What's Happening At The Hive!

• Monday, 1/5: School Resumes
• Thursday, 1/8: 6:30-7:30 pm District Bilingual Parent Advisory Committee Meeting (location TBD)
• Monday, 1/12: 6:00 pm Board of Education Meeting at 41 E. Elmwood Drive, Chicago Heights, IL
• Tuesday, 1/13: 6:30-7:30 pm 4th and 5th Grade Orchestra Performance at Parker Jr. High, 2810 School Street, Flossmoor, IL
• Wednesday, 1/14: 6:30-8:30 pm Heather Hill Musical REHEARSAL (students only) at Parker Jr. High, 2810 School Street, Flossmoor, IL
• Thursday, 1/15: 6:30-8:30 pm Heather Hill Musical REHEARSAL (students only) at Parker Jr. High, 2810 School Street, Flossmoor, IL
• Friday, 1/16: 6:30 pm Heather Hill Musical PERFORMANCE at Parker Jr. High!
• Monday, 1/19: NO SCHOOL: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Day of Service (see more information below!)

SAVE THE DATES:

• Thursday, 1/29: 6:00 pm District 161 Spelling Bee at Parker Jr. High, 2810 School Street, Flossmoor, IL
• Friday, 2/6: NO SCHOOL: Teacher's Institute Day
• Thursday, 2/12: 6:30 pm STEAM Night at Parker Jr. High School, 2810 School Street, Flossmoor, IL (see flyer below!)

Happy New Year! We hope all families had a wonderful holiday season and are looking forward to a great 2026!

We are so very grateful to Ms. Yolonda Moore for all of her years of service at Heather Hill School! Ms. Moore has been approved as the new Confidential Associate for the Department of Learning and Instruction! As of 1/5/26, Ms. Moore will be working at district office and will support all schools' needs around curricular materials, professional development, etc.. We are thrilled for Ms. Moore and this new opportunity and will miss her deeply at Heather Hill. Stay tuned for more information on a new Administrative Assistant!

We would also like to thank the Heather Hill PTO for supporting fun activities before the break! The Holiday Gift Shop was a hit as students selected gifts for their family members and the winter parties were so much fun! Thank you to all PTO volunteers for making our winter celebrations special!

We are working hard in the classroom both academically and with social-emotional learning (SEL)! One of the tools we use to support learning in SEL is our Capturing Kids Hearts (CKH) Program. Through CKH, we work to build relationships with all students to support safe learning environments. As part of our process, we ask families for feedback to let us know how we are doing. Please take time to complete this short 14 question CKH Survey. We use these results to determine areas of celebration and opportunity for growth. Your feedback matters to us! We have extended this survey to get more family responses!

We want to remind everyone about our policy regarding outdoor play and safety. For the comfort and well-being of our students, children will remain inside during the following weather conditions:

1. Rain
2. Temperature below 20 degrees F
3. Wind chill of 10 degrees F or below
4. Icy conditions
5. Extremely high winds

Please make sure your child is dressed warmly with a coat, hat, gloves, and other appropriate layers to ensure they stay comfortable and safe. We also recommend dressing in layers for the classroom to manage any fluctuations in heat. We appreciate your cooperation in helping us keep all children safe and prepared for the elements.

We have seen an increase in unsafe driving behaviors around arrival and dismissal. We have also had complaints from HH families and community members about these concerns. Please remember the following:

1. All children need to be dropped off by pulling up to the curb on the SCHOOL side of the street. There is NO double parking. Letting students out between cars or in the street is unsafe.
2. There is NO standing, stopping, or parking on the opposite side of the street.
3. There are NO three point turns in the school zone.
4. Please do not use neighbors' driveways to turn around. Let's be good neighbors!
5. Please do not pull in front of the driveway coming into the school parking lot to drop students off. This creates a back-up on the street and blocks the lot for buses and 3rd part transportation.
6. Traffic is getting backed up on Lawrence Crescent and Mac Heath Crescent. There is no parking on the north side of Mac Heath Crescent. This bottlenecks the street.

If you are approached by a staff member and/or crossing guard to follow these rules, please understand we are doing our best for everyone's safety. Please help us keep all children, staff, and community members safe by following these rules of the road!

We are working on setting reading goals and challenges! We are a community of readers at Heather Hill and we are working on getting all children excited to read and share their reading with others. Please see the attached parent letter that was sent home in an email. Help your child to log their reading minutes and work towards our school-wide goal!

The Capturing Kids Hearts character trait for month of January is Respect--Honor You, Honor Me.

What is Respect?

Respect is the willingness and ability to act professionally and thoughtfully with ourselves and others. Leaders can deal respectfully with opposition and provide space for both dignity and differences to coexist.

PBIS - Cool Tool for the month of January is Watching While Walking.

Cool Tool Description: At Heather Hill School, we follow the Watching While Walking Cool Tool when walking in school. This means we use walking feet in all school classrooms and hallways. We stay on the right side of the hallway near or on the blue line. Stay on the right side of the hallway, especially when walking around a corner to avoid walking into someone else. We walk in a single file line. Stay distanced from the person in front of you and behind you. Remember to watch your space bubble. We keep our eyes forward, our mouths silent, and our hands by our sides. Keep your hands and body off the hallway walls and bulletin boards. We keep negative thoughts to ourselves and control our bodies. If we follow these expectations, we are being respectful, responsible, and safe while walking in school.

Personnel Changes

At the Board of Education meeting on December 1st, the Board approved the addition of a confidential associate position. The new position will allow us to split the responsibilities for residency approvals, transportation, and food service processes more effectively. In addition, Mr. Kendall Gant was approved as the Assistant Business Manager for District 161. He will be replacing Ms. Kari Raven, our current comptroller, who is retiring at the end of March 2026.

2024-25 Summative Designations

Illinois public schools receive an overall rating based on the prior year’s performance. School summative designations are based on indicators from the annual Illinois School Report Card. The summative designations are based on multiple measures and accountability indicators including academic performance, student attendance, and climate survey participation. Flossmoor Hills, Serena Hills, Western Avenue, and Parker Junior High maintained a Commendable designation and Heather Hill improved from Commendable to an Exemplary designation. Additional information regarding summative designations can be found here and the data presentation that was shared with the Board of Education can be found here.

2024-25 School Improvement Plan Updates

Principals from all five schools shared an update regarding the work in their School Improvement Plans [SIP]. As a reminder, all plans have 3 main goals: 1) Climate and Culture, 2) English / Language Arts, and 3) Mathematics. This link takes you to the presentation with information for each school. The next SIP update will be shared following the winter assessment window and the Board will discuss the results and next steps based on the mid-year progress of our students.

2025 Property Tax Levy Discussion and Action

Initial discussions regarding the 2025 property tax levy began on October 27, 2025. The discussion continued at our most recent meeting, where Mrs. LaBella presented additional details regarding each of the proposed levy options and the presentation can be found here. Following a discussion of each option, the Board of Education approved a tentative levy that will be finalized at our next Board meeting on December 1, 2025.

Flossmoor Hills and Western Avenue Humidity Update

The Farnsworth Group completed a building pressurization test at Flossmoor Hills on Monday, November 10th, and representatives from Wold Architects presented the Board of Education with the test results and updated recommendations to address humidity issues at both Flossmoor Hills and Western Avenue School. The presentation and recommendations can be found here. Some of the remediation work is already included in the bid packages for our construction work during the summer of 2026. We intend to discuss the remaining recommendations at the Board meeting on December 15, 2025.

We are working towards our goals of increasing student attendance to increase learning goals! We are working towards a goal of at least 93% attendance each week. Of course we encourage parents to keep children home if they are sick. Students should stay home for at least 24 hours after a fever subsides. Please consult a medical professional as needed for other symptoms including cough, vomiting, etc.

Click here to access our school’s virtual backpack. This page is intended to provide information on resources and activities that may be of interest to our students and families.

• Signing up for District 161’s text message alerts is quick and easy. Simply text the word “YES” to 67587 from the cell phone on which you wish to receive text messages. Please make sure that your cell phone number is up-to-date in Skyward. If you need to update your phone number, please contact the office at your child’s school. Click here for more information.

• Registrarse para recibir alertas de mensajes de texto del Distrito 161 es rápido y fácil. Simplemente envíe un mensaje de texto con la palabra "YES" al 67587 desde el teléfono celular en el que desea recibir mensajes de texto. Asegúrese de que su número de teléfono celular esté actualizado en Skyward. Si necesita actualizar su número de teléfono, comuníquese con la oficina de la escuela de su hijo. Haga clic aquí para obtener más información.

• The 30 day grace period for free and reduced lunch has expired. If parents have not either been confirmed by the state for SNAP/TANF or Medicaid status or have not completed a new free/reduced lunch application in Skyward, their lunch status may be back to paid. Complete a lunch form in Skyward to correct your status!

This school year, our students will participate in the Neptune Navigate Digital Citizenship curriculum. Each module is designed to be engaging and informative, taking 30 minutes or less to complete. Our goal is to ensure that students learn how to be safe and smart online and understand the importance of building a positive digital reputation.

January's theme is: Digital Footprint, Digital Reputation (see family letter below!)

Do you have used children's clothes in good condition? We are looking for donations for our nurse's office. These donations will help provide a change of clothes when needed due to accidents, etc. We are looking for all types of clothing: shorts, pants, shirts, underwear, socks, even shoes. The stretchier the materials, the better. Please bring bags labeled for donations to the office. We appreciate your help!

Our Staff Recognition Program, Above and Beyond, is designed to spotlight our staff members in all that they do for our students and community. Each school and department has the opportunity to nominate a staff member who exemplifies the characteristics and professional traits that exemplify our standards of excellence. Please use this form to nominate a staff member today!

Monday - Friday

• 8:30 am - 8:40 am - Arrival (Doors will close at 8:40 am!)
• 8:40 am - 3:15 pm - Instructional Day
• 3:15 pm - Dismissal

Half day dismissal (half days on District calendar) - 11:40 am

A few friendly reminders about arrival and dismissal:

• Our parking lot is closed to personal vehicles during arrival and dismissal
• The parking lot may only be used by buses and 3rd party transportation during arrival/dismissal
• Please do not engage in 3 point turns in the school zone
• Please do no block driveways--either school driveways or homes near HH
• Do not drop off children on the opposite side of the street of the school
• All street crossings must occur at the cross-walks
• By law, there is no cell phone usage in a school zone

Let's keep everyone safe by following the rules of the road!

Flossmoor SD161 is working with a new Food Service Company! Please see the flyer on who they are and what they have to offer.

If your child will be receiving breakfast or lunch and they have any allergies, a form detailing their dietary needs must be submitted to the school nurse. It will be shared with the food service company and alternative foods will be available to meet a student’s needs. This form is available in the front office.

INTERESTED IN JOINING THE PTO?

If you would like to participate in the PTO or have any questions please email them at heatherhillhornets@gmail.com.

Also, Please click on this link https://www.facebook.com/groups/2466905720251155 to join our Heather Hill Families page.

The Flossmoor Public Library has incredible events and programs coming up for children of all ages! View the calendar and sign up for the library newsletter at https://www.flossmoorlibrary.org.

Email: chumm@sd161.org
Website: https://www.sd161.org/o/heather-hill
Location: 1439 Lawrence Crescent, Flossmoor, IL, USA
Phone: 708-647-7200
Facebook: facebook.com/gohornets161