Hillside Happenings

Dear Hillside Families,

🌟 Habit of the Month: Habit #6 Synergize🌟

We want to begin by expressing our immense pride in our students and staff for the way they handled yesterday’s shelter-in-place. Our students remained calm and followed every direction with maturity, while our staff ensured that every classroom remained a safe, secure, and supportive environment. Their collective composure during an uncertain time truly reflects the strength of our school community.

We also want to extend our deepest sympathy and thoughts to those in our community who may have personal connections to Temple Israel. Please know that we are here to support our families and staff members during this difficult time.

Upcoming Events & Reminders

Book Fair Volunteers Needed: Our Book Fair is happening next week, and we are looking for volunteers to help make it a success! If you have a morning or afternoon available to help students find their next favorite book, please reach out to the main office. We truly appreciate any time you can give to support literacy in our school.
Dentist R Us Visit (March 23): The mobile dental clinic will be visiting our school on Monday, March 23. If you would like your child to participate, please ensure their forms are returned to their teacher.
- Note on Fluoride: If you prefer that your child not receive a fluoride treatment during their exam, please write "No Fluoride" clearly at the top of the consent form.

Thank you for your continued partnership and for helping us keep our school a safe place to learn and grow.

With Gratitude,

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:

March 16th - Spring Book Fair Begins

March 18th - Parent-Teacher Conferences

March 20th - Book Fair Ends

March 23rd - Dentist R Us Returns

March 26th - Pizza Day at Lunch

March 30 - April 3 - Spring Break

April 6th - Classes Resume

April 8th - Bonventure Skate Night

April 9th - PTA Meeting

April 13th - MSTEP Testing Begins

April 14th - Spring Picture Day

April 14th - 2nd Grade Field Trip

April 16th - 5th Grade Photo

April 24th - Kindergarten Field Trip

April 25th - Science Expo

May 1st - Kindergarten Orientation - No School for Current Kindergarten/Y5 Students

May 4th - 8th - Staff Appreciation Week

May 6th - Farmington Focus Business & Community Showcase

May 13th - Cultural Arts Night

May 14th - 2nd Grade In-School Field Trip

May 14th - PTA Meeting

May 19th - 1st Grade Zoo Field Trip

May 19th - 2nd Grade Greenfield Village Field Trip

May 19th - 4th Grade to the Nature Center

May 19th - Kindergarten/Senior Concert

May 22nd - Half Day of School

May 25th - No School (Memorial Day)

May 28th - 5th Grade Bonaventure Night

May 29th - Color Splash Dash

June 4th - 5th Grade Promotion/Party

June 11th - Last Day of School

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

Archive of all Newsletters

Did you know that the 26-27 School-Year Calendar is now available? Click here to download it.

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

Ayden & His Mom Dr. Holifield 🥼

Thank you, Dr. Holifield, for coming to Mrs. Veitch's' Class to read

The Berenstain Bears Go to the Doctor! We appreciate you! 🥰

For parents of students with IEPs - It is time to consider nominating an educator for a Golden Apple Award. The Golden Apple Award celebrates excellence in instruction, individualized support, and a deep commitment to students’ academic and social-emotional growth. The award ceremony will be on May 13 at 5 pm.

We invite you to use this form to nominate a staff member who has worked with your student during the 2025–2026 school year. In your nomination, please include a brief narrative describing how this individual has made a positive impact on you and/or your student’s educational experience, exemplifying Golden Apple Excellence. Please complete this form by Mar 30, 2026.

Please nominate only one staff member per student receiving Special Education services. If you have more than one student, please complete a separate form for each.

We look forward to celebrating the outstanding educators who make a difference every day!

This is a wonderful opportunity for our students to participate in a science expo!

Click here to register and learn more!

Click Here to Pay Your Membership Dues

The PTA is looking for interested parents/guardians for our 2026-27 Executive Board. This is a great way to stay involved and make a difference! Seeking candidates for:

President (2 - year term) – Oversees and directs PTA, local & state liaisons, represents the PTA at meetings/events, Hillside Happenings, Bylaws Updates. The outgoing president is happy to mentor for this role!
Vice President of Academics (1 - year term) – Spelling Bee, Reflections, Robotics/Lego League.
Vice President of Fundraising (1- year term) – Mum Sale, Book Fair, Restaurant Night, Fun Run (fundraising coordination), Bonaventure Nights, & Movie Nights

A slate of nominees needs to be presented at the April 9th PTA meeting for elections to take place at the May meeting. If interested in being on the board, please fill out this form by April 3rd. If curious in learning more about the open positions, please contact Kristen Buring (HillsideHuskyPTA@gmail.com).

If you are interested in helping plan, organize, or support Cultural Arts Night, please complete this form. No prior experience is required — just a willingness to collaborate and contribute ideas!

Save the Date! Cultural Arts Night is on Wednesday, May 13th, from 5:30-7:30. This is an event designed to celebrate the diverse cultures, talents, and traditions within our school community.

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.

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!

National Teachers’ Day is May 5, and Teacher Appreciation Week is May 4 – May 8, 2026. Recognizing Michigan's hardworking and dedicated educators is an important piece of MDE's strategic initiative. For that reason, we will be celebrating Michigan’s educators during the entire month of May.

MDE invites students to submit a digital video to recognize and thank a specific educator for their impact. If the student prefers not to appear on camera, please feel free to submit a video showcasing their drawing, accompanied by a voice-over explanation.

Full instructions for submitting videos of appreciation for Michigan’s educators are available on the Teacher Appreciation Month webpage.

Submitted videos may be posted on the Teacher Appreciation Month webpage and the MDE YouTube channel. Additionally, social media pages throughout the month of May will be promoting the videos via the Office of Educator Excellence's Facebook.

If you have a child with great things to say about an educator, don’t hesitate use the instructions found on our webpage to submit a video today!

Spring Enrichments are now available to register!

More info and registration links on the PTA Website!

Brixology (same program, new day!) - Mondays, starting April 6th

Chess Wizards - Tuesdays, starting April 14th

Sunset Theatre presents Trolls - Wednesdays, starting April 8th

MadScience - Thursdays, starting April 9th

Basketball

Kindergarten & 1st: Mondays, starting April 6

2nd - 5th : Wednesday, Starting April 8

Soccer

Young 5’s & Kindergarten : Mondays, starting April 6

1st, 2nd & 3rd Grade: Thursday, Starting April 9

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

We are so proud of you!! Congratulations:

Owen

Ollie

Grayson

Mia

Lucas

Thank you Mrs. Dowd, Mrs. Jarjosa, & Mrs. Kherkher

for nominating these amazing students!!

We can't wait to see who's next!😍

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