Grade 8 families Hillcrest School HWDSB are invited to attend a High School Information Night Hillcrest School on Tuesday, January 23, 2024 in the Library. Please join us at 5:15 pm to ask questions about programming and plan for your child's future.

Thanks to all of the Hillcrest School educators & students who made today’s holiday concert such a success! It was truly joyful, with students, families, and educators singing & celebrating together. ❤️❤️❤️

Thank you Hillcrest School for the opportunity to serve this wonderful community! Ms. Marino will be joining Queen Mary School HWDSB in Jan 2024. Wishing you and yours all the best!

Had a lot of fun wrapping up our concert season today at Hillcrest School and Viscount Montgomery. Our musicians did a great job representing Sir Winston Churchill SS. It’s always a pleasure seeing the joy music brings our community. Way to go Bulldogs!

Are you in education? Do you have a child in the school system? Do you know a child in the school system? This is just a sneak peek at a podcast that I think is worth everyone watching & thinking about. The comment on 'accommodations' deserves so much ❤️❤️❤️. cc Maria Marino (she/her/elle)

Yes, I realize that these are all random words & phrases, but this student was so reluctant to experiment with letters and sounds at all back in September. Now he’s choosing to write & read in this way, & start having fun with words. This brings me joy! ❤️

A little Lexia today. I don’t always support with this, but today I did a little bit. I think it’s really interesting to watch students when they’re using Lexia. Also helps with observing what they are doing and also any errors they might be making.❤️

I love how these Gr.1 students made these connections to our learning and to “heart words,” as they dissected Liam’s name. ❤️ It brings me joy when students become comfortable enough with sound combinations and new learning to apply it in different contexts. 💕

Students were motivated to write to Julie Bishop-Dove for snack program requests. Love these authentic opportunities to read & write. They loved the banana that you gave them for their notes. ❤️

Crushed it this evening! Fantastic Holiday show to celebrate all the hard work this semester. Way to go team! Thanks to everyone who played a role in making this evening a reality. W.H Ballard, Hillcrest School and Queen Mary School HWDSB. Happy Holidays everyone. Sir Winston Churchill SS

Thank you Heather Hiscox at CBC News for showcasing my program. I’m so honoured. If you are interested in sponsoring the Kindness Awards, providing prizes for the award recipients or having me speak at an event, please visit my website or email me at [email protected]

I love when play dough can be used as a writing tool, and can even extend to reading and storytelling. This started in this kindergarten class today.

Hillcrest School is proud to partner with Ron Joyce Children’s Health Centre to support families and our students. Special thanks to Emily Edwards for bringing this initiative to life!

Back on the road! We had a great day performing for Queen Mary School HWDSB and W.H Ballard. Hillcrest School and Viscount Montgomery, we’ll see you next week. Looking forward to showcasing our efforts for the community this coming Monday night, 7pm - Churchill Aud. $5adult, $3 students/sen.

The lunchtime stories continued in this class today. I love how the educators listen in, so we can reflect on the learning together. ❤️ Kids are listening for more initial sounds now, and writing more letters too.

While there are some errors in the writing, these are all reluctant writers who are now looking at communicating through writing. They are blending sounds to read back what they wrote. Editing will come slowly next, but I want to encourage the risk-taking too. ❤️

A lot of reading and writing came out of this restaurant today. Putting myself in the middle of the play made a difference. I wonder if some of this reading and writing will continue tomorrow in this restaurant. Play is for more than K. ❤️

Love how kids can choose different ways to read and write. R. is creating a book of words here. What do they say? Having him read them back helps me see the difficulty with the final sound. We did some editing together. Now what will he write?

C. and M. created a setting with the blocks and loose parts today. What about adding some signs? Looking for opportunities here to read and write. A child accidentally broke the robot & setting during the lunch club today. He left a note. Will this inspire more reading tomorrow?

Never before have I received so much positive feedback around resource sharing. Literacy in the loo is a success! 💕