Hillcrest Public School

🏒🥅 It wasn't the result that we were hoping for, but Hillcrest brought the spirit today to cheer on team Canada at our watch party. The gym was a sea of red and white, and the excitement could be heard far down the halls. 🤞Fingers crossed for better results tomorrow! Go Canada go! 🇨🇦

Our students have been putting their conversational French skills into action by planning an Olympic viewing party. Using real-life communication skills, students collaborated to:
-Propose ideas
-Negotiate options
-Agree on events, food and decorations

All discussions, decisions and planning happened in French and the viewing party will be in French - because language learning is about using French in authentic, meaningful ways!

Now it's time to celebrate their hard work.

Friday is Pink and Red day!

After playing outside, it was time to warm up with more Carnaval games. Bonhomme even joined in on a game of musical chairs.

❄️🎉 Our Winter Carnival was filled with laughter, outdoor fun, and school spirit! The highlight of the day was a special visit from Bonhomme, who travelled all the way from Quebec to celebrate with us. ⛄✨ What a wonderful way to embrace winter together! Merci à Mme Gillespie pour avoir organisé la journée!

Students in Mme Verroen’s class practised procedural writing by creating step‑by‑step instructions for how to build a snowman—using play dough! After writing, they paired up and tested their instructions by having a classmate follow the steps exactly. This hands‑on activity helped them see the importance of clear details and logical order while having plenty of fun. ☃️

🇦🇺Today Mme DeGroot's class enjoyed a special presentation in honour of Australia Day! 🇦🇺 The mother of one of our students joined us to teach us a little bit about Australia—sharing interesting facts, language, and helping us learn more about this amazing country and its culture. To make the experience even more special, grandma zoomed in for a virtual visit and read the beloved story Possum Magic by Australian author Mem Fox. Our students loved listening to the story and connecting it to what they had learned about Australia. A big thank you to our wonderful family members for sharing their time and helping bring global learning to life for our students. What a meaningful way to celebrate Australia Day! 🌏📚

Wow! We would like to extend our sincere thanks to the Petrolia Legion for their generous donation to our school snack program. Because of your support, our students have access to nutritious snacks that help keep their energy up throughout the day. Full bellies truly are ready for learning, and your kindness is making a real difference in our classrooms. We are grateful for your continued support of our students and our school community. ❤️

We are so grateful!

January's Colour House activity is on Wednesday!

Due to inclement weather across the district, ALL Lambton Kent District School Board schools will be closed for Thursday, January 15, 2026. Please stay safe.

✨ What are your plans for 2026?
If they include “turning 4 years old” 🎂 – it’s time to register for Kindergarten!
🌐 Visit www.LKDSB.net/Kindergarten today, then come visit your new school and meet our awesome staff at the end of this month!
We can’t wait to see you! 💚💙

Registering your child for Kindergarten is as easy as 1, 2, 3.
1. Find your school.
2. Complete the online registration form @ www.lkdsb.net/kindergarten in advance.
3. Come and meet our caring staff on Thursday, January 29, 2026 from 4:00pm – 7:00pm and Friday, January 30, 2026 from 9:00am – 3:00 pm.

✨🎶 Students from Mme Nesbitt and Mme Bailey’s classes headed uptown to share the spirit of the season! With joyful voices and big smiles, they sang holiday songs and handed out handmade cards to brighten the day of everyone they met.

🎄 Holiday Dinner in the Gym! 🎄 
Today we gathered as a school community to share a festive meal and celebrate the season together. Great food, big smiles, and lots of holiday cheer. Huge thanks to everyone who helped make it happen—you’re the best! ❤️✨

🔥 VOLLEYBALL FINALS HIGHLIGHTS! 🔥 What a day for our teams! 💪 🏐 Girls’ Volleyball – They battled through intense, nail-biting games and showed incredible heart, but fell just short against Wyoming Public. We couldn’t be prouder of their fight and teamwork! 👏 🏐 Boys’ Volleyball – CHAMPIONS! 🏆 They brought the heat and took down Centennial in the finals! Amazing hustle and team spirit all the way! 🙌 Huge shoutout to our phenomenal coaches: M. Chalupka, M. Triest, M. Kennefick, and Mlle Purdy – your leadership and dedication made this season unforgettable! 💛💙 Way to represent our school with pride!

Our Grade 8 students built their own water filtration systems to learn how science tackles real-world challenges like clean water access. Amazing creativity and problem-solving in action! 💧👏

Our whole school had an incredible day at Sloan’s Village, coming together for fresh air, fun, and lots of shared laughter 🌲❄️ Students, staff and family spent the day playing, exploring, and enjoying outdoor activities that brought everyone together across grades and classes. So much fresh air made for sleepy students on the bus ride back. 😴 We are so grateful to everyone who made this possible with a special shoutout to Mme Wernham for planning it.

Our Learning Buddies had a festive afternoon together! 🍫🎄 After teaming up to bake delicious brownies, the buddies got creative with Christmas-themed frosting. They experimented with how mixing primary colours can help make classic holiday shades—like rich greens and merry reds—to decorate their treats. It was the perfect mix of hands-on learning, teamwork, and holiday cheer. Proud of our buddies for measuring, mixing, experimenting, and creating a delicious treat! ✨

Smiles for miles. 😀 Nothing beats the first major snowfall. ❄️