Hillside Happenings

Dear Hillside Families,

🌟 Habit of the Month: Habit #5 "Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood"🌟

As we move further into the school year, we want to ensure students remain focused and productive in the classroom. Recently, we have noticed an increase in distractions caused by smartwatches and personal communication devices during instructional time and testing.

To support your child’s learning and maintain a streamlined communication process, please take note of the following reminders:

"Off and Away": All smartwatches and personal devices must be turned off (or set to school mode) and kept inside the student’s backpack during school hours.
Direct Communication: If your child feels unwell or needs to contact you for any reason, teachers are always happy to send them to the front office to call you. This ensures that school staff are aware of the situation and can support your child immediately.
Emergency Contact: If you need to reach your child or relay an urgent message, please call the main office directly. The office staff will ensure the message reaches your child right away.

Directly messaging students during the day, even for quick check-ins, can unintentionally cause anxiety or disrupt their concentration. By using the front office as our primary hub, we ensure that all student transitions and health needs are handled safely and officially.

Thank you for your partnership in keeping our classroom a focused and calm space for our students!

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:

February 11th - Bonventure Skate Night

February 12th - Pizza Day

February 16 - 20 - No School - Mid-Winter Break

February 26th - Pizza Day

March 2nd - 2nd Grade Field Trip

March 4th - 5th Graders Visit Middle Schools (9 am - 11 am)

March 6th - Leadership Day

March 6th - Half Day of School

March 12th - PTA Meeting at 7:00 pm

March 16th - Spring Book Fair Begins

March 18th - Parent-Teacher Conferences

March 20th - Book Fair Ends

March 23rd - Dentist R Us Returns

March 30 - April 3 - Spring Break

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

Steps to View Report Cards in MISTAR:

Log In: Access MISTAR Parent Portal
Credentials: Enter your assigned PIN and password.
Select Student: Choose the student's name from the drop-down list if you have multiple children.
View Marks: Click on the "Marks" tab or menu link on the left-hand side.
Access Report Card: Click on the specific report card title (under the "Marks" heading) to open the PDF report card.

Our 4th graders had a blast at Mt. Brighton! Check out the video highlights!
Thank you to our 4th Grade Teachers & the many parent chaperones who attended this trip!

It was such a special day!

Click Here to Pay Your Membership Dues

The Spring Book Fair is coming March 16-20th. The Book Fair is 100% parent run and we need your help to make it a success - please sign up here! As a thank you, volunteers can select one book [up to a $10 value] at the end of their shift.

The PTA is looking for food donations and volunteers to help us prepare a Baked Potato and Salad Bar for staff on the evening of conferences, March 18th.

Staff Appreciation Week is May 4th-8th. We are looking for volunteers to set up/prep the weekend before, help throughout the week and clean up on Friday. Please reach out to Angela if you’re interested at aguerro28@gmail.com!

Our next skate night is Wednesday, February 11th, from 6:00 pm - 8:30 pm. Bonaventure is open just to Hillside Elementary and their families, which is a wonderful family-friendly evening! The cost is $13, which includes skates. Spectators are always free! Address: 24505 Halstead Rd - Farmington Hills

Shout-out to our 4th Grade Playworks team, Kyrie, Aadysri, and Celest for acting responsibly and having fun with 2nd graders at recess! We are so proud of you! Keep up the good work!

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

We are so proud of you!! Congratulations:

Josh

Lillian

Kolin

Livvy

Henry

Reyansh

Henry

Jacob

Renis

Neyon

Lily

Zander

Thank you Mrs. Chambers, Mrs. Sabon, Mrs. Bongero, Mrs. Schultz, Mrs. Burzynski

for nominating these amazing students!!

We can't wait to see who's next!😍

Help support our amazing therapy dog, River! https://popup.doublegood.com/s/ya7v857g

We keep 50% of all sales, and the popcorn ships directly to buyers. Prices start at $11. The popcorn is award-winning and really delicious! Proceeds will go to our therapy dog and social-emotional learning.

• Start: February 03, 2026, 8:00 AM

• End: February 07, 2026, 8:00 AM

What You Need to Do if You Want to Sell:

1. Download the Double Good app

2. Enter Event Code: YRDATU

3. Create your Pop-Up Store

Download the app for free on iOS and Android: dgpopup.app.link/nss

Elementary students will have the option to purchase a second slice of pizza on Little Caesars Pizza Day (every other Thursday - Feb. 12 & 26). 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.