Community Meeting Announcements October 23, 2024

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

Tomorrow, 10/24-Soccer Game away vs Grayson
Monday, 10/28-Soccer game at home vs Woodlynde

An additional Holiday has been added to the Hill Top Calendar
School will be closed on Tuesday, November 5th for Election Day. We encourage everyone to vote in this very important election.

SAGA Meeting- today during Mentor Period

Annual Middle School Halloween Spooktacular (Deadline to register is Today)
Look for final details to be emailed home later today!

This event for 6th-8th grade students will be held on Friday, October 25 from 6pm-9:00 pm in the Mansion at Hill Top.

It will feature a dinner of chicken tenders and french fries, the annual "Ghoul Games" competition, pumpkin decorating, snacks, and some spooky (but not too spooky) stories.

If your student is interested in attending, please complete the permission slip here: Spooktacular Permission Slip!

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to reach out to me or Mike Cohen ([email protected]).

Middle School Halloween Activities-10/31
On Thursday, October 31, Middle School students will be celebrating Halloween in the afternoon with a party that includes games and treats sponsored by the Middle School Student Council.
To prevent disruption in morning classes, students who wish to dress up are asked to bring their costumes in a bag, labeled with their name. They'll be given time after lunch to put on their costumes. We ask that costumes are appropriate for the school environment and that toy weapons stay at home.

Visiting College Rep Schedule
Today, 10/24- Penn State University (PA)
Friday, 10/25- Landmark College (VT)

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

Book Recommendation
In honor of Filipino American History Month, Mrs. Gillespie talked about the book Blackbird Fly, by Erin Entrada Kelly. It's about a girl named Apple who thinks everyone has three interesting facts about themselves. Her facts, which include being Filipino in Louisiana, makes her an outcast and a target for being picked on by other students. But she also loves music and The Beatles, her music teacher, and a couple of unexpected friends help her see that standing out can be better than fitting in. Erin Entrada Kelly is a local author - she went to Rosemont College and lives in Delaware. (Fun fact, apparently Ms. Jimenez and the author were in some graduate school classes together...Mrs. Gillespie isn't jealous at all.)

Post-Secondary Transition Event
College Transition Meeting - 10/30 @ 6.30, Small Commons

Next Wednesday (10/30) evening, Cheyenne Saborido, Assistant Director of Virtual College Readiness Programs at Beacon College in Florida will be coming by to talk about the college accommodations process and how it differs from the middle and high school process you're accustomed to. The presentation will take place in the Small Commons at 6.30.

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, were hit particularly hard by Hurricane Helene. And it looks like other communities will be hurt by Hurricane Milton, which is approaching the gulf 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. Pretzels will be $1 each.

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.

Summer Trek 2025-Deadline to register is next Monday, 10/28
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.

HawkTalk

In case you missed our September HawkTalk Newsletter or want to look back at previous monthly issues, here's a link to view them.

Happy Belated Birthday to Jackson B, 10/22!