How are we at May already!!!?!? Time flies when you are having fun! Even though we have entered the last month of school, we are so impressed that the students continue to work very hard in class each and every day!

I am so excited to be a partner in your student's education. If you have any questions, please reach out to me at jhelinski@almascshools.net.

May 9-23-NWEA Testing

May 24-May 28-Friday-Monday-No School

June 4-Tuesday-Field Day 2/3 Grade-PM

June 5-Wednesday-Field Day 1st Grade-PM

June 6-Thursday-End of Tri 3, last day of school, Early Release-Hillcrest dismiss at 11:38 am

We know the disappointed that the students and parents had on Friday with the cancelization of the Fun Run. The students (and staff) always look forward to this day! Unfortunately the weather didn't cooperate in the morning and we had to make the decision to cancel for the day.

Each building is working with PTO to find a make-up date and we will announce it ASAP. The make up day will be at Hillcrest and parents will still be able to attend.

On Friday, May 10th, our 3rd graders will have a chance to head over to their school next year, Pine Ave, and learn about the building, expectations for 4th grade, and get to meet many of the staff. We know that transitions between buildings can be tough and we want to make sure we make that move as smooth as possible.

The 3rd grade students completed the M-Step test the last two weeks. We are VERY proud of their effort during the test! We know that the test can be very challenging, but they handled it like true ALL-STARS!

As we approach the end of the year, students will once again be taking the NWEA tests for math and reading. This will be the third time they have taken the test and we use the data to see how much they have grown from the beginning of the year. Each student has a growth goal score that they are trying to reach. We also look at the scores from a building, grade level, and classroom view as well.

Teachers will be communicating out the dates when their classes will be taking the test. This is a very important test and we encourage students to get a good night's rest and be in attendance the day of the test.

APS will be offering Summer School for students currently in grades K-5. The three-week session will be held at Pine Ave. Scan the QR code to sign up or use the link:

The last day for students will be Thursday, June 6th. This will be a half day for students and they will be dismissed at 11:38 am.

Spring weather changes so quickly from day to day, and even hour to hour! Please make sure students are coming prepared with layers daily!

Here is the calendar for next year, the 2024-2025 school year.

If you need to make a transportation change for your student, it must be communicated to the office before 2 p.m. The end of the day is very hectic at an elementary school and messages are not always able to get to teachers after 2 pm.

Thank you for being so understanding in this situation!

Our buiding uses Second Step to help support our students and their Social-Emotional Learning. Each class does weekly lessons to teach a variety of different skills and techniques.

As part of our PBIS (Positive Behavior Intervention System), students earn Panther Paws for following their ROARS and doing their jobs! This week we started passing them out and each class has a Panther Paw winner that is announced every Friday!

We have officially begun our ELA program called Bookworms! Our classes have done a great job and we are excited to see their progress throughout the year! Each student will receive three different blocks of reading and writing instruction a day.

One of the Bookworms blocks is called DI. Every student is placed in a group based on their skill and needs. They work on lessons geared toward progress in their reading skills and move up the staircase as they gain the necessary skills.

Please make sure you are using and checking the APS app, Rooms. This is the way your teacher will communicate with you throughout the year about all the great things going on in your classroom.

Also, make sure to turn on notification!

For all of our K-5 classes, we are using a six-day rotation for our specials, which we call A-F day. All of the students in grades 2-5 have STEAM, Art, Music, Health and Wellness, and two days of PE. Students in K-1st do not have Health and Wellness but have an additional day of one of the other specials.

We are very fortunate to have so many offerings for all of our students that are taught by certified teachers!

Here is a link to all the Hillcrest All-Star Happenings for the 2023-24 School Year.

Hillcrest Island Happenings for 2023-24

Email: jhelinski@almaschools.net
Website: www.almaschools.net
Location: 515 East Elizabeth Street, Alma, MI, USA
Phone: 989-463-3113
Facebook: facebook.com/almahillcrest
Twitter: @almahillcrest

On of the their next activities is Donuts with Grown Ups coming up soon at HIllcrest!