HILL HAPPENINGS
#HillHasHeart Edition - March 2021
A Note from the Principal
Hello Hill Families,
Can you believe it's March already? March is always a fun time for our students and staff because we celebrate "March is Reading month." Teachers have planned a lot of fun activities for students throughout the month! Our PTO has been so generous to us through the years. Next week all students will be receiving 2 free books to kick-off March!
This year’s theme is “Hats off to reading!” During the month of March we will hold a school-wide contest in which odd and even numbered classrooms will compete. In addition to the school-wide contest, many other reading activities will be held throughout March including:
Throughout the Month
Book Alerts on Fridays drop everything and read!
Classroom Door Decoration…decorate with your favorite Dr. Seuss book.
School-Wide Contest (Minutes of reading)
Daily Book review through google classroom using flip-grid.
Read-A-Thon
Friday, March 26 2:00-3:00
Popcorn "popped" by Mrs. Burke on Read-a-thon day
Wear PJs
Monday Activities
March 1st Decorate classroom door
March 1st Every student receives 2 free books for March’s reading month
Read aloud (links are included on calendar)
March 22nd Wear your favorite hat
Wednesday Activities
March 3… Wear mixed matched socks
March 10…Wear Wacky Socks
March 17… St. Patrick’s Day wear GREEN (Lunch is green eggs and ham)
March 24…Wear Colorful Clothes
Friday Activities
March 5…U of M vs. MSU Wear your favorite team colors!
March 12…Jog into reading. Wear your jogging suits!
March 19…. Davison Wear
March 26… read-a-thon
You should have also received a note last Friday regarding virtual spring conferences. Your child's teacher will let you know if they need to schedule a time to meet with you. If a conference isn't necessary at this time, please know all students will be receiving progress reports on Thursday, March 11th and you can also request a phone call or virtual appointment if you still want to talk to your child's teacher.
I have included a family check-in below once again. This only takes a few minutes and allows me to be able to gauge the needs of our families. We are all in this together and we want our families to know, that you are not alone. I appreciate the time you take to complete the check-in. We value your feedback as we continue on this journey together.
Thank you again for your continued support you have shown your child(ren) and our staff during this time.
Respectfully,
Mrs. Burke, Proud Principal
#HillHasHeart
Kindergarten Round-Up
It's that time of year again! If you have a child who is kindergarten and developmental kindergarten age. (Must be 5 years old on or before September 1, 2021) Information is below and additional information will be on the District's website. If you want your child to attend Hill Elementary for kindergarten, you will need to call our Hill office, 810-591-0839 to add your child to the waitlist. All students who attend kindergarten and developmental kindergarten will participate in kindergarten round-up at Thomson Elementary. Here are the details:
Registration: For all kindergarten and developmental kindergarten age* students who reside within the district’s boundaries
Location: Thomson Elementary, 617 E Clark Street, Davison - DOOR 8
Dates/Times: Monday, April 19 – Friday, April 23- Appointments are available from 8:30 - 11:00 am and 12:45 - 3:15 pm
*A child must be 5 years old on or before September 1, 2021 to register. If your child’s 5th birthday falls between September 2 and December 1 and you are interested in enrollment, a waiver is required. Please inquire with the school secretary when scheduling your child’s registration appointment.
Please call Thomson Elementary at (810) 591-0911 BETWEEN March 1 – April 15 to schedule your child’s registration appointment. Plan to allow approximately 30 minutes for your scheduled appointment. Please bring the child to be enrolled. The registration process will include a brief basic skills screening of your child.
Positivity in Action
William Vannest is a 2nd grade student at Hill Elementary who is projecting positivity at Hill Elementary School!
William approached me recently with an idea that he was eager to share. He let me know that he and his family grow a vegetable garden each year and that last summer he had a lemonade and vegetable stand. William proposed the idea that he'd like to donate some money for a project that would benefit Hill School. When I asked about what ideas he had for his project, William shared he knew that our PTO was raising money toward playground equipment and maybe he could make a contribution toward that. What an awesome idea!!
As you can imagine, this thoughtful gesture made my heart smile. Thank you William for your kind heart, and a very special thank you to Mr. and Mrs. Vannest for your generosity and kindness along the way. I am so excited to see what William does with his lemonade and vegetable stand this summer! William, you are a true Hill Hero....we are so proud of you!
If your child is participating in Positivity Project or is projecting positivity in another way at home and you'd like to share their story, please send me an email. I'd love to pass it on. I hope you will join me in choosing kindness and to recognize the gift we have to not only influence, but model for our children how one random act of kindness does make a difference. We can all work together to make the world a better place for our children to grow up in.
Positivity Project (P2)
As you know, Hill is a partner school, which means all of our families get free access to awesome resources that reinforce the character traits and teaching we are doing at school. There is a character card that explains the character trait, a grade-appropriate video to show the character trait in action and some questions that are great conversation starters at home.
Click here to check out P2 for Families (password: P2).
This week students will begin learning about integrity.
Counselor Corner with Mrs. Ganabathi
Sleep is so important! Children who are 5-6 years old need 11-12 hours of sleep each night, while older children need 10-11 hours of sleep a night. It helps to count backwards from the time your child wakes up in the morning to be sure they are going to bed at the right time.
The best way to help your child sleep is to set up a bedtime routine. A bedtime routine could look like: brushing teeth, putting on pajamas, and reading a book together.
Be consistent. Children thrive on routines and will do better with bedtime if it’s the same each night.
Avoid screens in your child’s bedroom and be sure to stop screen time an hour before starting their bedtime routine.
If your child is having trouble falling asleep or staying asleep, talk to your pediatrician.
Music Notes from Mrs. DuPrey
We have been very busy in music class at all grade levels. Kindergarten, first, and second grade have been working on different singing assessments. In third grade, students have been working on singing and playing a harmony part while the teacher sings the melody to a song. This is a very difficult task, but the kids have been doing a wonderful job with this! Lastly, in fourth grade we have finished our final round of compositions. The next task for our fourth graders is our ukulele unit! This is always a favorite unit for kids, and we have a LOT of fun together learning to play. I will provide a ukulele here at school for your child to use. If your child becomes interested in playing and you would like to purchase your own ukulele (or would like one just so they can practice at home), please send me an email, and I can recommend a quality instrument at a reasonable price.
Since March is Reading Month in our school, we will be reading some books, and books with songs in music class. Also, I have three virtual field trips that have been provided to us through The Flint Institute of Music. We will be using our Chromebooks to “attend” these field trips over the next couple of months. I am excited to be able to provide a unique learning experience for our kids this year!
Mrs. DuPrey :)
Fitness Fun with Mr. Whitman
The snow is slowly melting and spring is almost here! In PE class we just finished up our basketball unit. Students spent the unit working passing, dribbling, and shooting. The 3rd and 4th graders ended the unit with some shooting contests against some of their classmates.
Our plan for March are to do broom hockey. This is a popular unit at some of the other elementary schools. If the students can follow our safety rules and keep their classmates safe, it will be a fun game for everyone to play.
As the weather turns nicer we plan to go outside, even if for just a few minutes during class. Please send sweatshirts and light jackets with your kids so they can bring them to class if needed.
Go Cards!
Mr. Whitman
Library Corner
Hill Elementary’s Online Book Fair is NOW OPEN! Discover the characters, series, and collections kids love. All purchases benefit our school. Check it out! Go Now!!
Visit our Scholastic Store at:
PTO NEWS
Not being able to meet in person has not stopped our fabulous PTO officers from working hard for our school. They will be kicking off our 2nd Annual Little Caesars Fundraiser in the very near future. The fundraiser will run February 22nd through March 22nd. Everything will be able to be ordered online and delivered directly to your home. Please watch for details coming soon!
Our next PTO meeting is on Monday, March 1st at 5:30. The meeting is virtual and the link for our meeting is below.
Topic: PTO Meeting
Time: Mar 1, 2021 05:30 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/7145281177?pwd=K3R5aTlhWEJ6cjdtZzhlUG1iclIxZz09
Meeting ID: 714 528 1177
Passcode: Hill2020
PTO email: Hillptogroup@gmail.com
20/21 PTO Officers
PTO President: Jill Lobban
PTO Vice President: Drianna Keltner
PTO Secretary: Lindsay Brandon
PTO Treasurer: Danielle Wenzel
Mark your calendar:
- February 22 - March 22: PTO Little Caesars Fundraiser
- March 1: Kick-off to March is Reading Month
- March 1 - March 14 : Virtual Book Fair
- March 3 - Dismissal at 12:05, Wear mismatched socks
- March 5- U of M vs. MSU: Wear your team colors
- March 10- Wear wacky socks!
- March 11th - 4:00-7:00: Virtual Spring Conferences, progress reports going home with students
- March 12th - Wear your jogging suit!
- March 17th - Wear Green!
- March 19th - Wear Davison colors!
- March 22nd- Wear your favorite hat!
- March 24th: Wear colorful clothes
- Read-A-Thon/Popcorn from the PrinciPAL, Comfy PJ Day
- March 29 - April 2: Spring Break
We are Here to Help-Important Contact Information!
While it is always best to reach out to your child's teacher first, below is a list of other Hill Staff that you may want or need to contact. Please remember that we are here to help!
Mrs. Burke, Principal-Email: jburke@davisonschools.org ; Hill Phone Number: 810-591-0839
Mrs. Ganabathi, School Counselor-Email: aganabathi@davisonschools.org; Hill Phone Number: 810-591-0842
Mrs. Debbie Alderson, Secretary to the Principal-Email: dalderson@davisonschools.org; Hill Phone Number: 810-591-0839
Mrs. Julie Talaska, Secretary: jtalaska@davisonschools.org; Hill Phone Number: 810-591-0839
Connect with Hill Elementary
Email: jburke@davisonschools.org
Website: https://www.davisonschools.org/
Location: 404 Aloha Street, Davison, MI, USA
Phone: 910-591-0839
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DavisonCardinals/
Twitter: @proud_principal