The Hillside Happenings

What an incredible week it has been in our school community! We have so much to celebrate and appreciate as we look back on everything our students and families have accomplished.

• Thank You for Coming Out: A huge thank you to everyone who joined us for Parents on the Playground and supported our school by purchasing mums! Your involvement makes our community so special.

• 5th-Grade Camp Champions: We want to extend a very special thank you to the over 30 parent chaperones who volunteered their time to attend 5th-grade camp and support our students. We will be sharing wonderful photos from the trip in next week's newsletter, so keep an eye out!

• Safety First: We recently held an outstanding Rally Point Drill. Our students did a phenomenal job listening, following directions, and getting to our rally point and back safely. We are so proud of their responsibility! We also conducted our first fire drill this week.

• Enrichments in Full Swing: Reminder that our after-school and school enrichments are fully underway! We are so thankful that our Huskies have such a wide variety of amazing activities to choose from and explore.

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 2nd - Fun Run

October 6th - Picture Day

October 7th - Bike & Roll to School Day

October 8th - PTA Meeting (7:00 pm)

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)

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 has a $171 million bond proposal on the November 3 ballot. The

proposal would provide improvements across all 17 FPS school buildings with no increase to the

current millage rate. For more information, visit farmington.k12.mi.us/2026bondproposal.

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

Thank you to Mrs. Bongero, Mrs. LaCroix, Mrs. Janks & Mrs. Potocki for nominating these students!

Such an inspiring project from Mrs. Pelton’s 4th-grade class!

Our students partnered with the Humane Society of Huron Valley to learn all about persuasive writing and the power of "showing, not telling" with their words. They put these new skills into practice by writing touching adoption biographies for 10 shelter dogs and cats! Check them out here: https://docs.google.com/.../1aBqLlCpv.../edit...

The shelter loved them so much that they posted the bios on their website and hung them right outside the animals' kennels for visitors to read. We are so proud of our young writers and their efforts to help these shelter pets find their forever homes!

We will meet once a month in the media center on Tuesdays from 3:30-4:30 with Mrs. Janks.

Complete the applicaiton to join us: https://f2hoptimists.org/junior-optimists/

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

Be sure to send in your Fun Run Envelopes or Donate Online – Donate at this Link.

Reminder – Put a Custom Tip of $0. This money DOES NOT go to Hillside.

Congratulations to Vincent H. in Ms. Badrak's class!

He is our 1st winner of the $25 Scholastic Book Fair Certificate.

The Hillside Fun Run is the PTA's most significant fundraising event of the year. All funds raised will be utilized by the PTA to support educational enrichments, field trips, community events, school support, and much more!

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!

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.

Thank you to all who had Panera on Sept 10th - we raised $177 for Hillside!

Save the Date for our next Restaurant Night: October 13th at Rolling Stoves

We are excited to announce a brand new Enrichment program exclusively for our Hillside Huskies! Hillside Dance Collective will be sharing the love of dance with K-5th graders during this upcoming 8-week session. Whether your student already loves to dance or has always wanted to try, this multi-style program is a great opportunity to have fun with friends and learn something new! Please see the flyer for more details! Click here to sign up: https://www.bhdance.com/hillsidedance

K-5 Monday : 9/28-11/2

Time: 3:30 - 4:30pm

Fee: $150

Website: Registration Link

Phone: 947-941-4491

Day: Fridays - 11/6-12/11 (Skip 11/27)

Time: 3:40 - 4:40pm

Grades: K-5

Fee: $80

Website: Registration Link

Phone: 248-973-1723

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