The State of Alaska Department of Health Immunization program is encouraging families to use the Docket App for easy access to immunization records.
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Need Immunization Records? State recommends Docket App
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2024 Enrollment Update
We appreciate your interest in Hillcrest. Please look over the website and handbook to familiarize yourself with our program. To schedule a tour and experience firsthand what Hillcrest has to offer, please visit our calendar using the following link: https://calendar.app.google/wYE14WXq26roeLbU6
Beginning July 1, 2024, tuition for Hillcrest is
- Infant/Toddler (6wks-36m) Full-time $1,850
- Preschool (37m and older) Full-time $1,600
We are happy to announce that we have restarted our enrollment process for the 2024-2025 school year.
As of September 2024, we have the following openings
- Birthdate between 9/2/2021-9/1/2022
- Birthdate between 12/1/2024-9/1/2024
Please add information if you are connected to Hillcrest, especially an alumnus.
Last updated 5/14/2024
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Volunteer Opportunities
Families – We have several volunteer opportunities waiting for you! Remember that each family needs 20 volunteer hours each year. You need to track your own hours by using this Google Form. If you are able help with any of these, please talk to Sam.
Thanks, Hillcrest Board
Work:
- Take Jim’s news framed news article to get reglassed
- Clean out dryer vents
- Wash outside windows
- Powerwash the Preschool building
- Pickup trash around parking lot and sidewalks
- Sweep in front of building
- Sweep sidewalks once snow melts
- Trim broken branches from small trees once snow melts
- After hours on Friday, May 3 set-up Preschool for staff training on the 4th (move furniture, vacuum under shelves, set up tables and chairs)
- Cut up downed tree branch in preschool play yard
- Arrange to shampoo carpets after hours
- Make large amounts of play dough for the classrooms
- Wash inside classroom windows
- Sort and organize indoor tools
- Wash walls
Supplies Needed:
- Reusable hot and cold cups (with lids, for staff)
- Monthly donations of snacks and drinks for staff room
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Please consider donating to our Annual Campaign!
Donations help support holiday staff bonuses and facility improvements. A little goes a long way. Thank you!
Posted in Why We Give
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Why We Give – Zeman Family
We became part of the Hillcrest family in the fall of 2012 when our daughter Claudia was welcomed with open arms into the baby room by Ms. Renae. From the first day we attended we felt like part of a family. Claudia is now in 6th grade but is a regular fixture around Hillcrest and she is always welcomed back. Our son, Mateo, just graduated Hillcrest and started Kindergarden.
The reason Hillcrest is such an amazing place is because of the teachers and staff who have made a commitment to provide the best child care possible. The teachers who care for our children treat them like they are family. They provide guidance, care, love and support as if our children were their own. This care has transcended the assigned room we find our kids in at any given time. It is clear that all of the teachers take the time to know the kids in the center regardless of the room assignment. Next time you walk around the center take note of all the greetings your child receives and how the staff and teachers know your child by name.
From the hours of operation, the food program, parents’ night out, to the focus on social growth and outside play – Hillcrest is committed not only to the growth and development of our children but is also committed to ensuring parents are able to balance that ever tricky weight between being a parent and maintaining full-time employment. This dual commitment really shined during the most difficult days of the pandemic when the Hillcrest staff pivoted operations and created a school age program. This program allowed us to send Claudia to Hillcrest where they ensured she completed her Zoom classes while being reunited with her former Hillcrest classmates and teachers. This relieved a work/home stress for us that is hard to put in words and we’re forever grateful.
We give because we want to ensure that the people who care for our children are also taken care of and we hope you will consider giving as well.
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Why We Give – Fricaud Family
For us, it was important to be working parents when we had children. We both grew up with mothers who worked outside the home and we felt it was important to model the balance, struggle and sacrifice that we saw growing up as our household grew. And with that, of course, we needed child care.
The only one who loves his teachers more than him is us – big thank you to all of you!!
At four months pregnant, we asked a friend when we should start looking for child care and she told me we were already too late. Within two weeks we had toured every place in town that would return a phone call or email. Hillcrest toured during normal operating hours. It had that big family house feeling, a little chaotic but brimming with love. It also was the only one that offered a Guaranteed Start Date. That was the first of many of Hillcrest’s charitable offerings that stem from their family values.
Our son was born in July 2022 and has been attending Hillcrest since late October that year. That first year is so hard – the illness, the regressions, the teeth, the advice, the hormones – but the support we felt for both Jules’ needs and ours as parents from Hillcrest really helped us though. We don’t have family locally so the Parent’s Night Out events are an absolute game changer. We also love the status updates and pictures throughout the day. The only one who loves his teachers more than him is us – big thank you to all of you!!
We began attending Board Meetings just to understand better how things worked. It became clear quickly that there was a lot going on below the surface and we wanted to help. Money doesn’t solve all problems but many. We volunteered enough hours to get a “Volunteerism Match” from Heather’s company – where the hours volunteered are matched with a monetary donation.
We plan to donate to the annual campaign because not only will that be matched by at least one of our companies, but because this funding goes directly to staff in the form of bonuses and stocking the breakroom. We need to take care of them because they take care of us – our littles and our families. And things can be tough around the holidays, for a lot of reasons. But we can help make sure they know how much they are appreciated, by all of us! Thank you Hillcrest, for all you do!
Why We Give – Simonsen Family
“Hillcrest has become the village for me and my family… The staff and educators deserve so much thanks and appreciation from me and my family.”
My third daughter, Quinci-Rae was born in 2020. Normally it is near impossible to secure an infant spot in childcare without a lengthy waitlist. It was so important that my daughter be in a place she would be loved, safe and supported to grow into a confident person.
I have toured many programs in Anchorage and was struck by many things at Hillcrest Children’s Center. I loved how important outdoor time was to them. I was thrilled that they always strive to lower ratios (more teachers to less children) to allow better loving care to our children, better selfcare time for teachers to prevent burnout, and time for other important things like professional development and planning. I remember one day when Quinci-Rae was learning to take a bottle, Christina was able to provide an extra teacher to the infant room to help her adjust. The continuity of care model where children and their relationship with their loved teachers are preserved helps children transfer to the older classrooms and still feel safe and secure; they feel loved enough to be ready to learn every day. As Quinci-Rae grew and developed relationships with more educators, she blossomed into a social butterfly where I am asked even at the neighborhood elementary school by adults and children if I am her mom.
A few months into our being a part of the Hillcrest family, my second daughter, Annalise was able to join Yvonne and Jim’s classroom downstairs. When she first started, she was very quiet and shy. She has developed such strong solid relationships at Hillcrest now that she always wants to go to school and I always “pick her up too early”.
I was curious about the parent’s night out a few months later and Christina encouraged me to sign up and take time for myself or take the time to get some things done without the kids. These times are such a blessing to be able to help me get all the things I need done and also to take the time for myself to be able to be the kind of mother I want to be for my girls.
Hillcrest has become the village for me and my family. Raising kids in today’s world “takes a village” of diverse passionate people who want to make a positive change in the world. I believe Hillcrest is the pebble in the pond that starts the waves of change. In each day and every interaction with my children, they show them love, kindness, bravery, humbleness, gentleness, independence, togetherness and confidence. The skills they are teaching my girls will carry them into society to be positive change and successful members of society. I give to Hillcrest because of the incredible work they are doing and the commitment they continue to make every day to continuous improvement. In times that have been difficult in a myriad of ways, Hillcrest continues prioritize professional development and prioritize staff wellness. The staff and educators deserve so much thanks and appreciation from me and my family.
Please join me this Annual Campaign season in giving to Hillcrest to ensure the staff are thanked and the building can be maintained as a safe, secure environment to house the program that is Annalise, Quinci-Rae’s, and Daenerys second home. Hillcrest is truly a special place.
You can join us by making a tax-deductible donation via credit card, PayPal, or by dropping a check off at Hillcrest.
-Jessica Simonsen’s family (Sydney, Annalise, Quinci-Rae, & Daenerys)
Why We Give
Dear families and friends of Hillcrest Children’s Center:
When thinking of what makes a daycare and preschool ideal for your child, you think of a place where every child feels loved and safe, where their creativity is nurtured, and where parents feel confident in and trust the caregivers and staff. That is what our family thinks of when we think of Hillcrest Children’s Center.
Our daughter Nora has been attending Hillcrest Children’s Center since March 2021, and ever since, we have seen her continue to grow and thrive in a welcoming and healthy environment. Nora began her time at Hillcrest in the Older Toddlers room and recently moved up to the Preschool room. Her teachers have been integral in her development, and we look forward to watching her continue to excel and grow.
The kiddos at Hillcrest are encouraged to express themselves, which is such an important and vital component to their growth. The staff and teachers provide warmth, acceptance and encourage each child’s independence. They are also so responsive to each child’s needs. Every day, our daughter comes home with so many stories of what she did that day – from arts and crafts to “show and tell” to spending much of the day playing outside. We couldn’t ask for a better place for our daughter to grow and learn! We just welcomed our second daughter in October, and look forward to having her join the Hillcrest family soon.
There are so many reasons why we love Hillcrest, and we want to ensure that the center is able to continue to provide the programming that our family has come to know and love for years and years to come. Please consider giving to this very special place that I know has enriched so many children’s lives over the past 40 years.
You can make a tax-deductible donation via credit card, Paypal, or by dropping a check at Hillcrest Children’s Center. You can also become a Sustaining Family monthly donor through your monthly tuition. Thank you for your time and consideration as Hillcrest continues to provide a quality, play-based early childhood education program.
Bri, Karrick, Nora and Sloane Kelly
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