August 2024 Hillcrest Newsletter
August News
Would you attend a PTO meeting if you were able?
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A Note from Mrs. Tapscott
Welcome Back!
Dear Hillcrest Elementary Families,
Welcome back to another exciting school year! We have had a great start to our school days, and it’s wonderful to see our students getting into a routine and learning the expectations of school.
This year, it is our goal to provide weekly communication from teachers, along with a monthly newsletter to keep you informed. As always, our door is open, and we encourage you to reach out with any questions or concerns.
We are encouraging all of our families to join the Rooms app. Rooms is the old Classtag. Teachers have been consistent with posting weekly updates (some have posted even more) to keep you informed about your child's education. On this app. you will be notified of what your child is learning each week, and you may even see pictures of the learning in action. If you need help getting on Rooms, please call the school for assistance. We'd be happy to help you!
We are truly thankful to have such amazing families working alongside us for the well-being of your child's education.
Best regards,
Mrs. Tapscott
A Note from Our Specialists:
Music
Hello Hillcrest Hornets! My name is Mrs. Smiddy, and I’m your child’s music teacher. The music
schedule rotates on a 6 day cycle. On days 1-3, I can be reached at Bowlesburg Elementary
and on days 4-6, I am with the kids at Hillcrest. During that time, your child’s class comes to
music two times for 25 minutes. The time is small but we try to explore and connect to as much
music as we can through creating, performing, and responding. For third and fourth graders the
focus is placed on analyzing and presenting the performance side of our music standards. They
will have the opportunity to attend either the Quad City Ballet or the Quad City Symphony
Orchestra this year. In addition, they will also prepare their own performance for you in
December. Watch for more information to come out on this later.
Science
Science has gotten off to a great start! We started off with "getting to know you" activities and STEM challenges. Now, we can get into the fun stuff. Fourth grade will be exploring all types of energy. Second and third grades will be learning about matter (solid, liquid, gas). First grade will be learning about animal adaptations. Kindergarten will be learning about living things.
Library
The readers at Hillcrest have gotten around to explore the different areas of our awesome new library! We will read in the library during each visit. We have talked about the importance of reading, and our goal this year is to try and read for 20 minutes every day! Please stay tuned for information on how to get signed up for an East Moline Public Library Card in September. If you already have a library card, I hope you visit with your family!
See the pictures from our renovated library!
Save the Date - Winter Music Program
Our 3rd and 4th grade students have the opportunity to perform a winter program on December 19th at 2:00pm. This is an event you will not want to miss.
Upcoming Dates
September 2
No School - Labor Day
September 3
No School - Teacher Inservice
September 16
Picture Day
