Good morning, Highcrest families!

We are excited to welcome back all of our HMS HAWKS after a much-needed spring break! Today (Monday) we will be welcoming everyone back with a special day dedicated to our HAWKS community. Students will participate in different activities throughout the day to remind them of our HAWKS expectations, bring them together as a HAWKS community through team-building and collaboration, and support them in their continued social-emotional development as we embark on these last months of the school year. We look forward to sharing the highlights of this day and week with you in this Friday's Highcrest Headlines.

Please take a few moments to look at some important reminders for this week and the weeks ahead as we prepare for spring at HMS!

Have a great Monday,

Kelly, Linda, and Susie

We are welcoming our students back with a Student-Council Inspired Spirit Week. Details below!

This week, we announced that we will be moving to Step 3 of our D39 Reduced Mitigations Off-Ramp Plan beginning on Monday, April 4. Under this step, there may be a loosening of arrival and dismissal protocols as well as social distancing markings in bathrooms, hallways, and other common areas. Although Step 3 also allows for a reduction of D39-provided COVID testing, we will continue to offer SHIELD testing over break (see schedule below) and resume our normal SHIELD testing upon return from break. We will evaluate SHIELD participation rates on a biweekly basis thereafter. Other mitigation measures will remain in place and continue to be evaluated in ongoing ways. Should a classroom or school community experience a sudden rise in cases, a targeted increase in mitigation strategies may be implemented.

Many of our Muslim students and Muslims in our greater community will spend the next month observing one of the five pillars of Islam, Ramadan. This is a holiday that usually includes daily fasting for those observing the holiday. As we prepare for our students who are observing this holiday, we have set up options for lunch and recess, and are prepared to accommodate the needs of our students needing support as they observe this holy month of Ramadan. Please reach out to your child's homeroom teacher or Grade Level Administrator if your child needs an accommodation.

If your child was out during IAR testing before break, we will be having IAR makeups throughout this week. Please help them to prepare by getting good sleep and having a good breakfast!

Beginning today (April 4) all District 39 families are invited to join Wilmette Public Schools for a Walk through History as we learn about the past 150 years of District 39. Each school will have a history walk for families to participate in, and a special scavenger hunt to try if you visit all 6 walks! We will send more details on April 4 when the walk opens to the public. More information available HERE.

The HMS walk is set up in the front - come by soon!