HAWK HAPPENINGS
The official newsletter of Hillcrest Elementary Staff
October 7 -- LOOKING AHEAD
MUST READ
PHOTO DAY TUESDAY OCT. 9 -- STAFF PHOTO AT 7:45!!
The staff photo will take place in the library at 7:45 AM. While not all staff members are scheduled to be in at work at that time, it is the best possible time because we do not yet have students to supervise. We appreciate any staff members who want to come in early to be a part of the staff photo, but it is not required. We would love for you to appear as part of our team, but understand if you cannot be in attendance.
Click here for the schedule for when classes are scheduled to participate.
Grade 5 Summer Packet Celebration and Meet the Teacher Night Tues. Oct. 9
At 7:00, we will host the 5th Grade Meet the Teacher Night. We will again follow the new format where families gather in the gym and mingle among the tables with the Specials/Specialists and PTO, and we will send them off to classes sometime around 7:20-7:30.
STATE ASSESSMENT DATA
To see current 5th & 6th graders' data from their 2017-2018 4th and 5th-grade assessments:
To see current 4th graders' data from their 2017-2018 3rd-grade assessments:
All of this data will soon be imported into our Hillcrest Master Data Sheet, so these spreadsheets will become obsolete.
SPIRIT WEEK NEXT WEEK
Each day, the students and staff can dress up according to the following:
Monday- Mismatched clothing
Tuesday- Be your favorite book character
Wednesday- Be a mad scientist
Thursday- Be a historical figure
Friday- Be your favorite artist, musician or athlete
For additional information, ways to incorporate it into your classroom day, and related activities i.e. the kickball game, please see Crystal's email from October 3rd.
CHANGES FOR MORNING ARRIVAL
Morning arrival sets the tone for the day. If students are taking advantage of the freedom in the hallways, it could change the type of day they have, or the type of day those around them have (other students or staff), based on their behavior. A benefit of picking your class up is that when picking up your class and traveling as a unit, you set the pace, the tone, the expectations along the way to the classroom. When students walk to class on their own, they set their own pace, tone and expectations, which you then have to try and re-set once they arrive to your room. Be mindful of how your day starts as we make this transition, and ask yourself about the pros and cons of students walking themselves, versus walking as a unit. Be prepared to weigh in with feedback so that we can do everything we can to ensure our students start the day off on the right track, because it is much harder to re-set the day once it has already started badly.
AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAM
We do not know how many positions we will have at this point because we are still crunching numbers and reviewing the recently released assessment data as well as our own AIMSWEB and F&P data to determine student eligibility and how far we can stretch our staffing dollars, but we would like to have an idea of staff interest to begin the process. Interested parties will still have to reply to the HR posting once it goes out; this is just an interest survey, and there is no commitment on your part at this time.
We may begin as early as November 6, so please pencil it into your calendars if you are expressing interest in participating this year.
Grade 4 Meet the Teacher Night
Grade 4 Meet the Teacher Night
Grade 4 Meet the Teacher Night
Grade 4 Meet the Teacher Night
Grade 4 Meet the Teacher Night
Grade 4 Meet the Teacher Night
SHOULD READ
Reminder: SUPPORT OUR PTO
Wouldn't it be amazing if we had 100% participation from our staff in the PTO? Please consider joining our PTO with whatever donation you can make. I know you make incredible contributions (financial and otherwise) already in your roles at Hillcrest, but what an incredible gesture of support, encouragement and gratitude it would be if everyone contributed to the PTO...even if it is $5. Every penny goes back to programs that support our students.
SHOPPING
Support the PTO when you shop! Here are some ways you can support the Peekskill PTO when you spend your money in certain places:
-Stop & Shop A+ School Rewards Program:
By registering your Stop & Shop Rewards card with the A+ Rewards program, you can earn points for our district every time you shop.
Online Sign-Up: https://stopandshop.com/ school-rewards/
Woodside - School ID: 08152
Oakside - School ID: 07319
Hillcrest - School ID: 18388
PKMS - School ID: 07242
PHS - - School ID: 07905
-Amazon Smile:
Amazon will donate .5% of all sales to our PTO at no extra cost, if you shop through the following link:
-Online Donations:
The PTO can accept online donations through the following link:
PTO MEETINGS
Lastly, the schedule for the General PTO meetings, which are held from 7:00 - 8:15 pm in the Ford Auditorium in the school administration building, is as follows:
-10/18- PTO Kick-Off (intro to PTO structure, committees, building leaders & Dr. Mauricio)
-11/8- Committee updates, Discussion of Community Engagement Initiative, break out into building-based discussions
-1/10- PHS Robotics Team Presentation
-2/7- Black History Celebration (please think about any building-based projects on this theme that you would like to highlight/incorporate)
-3/4- Committee updates, break out into building-based discussions
-4/11- Budget presentation
-5/6- BOE Candidate Forum
-6/13- End of year eval, officer election, volunteer recognition
FIRE PREVENTION WEEK ASSEMBLIES
Reminder: HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH
September 15 - October 15 is Hispanic Heritage Month! Please find creative ways to incorporate this important recognition into your classroom activities and lesson plans, where practical. Share the ways in which you have acknowledged/celebrated by posting a brief description of what you've done and any photos here:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1L3lmNaMvcdFpXN0GpzfOH01E6Cv-Ei3Ujh64rmW2Fy8/edit?usp=sharing
reminder: WALK LIKE MADD
Hello All,
I hope this finds you well! As you may have heard, the PTO is organizing a Peekskill CSD team to participate in the Walk Like MADD fundraising walk on Saturday, October 20th at 10:00 am at FDR Park in Yorktown Heights. All proceeds raised from the event will remain in NYS, and will be used to support services offered to victims of drunk driving and their families, and free community & school programs (like those being offered at PHS this year). We would love for you and your staff to join our team, and support our efforts to raise $1,000 for this important cause. Anyone interested in doing so can register with our team through the following link:
Peekskill City School District
Please let me know if you have any questions, and I hope to see you on October 20th!
Thank you,
Marisa