HILL HAPPENINGS

Dear Hill Families,

On behalf of our Hill School family, we welcome you to the 2024-25 school year! Whether you're returning to familiar hallways or joining us for the first time, we are thrilled to have each of you here at Hill Elementary School, ‘the little school with the big heart’.

I hope everyone had a wonderful and relaxing summer break. I am filled with immense pride to be celebrating my 25th year in education, with over a decade dedicated to serving as your principal at Hill Elementary. The opportunity to continue shaping the lives of young learners in this community is both a privilege and a joy.

If you have been out and about, you will notice there is a lot of construction taking place around the community as well as Hill The work on our front safety vestibule is in progress. Most likely it will be completed by the end of August. At this time, anyone coming to the building or attending our back to school events, should go to our South Parking lot entrance, to Door #8! If you were with us last year, this is also how we ended our school year. Our back to school mailings went out on Monday, and should arrive to you by the end of the week. This mailing has your child's classroom placement information included. If you've moved over the summer, contact our school office to make sure that we have up to date information.

We are looking forward to a wonderful school year together. Thank you for entrusting us with your child's education.

Respectfully,

Mrs. Burke, Ed.S.

Proud Hill Principal

Dear Fellow Parents and Staff,

I am thrilled to join the Hill Elementary Community as a special education teacher this fall! My

name is Autumn Steinke and since everyone asks, let me tell you, it is pronounced “stein” from

Frankenstein with a “key.” Vowels make all the difference! My family recently moved from

Louisiana to Michigan and we are enjoying the beautiful and much cooler summer. My family

includes my husband, three daughters, three dogs and one crested gecko. I have one grown

daughter already in college and two more daughters of school age. We lived in Utah and

Wisconsin previously, but plan to settle in Michigan for the foreseeable future. As a family, we

love traveling and finding the best food in the area. Our favorite memory is traveling to Japan,

where we took in a robot show, marveled at the cherry blossom festival and toured a 400 year

old castle. In between sights, we sampled exquisite sushi, ramen, tempura and some of the best

ice cream (no kidding!).

My passion is special education. I have been in the field for over 20 years since I graduated

from UW Madison in 2001 with a special education degree. After teaching for 13 years, I

returned to UW Madison and earned my Master’s degree. It is my passion for excellence in

education that drives me. I myself love reading and writing as hobbies, moreover, I love seeing

students learn to read and write in the classroom. I like math too, but my favorites are in English

Language Arts. My experience teaching these subjects stretches from urban areas, like Akili

Academy in New Orleans to the small rural schools of the south and west and to the Blue

Ribbon Award winning schools of the midwest. Elementary students are the best! I adore their

enthusiasm and energy and feel that teaching them is a reward unto itself.

When I am not teaching or traveling and sampling delicious food with my family, you might find

me running with my dogs, reading in a cozy nook, putting around in my garden or hiking in the

forest. I look forward to meeting all of you very soon!

Kindergarten Parents/Guardians are invited to a Parent Orientation on Monday, August 12th from 4:00-5:00 pm. This informational meeting is for parents/guardians only and will be held in Hill’s Cafeteria/Gym. You will have an opportunity to meet kindergarten teachers and learn important information about your child’s school day and Hill School! We hope to see you there!

Hill Staff will be hosting an Open House for ALL students and their families on Tuesday, August 13th from 4:30-6:00 pm. This will be an opportunity to meet the teacher, see classrooms, get information about bus pick-up and drop-off, talk to members from our Food Service Department as well as learn about our AMAZING PTO group. Please plan to join us!

Our first day of school is Monday, August 19th. The school day begins at 8:35 am and ends at 3:28 pm. Students will be allowed to enter the building at 8:25 am, collect a free breakfast, if they so desire, and move on to their classroom. Please make sure that your child is aware of how they are going home at the end of the day. (bus, parent pick-up, home, daycare, etc.) If you are bringing your child to school the first day, you are welcome to line up with your child outside. When the bell rings, your child will enter the building independently. We will have plenty of staff on hand to assist students so that they get to the right place!

Parent Drop-off/Pick-up

In an effort to keep our children safe at Hill Elementary School we expect that our families follow these guidelines when dropping off or picking up your child from school.

Morning Valet Drop-Off (aka “Kiss & Go” Loop)

• Use the drop-off/pick-up loop at the south end of the building. (Do NOT use front loop)

• We will begin unloading vehicles at 8:18 AM. (DO NOT drop off children early as there will be no supervision)

• Pull up as far forward as possible in the loop.

• Use the lane closest to the curb. Students should exit the vehicle on the curb side only.

• Parents/family members should remain inside the vehicle.

• Students should have all belongings ready to exit the vehicle before pulling up for their turn.

• The first bell rings at 8:25, students should be in classrooms ready to begin their day at 8:35.

* If arrival time is inconvenient for your work schedule and you need to drop your child off earlier, please contact Cardinal’s Nest at 591-0821 to check availability for childcare. Cardinal’s Nest has a latchkey program before and after school for a minimal fee.

Afternoon Pick‐Up

• Use the drop-off/pick-up loop at the south end of the building. (Do NOT park or enter in the front loop)

• Dismissal is at 3:28 PM. (We will begin @ 3:18 PM)

• Place your car sign in your windshield (Will be provided in folder at Open House)

• Pull up as far forward as possible in the loop.

• Use the lane closest to the curb.

• Parents/family members should remain inside the vehicle.

• Staff and safety patrol will be available to assist loading students in cars on the passenger side.

2024-2025 Officers:
President: Autumn Spears
VP: Haily Willford
Treasurer: Lindsay Brandon
Secretary: Unfilled

Our PTO has a Facebook page: Hill Elementary PTO Davison

The purpose of the Hill Facebook group is to provide online information for current Hill families. Content shared should align with the mission, values, and goals of the PTO and should be relevant to its members. Our goal is to share information that pertains directly to PTO events and to repost information that Davison Community Schools have already communicated.

Our next two PTO dates are noted below . We'd love for you to join us, and we encourage and welcome any and all ideas/feedback!
Wednesday, Sept 11 @ 5:30pm - Hill Elementary
Wednesday, Oct. 9th @ 5:30pm - Hill Elementary

Walk-A-Thon
This is our biggest PTO fundraiser of the year! ALL funds collected support classroom/teacher needs, educational extension, field trips, assemblies and programs like Science Alive, and much more! All money is due by September 20th to qualify for prizes!
Upcoming Dates/Events:
Walk-A-Thon: September 27th
First Popcorn Day: September 6th

If your child is going to be absent for any reason, please be sure to contact our Attendance Line (810-591-0522). Calls can be place on that voicemail at any time day or night. Please be sure to include the reason for your child's absence so it can be noted and the absence excused. Attendance calls should not be placed on the main office line.

Transportation tags will be provided at our Open House on Tuesday, August 13th. Just a reminder that your child needs to have their 'transportation tag' on their backpack everyday! This is how we know if a child is parent pick-up or will be riding the bus. If you have to change how your child is going home, please call the office by 3:00. Do not leave transportation changes on the teacher's voicemail. This is often not checked until after school is out.

• Wednesday, August 7th - Office Opens to the public

• Thursday, August 8th - Traveling Library (Please see schedule above)

• Monday, August 12th @ 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM - Kindergarten Parent Orientation (Parents/Guardians only)

• Tuesday, August 13th @ 4:30-6:00 PM - Open House

• Monday, August 19th - First Day of School

• Friday, August 23rd - No School

• Tuesday, August 27th - Picture Day

• Friday, August 30th - No School

• Monday, September 2nd - Labor Day, No School

Email: jburke@davisonschools.org
Website: https://www.davisonschools.org/
Location: 404 Aloha Street, Davison, MI, USA
Phone: 910-591-0839
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DavisonCardinals/
Twitter: @proud_principal