Hillcrest Middle School

The PSAT NMSQT will be given at Hillcrest Middle on Wednesday, October 7th, for interested 8th graders. Students who qualify to take the test for free from state testing in 7th grade will receive a letter this week. Any other 8th grader may take it for a fee of $16 through School Cash. This test is a practice for taking the PSAT in 10th grade, and it alerts colleges and universities if students earn qualifying scores to be Junior Scholars. The sign-up window is August 11-24. See

Ms. Skenteris in the front office if you have any questions.

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📣It was a great first day at HMS! Looking forward to the year ahead 💜🐾!

***FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL DROP-OFF AND PICK-UP LOCATIONS***

Parents/Guardians must use car lines for morning drop-off and afternoon pick-up.

Drop-off Locations
1. 6th Grade: Double doors nearest the cafeteria in the front of the school on Garrison Road. Parents should use the large carline loop. (Follow green arrows on the map).

2. 7th Grade: Double doors nearest the cafeteria in the front of the school on Garrison Road. Parents should use the large carline loop. (Follow green arrows on the map).

3. 8th Grade: Parking lot off of Stokes Road- enter the parking lot and stay to the right. Drop students off at double-doors under the awning. If traffic is heavy, please pull all the way up to the end of the awning. (Follow yellow arrows)

Pick-Up Locations

1. 6th Grade: front of the school. Parents should use the large carline loop off of Garrison Road. (Follow green arrows on the map).

2. 7th Grade: students in grade 7 will be split by halls

 Team Leopards (McGowan, Greer, Lattig & Boeschenstein) will be picked up in front of the building on Garrison Road; parents should use the large carline loop. (Follow green arrows on the map).

 Team Panthers (Cain, Wilder, Abernathy & Skipper) and Team Lions (Burgess, C**n, Miller & Poole) will be picked up in the parking lot off of Stokes Road. (Follow yellow arrows)

4. 8th Grade: parking lot off of Stokes Road (Follow yellow arrows)

• Students should be picked up in their assigned car line.
• All students must be picked up from the car rider line.
• Parents should display their car line number in their dash/rear-view mirror.
• Students will be dismissed when their carline numbers are displayed in their classrooms.
• Students cannot cross the car line to the parking lot.
• Staff members will be on duty to help with loading cars.
• If you are first in line, please drive all the way up to the signage.
• Students should not be dropped off before 7:30AM. Supervision is not provided.
• Late arrival: After 8:30AM students must sign-in at the Attendance Office. Students must be seated in assigned class at the 8:30AM bell; otherwise the student is late to school.
• School is dismissed at 3:15PM. Students should be picked up by 3:45PM.

Walkers
Parents that are allowing student(s) to walk home in the afternoons must complete a Walker/Bike Rider Permission Form. A student will not be allowed to walk home if the front office does not have a completed form on file. This form is to be completed by the students’ legal parent/guardian. Completed forms must be turned in to the front office by the parent or the student.

T-Dap
Any 7th grade student that does not have a T-Dap vaccination on file with Nurse Hines will not be permitted to attend school tomorrow. If your 7th grade student does not have this vaccination, please visit the clinic or doctor’s office tomorrow.

The first week of school always presents transportation challenges. Please be patient as we all work together to establish a routine.

📣ATTENTION Wildcat Parents📣

Please take a moment to closely review the document below regarding the implementation of the new zero grading policy set by our state, technology use, and AI for the upcoming school year. We will also discuss these topics with students when they return next week.

Please help us welcome the newest Wildcat family members. We are so excited to have these amazing teachers join HMS!

Back row left to right-

Timothy Arbour- 8th grade SS
Jason Kessler- Multi-Cat
Jennifer Deal- 8th grade Math
Samantha Peterson- 8th grade Math
Torrence “Tori” Miller- 7th grade English

Front row left to right-

Lauren Johns- 7th grade Inclusion
Katie Vaughn- 6th grade SS
Lauren Conway- 6th grade Math

Welcome to the Wildcat family! We look forward to an amazing year!

A huge shoutout to our amazing PTA for the exceptional PICNIC they provided for our faculty and staff! It was delicious!

HMS PTA is THE BEST!!

What a wonderful first day welcoming our amazing Wildcat family!

We kicked off the new school year with a Mix & Mingle inspirational presentation and activity from Dr. Parham, SC Director of GEAR UP, who discussed strategies on how to become better listeners and reminded us of the power of truly hearing and understanding one another, including our students. We then transitioned into important district and school-based information as we prepare for this school year.

It was a fantastic first day back with the best school family around!

A HUGE thank you to the Walmart located on Highway 14 and the Simpsonville Police Department for your incredible generosity and support of our Wildcats! 🐾💜

Your donation of school supplies will help our students start the school year with the tools they need to learn, grow, and succeed. We are so grateful for community partners who continuously support our school and believe in our students.

Thank you for making a difference and helping set our Wildcats up for a successful school year! 💜📚✏️

Part 3- Wildcat Roundup!