HIGHCREST HEADLINES
November 8, 2024
A Message from the Administrative Team
Dear HMS Families,
We are looking forward to honoring our Veterans next week as we celebrate Veterans Day on Monday. To do this, we want to enlist your help so our students can join us as we honor these people who have given so much for our freedoms.
First, we will have a special segment on the Broadcast Monday morning. During that segment we will talk about Veterans Day and will share photos of Veterans who have made a difference in our lives. If your child would like to send in a picture to be shown on the broadcast, please have them submit the picture to Mrs. Jackson by email (jacksonk@wilmette39.org) by Saturday evening. Include the student's name, the Veteran's name and in what branch of the military they served.
Second, we will be supporting Operation Gratitude, an organization that works to support members of the Military and First Responders through sending care packages to them to know they are cared for and thought about on a regular basis. The project we are participating in is two-fold:
- Each homeroom will have a collection container for loose change, and we will be participating in the "Cents for Service" project through Operation Gratitude. This project raises money to send care packages to troops and first responders. Every $25 earned supports one care package sent. We will collect the change all week long, and will share with students a final total on Monday 11/18 on the Broadcast. Encourage your child to do jobs around the house, clean out the car, search in those couch cushions, etc. to earn or find loose change to be donated for this cause.
- We will have a collection box in the main office for letters that we will send into Operation Gratitude for their letter writing projects. Letters are included in care packages for an extra pick me up for those who are in need of a kind word of support. If you and your child would like to work together to write a letter or make a card for someone deployed, please follow these instructions, and have your child bring in a letter or two to put in the box in the main office. We will collect letters all week long. ON THIS PAGE there are templates for letters, as well as coloring pages if your child prefers to just color a page to send.
Have a wonderful weekend,
Kelly, Linda, and Susie
SEL NEWS - NOVEMBER
As we look to November we look forward to the many holidays that occur duing this upcoming season. Friday, November 1 begins the Indian holiday of Diwali, the Festival of Lights. It celebrates the triumph of light over darkness and good over evil. Happy Diwali to all of our families celebrating.
Thanksgiving, which occurs later this month, is a wonderful time to celebrate our families. The theme that we observe in November across the district is “Our Families are Important.” We encourage our students to share about their families, their family traditions, and what makes their family special to them.
Families and the community are also a crucial part of the social-emotional development of our students. While we have lessons about understanding our emotions, building relationships, understanding others’ perspectives, and making good choices and decisions, these lessons at school alone, are not as effective as they are when supported at home by the families that surround our children. Spend time as a family over this month celebrating one another, and engaging in activities that are fun! The Wilmette Public Library has regular events for families, and check out this list of opportunities to spend time together by catching a show, apple or pumpkin picking, heading to a museum and more!
DISTRICT 39 UPDATES
Securly Home Temporary Features Pause
For families who utilize them, please be aware that the Rules and Pause Internet feature in Securly Home on your child(ren)’s iPad will be unavailable from 6 am-noon on the mornings of Saturday, Nov. 9 and Saturday, Nov. 16. Although this particular granular control will be unavailable, the web-filtering feature on student iPads will be unaffected and continue to run during these times.
Parent/Teacher Conferences
Fall parent/teacher conferences will take place on Nov. 20-22, immediately preceding Fall Break (Thanksgiving Week). Families received an email last Friday (Nov. 1) from District 39 with their Meet the Teacher login credentials to sign-up for parent-teacher conferences. The sign-up window for families to schedule their parent-teacher conference appointments remains open and will close at 11:59 pm on Monday, Nov. 18. Please visit our D39 webpage for more information.
Parent Education Event – Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging Monthly Themes
Thank you to everyone who joined us on Wednesday for our Parent Education event titled “Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) Monthly Themes in Literature.” If you were unable to join us live, a recording of this event is now available for all families.
Mark your calendars for our next Parent Education event, “Substance Use Trends Parents Should Know About,” scheduled for Wednesday, Dec. 11 at 11 am. Families can join us in-person at the Mikaelian Education Center or virtually via Zoom. Registration for this event is open now. Please visit our Parent Education webpage for our full schedule of events as well as archived recordings of past events.
Please consider donating to IGNITE.
The Highcrest IGNITE program raises funds to pay for enrichment programs such as field trips and school assemblies and contributes to enhancements to our schools directly related to our students such as outdoor learning environments and athletic equipment. These activities and resources are 100% funded by the Highcrest IGNITE fund.
Thank you to all the families that have donated so far. If you have not donated yet, please consider donating so that we can maintain our enrichment programs. Click HERE to donate to IGNITE.
Snacks Needed!
We need help stocking the teachers' lounge for our awesome staff! We need a lot more sign-ups this month! Please click here to sign up!
November: Grade 6th, House 3 (Heyde, Flintz, Eakley, Facchini)
December: 6th Grade House 4 (Bishop, Resis, Everhart, Flanigan)
Spiritwear - Available at Humankind!
HMS has spirit days throughout the year--show your Hawks pride with some swag! Available online at Humankind!