Hillcrest Open House
In August, Hillcrest Elementary welcomed its families to an outdoor open house event. Teachers were stationed in front of the school to greet parents and students. Auxiliary teachers had games and activities for the students. There were photo opportunities with our school mascot. There was even a delicious snow cone stand available to the families. Thanks to First Baptist Ruston and Louisiana National Bank for putting up tents to provide shade for our families.
Hillcrest Elementary Teacher of the Year
We are proud to announce LeJoyce Adams as the Hillcrest Teacher of the Year. Mrs. Adams is the second-grade inclusion teacher. She has been teaching for 16 years with 13 of them being at Hillcrest. Mrs. Adams has a gift at building relationships and working with children. She believes that inside every child is a desire to learn and as teachers, we have the responsibility to uncover and cultivate that desire. Mrs. Adams is also a published children’s book author. Her book, “Chucky’s Unbelievable Discovery” teaches children the value of honesty.
Hillcrest Cross Country
We are so excited to have Cross Country this year at Hillcrest. Our runners have acquired a love for running and hoping they continue to grow. They have competed in several meets and have done a fantastic job. Hillcrest will host its first cross country meet in October as well.
Kindergarten News:
Kindergarten has been in full swing! We have been diving into learning all about our “big kid” school. We are excited for our upcoming parental involvement activities on October 21st learning about a special pumpkin and making crafts with our parents.
First Grade News:
First Graders have been working hard on routines and procedures. In math, we are learning addition strategies and building our math fact fluency. In reading, we are actively engaged in read alouds, retelling stories, and thinking about the lessons it teaches. Students are enjoying the new STEM class and visited the STEM Center on our Fall Field Trip. We are looking forward to starting our science lessons and learning about animals that live in a pond.
Second Grade News:
The 2nd grade students have been busy reading and writing. They have been learning about poetry elements and writing their own poems. They are now working toward publishing their first personal narrative.
In math, our students have been learning how to make tens and take from tens. They have loved learning about rulers and measurements. And can’t wait to start in place value after Fall Break.
The 2nd grade students have also been studying about the location of the United States, including where Alaska and Hawaii are located. They were able to connect their knowledge of measurements from math lessons to learn more about the distance between cities.
In September the 2nd grade students took a field trip to the STEM center. They worked with partners to design and build a shelter. They also began learning the basics for coding using a program called Scratch.