Community Meeting Announcements
Thursday, March 5, 2020
Today’s After School Activities
Homework Club-pick up at 5:00 pm
ArtWorks-pick up at 5:00 pm
Conferences and Standardized Testing
An email regarding Spring Conferences and Standardized Testing has been sent out. Please read the email carefully as it contains a lot of information. Please call Gail Barnes (610-527-3230) ASAP to schedule your family’s conference time. Phone calls only (after 9 am)– no emails requesting dates will be accepted.
Winter Athletic Awards
Mr. Van Dyke announced that the Athletic Award Ceremony will be held tomorrow at mentor period.
Lost and Found Items
Mrs. Suplick announced that she placed a big box of lost and found items in the Snapple room. Students should look through the box over the next week. All remaining clothing will then be donated.
Spring sports begin next week. The spring session of Nellie’s Dog Walking Training Course is now welcoming 8th graders to register. The Spring Athletic Enrollment Forms have been emailed home, and are also available in the lobby. Contact Mr. Van Dyke with questions at [email protected].
Horticulture Student Presentation
The Hill Top Horticulture students presented a slide show highlighting their 2020 Philadelphia Flower Show Exhibit. The exhibit which can be found in the Balcony class was awarded second place with a score of 98 out of 100!
The Philadelphia Flower Show benefits the Pennsylvania Horticulture Society's programs like Philadelphia Green, a large urban greening program, and PHS City Harvest, which provides locally grown fresh produce to thousands of underservice families. For their service to Hill Top and the greater Philadelphia community Coral Herpai, Patrick Lebron, and Samantha Leighton were presented with a Spirit of the Hawk for Service!
Admission Open House
Mrs. Fitzpatrick thanked the student ambassadors for their outstanding job greeting and providing tours to prospective parents at yesterday’s open house. She also thanked the Hill Top community for the work they do in supporting the Admission office.
Shadow Guide
We welcomed Xander Irvin who is shadowing Luke Erwin in the 8th grade.
Hill Top Legacy Project
On Friday, April 17, the Legacy Tea at Hill Top Prep will honor grandparents and special friends of Hill Top students through a project that will encourage students to interview selected family members to learn about a time in their lives when they exhibited one of the four pillars of The Spirit of The Hawk – Courage, Perseverance, Leadership, Service . English teachers will be working with students on this meaningful project. Parents have been asked to provide names and addresses of those they'd like to be invited to the event. More information can be found here: https://conta.cc/3bTPowL
Earth Science Project
Students from Ms. Kroberger’s earth science class have been studying water pollution. When they learned information about The Great Pacific Garbage Patch and the general problem of plastics in the oceans, they were particularly concerned. They asked if they could create a presentation for community meeting to educate others on the topic.
There will be a fundraiser in the coming weeks in order to donate funds to the ocean clean up. We will be rooting many baby spider plants and planting them and getting them ready for sale. More information to come. Please help us control the plastic that is ending up in our waters. Here are some tips:
• Wean yourself off disposable plastics. (plastic bags, plastic coffee lids, plastic cutlery etc.)
• Stop buying bottled water.
• Recycle
• Support a plastic bag tax or ban. (8 states already have a ban in place)
• Buy in bulk
• Use reusable bags for shopping
• Request plastic-free packaging
• Buy refillable water bottles, coffee cups etc.
• Use paper or reusable straws
• Educate yourself further on this topic
Young Writer's Award
Mrs. Nelson reminded all students about the annual Young Writer's Award sponsored by her teachers' organization, Alpha Delta Kappa. Last year two Hill Top students won First Place ($100.) and Honorable mention ($50.). This year's prompt is "In what ways do you think you might change over the next five years How and why?" Submissions can be in the form of any genre--essay, poem, short story, letter, etc. She suggested a letter from the students 2025 selves to their 2020 selves. Entries should be emailed to bnelson@hilltopprep by tomorrow, 3/6.
Girls' Night Out-3/16
The Girls' Night Out event will take place on Monday, March 16th, from 4-7:00 pm. The girls will have a fun afternoon of shopping and dinner at the Plymouth Meeting Mall. Students should see Mrs. Gillespie for details.
Yearbook Ad Sales 2019-2020!
The yearbook's Family & Friends Section provides ad space that's just for you. Is your child having a great year? Looking for a way to commemorate his or her achievements? Do you have a graduating senior? Maybe you just want to do something special for a student, teacher, mentor, or coach.
There is a firm deadline of MARCH 13th **
This year YOU will purchase and create your individual ad online....no writing checks, scanning pictures, and no sending in messages.
You will make and pay for your ad in the comfort of your own home. To get started, click on the link below and have fun!
http://barksdale.pixami.com/14758/home3/Bookstore.jsp
Parents should have received an email from Ms. Kassab regarding the purchase and size of ads for the yearbook. Please feel free to email Marion Kassab with any questions at [email protected].
Kindness Week
This week, the Middle School will be recognizing the importance of kindness, respect, and empathy. Each day will have a theme related to these topics and students are encouraged to dress up in honor of that theme.
Today- “Wake up, Be Kind” and students can wear pajamas.
Friday will be “Hawk Pride” and students are encouraged to wear Hill Top gear.
If you have any questions please feel free to reach out to Ms. Gargiulo, Mrs. Nelson or Mr. Cohen. Thank you!
Imprint Competition and Exhibition
The Imprint Competition and Exhibition is held every year by the Wharton Esherick Museum in Malvern. Esherick was a sculptor and printmaker who worked in wood. This year, the contest received entries from 11 schools Chester, Bucks, Delaware, Montgomery & Philadelphia Counties.
Hill Top entered three prints in the competition from our 9th-grade class. Of the three, Colin Emmanuel’s print, Roosting Falcon, was selected as a finalist and will be on exhibition at the Esherick museum from March 8th through May 24th.
Hill Top Prom
Mr. Sedgwick is currently running a contest to design this year's prom ticket. The contest is open to students in the Upper School, and the prize is one free ticket to the event.
Rules for Prom Ticket Contest
• Ticket size cannot be more than ½ of a regular sheet of paper.
• Ticket must be reproducible--can be digital or scannable.
• Ticket must include the following details:
Hill Top Preparatory Prom 2020
May 8, 7-11 pm
Radnor Valley Country Club
• Add other visual detail, decor, or art as you see fit!
Prize: One free prom ticket.
Due date: last day of Feb.
POETRY TEAM
Student poets in grades 9-12 meet on Thursday’s during mentor period.
Contact Mrs. Selinsky with any questions at [email protected].
Updated Hill Top Job Board
The Hill Top Job Board has been updated with part time/afterschool and weekend
positions. The board is located in the Upper Linden hallway and is divided into the 5 surrounding counties. The jobs posted are suitable positions for students. Students who are seeking a job are encouraged to take a posting as well as let Mrs. Navarra know if they have a job to post. Mrs. Navarra also offered to assist any student in seeking employment.
Box Tops for Education Campaign
We have collected $49.10 made out to Hill Top for the Box Tops for Ed that everybody put in the box on Mrs. Barnes’ desk last year. Thank you for cutting them out.
Now there's an easier way. No more clipping. No more sending Box Tops to school. Here’s how to do it:
Get the free Box Tops app on your phone from the app store.
Tap the scan button and take a photo of your store receipt within 14 days of purchase.
Box Tops earnings are identified and automatically added to our school's earnings online.
All unexpired clipped Box Top coupons are still being accepted. Thank you again for your participation.
Middle School Student Council Promoting Amazon Smile
AmazonSmile is a website operated by Amazon with the same products, prices, and shopping features as Amazon.com. The difference is that when you shop on Amazon Smile, the AmazonSmile Foundation will donate half of a percent of the purchase price of eligible products to the charitable organization of your choice.
The MSSC is supporting a sign-up campaign for students, faculty, family and friends to go to Smile.Amazon.com and designate Hill Top as your non-profit charity. It is important to type Hill Top Preparatory NOT Hill Top Prep; otherwise, our school does not appear in the search.
It’s free to sign up, fun to shop and free money for Hill Top.
Post-Secondary Corner
On June 1st, we will be hosting our annual college day. As of right now, 13 colleges are registered to attend, including Millersville, Guilford, University of Alabama, and New England Institute of Technology. If any student is interested in a particular school, they should talk to Mrs. Gillespie who will extend an invitation to that school.
Lebanon Valley College is hosting A Day at the Valley on March 27th. This is an opportunity for students to see the campus, sit in on two classes, talk with professors, and sample the food in the cafeteria (their sundae bar gets high marks from past students). Any juniors interested in attending should talk with Mrs. Gillespie. (Any parents interested in attending can email Mrs. Gillespie or go to https://www.lvc.edu/admission-aid/visit-lvc/)
Looking for summer programs on a college campus? This list is updated as programs come in: https://padlet.com/agillespie4/summerprograms
A non-comprehensive collection of test optional schools: https://padlet.com/agillespie4/nosat
Save the Date!
Parents Corner
Comic Con Family Game Night is coming and you don’t want to miss it. What is it you ask... it’s an Annual event that celebrates all fandoms and game playing.
• There will be a video game truck, food, candy bar, traditional games and a fun time just to hang out.
• Costumes are totally optional and the whole family is invited to come.
• Be there Saturday, March 7th, 6:30-8:30