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HIGHLAND ELEMENTARY SCHOOL GEARS UP FOR SPRING FIELD TRIPS AND WILL ACCEPT DONATIONS

Highland Elementary School is gearing up for spring field trips and will accept donations throughout the rest of the school year.

Highland Elementary School students recently completed a Read-A-Thon as a fundraiser to help mitigate field trip costs. The Read-A-Thon has effectively replaced the Bingo event that Highland Elementary used for many years to fundraise. “This replaced our PTO Bingo, and it took a lot of people to manage that event,” said Highland Elementary School Principal Chris Trostad, “Covid kind of put a stop to that event, so the Read-A-Thon has taken over Bingo.”

Trostad explained that the Read-A-Thon was quite successful in terms of raising funds. However, it does not cover all of the field trip costs. Highland School is still charging a field trip fee to each family within the school (costs vary for each field trip). Donations will now be accepted toward field trip costs for families needing support. “If anybody in the community would be interested in donating to our field trip fees for families that can’t afford it,” said Trostad, “You’re more than welcome to drop off money at Highland school for that, which we would greatly appreciate.”

The Itasca State Park field trip that Highland students participate in each year has seen a significant increase in cost. The cost to rent the facility is upwards of $300 per night; Highland School used to spend $75 per night. “We used to rent it for two weeks, and now we’ve backed off to where we rent it for Sunday night,” said Trostad, “So we can set all of the tents up, and we leave on Friday, and we can cut the cost a little by doing that. But we still have always been able to provide the Itasca field trip.”

The Highland Elementary School fifth graders go on a trip each year to the Grand Rapids Forestry Center, which is the furthest travel that the school provides. This trip includes Forestry Center employees playing and reenacting where historical figures stayed and lived their everyday lives. “The kids also get a chance to use log-rolling tools, and they get a chance to see the big wagons,” said Trostad, “This is where they loaded logs on, and horses pull them and see where they made ice roads.”

The Grand Rapids trip has also seen exponential increase in cost. Each mile during bus travel costs four dollars. Trostad also mentioned that each staff member who goes along on the field trips donates their time and does not receive extra pay for their supervising efforts.

Donations are now accepted at the Highland Elementary School front desk and Crookston High School. Checks can be made out to Highland Elementary School, and donated cash can be left with a note on where the funds should be donated.

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