Weekend Update!

How cool was it to see the Northern Lights yesterday evening??? I hope you were able to sneak a peak with your family. I dragged the whole Rickert crew out of the house to make sure they were all able to see this special phenomenon!

Next week we have a lot going on at school, including 8th grade career night, and the district wide pink out! Please read below to learn about all that and more!

For those that are celebrating Yom Kippur beginning this evening, g’mar tov.

On September 25, the community came together for a forum on the "New" Hillcrest building. During the presentation we agreed to create a document that answers questions that we received at the forum and in other communications. Please use the link below to review the FAQ Document. This document provides quite a bit of information about the project and the upcoming referendum.

https://resources.finalsite.net/images/v1728590654/trumbullpsorg/mfeekenwkxikfnrjwany/HillcrestReferendumFAQ.pdf

Hillcrest is proud to support the Pink Pledge to raise breast cancer awareness. Students can contribute by bringing in $1 or donating online. Don’t forget to wear pink on Friday, October 18th for the THS Football Game—students wearing pink will be entered into a raffle for a chance to win a gift card! Let’s make this Pink Out a success! PINK PLEDGE - PINK OUT

The Trumbull High School Athletic Department has asked us to remind our families that any middle school student who is attending the home football games at THS must be accompanied by a parent or guardian to enter the game. We all appreciate your attention to this important detail.

This week, we began our video announcements that students watch during homeroom. Check out the first episode! Thank you to Mrs. Kitchener for facilitating this! The video from this week’s episode can be found here.

Please click here to see a letter with information regarding our upcoming Parent-Teacher Conferences at Hillcrest. We look forward to seeing you there!

Boon Fundraiser is on! Boon Reusable Bags, Gift Wrap, Delicious Snacks and other great gift items are available. Proceeds will benefit all HMS students and staff. Everything will ship directly to the buyers—just in time for the holidays! shop.gwrcfundraising.com

Register now, then sell 10 items to be entered to win Amazon Gift Cards while supporting our school. BOON FUNDRAISER

Kick off the school year with Bowling Night at Bowlero in Milford on Friday, October 18th, from 6:30-8:30 PM! For $45, students enjoy 2 hours of bowling, shoe rental, unlimited food and drinks, and a $10 arcade card. Register by Monday, October 14th to join the fun! Lanes will be assigned upon arrival, so feel free to coordinate with friends.

We also need volunteers—if you're staying, consider helping out to make this event a success! BOWLING NIGHT

Please ask your students to check the lost and found for any missing items. We will be donating all items in the lost and found to the Bridgeport Rescue Mission after school on November 1st.

Join the PTA and be a vital part of our Hillcrest community! Your involvement helps create a thriving environment for our students and supports programs that make a difference.

Membership Form

We're excited to offer several PTA volunteer opportunities within our school! Please consider contributing your time and skills to support our students and enhance our community.

Together We Can

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.

Don’t miss out! Order your 2024-2025 Hillcrest yearbook now to lock in our lowest price of the year, $35.00. The price will increase to $40.00 next Saturday, October 12th, so don’t wait! Click here to order.

1.This week, our staff read this article detailing the benefits of collaborative learning.

2.We are currently reading Smarter Budgets, Smarter Schools by Nathan Levenson, which is timely for our budget season preparation!

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.

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.

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.

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!

If you are interested in using the Durham Bus tracker app, directions can be found here.

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