Hillcrest Family Newsletter

The Hillcrest Spirit Wear Store Closes-Today Friday, March 21 is the last day of our Hillcrest Spirit Wear order. This will be our last spirit wear order of the year. Make sure you shop the new items and get your orders in before it's too late!

Hillcrest Elementary Spirit Wear

bsg.chipply.com

Yearbook Ordering is available online and has been extended to April 4th. Mortenson's site was experiencing problems so they are extending the deadline for families. To order, please use this link https://mortensen.orderschoolpix.com/90042 and the password prepay. As a reminder, this is the only way to make sure your child gets a yearbook on the last week of school. Only a small amount of extra yearbooks are printed every year and preordering ensures your child will have a yearbook.

4th and 5th Grade Families:Please see the attached information about the 4th and 5th grade concert and art show on Thursday, April 3rd!

Concert Reminder

JK Lee is partnering with Hillcrest PTO again on their “Be Your Best”, martial arts after school program starting on April 8th, 10th, 15th, and 17th from 3:30-4:45 in the Hillcrest Bell Hallway.

There is a white belt graduation on April 17th from 6pm-7pm at JK Lee (right by school). Registration is due by, April 7th! Keep eye an out in your children’s backpacks for this flyer!

It takes all of us working together to make sure everyone is safe at drop off and pick up. PLEASE help us with these morning reminders:

1. The parking lot requires very slow moving traffic. Plan on leaving plenty of time for drop off so everyone can go slow.

2. Please stay off of your cell phone. Our parking lot requires your complete attention.

3. Only walk from the parking lot to the playground/school at the designated crosswalk. We have staff members posted at this crosswalk and this is the only safe place for anyone to cross. When you cross at a different area you are crossing traffic.

4. Only use the drop off lane if your child is able to get out of and back in the car by themselves. Only use the sidewalk side for entering and exiting your vehicle. Do not have children get out of the vehicle on the traffic side of your car. Drivers do not leave their vehicles in the drop off lane.

4. Do not use the circle drive unless you have a pass to use the circle drive. This requires office permission because of the needs of your passengers.

We need everyone's help in following these expectations to keep all kids and adults safe.

Winter weather is a part of life in Wisconsin and we send students out for outdoor recess two times each day. As long as temperature with the windchill is above zero, we will go outside for recess. Boots, snowpants, coats, hats and mittens should be sent to school every day. Please make sure your child has shoes for the school day too, especially on the days that they have phy ed.

To report your child's absence, use one of the two methods:

--> Report via Infinite Campus (directions attached below)

--> Reporting absences via attendance line 262-970-1816 (New number)

Preplanned absences (especially more than one day) need to be reported via a form linked here. Copies of the form are available in Hillcrest's office as well.

There are 10 allowable days for a parent to excuse their child from school each school year. If your child has an appointment or sees a doctor for an illness, get a doctor's note from your provider. This allows us to code the student's absence as medically excused.

Every month, each family receives an automatic email from the school district regarding your child's absences. We often get questions from families about these emails so we thought we would answer some of the frequently asked questions:

• In the emailed report, it does not differentiate between medically excused and parent excused absences. Log in to your Infinite Campus Parent Portal to check the specifics of each absence. In order for an absences to be marked medically excused, we need to have a doctor's note showing that the student was at a doctor's appointment or that they are excused from school for an illness.
• Attendance is taken twice a day in the elementary school, in the AM and PM. If a student is absent one day, this will be recorded as "2 counts" in the attendance report. The system records it as one day but the count on the emailed report is "2". Again, check your IC Parent Portal will help you make sure your child's attendance has been recorded correctly.
• Tardies are also shared in the emailed report. If a student arrives after 9:50, they are marked Tardy and if they arrive after 10:00AM it is marked as an AM absence. We always denote the actual time of arrival or leaving if for early pick ups and late drop offs.
• Please remember that preplanned absences over one day in length require a pre-planned absence form. The district form is linked HERE and we always have copies available in the office.

Thank you for taking the time to review your child's attendance records. We want to have your child here each day! With so many colds and flu symptoms this time of year, it is important to keep in mind our district's Too Sick for School guidelines, as well. Planning family vacations to align with school day vacations allows for your child to have those parent excused days when they may be sick.

We are here to help! Sometimes families aren't quite sure who to reach out to for specific needs or requests. Take a look at the list below to see who to reach out to:

• Dilini Williams - Building Secretary - 262-970-1805, dwilliams@waukesha.k12.wi.us: Urgent student needs, Attendance support, After school PM dismissal changes, Infinite Campus access, School Fees
• (Madi) Joirmadith Oliveras-Borrero - Health Clerical Assistant - 262-970-1815, joliverasb@waukesha.k12.wi.us: Attendance support, After school PM dismissal changes, Medical attendance excuses, Pre-planned attendance needs, Health Room forms, Medications, Blessings in a Backpack

-Before 2:00 PM for Kindergarten to 5th grade students.

• Transportation questions or concerns, please contact First Student directly.
• To communicate with the teacher directly, please reach out via email. Phones do not ring into the classrooms during the school day and teachers find time to check their emails once or twice a day. Staff Directory
• Jodi V. has retired, pls don't email her regarding absences, we are not able to check her email