💛 Dear Eagles,
We are having such a wonderful year! Indian Hills was again the elementary school with the best attendance in SLC. Thank you for getting your students to school on time and ready to learn!
Let’s look our attendance numbers compared to the same school days last year:
- Attendance rate: 95.36% — up 6.22%
- Chronic absentee rate: 8.07% — down 5.15%
The district goal for school attendance is 95%, and we are on track! Let’s keep the momentum going as we head into the winter months.
When it comes to attendance, our closest competition this year is Bonneville Elementary. Principal Karen Holman and I are planning a friendly competition for the GOAT Attendance Trophy in January. Stay tuned for the details! |
This year, our faculty are focusing on strengthening Teacher Clarity and Collective Efficacy. In short, we are a team of individual professionals who share the belief that through our unified efforts, we can support every learner in achieving at higher levels.
To support this work, our 4th- and 3rd-grade teacher teams are engaging in Block Planning. Students in these grades will have a substitute for one day this week, so their teachers can collaborate with our Literacy Coach to design learning activities that include reading more complex texts and writing more academically rigorous responses to communicate their thinking. Looking ahead, in January, our 5th-grade team will also participate in Block Planning. If you have questions about this endeavor, please do reach out. We love to talk about the innovative efforts at our school.
A heartfelt thank-you to the many trusted adults in our community who substitute teach at our school. We appreciate you.
Wishing you a wonderful week ahead!
With warmth, Dr. Pettersson |
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Monday - 12/8 - 2nd Grade - Hands-on-Science Lab: Ooblek
- 4th Grade Teacher Team Block Planning
- SCT: School Collaboration Team meeting 2:45 p.m.
Tuesday - 12/9 - 1st Grade - Hands-on-Science Lab: Sound Patterns
- PLC for 5th, 2nd, and K grades
Wednesday - 12/10 - SCC: School Community Council meeting @ 7:00 a.m. in the library - agenda.
- 3rd Grade Teacher Team Block Planning
- Faculty Meeting @ 2:45 p.m. in Library
- PTO Dine-Out @ Little Caesars
Thursday - 12/11 - 3rd Grade - Hands-on-Science: DNA Extraction
- Dr. P at District Leadership Council in the a.m.
- PLC for 4th and 1st grades
Friday - 12/12 - K- Hands-on-Science Lab: Building and Testing Sleds
- TUVA Onboarding for 4th, 5th, and 6th grade teachers @ 7:00 a.m.
- Music Practice in the Gym
- Indian Hills Sports Leadership Team meeting @ 9:45 a.m. in Band Room
- 3rd Grade Field Trip to Ballet West: Nutcracker
- Shelter in Place Drill @ 10:45 a.m.
- SSC: Student Support Committee @ 1:45 p.m.
Important Dates: Kim created a 1-page flyer with the important dates for the upcoming year to help us plan ahead Important Dates Flyer |
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We’re already one week into December, and this year is flying by, and the good news is that we’re having a blast.
This week the upper grades will have SEL lessons with me. Here is a look at what we’ll be working on:
3rd & 4th Grade – 10 Emogers: Review emotional management strategies. Practice selecting an emotional management strategy. Describe how to an emotional management strategy for specific situations. 5th Grade – The Situation: Utilize appropriate time and place to safely process emotions, independently, with a trusted adult or with peers. 6th Grade – Clap Town: Demonstrate the ability to actively listen to others. Explain how active listening prepares us to respond respectfully. --Counselor Chris |
The Indian Hills Kindness Crew is hosting a TOY DRIVE - Dec 4th - Dec 15th
- New, unwrapped toys/books/games for all ages
- Collection Bin in Office
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This year, our students have more choices than ever in how they spend their recess time. With greater opportunity comes greater responsibility. So, under the direction of Coach Bennion, Mr. C., and Mr. Monteiro, we have launched a Sports Leadership Team.
This team is made up of enthusiastic 5th- and 6th-grade students who love sports and are committed to modeling positive play on our playground. These student leaders will help teach games, encourage good sportsmanship, organize and maintain recess equipment. They want to ensure that each and every student feels included and has fun during recess.
Thank you to the following students for stepping up to help our school: - Annie Caine
- Declan Groundland
- Jia Byun
- Jones Provolt
- Leo Waltman
- Maisie Parke
- Sam Pearson
- Sylvan Carreau
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It takes all of us to keep students safe, especially in cold weather with icy road conditions. Last week, many adults failed to follow our parking lot rules. Please note the following: - No U-turns are permitted on school property. All traffic must turn right before reaching the bike lockers.
- The faculty parking access road (St Marys Drive) on the north side of the building is for staff only—please do not use this road if you are not a faculty member.
Additional reminders: - Our campus is landlocked, with one road in and out of the parking lot.
- This road is relatively steep and can be difficult to navigate in snowy or icy conditions.
- If your vehicle does not have all-wheel drive, please consider dropping off and picking up your student(s) on Wasatch Blvd. or at one of the nearby access paths (Roxbury, Nottingham, or Beacon).
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- Friday December 19th, 8:30am
- Students are encouraged to wear red shirts, Indian Hills shirts if they have one.
- Parking and Seating are limited.
- Assembly will be streamed live via YouTube and also available to watch at your convenience. We will share that link week of, via ParentSquare.
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We had great success with our Shake Shack Dine-Out last month. And, we are looking forward to our next DINE OUT this Wednesday!
Upcoming Dates
This week - 12/10 WEDNESDAY - DINE OUT @ Little Ceasars
Next week - 12/15 & 12/17 - 4th, 5th, &6th Grade District Music Showcase
- 12/17 - PTO Meeting @9:15 a.m.
- 12/19 - Annual Winter Sing
- 12/22 - thorugh 1/2 - Winter Break
- 1/5 - School Resumes!
If you are interested in volunteering and/or joining the PTO (no membership fee - we want everyone to join), please contact Caitlin Pearson, our PTO President at caitlinbpearson@gmail.com
Have a great week!
Indian Hills PTO |
- 5th & 6th Grade Band
- 5th & 6th Grade String Orchestra
- Ms. Osipova's 4th Grade General Music Class
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- 4th, 5th & 6th Grade Vocal Music & Ukuleles
- Mr. Ashman's 4th Grade General Music Class
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Each month our School Community Council (SCC) meets to fulfill the duties outlined in Utah Code § 53G-7-1202: - Create the annual School LAND Trust Plan
- Review and make recommendations for the safety plans, including safe access routes
- Plan for safe technology utilization and digital citizenship
- Provide feedback about school and district programs
- Provide input on the school's positive behavior support plan
Chaired by Phong Nguyen, the SCC strives to includes representation from 7 areas. We currently have an opening for Area 5 - if you are interested, please reach out to Mr. Nguyen or Dr. Pettersson |
The window for Early Open Enrollment Applications for the 2026-2027 school year is now open!
In Utah, families have a choice in where their students attend school. Utah law allows families and their students to apply to attend a school even if it is outside of their neighborhood. If you have friends or family members who may be interested in attending Indian Hills but do not live within our boundaries, please feel free to share the information below:
Apply Here:
2025–2026 Open Enrollment Timeline
- November 15, 2025 – February 6, 2026: Early Open Enrollment Applications submitted online
- February 7, 2026: School administrators gain access to submitted applications
- March 15, 2026: Deadline for principals to notify parents in writing of Early Open Enrollment application status
- March 31, 2026: Deadline for parents to accept or decline Early Open Enrollment opportunities
- April 1, 2026 – start of next school year: Late Open Enrollment Applications may be submitted
SLC School District Open Enrollment Priorities Applications are reviewed and accepted according to the following priority order: - The student has a sibling currently attending the requested school
- The student has a parent who is a district employee
- The student is a SLCSD resident
- The student resides outside the SLCSD boundaries
Students will be accepted into schools with available space according to their assigned priority. If multiple students share the same priority, a lottery will be used to determine the order of acceptance. |
If you have feeback for us, please share it.
This goes directly to Dr. Pettersson, only. You can choose to have her share it with others or keep it confidential.
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Indian Hills Elementary School, Salt Lake City School District Office: 801-584-2908
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