September 2-Monday-No School

September 5-Thursday-Picture Day

September 11-Wednesday-Late Start-PD at 8-11 am, School begins at 11:38 am

September 12-Thursday-NWEA Testing Window Closes

September 16-Title 1 Parent Meeting/PTO Meeting at Pine Ave-6:00 PM

September 17-Tuesday-APA Dance Performance at Alma College

September 26-Thursday-Parent Teacher Connection Night 4-7 pm

October 1-Tuesday-Parent Teacher Connection Night 4-7 pm

Two weeks down! We are off to a great start! This week we started to begin some of our curriculum in math and our Bookworms blocks, as well as some of our beginning of the year testing. Students have been doing a great job of following are building expectations and following their ROARS!!! We are going to have quite an ADVENTURE this year!

Every class did a fun Read Aloud to start the year acting out the book, Going on a Bear Hunt, for our camping theme!

Come check out our new turf field and enjoy a family event before the first home football game of the year!

Reminder about no school on Friday and Monday. Enjoy the weekend!

Check out this program presented by Child Advocacy!

This week we started our NWEA and beginning of the year testing next week.

Each student will take the math and reading NWEA tests and they also take them in the winter and spring to chart their progress.

Students will also be doing reading and math fluency tests to help us see where are students are so we can use the data to guide our instruction moving forward.

Classroom teachers will send out more information, but it is important that the students are well rested when they come to school on testing days so they can give their best effort!

Results will be sent home once testing has been completed.

Picture Day is next Thursday! Forms were sent home. You can always order online as well!

Join us for the Title 1 Meeting before the PTO meeting on September 16th.

With the new school year starting we have some exciting field trips planned for our students. To ensure your child can participate in these fun learning experiences, please take a moment to review and sign the following forms in PowerSchool:

• Blanket Field Trip Permission Form: This form covers all field trips throughout the school year, so you won't need to sign for each one individually.

• 2024-2025 Student Handbook Agreement: Review the handbook with your student and sign the agreement to acknowledge receipt.

​Directions for the PowerSchool App:

• On the main page of the App, click the three dots located at the lower right of the screen to get to the "More" page

• From the "More" page, click on the "Forms" link

• Under the "Forms" link you will find the 24-25 Field Trip Permission Form and the 24-25 Handbook Permissions and Agreements Form.

• Please use the following link for photo directions: AppDirections.docx

Directions for PowerSchool on your PC:

• Login to your PowerSchool account and select "Forms"

• Under the "General Forms" tab, you will see the 24-25 Field trip Permissions and the 24-25 Student Handbook Agreement

• Please use the following link for photo directions:

  PCDirections.docx

If you have any questions regarding the permission forms or handbook agreement, please reach out to your child's building administrator.​ For technology-related questions, feel free to contact our Educational Technology Specialist, Scott Owen, at sowen@almaschools.net.

Parents, it is essential to keep your information up to date in PowerSchool. This ensures you receive critical communications and notifications concerning your child and district events. Below are the steps you need to follow to update your contact information:

You can also add and edit emergency contacts.

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If you or someone you know is in need of child care for your 2.5-4 year old, we still have spots available. Click the picture to begin enrollment or contact Kimberly Hamad at 989-466-7593 for enrollment information.

Spots are still available for our tuition-based preschool for 4-5 year olds. Open House is September 5, and school begins September 9. Contact Kimberly Hamad at 989-466-7593 for enrollment information.

We have a few spots available for K-5th grade students who are in need of before and after school care. Contact Kimberly Hamad at 989-466-7593 for enrollment information.

We have a tradition at Hillcrest of wearing our theme shirts on Tuesdays! It can be any form of camping shirt, such as camo colors, fishing, from a State Park, or whatever camping is to you!

On Fridays in Alma, we wear orange and black, or anything PANTHERS to show off our school spirit!

APS will once again have Late Start and Early Release Days about once a month. For both days, the time to remember for Hillcrest is 11:38 am. Our Late Start days are on Wednesdays and our Early Release days will be on Fridays this year.

September 11-Wednesday-Late Start-Begin at 11:38 am

October 11-Friday-Early Release-End at 11:38 am

November 8-Friday-Early Release-End at 11:38 am

November 13-Wednesday-Late Start-Begin at 11:38 am

December 11-Wednesday-Late Start-Begin at 11:38 am

January 10-Friday-Early Release-End at 11:38 am

February 28-Friday-Early Release-End at 11:38 am

March 12-Wednesday-Late Start-Begin at 11:38 am

April11-Friday-Early Release-End at 11:38 am

May 14-Wednesday-Late Start-Begin at 11:38 am

Thanks in advance for planning transportation for your students on these day!

Our first Late Start day of the year is on September 11th.

At Alma Public Schools, we teach students to follow their ROARS. We focus on a positive approach and help them to understand the expectations and what following their ROARS looks like, sounds like, and feels like in all areas of the building.

As a way to promote positive behavior and as an incentive to follow their ROARS, students can earn Panther Paws.

Please make every effort to have your child at school every day! We want to see them and their classmates miss them when they are not here! It is so critical to their education process that they in school!

In all of our classrooms, we teach positive expectations for behavior so students know what to expect. We use the acronym MAC (Movement, Activity, Conversation) to help student understand those expectations. The M stands for movement so students know what the expectations are for moving. The A lets the students know the activity they will be coming and the C is the conversation so the students know what volume level they can be at.

Over the last few years, APS has worked very hard at developing and implementing systems to help all students be successful. This flyer helps to give more details regarding our progress.

Make sure to download the APS App on your phone. This year we will be using this app for all parent communication from teachers and coaches. At Open House, you will receive more information on how to connect the app to your student's classroom.

We greatly appreciate and welcome volunteers and chaperones in our classrooms and events. Your involvement in our students' activities and classrooms offers a valuable opportunity for teachers and students, enhancing the safety and enrichment of the learning experience. If you’re interested in volunteering this year, please review our volunteer and chaperone guidelines on our district website under “Parents and Community” and complete the volunteer form. This form will remain on file for one school year.

Click on the link to open the form.

Families are such an important part of their child's education and we want to make sure families are connected to APS! Please seek ways you can be a part of our schools!

Don't hesitate to reach out to the office or to your child's teacher to see what we can do to make this a great experience for your students!

If you need to make a transportation change for your student, it must be communicated to the office before 2 p.m. The end of the day is very hectic at an elementary school and messages are not always able to get to teachers after 2 pm.

Thank you for being so understanding in this situation!

Our buiding uses Second Step to help support our students and their Social-Emotional Learning. Each class does weekly lessons to teach a variety of different skills and techniques.

We have officially begun our ELA program called Bookworms! Our classes have done a great job and we are excited to see their progress throughout the year! Each student will receive three different blocks of reading and writing instruction a day.

One of the Bookworms blocks is called DI. Every student is placed in a group based on their skill and needs. They work on lessons geared toward progress in their reading skills and move up the staircase as they gain the necessary skills.

For all of our K-5 classes, we are using a six-day rotation for our specials, which we call A-F day. All of the students in grades 2-5 have STEAM, Art, Music, Social-Emotional Learning, and two days of PE. Students in first grade will not have music this year, but will have two days of Art class instead.

We are very fortunate to have so many offerings for all of our students that are taught by certified teachers!

Here is a link to all the Camp Hillcrest Happenings for the 2024-25 School Year.

Camp Hillcrest Happenings for 2024-25

Email: jhelinski@almaschools.net
Website: www.almaschools.net
Location: 515 East Elizabeth Street, Alma, MI, USA
Phone: 989-463-3113
Facebook: facebook.com/almahillcrest
Twitter: @almahillcrest