PTO: Hillrisepto.com 402-289-2602 20110 Hopper Street

Hillrise Huskies…Teamwork Makes the Dream Work!

Upcoming Dates:

[MONDAY] SEPTEMBER 4

Labor Day, No School

[TUESDAY] SEPTEMBER 5

All Color Walk forms are due!

[MONDAY] SEPTEMBER 11

PTO Meeting 6:30 PM

[WEDNESDAY] SEPTEMBER 13

Mid-quarters come home

[THURSDAY] SEPTEMBER 14

First Grade to Arbor Day Farm

[MONDAY] SEPTEMBER 18

In-Service, No School

[FRIDAY] SEPTEMBER 22

PTO Color Walk 5:30-7:30

[MONDAY] SEPTEMBER 25

Picture Retakes!

[THURSDAY, FRIDAY] SEPTEMBER 28, 29

Fifth Grade Outdoor Education (YMCA)

[MONDAY] OCTOBER 2

PTO Meeting 6:30 PM

[FRIDAY] OCTOBER 13

In-Service, No School

Hello Hillrise families! There is a lot of information within this newsletter so please be sure to read it all to be better informed!

Students have been learning their lunch routines and are doing a great job! One issue that we are going to have is that we have 85 Kindergarten students and 62 first graders. These two lunches overlap and we have no extra seats in the cafeteria. That makes it difficult to have visitors during lunch and of course these are the two grades where we have the most visitors. I am going to have to ask you to save visiting for special occasions. We will most likely need you to eat at one of the tables we have in our front hallways on those special occasions. I apologize! We are growing!

Our PTO has an open Vice President position. They will be taking nominations and voting on the position at our meeting on September 11, 6:30, Hillrise media center. Please join us!

We have many ways of promoting positive behaviors at Hillrise! Teachers orally recognize and reinforce positive behaviors daily at Hillrise. Students are also given “Allstar” tickets as they are showing positive behaviors. They place their tickets in grade level jars as they get them. On weeks where we have Fridays, we draw one student from each grade level. That student is mentioned in the newsletter and is called on the news to come to my office and receive a small prize! Last week’s and this week’s Allstar winners are: Kindergarten: Elliot O’Shea, Jackson Heng First Grade: Danica Suhr, Isabel Behring Second Grade: Blake Jensen, Kelsie Holder Third Grade: Lily Sanow, Laurel Boster Fourth Grade: Ehren Lorenson, Grant Webb Fifth Grade: Christina Herbers, Maddy Koley Thank you for all you do! Deb Madden, Principal Hillrise Elementary 402-289-2602 dmadden@epsne.org

PTO: Hillrisepto.com 402-289-2602 20110 Hopper Street

Summer Reading Challenge Ends on September 8th!

The Scholastic Summer Reading Challenge goes through September 8th. The goal this

year for Hillrise Elementary is 140,000 minutes. As of August 29, we have 111,742 minutes logged. Way to go!

The individual student goal is 1,200 minutes. Each student that logs their minutes and

reaches the goal will receive an opportunity to have Kona Ice during the school on September 15th.

Your student can still enter all their reading minutes from this summer. Log the minutes at https://tinyurl.com/SummerReading17. Click on the blue button on the right side that says login. Students have been given a username and password. Please contact Kim

Miller at kmiller@epsne.org if you have questions.

Destination Imagination Teams Being Formed Now!

4th and 5th graders are invited to be a part of DI. Parent Volunteers Needed!

Permission forms due September 11! Right click on the links below for more information!

Destination Imagination Parent Volunteers

Hillrise DI 17-18.doc

DI Parent and Student Con

For more information, email Kboham@epsne.org

School Hours: 8:15-3:06 Breakfast: 7:35-7:55

Walking Club: 7:55-8:10

Lunch Times: Kindergarten: 11:15-11:40 1st Grade: 11:30-11:50 2nd Grade: 11:50-12:10 3rd Grade: 11:55-12:15 4th Grade: 12:15-12:35 5th Grade: 12:25-12:45

**recess is prior to lunch**

Our Mission The mission of Hillrise Elementary is to inspire lifelong learners, to foster a belief in one's ability to succeed, to nurture respect and appreciation of self and others, and to encourage contributions to an ever-changing world.

Hillrise School Improvement Goal

All students will improve Math

computation and concept skills.

Hillrise Elementary Student Council Application 2017-2018 Student Council is an important part of our school. All members help with fundraisers, charity drives, school climate, Red Ribbon Week, Veterans’ Day, school tours and communication. We are busy all year. To be a member in Student Council, you must be in 3rd, 4th or 5th grade, demonstrate leadership skills, keep up with your schoolwork and consistently work on building strong character. We want our Student Council to represent all of our students, as well as be role models for the school. You are expected to come to meetings unless excused and to participate in most activities. Meetings will usually be held the first Tuesday of each month from 3:06-4:00 PM. This year’s Student Council will only consist of 18 members. Two students from each class in 3rd and 4th grades and 3 students from each class in 5th grade will be elected to serve on the student council. In order to run for Student Council, interested children will meet with Ms. Madden on Tuesday, September 5th during their I and E class time. While meeting with Ms. Madden, each student will write a paragraph stating WHY he/she would be the best person to represent his/her class on Student Council. These paragraphs will then be read aloud to each class, while being kept anonymous so that students are voting on the quality of the paragraph and not who wrote the paragraph. Students may NOT bring any notes or paragraphs written at home. In addition, all children who wish to run for student council MUST have parent permission by Tuesday, September 5th. Please sign the bottom portion and return to the envelope by Mrs. Kriv’s office (first grade hallway) by the morning of September 5th. These children will then meet with Ms. Madden to write their paragraphs. The voting process for Student Council includes class voting on the anonymously written paragraphs, as well as a general vote for two students from each class, and finally, teacher consideration if needed. Results will be announced by Friday, September 8th.

If you have any questions, please contact Mrs. Kriv or Ms. Kellams. mkrivohlavek@epsne.org lkellams@epsne.org

Thanks so much!

Please complete the bottom portion and return to Mrs. Kriv’s office by

September 5th My child has permission to run for Student Council. If elected to Student

Council, I understand my child will have one after-school meeting a month. I

also guarantee that my child will have transportation arrangements when the

meetings end at 4:00.

_________________________________

Child’s Name ___________________________ ___________________________ Parent’s Name Parent’s Email Address

Recently we have seen an increased number of requests for information regarding the importance of limiting screen time and engaging kids in other activities. Please read the below article regarding one idea that can be used to transition from a technology-filled day to a device-free night. Device Free Dinner Did you know that 92% of parents feel that quality conversations at dinner time are essential to connecting with their kids? Yet many worry that devices at the table are taking away from those moments. Curbing technology and device use at the table, including restaurants and not just home, is vital to keeping the conversation going and helping kids see that what’s going on in their lives matters. Below are a few ways families can implement a device free dinner and connect over mealtimes: 1. “What was the best thing that happened to you today?” Get kids talking about their day

and discover what brings them joy or what type of things make an impact on their day. It’s this type of conversation that may just open your eyes to a new topic or activity that your child has recently discovered. Take this opportunity to find out what activities your child finds enjoyable, who they hang out with, etc.

2. It’s Your Turn, Pick A Topic. Giving each member of the family a chance to choose the topic of conversation allows each individual to express themselves and gives insight into what’s going on in each person’s head. This can be done during every meal, where each member chooses a topic and it is discussed for a set amount of time, or it can be a daily opportunity, where each day, a different family member gets to choose the topic of conversation for the duration of the meal. Either way, make sure every individual participates, even if it’s simply acknowledging a new area of interest for the family member that chose the topic.

3. Practice What You Preach. Kids follow the example of those around them, so parents taking phone calls and responding to emails or texts during dinner only shows them that the rules you put into place only apply to others. Show your children that you are taking the initiative seriously and give them your undivided attention. That phone call can be returned and the text message can certainly wait, and by doing so, you’re showing your child that they matter to you more than the person on the other end of line.

Whether it is a sit-down meal at your family table or a quick run through the drive through, avoiding the use of technology during dinnertime guarantees that families have the daily opportunity to connect with each other. Take the time to listen and learn about every family members’ day, you never know what new thing you might learn from it. For more information on managing a device-free meal, check out https://thefamilydinnerproject.org/. Portable PowerSchool PowerSchool has gone mobile! The PowerSchool for Parents app is available for download from the Apple App Store and Google Play. Parents can easily view each child’s progress in a single feed to check grades, review assignments and more. After downloading the app, enter code BFTS to find Elkhorn Public Schools and then log in using your PowerSchool parent access login. This app is only available for parents of students in grades 4-12 (4th grade parents cannot access until after the conclusion of the 1st quarter).

Friday, Sept. 22 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm Hillrise Elementary School Registration: $10 per person

Forms and donations are due Tuesday, Sept. 5

COLOR ME EXCITED Classroom Competitions are heating-up. The class that raises the most funds in each

grade will get an extra recess or a chance to COLOR BOMB their teacher!

The more money you raise, the more entries you get for the Color Walk prize drawing. Prizes include an Omaha Steaks gift basket; passes to Vala’s Pumpkin Patch, the Henry

Doorly Zoo, and Bellevue Berry Farm & Pumpkin Ranch; $50 Scheel’s gift cards; and much, much more!

FUNDRAISING INCENTIVES:

$25 — Free registration and Race Kit*

$50 — Free registration, Race Kit*, Color Walk t-shirt and an entry in the prize drawing

More than $50 raised — for each additional $25 raised, you get an extra packet of colored

powder for our Color Celebrations and an additional entry in the prize drawing

*The Race Kit contains sunglasses, a packet of colored powder, a spirit bracelet, tattoos and stickers. Questions? info@hillrisepto.com

The Giving Tree

Dear Parents, I hope that the new school year has started out as well for you as it has for the students and teachers at Hillrise. Each year, the PTO creates a Giving Tree for our teachers. It is an excellent program established for families to assist teachers by giving additional supplies which teachers have identified that will help them to enhance classroom experiences.

The Giving Tree will be up and running through SignUp Genius starting Monday, September 4, through Friday, September 15. This is another excellent representation of how “Teamwork Makes the Dream Work”.

Please take a minute to review and sign up if you can. We ask that all donations be delivered either to the office or to your teacher directly by Friday, September 15.

http://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0E4CACA722A7F94-hillrise

Thanks again for your tremendous support!

Angela Roeber Giving Tree Chair

Shop • Dine • Donate

Save Hy-Vee ReceiptsClip Box Tops

Those slips of white paper are worth money to our school! From Sept.1 through Dec. 31, Hy-Vee will donate $1 for every $200 in receipts turned in on behalf of Hillrise Elementary. Any Hy-Vee purchase applies, such as grocery, gas, pharmacy, floral, and market, as well as their Aisles Online delivery service; and, they accept receipts from any Hy-Vee location. You can either send the receipts to school with your student, or you can drop them in the “Hillrise” box located at the 156th and Maple Hy-Vee.

In addition to Hy-Vee receipts, Hillrise participates in the Box Tops for Education program. Purchase participating General Mills products, clip the box tops from the packaging, and send them to school. We will conduct several Box Top contests throughout the year, so stay tuned for more information.

Your student will bring home a manilla envelope with more details. The envelope can be used as a convenient collection point. Tape it to the inside of a kitchen cupboard or stick it to your fridge to make it easy for your entire family to collect Hy-Vee receipts and box tops. And don’t forget, you can ask friends, family and neighbors to collect them, too.