September 5, 2025

Hello Hawk Families,

We had a great time welcoming students back after a long weekend! A part of that fun was kicking off our monthly theme for connecting across the school! September is all about "Why Our Names Are Important". I got to share with students that my dad, brother, and I are all AH's, and my sister and mom are MH's. My parents said that they didn't plan this... but I am not so sure! This could be a fun conversation at home. We'd love to have students bring these stories back and share them with us!

In this week's newsletter, we focus on:

• Upcoming Events
• Highcrest Helpful Hints: HMS Lunch + After School Clubs
• D39 Updates
• HMS PTO Updates
• Community News
• Hawk Handbook Highlights

We hope that you all have an amazing weekend ahead!

Go Hawks!

Anthony, Susie, + Linda

Please join us for our 6th Grade Curriculum Night scheduled for Thursday, September 11, 2025.

• 5:40 - 5:56 pm: Band, Orchestra, and Choir Presentation [Optional, but recommended!]
• 6:00 - 7:22 pm: Speed-Walk a Day in Your Child's Shoes

We are still finalizing the schedule of events, but we will communicate the detailed schedule to 6th Grade families early next week! Mark your calendars and stay tuned for more!

Get those smiles ready! HMS Picture Day is scheduled and ready. Be sure to check out the photo flyer and the linked photo order form.

• Tuesday, September 23 - No School in recognition of Rosh Hashanah
• Thursday, October 2 - No School in recognition of Yom Kippur
• Friday, October 3- No School, Teacher Institute Day, PTO SkyZone Event

We are so excited to be able to offer a variety of clubs here at Highcrest! Our aim is to help students connect with their hobbies and interests. This helps our students imagine their futures based on their passions. To decide what types of clubs to offer, we use student interest data. Some clubs cycle on, while others cycle off! While no club is really ever gone forever, it is important to us to keep things fresh and of interest to our students! Below are some details to help us launch our Session 1 of HMS Clubs.

There are no fees to join our HMS clubs; these are covered by our school. However, there may be a request for supply donations by club sponsors. Some clubs involve food and will require a permission slip to participate. Club sponsors will communicate with members regarding these needs!

Our first offering of clubs will take place between September 8 - December 12. Start and end dates for clubs are staggered throughout this window. Below is a graphic of known clubs to offer!

There may be more clubs that roll out this fall. Students will learn about new club offerings on the Broadcast, digital displays in the cafeteria, or in their Schoology Lunch course. For club-specific details, students should log into their Schoology Lunch Course and view the Club Message Board + Sign Up resources.

Please note: Homework Club is offered Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday (No Wednesday) after school for all Highcrest students!

In your child's Schoology Lunch Course will be a document where they can look and sign up for clubs, if they'd like. Clubs are optional for students! Some clubs do not have a limit, others do. If your child is on the waitlist, the club sponsor will monitor the list and attendance. We try to get anyone who wants to be connected with a club into at least one club throughout the session.

For any student signed up for an after-school club, please know that you have a few dismissal options to consider:

Parent Pick-Up: This will happen at the front of the school in the circle drive. Your child will be dismissed from their club, but no supervisors will be managing the flow of traffic like we do at our regular arrival and dismissal.

Walker/Biker/Scooter: Students will be dismissed from their club to the bike rack and safe route paths. Students can leave for home on their own from there.

Late Activity Bus: If your child is staying late for clubs or sports at HMS or WJHS, they can take advantage of the Late Activity Bus. This service is designed to get students home safely after their activities, and it's free for everyone—even if your child doesn't use the bus during the regular school day. All buses leave from the front of WJHS at 4:45 p.m. They then head to the upper deck of HMS to pick up students there. Club sponsors will dismiss these students to the upper deck location to catch the bus.

Bus Routes

• Bus #1 goes to Central School (9th Avenue entrance).

• Bus #2 goes to McKenzie School (15th Street entrance) and then continues to Harper School (front entrance).

• Bus #3 goes to Romona School, the Rec Center, Indian and New Glenview (for students on the north side), and Indian and Glenview (for students on the south side).

For all club updates, please have your child check the Schoology Lunch Course Club Message Board. This will have all of the most up-to-date information on club needs. You can also have your child reach out to the club sponsor. Our front office will not have the most up-to-date information, so if you call, we may need to redirect your family to the Schoology Lunch Course.

District 39 Parent Education Schedule for 2025-26 Academic Year

District 39 believes in the importance of connecting with our families and providing them with informative and relevant Parent Education events. We are pleased to announce our first Parent Education event of the year titled “Navigating School Safety Scenarios: How Would You Respond?,” scheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 17 at 11 am. During this presentation, we will review some student safety scenarios and our presenters will share best practices for handling various situations. We will be joined by representatives from Family Service Center, KEY Coalition, Wilmette Police Department, and Be SMART. This is a virtual event held via Zoom and registration for this presentation is now open.

Looking For Fulfilling Work? Join Our District 39 Team!

District 39 is looking for caring and qualified individuals to join our D39 team! We are accepting applications for paraprofessionals, teaching assistants, substitute teachers, and a school nurse. If you are interested, or know of someone who may be interested in working as part of a dynamic team in a vibrant and welcoming setting, please visit our D39 employment webpage.

Want to mentor some of D39’s bright, scientific minds? District 39 is looking for coaches for its varsity and junior varsity Science Olympiad teams for the 2025-26 season. This position will receive a stipend of $3,213 for the year. If interested, please check out the job descriptions and apply online.

Wilmette Stars / Special Olympics

The Wilmette Stars, District 39’s Special Olympics team, are looking for student-athletes and volunteers who would like to participate in our basketball skills season starting October 7. Any D39 student in grades 3-8 with an intellectual disability is eligible to participate. Volunteers help coach the athletes. Volunteers must be at least 14 years old. If you would like more information, please contact Joe Taylor at taylorjo@wilmette39.org.

District Strategic Advisory Team Meeting

Year five of our multi-year strategic plan is upon us! Our District Strategic Advisory Team (DSAT) is an important part of the implementation and oversight of our multi-year plan which guides our work across all facets of the district. This multi-stakeholder group is charged with reviewing progress and key performance indicators and making recommendations regarding adjustments to action plans, implementation and progress monitoring while ensuring voice, agency and representation in decision-making.

Our DSAT held its first meeting yesterday to review and provide feedback on our proposed 2025-26 Strategic Plan Action Steps, which will be reviewed with our Board of Education at its Committee of the Whole meeting on Monday (Sept. 8) and presented for approval at the Board of Education’s regular September meeting (Sept. 15). Meeting information and agendas for Committee and regular monthly Board of Education Meetings are posted online the Friday before each meeting.

Please make sure to register on the PTO website!

The PTO website is where you can get access to the student directory, purchase a yearbook, donate to IGNITE (Highcrest enrichment fund - see info below) and the holiday teacher gift fund. You can also sign up for after-school clubs and purchase tickets to school events such as Freaky Friday and Beach Bash, and much more. Visit highcrestpto.org.

**Please note: Users must verify/update their information each year. Please update through the URL and not the mobile app. You can also reset your password through the URL but not the app.

Once you have verified/registered, please use the SALES FORM to purchase your PTO membership and yearbook today! The Sales form can be seen below your family information and can only be used ONCE so make sure you purchase everything that you need. (A store will be available at a later date but some items will increase in price). Directory access comes with PTO membership.

Come jump at SkyZone to meet new friends and help raise money for the PTO! All funds raised will go toward Highcrest PTO initiatives benefiting students. Feel free to drop your child off or stay while they jump.

Purchase your tickets here:

5th grade
6th grade

Join us and meet other 6th-grade parents after Curriculum Night!

• When: Thursday, September 11, after the 6th Grade Curriculum night

• Where: Pit and Tap in downtown Wilmette (1168 Wilmette Ave)

Start the school year with some new Hawks gear! Available online at Humankind.

The Wilmette Rotary plans to resume our Big Book Drive this fall, October 1 through November 14, 2025. They request that, as you consider weeding out your library collection this summer, you save gently used books (excluding textbooks, old atlases, encyclopedias, dictionaries) for our Book Drive in the fall, 2025. The Wilmette Rotary Club encourages you to consider donating children’s gently used trade books, K-6, so that we can donate them in the fall.

Ahead of the school year, it may be helpful to take a moment to review the following handbooks:

• HMS Student Handbook
• D39 Parent + Family Handbook
• D39 Mobile Learning Handbook

In particular, we emphasize taking time to review the following from the HMS Student Handbook:

• HAWKS Expectations
• Smartwatches + Personal Devices
• D39 Disciplinary Measures + Restorative Practices
• HMS Health & Safety

As a homework assignment, we request that students sign and return the letter of agreement and D39 Mobile Learning Contract. We appreciate your family reviewing these with your child this school year.

Hawk Headlines will be sent weekly on Fridays!

Next Edition Scheduled for Friday, September 5

Anticipated Topics: Lunch + After School Clubs at HMS