Good evening Hillandale Families,

This is Dr. Hart-Olivis, proud principal of Hillandale Elementary School with this week’s Monday Message.  You should receive this message in both English and Spanish. 

Did you see our incredibly talented students at the Motown Throwdown Friday?  I’m so proud of the courage and dedication our students had to conclude our celebration of Black History Month 2023!  Special thanks to the Hillandale Equity and Access Committee, the staff who worked with our students as they practiced, and our community engagement team, Ms. Guzski (Community and Student Engagement Coordinator) and Mr. Lawson (Community Liaison).

Today some of our students represented Hillandale at the Elementary Battle of the Books.  We’re proud of their hard work and practice as they worked together to represent our school and The Hillandale Family.

At Hillandale, it’s important to us that we regularly communicate with you about how you can help boost your child’s achievement at school and how important your support is from home.  This year we’ve already made a tremendous amount of growth, and we’re on a path to move the needle again, just like we did before the pandemic.  We’re focusing on ways to help our students learn and grow better than ever.  Every student at Hillandale can learn and grow, and we’re on a team together with you to help our learners achieve.

New updates are on the school website for all grade levels, including websites with games for your child to practice what they’re learning in upper grades to be ready for the EOGs, like fractions.  We didn’t forget about our younger students; there are games for reading and other resources for vocabulary and science.  Keep your eye on the website.  The best is yet to come.

Have you taken a look at the updates to the Hillandale website with resources to help your child’s achievement from home?  We’re in the process of building a digital library of resources for parents to use at home.  Keep an eye on our school website, hillandale.dpsnc.net, and choose the “PARENTS” tab, then “PARENT RESOURCES & GUIDES.”

Do you know someone who wants flexibility in their schedule, but the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of our students in the classroom?  Please encourage them to consider applying to become on of our regular substitute teachers.  If you’re interested in applying, applications to become an approved substitute teacher in Durham Public Schools can be completed at https://www.applitrack.com/dpsnc/onlineapp/ 

Stay up to date about what’s happening at Hillandale on our school website, hillandale.dpsnc.net and on Twitter and Instagram @HillandalePOWER.  You can also respond to me directly from this email, but your child’s teacher is the best first contact.

At Hillandale we strive for everything we do to be results-focused, data-informed, and student-driven.  We want to empower your child to excel in the academic and social skills required to be a leader in our community.  As always, thank you for your support, your partnership, and most of all, thank you for being part of The Hillandale Family.

At Hillandale we are #HESFullSTEAMahead!