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Welcoming Diversity ~Expecting Excellence ~ Celebrating Success
September 2, 2014 U S D 4 9 7
HILLCREST HAWK NEWSLETTER
UPCOMING EVENTS
August 13 - September 12 Early Visits Classroom teachers will be scheduling meetings with
each student and his/her parents
Please note
MAP Testing Dates have changed
Sept 8 Gr. 4 MAP Math 9:00
Gr. 3 MAP Math 1:30
Sept 9 Gr. 3 MAP Reading 9:00
Gr. 5 MAP Reading 1:00
Sept 10 Gr. 1 MAP Reading 9:00
Gr. 5 MAP Math 10:30
Sept 11 Gr. 1 MAP Reading 9:00
Gr. 4 MAP Reading 12:15
Sept 12 Gr. 2 MAP Math 9:00
Gr. 1 MAP Math 2:15
Sept 16 Gr. 2 MAP Math 9:00
Gr. 1 MAP Math 2:15
Sept 17 Kdgn MAP Reading AM
Gr. 2 MAP Reading 12:45
Sept 18 Kdgn MAP Reading AM
Gr. 2 MAP Reading 12:45
Sept 22 Kdgn MAP Math
Sept 23 Kdgn MAP Math
Sept 8-19 C oins For Kids
September 15
NO School—Teacher Professional Development
Sept 19 School Pictures
Sept 26 Spirit Day
Soar to be a Hillcrest
PLEASE OBEY TRAFFIC FLOW
PROCEDURES
Practice safety by obeying street signs
NO SCHOOL - Monday, Sept 15th A reminder to parents….. School will not be in session on Monday, September 15th
due to teacher professional development. This is a day for teacher training.
First HAWKS Recognition Announced Twice a month throughout the school year, we will recognize Hillcrest
students who have demonstrated appropriate behavior by following
our new Hillcrest expectations. These students’ cards were pulled
from the class basket which contained all HAWKS tickets during the
first week and a half of school. Staff have been pleased with begin-
ning of the year behavior. WE ARE SO LUCKY to have GREAT HILL-
CREST KIDS!!
Congratulations to the following GREAT HILLCREST HAWKS
Kdgn - Baggett-Andy, Ximena, Jack, Brown– Zane, Kuki, Ethan,
McAdoo– Alunyah, Tyler, Estes
First Grade - Hall - Soleil, Tredell, Baila; Preston - Kai, Joselyn, An-
gel; Smith - Eileen, Jeffrey, Luis
Second Grade - Heide - Camryn, Kenneth, Anton; McGee - Rose,
Laura, Aidyn; Tuel - Olivier, Channing, Ayanna
Third Grade - Hannon - Luis, Maebelle, Miguel; Sisson - Alex, An-
thony Chaz ; Wilk - June, Sage, Max
Fourth Grade - Gill - Samir, Jordan, Shivani; Parkhurst - Jalajah,
Yingqi, Arthur; Seaman - Mei, Yazmin, Brianna;
Fifth Grade - King - Abraham, Yuhan, Bianca; Lofflin - Topaz, Joel,
Gamal; Stahl - Drake, Wahala, Jorge
A special thank you to our
business education partner,
The MERC, for donating all the
locally grown watermelons for
our back to school event.
We appreciate all the support
they provide our school year!!
PAGE 2
Hillcrest Welcomes Many New Students
We are pleased to welcome our new students
and their families to Hillcrest. We look forward to
getting to know you!!! If we can be of any assis-
tance to you, please contact the school office.
First Grade - Marissa Hattemer, Lawrence Muriu,
Elsie Hopkins, Shikya Astorga, Lane Elam, Chel-
sea Clemmons, Emma Bozarth, Joshua Marvin,
Kevin Geng, Kaiyah Landsness, Yousif Edyard
Second Grade . Patience Covers Up, Hugh
Griggs. Carter Stevens, Alex VanVleck, Micah
McNeal, Amare Laney, Ali Almohsen, Rosa Frank
Third Grade— Jana Lindsey, Adorian
Outhanesak, Mixon Spreier, Gabriel Rocha,
Eryka Sauer, Rulin Xu
Fourth Grade - Dylan Rhoades, Cooper Bullock,
Jalajah Outhanesak, Hamidat Asuku, Jordan
Rodriguez, Gracia Greenhoot, Chalunda Brandt,
K’Tirianna Laney, Thalia Cervantes, Zheng Jia, Yu
Duan
Fifth Grade - Nyssa Covers Up, Ariel Lindsey,
Floyd Spreier, Marse Cervantes, Helen Frank
A special welcome to our new kindergarten stu-
dents - Maria, Heidi, Carlos, Max, Payton, Jul-
ian, Reyna, Karen, Michael, Zoe, Jack, Davon,
Andrew, Ximena, Amaiah, Joselyn, Timothy, Ella,
Yaroslav, Karrar, Wrenner, Abigale, Avery,
Helena, Cose, Lilee, Zoey, Jack, Ruha, Saylor,
Sullivan, Albaraa, Ka’Neisha, Tyler, Alunyah,
Cesar, Estes, Krishna, Joseph, Alejandra, Kelly,
Tara, Taylor, Sebastian, Julia, Zhaowei, Mayar,
Cesar, Takumi, Barbara, Ethan, Justus, Zane, Eliza
& Carmen.
HILLCREST BOYS & GIRLS CLUB
At this time, our Boys and Girls Club program has open
spots. If you are interested in your child participating in this
before and after school program, please contact Lee Sigley
at 785-393-0620 by phone or [email protected] by email.
Scholarships for the program are available. Enrollment
forms are also available in the school office.
We ask that our parents pick up their child from the BGC
program using the front main entry door. This is the door
that will remain unlocked until 6:00pm each day.
Questions, please contact, program manager, Lee
Sigley at 785-393-0620.
If you were unable to attend Back to School night,
classroom teachers have communicated with you
about scheduling an Early Visit conference. If you
have not scheduled your conference time, please
make contact with your child’s teacher right
away. This conference provides a time for the
teacher to get to know your child and family on a
personal level. It is our goal to meet with ALL our
families on a personal level by mid September.
Thank you for your suppor t
Want to help your school? Start saving your spare
change! It’s time for our annual Coins for Kids chal-
lenge! Coins for Kids is Hillcrest’s first fundraiser of
the year and runs for two weeks, beginning on Sep-
tember 8th and ending on the 19th. It’s so easy. Stu-
dents bring in change from home and put it into col-
lection jars. This year’s theme is “Get
in Gear—Beat Last Year!” and is a
school-wide challenge to beat last’s
year donations. If the students suc-
ceed the ENTIRE SCHOOL will re-
ceive an extra or extended recess! All
money raised benefits Hillcrest.
Hillcrest PTO What is the Hillcrest Parent Teacher Organization, or PTO?
What does it do and why is it important? Come to our first
meeting on September 10th at 7:00pm and find out! PTO is for
everyone! Come meet some new friends, contribute ideas for
the upcoming school year, and get involved in our Hillcrest
community. There is something for everyone, no matter how
little time you may have. Come and make a difference at your
child’s school! Free childcare is provided. Please contact Jen-
nifer Osborn ([email protected]) or Sarah Guy
([email protected]) for more information. We hope to see you
Hillcrest
BOX TOPS Got Box Tops? NOW is the time to focus on
collecting them and bringing them to school! You can also
shop online through the Box Top website to earn Box Tops for
our school! More information to come. THANK YOU!
PAGE 3
Sept 8 Soleil Cummins-Grinnell 1-H
Brenda Andrade Arcineda 2-M
Bella Bennett 4-G
Sept 9 Malachite Baldwin 1-S
Joonmo Ahn 2-H
Jai Badal 4-S
Sept 10 Mais Aldamen 1-P
Yichen Lu 2-T
Ayat Ajaam 4-P
Sept 11 Wrenner Anderson K-M
Khuloud Aldamaen 3-H
Hassan Alfadeel 5-S
Sept 12 Heidi Anderson K-B
June Baggett 3-W
Gamal Assas 5-L
Sept 17 Krishna Abraham K-Br
Winton Anderson 3-S
Ashifa Balqis 5-K
Sept 18 Ashley Dela Rosa 1-H
Juan Casimiro Medoza 2-M
Lydia Bradley 4-G
Sept 19 Anders Benson 1-S
Anton Angeles-Cano 2-H
Chalunda Brandt 4-S
Sept 22 Itkan Aziz 1-P
Rohan Badal 2-T
Lorenza Arnone 4-P
Sept 23 Onyx Baldwin 3-H
Maria Alverez Fernandez K-B
Alyssa Barger 5-S
Sept 24 Yaroslav Agafonov K-M
Kadyn Berryhill 3-W
Joel Au Yeong 5-L
HILLCREST HAWKS
Weeks of September 8– 24
To those families new to Hillcrest being a “HAWK of the Day”
has been a Hillcrest tradition for many years. Below is a brief
explanation of what is involved when your student is the
“Hillcrest HAWK of the Day”. A letter will also be sent home
with your student a few days before they are the Hillcrest
Hawk so be sure to note that special date.
You may come at 8:30 a.m. on the day you are HAWK to set
up your display in the display cases located directly inside the
east doors on the west wall hallway.
THE DISPLAY CASES WILL NOT BE LOCKED this year.
Our new focus is on student made products, culture and
the curriculum standard: speaking and presentations.
Each student is asked to bring:
-One student made art product from home or school
-One student written product (poem, letter, research pa-
per, etc.) from home or school
-Two cultural items from home (ie – traditional dress, pho-
to of holiday celebrations, favorite team memorabilia,
instrument)* The goal is to highlight family customs,
culture, holiday celebrations, traditions)
-Two personal items from home (ie – toy, game, trading
cards, doll or figurine)
-Presentations will be approximately 15 minutes.
The Hillcrest Hawks will not be helping with announcements
this year but their names will be announced on their special
day.
Parents, you are invited to join your child for lunch. Adult
lunches are now $3.45 and may be paid in the lunchroom
when you go through the lunch line. The lunch schedules
are:
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday & Friday Wednesday
11:35-12:00 –Kindergarten 11:30-11:55--Kinder
11:40-12:05—4th grade 11:35-12:00—4th grade
12:05-12:30—1st grade 11:55-12:20—1st grade
12:10-12:35—2nd grade 12:00- 12:25—2nd grade
12:30-12:55—3rd grade 12:20-12:45—3rd grade
12:35-1:00—5th grade 12:25-12:50—5th grade
Enjoy your day as HILLCREST HAWK! Parents should check
with the classroom teacher as to what time your child will
present his/her display case to the class if you would like to
be present.
At the end of the school day, please take down your child’s
display. Thanks for helping with this special Hillcrest activity!!
PAGE 4
Absence and Tardies
Parents are reminded that regular and prompt at-tendance is essential to the academic success of students. Parents/guardians need to contact the school (832-5720) by 9:00 am if your student will
be absent or tardy.
If a student arrives to school late, he/she must report to the office to avoid being marked ab-sent before going to class. Students are to check in at the office when they arrive after 8:45 am. Tardies are excused for medical appoint-ments, illness, and other reasonable parental re-quests approved by the principal.
This year, our office will be using the automated Skyward system to make calls about absences. If you receive this call it will be because we have not heard from you about your child’s absence. It is important that you make contact with the school stating the reason for the absence so it can be excused.
Student Lunch Accounts & Balances If your child participates in the district’s food ser-
vice program, it is important to keep a positive
balance in their account. At Hillcrest, weekly
statements are sent home with students at the
beginning of each week as part of Monday Mail.
If your child has a negative balance, you will also
receive a phone from the automated messenger
system. Parents can check their student’s ac-
count balances online with the MyNutrikids.com
web site at www.MyNutrikids.com after register-
ing. If parents utilize the online payment system,
they can sign up to receive automated email no-
tices as well when account balances become
low.
If several attempts to collect negative balances
have been made with no success, the school
may elect to restrict a child’s lunch options until
balances are paid. The lunch provided to the
student would be a peanut butter and jelly sand-
wich and milk.
Hillcrest Office Hours
8:00-4:30pm each day
Admin. Assistant-Robin Yackley
Office Secretary-Kim Krannawitter
Interpreter/Translator-Katie Pelayo
Parent Involement-Kristine Wheat
Nurse-Carol Carnahan
Health Assistant-Lisa Talkington
Principal—Tammy Becker
Hillcrest Site Council
The Hillcrest Site Council is looking for a few new mem-bers. The mission of the school site council is to provide advice and support regarding specified areas of their school’s programs and operation. The council monitors the schools performance goals and objectives They are a liaison between the school and the Board of Education. Site council membership is comprised of staff, parents,
and community members.
A focus area for site councils this year will be to provide feedback on the upcoming construction project. The council will also provide input for the building school im-provement plan and our new Positive Behavior Interven-
tions and Supports (PBIS).
Site Council meets once a month from October through May on the 2nd Wednesday of the month at 5:30pm. Site council terms are 2-3 years. If you are interested in serving on our site council, please email Tammy Becker at [email protected] or call the school of-fice at 832-5720.
ENGLISH LANGUAGE CLASSES Attention: All Spanish speaking and internation-
al women who need to learn English.
Small World, a program for women and their
young children, will begin enrollment for the fall
semester on Tuesday, September 2. Classes
meet on Tuesday & Thursdays from 9-11 a.m. If
you have questions you may call us at (785)
843-3645, or visit our website: smallworldlaw-
rence.blogspot.com.
CORE HAWKS BEHAVIOR ATTRITUBUTES
This year, our students are being taught the five core behavior attributes that support a positive learning environ-
ment.
Have Respect I will respect others, myself, and my school.
Act Responsibly will act responsibly as I follow directions. I will have integrity at all times.
Work Together I will do my best work every day as I cooperate with my classmates to listen,
think, solve problems, read and write.
Kindness Counts I will always be kind. I will not bully others. I will be a friend to everyone.
Soar to Success I will try to soar like a hawk every day as I work to reach my learning goals.
System of Acknowledging Appropriate Behavior
Students will receive a coupon when they demonstrate correct HAWKS behavior. These tickets can be given by any staff mem-
ber. These tickets are placed in the HAWKS box in the classroom for a recognition drawing every other week. Three names will
be drawn from each classroom box twice a month. Students’ names will be announced over the intercom and in the school
newsletter. Postcards will also be mailed to parents acknowledging the HAWKS value they demonstrated. Student’s pictures will
be placed on the bulletin board outside of the office. Drawn tickets will be saved and one name of each classroom will be
drawn per trimester for a special lunch with the counselor or special guest.
A whole class can be recognized for their appropriate behavior through the use of our “Golden Tickets”. Classes receive gold-
en tickets from any staff member when they have observed the entire class following Hillcrest expectations. When a class re-
ceives ten golden tickets they can trade them for a class-wide acknowledgement such as an extra recess, lunch in the class-
room, picnic lunch outside, popcorn party, etc. Due to a generous donation from Walmart, teachers will have a budget for
class-wide rewards.
We also want to acknowledge our teachers who work hard each day to implement our CI3T program and school-wide expec-
tations with consistency. When student tickets are drawn every two weeks, we will also draw three extra tickets and
acknowledge those teachers with a prize . A special thanks to these area businesses for their donations: TCBY, Ingredient, Mass
Street Sweet Shoppe, Hot Box Cookies, Dominos Pizza, and Munchers Bakery.
Parent Information Corner Parents make the difference!
Children do best when schools and families work together in partnership
Back to School: How to help your child transition Each year, parents, children, and teachers experience the transition from August to September. For children, this means adjusting to
a greater level of activity, different meal time schedules, a different variety of food from home, different daily schedules and structure, new friends, and
even a new school all together. This year even the building itself will change. The building your children walk out of this year will look very different than
the building they are entering today!
Parents can help their children be successful with these transitions by:
Stay Positive.
All of us do not feel like getting out of bed sometimes. Stay positive with your child as they are adjusting.
Be informed.
School communication comes home every Monday. Remember to check your child’s back pack. The more informed you are about your child’s school
activities the more comfortable and assured they will be about the transition. If you need a newsletter or form translated please let your teacher,
*PIF, or office know.
Establish a time schedule.
Think through your child’s schedule and through your needs. Allow plenty of time especially in the morning to get your child on the bus. Car riders
need to be dropped off by 8:40 am in order to be in class by 8:45 am. Breakfast starts at 8:15 am and car riders are welcome to arrive at 8:15
am.
Establish bedtime routines.
All the transitions from summer schedules to school schedules can be exhausting! During the school months the amount of sleep your child needs
increases. Multiple studies have shown that the amount of sleep a child gets affects their mood and school performance. Start your bedtime
routine by 7:30pm so they have plenty of time to wind down and get to sleep.
Talk to your children.
Visit with your child about his or her day. Connect with your child by asking him or her specific questions about their day like, “What was best about
school today”. If you have any concerns that your child is struggling please let their teacher know your concerns.
*Parent Involvement Facilitator (PIF) exists to help parents support their children’s success in school and in life, which includes connecting parents to various
programs, services, and resources.
“Where the World Goes to School!”
Hillcrest is a community working together to
provide a challenging, meaningful education
for all children, in a safe and stimulating envi-
ronment, where diversity is welcomed and
learning is celebrated.
Sitting atop a hill on 5.3 acres of land, Hillcrest Elementary
School, built in 1953, is located in central Lawrence just west of
The University of Kansas. Hillcrest shares its name with
its neighborhood. We serve approximately 365 students in
grades K-5. The school offers a full-day kindergarten program.
As a cluster site, Hillcrest provides English as a Second Lan-
guage services to English Language Learners. Its international
population includes students from 30 different countries, many
of whom attend while their parents are studying at KU.
Hillcrest Elementary School
Tammy J. Becker, Principal
1045 Hilltop Dr.
Lawrence, KS. 66044
We’re on the Web
http://hillcrest.usd497.org
The first weeks of school are a time to help your child adjust to the routines, get excited about
GROCERY GIFT CARDS ORDER FORM
Money raised helps PTO fund reading materials, classroom materials, field trips, activities
and much more.
Buying grocery gift cards through Hillcrest earns money for the school and costs YOU nothing extra!
For example, if you pay for $25 in gift cards, you receive the full $25 in gift cards.
The stores then give 5-6% of that $25 back to Hillcrest.
Please turn in your order form and check to the office. Your gift cards will be ready for pickup in the office in 1-2 days.
The office staff will email you when your order is ready.
Child’s Name ____________________________________ Teacher & Grade ______________________
Phone# and/or Email __________________________________________________________________
Amount $ ___________ Checker’s ($10 increments)
$ ___________ Dillon’s ($25 increments)
$ ___________ the MERC ($25 increments)
$ ___________ Hy-Vee ($25 increments)
$ ___________ TOTAL
For safety reasons orders must be picked up in the office. If this is difficult for you to do,
or if you have any questions, contact Joan Waegelein at [email protected].
Please write one
check for the total
amount to Hillcrest
