Community Meeting Announcements October 9, 2024

Today’s After School Activities
Fitness Club- Pick up at 4:00 pm
Esports- Pick up at 5:00 pm
Thorncroft- Pick up at 4:30 pm at Thorncroft

An additional Holiday has been added to the Hill Top Calendar
School will be closed for a Head of School Holiday on Tuesday, November 5th.

Picture Day- Thursday, 10/17
Details will be emailed home soon.

SAGA Meeting Today- during mentor period in Mr. McGinnis’ room.

Cross Country Meet
The cross country team hosted their final home meet of the season on Tuesday. Special congratulations to RJ P. with his 3rd place finish and to Noah K. with his 10th place finish!! We'd like to thank the residents of the Straff House and to the faculty for their support on the course!

Unity Day-Wednesday, October 16th
Unity Day is on Wednesday, October 16th this year and everyone is encouraged to wear orange to promote joining together to create a healthier community through kindness, acceptance, and inclusion.

Pretzel Sale to Benefit World Central Kitchen
As you may have seen on the news or online, areas in the southeast, United States, and particularly western North Carolina, where at particularly hard by Hurricane Helene. And it looks like other communities will be hurt by Hurricane Milton, which is approaching the golf coast of Florida. In response to this, Upper School Student Council will be holding pretzel sales through October to help raise money for relief organizations. Money from the pretzel sales will go to the World Central Kitchen, which provides water and fresh food to areas in need, and Beloved Asheville, a community organization in Asheville, North Carolina, providing not only food and water, but also healthcare and shelter for those most affected by Helene. The first sale will be tomorrow during morning break. Pretzels will be $1 each.

Summer Trek 2025
Next summer's Adventure Trek will take Hill Top Upper School students to Belize. Belize was the destination of the first Adventure Trek in 2006 and offers a huge array of experiences and activities for our students including investigating Mayan ruins, world class paddling and snorkeling on the world's second largest coral reef, hiking and ziplining through a pristine jungle, interacting with diverse cultures including Creole, Garifuna, Mestizo and Maya, a night tour of the Belize Zoo (renowned for its protection of jaguars and other species) and more. The dates of the trip are June 14-21, 2025. Please contact Mr. VanDyke- [email protected], if you would like to attend the meeting.
Mr. Van Dyke thanked the community for their participation in making last Saturday a huge success. A shout out to the following top 3 student finishers- RJ Polillo, C Kane, and N Korty!

Fun Friday- Valley of Fear-10/18
On Friday, October 18, we will be visiting the Valley of Fear in Feasterville. Valley of Fear boasts that it is home to the "original haunted hayride" plus "Miles Manor Haunted House" and "Escape Shipwreck Cove".

Cost of the trip is $75 and includes a Halloween pizza party after school, bus transportation, tickets to all three haunted attractions, and supervision. Register your student with the sign-up link below. Look for an email from Ms. Gargiulo with more Fun Friday details.

Sign up here: October Fun Friday: Valley of Fear

Visiting College Rep Schedule
Today, 10/9- Alvernia University (PA)
Thursday, 10/10- Chestnut Hill College (PA)

All meetings will take place during mentor period in the Nest. Any questions...just ask Mrs. Gillespie.

Mitzvah Circle Donation Drive
Please consider sending in items for the Mitzvah Circle Donation Drive. The NHS and E/T classes are collecting the following from now until October 25th:

New and Gently Used - clothing, books, toys, shoes, essential household items.
New ONLY - socks and underwear, school supplies, personal hygiene items, hats, gloves and scarves.

Simply send your generous donations in with your student to be placed in the bins by the front desk. They will be delivered to the Mitzvah Circle when the E/T students visit in November. You can learn more about Mitzvah Circle and what they do, by clicking here.