News & Events

Highland High School's Native American Club has teamed up with the Pocatello Indian Education Committee to present the 2nd Annual School District 25 Pow-Wow.  

Pocatello Indian Education Committee (PIEC) and the Highland High School Indian Club present:

2nd Annual School District 25 Pow-Wow.

April 19, 2024 at 6:00PM

Highland High School Aux. Gym

1800 Bench Road, Pocatello, ID. 83201

• Grand Entry at 6pm
• Intertribal Dancing
• Junior Categories
• Teen Categories
• Adult Categories
• AND MORE!

HEAD STAFF:

Master of Ceremonies (MC) - Matt Wilson

Arena Director (AD) - Kyle Nipwater

Host Drum - Ghost Canyon

Head Man Dancer - Michael Bahe

Head Woman Dancer - O'Henyea Reyes

Title VI Sponsored!

For more information, please contact: 

Akaila Martin, PIEC President at 208-220-9395

Carmella Fuentes, PIEC Vice-President

Jessica First, Secretary at 208-427-5726

Laticia Herkshan, Treasurer

Student Representative, Matteo First

Highland High School faculty and staff returned from the winter break to one more holiday surprise: an updated faculty lounge, all courtesy of school families and community businesses. 

Spearheaded by local realtor and Highland mom, Michelle Mitchell, the goal of the glow-up was to create a dedicated space for faculty and staff to relax, reinvigorate, and reconnect with one another. 

“After the fire and the bond not passing, I felt like Highland, and specifically the teachers, needed a win,” explained Mitchell. “The staff needs to know they are loved and appreciated, not just by parents like me, but by the community businesses that we partnered with to complete this project.” 

Inspired by the idea for a major makeover, Mitchell worked first to get approval from Highland’s administration with a commitment to clear out the room. She then reached out to her go-to contact list of doers and solidified a plan. Mitchell described how within one day, she had fulfilled the entire list of wants and needs to complete the makeover. 

“I know just the right people to ask,” Mitchell said. “They are the ones who will never say no to supporting teachers and education.”

Mitchell utilized the winter break to coordinate donations for all materials, supplies, furniture, and labor for the project, which was completed covertly just in time for school to resume on January 2. 

The big reveal came with a bow on top, with the room decorated from top to bottom in festive décor and gift cards labeling all of the individuals and businesses who contributed to the project.

“We got back from break to such an amazing surprise,” said Dr. Brad Wallace, Highland High School Principal. “It was packed in here all day. We haven’t really ever had anyone use this space so it was awesome to see teachers in here mingling and see how much the effort was appreciated.” 

After earning the trust of Highland’s administration, Mitchell said she felt a little bit of pressure to avoid letting anyone down. 

“I didn’t want to overpromise and under deliver, but I think it turned out to be a great space that staff can call their own,” she said. 

The element of surprise evoked some emotional responses from staff members.

Highland’s Bursar, Shelley Huelsman, who has worked at the school for twenty-eight years, said, “We had this amazing parent and her magic elves come in over Christmas break and surprise us all. I walked in and was just in awe.” 

Huelsman described how special it was to come in after break to see everyone from teachers and paraprofessionals to substitutes and sign language  interpreters congregating in the revamped lounge.

“We had such a gathering in here all throughout the day,” she said. “Thank you to everyone who made our faculty lounge such a warm and cozy space.” 

Mitchell explained that her hope with sharing this story is that it might spark an effort within the community for people to recognize their children’s teachers for the hard work and dedication that they put in everyday to help with their educational success. 

“As a community, we need to come together to prioritize public education,” she said. 

Watch the video tour of the improved faculty lounge. 

The email note that accompanied the gift included a list of contributors. The note read:

“From your loving community of local businesses and Highland families, we hope the entire staff at Highland High School will enjoy this room as a space to relax, a space to enjoy each other’s company and to also know that we see and appreciate you for all of the time, effort and energy you put into educating our children. You deserve to be recognized and to know that you are valued and hopefully you feel loved and spoiled in this new space.”

Signed, “With grateful hearts, 

Isaac and Michelle Mitchell / Patriot Real Estate 
Nick Hottmann Art / Wall Murals 
Maple Street Sit-N-Sleep
State Farm Insurance / Aaron & Amy Moore / HHS parents 
Evans Dental & Stellar Outcome/ Evans family / HHS parents 
Denise Lane / Ellis Elementary School Principal / school parent 
Chad and Marlow Harding / Patriot Real Estate / HHS parents 
Daren Almond / First Colony Mortgage / HHS parent
Jeff & Amber Tingey / HHS parents 
Justin & Heather Jones / Sage Builders / HHS parents 
Johnathon & Tiffany Hunt / Barrie’s Ski & Sports / HHS parents 
Dustin & Megan Reno / Pocatello Wellness Clinic / HHS parents 
Nick and Lauren Hale / HHS parents 
Wheatley Funeral Home 
Lish Sprinklers / Scott and Missy Lish / HHS parents 
Highland Corporate Sponsors”

Demolition of the fire-impacted facilities at Highland High School began earlier than expected this morning due to an emergency approval granted by the Environmental Protection Agency (EFP). The demolition was originally scheduled to begin on Wednesday, August 2. The area has been secured and the demolition is being led by Paul Davis Restoration. To ensure that this process can be conducted expeditiously and safely, PCSD 25 officials ask that community members avoid the area. 

Dr. Douglas Howell said, "Beginning the demolition ahead of schedule is a great start to getting Highland prepared to welcome learners and staff back to school. We are grateful to all who played a role in initiating the process earlier than we anticipated."

Qai Gerber (Century High School) and Payton Carter (Highland High School) won the two Idaho nominations for the Jimmy Awards in New York City. Sponsored and fully funded by The Broadway League, both students were flown to NYC for 9 days where they worked closely with Broadway professionals on the Juilliard campus in all three areas of acting, singing, and choreography. Out of 140,000 students across the country who auditioned for this program, Qai and Payton were among the 96 students who were chosen to participate. The 9-day program culminated with the actual Jimmy Awards ceremony hosted by Corbin Bleu this past Monday evening. Qai and Payton and the other 94 students performed musical numbers at the ceremony to a sold-out audience, which included several Broadway producers, at the Minskoff Theatre, home of Broadway's The Lion King. It's an incredible honor to be chosen for this program, and we couldn't be prouder of these two Pocatello theatre students!

Payton Carter, a Junior at Highland High School, and Qai Gerber, a Senior at Century High School, made it to the final round, top 8 in the state, of auditions for the Idaho High School Theatre Awards. The top two students will be announced on June 9th and will get a paid trip to the Juilliard Campus in New York. There they will get to work with industry professionals for a week, with the top two students from every other regional program in the country. At the end of that week they will get to perform at the national theatre awards ceremony, the Jimmy Awards. Congratulations Payton and Qai.

Highland Esports is headed to the Idaho High School Esports Association (IHSEA) state championship tournament hosted by Boise State at the BSU Esports Arena this Friday and Saturday (May 12-13th). Highland's Rocket League, Valorant, and Smash Bros. teams worked hard and qualified for the state championship tournament. We would like to send a special thanks to our Technology department who has helped provide us with equipment to compete as well as helping get our equipment moved over the PV-TEC building after the fire at Highland that allowed us to still compete in our district tournament and qualify for state. We would also like to send a special thanks to Bryan Venegas and the Idaho National Guard for helping provide our team members with official jerseys.  

We host our regular season matches and will be hosting tournament matches on our Twitch and Youtube channels.

Boise State will be hosting the state championship tournament on their Twitch channel.

Highland High Schools AP Bio class previously had a field trip planned for the four-year-old class at Mother Goose Preschool. Despite the losses suffered at Highland they were able to retrieve their giant whale and have the four-year-olds join them at PV-TEC. They learned all about marine wildlife, the ecosystem, and the inner workings of a giant whale. "To watch our BIG kids interact with the little kids was precious!" Jena Wilcox, Assistant Principal, HHS.

VIsit the Rampage for more student news and information.

Congratulations to Highland Graduates Yiping Xu, Corinne Anderson, Briley Anderson, Cosette Wood(not pictured), Jordan Mayo, and Josiah Parrish(not pictured)! These students have been accepted into the honors program at Idaho State University. We are proud of the hard work of these students and we celebrate with them in their academic success. We are also grateful to Idaho State University for giving our Highland students the opportunity to continue to grow academically and pursue their post-graduation goals.