HIGHCREST HEADLINES
December 20, 2024
A Message from the Administrative Team
Dear HMS Families,
Our theme for December is, "Our Traditions are Important," and we have had a lot of fun these last three weeks celebrating some of the Highcrest Traditions that make our school so special. Last week we enjoyed our annual Winter Music Concert, and this week we have had fun dressing up for Spirit Week. We've also celebrated all of our musicians at evening concerts this past week, have celebrated our teachers and staff for their hard work at this time of the year, enjoyed a holiday celebration in the LC, and have had some homeroom fun and games (ask about Jeopardy and Name that Tune)! Check out pictures below of some of the fun we have been having as we celebrate our Highcrest Traditions.
We wish you the best as you enjoy your own family traditions over Winter Break. Whether you are traveling or staying at home and keeping warm, know that we wish you the best for a wonderful time together with family and friends. Be safe, and we will see you in 2025!
Take care,
Kelly, Linda, and Susie
Arrival and Dismissal Times
As weather gets colder, we wanted to remind our families that band, choir, and orchestra begin at 8:00 AM, and general outdoor supervision outside begins at 8:25 AM. Students dropped off before 8:25 AM will not be able to wait in the building, so if they are dropped off early, they will be outside unsupervised until 8:25 AM. The bell rings at 8:45 AM to let students in the building for their homeroom class.
Please be mindful when planning morning drop off, and encourage your child to dress appropriately for the cold weather.
Students are dismissed daily at 3:35 PM, and the office closes at 4:15 PM. Please plan to pick up your child by 4:15 PM daily. If they are at an after-school club, they may take the late bus home at 4:45 PM. Please note that the office can not take requests for messages to students after 3:30 PM. After that time we are not able to get in touch with students to let them know of a dismissal plan.
Please make sure to remind your child if they are walking or meeting your car on a different street that they should stay on the sidewalks and refrain from cutting through our neighbors' yards.
SEL NEWS - DECEMBER
December often finds us in a season of giving and offering gratitude for the things that we are thankful. Practicing gratitude with our children is a wonderful way to help them build empathy, support the development of their relationship skills, support finding creative solutions to conflict, and can help kids make positive choices when they interact with others.
This month as we all reflect on the past year and look forward to a fresh start in 2025, try one of these simple ways to practice gratitude as a family…even the simplest acts can make a big difference in the lifes of others…as well as your own!
As you tuck your child in bed at night or as you converse at the dinner table, ask your child, “What were you thankful for today?” Share your own as well! This will help to reframe even the negative thoughts (i.e. “Ugh…the snow…”) to positive thoughts (i.e. “The snow today made everything look clean and bright outside.”) and by sharing your own thoughts of gratitude, you serve as a model for your child.
Write thank you notes…but not only for gifts! Gratitude can be expressed to others (teachers, grandparents, siblings, etc.) with a simple note of thanks for anything! See if you can get crafty and creative as you send notes to others expressing your thanks.
Create a family gratitude jar. After creating the jar, put it in a special place in the house where you add to it on a regular basis with little slips of paper. You can use questions such as, “Who makes you laugh?” or “What are the things that made you happy this week?” to prompt thinking about gratitude, or just keep it as a spot for family members to add regularly. Open it and look through it every few months, to see how many things in our lives have created a sense of gratitude.
DISTRICT 39 UPDATES
What I Like About…District 39!
There are so many fun and creative things happening in our schools that bring smiles to students and staff alike. As we head into winter break, we celebrate all that we love about our schools! Please enjoy these short videos sharing a few of the many reasons our students and staff enjoy their schools!
Parent Education Event
District 39’s December Parent Education event titled “Youth Substance Use Trends Parents Should Know About” was full of valuable information for families. If you were unable to join us live, the recording and presentation materials are available below.
We are grateful to have partnered with PEER Services and the Knowledge Empowers Youth (KEY) Coalition for this presentation, which provided outstanding guidance on an important topic. Please visit our Parent Education webpage for our full schedule of events as well as archived recordings of past events.
Board of Education Meeting
The Board of Education gathered this past Monday for its monthly business meeting. In addition to hearing committee reports, the Board was presented with a draft of the 2025-26 academic year calendar, which will be officially approved by the Board on January 27th, and approved the supplemental debt service tax levy for 2024. Agendas and materials for all Board of Education meetings are posted online the Friday prior to the meeting.
Save the Date – Registration for the 2025-26 Academic Year
With the end of the calendar year rapidly approaching, we wanted to share that registration for the 2025-26 school year will open on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. District 39 is excited that it will be offering full-day kindergarten for all families beginning in Fall 2025! A draft of the 2025-26 academic year calendar is available here and will be officially approved at the Board’s January 27th Board of Education Meeting.
Please consider donating to the Highcrest PTO
You can donate in a couple different ways:
IGNITE - The Highcrest Ignite fund pays for ALL enrichment activities including visiting authors, field trips, assemblies, outdoor learning environments, athletic equipment and more. Suggested donation amount is $85.
HAWK FUND -. This newly created fund supports students and teachers at HMS in any area needed - in improving facilities, purchasing equipment, and adding activities for the students. The Highcrest PTO works closely with teachers and staff to identify the needs of the school, and budgets to meet those needs. A donation to the Hawk Fund is tax deductible, with 100 percent going to improving the school.
Spiritwear - Available at Humankind!
Spirit wear makes great holiday gifts! Available online at Humankind!
Snacks Needed!
We need continued help stocking the teachers' lounge for our awesome staff! We need a lot more sign-ups for January! Please click here to sign up!
December: Grade 6, House 4 (Bishop, Resis, Everhart, Flanigan)
January: Grade 5, House 1 (Sarich, Essary, Dubnow, Konicek)