Husky E-News
October 22, 2023
From the Principal
Hillendale families,
I hope you are having a great weekend! I'd like to direct your attention to a few important updates within our E-News this week including details about our Halloween Parade and information about our Fall Conferences. Within our PTO section, please find details about the PTO's Annual Fund, the Husky Hustle.
Have a great week!
Joshua Leight
Hillendale Elementary Principal
Hillendale Updates
Halloween Parade Details
On Tuesday, 10/31, we will hold our annual Halloween parade at 10:30 AM. This is later than last year as Pocopson Elementary and Hillendale alternate times with Chadds-Ford & Unionville Elementary to support our families with students in pre-first.
Please see several important details and reminders below:
- Students should wear their costumes to school even if they ride the bus. Students may bring a change of clothes for after the parade.
- Costumes should be school appropriate - no weapons or excessively scary costumes are allowed. Masks and hats are allowed as part of costumes.
- All families should plan to be at HES to park by 10 AM.
- Volunteers will be out to assign a parking area to each car that enters our grounds starting at 9:15 AM. We will fill our K-1 lot, main parking lot, and grassy field east of our playground in that order. Most families will be assigned a spot in the grassy field. Once you have parked, plan to remain on campus until the conclusion of the parade.
- Parking is also available on Hillendale Rd and on Hickory Hill Rd. at your own discretion. Please refrain from parking on Banjo’s Trail or in surrounding neighborhoods.
- Our parade will consist of one lap around our lower trail.
- Families will be asked to stand in an assigned area based on their children’s grade level that will be clearly marked. This will give our students people to wave and smile to throughout their walk as opposed to solely in the beginning/end of the parade. If you have multiple children at HES, please stand in whichever grade level area you would prefer. HES staff will be out to assist families to find a location to watch the parade.
- In the event of inclement weather, a decision regarding the parade will be communicated on Halloween morning by 8:30 AM. If the parade must be cancelled it will not be rescheduled.
- PM Kindergarten will hold a parade starting in the LGI at 1:10 PM.
- Clearances are not required to attend the parade.
- Please view the attached map to visualize our parade set-up.
Fall Conferences at HES
Fall conferences are planned for Monday, November 20th & Tuesday, November 21st. Hillendale will be utilizing an online parent/teacher conference sign-up system called PTCFast. On the morning of Wednesday, November 1st at 7:00 am, a link to the conference scheduler will be shared via email. Once you have registered on PTCFast.com using the link, you will receive an email that will grant you access to the conference schedules of the teachers you request.
After the initial sign-up, you will receive confirmation emails and reminders from PTCFast regarding your conference time. If you do not see the email, please check your junk/trash/spam folders. Upon confirmation, you will be able to resume the selection process.
If you have multiple children at Hillendale, you will be able to view the conference schedules for all staff that you choose. The service will allow you to align times that are most convenient for you. Conference times are meant for homeroom teachers only, but you may request additional personnel to attend if available.
Important Information:
Conferences may take place on Zoom or in-person at each individual family’s discretion. Please indicate your preference by clicking on the box at the bottom of the list of available conference times that states: “Please indicate your preference here for a virtual or in-person conference. If you do not enter your preference it will be assumed that your conference is in-person.” After clicking, please type in your preference for a virtual or in-person conference. If you indicate your preference for a virtual conference, your teacher will provide you with a Zoom link prior to the conference.
If your child receives any of the following services: Learning Support, Reading Support, Autistic Support, EL, Speech, or Gifted Support, the specialists would like to be a part of your child's parent-teacher conference. In order for specialists to attend, you must go into all of these teachers’ conference scheduling tools and register for the same time slot for the classroom teacher AND the specialist(s) when scheduling your conference. We highly recommend that families in this situation request their conference between 1:00 PM - 3:40 PM on 11/20 & 11/21 to guarantee that multiple staff members will be available to attend.
Although many of our 3rd-5th grade students switch classes for math, please do not select a time block to meet with your child’s math teacher as there are not enough conference times available to accommodate that number of meetings.
If you cannot find a time that works for you within the teacher’s conference schedule, do not have access to the internet, or want to schedule a conference with another teacher other than your child’s homeroom teacher, please contact the teacher directly to schedule a time.
To register and choose a conference time, use the link provided on November 1st at 7:00 AM.
If you have any questions regarding the process, please contact our main office at 610-388-1439.
Standard Response Protocol & Emergency Preparedness
Hillendale families, please review this Standard Response Protocol ("SRP") handout for families below and reach out with any questions you might have. SRP is the foundation for all our safety and emergency preparedness planning at HES and within UCFSD. Thank you in advance.
From the PTO
Calendar
October
30-Nov 3 - Spirit Week (see details in flyer below)
31 - Halloween Parade - 10:30am
November
4 - Husky Hustle (see flyer)
7 - School Closed
10 - Veteran's Day Ceremony @ 9:30 AM
10 - Fair Trade Sale Begins
13 - PTO General Meeting
Husky Hustle
PLEASE CONSIDER HELPING TO MAKE THE HUSKY HUSTLE A SUCCESS!
And if you'd like to participate:
Annual Fund
Thank you to those who already donated!
Pictures for the Yearbook
Spiritwear
UTHON Movie Night
Questions or comments for the PTO? Email us at HESPTO@ucfsd.net