December 24, 2008
WISHING EVERYONE A HAPPY HOLIDAY SEASON AND A NEW YEAR
FILLED WITH PEACE, HEALTH AND GOOD CHEER
Dates to Remember:
December 24–January 2…………………………………………………………………Winter Break-School Closed
Monday, January 5………………………………………………………………………………………………………School Reopens
Tuesday, January 13………………………………………………………………………………………………………PTA Meeting
Friday, January 16………………………………………………………………………………………Spirit Day - Sports Day
Friday, January 23……………………………………………………………………………Family Fun Night – Book Bingo
Monday, January 19………………………………………………Martin Luther King’s B-Day-School Closed
Tuesday, January 20………………………………………………Winter Concert (at Heritage Middle School)
As the weather gets colder, let’s keep safety in mind. When dropping off your children to school
in the morning, please park safely and legally when letting your children out of your car.
Accidents are possible when you double park and let your children run in between parked cars
to get to the sidewalk. Please refrain from making u-turns as well. Plan on leaving your home a
few minutes earlier in the morning in order to avoid rushed drop offs. Let’s be safe, not sorry.
Reminders:

For everyone’s safety, please use the walkways and stairs when going to and from
school. Please do not walk up and down the hill as it can be dangerous and someone is
bound to get hurt.

Let’s be respectful of our neighbor’s yards. Please do not cut across anyone’s property
when you and your children are going to and from school.

February Lunch Orders can be placed beginning Thursday, January 1 until
Thursday, January 15. Log onto www.ezlunchorder.com.
Committee Thank You:
Many thanks to Elisa Madorsky, Maureen Sugarman and Francesca LaPolla for organizing the
Holiday Faculty Luncheon. The luncheon serves as a thank you to our Hillside faculty for all of
their hard work and the wonderful things they do for our children all year long.
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Hillside Kids Have H.E.A.R.T.
Helpful ▪. Empathetic ▪ Accepting ▪. Respectful ▪ Trustworthy
Family Fun Night – Book Bingo – Save the Date:
Join us on Friday, January 23 at the Community Center for Book Bingo. RSVP required. Details
to follow in the New Year!
School Closing/Early Dismissal Notification:
With winter around the corner, the possibility of school closings, delayed openings, and
emergency early closings becomes real. In such an event, the Board of Ed will activate its
automated system and you will be notified via a phone call and email informing you of such
changes. This has been a successful and efficient means of communication between the BOE
and school families within Livingston. For those of you that requested an additional phone call
from your class parent, you will also receive a phone call from them only in the event of an
emergency early closing at 12:15pm. You can update your emergency contact information by
logging onto the STARS system. If you forgot your user ID and/or password, please contact the
district registrar at registrar@livingston.org.
Box Tops Contest:
Tell your friends, family and neighbors that you need Box Tops! Hillside School has once again
set a goal of 10,000 Box Tops to be collected by February 15, 2009. The class with the greatest
number of Box Tops collected by that date will win a HOT CHOCOLATE party in the classroom.
In addition to the classroom contest, each participating student will have a chance to win one of
two $15 Barnes and Noble gift cards. We will raffle off one in January and the other one in
February. In order to enter the raffle, simply have your child glue or tape 10 Box Tops to the
collection sheet and bring it back to school. For a copy of the collection sheet, click here. The
more sheets you complete, the greater your chances to win! You can find additional copies of
the collection sheet on the PTA website. Just be sure to check those expiration dates!
We will also continue to accept Box Tops submitted in baggies and envelopes. All Box Tops
received will be tallied by class. Box Tops will be counted each week and the top three classes
will be announced in the WWB.
Good luck to all and let's reach our goal!
Yearbook Pictures:
Want your child’s pictures to be a part of the yearbook collage? Just send their favorite pictures
to school in an envelope marked yearbook pictures along with your child’s name and grade and
include their name and grade on the back of the pictures as well. Photos will not be returned.
The collage is open to all students in grades K-5.
Hillside Car Magnets:
Show your Hillside pride with a Hillside car magnet. Magnets are $5 each. Contact Karen
Gelenites kgelenites@comcast.net if interested.
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Hillside Kids Have H.E.A.R.T.
Helpful ▪. Empathetic ▪ Accepting ▪. Respectful ▪ Trustworthy
Spring Fundraiser:
The help of all Hillside School families is essential to make this night a success. There are many
ways you can help and/or contribute:
1. Family Participation -- Hillside families can select a theme for a basket and fill it with
related items.
2. Basket Buddies -- Get together with a Hillside school friend or neighbor, choose a theme
for your basket and fill it with goodies that go with the theme.
3. By donating baskets and/or new items -- we'll combine related items and make a basket
for the raffle.
4. We also accept monetary donations and will shop on behalf of your family.
Click here for a list of ideas from which you might choose. But don't feel limited to selecting from
this list. Many of you are very talented and creative -- use your imagination to come up with new
and fun basket ideas.
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact Karen Gelenites at
kgelenites@comcast.net or Cami Konecky at camikonecky@yahoo.com.
PPEC Presents:
Social Skills and Self-Esteem: Building Blocks for Success
Social competence and self esteem are important for success in school, on the playground and
in life. Helping our children learn how to get along with others, communicate effectively and
behave appropriately are skills that will benefit them throughout their lives. Learn to identify
some of the roadblocks that may be interfering as well as some techniques to help your child
navigate their social world more successfully.
Time: 7:30pm
Date: Wednesday January 14, 2009
Place: Livingston Community Center - 204 Hillside Avenue
Lois Feigenbaum, LCSW, has many years of experience working in public schools and private
practice with children and families. She runs social skills groups for children, ages 4-12, and
works individually with children and their parents on home and school interventions. She offers
professional workshops and develops games to help children acquire social skills. Her game
"Too Much, Too Little, Just Right" helps children regulate their behavior and observe social cues
in others.
Reflect On This…
Freedom is what you do with what’s been done to you. - Jean-Paul Sartre
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Hillside Kids Have H.E.A.R.T.
Helpful ▪. Empathetic ▪ Accepting ▪. Respectful ▪ Trustworthy