The Highland Park ISD just sent out the following:

During the severe weather we are experiencing, all campuses are sheltering students in place.

Please do not pick up your students early, as they are safe on campus. We will continue to monitor the weather and to take steps to keep students and staff safe until the severe weather has passed.

Current weather alerts have a tornado warning in the area until 2:20 p.m. We will send another announcement when the tornado warning is no longer in effect and children are cleared to leave campus.

Yesterday was the deadline for veteran HPISD cafeteria volunteers — including yours truly — to claim our preferred shifts for the 2012-13 school year. The process is now open to new volunteers. And apparently, we could use some new blood. This is from an email I got last week from the volunteer chair at the high school:

We have had many days with several no-shows, and it cripples the cafeteria. The paid staff has to step in to serve and cashier, and then they cannot do their regular duties, like cook and restock.

If you want to be part of the solution, click here.

Here are your 2012-13 Highland Park High School varsity cheerleaders.

I never met a woman named Georgia until Georgia Fisher applied for a job here. But the 2012-13 varsity cheerleaders roster for Highland Park High School includes a Georgia Nolan (left end of second row). There are also two cheerleaders named Claire on the squad. Sadly, none of these girls is named Bradford.

You can find out the rest of their names — as well as the names of the JV and freshman cheerleaders — by turning to Page 11A of today’s Park Cities People.

Back in 2008, the Rotary Club of Park Cities opted to sponsor an Interact Club, which is basically a junior-rotary service organization, at Hillcrest High School. It turned out to be a hit.

The kids regularly volunteer at Salvation Army events, have decided (of their own volition) to start paying dues, and number more than 120 these days. Now they’re tackling a project unlike any they’ve taken on before, for a cause that’s been right under their noses all along: Hillcrest’s courtyard. It’s trash-filled, too muddy to use in wet weather, and not even ADA accessible.

They’ll need to raise about $10,000 for a granite filler and various other improvements, says Rotary spokeswoman Linda Tunnell, so students are selling personalized bricks to raise funds and build a walkway while they’re at it (DISD has gotten the ball rolling, too). If you’d like to pitch in, check out the donation page here — or pick up Friday’s paper for more details.

The HPHS Science team — Preston Luthy, Jessica Yeh, Alex Levine and Arya McCarthy — poses with the TMSCA trophy.

The Highland Park High School Science Team took home first place at the Texas Math and Science Coaches Association state meet March 17 in San Antonio.  HP squads also took second  in mathematics, third in number sense, and earned the second place TMSCA State 4A Sweepstakes Award.

I don’t know the difference between “number sense” and “mathematics”, which is why I am in my chosen profession. Congrats, lady and gentlemen.

As Bradford Pearson noted back in November, John Gurke, former assistant band director at Highland Park High School, was dismissed for lack of a teaching certificate.

Well, Gurke’s name came up again at a regular trustee meeting earlier this week, when he filed a Level Three grievance (appeal to the school board). That was dismissed, too, because Gurke “ended up not satisfying the procedural requirements necessary to proceed,” said board president Leslie Melson.

No further details were provided.

Lake Highlands gymnast Natalie Ryan is shadowed as she gets ready to tumble during her floor routine at Highland Park High School during Thursday’s district meet.

I traded lunch shifts with another volunteer this month, so instead of being paired with my usual partner (Dr. Moody Alexander), I got to serve at Highland Park High School yesterday alongside Darian Reichert. She was in charge of the chicken fingers and fries, while I handled the burgers.

During the third and final lunch period, we were approached by a trio of boys, one of whom asked, “Is the chicken fresh?” As I thought to myself, “Dude, was it ever fresh? It’s processed fried chicken,” Darian replied, “Yes, sir. We just brought it out five minutes ago.” Apparently, that wasn’t fresh enough. The trio moaned, threw up their hands, and walked away.

But wait — one of them almost immediately executed a second 180, because he was hungry enough to eat our “stale” chicken. The other two tried to assure him that he was making a mistake, but he begrudgingly requested a paper boat’s worth of sustenance.

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Managing editor Dan Koller on his way to feed hungry students at Highland Park High School …

Dan, is it really necessary to dress like a high schooler?