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Dear Hillcrest Academy North Campus (HAN) Students and Families:

February has been a very productive month at HAN. Students are actively engaged in their studies as they work on projects in the classroom. We celebrated the success from the first semester by taking an "Incentive Trip" together as a school community. Several of our students made Honor Roll and a large percentage of them missed it by a grade or two.

Our community service project of the month was students helping Crossroads School assemble Pine Wood Derby cars for an up and coming event they are having. We received wonderful feedback from Crossroads School about the work we did and how much it was appreciated.

We also, as a school community, worked on our Student Success Plans during advocate periods and participated in Restorative Circles. These two school wide initiatives have had a real impact on students and staff. We will continue to plan these activities throughout the duration of the school year.

HAN continues to be a safe space for students where they can thrive academically and socially while individually soaring to new heights!

Keep it up, HAN!

Please feel free to contact our main office with any questions.

Sincerely,

John Marquet

Principal

Enrolled - 88

Accepted - 3

Disenrolled - 1

Fire Drill - February 24th

Lockdown Drill - February 19th

March 10th - Students Early Dismissal at 1PM

My classes participated in a restorative circle on February 14, 2025. We discussed the Super Bowl halftime show. The students were engaged and some students that usually don't talk were willing to participate. It was a very good activity for Valentine's Day.

For one student, it was the first time she participated in a restorative circle. “It was a bit awkward for the first time doing a circle.”

Other students wrote:

“I liked the restorative circle because it was fun to hear and express other people’s opinion about the Super Bowl.”

“It’s fun to participate in an academic game.”

We watched a video on Instagram about why it is only books that are banned when movies, TV shows and video games have the same content that books have. The answer was that books provide the opportunity to think and internalize. We then discussed why this generation does not seem to like long-form reading - decreasing attention spans. We also discussed if Generation Z is really the "Fight Generation".

"I loved the restorative circle that I participated in class because I think it's very important to hear others' opinions. Hearing the opinions of my classmates made me open my mind to new perspectives and made me realize I have more in common than I thought with my classmates." - Sofia

"Throughout this year I've felt as if I don’t really know my classmates. I usually mind my own and keep to myself. However, the restoration circle has shown me the difference of when I know I’m not alone and has helped me getting to know the people around me and the environment that I am put into. This activity, it makes me feel safe and as if I can finally express myself, but also getting to see others express themselves so freely without judgment makes me feel good, knowing that I can understand them little by little." Katie

Students and staff were introduced to STOPit Solutions, a program that allows students and staff to report any concerns about unsafe, harmful, or inappropriate behavior to the HAN Safety Team. Students and parents/guardians are encouraged to download the STOPit App onto their phones.

Hillcrest Academy North assists students from the Elizabeth Public School District in reaching their full potential by providing an alternative to the traditional high school setting. We offer smaller class sizes with a rigorous and challenging high school curriculum that is aligned to the New Jersey Student Learning Standards and prepares students for college and career. Our goal is to provide a safe, supportive, and empowering school environment that fosters lifelong learning, mutual respect, creativity, and the joy of learning, with an effective, caring, innovative staff, in partnership with home and the community.

Mr. John Marquet, Principal

Mr. Thomas Van Cleef, Supervisor of Instruction

Location: 2630 Plainfield Ave, Scotch Plains, NJ 07076

Phone Number: (908) 233-9366

Website: https://ucesc.org/schools/hillcrest_academy_north