episode of Conversations with the Superintendent features Courtney Dietze, 5th Grade Teacher and Coordinator of Highland's inaugural Summer Adventures Daycare Program.

In this conversation, Superintendent Spencer Lueders and Courtney discuss what it took to launch Highland Community School District's district-operated summer childcare program, the incredible team behind its success, the positive impact it has had on students and families, and the vision for the future.

The episode also includes district updates on:
🏫 Summer facility improvement projects
🏗️ Progress on the voter-approved facilities project
📚 Preparations for the upcoming school year

🎧 Listen on Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/episode/1CO34oKAUpe2mrv3CP8yEM?si=Y0EERtI9TEKAbyvhWnOkkw

▶️ Listen on Google Drive:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1NgUPpmHnXSX_vKoTIgSROgTqcvl_xQ_3/view?usp=sharing