What's Happening At The Hive!

• Friday, 3/21:
• Report Cards posted for 3rd Quarter
• Career Day at Heather Hill
• Tuesday, 3/25:
• 3rd-5th grade students begin testing for the Illinois Assessment of Readiness
• Thursday, 3/27:
• 6:00 pm 5th Grade Beginning Band and 6th Grade Band Concert at Parker Jr. High, 2810 School Street, Flossmoor, IL 60422
• Monday, 3/31 through Friday, 4/4: NO SCHOOL SPRING BREAK
• Monday, 4/7: School resumes and testing for the Illinois Assessment of Readiness continues for 3rd-5th graders

Congratulations to our 3rd graders this week! They really showed off their singing and newly acquired skills with the recorder. Thank you to Mx. G. for continuing to grow musicians at HH! Also, the Parker Junior High Music and Choir teachers paid a visit to our 5th grade students to promote joining 6th grade choir. We highly encourage students to be involved in extra-curricular activities at Parker to enhance their middle school experience!

Also pictured below are students making sense of math with manipulatives. In particular they are working on adding multiple numbers and 2 digit numbers with a base ten blocks-game, patterns and numbers with dominoes, and Pi Day activities (puzzles, mazes, number challenges).

A big shout-out to Mr. Small! We celebrated Mr. Small before his birthday weekend and are so grateful for his work every day at Heather Hill. Mr. Small has worked incredibly hard to build relationships and support the mission and vision of Heather Hill School. Thank you, Mr. Small!!!

Construction continues at Heather Hill. All safety measures are being taken to ensure students are safe throughout this process. If you have any questions, please fee free to speak with Principal Humm or Assistant Principal Small at 708-647-7200.

The Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR) and the Illinois Science Assessment (ISA) are the state assessment and accountability measure for Illinois students enrolled in a public school district. IAR assesses the Illinois Learning Standards incorporating the Common Core and will be administered in English language arts and mathematics to all students in 3rd-8th grades. The ISA assesses Illinois Learning Standards in science, aligned to the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). This will be administered to students in 5th and 8th grades.

The majority of Heather Hill students will begin testing the week of March 24th. Our upcoming schedule is listed below. Students in Ms. Kramer and Mr. G.'s classes continue assessing this week. Please make sure students get plenty of rest, eat a healthy breakfast, and have a fully charged Chromebook for school each day. Please also make sure students have their glasses and water bottles.

We are also welcoming all parents and guardians to write a letter of encouragement to their child(ren)! Envelopes will be sent home on Monday, 3/17. We ask that all letters of encouragement be submitted by Friday, 3/21. We will give letters to students before they test to encourage them to do give their best effort. Letters for students in Ms. Kramer's and Mr. G.'s classes should focus on how proud families are of their efforts in testing. If you have any questions, please feel free to call the main office.

Each year, we ask parents to contribute to a statewide survey called the 5 Essentials from the University of Chicago. We use this feedback as we are creating our School Improvement Plans to celebrate areas of strength and determine areas of opportunity. Please complete this survey to help HH grow! Surveys are counted per child. The 5 Essentials closes on 3/28. Thank you for your support!

http://survey.5-essentials.org/illinois/survey/parent/

Construction Updates

We broke ground on the Heather Hill Office project on March 3rd and now that the weather is cooperating, the work is moving forward. Now that the ground has been excavated, crews will begin installing utilities and other infrastructure items. While we are renovating the schools, we will also upgrade our low voltage [internet] wiring to support additional bandwidth speeds and connectivity. Using the federal E-rate program, we will be reimbursed for almost 60% of the project costs.

Playground Improvements

Along with the planned building improvements for the Summer of 2025, we are also taking this opportunity to upgrade the intermediate playground at Heather Hill and an older swing set at Serena Hills School

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!

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.

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