High Plains Elementary School

09/10/2026

At HPES, we follow the HOWLS Learner Mindset—and W is for Work Hard!
Our teachers have been working hard, showing up for our students, collaborating, learning, and giving their all each day. Today, we celebrated their hard work with a little ice cream from and John’s Ice Cream! 🍨
Thank you to our incredible teachers for all you do to help our HOWLS learn, grow, and thrive! 🐺💙

09/10/2026

🎨🎶🔬🏃 Meet Our Specials Team! 🏃🔬🎶🎨
At High Plains Elementary, we know that learning doesn’t stop when students leave their homeroom. Meet Ms. McKenna Virag – Music, Mrs. Shannon Read – P.E., Mrs. Jennifer Chapman – Science, and Ms. Stefanie Hair – Art!
Together, they give students opportunities to create, move, explore, discover, and shine while building important skills and making connections across their learning. From making music and expressing creativity to investigating like scientists and discovering ways to stay active and healthy, our Specials Team helps students explore their interests, take risks, work together, and find joy in learning. We are so lucky to have this talented team helping our students explore new horizons—one song, experiment, movement, and masterpiece at a time! Because sometimes the best way to learn is to make some noise, make some art, make some observations, or make a few laps around the gym! 💙

09/09/2026

📚✨ Meet Our Reading Support Team! ✨📚
At High Plains Elementary, we believe that every student deserves the chance to find a book they love—and the skills to read it with confidence! 📖
Meet the amazing team helping our K–5 readers grow: Mrs. Jeanne Osko, Mrs. Lori Kiser, Mrs. Lexi Fischer, and Mrs. Karen Bullard!
This incredible team provides reading intervention and enrichment across grades K–5, working with students to strengthen their literacy skills, build confidence, and develop a love of reading. Whether a student needs a little extra support or is ready to dive deeper into their reading journey, our Reading Support Team is there to help them turn the page toward success! 📖➡️🌟
They know that becoming a strong reader is a novel idea—and they're ready to help every student write their own success story!
We are booked and busy making readers stronger, more confident, and more excited to discover their next great adventure!

09/08/2026

Students aren't the only ones who learn in school! Our teachers are hard at work collaborating and learning during professional development day ❤️
We can all do hard things!

09/07/2026

09/06/2026

📚 REMINDER: NO SCHOOL MONDAY & TUESDAY! 📚

🇺🇸 Monday, September 7: No school — Labor Day
👩‍🏫 Tuesday, September 8: No school — Teacher Professional Learning Day

Enjoy the extra time together, and we’ll see everyone back at school on Wednesday! 💙

09/04/2026

🌎 Meet Our ESL Team! 🗣️📚

We are thrilled to introduce Mrs. Ania Tyrka and Mrs. Eunice Arias, our incredible ESL team!

One of the things that makes this team especially unique is that both Mrs. Tyrka and Mrs. Arias are second-language learners themselves—Mrs. Tyrka, whose first language is Polish, and Mrs. Eunice who lived in Mexico until she was 13. Their own experiences navigating a new language give them a special perspective and deep understanding of the journey our English Language Learners experience each day.

As a magnet school for English as a Second Language (ESL), we are proud to welcome and celebrate a diverse student body.

Mrs. Tyrka and Mrs. Arias work alongside classroom teachers to ensure our language learners feel welcomed, supported, included, and empowered to reach their full potential.

We are so grateful for the knowledge, advocacy, and heart they bring to our school community! 🌟

09/03/2026

📣 REMINDER: 2-HOUR LATE START TOMORROW!
Tomorrow, Friday, September 4, is our first Professional Learning Community (PLC) Two-Hour Late Start of the school year! 🏫✨
⏰ Doors open at 10:00 a.m.
🥣 No breakfast will be served.
Thank you for helping us make time for our staff to collaborate, learn, and plan for student success! 💙

09/03/2026

If you need to know anything and everything happening at High Plains, there are two people who probably already know the answer! 😉 Meet our amazing secretaries, Ms. Tracy Leach and Ms. Teresa Valdez! 🌟

From solving problems and answering questions to keeping the front office running smoothly, these ladies are truly the go-to team for all things High Plains. Not sure where to go? They’ll point you in the right direction. Have a question? They’ll find the answer. Need a problem solved? Consider it handled! ✅

They are often the first friendly faces our families see and the steady support behind so much of what makes our school day run smoothly. Their organization, knowledge, kindness, and willingness to help make a huge difference in our school community.

Basically, if High Plains had a “How Do I…?” department, Tracy and Teresa would be running it! 😄

We are so lucky to have these two keeping us in the know and on the go!

09/02/2026

📚✨ Meet Our 2nd Grade Team! ✨📚

Second grade is a year full of big growth, big learning, and big discoveries! We are excited to introduce the amazing educators who are helping our students take their next steps: Ms. Katy Sullivan and Mrs. Michelle Snow! 💙

These two teachers create classrooms where students are encouraged to be curious, confident, and excited to learn. From strengthening academic skills to building independence and problem-solving, they are helping our second graders grow into capable learners who are ready for whatever comes next.

We are so grateful for the energy, creativity, and care Ms. Sullivan and Mrs. Snow bring to High Plains each day! 🌟

Second grade is snow joke—it’s going to be a SULLIVAN-tastic year! 😉❄️📚