Week of: October 4th-10th
New Kindergarten Teacher

In order to accommodate our increasing growth, as well as follow the guidelines of our school's waiver, Hillcrest has added another Kindergarten Teacher to our staff. Please welcome former HCS alumni, Hannah Gross. Hannah attended Hillcrest for 7 years and has always dreamed and prayed she would become a Kindergarten teacher at our school. As a student, she enjoyed the love and enthusiasm for learning that she was exposed to by her HCS teachers, and since then Miss Gross has desired to serve in our ministry and follow God’s calling in her life. She has a Bachelor's degree from Colorado Christian University and she is also a certified ESL (English as a Second Language) Teacher. 

Hannah has been teaching primary students in a variety of Christian ministries. She has a passion for making learning fun, creative, relative, and understandable so each child can reach their full potential in Christ. 

Miss Gross also studied abroad in Ecuador where she worked with elementary students, incorporating Bible stories into their English lessons. Most recently, she has taught children virtually in China and received five star ratings from the parents of her students. Hannah has spent time in Israel ministering to children and adolescents living in foster homes as well as served in a community of Holocaust survivors to complete service projects in Jerusalem, Galilee, and Tel Aviv.

Please join us in welcoming back Miss Hannah Gross as a new addition to our excellent family and our Kindergarten program. 
First-Time-Ever Opportunity!!!

Hold on to your seats Parents, we have a never-before-offered opportunity for you!!! Starting this week, you will be able to volunteer to help Mr. Westphal facilitate elementary P.E. classes!! What a fun way to gather those volunteer hours, by interacting with our younger kiddos on a whole different level!! TWO Volunteer slots are available for each class and will be added to Sign-Up Genius soon, until then please contact Joni Metcalfe to reserve your time slot:
jmetcalfe@hillcrestcs.org or call the HCS Main Office (805)497-7501

Kindergarten P.E.
Monday: 10:45AM-11:15AM
Wednesday: 10:45AM-11:15AM
Friday: 10:45AM-11:15AM

First Grade P.E.
Monday: 10:45AM-11:15AM
Wednesday: 10:45AM-11:15AM
Friday: 10:45AM-11:15AM

Sixth Grade P.E.
Tuesday: 10:45AM-11:30AM
Thursday: 10:45AM-11:30AM

More classes & times will be added soon!
THANK YOU, VOLUNTEERS!!

The HCS Yard-Duty Attendant Volunteer Program is quite incredible this year, and it is all thanks to you!!! It has been so awesome having you parents on our new campus with us, helping out with the lunchtime and recess duties. What an amazing blessing, to our students and staff, you all are. We want you to know that we truly appreciate you and thank you for your service!!!
If you have not yet been blessed with the opportunity to Volunteer as a recess / lunch duty attendant, you may still do so by clicking the Sign-Up Genius icon above, to find a date and time that best fits your schedule.

If you have questions, our HCS Volunteer Coordinator has answers!!
Contact: Melissa Wetherhold at: 
(805) 587-5633 OR email
AWESOME HCS PARENTS,
We would like to THANK YOU for your amazing cooperation last week!! After school pick-up went so much smoother, due to YOUR immediate help and willingness to comply with the traffic order to arrive NO EARLIER THAN 5 minutes to pick up your elementary students!! Those who have both secondary and elementary students, also arrived closer to 3PM. This created a fantastic PICK-UP AND GO FLOW and greatly improved our traffic situation!
Thank you ALL so much for your cooperation!
We're a Family at HCS!
Ways to stay connected!

Parents in Prayer Group
Every Tuesday morning
8:30am-9:30am
Throughout the school year, our Parents in Prayer Group prays for our school. Specifically praying for every individual student and their family by grade and by name, each teacher, and all the leaders of HCS. We would like to welcome you to join us Tuesday mornings, to pray for our incredible school along side other Dads, Moms, Grandparents, and Guardians of ALL grades Preschool through 12th Grade. Stay for a portion or the entire time, we are blessed happy to have you! For further details or if you have questions, contact our Parents in Prayer Leader, CD Kiddleson at: HCS_PrayerTeam@hillcrestcs.org

PFA (Parents Faculty Association)
1st Thursday of month
1:30pm-3:00pm
The HCS PFA is a volunteer organization that exists to help support our teachers, students, staff, and families, as well as build community within the school.  The PFA is a fun and dynamic group that meets on a monthly basis. New parents are always welcome, and highly recommended to join.  It's a great way to spend time with your child, get to know other parents at the school, and help make a difference at HCS. Our parent volunteers help make Hillcrest the amazing school that it is!!! We could not do what we do without the help of the PFA! Whatever your talent, skill, or area of desire to serve may be, there are so many ways to get involved. We welcome you to become part of our dynamic group, and look forward to working with you! For further details or should you have questions, contact our PFA President, Jenni Schweizer at: HCSPFA@hillcrestcs.org

Fellowship and Coffee
1st Friday of the month
8:00am-9:30am
On the first Friday of each month, our PFA hosts a gathering event in the breezeway of our main entrance. This is specifically for the purpose of adult fellowship! After you have said your goodbyes and handed your children off to their teachers to learn and grow, we welcome you stop by, have a cup of joe or 2, and chit-chat with other families for a bit. Preschool Parents all the way through to our Senior Class Parents, COME ONE - COME ALL!!

Booster Club
The Hillcrest Christian Saints Booster Club is a non-profit, parent run organization that provides support and encouragement to our HCS student-athletes. The Saints Booster Club meets regularly, hosts special events, and provides ongoing support to our athletic teams throughout the year. Funding support for the HCS athletics teams is made possible through Booster donations, sponsorships, advertising, and concessions. Hillcrest Christian School Elementary, Middle School, and High School athletics exist due to the tremendous support and partnership of the Saints Booster Club. Thank you for supporting our student-athletes, allowing us to invest in their athletic, personal, and spiritual development at Hillcrest Christian School. For further details or should you have questions, contact our Athletic Director, Michael Westphal at: mwestphal@hillcrestcs.org
HCS Int'l Equestrian
League Team
*Information Meeting*

Thursday, October 8th
at 3:00PM
Parents & Students
Grades 5 thru 12

Meeting will take place on the Secondary Campus outside area.
First Grade
Mrs. Jones' Class
Wednesday, October 14
8:30 AM - 1:00 PM

First Grade
Mrs. Adams' Class
Wednesday, October 21
8:30 AM - 1:00 PM

ALL Kindergarten
Thursday, October 22nd
9:00 AM - 1:00 PM
HILLCREST CHRISTIAN SCHOOL
Secondary Students
Wednesday, October 28th
10:00am - 12:30pm
REMEMBER TO FILL OUT THOSE HEALTH SCREENINGS DAILY!
Recent Highlights of Hillcrest
Mrs. Winter wanted to share a few positive comments from this week...
From Parents:
"This is a fabulous place; we love all the teachers and leaders!"

"This school has been so amazing for our kids; I can't even express how happy we are at this school."

"We were so very impressed with the quality of teachers we met at Back to School; we could not be happier. Our kids love the school!"

"Our kids are excited to go to school each day. They love all their teachers, and all the kids are so friendly. It's more than we could have hoped to have in a school. They were never excited to go to school before they came to HCS!"

"We have been to several other schools, including private schools, and now compare to this school. The quality of teachers, the loving family atmosphere is so great at HCS, we could not be more pleased. Our kids are so happy! We are never leaving this school!"

"Our friends who just enrolled highly recommended this school, and I thought, no big deal, but then we came for a tour, and we were s pleased, how welcoming, how informative, everything the school is doing, it has been better than we could have ever imagined!"

"I love the school so much; I just want to know how we can be involved more and help the school out wherever needed."
"From the first moment we stepped onto the school and went through the admissions process with Mrs. Blumenthal to our special meeting with Mrs. Winter, we have been so overwhelmed with how great eh school is, our kids love it!"

"Wow, all the improvements both in facilities and programs are more than we could have expected, and we have been to other private schools, we are so much happier at HCS!"

"You have to be kidding me; you have beautiful sports filed too; these new facilities are fantastic, absolutely gorgeous with all the improvements. What positive changes since July, when we first visited."

From Students:
"I love going to school every day. I never knew how much I could enjoy being at school."

"The teachers care so much here; I can't believe how different it is from my last school."

"I am so happy to be back at school; thank you so much for going out on a limb on behalf of us kids; it means the world to us."

"I love all the new facilities and senior leadership."

I love our new extended care program; it's so much fun!"
"The teachers challenge us!"

"We are loving music; it's so much better!"

"We love that our Bible classes are more relatable than last year, that helps us to grow spiritually."

"I love it that some teachers can look into your soul, and they know you better than you know yourself, and they know how to motivate and spur you on to more incredible things so you can accomplish what God has called you to do. I don't see how they have that much wisdom!"

From Staff:
"I have prayed to work as a teacher here my whole life. I can't believe it is a prayerful dream come true; I am so happy!"

"I know God called me here for me and our kids, I could not be happier."

"I am elated, the difference between HCS and what my kids have been getting is amazing! I could not have imagined how great this environment would be for my kids!"

"All the positive improvements we are making is such a God thing. God is truly pouring His blessings out upon our school, like never before. I love all that God is doing!"
Kindergarten Roaring 20's Celebration
20th Day of School!
Johnny Appleseed Celebrations!
Hillcrest Christian
School 
449 East Wilbur Road
Thousand Oaks, CA 91360
805-497-7501
Hillcrest Christian
Preschool 
449 East Wilbur Road
Thousand Oaks, CA 91360
805-495-5513

If you have any questions about this correspondence or need more information, please contact Dawn Sharifi at dsharifi@hillcrestcs.org (805-497-7501, ext 1002)