Dear Hillside Parents/Caregivers:
October is National Bullying Prevention Month. During this month we have several activities planned for the children. We will start the month by celebrating The Week of Respect, which will run from Monday, Oct. 5- Friday, Oct. 9. All next week we have fun dress up days planned so the children and staff can still participate virtually as we highlight respect! The theme for each of the dress up days are below.
MONDAY (10/5) Respect our Diverse Community – Let’s celebrate diversity and throw kindness around like confetti!!! Wear as many different colors as you can!
TUESDAY (10/6) Respect Others – Hurtful words can’t be taken back. Wear your clothes backwards!
WEDNESDAY (10/7) Respect Yourself – Be comfortable with who you are! Wear your pajamas or cozy sweats!
THURSDAY (10/8) Respect our “Hillside Family” Connection- Together Everyone Achieves More! Wear something from your favorite sports team (i.e. jersey, t-shirt, socks, etc.)
FRIDAY (10/9) Respect our School- Show your school spirit! Wear your Hillside Gear or school colors!
Governor’s Educator of the Year (GEOY):
Do you know a classroom teacher or educational services professional who is dedicated, inspiring, and making a difference? If so, please take the time to recommend this person for the Governor’s Educator of the Year Program by completing the attached nomination form template and return it to my attention by October 30, 2020.
Each candidate will be scored based on the criteria below:
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Serves as an exceptionally skilled and dedicated educator in a public or charter school;
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Inspires students of all backgrounds and abilities to learn;
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Demonstrates leadership and innovation in and outside the classroom;
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Has the respect and admiration of students, parents, administrators and colleagues; and
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Plays an active role in the community as well as the school.
Remote Learning Schedules:
Please follow the attached Remote Learning Schedule for your child. We have provided snack/movement breaks for all students throughout the day which Genesis does not reflect. Class start and end times have been adjusted to allow for breaks.
3rd Grade Fully Remote Schedule 2020.docx
4th Grade Fully Remote Schedule.docx
5th Grade Fully Remote Schedule 2020.docx
4th & 5th Grade Aesthetic Classes:
Week of Monday, 10/5: A-day aesthetics for 4th & 5th graders
3rd Grade Aesthetic Rotation:
The 3rd grade rotation schedule for related arts is attached. This schedule is based on your child’s homeroom teacher as listed on Genesis.
3rd Grade Rotation for Parents 2020-21.pdf
School-wide Topics:
Our next PTA/SATp meeting will be on 10/15 at 6:30pm
Hispanic Heritage Month (9/15-10/15)
Week of 10/4 – Music Week. Please make time to introduce your children to Hispanic/Latinx music next week. They may already know more than you think! :). J-Lo, Shakira, Daddy Yankee, Pitbull, Luis Fonsi, Carlos Santana, Gloria Estefan and many, many more. A family dance party is in order this week to continue the celebration. Feel free to share pictures and videos of your dance parties, playlists, etc., via email to ptapres@hillsidepta.org or on our Facebook page.
Class Liaisons: This is a great opportunity to get involved and help in your child’s homeroom. We are looking for Class Liaisons in the following homerooms: Masuzzo, Graham/Lares and Bostic. If interested and especially if you are new to Hillside, please contact Obie Woodley at woodleys.home@gmail.com . Include your child’s name and their homeroom teacher and Obie will be in touch with next steps.
After the huge success with the Summer Program, Succeed2gether is back with its FREE Fall Enrichment Classes, starting next Monday October 5. All sessions are held via Zoom weekly and at no cost to qualifying families. Email info@succeed2gether.org or call 973-746-0553, or fill out the application on the website succeed2gether.org/application-forms/. Free one-on-one tutoring for all subjects for grades K-12 also available.
Hillside SATp- if you missed our last PTA meeting which included a nice overview of SATp and the various committees, here’s a summary:
The SATp exists as a standing committee under the leadership of the building principal in collaboration with the PTA. As a comprehensive approach to school, family, and community partnerships, Hillside’s School Action Team for Partnerships will review school progress and determine how to effectively address the following: Supporting the whole child through academic achievement and social and emotional learning; Effective family advocacy, communication, and engagement; Ensuring a welcoming school environment; Offering volunteer opportunities for family and community engagement; Educating families to support learning at home; and Collaborating with Montclair Community Partners.
Current SATp initiatives fall under the following categories: Parent Forums – allow parents/caregivers to discuss parent driven topics – example includes cyber awareness; Health and Wellness – fosters a healthier school environment – sample initiatives include Bike-Walk to School Day and Field Day; Hillside Cares – Hillside’s very own platform for caring for others. This initiative organizes service to others. Some examples of the work have been our coat drives, food drives, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service, Make-A-Wish, Thanksgiving and Holiday Food for Families; Curriculum-Related – events that support in school curriculum like the Family Code Night and Science Fair. If you have any questions about the SATp initiatives, please do not hesitate to contact our co-chairs: Erica Mitchell(ericamitch12@gmail.com) and Mendi Obadike(mendi.obadike@gmail.com)
Montclair Special Education Parent Advisory Council (SEPAC) is a volunteer group of parents and guardians that works toward the improvement of systemic issues within the Special Education community in Montclair. For 2020-2021, our goal as a Special Education Parent Advisory Council is to be more vocal and proactive in advocating for meaningful change. The first meeting will be on 10/1. We will meet to discuss our goals for this year and break into some new committees. You can also help by signing up to speak at the Board of Education meetings throughout the year. Diane Tehranian is the Hillside School SEPAC Liaison. If you have any questions or concerns, please email Diane (dnoerpel@hotmail.com) or montclairsepac@gmail.com
PTA Membership:
Are you a member of the Hillside Elementary School PTA? It’s easy, join us today!
https://hillsidepta.new.memberhub.store/store?category=Memberships.
Hillside Spirit Wear and Gear: https://hillsidepta.new.memberhub.store/store
PTA website: montclairpta.org/hillside/
PTA Facebook group: https://m.facebook.com/groups/2527911263932164/
PTA Email: ptapres@hillsidepta.org
A Message from Ms. Scott:
Hello Hillside families! Yay we made it through the first month! Just think this time last month we were all biting our nails wondering how remote learning was going to work this go round. Here we are just weeks later and we are all figuring out how to make it work best for our families. Does that mean it looks exactly the same for every family? No, but then our families don’t look exactly the same either and that’s working out fine. 🙂
Thank you to all the families who have participated in the anonymous survey. Should you still wish to complete one the following link will direct you to it. Hillside Social-Emotional Survey This anonymous survey has four questions and will take you less than three minutes. The survey is designed to gather general information about ACEs (adverse childhood experiences) within our school, in an effort to help Hillside school better meet the social and emotional needs of our students. This is especially important during this phase of remote learning. More specifically, this survey will help us to identify the needs of the homerooms, which in turn will help me to program and provide social-emotional supports.
Here is the link and code for my Google classroom for anyone who would like to join.Ms. Scott’s Google Classroom. The class code is y5znwsx.
Have a wonderful weekend! ~Ms. Scott
Notes from Nurse Boyle
Hello Hillside Families and Friends,
I cannot wait to meet the new third graders and new students at Hillside. I had the pleasure of meeting Ms. Lares’s class this week. I shared my bitmoji classroom and we discussed proper mask wearing. I will be visiting other third grade classes in the next few weeks!
I will be calling parents and emailing to touch base with all our Hillside families. Do not be alarmed if you see the nurse’s office pop up on your caller identification. My goal is to provide you with health information you may need. If I do not have the answer I will connect you with the person that does.
A reminder that Montclair Schools has meal pick up on Mondays and Wednesdays from 11:30am-1:30pm at MHS (Main Entrance), Northeast School (Back Parking Lot), Bullock School (Main Entrance) and Nishuane School (Back Parking Lot). This is a meal program that is free of charge to parents who have students in our schools.
Another great place to obtain groceries is the Human Needs Pantry in Montclair.It is located on 9 Label St. Montclair. This bag of groceries contains meat, produce, and fresh bread. Pick up is on Mondays and Wednesdays from 12:30pm- 2:30pm and is available to any Montclair resident. Please bring a form of identification with you.
Have a great weekend!
Sincerely,
Nurse Boyle
Important Dates:
10/15- Virtual Curriculum Night 7:30PM
10/15- PTA/SATp Meeting 6:30PM
Have a wonderful weekend!
Samanthaa
Samanthaa Lennon Anglin, Ed.D.
Principal
Hillside Elementary School ~ Gifted and Talented Magnet
54 Orange Rd., Montclair, NJ
Phone: (973) 509-4200
Fax: (973) 509-1448
Follow us on Twitter: @Hillside_MPS