Hillside Happenings

What a wonderful week of learning and celebration we’ve had! The undeniable highlight was watching our students participate with such enthusiasm in Career Spirit Week. It was truly inspiring to see their eyes light up as they imagined their future careers!

Throughout the week, our students had incredible opportunities: they saw themselves in their future professions, engaged in exciting STEM rotations, proudly wore the gear of their future college or trade schools, and dressed up as their favorite professionals. We are so incredibly proud of their creativity and engagement—their future is exceptionally bright!

We extend a huge thank you to the parents who came in to speak about their careers or shared informative videos. Your willingness to share your professional journey made a profound and lasting impression on our students. Additionally, we celebrated many wonderful accomplishments this month as our students confidently led their second school-wide Huddle!

📢 Important Reminders:

• Canned Food Drive Ends Soon! Please help us make one final push for our community canned food drive. Please send in your donations by Tuesday, November 25th.

• Book Blast Literacy Fundraiser: When we return from our Thanksgiving break, we will be kicking off our exciting Book Blast literacy fundraiser! Our goal is to ensure that every single student goes home with at least one brand new book. Please look for a special flyer and a Book Blast bracelet coming home with your child on Monday, December 1st.

Thank you for your continued partnership and support.

Have a wonderful weekend,

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:

November 26th - 28th - No School (Thanksgiving Recess)

December 1st - Book Blast Begins

December 2nd - 1st Grade Library Field Trip

December 2nd - Lunch & Learn w/ Dr. Coffin

December 9th - Leader in Me Book Event w/ Muriel Summers

December 11th - Bonaventure Skate Night

December 12th - 3rd Grade Capital Field Trip

December 16th - 1st Grade Safari

December 18th - Red Robin Restaurant Night

December 19th - Spelling Bee Lists Sent Home

December 19th - Winter Break Begins at the end of the school day!

January 5th - School Reconvenes

January 6th - Dentists R Us Returns

January 14th - PTA Meeting (Virtual)

January 16th - Half Day of School

January 19th - No School - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day

January 21st - Bonaventure Night

January 30th - Movie Night

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

The Hillside Jr. Optimist Club welcomed Michele from the Oakland County Foster Closet at their November meeting. She shared the mission of the Foster Closet and answered the many questions the Hillside members had. As a group, they brainstormed on ways to help the Foster Closet with its mission. It was a great meeting, and lots of great ideas were shared. The members are optimistic and excited to continue supporting the Foster Closet!

Adopt A Senior: Our Hillside Family “adopts” senior citizens each year as part of the City of Farmington Hills Senior Secret Santa Program. Please find the SignUpGenius HERE for items our 4 seniors requested. Items due by December 3rd!

It may seem early, but after-school enrichments for 2026 are available to register. You can find additional details on our website.

MadScience - Mondays, starting January 26th

Chess Wizards - Tuesdays, starting January 13th

Sunset Theatre presents Lilo & Stitch - Wednesdays, starting January 14th

NEW! Brixology - Thursdays, starting January 29th

Details for KidCreate (Fridays) will be coming soon!

Bonaventure Skate: Save the Date! We have one more Skate Night before the Winter Break on Thursday, December 11th!

Save the Date! Our next Dine to Donate Hillside Restaurant Night is December 18th at Red Robin Novi (43250 Crescent Blvd).

Support Hillside while you shop at Kroger & Busch’s

Kroger Community Rewards

Busch's Cash for Education : Busch’s must be updated yearly

Farmington Public Schools (FPS) is partnering with Varsity Tutors for Schools to provide students with free access to additional learning tools through the Varsity Tutors for Schools Platform.

Varsity Tutors for Schools offers a wide variety of tools including:

• 24/7 On-demand chat tutoring
• On-demand essay review
• Live academic and enrichment classes
• SAT and ACT test preparation classes
• Celebrity-led Starcourse classes
• Self-study resources
• College and career readiness resources
• Adaptive assessments and personalized learning plans
• Prerecorded enchantment classes and videos

Students can access the free resources only by logging in through Clever at Clever.com.

Once students login to their Clever account, they can access tools by clicking on the Varsity Tutors application. From here, students can explore the learning lab and discover all of the features the platform has to offer.

To learn more about the Varsity Tutors partnership, visit www.clever.com.

To learn more about Farmington Public Schools, visit www.farmington.k12.mi.us.

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

We are so proud of you!! Congratulations:

Anna

Daniel

Jack

Mehdi

Adam

Amayra

Tevin

Piper

Thank you Mrs. Belsky, Mrs. Mishanec, Mrs. Walter, Mrs. Griffin, Mrs. Dowd, & Mr. Morrow!

for nominating these amazing students!!

We can't wait to see who's next!😍

Elementary students will have the option to purchase a second slice of pizza on Little Caesars Pizza Day (every other Thursday - Nov. 6th/20th). 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.

River will be joining the Hillside Staff very soon! Please consider donating to help with supplies.

As we begin to transition from summer to fall, don't forget to bring your items to our bin. Donate your old clothes, shoes, & linens. Donated items are recycled, and our school receives a donation. The bin is located on the west side of the parking lot. 

What is Clothes Bin?

Clothes Bin® is a textile recycling program that partners with schools to turn unwanted clothing, shoes, and textiles into funding for student needs. Our bright green bins are conveniently located on campus and equipped with smart technology to ensure timely service. Every bag you drop off reduces waste in landfills and, more importantly, provides direct funding for programs, resources, and activities that benefit our students all year long.

How You Can Help

• By dropping gently used clothing, shoes, and textiles in the Clothes Bin® on campus,

you keep items out of landfills and give them a second life.

• Every bag of textiles you bring in generates real funding for our school’s programs, classrooms, and

activities.

How Our School Benefits

• Enrichment programs

• Classroom resources

• Student activities and events

The Clothes Bin Program focuses on textiles only — toys, books, and household items can be

recycled or donated through other local programs.

Email: torrie.maas@fpsk12.net

Website: www.farmington.k12.mi.us/hil
Location: 36801 11 Mile Road, Farmington Hills, MI, USA
Phone: (248)489-3773
Facebook: Facebook.com/HillsideFPS

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hillsidefp