September 8, 2009

Welcome Back!

Dear Parents

September is here again!  We hope your children are as excited as we are that school is back in session.  On behalf of the staff we would like to welcome you and your children back to Hillcrest.  We would especially like to welcome our new students and their families.  We hope parents will want to get involved with our school activities and feel welcome here.   If you have any questions, our staff will be pleased to provide assistance.

Bill Hagardt, Principal                                Kathy Dunfield, Vice-Principal

“New” Staff This Year

We would like to welcome one returning staff member this fall.  Ms. Lesley Caves is returning from leave to teach grade 3.   She has been teaching kindergarten and grade 1 in Africa for two years, and we are pleased to have her back at Hillcrest.   We would also like to welcome Sherry Devins who will be teaching .2 at the grade 3 level.

Bell Schedule Changes
The biggest change this year is our new bell schedule.  Here it is for your reference

Hillcrest Elementary Bell Schedule
8:13                  Warning Bell   
8:17                 Class Begins
9:50 – 10:05     Recess
11:35 – 12:00  Lunch Play Time
12:00 – 12:20   Lunch Eating Period 
2:10                 Dismissal

Kindergarten
8:13 – 10:50    Morning Session
11:35 – 2:10    Afternoon Session
Fall Start-Up
We were once again asked by the School District Office to wait until after the first day to assign students to their fall teachers.  This is just in case we have a significant change (up or down) in our enrollment.  Because of strict provincial guidelines for class size, we could be required to add a new teacher or transfer one of our teachers if our enrollment is not what we expect. 
Today, all students reported to their last year’s classroom.  Tomorrow morning, students will again report to their last year’s classroom, and we hope to  be able to send them to their new Class during the course of the day.

Office Hours
Mrs. Bowers, our new secretary, will be in the school office from 7:45 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. daily.

Newsletters
Our school newsletters will be issued to students approximately once a month.  The newsletters are an essential part of our home-school communication program.  I hope you have the opportunity to read them and review them with your child.  They will also be posted on our website – www.hillcrestschool.com.   If you would like to have them sent to you by email, please send us your email address. 

Parking Lot Reminders
To make the parking  safe for our students we would appreciate your assistance in following these guidelines

• Safe drop-off areas are….
• At the front of the school, in the drop-off zone in the parking lot
• On 20th St. SE,  just north of the crosswalk
• On 10th Ave. SE, and students can walk across the field
• Please do not park and leave your car in the drop-off zone in the parking lot.
• Please do not drop off students in the “little” parking lot by the front door.  Backing up here is very dangerous as so many students and families are walking in this area.
• Please do not park in the bus parking areas – both the daycare bus area and the school bus area need to be free of cars.

Our crossing guards and teacher supervisor will be monitoring our busy intersection, please be patient and follow their signals in this area.  We thank you for your cooperation.
Activity Fee for 2009/2010
For the 2009/2010 school year, the student activity fee is $20.00 for most students.  For kindergarten students, the fee is $10.00, and the family rate is $40.00 per family.   If you are paying the family rate, please pay in the office so that it will be properly recorded. 

This is a voluntary fee.  It helps cover the costs of cultural performances, school recreation activities and supports some field trips.  The intent of the activity fee is to reduce the number of fund raising activities and requests for funds from parents.  Thank you for your support. 

Special Notes about things to bring to school….

• Please send supplies only when students are in their new classes
• Indoor runners are an important part of students’ equipment – please label them.
• Please do not send children to school in “heelies” – shoes with wheels in the heels.
• Cell phones, walkmans and gameboys and other electronic devices are not permitted at school.

Safe Arrival Program
As in previous years, our PAC continues to sponsor the Safe Arrival Program.  If your child is sick, please keep him or her home, and call the school at 250-832-7195 to tell us.  If we do not hear from you, and your child is not at school, a parent volunteer will be phoning to check.  We worry when we cannot reach you, as sometimes happens when a child has an out-of-town appointment, so please be sure to phone.  The answering machine will take your message if it is too early for the secretary to be in the office.  If it does not pick up, it means it is taking another call, so just try again a few minutes later.  Thank you.

 

                                                                      October 2, 2009

Dear Parents,

Thank you to parents for your patience and support during the start up that we go through in September.  Due to additional numbers three days into the new term we received an additional teacher and we had to reconfigure classes and assign four teachers different grade level assignments.  In the course of the school term the additional staff member will greatly benefit our students.  Overall the process went well and we are off to a good start.  It was great to see so many parents out at our PAC organized Meet the teacher night.  Welcome to Mr. Richard Belec our new teacher at the 4/5 level.

Meet the Teacher Night
Thank you to Laurie Bannister and PAC for making our Meet The Teacher Night Successful. 

Terry Fox Run at Hillcrest
Thursday, Sept. 24th was the 29th Annual Terry Fox Run at Hillcrest Elementary.  Mr. Hinman, a retired teacher from Hillcrest school helped organize the run for our school. Thanks to his leadership, students  had an opportunity to learn about Terry and to help raise funds for Cancer research.  Students were invited to bring loonies to donate.  Thank you to those parents who were able to attend and help out.  Hanna’s Orchards generously donated apples for all of the running participants, Thank-you.  Hillcrest raised$428 for cancer research,  Well Done!

Peanut Allergies
Please be aware that we do have students with allergies to peanuts.  Peanut allergies can be life-threatening in some cases. This year, we do not need to have a peanut-free school, but some classrooms may be peanut-free zones.  Your child’s teacher will let you know if this is a concern in your child’s class.  Please respect the advice of teachers in your children’s classroom with respect to this issue. 

Breakfast Program        
Our breakfast program is up and running. Research shows students learn better when they have nutritious eating habits. Breakfast is available to all students, each school day, from 8:00 to 8:10 in the MPR. If your child sleeps in, is in a rush, or just didn't have time to eat before coming to school, they are most welcome to join us. There is no fee for this program.

Electronics and Cell Phones - Not at School
We ask parents not to send electronic items, money or other valuables to school with students.  This includes hand-held video games, ipods and other mp3 players, and cell phones.  These items do not support learning, or connection to the Hillcrest community.  Our school is pretty secure, and we rarely have theft issues, but from time to time problems have happened, and we do not want your child to lose a valuable item.  Cell phones create some issues of their own, and we do not want them at school.   If your child needs to carry a cell phone, please talk to Mr. Hagardt about this.  Thank you for your help. 

Bikes, scooters, skateboards and roller blades at school (helmets)
We encourage children to get active and ride their bikes to school when the weather permits.  Children must wear helmets for safety, and lock their bike in the bike rack for security.  Please remind your child to use sidewalks, and walk their bike when they get to school.  (Picture a child on a bike dashing through the parking lot when it’s busy – you know what we’re talking about.) 

Activity Fee-The student activity fee is used by the school to pursue additional student learning activities.  Last term funds were utilized to provide students four cultural performances and assist with swimming, skating and if any fund are surplus at the latter part of the year they go to your students classroom for field trips.  The activity fee is not mandatory, but we would like to encourage parents to continue to pay this fee as our ability to provide extra programs is dependent upon activity fees collected. Kindergarten fee is $10, and students in grades 1-5 is $20, to a maximum of $40 per family.

Supply Fees- These fees are not optional as they provide specific items to your child. Kindergarten $ 10 (nutritional)—Primary  Supplies $25  -- Intermediate- Cost of Agenda (Information will come from classroom teacher)

Help Wanted
Spare time on your mind?  We need your help!  We are looking for parent volunteers in the following areas….

• Schoolyard Cleanup Day,  October 17- 9:00-12:00
  • Our schoolyard needs your help.  Every fall we do a cleanup that makes a big difference in the safety and enjoyment of our children.  Bring rakes, weedeaters (especially the big ones), shovels,  garden snips,  pruning shears  and wear work gloves.  We will have coffee and donuts, and a job list will be posted.  Come out and meet new parents and visit with friends

• Parent Helpers for Crossing Guards
  • Crossing guard parents really improve the safety at the crosswalk.  We are trying to find a parent for each time slot, Monday to Friday mornings and afternoons.  We are hoping that we can find parent volunteers who can help with the crossing guards once per week, for the whole year.  If you can help, call the school at 250-832-7195 and leave a message for Kathy Dunfield.  Thanks!
• Food Day Helpers
  • If you can help with Food Day, just come to school at 11:00 a.m. on the Food Day, and look for Alicia Bettcher in the Multipurpose Room.  Thanks you to Alicia for organizing our Food Day program this year.

Safe Arrival Magnets
If you need a Safe Arrival Magnet with the school phone number, for your fridge door, please ask Gayle in the office.  She has lots of them, and we really appreciate your phone calls in the morning.

Hillside Still Off Limits
Please remember that the hillside outside the kindergarten rooms is still off-limits.   This area has an erosion  problem, and the extra traffic when children play here makes it worse.  Last year we planted some tree seedlings on this area, and some of them have survived, and we are hoping they will grow up and stabilize this area.  We appreciate it if you please do not let your children play on this steep bank, between the signs.  This also applies once the snow comes and the trees are lightly covered over.  The sandbox at the bottom is OK.  Thanks so much for your support. 

CO-OP   Gas Bar Number – Funds for the School
The number 97166 at the bottom of the page, can be used when fueling up at the Co-op Gas Station.  A small portion of the funds paid to the Co-op is given back to the school.
Coop Gas Bar – Hillcrest’s Number is 97166

Head lice
It is that time of the year again and as weather turns colder and we bring out the hats and heavier jackets.  We have heard from the community that there are a few
cases out there and we would ask parents to check out their children. 

PAC Executive

President:	Angela Carson
Past-President:	Leigh-Anne Chapman
Vice-President:	Vickie Smuland-Maurer   & Sharmmon Richardson
Secretary:	Kim Webster
Treasurer:	Lisa Bennett
School Planning Council:	Abby May, Heather Nash & Laurie Bannister
Hot Lunch day	Alicia Bettcher (1st hot lunch day is Oct. 16, 2009)

Student Photo’s
Student Photo’s are in and are being sent home with your child today.  Please return payment with order envelope by October 9th.
Retakes Wednesday, October 14                               
Student Photo Retakes and Group Photos are scheduled for the morning of Wednesday, October 14.  Anyone can have retakes done. Just be sure your child knows that he or she should have retakes done.  Group photos will be done outside if weather permits and inside if not. 

Early Arrivals      
Our staff starts morning supervision at 8:00 a.m.  Some parents are bringing very young children to school even before 7:30.  We realize that some parents have to go to work early, but we want you to know that students are not supervised outside until 8:00.

Birthday Cupcakes

Thank-you to Vicki Smuland-Maurer and Sharmmon Richardson for providing the cupcakes  for students  who had  birthdays in September.

Annual Facilities Grant  (Information from our School District)