Hillcrest STEAM Academy Newsletter
December 2020
A Note from the Office...
Take a few moments to read through the December Newsletter. We are fortunate to have a wonderful family here at STEAM, and are glad you are a part of it!
Dr. Pearson and Dr. Winkelmann
AMI Day - Reminder
We have a Practice AMI Day coming up on December 9. AMI stands for Alternative Methods of Instruction, and will be implemented on days we cannot come to school due to inclement weather. Review the information below that was previously shared from the district. Reach out to your child's teacher if you have any questions.
GENERAL INFORMATION
What does attendance for students look like on an AMI day? On these days, attendance will be counted by tracking assignment submissions on the next school day or class period (7-12th).
Teacher Availability on AMI Days? Teacher availability will be the normal hours for the school in which your child attends.
What will the AMI day look like? This is not a set schedule of hour-by-hour learning; students will be given tasks and assignments to complete throughout the day on their own time.
K-6 teachers will have had in-person students take a screenshot of the activities the day before and/or will send parents a list of the activities in Seesaw and/or Google Classroom. Students will work at their own pace.
What about student access to the internet? While many children and families may have internet access at home, there are many who do not and others who will have limited access levels and/or be sharing bandwidth with family members. Therefore, there will be no Zoom meetings or videos. All assignments will have students using tools on their devices that do not require internet service, reading books, or participating in activities that do not require a device.
Will school-age care (SAC) be open on AMI Days? (K- 6) If the weather permits for SAC to be open, students are expected to come with their devices. They will need time to work on their assigned activities. Hours of operation will mirror current snow day guidelines.
PRACTICE AMI DAY
December 9, 2020
The district will be having a practice AMI day on Wednesday, December 9, 2020.
ALL Belton School District students will be learning from home and staff will be teaching and working from home on this day.
K-6 SAC will be open for current families during their snow day hours (9 am - 5:30 pm) and the “snow day fee” will apply. Directors will be in contact with families.
District offices will be open and staffed as usual.
Engineering Design Process
The Engineering Design Process is utilized at Hillcrest STEAM Academy. Students spend a lot of time planning, organizing, and researching various topics before they even begin constructing a project.
Check out this article, from TeachEngineering, which talks about the engineering design process.
https://www.teachengineering.org/k12engineering/designprocess
As you can see, students spend a lot of time identifying needs, researching problems, developing possible solutions, and selecting a promising solution. This all takes quite a bit of time. Oftentimes, the students go through “productive struggle” and have to go back to the drawing board. This helps to build resiliency amongst all students.
Contact your child’s teacher for more information about engineering projects specific to each grade level.
Changing Seasons
As the weather is changing quickly, please remember to send your child to school in a coat, hat, and gloves. Students will have outdoor recess as long as the wind chill is above 20 degrees. The students will not be allowed to stay in during colder temperatures unless there is a note from the doctor specifying that your child cannot go outside for recess due to medical reasons. We want to help every student stay healthy, and wearing a coat is an easy way to accomplish this. We will not take the students outside if there is thunder, lightning, or heavy precipitation.
Please remember that if your child is sick to notify the office. You can email us at hillcrest@bsd124.org or call the school at (816) 348-1130. Our office hours are from 8:40-4:40. You can call outside of those hours and leave a voicemail to notify us of your child’s absence.
Conscious Discipline
Important Dates in December
7-18 - STAR Testing Window
9 - AMI Practice Day
19 - January 3 - No School - Winter Break
Our Mission
The mission of Hillcrest STEAM Academy, a leader of STEAM innovation, is to ensure that all students flourish as individuals of character and advocates of their for own learning through the school community distinguished by
a culture of independence and collaboration
a global outlook based on a foundation of character
a focus on problem solving and critical thinking
- real world experiences with integration throughout all subjects.
Hillcrest STEAM ACademy
Email: hillcrest@bsd124.org
Website: http://www.beltonschools.org/Page/151
Location: 106 South Hillcrest Road, Belton, MO, United States
Phone: 816-348-1130
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HillcrestSTEAMAcademy/?ref=bookmarks
Twitter: @HillcrestSTEAM