Dear Hillcrest Families,

I hope everyone is doing well and staying healthy. Our teachers have thoroughly enjoyed reconnecting with families this week. Thank you for making these calls such a positive experience for them and for the overwhelming show of support as we navigate these uncharted waters. Below is a link to an important letter regarding our plans to have a family member come to school on Monday April 6 or Tuesday April 7 next week to pick up your child’s personal belonging/school supplies. Please read it carefully and contact the school at (250) 832-7195 if you have any questions or concerns. 

LINK: COVID-19 School Supply Pick-up

Sincerely, 

Gord Ritchie

(Principal – Hillcrest Elementary School)

Dear Hillcrest Families,

I hope this email finds you well and staying healthy. On behalf of all our staff I would like to send our thoughts and best wishes to each of our Hillcrest Families in these challenging times. As communicated through the SD83 emails you have received, beginning this morning teachers will be reaching out by phone to each of our families.  Please note, due to a new phone system we are using the call will most likely show up as coming from an unlisted number with NO CALLER ID.

Our goal is to contact each family as soon as possible, however, there are some factors that can make this task challenging for us. Firstly, our district has a limited number of phone lines available, as a result, it is not possible for every teacher in the district to make calls at the same time. To help ensure phone lines will be available a calling schedule has been developed. Most phone calls from Hillcrest will be taking place according to the following schedule. Please try to be available during these times if possible.

• Tuesday: 10:00-12:00
• Wednesday: 8:00-10:00 and 2:00-4:00
• Thursday: 12:00-2:00
• Friday: 10:00-12:00

Finally, in order to contact each of our families as soon as possible you may be contact by a different staff member than you child’s teacher. This does not mean that your child’s classroom teacher doesn’t want to talk to you or won’t be reaching out to eventually, we are just being as efficient as possible with our limited calling windows and resources available. In fact, teachers were very disappointed that they may not be the first one to contact each of their students.

Thank you for your patience and understanding as we navigate our new reality. The support we have received from our community so far has been amazing. Please feel free to call the school at (250) 832-7195 if you have any questions or concerns.

Sincerely,

Gord Ritchie

Principal – Hillcrest Elementary School

Dear Hillcrest Families,

I hope everyone is staying safe and healthy in these challenging times. Please see the message above regarding the suspension of in-class instruction in BC. We look forward to connecting with our families by phone soon to assess needs and further develop plans for continuity of learning. If you have any immediate questions or concerns please call the school at (250) 832-7195.

Sincerely,

Gord Ritchie

Dear Hillcrest Families,

As most have now heard, under the direction of the Provincial Health Officer, the Minister of Education has suspended in-class instruction in all schools in British Columbia until further notice.

Please click on the link below for more information on todays announcement.

LINK: https://sd83.bc.ca/2020/03/17/school-suspended-in-b-c/

As more information becomes available it will be shared first on the SD83 website at https://sd83.bc.ca.

Thank you for your understanding and patience as we navigate the steps ahead.

Gord Ritchie

(Principal)

We had a fantastic turn out yesterday for our Family Math Night! It was awesome to see so many parents and students enjoying some quality time together while practicing their math skills. In total over 150 families were in attendance! Thank you to our teachers for the extra time they spent organizing the activities and ensuring their students were prepared to explain them to their families. Thanks also goes out to all of our families for supporting this wonderful learning opportunity.

Wow, what amazing talent we have here at Hillcrest! Congratulations to all of our students who participated in both our class and school talent shows this year. It takes a tremendous amount of courage to share your talent with such a large audience. All of our students should be extremely proud their hard work and dedication over the past several weeks perfecting their performances. Thank you to Mr. Roberts for continuing to encourage and provide opportunities for all of our students to step out of their comfort zone!

Below is a link to our Week at a Glance for the week of March 9, 2020.

We are very excited this week to be welcoming all of our families to our Family Math Night planned for Tuesday March 10 from 5:30-6:30pm. This evening will be a great opportunity to show our students that learning is truly a community endeavor.

Have a wonderful Spring Break!

LINK: https://conta.cc/3cGPzfb

Grade 3, 4 and 5 students got to attend an assembly on Friday March 6 at SMS to kick off the Hometown Hockey celebrations in Salmon Arm this weekend. It was an afternoon full of fun, entertainment and inspirational stories, including a very important message from Mr. Harrison on being humble and working as a team. Don’t forget to check out the many different events and activities taking place at Marine Park this weekend as part of the Hometown Hockey Celebration.

LINK to SCHEDULE: http://saobserver.net/news/rogers-hometown-hockey-starts-set-up-in-salmon-arm/

Over 350 students from around the district participated in the annual SD83 Art Fair this year. Above are some photos of our students attending the sessions held on Wednesday this week at Piccadilly Mall. Thank you to all of our parents who helped drive and supervise students during their sessions and a huge thank you to Mrs. Matuga for coordinating our team of students to attend.

A huge thank you to our instructors from Momentum Gymnastics for a fantastic gymnastics program again this year. Our students had a wonderful time and should be proud of the significant improvement they made in such a short time. Thanks to the sponsorship/support of our PAC, each class received 4 lessons over the past 2 weeks.

Story Time Theatre was at Hillcrest last week as one of our Cultural Assemblies for the year. The performers outstanding use of simple costumes, sets, and props showed our students how, with the help of their imagination, they too can express themselves both creatively and socially. This interactive show reminded us all of the power of stories and that we all have a story to tell.