The Hillside Happenings

🎉WE DID IT!!!🎉

Our PTA Fun Run Goal has officially been ACHIEVED!

A HUGE THANK YOU to everyone who donated, cheered us on, and supported our students. Your generosity and enthusiasm made this possible!

Donations close TODAY! Donate at this Link.
We’ll announce the top donation-raising grade level student and classroom winners next week!

CLASSROOM INCENTIVES ALREADY UNLOCKED🎉

RAISE $750 = Hillside Keychain for EVERY student!
GOAL ACHIEVED: Mrs.Tandeski, Mrs.Burzynski, Ms.Pelton, Mrs.Silver/Gordon & Mrs. Walter/Griffin
SO CLOSE: Mrs.LaCroix & Ms.Potocki’s classes!

RAISE $1,250 = Classroom Pizza OR Ice Cream Party!

GOAL ACHIEVED: Mrs. Burzynski, Ms. Pelton and Mrs. Tandeski's classes

You still have a few more hours to help your students' classroom to reach the next level!

SCHOLASTIC BOOK FAIR WINNER!

Congratulations to Dhanvanth R. from Mrs. Burzynski’s class, our 3rd winner of a $25 Scholastic Book Fair Certificate! One more winner will be announced next week.

Thank you, as always, for your continued support and partnership.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Mrs. Maas & Mrs. Amos

School Hours for 2026-2027:

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.

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

Archive of all Newsletters

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. Thomas - kimberly.thomas@fpsk12.net - Office Clerk

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October 13th - Fire Safety Assemblies

October 13th - The Rolling Stoves Restaurant Night 4:00 pm - 8:00 pm

October 21st - Unity Day - Wear Orange

October 23rd - HuskyChella (5:30 pm - 7:30 pm)

October 30th - Half Day of School (11:45 am Dimissal) Costumes Permitted

November 3rd - No School - Staff PD

November 4th - Bonaventure Night (6:00 pm - 8:30 pm)
November 9th - Book Fair Begins

November 10th & 12th - Parent-Teacher Conferences

November 19th - Virtual PTA Meeting

November 20th - Movie Night

November 25th - 27th - No School Thanksgiving Recess

December 1st - Book Blast Kick Off

December 2nd - Picture Retakes

December 16th - Canvas & Cookies PTA Event

December 18th - Spelling Bee Words Go Home

December 21st - January 1st - No School Winter Break

January 4th - Classes Resume

Farmington Public Schools uses NWEA’s MAP Growth Assessment as part of our assessment plan. These assessments help gauge each student’s instructional level and monitor student growth throughout the year. The results from our Fall assessments will be available for parent viewing by Friday October 9, 2026.

• Student reports for NWEA MAP Growth are available in MiStar. These reports can be accessed using the following directions:

• Log into MiStar Parent Portal

• Select student

• Documents (see image at right)

• Click on either the Doc image or Upload Documents (see image below)

To help you understand the reports, we have prepared the following information sheets.

• Progress Report Quick Reference Guide

No single data point or assessment type provides a complete picture of a child’s achievement. Farmington Public Schools uses multiple data points to support instructional planning as we support students in deepening their understanding of literacy and mathematics.

We want to share an important update about your child’s MAP Growth assessment results.

Starting this fall, MAP Growth will use a new set of national norms to help interpret student scores. This allows educators to set more personalized growth goals, especially for students who are above or below grade level.

What does this mean for your child?

You may notice that your child’s percentile ranking looks different than before. This percentile represents where your child stands when compared with their peers today--not peers from several years ago. Because student performance has generally declined since the pandemic, the same score may now be associated with a higher percentile. This change applies to both current and past reports in MAP Growth.

Has the test itself changed?

MAP Growth has also improved how it adapts to each student. The test now aligns even more closely with the material students are learning in class, helping teachers understand how students are performing relative to grade-level expectations.

How can you learn more?

This blogpost explains the updates in more detail. If you have questions or want to talk more about your child’s progress, we’re here to support you. Thank you for your continued partnership in your child’s learning journey.

If you have any questions about your student’s report, feel free to reach out to your student’s teacher.

Spotting our students leading the pack and showing what it means to roar with character!

Thank you to Ms. Bobrosky, Mrs. Mishanec, Mrs. Potocki, Mrs. Burzynski, Mrs. Janks

Mrs. Cooper, & Mrs. Winters for nominating these students!

We took River for a brief visit to East Middle School to see some of his former pals!

River and the students were very excited to see one another.

Students earn PAWS Tickets for positive behavior and making good choices.

All week long, students have the opportunity to turn in their PAWS Tickets to their class bucket. On Fridays, names are drawn and students come down to the office to choose a prize.

Thank you so much to everyone who came out and donated to the PTA Fun Run! Click here to view our highlight reel: https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1JcR7hxYLz/. Special thanks to our parent volunteers and Mrs. Dixon who organized the event!

A new and improved Digital Volunteer Form is replacing the paper copy! Parents who wish to chaperone on field trips must complete the digital volunteer form each year. Once approved, the main office will be notified. Any family members planning to go to 5th grade camp should complete this right away.

Student Directory Opt-Out - The annual Hillside student directory is a valuable communication tool and resource for Hillside families, containing an alphabetical listing and contact information for all students, staff and teachers. A printed document is provided to all PTA members and will come home with students in October. Sign up to be a PTA Member today!

You are provided the opportunity to opt-out of having your contact information printed in the directory. Only Complete this Google Form if you DO NOT wish to have your student(s) information included in the 2026 - 2027 Hillside Student Directory. Deadline to Opt-Out is September 30, 2026

Carnival Dash Fun Run 2026 is almost here, and we need more parents to join our Carney Crew!

We’re not asking for your whole day — just one 40-minute run! Our Carney Crew are the party people who make the Carnival Dash magic happen: cheering on our Huskies, bringing the energy, helping with the fun along the course, and making each grade’s run feel like the biggest event of the day.

Pick a time that works for you, come have some fun with our Huskies, and give us 40 minutes to help make a memory they’ll talk about long after Dash Day!

Carnival Dash – Join the Carney Crew:
Sign up for your 40-minute Carney Crew shift

40 minutes. Big energy. BIG Husky fun.

Help Us Bring Husky-Chella to Life!

Husky-Chella is coming to Hillside, and we need a crew to help make the magic happen! 🍂🎶🐾

Join us for an evening of music, inflatables, games, activities, food, fall fun, and plenty of Husky spirit! We’re looking for volunteers to help keep activities running, assist families, support our littlest Huskies, and help make our first Husky-Chella an amazing night for the entire Hillside community.

And this one isn’t just for grown-ups! Middle and high school students are welcome and encouraged to volunteer — perfect for students looking for service hours or who simply want to give back and have some fun while doing it.

Whether you can help for one shift or stay for the evening, we’d love to have you on the Husky-Chella Crew!

Husky-Chella – Join the Husky-Chella Crew:
Sign up to volunteer at Husky-Chella

Come for the fall vibes. Stay for the Husky fun. Help us make Husky-Chella a night to remember!

Help Us Connect With Community Sponsors! 🎪🐾

Hillside PTA is looking for community partners to help support Carnival Dash Fun Run, HuskyChella, and other family events throughout the school year—and our Hillside families may already know the perfect people!

Do you own a business? Does your employer support local schools? Maybe your dentist, orthodontist, realtor, hair stylist/barber, favorite restaurant, contractor, or another business you frequent would love an opportunity to support Hillside.

We’re asking families to help us make the connection. You can reach out and share our sponsorship information yourself, or simply provide us with the name and contact information for a business or community connection and we’ll gladly handle the outreach for you.

Every introduction helps us get closer to funding the fun, engaging experiences we have planned for our Huskies this year—including reaching our Carnival Dash goal and earning the chance for students to “TP” our principals! 🧻😂

The 2026–2027 Reflections Theme: “What My Culture Means To Me”

Student Entry Deadline: October 30, 2026

Reflections is a National PTA program that encourages students to explore the arts and express themselves through a nationwide contest. Students can submit art in the form of visual arts, literature, music composition, film production, photography or dance choreography. Entries are judged on how well the art relates to the theme, creativity and technical aspects of the medium. This contest is open to all students attending Farmington Public Schools.

For more details please contact: hillsideptareflections@gmail.com

Or visit: Hillside PTA Reflections webpage

Join the Hillside PTA and help make our children’s elementary experience extra special! Membership is a great way to stay connected with Hillside events, meet other Hillside families and support the programs and activities that make our school community special. There is no obligation to volunteer or attend meetings — support when you can!

Membership is $30 for a family membership (2 adults) or $20 for an individual membership (1 adult). PTA members also receive access to the FREE school directory.

Join the PTA here!

It takes only a few minutes to link your Kroger & Busch’s accounts (details at the links!) and you will be automatically donating to Hillside while you shop.

• Kroger Community Rewards

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

BUBBL’R is searching for the teacher of the year! Do you know a teacher that goes above and beyond every day and makes a positive impact in their school? Nominate them today!

Nominations will close October 13th. The BUBBL’R team will then choose 10 semifinalists. You’ll be able to vote for your favorite teacher once per day starting October 20th and ending on October 27th. The winner will be announced on November 2nd!

what you win:
• year supply of BUBBL’R
• $10,000 donation to the winner’s school
• BUBBL’R mini fridge
• $500 gift card

Click here to nominate a teacher!

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

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