Weekend Update!

We made it through the first trimester of school! We appreciate all of your support in making the first third of the year a success! Speaking of successes, Hillcrest recently received news highlighting some of our accomplishments:

1. The state department of education recently released the results of the Next Generation Accountability report cards for the 23-24 school year. I am thrilled to share that their set of criteria rated Hillcrest as the #7 middle school in the state! Our overall rating went from a 75.8 to a 79.8, citing gains in achievement and growth for language arts and math, and an improved rate of chronic absenteeism. The schools above and below us spend substantially more money per pupil than our district, making this an even more remarkable achievement!

2. U.S. News and World recently came out with their annual rankings of middle schools in CT, and Hillcrest sits at #10 in the state! Their methodology includes achievement in language arts and math, juxtaposed over demographics and staff per pupil. Again, amazing news!

I hope you are just as proud of this as Mrs. Laird and I are. While we do not need outside metrics to validate how special this school is, it is nice to know outsiders see it the same way that we do. Congratulations on this special recognition of all of your hard work!!

Enjoy your weekend!

Our second Hawk Hoopla Day was a HUGE success! The students and staff had a great time! Thank you to Mrs. Laird and the PBIS team for putting this together!

Earlier this week, the 8th graders in Ms. Dordevic's Family and Consumer Science class challenged Mrs. Laird and Mr. Rickert to a cupcake baking challenge! The competition was fierce, but the Hillcrest administrative team came out on top! The winning cupcake was an apple spice cake, cinnamon buttercream frosting, and a caramel drizzle. The recipes can be found here:

The cupcake recipe.

The frosting recipe.

The caramel recipe.

Hillcrest’s online literary magazine, Expressions, is hosting our first contest of the year. What does Winter mean to you? Enter for a chance to have your work published in our literary magazine. The contest is open to all students, grades 6-8. Enter a drawing, photograph, piece of artwork, poem, or creative piece which demonstrates “what winter means to you.” Work should be submitted through the Google Form located on your Grade Level Google Classroom.

With the basketball season about to begin, we feel as though it would be a good time to remind families about our expectations for student spectators during the games. If your children intend on attend a game this season, please review this letter with them. Thank you!

This week’s video announcements can be found here.

Don’t miss your chance—registration for Hillcrest Ski Club closes today, 11/22.

All Ski Club details, including costs and more, are available in the Google Form for registration. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfSMc1d-OYgrnZBmzMMbZD7EjR-xl65dIyiTs3fgyLRjonPVQ/viewform?usp=sharing

Please note the Ski Club dates: 1/3, 1/10, and 1/24, with snow dates on 1/31 and 2/21. Mountain policy requires students to attend all three trips.

Have questions? Email us at hillcrestskiclub@gmail.com.

Please click here for instructions on how Trimester 2 schedules can be accessed in Infinite Campus. Trimester 2 will start on Monday, November 25th with a Day 2. Report Cards will be posted to Infinite Campus Backpack by the end of the school day on Friday, December 6th. Click here for directions on how to access report cards in Infinite Campus.

Calling all creative minds!!

The National Reflections Arts Program is underway, and we'd love to have some of our HMS students join in the creativity!
The 2024-2025 theme is: "Accepting Imperfection"
Students can submit their completed works in the categories of Literature, Visual Arts, Photography, Film Production, Dance Choreography and Music Composition.

Entries are due December 20th and can be turned into the main office

Entry form (turn into main office): Reflections Paper Entry Form
Digital Entry form: Reflections Digital Entry Form
Reflections Guidelines: Reflections Guidelines 2024

Questions? Contact Lisa Malin at lisabethmalin@gmail.com

A huge thank you to everyone who participated in the Hillcrest fundraiser—your support means the world to us! 📢 And the raffle winners are: 🏆 Ava Parente – $150 Amazon Gift Card 🏆 Lauren Cook– $75 Amazon Gift Card 🏆 Ellie Baker– $75 Amazon Gift Card 🏆 Sara Ventrella – $50 Amazon Gift Card 🏆 Mikey Leath – $50 Amazon Gift Card Thank you to everyone who registered, sold items, and shared their store links. Together, we’ve made a huge difference for Hillcrest students and staff! Stay tuned for more exciting opportunities, and congratulations again to our amazing winners!

Get involved with the PTA! Your involvement helps create a thriving environment for our students and supports programs that make a difference. Membership has its perks! Be the first to receive updates, help support our operating budget, have your voice heard at meetings, and enjoy member exclusive events.

Membership Form

Do you have a passion for reducing waste and helping those in need? We’re looking for a dedicated volunteer to lead a new food rescue program at Hillcrest Middle School! As the lead, you will ensure food is properly collected and transported to local shelters or food banks twice a week. This is a rewarding way to make a tangible difference in your community. To learn more about how you can be a part of this crucial mission please email: SustainableTrumbull@gmail.com

For the safety of our students and to avoid any overcrowding issues, students should only ride the bus they are assigned to unless issued an exception by the transportation department. Drivers are instructed not to admit any student to their bus that is not assigned or has not been given an exception from Transportation. Exceptions should be for child care reasons or emergencies and not used for playdates. Using a school bus for anything other than home to school transportation is prohibited.

1. This week, our staff read this article which shares effective feedback strategies.

2. Mrs. Laird and I are currently reading How to Give Effective Feedback to Your Students by Susan Brookhart.

Join us in earning cash for HMS by using the Box Tops app. It’s an easy way to make a difference. All you have to do is buy Box Tops participating products (like Cheerios!) and scan your grocery receipt. The homeroom that earns the most for each trimester will win a Box Tops Prize Pack!
Get started today at BTFE.com. Use referral code GZ3U8TZ9 when you sign up.

I know this was shared in our Welcome Back letter, but I would like to reiterate the importance of following our procedure. For the beginning and end of the school day, students may ONLY be dropped off or picked up in the back of the building at Door 13. As you are waiting to drop your children off, please do not park in a staff, yellow parking space. Each space will be used in the back of the building and if a family member is parked in a yellow space, staff will not be able to get into the building on time. Thank you for your patience and cooperation!

The traffic in the back parking lot has steadily increased throughout the week, which I am guessing is a result of the delays we have seen with buses. If you are dropping your children off, I would ask that you please remember the following:

1. Please be patient and drive at a slow speed to be mindful of pedestrians in the parking lot,

2. Please keep the traffic flowing by dropping your kids off and pulling through the rest of the line,

3. Please maintain one line of traffic, not two, as to not inadvertently block teachers from parking in their assigned spaces.

4. Please stay to the right with your vehicles, as to not block the driveway.

As a reminder, Agriscience cannot be used a place to drop off or pick up students. Students who are walking home from school are not permitted to cut through the Agriscience campus.

We strive on a daily basis to provide a safe environment for all students, and to promote safe practices with them as well. We will continue to educate students about what safe behavior looks like and what our expectations are for safe behaviors. We see this as a partnership with our families. I ask that you please remind your children to be kind to each other, to keep their hands to themselves, and that there is never an acceptable time or moment to use slurs of any kind. This article from the American Psychological Association gives families tips on how to potentially address way to have these discussions.

This past Monday, we began running late buses to accommodate extra help and after school activities. Please click here to see the routes for our late buses. If your child is staying after school and plans to take a late bus home, please make sure you review that document to determine where they will be dropped off.

Did you know that Hillcrest has its own Instagram page and Twitter feed? Follow us on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/hillcrestmshawks/. Follow us on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/HMSTrumbull/ . This is a great resource for families to get a glimpse of day to day life at Hillcrest!

If you think you may be interested in volunteering at some point this year for a Hillcrest event, please fill out this form and return it to the main office. Thank you!

In order to better serve our students and families, we have implemented a new bus tracking system that should resolve the issues we have been experiencing with “Bus Tracker”. It is called BusZone ®.

It allows you to view your students current school bus location and information about the route in near real time, including the scheduled and estimated times to your stop. Please refer to the transportation page on the TPS website for instructions on downloading and using the app.

https://www.trumbullps.org/departments/transportation

Activation can take up to 48 hours, so please download and set up your app as soon as possible. Accounts set up today should be active on Monday 11/11/24.

The app contains a very helpful support option. You will find the answers to most questions there and the ability for contact Durham directly if needed.

Please let us know if you have any question.

Please see this flyer on helpful tips to navigate the Parent Portal of Infinite Campus.

Principal

Email: brickert@trumbullps.org
Website: https://hms.trumbullps.org/
Location: Hillcrest Middle School, Daniels Farm Road, Trumbull, CT, USA
Phone: 203-452-4466
Twitter: @HMSTrumbull