HMS Headlines
October 22, 2021
A MESSAGE FROM THE ADMINISTRATIVE TEAM
Dear HMS Families,
We are looking forward to Freaky Friday later tonight! Please see this information, if you haven't already, check out this information about the event and arrival and dismissal.
REMINDERS:
- NO BIKES: We do not have access to bike racks to lock bikes
- ONLY HMS STUDENTS: Students/friends/family from other schools may not attend this event. It is strictly for HMS students.
- PROPS AT HOME: Students should leave any accessories or props at home.
- DRESS FOR THE WEATHER: It will be cold and the event is entirely outside. Make sure you are prepared.
- HAVE FUN! Have fun, be safe, and enjoy this amazing opportunity... THANKS TO THE PTO!
TOMORROW is the annual Make A Difference Day celebration. This event, held yearly, is an annual event where Highcrest families support the surrounding community through donations of clothing, toys, kitchen items and more! Collection takes place at the Indian Hill train station in Winnetka, and this year instead of bringing donations to HMS prior to the collection day, we are asking students to share pictures of their separated and tagged donations at home before bringing them to the train station. More information can be found in this flyer, and your children have information in Schoology to help guide their collection. The collection takes place next Saturday, October 23.
Finally, we are looking forward to a busy week next week with the end of the first quarter already upon us. Students will be finishing up projects, and teachers will be looking forward to sharing their progress with you in the next couple of weeks at conferences. Information about conferences will be sent today, and sign ups will be on Monday. As a reminder, we will have a half day on Friday 10/29, as a teacher work day in the afternoon. Dismissal will be at 11:46 PM, and there will be no after school activities that day.
Have a great weekend,
Kelly, Linda, and Susie
HALF DAY 10/29 and HALLOWEEN
We are not allowing costumes at school on 10/29 (students are able to wear costumes to the party tonight). It will be a Highcrest Spirit Wear day for all students and staff. Please plan accordingly.
STOCK THE MAKER SPACE
We are so excited to be welcoming students back into the Learning Commons this year. Our Makerspace is also open and we are accepting donations. Don't throw it away- send it our way! If you have any of the following supplies:
Arts and craft supplies (popsicle sticks, pom pom balls, fabric, felt, foam, tissue paper, pipe cleaners, string, ribbon, yarn etc.)
Old shoe or tissue boxes
Plastic cups
Legos
Cotton Balls
Please consider donating it to our Makerspace. Please contact our LC team with any questions about our space or other supplies we may need!
CONFERENCES ARE COMING!
DISTRICT 39 UPDATES
Board of Education Meeting on Monday
The D39 Board of Education will hold its regular monthly meeting next Monday, Oct. 25 at 7 pm. Click here for access to the complete meeting agenda and materials. As you know, we have been working hard on next steps to help us with implementation of our strategic plan and during this meeting, the Board will hear a presentation on our action steps for the 2021-22 school year. We are excited to share this information with the Board and get to work on putting our plan into action. Please click here for more information on our District 39 Strategic Plan: Engage, Empower, Inspire.
IAR Score Reports
District 39 has received Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR) results for individual students who completed the assessment last school year - Spring 2021. These results reflect English Language Arts and Mathematics achievement for the 2020-21 school year. During the week of October 25, students’ paper score reports will be sent home to families. The IAR Spring 2021 Score Interpretation Guide provides helpful information on how to understand the reports. Additionally, Pearson has created a Parent Portal that allows families to access their child’s IAR test results digitally. Directions on how to set up your digital parent portal account are included with the paper report, along with the code needed to establish your account. The information in the portal is the same as the reports being sent home. Please look for your child’s paper score report next week. Please note, Pearson’s platform only produced a score report for families whose children completed all aspects of the IAR assessment in spring.
Parent-Teacher Conferences
Our teachers are excited to host parent-teacher conferences in November. Please review the information regarding registration that was provided to families via email today. Registration for conferences will open on Monday morning at 9:00 am.
Response to Illness Booklet Update
This week, the Illinois Department of Public Health made a couple of adjustments to its COVID-19 Interim Exclusion Guidance for Schools Decision Tree. Click here to see the updated decision tree and click here for our updated D39 Response to Illness Booklet.
Ribbon Cutting for Wilmette Junior High Courtyards
This week, we celebrated the renovated and reimagined courtyards at WJHS with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. A special thank you to the WJHS PTO for their hard work on this project and to all of our community members who played a role in transforming those spaces into a great resource for our students! Click here and here (Tribune subscription required) to read more about the event.
COMMUNITY NEWS
LINK: http://www.wilmette39.org/news/community_events
PEDAL POWER is collecting gently used bicycles to award Chicago Public School Honor Roll students. Please donate used bicycles on November 13th, 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon. Drop off locations are listed on the flyer posted on the website.
PICKLES EMPOWER is hosting fall sessions/activities from October 18 - November 19 for 1st - 12th graders with a parent/guardian being treated for cancer or requiring close monitoring for disease progression. Information and links are posted on the Community News site.
The Volunteer Center is offering many volunteer service opportunities. Make a Difference Day, October 23rd, donate gently used and new goods to benefit over a dozen community nonprofits.
Wilmette Food Pantry is open every Tuesday 10:00-11:00 am at Trinity United Methodist Church.
"Best Step Tutoring” offers free online tutoring for PreK-12 grades.
For 5th - 8th grade Girls:
Regina Dominican Panthers Basketball Coaching Staff is hosting FUNdamentals Clinic November 7th, 14th and 21st. 5th-6th grades: 9:00-10:00 am and 7th-8th grades: 10:00 - 11:00 am. ($25 fee)
Freaky Friday is TONIGHT! Ticket sales have now ended but we are looking forward to seeing many fellow Highcrest Hawks from 5-6:30 pm for a night of games, DJ, Kona Ice, a photo booth, inflatables, and more! Our event is outside for the first time and students can remain unmasked, but please bring a mask for instances where 3 feet of distancing cannot be maintained (bounce house) or to use the restrooms. Speaking of masks, Halloween costumes are encouraged! Please note that this is an event exclusively and especially for Highcrest students!
Parents, we need your help, too! Sign up to volunteer HERE!
Questions? Contact Megan Leahy at freakyfriday@highcrestpto.org
Make A Difference Day is TOMORROW!! 10/23/21
Trying to find those fall favorites but can’t because your kids’ closets are overstuffed with summer stuff. Now more than ever local charities need our help! The D39 community is partnering with the Volunteer Center of the North Shore for National Make A Difference Day on 10/23/21. CLICK HERE for more details!
Order your 2021-22 HMS Yearbook!
CLICK HERE to order today!
Highcrest After School Clubs
Most HMS After School Clubs are currently full. There may be select openings in The Yearbook and Debate clubs at HMS as well as WPD clubs (Chess and Chemworks). Please reach out to Chris Beer with any questions.
Keep an eye out for information on our Winter Programming - coming soon!
Are you interested in joining the Village Wide PTO?
We now have one remaining open position: Communications Chair. The VWPTO meets 4 times a year and includes representatives from all D39 grade level schools, D39 Board of Education, Pass39, Civics & Safety, Dr. Cremascoli and more. As chair, you would reach out to all school Communication reps and report their information to the VWPTO at the meeting. Please contact the VWPTO President, Barb Bentivenga, at bentivenga4@icloud.com for more information. Please note that the remaining VWPTO meetings are Nov. 10, 2021 at 9:15am, March 9, 2022 at 9:15am, and May 11, 2022 at 10am.
Welcome Back from PASS39!
CLICK HERE to read the PASS39 November Newsletter
Join Us for Pass39 Upcoming Social Events:
Pass39 Child Connection Opportunity!
All families are invited to meet at Romona Elementary playground for an informal play date. This isn't school affiliated and parents must attend with their children.
Saturday, October 23rd
10am - 12pm (come and go as you please!)
Romona Elementary School
Pass39 Parent Connection Opportunity!
Pass39 is hosting an evening to connect parents and to provide support for one another. This social gathering is for any parent of a child who has an IEP, 504 plan or is concerned you child may need one.
Tuesday, November 2nd
7:30pm - 10pm
Fred's Garage
574 Green Bay Road
Winnetka
Supporting Friendship Development and Connection
Wednesday, November 17th at 11am
Zoom Meeting
Please use the Newsletter link to register for the Zoom meetings.
Membership Toolkit
AtoZ Connect is now powered by Membership Toolkit to bring you the best directory experience available. PTO memberships, directories, communications, online store, and more will all run through the newly improved online software. Click here if you haven’t already signed up!
To access the new 2021-2022 Highcrest PTO Directory, please visit https://highcrestpto.membershiptoolkit.com/. Bookmark this site now!
Volunteer Opportunities
Looking to get involved with the PTO? We are looking for an Environmental Awareness chair for this year! Please contact Megan at president@highcrestpto.org for more information.
Spiritwear
Show your Hawks pride with a variety of spiritwear options! Please contact Jen at spiritwear@highcrestpto.org if you would like to make a purchase.
All announcements to be included in Headlines must be submitted via the Communications Request Form by Wednesdays at 2pm.