Office Hours

The office will be open during the summer as per the schedule below.  Please call (250) 832-7195 during these times if you would like to schedule an appointment to meet with Mr. Ritchie (Principal).

Monday August 31 – Friday September 4 (8:00am – 2:00pm)

Tuesday Sept 8  (8:00am – 3:00pm) – Regular Hours Begin

New Registrations

New student registration will take place on Tuesday September 1st from 9:00am-2:30pm. Please bring the following documents with you when registering your child.

• Birth Certificate
• Care Card
• Immunization Record
• Proof of Residency (ie. a hydro bill, rental agreement etc. with your name and address on it)

If you cannot make it in to register during this time, please contact the school by phone at (250) 832-7195 or by email at hil@sd83.bc.ca.

First Day of School

Students will return to their previous year teacher’s classroom on the first day of school. Our goal is to have students placed in their new classes by the end of the first week, once we have confirmed our class break-outs for the 2020-21 school year. Parents will be sent an email to inform you who your child’s teacher will be at some point during the first week.

Tuesday September 8 

• 8:12am – Classes Begin – (Returning students should go to their previous years teacher’s class. New students should report the main entrance)
• 11:14am – Early Dismissal

Note: Students in Kindergarten will attend according to the gradual entry schedule sent out in August. Kindergarten students first day will be Wednesday September 9, 2020. 

School Supplies

Families do not need to go out and purchase school supplies for their children. The school has purchased school supplies for each classroom, and families are charged a School Supply Fee to cover the cost of the supplies used over the course of the year. In preparation for the first day, students will need to have a backpack and a clean pair of indoor runners (with non-marking soles). A School Supply Fee letter will be sent home as part of a newsletter during the first week.

If you have any questions, please give us a call.  Have a wonderful summer!

Dear Hillcrest Families,

As we head into our last week of school, I would like to share our appreciation for your support and flexibility over the past few months as we navigated these very unusual times.  I am so proud of our entire community (staff, students and parents) for how we have stepped up to the challenge and worked together to explore new ways of learning both at home and at school. As difficult as it has been over the past few months, having students back at school in June has been absolutely wonderful, and the lessons we have learnt will be invaluable as we plan to ensure learning can continue when we head back to school in the fall.

Below is some important information about our alternate schedule for the last week of school.

Alternate Schedule for the Last Week

Note: Home Learning Opportunities will still be provided for the week, however, due to our Whole Class Farewell Events on Wednesday June 24 and Thursday June 25, regular Teams meetings will not be scheduled.

Whole Class Farewell Events

Please contact your child’s teacher if your child has not been attending school but would like to participate in the Whole Class Farewell Event planned for their class. As always, we completely respect the decision of families who may not want to participate in this activity. Below are some important reminders regarding our planned Whole Class Farewell Events.

• Due to the complexity of our schedule it is very important that parents drop-off and pick-up their child within the windows provided.
• Drop-off will be in the parking lot for all classes.
• Pick-up will be on 20^th Street by the Adventure Playground for students in Grades K-4. Students in Grade 5 will be picked up in the parking lot.
• All students attending our Whole Class Farewell Events must complete a Heath Check in the parking lot upon arrival. Please bring a Health Check Ticket to speed up this process.
• Students should be prepared to participate in the activities outside so please dress for the weather.
• Students should bring a water bottle but not a lunch. Students will be eating lunch at home on this day.

Wednesday June 24

Thursday June 25

Thursday June 25

Report Cards

Report cards will be handed out during the Whole Class Farewell Events. If your child is not attending this event, report cards can be picked up on Thursday June 25 or Friday June 26 from 8:00am-3:00pm. Please call the school at (250) 832-7195 when you arrive so that we can meet you at the door.

Chromebooks, iPads and Library Books

Please ensure all Chomebooks, iPads and Library books are returned to school no later than June 22. Invoices will be prepared on June 23 for any items outstanding.

Thank you again for your cooperation as we bring closure to what has been a very unusual school year. Please feel free to call the school if you have any questions or concerns.

Sincerely,

Gord Ritchie

Principal- Hillcrest Elementary School

Dear Families,

Dear Hillcrest Families,

I hope you are doing well. Below is some very important information about the last two weeks of school.

1. Change in Status – Please remember to contact your child’s teacher or Mr. Ritchie by Thursday June 11 @ 2:00pm if you would like to change the status of your child’s attendance for next week.

2. Alternate Schedule for the Last Week – Given that there are only 3 full school days during the week of June 22-25 we will be adjusting our schedule for the week to ensure every student can attend for an equal amount of time. Home Learning Opportunities will still be provided for the week, however, due to our Whole Class Farewell Events on Wednesday June 24 and Thursday June 25, Teams meetings will not be scheduled.

3. Whole Class Farewell Events – We are very excited to invite all students from each class to a Whole Class Farewell Event on Wednesday June 24 or Thursday June 25 according to the schedule below. Since the activities planned for these events will be taking place in the gym or outside, we can safely accommodate a full class of 20-28 students at one time. Please contact your child’s teacher if your child has not been attending school but would like to participate in the Whole Class Farewell Event planned for their class. As always, we completely respect the decision of families who may not want to participate in these events. Due to the complexity of our schedule it is very important that parents drop-off and pick-up their child at the designated locations within the windows provided. All students attending these events will still need to complete a Heath Check in the parking lot upon arrival.

Wednesday June 24

Thursday June 25

Thursday June 25

Thank you again for your cooperation and support as we try to bring some positive closure to a somewhat challenging end to the school year. Please feel free to call the school if you have any questions or concerns.

Sincerely,

Gord Ritchie

Principal- Hillcrest Elementary School

Dear Hillcrest Families,

Thank you again for your cooperation and support this week as we navigated our return to in-class instruction. As with any new experience we will continue to learn together and make efforts to improve some of the policies and procedures we have in place to ensure everyone stays safe and healthy. Starting next week we would like to make the following changes.

1. Health Check Ticket – students will now be able to come to school without a parent, as long as they bring a parent signed Health Check Ticket with them. Students still need to report directly to a Heath Check Station upon arrival though.  Ensuring all students coming to school are healthy is critical to the success of our restart plan.

Students who were at school on Friday received some blank Heath Check Tickets. Students coming to school on Monday will be getting their tickets then. If you don’t have a blank Heath Check Ticket at home please go to our website (https://hil.sd83.bc.ca) to print one off or copy it out on a blank piece of paper.

2. Pick-Up Times – We will be adjusted our staggered pick up times at the end of the day.

• • Parents can pick up students outside their classrooms between 2:00-2:07. 
  • Students taking the bus, walking or riding home will be dismissed at 2:07.

Please communicate with your child and/or their teacher how they will be getting home so they can be ready to go on time.  It is still important for all students and families to leave school grounds immediately after pick-up.

3. Drop-Off Times–  Our staggered Drop-Off times will be adjusted slightly as our Heath check stations are running quite smoothly.  As much as possible, students with a last name starting with…

• • A-M should be dropped-off from 7:50-8:00
  • N-Z should be dropped-off from 8:00-8:10

Students should not walk or be dropped off at the school site before 7:50am.

4. New Students – if your child will be coming to school for the first time this week please be sure to thoroughly review the Hillcrest School Restart Parent Letter document with your child.

Thank you for your continued support and have a wonderful weekend.

Sincerely,

Gord Ritchie

Principal – Hillcrest Elementary School

Dear Hillcrest Families,

The staff at Hillcrest have been working very hard over the past few weeks preparing for some of our students to return to part-time in-class learning starting on June 1.  We understand this is a family decision and respect your choice during this unusual time. In order to maintain a safe and healthy learning and working environment we will be implementing a variety of new procedures.

Attached is a summary of some of the procedures that you and your child need to be aware of before returning to school. For the health and safety of all members of our community it is critical that you review the information in this document thoroughly and contact the school  at (250) 832-7195 if you have any questions or concerns.

LINK: Hillcrest School Restart Parent Letter – Questions and Procedures

Thank you for your continued support as we navigate these uncharted waters.  If you would like extensive details about the safety protocols in place, please visit our website to view the complete SD83 Restart Safety Plan.

Sincerely,

Gord Ritchie

(Principal)

As planning continues for school re-start on Monday, June 1, School District No. 83 (North-Okanagan-Shuswap) transportation department has important information for the parents of any child who will be riding the bus.

Student pick up and drop off times will remain the same for their return to school on June 1st. However, due to lower ridership, parents are requested to please have their children at the bus stop a minimum of five minutes early in the morning.  In addition, some high school students may return home a little earlier in the afternoon because fewer people are riding the bus.  

Parents who have indicted their child will be riding the bus to school will be receiving an email directly from the SD83 Transportation Dept. with finalized information, later today or early Saturday. Please keep an eye out for it.

Drivers please be aware school zones are in effect. For the safety of all, we ask that everyone remember the importance of stopping for a school bus with red lights activated (We Stop – You Stop), please don’t rush the bus, and ensure you not driving distracted around our students or the bus. 

Thank you!

The survey to determine who is planning on their child(ren) returning to school on a part-time basis, and whether bus transportation is needed, will be closing at 4 p.m. on Thursday, May 28.

This will give the schools a bit of time to finalize plans before students return to school on Monday, June 1. If you have not yet filled in the survey please do so here:

PLEASE CLICK HERE TO COMPLETE OUR K-5 RETURN TO SCHOOL SURVEY

PLEASE CLICK HERE TO COMPLETE OUR GRADES 6-12 RETURN TO SCHOOL SURVEY

It would be appreciated if you respond to the survey even if you are not planning on your child returning to class at this time.

After May 28, SD83 asks parents and caregivers to contact their child’s school directly if they change the status of whether their child is attending, or not attending, school. Each week school teams will create weekly class organization structures within the 50% normal classroom limits so this information is critical to planning. Also, after May 28, if your child is a bus student please ensure you also register with transportation (250 832-9415) so that they know who to expect on the bus.

Just a friendly reminder that as of Monday, June 1 our school buses are back on the road, school zones are in effect, and school playgrounds are in use during the school day.

Our staff and students will be following many safety protocols around health checks, handwashing, spacing, equipment use and cleaning. We ask for your support in ensuring your child is not sick if attending school, and in driving safely around our buses and schools. We are also asking the public to not use our schools and playgrounds during school hours as we will be working hard to keep student and staff density low and ensuring safety protocols are followed. Your assistance would be greatly appreciated as we do our best to keep everyone safe. Thank you!

Much organization and thought has gone into preparing our schools including:

• Surveying all families to see if they intend to send their children to school, and how often.
• Follow up communication to families that have not completed the survey to ensure all families are contacted regarding their intentions for June.
• Inform parents which days their children will attend
• Reduce kindergarten to grade 5 Home Learning support and interactions for May 25-29 to allow teachers and staff to set-up classrooms and prepare to receive students
• Have Health and Safety Teams at each school review the site-based safety plans
• Put in place health and safety procedures at each school
• Have every school staff ‘practice’ the week before return to in-class instruction. This will allow us to identify any improvements we need to make before the return of students.
• Follow Ministry Guidelines around maximum class sizes (50%) and school densities (50% for K to 5) and (20% for Grade 6 to 12) and strategies to minimize physical contact
• Organize custodial staff for daytime cleaning supports in each school to accommodate occupancy

Heads up Hillcrest and Ranchero…Mrs. Meerza and Mrs. Major took part in the annual “release the trolls” spring placement session up at South Canoe. All of the trolls made by Ranchero and Hillcrest students are now ready to be visited.

SD83 recently sent an email and survey to all our parents (with an email listed with their children’s school). By any chance did we miss you?

With the positive news about the decline in COVID-19 comes recent direction from the Ministry of Education to re-open our schools effective June 1, 2020, to provide additional in-class instruction. Parents will still have the option of keeping their children at home, and some home learning opportunities will continue on-line until the end of the school year.

Stage 3 of the Ministry plan allows for students in kindergarten to grade five to attend up to two to three days per week, with students in grades six through twelve attending up to one day per week. Schools will be open five days a week for children of Tier 1 Essential Services Workers and students requiring additional supports. Busing will be available with capacity limits in place.

We are following all Health and Safety Guidelines from the Provincial Health Officer, WorkSafe BC and the Ministry of Education in order to ensure that our schools are safe places to learn and to work. These guidelines include having no more than 50% of students in attendance in grades K-5 and no more than 20% of students in grades 6-12 at any given time.

In order to meet all of the Health and Safety Guidelines, including the limits described above, we will need to know which students will be returning to schools in the coming weeks. Additional surveys will follow shortly to gather more specific information as June 1st draws closer.

PLEASE CLICK HERE TO COMPLETE OUR K-5 RETURN TO SCHOOL SURVEY

PLEASE CLICK HERE TO COMPLETE OUR GRADES 6-12 RETURN TO SCHOOL SURVEY

Thank you!

What is all this math that teachers are sending home? Where are all the worksheets? What is my child supposed to be doing? How do I know if they are on track? What happens if they don’t learn everything this year?

SD83 invites all parents to join us in a virtual meeting on May 12 at 6 p.m. to talk about the kinds of math that SD83 is hoping students can be working on during this home learning time and how that matches with the math we have included on our home learning opportunities pages.

To join the virtual meeting just before 6 p.m. on Tuesday, May 12th please click here: https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_OTZlNzJkYTEtODA0Yy00MTY2LTljMjgtNjY2ZjQxYjAxYzVl%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%2287a1ffa4-963f-450e-8d90-155de78d9be5%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%22ae0930ac-c822-4a6b-91ca-ae7bf9cb0ffc%22%7d

We will talk about things to watch for as your child works on the math, and how you can support their learning. The focus will not be on how to actually do the math, although in the Q &A we can certainly help with that, but on questions you can ask your child to help them deepen their understanding of the concepts they are working on.

We will discuss the different types of math activities that you might be seeing sent home, including why these activities were selected and how your child can use them. We will also spend some time talking about ways to help them learn basic facts.

There will also be question and answer opportunities through the virtual meeting. Bring your questions and join us for a rich mathematical discussion. If you would like to email your questions ahead of time, please send them to vedgell@sd83.bc.ca with Parent Math Night question as a subject.