A Note from the Principal’s Desk – 3.18.2022
Dear Hillside Parents/Caregivers:
It looks like the weather is starting to make a turn. We will continue to offer outdoor eating and recess, you can hear the cheers down the hallway when we make the daily announcements about lunch/recess.
School-wide News…Be in the Know
HILLSIDE Cycle 3 Aesthetics
Students will begin their Cycle 3 aesthetic and CI courses on Monday, March 21st. Changes will not be made to Cycle 3 schedules until the Add/Drop Period opens on Monday, March 28th.
Hillside Drama Program Fundraiser!
When: Friday, March 18th from 12:30-8pm
Where: Little Pizza Heaven – Little Pizza Heaven is located at 63-65 Church Street, Montclair, NJ (In the parking lot across from the Starbucks and next to the Unitarian Universalist Church)
What: Order using this link, and not only will you have some awesome pizza, but you will be supporting the Hillside Drama Program!! (20% of proceeds ordered through the link will be given to the Drama Program) Thank you for your support!!!
Science Day – Supplies Needed
Science Day is still in need of PAPER TOWEL (not toilet paper) tubes. Please bring items to Ms. Bartol.
SATp News
Women’s History Month: Inspiring Woman
This month is Women’s History Month. We are planning a creative activity called Inspiring Woman. This project will involve the women of the families of Hillside. We invite the women in the Hillside community to participate in a Flip Grid. Each woman will have a 30 second (or less) opportunity to tell us about an inspiring woman that gave them and/or their family influence or impacted them in some way. You may also reference a book/resource where more information about this individual can be found. Teachers and staff are also invited to participate.
Directions for ‘Inspiring Woman:
1. State your name, name of your child, and what class/grade they are in.
2. What woman in history inspired you and why.
3. Share/reference a picture or resource of the woman (book, channel, location, etc.)
4. Keep it to 30 seconds or less.
5. Flip Grids due on 3/22 to be sent in eblast 3/25. The Flip Grid link will be going out to you all in the next couple of days! Stay tuned!
What’s New, Fun, and Exciting?!
SATp has a new, exciting after school event in the works that will be amazing for the spring. Coming this May, this free event is called Double Dutch and Soccer Stuff. Organized with SignUp Genius, we will have teams of Double Dutch led by parent volunteers. We will also have the Hillside soccer field set up for a couple of teams also led by parent volunteers. No experience necessary! Come, learn, jump and play! More details to come!
Looking Ahead!
Have you seen all of the amazing initiatives and events Hillside has? First Day of School Celebration, Bike Walk to School Day, Hillside Cares Events, and many more! We are proactive and would like to start to recruit some new faces for the upcoming school year. It takes a team of us to make these things happen. Ask us about participating and what you might want to sign up for. We’re always available for questions. Email us at hillsidesatp@gmail.com.
We Need YOU!
In the coming months SATp will be looking for volunteers to participate in events and activities such as our AAPI celebration and our Jewish American Heritage celebration. If you would like to participate, pitch and idea, or would like to see a particular custom highlighted, let us know by contacting hillsidesatp@gmail.com.
News from the PTA
Volunteers needed for Spring Cleaning
It’s Spring Cleaning time! We need parent volunteers to help us organize all of the coats, water bottles, hats, gloves and other items in our Lost and Found bins. We need clothes hangers and 2 portable clothes racks (we will return borrowed hangers and racks). We need 2 volunteers on Monday, 3/28 at 2:15 – 3:30pm to hang and sort all the items. Additional volunteers are needed on Tues-Th to help parents find their lost items.
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0A4AA4A622A6FA7-hillside4
** Parents can come to school (in front of cafeteria doors facing the parking lot) to find your children’s lost items on the dates and times below:
Tuesday 3/29 @ 3-5pm
Wednesday and Thursday 3/30 and 3/31 @ 2-4pm
Any items that are not claimed by 3/31 will be donated.
Middle School 101, Kids Edition
On Tuesday, March 22 from 6pm-7pm join Middle School 101, sponsored by the Hillside PTA, for Hillside 5th grade students only. We will have a panel of middle school students from Glenfield, Buzz and Renaissance on the zoom to answer all our students’ burning questions about middle school. Hillside parent, Jon Fortt, will moderate this conversation. Pre-registration is not required, we will see you in the Zoom next week.
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89572512755?pwd=SG8xRWdmTHVSNVBzS1U0NDN3bHR6Zz09
Meeting ID: 895 7251 2755
Passcode: Middle
Fireball Volunteers Needed
Volunteer, volunteer, volunteer!! We need your help to make Fireball 2022 a success. We are looking for a wide variety of volunteers to help out. Please review our Fireball Committee Sign Up Form and sign up if you can donate your time or talents.
Spring Explorers is HERE!
As we wrap up our Winter Session, we’re happy to announce our 6-weeks Spring Session that will start immediately after Spring Break. Mark your calendars!
**Course catalog will be sent out on Monday, 3/28
**Registration to open on Thursday, 3/31
**Registration to close on Thursday, 4/7
**Classes to start on Monday 4/25
More information, registration link will be forthcoming.
Hillside PTA Nominating Committee
The Nominating Committee of the Hillside PTA invites all parents and caregivers to submit nominations to serve as officers on the Hillside PTA Executive Committee for the 2022-2023 term. There are 5 open Officer positions for the 2022/23 school year in the Hillside PTA. They are President, VP Events, VP Communications, Treasurer and Recording Secretary.
Please email nominatingcomm@hillsidepta.org for more information or to be considered for these positions.
In addition to the executive board positions, there are myriad volunteer opportunities with the Hillside PTA. Please reach out if you’d like to serve as a committee chair.
We will hold an information session on Wednesday, March 30 at 6:30 p.m.
https://us04web.zoom.us/j/78615963689?pwd=rpihf9DkyrSx29v-T8OhP03nCRQnHe.1
Meeting ID: 786 1596 3689
Passcode: tVYv3v
SEPAC News
Hillside SEPAC Parent Liaison Group
If you have special education issues, concerns or disability focused topics you would like the Hillside SEPAC group to explore, please email us at sepac@hillsidepta.org. You can also follow SEPAC at (3) Montclair SEPAC | Facebook or check out SEPAC’s website at https://montclairpta.org/sepac/
Also, the following free SPAN events may be of interest:
Mon, Mar 21, 2022 7:00 PM EDT and Tues, Mar 22, 2022 7:00pm EDT – two night event.
Parent Involvement in Special Education: Overview of Rights
Parents will begin to identify dreams and goals for their children, gain knowledge of the special education process and learn advocacy strategies in this two night event.
Message from Ms. Scott (School Counselor)
I am here to support our Hillside families in any way I can. In addition to email sscott@montclair.k12.nj.us, I can be reached at 973.509.4200 x4297. Additionally, please ask your child to join Ms. Scott’s Google Classroom (class code jzelps7) where they will be able to access the I Need to See Ms. Scott Google form. Lastly, here is the In Need of Counseling Survey parents can use to let me know if your child could use my help. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any concerns about your child’s social-emotional well being.
Note from Nurse Boyle
Hello Hillside Families!
Reminder for fifth grade parents and guardians. Your child needs to have the Tdap and Meningococcal Vaccines to enter sixth grade. If your child had these vaccines please send me a copy and I will add them to their medical records.
If you or a family want to get a Covid vaccine you can do so at the old Kmart in West Orange. Go to https://www.essexcovid.org/vaccine/vaccine_availability
to schedule an appointment. You can go to the old Kmart Tuesdays through Fridays from 2PM-7PM for Covid testing and on Saturdays from 8AM-2PM.
Have a great weekend! Nurse Boyle
Important Dates:
Monday 3/21: TR 3 Begins/ Board of Education Meeting 730PM