Hillrise Happenings

It was my privilege to welcome students and families back to school last night for Open House! I appreciate everyone taking time to meet teachers, drop off supplies, tour the building, and enjoy a treat! It was wonderful to see students' smiling faces! I enjoyed meeting our new families as we welcome them to our Hillrise community!

We are all looking forward to the first day of school on Tuesday, August 13th! Students in grades 1-5 will report at normal start time on Tuesday at 8:10 a.m. Our incoming kindergartners have a late start on August 13th, with a start time of 9:00 am. Parents are welcome to walk kindergartners to the entrance of the building and help them find their teacher. Starting August 14th, kindergarteners will arrive for our normal start time of 8:10 a.m. and head to the west playground to locate their teacher.

At arrival on August 13th, students entering grades 3-5 will head to the east playground. Teachers will be wearing Hillrise t-shirts and holding name signs so you can easily identify your child's teacher. First and second graders will go to the west playground to locate their teachers. Students can arrive beginning at 7:55 a.m., as there will not be supervision prior to that time. Breakfast will be served beginning at 7:35 a.m. If your child chooses to arrive for breakfast, they will be directed to the cafeteria. At 8:10 a.m., teachers will escort students inside the building to begin a memorable first day of school! These same protocols/directions will be followed for the second day of school, August 14th. Starting August 15th, we will begin Walking Club. Instead of students being directed to classrooms at 7:55, they will move to the east playground for Walking Club.

• Children must exit the vehicle curbside. Do not allow them to get out on the driver's side of the vehicle. Please view the video below for more details to ensure we keep all students safe during drop-off and pick-up!
• If you must get out to open your child's door, please pull into a parking space first and walk with your child across the parking lot.
• At no time will any child be allowed to cross the parking lot alone.
• Respect members of our safety patrol and encourage their leadership opportunities by following their directions. As a pedestrian, please cross with the guards and as a driver, abide by their traffic control.
• Please be sure your child does not arrive before 7:55 a.m. (unless it is for breakfast which begins at 7:35 a.m.) and that you pick them up immediately following dismissal at 3:06 p.m. There is no supervision outside of these hours.
• Families will be receiving a car tag to hang from your rearview mirror during pick-up. The number assigned to you on your car tag will ensure Hillrise staff members contact your child's teacher for dismissal from the classroom. This procedure will allow us to follow safety protocols and dismiss students as quickly as possible.
• Please watch the video below for more details regarding drop-off and pick-up.

Part of a successful school day includes providing students with the expected rules, procedures, and routines. All staff members take time at the beginning of every school year to teach, model, and review these rules, procedures, and routines. We also believe it is important to share these with families; this creates an awareness of what we expect from students at school. In addition, it provides families with common language that can be used at home as well. This provides students with the consistency needed to model the positive behaviors that have been taught. At Hillrise, we teach these behaviors by explicitly modeling different areas of the school, such as the classroom, recess, hallways, bathrooms, and lunchroom. Each week, I will be sharing details regarding our schoolwide plan so they can be reviewed at home. This week, I've included information about our use of Think Sheets as a problem-solving tool for students. We appreciate your partnership with this, as it benefits all students and ensures Hillrise is a safe place for everyone.

Throughout the first weeks of school, teachers will explicitly teach how to complete a Behavior Reflection Sheet and explain why we use them. Students are taught that Behavior Reflection Sheet are used when students are having a hard time following our school-wide and classroom expectations. We discuss that when students are having a hard time following the expectations, adults get a chance to help them. Students might hear a teacher say, “I see you are out of your area, can you go back to your spot please?” If a student is still having trouble following directions, being safe, or respectful, they may be asked to complete a Behavior Reflection Sheet. A Behavior Reflection Sheet is a page students fill out when they've been asked to change a behavior and haven’t been able to do so. The goal is to help students understand the problem, brainstorm alternatives and partner with the adult to help fix it. The Behavior Reflection Sheet is not a consequence or punishment, and does not equate to a student being in trouble. Instead, it is a chance to take a break from the problem, stay in the classroom and try again. This process provides students with an opportunity to build self-help skills, as well as self-regulation.

If a behavior continues after a student completes a Behavior Reflection Form and has processed with an adult, a student may be referred to the office for additional support. At that time, a parent would be notified of the situation.

Hillrise Picture Day is scheduled for Wednesday, September 4th!

The Hillrise Fall Festival is scheduled for Friday, September 6th! This is sure to be a fun event for families! More details coming soon!

The first Hillrise PTO meeting is scheduled for Monday, August 26th. We will plan to meet in the Hillrise Media Center at 6:30 pm. Join us as we brainstorm and discuss ways to support our students and teachers!

Email: mmehlmann@epsne.org
Website: www.elkhornweb.org/hillrise
Location: 20110 Hopper Street, Elkhorn, NE, USA
Phone: (402) 289-2602
Facebook: facebook.com/ElkhornPSHR
Twitter: @ElkhornPS_HR