Weekend Update!

Spirit Week has finally come to a close! Between dressing up, door decorating, and the pep rally, it was a lot of fun this week at Hillcrest! Make sure to check out the pictures below for just a taste of what your students were up to!

As many of you already know, we are deep into budget discussions for the 25-26 school year. Dr. Semmel has already presented the proposed budget to the board of education, and it will next go through the board of finance and town council. I would ask you to stay engaged in this months long process. Click here to see an infographic that provides details on the proposed budget, and potential impacts of a budget reduction.

We hope to see you and at the Crosstown Showdown tomorrow! It will be a great event for our town, and our students. Go Hawks!

Tomorrow is the annual Crosstown Showdown at Trumbull High. The boys game tips off at 3:00 followed by the girls game at approximately 4:30. Tickets are just $5 and can be purchased in cash at the door or online at https://gofan.co/event/2252484?schoolId=CT20047. If you can make it to the event, the games will stream live here:

TCTV:

Girls - https://youtube.com/live/9UHNq9DQ9uI

Boys - https://youtube.com/live/ClTl7HXrxR8

TEN:

https://trumbulleaglenetwork.mixlr.com/

You should have received the letter about our field trip to the Klein Memorial Auditorium in Bridgeport to see the one-man play, Frederick Douglass: An American Slave. The following are the links to payment directions and the permission slip:

• Payment through Infinite Campus is due by Monday February 10. Here is a helpful tip sheet:

Tip Sheet - Infinite Campus Payment

• The separate permission form must also be filled out by Monday February 10. Please click here to complete the permission slip:

Permission Form - Frederick Douglass Play

*Please log in using your child's trumbullps.net account to complete the permission slip.*

Attention all parents of 8th graders. Students will be receiving the Course Selection Elective Sheet and the 9th Grade Elective Course Options Sheet in their Science classes this week. Please complete the Course Selection Elective Sheet with your student. Trumbull High School counselors will be coming to Hillcrest and meeting with 8th graders on 2/6 to review and collect these sheets and answer any questions your student may have. All 8th graders must complete a Course Selection Elective Sheet, even if they plan to attend a private high school.

THS will host a Grade 8 to 9 transition night in the THS Auditorium on February 5th beginning at 6 pm. All current Trumbull Public School 8th graders are encouraged to attend and sit with their parents/guardians. Snow Date is 2/11 (Tuesday) at 6pm. I am working on a correspondence with Sue that she will send to grade 8 families.

The Interact Club is actively helping support causes that will provide relief to victims of the fires in California.

The one nearest to our heart is the Pasadena Education Fund. Liz Grace, a former Hillcrest student (many, many years ago), has two middle school children who attend the Eliot Arts Magnet School. This school and the high school next door were both completely destroyed by the fire. The majority of students who attended this school lost their homes in the fires as well. All money donated will go to helping these children stay together and continue their education while they rebuild. The link is below.

https://interland3.donorperfect.net/weblink/weblink.aspx?name=E10123&id=138

The video from this week’s episode of News from the Nest can be found here.

1.This week, our staff read this article regarding effective study strategies for students.

2. Mrs. Laird and I are currently reading Visible Learning Feedback by John Hattie and Shirley Clarke.

With the basketball season about to underway, we feel as though it would be a good time to remind families about our expectations for student spectators during the games. If your children intend on attend a game this season, please review this letter with them. Thank you!

As a reminder, Agriscience cannot be used a place to drop off or pick up students. Students who are walking home from school are not permitted to cut through the Agriscience campus.

Get involved with the PTA! Your involvement helps create a thriving environment for our students and supports programs that make a difference. Membership has its perks! Be the first to receive updates, help support our operating budget, have your voice heard at meetings, and enjoy member exclusive events.

Membership Form

Join us in earning cash for HMS by using the Box Tops app. It’s an easy way to make a difference. All you have to do is buy Box Tops participating products (like Cheerios!) and scan your grocery receipt. The homeroom that earns the most for each trimester will win a Box Tops Prize Pack!
Get started today at BTFE.com. Use referral code GZ3U8TZ9 when you sign up.

I know this was shared in our Welcome Back letter, but I would like to reiterate the importance of following our procedure. For the beginning and end of the school day, students may ONLY be dropped off or picked up in the back of the building at Door 13. As you are waiting to drop your children off, please do not park in a staff, yellow parking space. Each space will be used in the back of the building and if a family member is parked in a yellow space, staff will not be able to get into the building on time. Thank you for your patience and cooperation!

The traffic in the back parking lot has steadily increased throughout the week, which I am guessing is a result of the delays we have seen with buses. If you are dropping your children off, I would ask that you please remember the following:

1. Please be patient and drive at a slow speed to be mindful of pedestrians in the parking lot,

2. Please keep the traffic flowing by dropping your kids off and pulling through the rest of the line,

3. Please maintain one line of traffic, not two, as to not inadvertently block teachers from parking in their assigned spaces.

4. Please stay to the right with your vehicles, as to not block the driveway.

We strive on a daily basis to provide a safe environment for all students, and to promote safe practices with them as well. We will continue to educate students about what safe behavior looks like and what our expectations are for safe behaviors. We see this as a partnership with our families. I ask that you please remind your children to be kind to each other, to keep their hands to themselves, and that there is never an acceptable time or moment to use slurs of any kind. This article from the American Psychological Association gives families tips on how to potentially address way to have these discussions.

For the safety of our students and to avoid any overcrowding issues, students should only ride the bus they are assigned to unless issued an exception by the transportation department. Drivers are instructed not to admit any student to their bus that is not assigned or has not been given an exception from Transportation. Exceptions should be for child care reasons or emergencies and not used for playdates. Using a school bus for anything other than home to school transportation is prohibited.

This past Monday, we began running late buses to accommodate extra help and after school activities. Please click here to see the routes for our late buses. If your child is staying after school and plans to take a late bus home, please make sure you review that document to determine where they will be dropped off.

Did you know that Hillcrest has its own Instagram page and Twitter feed? Follow us on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/hillcrestmshawks/. Follow us on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/HMSTrumbull/ . This is a great resource for families to get a glimpse of day to day life at Hillcrest!

If you think you may be interested in volunteering at some point this year for a Hillcrest event, please fill out this form and return it to the main office. Thank you!

In order to better serve our students and families, we have implemented a new bus tracking system that should resolve the issues we have been experiencing with “Bus Tracker”. It is called BusZone ®.

It allows you to view your students current school bus location and information about the route in near real time, including the scheduled and estimated times to your stop. Please refer to the transportation page on the TPS website for instructions on downloading and using the app.

https://www.trumbullps.org/departments/transportation

Activation can take up to 48 hours, so please download and set up your app as soon as possible. Accounts set up today should be active on Monday 11/11/24.

The app contains a very helpful support option. You will find the answers to most questions there and the ability for contact Durham directly if needed.

Please let us know if you have any question.

Please see this flyer on helpful tips to navigate the Parent Portal of Infinite Campus.

Principal

Email: brickert@trumbullps.org
Website: https://hms.trumbullps.org/
Location: Hillcrest Middle School, Daniels Farm Road, Trumbull, CT, USA
Phone: 203-452-4466
Twitter: @HMSTrumbull