Hillside Happenings

Welcome to the New School Year!

This year's theme is "Sail into Leadership" ⛵

We are so excited to welcome you back to Hillside!

If you are newly enrolled, you may have missed some important information! Please go back and read our last two newsletters:

Newsletter 1

Newsletter 2

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

Archive of all Newsletters

Our previous newsletters have information about medication, supply lists, absences & tardies and more!

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.

School Hours:

Our school day is from 8:30 A.M. to 3:30 P.M. The first bell rings at 8:25 and we encourage all students to have arrived by this time. Students in grades 1-5 will return for school on Monday, August 25, 2025. This is a half day of school (8:30-11:45 A.M.). Tuesday, August 26, 2025, is a full day of school and launches the start of our staggered Kindergarten days.

Arrival/Hours:

For safety and supervisory reasons, children should not arrive prior to 8:15 A.M. Adult supervision is not available before this time. If it is necessary for your child to be at school prior to this time, you may enroll your child in the Y-Care program. This program is run by the YMCA, but takes place in the Hillside cafeteria. You may call the YMCA at (248) 553-4020 with any questions regarding pricing and the registration process. We have been told that as of today, Y-Care is now full.

Drop Off (Morning) & Pick Up (Dismissal):

Parents who are driving their children to and from school need to follow the traffic pattern to the west playground. Staff is available to assist with this process. The parking lot in front of the building is for staff. Please do not use the bus lane for drop off or pick up. If you need to walk your child to the building, please park in the west lot and use the crosswalk.

Dismissal:

Dismissal is an extremely busy time. We ask that all dismissal plans/changes be pre-arranged with your child prior to the start of school. Please send this note in the morning with your child. We also ask that all early dismissals occur prior to 3:00 P.M.

Educational Benefits Form (formerly known as Free/Reduced Price Meal Applications)

Families are encouraged to complete an Educational Benefits Form to help the district secure additional funding for the District’s educational programs. Families may submit their Educational Benefits Form online at https://farmington.family portal.cloud. Families who check the Special Considerations box on the form, may qualify for additional benefits such as test fees waived, summer EBT benefits, community outreach programs, etc.

Meal & Ala Carte Purchases

NEW THIS YEAR: when making a cash purchase in line, any change due to the student will be automatically deposited into the student’s account to help reduce wait times. Flexibility on this new procedure will be provided during the first few weeks of school, as students become comfortable going through the line.

Additional entrees will be charged $2.35–$3.35. Secondary schools will begin selling a la carte purchases on September 2, 2025. Elementary schools will not sell ala carte or 2nd entrees until further notice.

Parent Orientation Night:

Parent Orientation Night is on Wednesday, September 10th, for all students and families.

It will be in two shifts as noted below:

Wednesday, 9/10 - Grades 1, 3, 5 - 5:30-6:30 P.M.

Save the Dates:

August 25th - First Day of School (Half Day/11:45 AM Dismissal)

August 26th - 28th - Kindergarten Staggered Start Days

August 29th - September 1st - No School (Labor Day Weekend)

September 2nd - Classes Resume

September 24 - 26 - 5th Grade Camp

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

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

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

🎊Congratulations to Mrs. Dowd, Mrs. Lamott, and Mrs. Janks who all had their Donors Choose Grants FULLY FUNDED!! 😄🎊 These staff members and all of our teachers have been preparing for back to school all summer. We are so happy that their hard work paid off. Congrats!!

Monday, August 25:

• Half-day of school for students in grades 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5.
• There is NO SCHOOL for Kindergarten on Monday, August 25.
  
• The first bell will ring at 8:25 a.m. at which time, students enter the building. Instruction begins at 8:30 a.m.
• Dismissal will be 11:45 a.m. No lunches will be served.

Kindergarten students only begin their first week of school with a staggered start. In order to help with their transition into school, Kindergarten students are assigned to begin school on either Tuesday, August 26, Wednesday, August 27, or Thursday, August 28.

There is no school on Friday, August 29 and Monday September 1 for Labor Day weekend.

*All Kindergarten students will attend school together on Tuesday, September 2. Your child’s first day of school date will be listed in their welcome packet that can be picked up as follows:

Please consider joining the PTA this school year - sign up here! You will receive our directory (think playdates) and a Hillside bag with membership.

Additionally, support Hillside while you shop at Kroger & Busch’s

Kroger Community Rewards

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

Congratulations to Mrs. Giller, Mrs. Gayton, and Mrs. Veitch who won gift baskets from the PTA!

Mark your calendars for the 1st PTA Meeting of the year. We offer free school aged childcare during the meeting. We will offer a Virtual option again this year. Expect an email the week of with Zoom information.

Agenda Items:

• Introduction of the 25/26 Board

• Upcoming Events

• Approval of the 25/26 Budget

Chalk the Walk – Join us Sunday, August 24th from 3:00 - 4:00 p.m. (or stop by at a time that works for you!) to Chalk the Walk and decorate the sidewalks that lead up to Hillside so that students and staff are greeted with uplifting messages on the first day of school! This is a family-friendly event.

Sign up to be a Room Captain today and help your child’s classroom throughout the school year.

Thank you to the PTA and everyone who worked hard to make this such a fun and successful event! Thank you to all of our staff and families who attended!

You can continue to drop off supplies on the first day of school!

Leader in Me Shirts are now on sale! This year we will be purchasing shirts for all Young 5's and Kindergarten students. We wear these shirts every Wednesday!

Please click on the link below to order shirts for adults and students in grades 1 - 5. Orders close on September 12th and shirts will arrive the week of September 22nd.

https://americansilkscreenmi.com/.../hillside-elementary.../

Free meals will continue through 9/30/25.

Once we have a budget from the state we will know more.

Fall enrichments are a great after-school option to explore. Find more information and clickable links to register at the PTA Website

Join other families on the playground at an informal meet up to visit with new and old friends!

• Tuesday, September 16th - Young 5’s, Kindergarten and 1st Grade
• Wednesday, September 17th - 2nd, 3rd, 4th & 5th Grades

Join us for our 1st restaurant night of the year on September 25th at Panera Bread between 4pm-8pm and ALL DAY with online orders . Use promo code FUND4U and 25% of your purchase will be donated to Hillside. 12 Mile & Halstead location only.

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

Huge thanks go out to Michael Palmer, owner of Premier Pet Supply! Michael donated food and supplies so that River could go home to the Gersten Family this weekend! We are truly thankful!

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. 

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