What's Happening At The Hive!

• Tuesday, 10/21: 6:30 pm Bilingual Parent Advisory Committee Meeting
• Wednesday, 10/22: HH Picture Retake Day
• Thursday, 10/23: 5:00-6:30 pm HH PTO Trunk or Treat in the HH parking lot (see flyer below)
• Friday, 10/24: End of Quarter 1
• Monday, 10/27: 6:00 pm Board of Education Meeting (41 E. Elmwood, Chicago Heights, IL 60411)
• Tuesday, 10/28: 5:00-6:30 pm District 161 Trunk or Treat in the Parker Jr. High parking lot (2810 School Street, Flossmoor, IL 60422)
• Thursday, 10/30: 6:00-7:00 pm 5th-8th Grade Orchestra Concert at Parker Jr. High (2810 School Street, Flossmoor, IL 60422)
• Friday, 10/31:
• 10:00 am Fall Festival Parade
• Fall Festival parties directly following parade for HH PTO Room Parents
• EARLY DISMISSAL at 11:40 am
• School Improvement Planning Day
• First Quarter Report Cards posted by 4:00 pm in Skyward

Thank you so much to our HH PTO volunteers for another successful Scholastic Book Fair! Students enjoyed shopping and finding new books and treasures for their home collections. Thank you for your consistent support of Heather Hill!

This week we celebrated Fire Prevention with a visit from the Flossmoor Fire Department. The 2025 campaign is "Charge into Safety: Lithium-Ion Batteries in Your Home." Firefighters spoke to students about making sure they have a charging station at home where electronic devices are placed on HARD surfaces and are charged appropriately. They talked about the danger of charging devices on a bed, pillow, or soft/flammable items and what happens when lithium batteries overheat. Ask your child what they learned and make a plan together as a family to stay safe. Here are some resources to check our for Fire Prevention in the Home!

Letters have gone out to families with fall NWEA MAP assessment results for reading and math. We use this information to help us determine targets for small group and whole group instruction. For more information on the assessment, please watch the video NWEA--MAP for Families. Thank you to our HH instructional coach, Nancy Larocca, for this explanation. The video shares the 2020 National Norms for each grade level. Here is a link to the updated 2025 National Norms for NWEA so you can see how your child's scores compare to the national average for their grade level. Please contact your child's teacher or Ms. Larocca with additional questions.

On Thursday, 10/23, from 5:00-6:30 pm is the HH PTO-Sponsored Trunk or Treat in the HH Parking Lot. Families are invited to participate and attend. Parking in the school lot is only for cars that have decorated trunks to participate. If you are attending, please park on the street. See the flyer below for more information!

Heather Hill students are so lucky that they get to experience two different Trunk or Treat Opportunities! One is hosted by the HH PTO on Thursday, 10/23/25, from 5:00-6:30 pm in the Heather Hill Parking Lot. Families are encourage to participate. See flyer and sign-up below!

The second is hosted by the PJH Student Council & the Flossmoor Education Association on Friday, 10/28/25, from 5:00-6:30 pm in the Parker Jr. High Parking Lot. We hope students enjoy these fun activities!

Hello Hornet Families! The Community Bee Well Committee is organizing a Veterans Day Assembly in November. We would like your help to create a slide show and invite Veterans connected to HH that would like to attend. Please complete the HH Veterans Day 2025 Google Form and upload a picture by Tuesday, 11/4/25 for the slide show. The Form also contains information about inviting an HH Veteran family member to the assembly. Thank you for your support!

• 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.

• The 30 day grace period for free and reduced lunch has expired. If parents have not either been confirmed by the state for SNAP/TANF or Medicaid status or have not completed a new free/reduced lunch application in Skyward, their lunch status may be back to paid. Complete a lunch form in Skyward to correct your status!

This school year, our students will participate in the Neptune Navigate Digital Citizenship curriculum. Each module is designed to be engaging and informative, taking 30 minutes or less to complete. Our goal is to ensure that students learn how to be safe and smart online and understand the importance of building a positive digital reputation. See the September and October themes below!

2025-26 Budget Approval

• The Board of Education approved the 2025-26 Budget. The report and actual budget document can be found here. The budget was first discussed on September 8th and that presentation is here. Not counting capital expenditures for construction, we are running a balanced budget and are maintaining a strong financial position.

Department Improvement Plans

• The Department Plans for Finance, Human Resources, Learning and Instruction, and Special Education were reviewed and discussed. The individual School Improvement Plans were reviewed at the end of the summer before school began. Plan updates will be shared with the Board of Education and community at quarterly intervals, so be on the lookout for more information in the coming weeks.

Gifted Education Review

• The gifted education program in District 161 includes early entrance to kindergarten or first grade, small group enrichment, and single-subject or whole grade level acceleration. Additional information about the programs can be found here.

Do you have used children's clothes in good condition? We are looking for donations for our nurse's office. These donations will help provide a change of clothes when needed due to accidents, etc. We are looking for all types of clothing: shorts, pants, shirts, underwear, socks, even shoes. The stretchier the materials, the better. Please bring bags labeled for donations to the office. We appreciate your help!

Our Staff Recognition Program, Above and Beyond, is designed to spotlight our staff members in all that they do for our students and community. Each school and department has the opportunity to nominate a staff member who exemplifies the characteristics and professional traits that exemplify our standards of excellence. Please use this form to nominate a staff member today!

As part of the Capturing Kids program, we share "Good Things" each day at school. This helps us to build community and check in with another. We encourage families to try "Good Things" at home, too. It's simple! Just ask your child to share good things and then ask follow-up questions about their answers. Encourage your child to ask you, too, so that they learn to listen and ask questions, too!

Monday - Friday

• 8:30 am - 8:40 am - Arrival (Doors will close at 8:40 am!)
• 8:40 am - 3:15 pm - Instructional Day
• 3:15 pm - Dismissal

Half day dismissal (half days on District calendar) - 11:40 am

A few friendly reminders about arrival and dismissal:

• Our parking lot is closed to personal vehicles during arrival and dismissal
• The parking lot may only be used by buses and 3rd party transportation during arrival/dismissal
• Please do not engage in 3 point turns in the school zone
• Please do no block driveways--either school driveways or homes near HH
• Do not drop off children on the opposite side of the street of the school
• All street crossings must occur at the cross-walks
• By law, there is no cell phone usage in a school zone

Let's keep everyone safe by following the rules of the road!

Flossmoor SD161 is working with a new Food Service Company! Please see the flyer on who they are and what they have to offer.

If your child will be receiving breakfast or lunch and they have any allergies, a form detailing their dietary needs must be submitted to the school nurse. It will be shared with the food service company and alternative foods will be available to meet a student’s needs. This form is available in the front office.

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.

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.

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