Community Meeting Announcements February 26, 2024

Today’s After School Activities
Homework Club- pick up @ 5:00 pm

Reminders:
Spring Athletic Enrollment Forms have been emailed home. Contact Mr. Van Dyke with questions at [email protected].

Health Screening-2/29
The Radnor School district nurses will be here Thursday, 2/29, to conduct the Annual Health Screening. All student's height, weight and vision will be assessed. Hearing will also be assessed for 7th and 11 grade students.

Conferences
An email regarding Spring Conferences 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.

Annual Faculty/Student Basketball Game
Friday’s, students vs. faculty basketball game was very exciting and a lot of fun to watch! The students were victorious. Congratulations to the basketball team!

HawXpo 4/13
We will be holding our HawXpo event on Saturday, April 13th. This will be a large-scale event on campus that will celebrate pop culture and gaming to enhance social skills. It will have vendors, gaming and board competitions, speakers, panels, food trucks, and much, much more. In addition to our community, we have school, collegiate, and business partners that will be assisting and attending - watch for more info to come.

We will be offering students the opportunity to sell their artwork, crafts, products, etc. at HawXpo this year on Saturday, April 13th. There is no charge for Hill Top students to have a table, but we ask that you please complete this form so we can get a count. The deadline to sign up is March 15th!

If you have any questions about the day or hosting a table, contact Katie Gushka @ [email protected].

Library Announcement
Mrs. Gillespie highlighted three books from the library this morning. All three are by Octavia Butler. Kindred is the story of a Black woman in LA in 1972. She finds herself suddenly traveling back in time to colonial Virginia. Each time she is pulled back in time, she stays longer and longer. She needs to figure out why she’s traveling through time, how to stay safe, and how to get back to her present time. This is available as both Butler’s original novel and a graphic novel.

The second book is The Parable of the Sower. Written in 1993, it depicts a dystopian future (actually set around now) where environmental crises have affected all parts of life.

All three books can be checked out from the library.

Middle School Student Council will be Hosting Kindness Week
Next week, February 26- March 1, the Middle School Student Council will be hosting Kindness Week. Students will participate in a number of activities throughout the week that emphasize the importance of treating one another with kindness, tolerance, and understanding.

Each day of the week will have a theme, and Middle School students are encouraged to dress according to that theme. Reminders will be sent throughout the week.
• Today, “Hats off to Kindness Day” and students are asked to wear a hat!
• Tuesday will be, “BeYOUnique” and students are asked to wear wacky clothing.
• Wednesday will be, “We’re all more comfortable when we’re kind” and students are asked to wear pajamas or sweatpants.
• Thursday will be, “We’re fans of being kind!” and students are asked to wear clothes representing their favorite fandom (including sports teams)
• Friday will be, “Kindness has many colors, and together we’re a rainbow” and students will wear shades of the rainbow according to their grade: 6th grade wear reds or oranges, 7th grade wear yellows or greens, 8th grade wear blues or purples.
Collecting Yearbook Artwork
Student artists are asked to submit a favorite art piece to Sophie B. at [email protected] or Mrs. Seyfried at [email protected]. The artwork will be considered for the 2023-2024 yearbook! An email will be sent out to students with more details.

Upper School Winter Ball- March 1st
The Upper School Student Council is hosting a winter social with the theme The Presidential Ball. All upper school students are invited to attend. Here's what you need to know:

Date: Friday, March 1 (did you know that the inauguration used to be on March 4?)
Time: 6.30-9 PM
Place: Large Commons
Cost: $10 See Mrs. Gillespie to buy tickets.
What does $10 get you: snacks and a fabulous playlist put together by Evan B (with some input from Student Council)
What should you wear? Dress up a bit and wear some red and blue.

Black History Month
Today, in keeping with the theme of this year’s Black History Month, the DEI committee would like to honor the achievements of a particular African American artist.

The person that we’d like to focus on is Robert Johnson. Born around 1911 in Mississippi, not much is known about this somewhat reclusive musician. He is often credited with mastering the Delta Blues and innovating techniques in guitar playing that would influence generations of musicians.

Like many bluesmen of his day, Johnson made his living on the street and in juke joints. His lyrics express the lonely nature of his lifestyle while writing songs in a manner that romanticized his experience. Johnson accomplished this with an unprecedented intensity, marrying expressive vocals with a guitar mastery that allowed his music to endure long after the heyday of Delta blues and his own short 27 years.

During his life, he never achieved the kind of success that his talent deserved. But, nearly 30 years after his death, a compilation of the few recordings that survived was released and has attained a mythic status among music lovers the world over. While he died not having the recognition that his art deserved, we honor him and his contributions, not just to African American Art in particular, but his contribution to the history of American music.

E/T2 Dress Drive
When: March 6th – 10th
12pm to 4pm Daily
Where: Hill Top Preparatory School
Dresses are 10. & 20. Each

The E/T 2 class is holding their annual dress drive. Now through the end of the month, they will be collecting clean, gently used, or new prom or formal dresses. Students will process, fix minor rips and tears, and prepare the dresses for sales. In the spring, the dresses will be put up for sale in the local community. All proceeds will benefit Philabundance. Their mission is to drive hunger from our community. Thanks in advance for your support!

If you are interested in donating, please email [email protected] for drop-off or pick-up information.