What's Happening At The Hive!

• Monday, 2/17:
• SCHOOL IS IN SESSION! on President's Day (SD161 observed Lincoln's Birthday on 2/10)
• Tuesday, 2/18:
• 6:00 pm: HH 4th and 5th Grade Instrument Fair
• Monday, 2/24;
• 6:00 pm Board of Education Meeting at 41 E. Elmwood Drive, Chicago Heights, IL
• Wednesday, 2/26:
• 6:00 pm: HH Black History Performance at Parker Jr. High School, 2800 School Street, Flossmoor, IL
• Friday, 2/28:
• EARLY DISMISSAL at 11:40 am: School Improvement Day
• Wednesday, 3/5:
• HH Picture Day

Thank you to all families for your responsiveness with our new arrival and dismissal procedures! Members of Hornet Council did a great job directing traffic inside the building and making sure younger students found their way to their classrooms. Thank you to Ms. Fiore for her work with Hornet Council! This week (the week of 2/17) construction equipment, including fencing, will begin to arrive on site. There will be sidewalk closures near the building, so it is important that all traffic walk to Door A around the sculpture. Please remember, students should never walk through the parking lot or be dropped off on the opposite side of the street. Please continue to follow all traffic rules in the school zone for everyone's safety!

Thank you to families that joined us for our first annual District STEAM Night! We had great attendance and were excited to welcome activities and displays from each 161 school, as well as community partners like the Homewood Science Center and Homewood Flossmoor High School. Congratulations to our HH 5th graders for their hard work on the cardboard robots on display!

This month we are celebrating Black History Month! Students are learning about a variety of African Americans artists, entrepreneurs, inventors, and historical figures and their contributions to our nation and the world. We will continue our study with a culminating Black History Performance at Parker Junior High at 6:00 pm on Wednesday, 2/26. Mark your calendars!

Below you can find a presentation for information for parents/guardians regarding state assessments for 3rd-5th graders. See slide 6 for practice questions and readiness tools. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to Principal Humm at chumm@sd161.org.

Do you have a career you would like to share with the students of Heather Hill? We are working on planning our first Career Day at Heather Hill! On the afternoon of Friday, 3/21, we will welcome invited parents and community members to share information about their careers. Our goal is to partner with the community, as well as inspire students to dream big and know they can achieve anything with hard work and perseverance! We are looking for a range of careers to share with students. If you are interested, or know someone who may be, please fill out this Career Day at Heather Hill Interest Form by Monday, 2/24. We will follow up with interested parties with more details.

Classroom Technology Upgrades

Along with the planned school improvements in the Long Range Construction Plan that include new paint, lighting, and furniture upgrades, we are also recommending the replacement of the current SMART boards and classroom projectors. Most of the current devices have reached the end of their lifespan and can no longer be repaired or upgraded. We are suggesting the purchase of interactive touchscreen flat panels for the classrooms and learning spaces to replace the current screens and projectors. The overall report about the classroom technology recommendations can be found here and this link will take you to the technical specifications for the devices.

District Goal Setting

At our recent meeting, the Board of Education continued its discussion on setting transparent and rigorous goals moving forward. This report contains the original goal brainstorming information and a draft of a community survey that is still under construction. At the next meeting on February 24, 2025, the Board will clarify some goal setting definitions and process expectations and will determine the timeline for the community survey.

Digital citizenship is important in keeping children safe online! Once a month, during library time, K-5 students receive badges for learning about digital citizenship. Students will receive a certificate at the end of the year for their participation. Families can access this Digital World Basics/ Social Media video to continue the conversations at home.

We are continuing to work towards our goals of increasing student attendance to increase learning goals! We are working towards a goal of at least 93% attendance each week. Of course we encourage parents to keep children home if they are sick. Students should stay home for at least 24 hours after a fever subsides. Please consult a medical professional as needed for other symptoms including cough, vomiting, etc.

Do you have a student accomplishment you'd like to celebrate with the Heather Hill community? Please email Principal Carol Humm at chumm@sd161.org and include a description and picture of only your student. We love to celebrate students' accomplishments!

Parents and guardians please remember that safety is our number one priority at Heather Hill! For that reason....

1. Please make sure to pull fully to the curb before letting your child(ren) out of the car. Double-parking is dangerous.
2. Please do not block driveways so buses and transportation can enter and exit the parking lots.
3. Please do not block cross-walks for the safety of all pedestrians.
4. Please do not do 3-point turns in the school zone.
5. Please do not park in no parking zones or stop in no standing, stopping, or parking zones.

We have seen an increase in these behaviors and there have been some very unsafe situations. Since the weather is colder and more families are choosing to drive, please be aware of these important safety practices. Thank you for your help in keeping all children and adults safe!

The Flossmoor Public Library has incredible events and programs coming up for children of all ages! View the calendar and sign up for the library newsletter at https://www.flossmoorlibrary.org.

Just a friendly reminder to all parents/guardians per the letter sent home on 10/10 regarding lunch drop-off procedures. Please leave all lunches in the lobby! We have bins and post-it notes for parents to label the meals with names and grade levels. There is no need to enter the office as our staff will check the bins both before and during the lunch periods. Thank you for your help in this process!

As winter approaches, we want to make sure we are prepared for all types of learning. In the case of severe inclement weather, an emergency remote learning day will be called. This information will be shared through email and a phone blast. It will also be posted on the District and school websites, as well as the Emergency Closing Center website to be shared with the media. The Flossmoor School District 161 Emergency Closing website provides further information on timeline and procedures.

Remote learning days will be a mix of synchronous and asynchronous work. For synchronous work, students will login with their Chromebooks to meet with their teacher and classmates in a live online session. For asynchronous work, students will work independently based on assignments from their teacher. Please make sure to check your teacher's Canvas page for more information and video links on the day of remote learning.

• Kindergarten: Students will have an at-home packet to work on. This will go home ahead of time and parents should keep it in a safe place. Kindergarten students will be on Zoom for shorter learning time as communicated by their teachers.

• Grades 1st - 5th: Students will have class on Zoom and all work will be uploaded to Canvas.

• Specials Classes and WIN Time: Schedules will be posted on your student's Canvas course with Zoom links. Elementary specials’ schedules will be followed for the day of the week and will alternate by am/ pm for each E-Learning day, as needed.

If your child will be absent, please call the HH absence line at 708-709-7699 ext. 2055.

• Signing up for District 161’s text message alerts is quick and easy. Simply text the word “YES” to 67587 from the cell phone on which you wish to receive text messages. Please make sure that your cell phone number is up-to-date in Skyward. If you need to update your phone number, please contact the office at your child’s school. Click here for more information.

• Registrarse para recibir alertas de mensajes de texto del Distrito 161 es rápido y fácil. Simplemente envíe un mensaje de texto con la palabra "YES" al 67587 desde el teléfono celular en el que desea recibir mensajes de texto. Asegúrese de que su número de teléfono celular esté actualizado en Skyward. Si necesita actualizar su número de teléfono, comuníquese con la oficina de la escuela de su hijo. Haga clic aquí para obtener más información.

In order to ensure the safety of all students, families may only bring non-edible birthday treats to school to share with classmates. We cannot accept any food items to distribute to students as many students have serious food allergies. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation!

We are looking for a crossing guard for at least the next few months! Crossing guards would need to be available from 7:30-8:15 am and from 2:45-3:30 pm each day. If interested, please visit the Job Opportunities website with the Village of Flossmoor. Thank you!

Please view the SD161 Student Handbook for important information.

Want to show your appreciation for outstanding work from a staff member? Nominate them for #AboveAndBeyond! Use this form to nominate a staff member today!

Please review the SD161 24-25 Calendar for a list of days when school is/is not in session.

INTERESTED IN JOINING THE PTO?

If you would like to participate in the PTO or have any questions please email them at heatherhillhornets@gmail.com.

Also, Please click on this link https://www.facebook.com/groups/2466905720251155 to join our Heather Hill Families page.

Email: chumm@sd161.org
Website: https://www.sd161.org/o/heather-hill
Location: 1439 Lawrence Crescent, Flossmoor, IL, USA
Phone: 708-647-7200
Facebook: facebook.com/gohornets161
Twitter: @TheHornetsHive