Husky E-News

Hillendale families,

I hope you're having a great weekend and that your huskies had a great first two days back.

Our annual Family Luminaria Trail Walk benefiting our PTO is this Monday, January 6th from 5 - 6 PM. Families are invited to join us on the lower portion of the Hillendale trail to take a winter walk together through a beautiful path of luminaries. See more details below.

If school is closed on Monday, our "Rain Date" for this event will be on Monday, January 13th.

Please also see information about our annual MLK Day of Service on Monday, January 20th. Having attended the last three years, I can honestly share that this is one of our PTO's best events. Creating projects together that benefit our community is a really unique experience. I'm excited to bring my little ones with me that morning to spend some time volunteering together! See more details below including how you can help provide supplies necessary to make the day a success.

Have a great week!

Joshua Leight

Hillendale Elementary Principal

Please print and send in this form if you would like to purchase a luminary bag to line the trail (it also went home in students' backpacks). Thank you for considering!

In alignment with UCFSD Board Policy 234, students in elementary school must keep smart watches and other personal devices, such as cell phones, turned off in their backpacks during school hours. Communicating on personal electronic devices is prohibited. This is not a change to policy, however, it is a point of emphasis this school year due to the increase in popularity and prevalence amongst student devices. We appreciate your support in limiting classroom distractions and helping ensure smooth communication channels between families and the school. You can review the policy in detail using this link.

January

1 - School Closed: Winter Break

6 - PTO General Meeting (10:30am)

6 - Luminaria Trail Walk Night (5:00-6:00pm)

20 - School Closed / MLK Day of Service

21 - Penny Drive Begins

29 - School Closed

The Yearbook Committee would love to have your pictures for possible inclusion in the yearbook.

Please upload Winter Concert Photos HERE

We are also looking for pictures from winter class parties. If you have some to share, please ask your homeroom parents for the link to upload if you haven't already received it from them.

Thank you!!

This year Hillendale Elementary is working with four community organizations at our Martin Luther King Day of Service Event, Monday, January 20th 9am-12pm. We will host the event in our Cafe/Gym area with our fellow district elementary schools and their chosen organizations.

OUR HES MLK AMAZON WISHLIST!

Pocopson Home is a 24 hour medical care facility in Chester County that provides services for both short term and long term residents. This year our volunteers will make photo books with images from the 1940's and 1950's to help dementia patients connect to their past and inspire good memories.

YoungMoms is an organization based in Kennett Square with the mission to help pregnant and parenting young mothers stay in school, receive the training they need in both vocational and parenting education, and empower them to make healthy decisions for themselves and their families. At the MLK Day event we will make onesies and t-shirts for the participants to receive as Mother's Day gifts this coming May.

STEHM-Martha House is an organization that provides transitional housing to women and children facing crisis situations. We will paint encouraging and uplifting signs for the participants to display in their rooms during their stay and to bring them hope.

Lastly, we will be working with PAWS for People, a local organization that helps people of all needs with support of therapy pet teams. We will be making Kindness Clips for them to give to those they visit. They will be joining us with some of their therapy teams.

Other organizations who will be at the MLK event and supported through projects include: KACS, Meals on Wheels, Ronald McDonald House, and CASA.

For Questions and Information please contact,

Kamille Fox, HES PTO MLK Chairperson, kamillefox@gmail.com,

or

Chelsea Wirth, HES PTO Community Service Chairperson, wirthmomchels@gmail.com

After the initial trial period, NEW DATES have been added for grades 3-5 only. We kindly ask that you initially chose only one library date per child. Once everyone has had a chance to sign up - after January 2nd - we encourage you to check back and signup for more if slots are available.

Volunteers will help to check books in/out and shelve returned books during your 3rd-5th grade child's library class.

Send any concerns or issues to Janette Grieb at janettepgrieb@gmail.com

Questions or comments for the PTO? Email us at HESPTO@ucfsd.net