Thank you to Mr. Peter Jory (Superintendent of Schools/CEO – SD83) for taking the time to visit Mrs. Corbett’s Grade 2 class today.  The students were able to ask Mr. Jory lots of great questions about his job as Superintendent. They also tricked Mr. Jory into reading “The Book with No Pictures”, which resulted in many laughs for everyone involved.

There was a party in the Library at lunch today for the students and volunteers who participated in the One-to-One reading program at Hillcrest this year. The One-to-One program is sponsored by the Literacy Alliance of the Shuswap Society (LASS). The mission of the One-to-One program is to provide a supportive environment that builds the self-confidence and literacy skills of children, enabling them to become independent and competent learners.  A huge thank you to Kristy Cruikshank for coordinating our One-to-One reading program at Hillcrest again this year.

A huge thank you to Marnie Abbott-Peter and Laura Paiement for a wonderful day of wheeling with our grades 2, 4 and 5 students. All of the participants had an absolute blast learning what is was like to play in our new set of SD83 wheelchairs!

Photo: (Left: Christy Wright, Carla Booker, Morgan Wilson, Anitra Worton and Joanna Hamilton)

On Monday May 27, we held our last PAC meeting of the year in the Library. During the meeting, we took some time to recognize and thank our amazing PAC Executive for all of their hard work. It is truly incredible what this dedicated group of individuals has accomplished over the past year. From installing our new playground in August to annual events like the Kindergarten Tea, flower sales, chocolate sales, Roots and Blues tickets,  the Spring Carnival, the Hot Lunch Program, etc., the contributions this group makes to our school community every year is greatly appreciated.

On another note, we are still looking to fill a couple of important positions (Secretary and Breakfast Program Coordinator) on our PAC next year. If you are able to help out please contact Morgan Wilson (mturland@gmail.com).

Thank you to all of our grade 3, 4, 5 students and staff who participated in the Hillcrest Fun Hockey League this year! In total there were 8 teams, 90 students and staff, who participated this year. All of the teams displayed great sportsmanship throughout the season, even when they were beaten by the Terrific Teacher team:)

Please find attached our WEEK at a GLANCE for the week of May 20, 2019 to May 24, 2019. We are looking forward to seeing a record amount of parents at our last PAC meeting of the year on Monday May 27 @ 6:00pm in the library:)

LINK: https://conta.cc/2HMuP79

• Wear their swim suits under their regular clothes to make changing quicker.
• Bring a towel and under clothes in a bag for after swimming.
• Dress for the weather, as some classes will be walking to the pool then bussing back to school.

This is the time of year when bears, cougars and other wild animals often move into some Salmon Arm neighbourhoods.  Over the past week there has been bear sightings on a few different occasions near Hillcrest. After school today (around 4:00pm) a bear even decided to take a stroll down Harrison Hill and through the school yard.  We all need to be prepared, should we come across a wild animal.  Bear and Cougar attacks are uncommon, but precautions should still be taken.

Please talk to your children about precautions to take in their neighborhood and when walking back and forth to school.  Some suggestions (https://wildsafebc.com/) are:

To Do:

• Walk in groups of 3 or more and make lots of noise.
• If you carry food, it should be sealed up in your lunch kit and backpack.
• Be alert, look around.
• Use sidewalks along the road instead of shortcuts through forest or shrubby areas.
• If you do see a bear/cougar, keep calm, make yourself looks as large as possible, back away slowly, speak in a confident calm voice if the animal continues to approach.
• If it is a bear you should avoid eye contact. If it is a cougar you should maintain eye contact.
• Please report any wild animal sightings to the school.

Do NOT

• Do not run away. Sudden movements may provoke an attack.
• Do not carry or eat food on the way home.
• Do not approach a bear, cougar or other wild animal, and do not leave out food for it.

Thanks for your help and support.

Attached is our WEEK at a GLANCE for the week of May 13-17, 2019. If you haven’t already done so, please be sure to complete a Swimming Permission Form for each of your children by tomorrow! Below is a link to a post with more info about swimming and the forms that need to be completed.

LINK to WEEK at a GLANCE: https://conta.cc/2VE0Nwj

LINK to SWIMMING PERMISSION FORMS: https://hil.sd83.bc.ca/2019/05/06/swimming-program/

Below is a link to our WEEK at a GLANCE for the week of May 6 to May 10, 2019. Don’t forget to pick up your spring flower orders today! It was great to see so many students in their Hillcrest School Clothing that was sent home yesterday.

LINK: https://conta.cc/2H6Bhph