Hillcrest Happenings

Be sure to check out the front of the school! We had vinyl screens applied to the cafeteria windows with our school logo and name. These screens limit visibility into the cafeteria while allowing much needed sunlight in. These are part of our safety improvement plan.

A few reminders:

1. Class starts at 7:45. We have several students who are being dropped off at 7:45. Please arrive a few minutes earlier to give your child time to get to class by 7:45. There is NO line between 7:25 -7:30!

2. Be sure to read the information about Thursday's Baylor Homecoming Parade. We are looking forward to this first time event!

3. We hope everyone can attend our Open House on October 25th. This will be a special evening for your child to share with you the classroom and school.

Thank you for sharing your children with us. It is going to be a great year at Hillcrest PDS!

Haley Dean, Principal

#elevAte

Reminder: Please no u-turns at the back during morning drop-offs. Please enter the line from Hillcrest Dr.

Also, remember, if your student arrives after 7:50 a.m. you will have to come into the building to sign them in.

This month we are talking about Responsibility. Review Responsibility as a family! Responsibility is taking action and understanding how our choices affect others. Choose 1 household chore (or more!) that requires multiple steps. Then have each member of the family select 1 step to complete to help get the job done! Maybe it is washing the dishes, doing laundry, cleaning the living room, or unloading the groceries - whatever it is, see who can be the quickest or most effective at their task!

Ms. Braswell's 4th grade class is hosting a Food Drive for Pack of Hope. McLennan County Pack of Hope attempts to erase child hunger in McLennan County by supplying eligible students of participating school districts with bags of nutritious food from Friday through Sunday, while they are not receiving meals in school. We currently receive 12 bags from Pack of Hope each week but are in need of more bags. The Food Drive will allow for the Pack of Hope to provide more bags for HPDS students.

Our theme is Safe, Healthy, Helpful Me. This week we are focusing on community workers..

Wonderful Word of the Week: community

Letters of the Week: Hh, Xx, Yy

Math: Identifying and Ordering Numbers

Phonological Awareness: Compound Words

This week we will continue our Beginning of the Year assessment. This week we will be assessing letter names, letter sounds, vocabulary, and phonological awareness (onset-rime, rhyming, syllables).

Please let us know if you have any questions!

Mrs. Martinez - Rachel.Martinez@wacoisd.org

Mrs. Campbell - Rosalie.Campbell@wacoisd.org

This week in Kindergarten:

Reading Workshop- We will use question words to ask questions about a story after it is read aloud.

Word Study- We will identify a letter, a word, and a sentence. We will count how many words are in a sentence.

Sight Words- come, me, you

Letters of the week- Ll & Dd

Writer’s Workshop- We will write a complete sentence using sentence structure. (Capital letter, space, and punctuation.)

Math- We will read, write, and represent numbers 6-10 using correct formation.

Science-We will observe and record properties of cookies using shape, size, color, and texture.

Please check take home folders and return them daily.

Stay connected by adding yourself to our classroom Remind 101.

Rabine (Remind): @rabine22

kendal.rabine@wacoisd.org

Whatley (Remind): @whatley22

mary.whatley@wacoisd.org

Whitley (Remind): @24kh7d

patrecia.whitley@wacoisd.org

Reading: It’s always fun to talk about BATS this time of year! We are focusing on reading nonfiction and fiction stories this week about bats. We want them learn how to tell the difference. We will read Bats by Gail Gibbons and other nonfiction books and then on to fiction books such as Stellaluna and There was an old lady who swallowed a bat!

Spelling: Do these words look familiar? Yes, we decided to give more time to spelling with all the events occurring this time of year. Test will be Friday this week.

bike, hike, like, ride, hide, bite, fine (Be sure your child remembers to add the Sneaky, Silent E!)

HFW: also, who, does Bonus: scarecrow

Math: We will work on using subtraction in word problems this week…but we won’t forget about addition! We will continue to review adding doubles. Keep on the lookout for a math homework page.

Science: This week we will have some fun in Science as we learn about Force and Motion. We will learn what makes things move in different ways.

FIELD TRIP: Wednesday we get to go to UHS to see their theater group perform Moana, Jr. We are so excited about this event! Be sure your child’s permission slips are turned in Monday!

Look in your child's blue folder daily for notes and info. Please initial each day so we know you’ve seen it. Thank you!

A few reminders…

• On Wednesday, October 19th we are going to see Moana performed by University HS!

**Permission forms for this field trip went home last Friday! Please SIGN AND RETURN these ASAP!**

• Sign-ups for Fall Parent-Teacher Conferences were sent our via Remind/Class Dojo… please check for the link and sign up for a time to meet with your student’s teacher.

This week in 2nd grade:

RLA - [Phonics] We will be learning all about vowel teams this week. [Reading] This week we are focusing on print and graphic text features by reading fiction and nonfiction books all about bats! [Writing] This week we are focusing on writing strong sentences with subject-verb agreement, correct spelling of grade appropriate words, punctuation, capital letters, and finger spaces between words.

Spelling Words:

*Sight Words

1. Play

2. Eat

3. Boat

4. school

5. Train

6. Claw

7. Snow

8. Author

9. Coin

10. Today *

11. World *

12. Between *

Bonus Word: phase

Math - We are starting a new unit this week and will be focusing on adding/subtracting within 20!

Science - We’re continuing our unit on “what’s in the sky?” by learning about the moon and moon phases!

Social Studies - Our students will continue learning about U.S. and T.X. symbols this week by creating their own informational symbols booklet!

Please check blue take-home folders and planners daily!

Stay Connected! Please add yourself to our messaging platforms:

Holt (Remind): @Holt22-23 or email emily.holt@wacoisd.org

Ronnenberg (Remind): @missronne or email alexandra.ronnenberg@wacoisd.org

Whyburn (Class Dojo): link here or email ashley.lenhardt@wacoisd.org

La brisa hace llover

una lluvia amarilla:

¡son las hojitas de otoño

que vuelan, bailan y brillan!

-Douglas Wright

The breeze makes it rain

a yellow rain

It's the autumn leaves that fly,

dance and shine!

-Douglas Wright

Douglas Wright, a well-known children’s poet and illustrator from Argentina. His poetry is based in the natural world and a child’s experiences. The poems have familiar vocabulary, patterns, and rhythm and rhyme to help children who are learning Spanish appreciate the sounds of the language.

Autumn is here and with it comes cooler weather and leaves on the ground. Please remember to put your student’s name somewhere in or on their jackets, sweaters, and any other extra clothing.

Calendar Events

October 17- Wear Red for Dyslexia

October 17- CDMC Meeting #2

October 20- Baylor/Hillcrest Homecoming Parade

October 21- Pink Out for Breast Cancer Awareness Month

October 21- Zoom with Author Monsterstreet

What’s going on in the classroom?

Math: We get a Flex Week! This means that we get a week to reteach and/or review anything that we have done over the last few weeks. We’ll take a little bit more time on Data Analysis, but we will also go back and make sure we feel comfortable with addition and subtraction. One main focus this week is on word problems, so if you want to work with your students, have them help you with Real World addition and subtraction (i.e. the grocery store, amounts of toys)

Reading: “It’s the autumn leaves that fly, dance and shine!” I don’t know about you, but I could imagine this scene perfectly, Over the next couple weeks we will be talking about imagery that helps us create mental images and how figurative language assists that.

Writing: This is last full week to work on any research projects. If your student has not finished their projects in the classroom, do not be surprised if they bring it home to work on.

Social Studies: Science week!

Science: My Very Eager Mother Just Served Us Nachos (again)! We are finishing up our unit on the planets! Next week we will talk about weather, so you and your student might take note on how the weather changes and why it happens.

Be on the lookout for information coming home for our Everywhere Learning trip, it is approaching quickly. This week we will continue learning about Responsibility in our Character Strong lessons. In Reading we will focus on author’s purpose and locating text evidence in both fiction and nonfiction texts. We will review comma rules and dialogue in writing. We will begin our unit on division and continue our study of weather and the water cycle. 4th graders are working hard to meet goals and master skills! Keep up the great work!

Units of Study in 4th grade :

ELAR: Author’s Craft/ The power of Words

Math: Division

Science: Weather and Water Cycle

Social Studies: American Indian Life in Texas

Make sure you have signed up for Remind notifications by texting your class code to 81010.

Mrs. Braswell @gd7662a

Mrs. Hall @bhall4

Ms. Reeves @he9b73

Parent conferences have started! We have enjoyed sharing your child’s successes with you.

This week:

Math: We are estimating products and multiplying decimals.

Science: We are learning about changes in states of matter.

Reading: We are identifying figurative language in fantasy texts.

Social Studies: We are reading about the Thirteen Colonies/Hispanic Heritage.

Please read 20 minutes every night!

Please make sure to send a water bottle. We do not have access to water fountains during the day and students get very thirsty! We do have the ability to fill the bottles.

Feel free to contact us through remind or email us!

~The fabulous fifth grade team~

Mrs. Land holly.land@wacoisd.org

Mr. Dossey lenard.dossey@wacoisd.org

Ms. Hardin tracey.hardin@wacoisd.org

From PE

A special shout out to Romelo Drakes and Talena Sedberry for representing HPDS in the Fastest 5th Grader Race at WISD stadium. Romelo placed in the top 3 and Talena won!

This week in PE we have been enjoying the HPDS Fair and Rodeo. Each year the kids get excited when they come into the gym and see the big yellow sign that lets them know the fair and rodeo is in town. The original idea came to me as an opportunity to give ALL students a chance to go to the fair and play ALL of the games that some of our students only get to hear about from their friends. The smiles and joy that I see and feel from the students ranks this week as one of my favorites and theirs as well. Coach Stephens & Coach Arnold

Parents:

The PTA has created a Google Form that allows you to sign up for membership from home. Please click on the link below and fill out the membership form if you are interested in joining the HPDS PTA. If you have already filled out a paper form to join this school year, there is no need to complete this online form.

Thanks!

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfG9FG-7QV2bY87-SIcMPTsA0JwSjxQjVZ4iUd2R_JvPD4CaQ/viewform?usp=sf_link

Games, Silent Auction, Food, Inflatables, Cake Walk, Prizes and Friends ....The Fall Carnival is coming up and you don't want to miss it!

To make the Carnival the best it can be, we need your help. Check out the sign up link to see where you might be able to volunteer. Grab a friend and do it together! Many hands make light work!

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/8050F49ABAA23A2FC1-carnival

Lunches are free to all students, however if you would like for your student to have money on their accounts for ice cream ($1.00) or chips ($0.75) on Friday's or for extra helpings, please see the schoolcafe app information below. From this app, you can manage your student's balance, as well as see menus and nutritional information.