Hillside Happenings

Dear Hillside Families,

🌟 Habit of the Month: Habit #5 "Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood"🌟

🤝 Join the PTA Leadership Team

We are looking for enthusiastic parents to join the ’26-’27 Hillside PTA Board! We are currently seeking candidates for:

President
Vice President
Secretary

Our existing board has done an incredible job and is eager to train and support the next team to ensure a smooth transition. If you are interested in making a difference for our students, please complete the nomination form which can be found in the PTA Section of the newsletter.

🌟 Student Talent on Display

We were blown away by the amazing talent showcased by our students during this week’s school-wide huddle! It is such a joy to see the diverse skills and confidence our students bring to the Hillside community. Next month, our leaders will be on full display for Leadership Day 2026!

🍿 Double Good Fundraiser: Thank You!

A huge thank you to everyone who participated in and donated to the Double Good Fundraiser. Your generosity directly impacts our school and supports the programs that make Hillside special. River sure is happy to get his favorite treats and toys!

❄️ Mid-Winter Break

We wish all of our families a safe, fun, and relaxing mid-winter break. Enjoy the time off, and we look forward to seeing everyone back soon!

-Mrs. Maas & Mrs. Amos

School Hours for 2025-2026:

Student Hours: 8:30 A.M. – 3:30 P.M.

Half Day: 8:30 A.M. – 11:45 A.M.

Office Hours: 7:45 A.M. – 4:15 P.M.

Save the Dates:

February 16 - 20 - No School - Mid-Winter Break

February 26th - Pizza Day

March 2nd - 2nd Grade Field Trip

March 4th - 5th Graders Visit Middle Schools (9 am - 11 am)

March 6th - Leadership Day

March 6th - Half Day of School

March 12th - PTA Meeting at 7:00 pm

March 16th - Spring Book Fair Begins

March 18th - Parent-Teacher Conferences

March 20th - Book Fair Ends

March 23rd - Dentist R Us Returns

March 30 - April 3 - Spring Break

April 6th - Classes Resume

April 8th - Bonventure Skate Night

April 9th - PTA Meeting

April 13th - MSTEP Testing Begins

April 14th - Spring Picture Day

The link below takes you to all published newsletters thus far.

Archive of all Newsletters

The email address: hil@fpsk12.net is not regularly monitored.

To reach someone in the office, please use the email addresses below:

Mrs. Maas - torrie.maas@fpsk12.net - Principal

Mrs. Amos - deb.amos@fpsk12.net - Assistant Principal

Ms. Pliska - emily.pliska@fpsk12.net - Secretary

Mrs. Jacobs - susan.jacobs@fpsk12.net - Office Clerk

Mrs. Huell - tanya.huell@fpsk12.net - Office Clerk

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Nutrition Services will again offer no-cost take-home meal bundles for students who are fasting during the school day in observance of Ramadan. Parents/guardians or students must pre-order meal bundles by February 20, 2026 using the link below. All meals are fully shelf-stable.

Elementary: meals will be delivered to classrooms
Middle and High School: students must pick up their bundle in the cafeteria at breakfast each day

For questions, please contact Nutrition Services at 248.489.3717 or anne.stevens@fpsk12.net.

Order here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdosKt9vFDjuF3VeQNKyXLVlM-FE4rEHlWJr1Mxnv9kldeLow/viewform?usp=dialog

Click Here to Pay Your Membership Dues

The PTA is looking for interested parents/guardians for our 2026-27 Executive Board. This is a great way to stay involved and make a difference! Seeking candidates for:

President (2 - year term) – Oversees and directs PTA, local & state liaisons, represents the PTA at meetings/events, Hillside Happenings, Bylaws Updates. The outgoing president is happy to mentor for this role!
Vice President of Academics (1 - year term) – Spelling Bee, Reflections, Robotics/Lego League.
Vice President of Fundraising (1- year term) – Mum Sale, Book Fair, Restaurant Night, Fun Run (fundraising coordination), Bonaventure Nights, & Movie Nights

A slate of nominees needs to be presented at the April 9th PTA meeting for elections to take place at the May meeting. If interested in being on the board, please fill out this form by April 3rd. If curious in learning more about the open positions, please contact Kristen Buring (HillsideHuskyPTA@gmail.com).

Do you know a Hillside staff member, parent, or community member who goes above and beyond for Hillside Elementary? If you know someone who has shown dedication and service on behalf of our Hillside students, please consider filling out this quick form to nominate them for the Distinguished Service Award. All Farmington Area PTA’s submit 1-2 names to receive this award every year at the Founders' Day Celebration held every spring. Submissions must be received by Friday, February 27th.

We hope you’ll join us Sunday, March 1st for our first Hillside Community Meetup event!

The Spring Book Fair is coming March 16-20th. The Book Fair is 100% parent run and we need your help to make it a success - please sign up here! As a thank you, volunteers can select one book [up to a $10 value] at the end of their shift.

The PTA is looking for food donations and volunteers to help us prepare a Baked Potato and Salad Bar for staff on the evening of conferences, March 18th.

Staff Appreciation Week is May 4th-8th. We are looking for volunteers to set up/prep the weekend before, help throughout the week and clean up on Friday. Please reach out to Angela if you’re interested at aguerro28@gmail.com!

Congratulations to Hillside for having the highest DreamBox usage for the month of January. Our students averaged 7.0 lessons a week! Mrs. Thiele's class had the highest average with 8.1 lessons/ week. Way to go Hillside!!

Congratulations to all of our students who were recogized with Leadership Awards this week!!😁

We are so proud of you!! Congratulations:

Isla

Devin

Siena

Thank you Mrs. Thiele, Mrs. Sabon, & Mrs. Dowd

for nominating these amazing students!!

We can't wait to see who's next!😍

Thank you so much for supporting our Double Good Fundraiser! Over $1,000 worth of popcorn was sold and will go towards our beloved River! 🎊

Elementary students will have the option to purchase a second slice of pizza on Little Caesars Pizza Day (every other Thursday - Feb. 12 & 26). The first slice is free, and the cost for an additional slice is $2.25.

Students must have sufficient funds preloaded in their cafeteria account. Deposits can be made online at https://farmington.familyportal.cloud/

Please reach out to Nutrition Services at 248.489.3717 if you have any questions.

Norovirus season in the U.S. typically peaks during the colder months, specifically from November through April. Norovirus is an illness caused by viruses that cause inflammation of the stomach or intestines. It is often known as stomach flu or stomach bug. Symptoms include sudden nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and some stomach cramping.

Norovirus is highly contagious. It is most commonly spread from person to person by hand-to-hand contact and by surfaces contaminated with feces or vomit. Outbreaks result from water or food contaminated with the virus.

Hand washing is the most important thing to prevent norovirus infection. Follow these tips:

Wash your hands thoroughly and often with soap and warm water.
Wash your hands before eating/preparing food and after using the bathroom or diapering/toileting someone.
Thoroughly clean contaminated surfaces such as toilets, doorknobs, countertops, and changing tables of any debris, then disinfect by using a bleach-based household cleaner.
Wash clothing and linens in hot, soapy water to remove the virus.
Alcohol-based hand sanitizer can be used in addition to hand washing, but not in place of hand washing. Hand sanitizer is not as effective at removing norovirus as hand washing.