Hillcrest Family Newsletter

The enrollment window for any School District of Waukesha 4K program is now open. If you have a child who will be 4 years old before September 1st, 2025, and you would like them to attend Hillcrest's 4K class, you must complete an application through the School District's website. All applications received between December 1, 2024 - January 31, 2025 will be included in the 4K lottery process in February.

Please see the School District of Waukesha Enrollment 4K website for more Information!!

We have almost reached the middle of the 2024-2025 school year and there are screenings and assessments that students complete each year at this time.

During the week of January 6th, all 5K-5th grade students will take the iReady diagnostic exam. This will help us track growth from the beginning of the school year and will automatically adjust the problems that students solve on their MyPath in iReady on their iPads.

Beginning on January 6th, all 4K students will start the AimsWebPlus screener to gather information about early literacy skills. 5K-5th grade students complete this screen beginning on January 21st. There are different subtests that students complete for this assessment that students will be completing throughout the assessment window. 4K will finish by January 24th and 5K-5th grades will finish by January 27th.

More details to come later this month about literacy diagnostic testing for grades 5K-3rd grade. Also, test results and possible next steps will be shared out in February.

Have some spare change laying around? Use it to help Hillcrest make more school improvements!

The Hillcrest PTO will be running a Penny War from Wednesday, January 15th through Friday, January 17th.Pennies and dollars will earn points for your team. Silver coins, like nickels, dimes, and quarters will subtract points from your opponents. The top three earning grades will receive a prize!

• Wednesday, January 15th bring: Pennies and Silver Coins ONLY.
• Thursday, January 16th bring: Pennies and Dollars ONLY.
• Friday, January 17th bring: Pennies and Silver Coins ONLY.

Each grade will have their own coin jug for collecting money. 4K and Kindergarten will be combined. Each morning, every grade will have the opportunity to bring their coins and dollars to the Library. Please send your child's money in a LABELED ziplock bag.

The PTO will be updating Facebook each day with results showing which grade is in the lead and how much money we have raised. Last year we raised $4,000. Our goal this year is at least $2,000 dollars.

The PTO is looking forward to this competition at Hillcrest and we can’t wait to see grade levels come together to help improve the school.

Any questions please email the Hillcrest PTO at:

Hillcresthuskiepto@gmail.com

Hillcrest Family Fun Night, a night to play, win, celebrate Hillcrest. This event is one of our biggest family events of the year, and will take place on March 3rd through March 7th. If you love to shop after holiday sales or if you have items to regift, here are the baskets that we will be filling come next year. Each grade level fills its baskets with the items identified below.

4K and Kindergarten: Let your Imagination Run Wild (ex. Arts and Crafts, Gift cards to Art stores)
1st Grade: Toy Box (ex. Legos, Barbies, Pokemon, American Girl)
2nd Grade: Gift Card Galore (ex. Gift cards for iTunes, Starbucks, Target)
3rd Grade: Rainy Days Just Got Better (Movies, Puzzles, Board Games, Blankets)
4th Grade: Family fun in the Outdoors (Beach, Camping, Fishing, Frisbees, Kites)
5th Grade: All Things Wisconsin Sports Teams (Brewers, Badgers, Admirals, Wave, Packers, Bucks)

Our next PTO Meeting is this week Wednesday, January 15th from 6:15-7:15 in the Hillcrest Library. We can’t wait to see you there!

For all 3, 4 and 5 graders in the School District of Waukesha. No charge to participate! Join us for this swim program sponsored by the Waukesha Express Swim Team, School District of Waukesha, and Optimist Club of Waukesha. All practices and the swim meet will be at Waukesha South High School. Hillcrest students will be on the Spring City Sharks Team!

No charge to participate! Each swimmer will receive a team t-shirt and cap. Register at www.waukeshaexpress.org! Or turn in your permission slip at school. Deadline to register: March 7! Questions? Email us at info@waukeshaexpress.org

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