Friday News -- December 4, 2020

Friday, December 4, 2020


 

Hillcrest Elementary School

Friday News

December 4, 2020

Dear Hillcrest Families,

Welcome to December!  I hope that you all had some time to relax and enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday.  For many people, our beloved holiday traditions have been dramatically impacted by the pandemic.  It can be very challenging to let go of some of these traditions, but we can also use this as an opportunity to create new ones.  A December tradition here in our school district has been the annual Food Drive to benefit MCSM.  That tradition continues this year in a new format with collections boxes placed outside our front entrance each day from 8:00 to 4:00.  It’s been wonderful to see our students, their families and other community members stopping by periodically throughout the day to drop off a contribution.  The food drive continues until December 17th -- I hope you may be able to make a donation to this very worthwhile cause. 

Some very important updates from Nurse Melissa Bednarski: 

  • REMINDER:  Mandatory flu vaccines are due by December 31st!  

Flu vaccination is more important than ever in the context of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic because it can reduce the overall amount of flu illness this season, in turn reducing the burden on health care systems and saving medical resources for care of patients with COVID-19.  It is also important because the flu, when combined with COVID-19, can lead to a more serious illness.  

If your student has not received their flu vaccine this year, please contact their primary care physician.  Some of the local pharmacies can also give the flu vaccine.  If your student has had the flu vaccine this year, please make sure the school nurse has documentation that this was completed.

  •  For more information, please review this information from the CDC.  If you have specific questions, you may call the Hillcrest Health Office at 413-863-2638.

 

  • Another important reminder involves the district’s LIfe Threatening Allergy Policy.  Please take note of the following information:

    • Due to Covid 19 restrictions and physical distancing, GMRSD will be Nut Safe while restrictions are in place. No nut products or food will be allowed in school buildings or offered through the school meal program. Please understand safety is our first responsibility and we hope we can all work together as a community to support all families and students that this may impact. We also ask that no outside food be brought into school for birthday/holiday celebrations. This policy will be reviewed annually, and further changes will be made as needed.

 

Additional news items:

  • Additional materials from our Bridges Math Program have arrived for our first graders.  First grade families have two opportunities to pick these up next week:

    • Tuesday, December 8 from 7:30 - 8:30 a.m.

    • Thursday, December 10 from 3:30 - 4:30 p.m.

    • We will follow our usual drive-up routine for this math materials pick-up. If you are unable to stop by at these specific times, please call the main office at 863-9526 to make other arrangements. 

  • Our next materials pick-up for our kindergarten students will be on Wednesday, December 16th.  Please be on the lookout for an email from your child’s teacher for more details. 

 

Wishing you a wonderful weekend ---

Sarah Burstein

Sarah Burstein, Hillcrest Principal