02/08/2019 Friday News
Hillcrest Elementary School
Friday News
February 8, 2019
Dear Hillcrest Families,
Did you know that Wednesday marked our 100th Day of School? Our students really enjoyed celebrating this milestone. The school was filled with all kinds of 100th Day activities . . . guessing the contents of 100th Day Mystery Bags in preschool, creating 100th Day crowns in kindergarten, and building structures from 100 mini-marshmallow building blocks in first grade. Interspersed with all this fun and creativity was plenty of counting and writing (Can you write 100 words?) and all kinds of physical activity from 100th Day Scavenger Hunts to 100 Jumping Jacks.
A few important notes:
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On Monday, February 11th, we will be holding a Lockdown Drill. These drills are conducted in a calm and efficient manner and our teachers always prepare our students ahead of time. As with past drills, we will conduct this one with the assistance of officers from the State Police, the Montague Police and the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department. Please don’t be alarmed by the presence of safety vehicles and police officers at school on Monday . . .they will be here to assist us with this important safety routine.
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If you’ve driven past Hillcrest in the middle of the day this week, you may have noticed our students playing in the parent parking area during recess. When melting snow creates giant puddles and mounds of mud on our back playground, we move recess to the parking area (which is free of cars at this point in the day). In this area, our students are able to run around, play with hula hoops and stomper stilts, and create art with sidewalk chalk. Fortunately, our preschool playground has remained in good shape and our preschoolers have been able to continue with their regular recess routines.
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In our January newsletter, we shared information about how we decide whether it will be an Outdoor Recess day or an Indoor Recess day. Generally, if the temperature (including the wind chill factor) is above 20 degrees, then our students go outside. If the temps are below that mark, recess is inside. Indoor Recess options include building with legos, blocks and other construction materials, coloring and crafting, playing indoor hopscotch and playing board games. In addition, our teachers add plenty of short movement breaks to their schedules throughout the day -- yoga sequences, S’Cool Moves, GoNoodle, and old favorites like jogging in place, jumping jacks and funky dance moves!
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Please note that our February All School Meeting will be held on Friday, February 15th. This change to the third Friday of the month, rather than the fourth Friday, is due to school vacation week. The theme for February is Friendship and we will enjoy presentations from Ms. Chanda’s Preschoolers, Ms. Hirst’s Kindergarten students, and Ms. Smith’s first graders.
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February School Vacation Week is February 18th through February 22nd. You can start off your vacation week by heading to the Greenfield cinema on Saturday, February 16th for a $5 (per ticket) showing of The Lego Movie 2, sponsored by Friends of Hillcrest.
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Please mark your calendars for Read Across Hillcrest on Friday, March 1st. This free, family event will feature a pizza dinner, fun read-aloud activities and a free book shopping spree.You won’t want to miss it!
Wishing you a wonderful weekend --
Sarah Burstein
Sarah Burstein, Principal
The Gill Montague Regional School District does not discriminate on the basis of age, sex, marital status, race, color, creed, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, ancestry, genetic information or military service. The Gill Montague Regional School District maintains a commitment to ensuring that the school community is free from discrimination in education and employment.