Hill Happenings

Can you believe we're already starting our fourth week of school? It’s incredible how quickly time flies! As we dive into our first full week, our students are embracing their routines, and our beginning-of-the-year assessments are in full swing. We have some upcoming events and activities that I wanted to share with all of you.

• Wednesday, September 11th we will have our first PTO meeting of the year at 5:30 in our Hill media center, Door #2!

• PTO Walk-A-Thon fundraiser money is due on Friday, September 20th to be eligible for prizes. Our Walk-A-Thon will take place on Friday, September 27th. The times are below and parents/guardians are welcome. Be sure to read the flyer for details.

• The week of September 16th is Homecoming and spirit week! I've included the spirit week flyer below. I encourage students to participate! It's always lots of fun!

• Kindergarten families are invited to walk in the Homecoming parade with your children on Friday, September 20th. Kindergarten teachers will be there to join you. All students must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.

There’s so much to look forward to this school year, and we are excited about the opportunities and growth ahead. Thank you for your continued support as we work together to make this a fantastic year for our students!

In partnership,

Mrs. Jennifer Burke, Ed.S.

Proud Principal

Wednesday, September 11, is an Early Release Day for Grades DK-12.

Students will be released two hours earlier than normal. All students will continue to have a lunch period on these days. Hill's Early Release Dismissal is @ 1:28 P.M.

The early release days provide the district with opportunities to conduct three-hour sessions of professional development with teaching staff. This will directly impact our students in ensuring that our teachers have been given the tools, training and best practices to deliver the curriculum so all of our students can achieve success.

Other Early Release dates for the 2024-25 school year are:

Wednesday, October 9, 2024

Wednesday, November 13, 2024

Wednesday, January 29, 2025

Wednesday, February 26, 2025

Wednesday, March 19, 2025

Wednesday, April 23, 2025

Wednesday, May 14, 2025

Just a reminder that your child needs to have their 'transportation tag' on their backpack everyday! This is how we know if a child is parent pick-up or will be riding the bus. If you have to change how your child is going home, please call the office by 3:00. Do not leave transportation changes on the teacher's voicemail. This is often not checked until after school is out.

The Davison Board of Education expects regular attendance by all students. Daily attendance records shall be maintained for each student in each school. Regular attendance contributes not only to the probability of scholastic success but also to the development of attitudes of consistent performance which will carry over into adult life. In addition, daily attendance of all who are enrolled in the Michigan Public Schools is required in accordance with state law. Section 380.1561 of the revised Michigan School Code states “every parent, guardian or other person in this state, having control and charge of a child between the ages of six to the child’s sixteenth birthday, shall send that child to a public school during the entire school year.” The child’s attendance shall be continuous and consecutive for the school year fixed by the school district in which the child is enrolled. Students are expected to adhere to the specific attendance rules of their buildings. Violation of attendance rules resulting in an excessive patterned absence will be referred to the Genesee County Prosecutor’s Office. Attendance and participation are an essential part of the learning process and are considered necessary to academic achievement. In addition, regular and punctual attendance are important traits of responsibility and self-discipline for students to develop. Regular attendance contributes not only to the probability of scholastic success but also to the development of attitudes of consistent performance which will carry over into adult life. Daily attendance will result in greater student success and more efficient use of the teacher’s time. Our goal is to maximize student performance and achievement. School and home have a shared responsibility in assisting students to develop desirable habits of punctuality and attendance. Parents are required to contact the school’s attendance office to excuse their child’s absence.

Hill Elementary Attendance Line: 591-0522

Note: There is an answering machine on 24 hours per day for parents’ convenience.

Types of Absences

Excused Absences: An excused absence is one that is verified by the parent/guardian via phone call to the school building’s attendance phone line. Parents are to call the attendance office on the day of an absence or by noon the following day to excuse the absence.

Chronic Illness: Students with a medically documented chronic illness may meet with his/her counselor, administrator or designee to discuss attendance requirements. Chronic illness is defined as an illness that is persistent or otherwise long lasting in its effects. Chronic illness details and form may be found on page A-7, of the Parent Handbook.

Medical documentation of the reason for absence may be requested after 10 days of absence per school year.

Excused absences will be granted for the following reasons: • Personal illness • Funerals • Illness of family members at the principal’s or his designee’s discretion. • Doctor and dental appointments that cannot be scheduled outside school hours. • Required court appearance • Religious holidays with notification from parent or guardian. • Prearranged college visits • Other circumstances may be excused at the principal’s discretion. Unexcused Absences: An unexcused absence is an absence not verified by the parent. This includes “skipping” when a student deliberately absents himself/herself from one or more classes without knowledge or permission of parent/guardian and/or school personnel.

Pre-arranged absence for vacations: Vacations will be excused when they are accounted for by prior contact between parent and building administrator. The student needs to ask for a “Pre-arranged Absence Form” in the building office when requesting homework for a pre-arranged vacation. There is also a form located in the Appendix of the Parent Handbook on pages A-2 and A-3. • Arrangements for the absence must be made one (1) week prior to the starting date for the absence. The pre-arranged absence form must be returned to the attendance office prior to the absence. • The student will be required to see each of their teachers to make arrangements for making up the class work missed. • A vacation that is not prearranged will result in an unexcused absence or absences. • Vacation requests will be denied the days of the school sponsored trips. • It should be acknowledged that such absences beyond five (5) days would be difficult to make up and may severely compromise the student’s academic progress. No more than ten (10) vacation days, (5) five days per semester, will be granted per school year. • All missed assignments are due upon the student’s return unless special arrangements have been made.

Elementary: If a student has excessive absences, the following procedure will be followed:

Step 1: The teacher calls or conferences with the parent after 7 days absent.

Step 2: The teacher notifies the counselor and principal after 10 days absent. The principal and counselor will decide on future procedures.

Step 3: The counselor or principal will make student and parent contacts. Intervention strategies will be initiated.

Step 4: The principal may require a meeting with the GISD Attendance Liaison Officer.

Step 5: If attendance improves, the teacher monitors attendance and returns to Step 1. If attendance does not improve for students in Grades 1-6, the principal takes action up to and including filing truancy petition with the court.

Davison Community Schools has implemented a federally endorsed safety protocol called ALICE to train staff and students in what to do in the unlikely event of an armed intruder. This training encourages staff and students to respond based on their situation, rather than rely on centralized instructions in dynamic times of crisis.

ALICE stands for Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter and Evacuate:

● Alert – inform people of the threat, giving as much information as possible.

● Lockdown – Students and staff can choose to lockdown and barricade the room that they are in if they determine that it is not safe to evacuate.

● Inform – pass on as much information as possible to others and to First Responders, including calling 911.

● Counter – an effort of last resort, if an armed intruder is able to get into the space they are in, individuals can counter with distraction or other tactics. Staff are being trained to use every effort, instead of relying on the traditional lockdown and hide response.

● Evacuate – If it is safe to do so, all are encouraged to evacuate the building, and remove themselves from the threat.

ALICE is not intended to be a checklist of things to do. It is a list of choices, with accompanying strategies that are options for our staff to help themselves and students stay safe in the highly unlikely event of an armed intruder. We believe that all of our school buildings are the safest place for our students to be. Just like practicing what we should do in a fire, we want to be sure that we will know what to do if an armed intruder is in the school. All of Davison schools are equipped with a number of safeguards, some seen and others unseen, to keep our students safe. State law requires all schools to conduct three lockdown drills a year. The first drill of the school year is always announced. Davison Community Schools Liaison Officer, Matt Giguere assists in conducting these drills at Hill, along with our school resource officer, Officer Steve, and local law enforcement. Staff will share what they have learned with our students in an age appropriate way and teach them the ALICE procedures through the course of the year. We want our children to be prepared for everything, including if an unsafe person was to enter our school. Teachers and staff will take the principles and tactics taught in the ALICE training and present the information in non-fearful, empowering ways. We will take into account a children’s developmental readiness to ensure that students feel safe and have opportunities to talk about their feelings and reactions. There is no plan to have simulated shooters in our buildings while students are learning about ALICE. All learning will be staff directed and student-centered. It is our recommendation that parents engage in age-appropriate conversations with their child or children following all safety drills. Should a parent have a specific question please contact your child's building principal.

My name is Julie Buzzell and I am proud to be the MTSS Intervention Teacher and Instructional Coach at Hill Elementary. My team and I provide interventions to students in need of support. We will be working with students in both reading and math across all grade levels within the building. As an interventionist and coach, I work closely with teachers to plan and implement interventions based on current student data and classroom performance. This teamwork will provide the children with the best possible academic outcomes as well as help them to build relationships in a smaller setting. I continue to feel passionate about this district initiative. It is my great honor to be a part of helping to foster the learning of all of the Hill children. I am looking forward to this new school year and the benefits we will surely continue to see as a school community.

Currently, the MTSS Intervention team has been pushing into classrooms to help as needed. This has included assisting teachers and students establish and practice their routines and procedures. We are all working toward building strong relationships with one another. So far, this has been going extremely well. The kids have begun to get the rhythm of school back and the smiling faces show that this has been a positive experience thus far.

With that being said, we will soon begin our initial testing in both reading and math. The purpose of this is to make sure that we are teaching at each child’s instructional level. This means that no matter the starting point, they will be challenged at the proper level. Teaching your child at their instructional level will ensure that they reach their full potential.

In the next few weeks we will determine who will receive academic interventions with the MTSS team. If your child will be working with us, a letter will be sent home as soon as their teacher has helped make the determination. We look forward to working with your children and creating another successful school year.

Welcome back! I have already been in classrooms reading a book about a condition known as Osteogenesis Imperfecta. We have 2 students this year with the bone disorder that is also called Brittle Bones. I am encouraging students to follow the cardinal code in all places, especially the hall and in bathrooms.

I have also read The Kids’ Book of Anti-Bullying by Catherine Stephenson. Every year, I like to begin with a book that encourages kindness and empathy. I also remind students that mean behavior is not always bullying. Bullying is when someone keeps being mean to another person on purpose, AND it continues even after an adult has helped to solve the problem. If a problem doesn’t get reported, adults don’t know about it and can’t help.

I will be starting to meet with individuals and groups of students. If you feel like your child will benefit from a grief group, a worry group, family changes or new student group (1-4th grade) reach out to his or her teacher or you can email me directly: kthompson@davisonschools.org. Permission forms will be sent home once I know what your child needs. I work around other scheduled interventions, which means that some students might see me individually.

Hello Hill Families!

My name is Lisa DuPrey and I am the music and STEM teacher here at Hill. This is my 18th year teaching music at Hill and I can't imagine being anywhere else. My favorite thing about teaching music and STEM is that I get to see your kids and your family every year that you attend Hill. I love getting to watch kids grow over the years, and being their biggest supporter in any challenge they want to accomplish. I am so excited to be working with your kids this year and to continue to build our little family here at Hill.

We are off to a great start in music!!! This week we will begin our aptitude testing in first – fourth grade. Students will take two tests, one focused on tonal passages and the other focused on rhythmic passages. Test scores will not be used for a grade but are used only by me to know how each individual child is progressing in music class. So far the scores have been outstanding!!! After all aptitude tests are completed, kindergarten, first, second, and third graders will continue working on tonal patterns and rhythm improvisation, and fourth grade will begin their first composition unit!

It's great to be back!

Welcome back. My name is Mr. Whitman, and I’m excited to be at Hill Elementary for a 11th year teaching Physical Education.

The first few weeks have been spent establishing routines and reviewing our Cardinal Code. First and foremost, I always ask the kids to give their “best effort.” We have spent a lot of time these first few weeks talking about what trying their “best” means and what may cause it to be different from day to day. We also talked a great deal about safety, and what students can do to keep themselves and others safe in the classroom.

Speaking of safety, for the safety of your child and others around them, gym shoes are required for PE class (see class schedule at bottom). Gym shoes are classified as those with either laces, velcro, or some other way that keeps the shoe securely on their feet. Casual slide on shoes or crocs, even if they have a rubber bottom, are not allowed. We hope the students are able to have a shoe that both supports and doesn’t mark the floor up. This has always been a district policy at Davison, so I appreciate your support on this simple matter.

This fall you can expect to hear your child talk about football, soccer, ultimate frisbee, and golf since those are the sports we are focusing on while we can still go outside. I’m excited to be working with your child this school year! If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at any time.

2024-2025 PE Schedule

Mrs. Galbreath- Wed/Thurs

Ms. Robertson/Mrs. Eastridge- Mon/Tues

Ms. Fulcher- Wed/Thurs

Mrs. Wright- Mon/Tues

Mrs. Schaepkens- Mon/Tues

Ms. Wheaton- Thurs/Fri

Miss Richards- Mon/Tues

Mrs. Halverson- Wed/Thurs

Mrs. White- Wed/Thurs

Mrs. Helms- Mon/Tues

Go Cards!

Mr. Whitman

jdwhitman@davisonschools.org

Welcome Back!

My name is Melissa Tersigni. I am excited to be starting my 2nd year as Hill's media center librarian.

The first couple of weeks we will be establishing routines. We will also be reviewing/learning library procedures and book care rules.

The kids are very excited about checking out books. Please help your child remember how to care for their books and when to return the books to the library. Books must be returned before they can check out again. Thank you for your help with this!

I look forward to sharing my love of reading with your students this year!

Happy Reading,

Melissa Tersigni

mtersigni@davisonschools.org

2024-2025 Officers:

President: Autumn Spears

Vice President: Haily Willford

Treasurer: Lindsay Brandon

Secretary: This could be you! We are looking for a secretary for this school year. Please contact the office or email hillPTOgroup@gmail.com -Elections for this position will take place at our October 9th meeting.

Want to get more involved in your child's school? Join us at our monthly PTO meetings! Learn about exciting school initiatives, share your ideas, and connect with other parents. Together, we can create a thriving learning environment for our children. Our upcoming meetings are:

- Wednesday, September 11th @ 5:30 p.m. @ Hill Elementary

- Wednesday, October 9th @ 5:30 p.m. @ Hill Elementary

Hill Walk-a-thon:

When: September 27th

Where: The Hill Elementary Track

The Walk-a-thon is our biggest fundraiser of the year! ALL funds collected support classroom/teacher needs, educational programs and apps, field trips, assemblies and programs, like Science Alive, and much more. In 2022, this fundraiser was a large part of the reason we were able to purchase and install new playground equipment!

Please encourage your child as they collect donations. There are some great prizes up for grabs! All money is due by Friday, September 20th to qualify for prizes!

Upcoming Dates/Events:

September 20th - Walk-a-thon Donations due to qualify for prizes

September 27th - Walk-a-thon (rain date: October 4th)

October 4th - Popcorn Friday $.50 donation requested (or a one-time $5 donation)

October 11th - Harvest Day (More information to follow soon. We’ll be needing volunteers, so please be on the lookout for how to sign up!)

Please be sure you’ve joined our Hill Elementary - Davison Facebook page. Scan the QR code to join us and be sure to answer the questions! Thank you!

Safety Patrol is an important leadership role for our 4th grade students at Hill School. In order to be selected as a member of safety patrol, students must be a model of Cardinal Code behavior. They need to keep up on their schoolwork, have good attendance, lead by example, maintain a positive attitude, show respect to others, and follow directions the first time. Congratulations to our Team 1 of students who have been selected as safety patrol for the first marking period: Braelynn Williams, Porter Schaepkens, Lochlyn Swenor, Landon Morales, Addilyn Willford, Braylon Rose, Clinton Desgrange, Alexis Newsome, Charlotte Harpst, Sophia West, and Rylee Whitman.

It's one of my favorite things to do! I love having students come down to my office and I get to call their parent/guardian to brag about them! Our teachers can write up students for doing good things. Congratulations to our first positive office referrals for the school year: Finley Campbell in Mrs. Galbreath's kindergarten classroom and Kasen Batoha in Mrs. Helms' 4th Grade classroom! Thank you for showing leadership at Hill School!

Connect with Hill Elementary

Email: jburke@davisonschools.org
Website: https://www.davisonschools.org/
Location: 404 Aloha Street, Davison, MI, USA
Phone: 810-591-0839
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DavisonCardinals/