Hillcrest Family Newsletter
May 1st, 2020
Message from Mrs. Lincicum
Happy May Day, everyone! While I know the continued passing of time may cause a little angst for many of us, I hope the thoughts of warmer days and sunny skies brings you some peace and calm.
Congratulations are in order for Linda Runingen. Mrs. Runingen is retiring at the end of this school year. After 10 years at Hillcrest, and a much longer career in our district, we wish her the very best as she enters retirement. We will find ways to celebrate Mrs. Runingen and her service to Hillcrest and the district even with our building closed.
A couple other reminders:
*Beginning this week, across the district, we are moving to a "lighter Friday" model for families. There will be no new assignments or lessons given on Fridays. The day is meant to be a day to catch up on work, explore the specials work, connect with teachers for extra help OR find ways to connect as a family.
*Teachers have been coming in the building to gather and bag student belongings. We will be setting up drive-up pick-up for student personal items in a couple weeks. We are planning on having yearbooks printed by that time so we can package everything for one trip for everyone. This will also be a time for you to check lost and found and drop off library and teacher materials. More details will be coming soon.
* If you know your child is going to be absent from virtual learning for a day, please email Mrs. Perez at tperez@waukesha.k12.wi.us or call 970-1805 to report an absence. School messenger has been turned off. We have had amazing attendance...last week our top day was 99.4%!!
*Teachers post content every day OR for each week. Students should engage with the learning tasks at a time that works for each family. If you aren't able to complete work on a daily basis, just communicate with your child's teacher your family's plan.
*Teachers have office hours during the school day where they are available to offer support to students and answer questions. Just reach out via email, SeeSaw or WebEx, depending on the platform your child's teacher has shared. Platforms can be found HERE.
*Our virtual learning opportunities will be different than what we can offer in a face to face, in school environment. Please know that a child's stamina and attention are significantly different in a virtual learning environment and without the teacher available to coach the student throughout the day, we will not require students to learn and apply new content. The focus will be on retaining the learning from the school year and exposing students to concepts from the remainder of the school year. DPI recommends 2 hours of online time for an 8 hour in school experience. If your child is spending more than 2 hours total a day on school work, please let your child's teacher know.
*All events on the family calendar have been canceled. However, virtual and social distanced events and just beginning to be planned.
We are still here for you. If there is anything we can do to help. Please reach out. No one should suffer through this time alone. We are better together and we genuinely do want to help.
Take care,
Talk soon,
Faith
News From Mrs. Runingen
Announcing: Hillcrest's REVERSE Parade for Staff Appreciation Week
Here you can drive slowly and say Hello to your awesome staff members and share a homemade sign or picture if you’d like. Please see the route below. Families will enter the Hillcrest parking lot through the EXIT. Know it will take a little while to get through the parade so be patient. Please be sure to practice social distancing. We can't wait to see you!!
PTO Update - Stay Connected
Did you know that PTO provides funding for each classroom; as well as plan events for families? We need your help to keep the events and engagement going. Please consider running for a Board position. Find information about nominations and contacts for questions here.
Nominate yourself or others HERE.
Starting Monday: PTO Staff Appreciation
Click HERE to find the emails & WebEx list for ways to contact staff members virtually!
PTO Virtual Upcoming Meetings
Budget Meeting: On May 6th at 6:15 PM, join the virtual PTO Budget Meeting. To approve the 2020-2021 Budget a minimum of 9 participants are required to pass the budget! Click this LINK to access the meeting. Meeting ID: 925 788 255 and Password: C75Wf2cVCPQ.
Email Nicole Zeroth, nzeroth@waukesha.k12.wi.us to be directly added to the meeting so you do not need to find the link and information later. Meeting room opens at 6:00 PM to provide time to log in!
Monthly PTO Meeting: Put May 20th at 6:15 PM on your calendar to join the virtual PTO meeting. Recap the 2019-2020 year, hear an update form Mrs. Lincicum, vote for the 2020-2021 Board while connecting with other adults virtually.
Message from Student Services
We've finished week five of virtual learning! Many of us have settled into a comfortable routine, but others are beginning to struggle even more with big emotions and disrupted routines, especially after the news that schools will be closed through the end of the school year. Please don't hesitate to reach out to the student services team if you, your family, or your students need some extra help.
Sarah Brilliant, school psychologist: sbrilliant@waukesha.k12.wi.us (262-970-1544)
Heidi Edwards, guidance counselor: hedwardds@waukesha.k12.wi.us (262-970-1923)
Message from Our Literacy Coach
We hope you are all staying healthy and finding some time to enjoy some books as a family. I wanted to reach out to share some tips to help your child with his/her at-home independent reading. Please remember that one of the most important ways to help a child grow as a reader is by providing time and space for them to read engaging texts at their appropriate reading level.
- Explore different reading materials with your child
- audio books
- postcards, letters, e-mails, and text messages from relatives
- photo albums or scrapbooks
- e-readers or e-book
- books you have at home
- Create a special reading place
- Make sure the reading space is comfortable and is free of most distractions
- Try working together with your child to choose this spot
- Encourage kids to try reading the words to themselves prior to listening to a book when engaging with an audio book
- Give kids a moment to try a challenging word prior to telling them the word
- Make it inviting
- Allow students to have some choice in the reading materials that they are engaging with.
- Talk about what your child is reading and share what you are reading
Thank you for your support of our readers at home. Feel free to reach out to me if you need support or other suggestions for reading at home.
Mrs. Konieczka (Literacy Coach)
Hillcrest Elementary School
Growing Curiosity
Growing Learners
We take pride in our history, our inclusive community and our collective sense of wonder!
Email: hillcrest@waukesha.k12.wi.us
Website: https://sdw.waukesha.k12.wi.us/Domain/14
Location: 2200 Davidson Road, Waukesha, WI, USA
Phone: 262-970-1810
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HillcrestElementaryWaukesha/
Twitter: @HillcrestSDW