Monday, March 8
Blue students on campus this week
Beginning of Trimester 3, new elective and PE classes begin
Tuesday, March 9
Hillview Site Council Meeting, 3:30 - 5:00 pm, Zoom
District English Learner Advisory Committee (DELAC), 4:30 - 6:00 pm, Zoom here
Wednesday, March 10
MPAEF "It's For the Kids" online auction
(through March 15)
Thursday, March 11
California Healthy Kids Survey, 6th and 7th grade students, during SMART or PE/Electives
(and Thursday, March 18)
MPCSD Board meeting 5:00 pm, Zoom link on district website
Friday, March 12
PTO Board Meeting, 8:30 - 10:00 am, Zoom
Draw Together with Mark Kistler, K-3rd grade, 5:30 - 6:20 pm, and for 4th-8th grade, 6:30 - 7:20 pm, Zoom links in Programs & Activities
Deadline for student submissions to Hawks Nest school newspaper
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Monday, March 15
MPCSD Speaker Series, "Are You Using Technology or is Technology Using You?”, 6:30 pm, Zoom register here
Submit your photos to the yearbook here with code hillviewmiddle21, information here.
Thursday, March 18
Service Team meeting, Surfrider Foundation, 3:30 - 3:55 pm, Zoom link on Schoology
Saturday, March 20
Surfrider/Service Team Beach clean-up opportunity
Tuesday, March 22
Parent Survey-MPCSD Cuts and Parcel Tax, deadline
Friday, March 26
No School - Staff Development Day
Monday, March 29
No School - Spring Break
(through Friday, April 2)
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Quicklinks bottom of newsletter
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Dear Hillview Families,
In the month of February, students and parents/guardians had an opportunity to complete our annual Panorama survey, The results are in, and Hillview’s Site Council is poised to dive into the data this week. Some highlights from the survey so far are substantial jumps in the perception of Hillview’s school climate from both students and parents, students feeling that they are strengthening their five core skills (ownership, resilience, compassion, critical thinking, and curiosity), and parents feeling more connected to the school community. Furthermore, in a number of areas this year, the response favorable percentage is higher than it has ever been in previous surveys, which is astonishing considering the effect of the pandemic on education. We look forward to learning more from your feedback and continuing to improve; keep an eye out for a more detailed report about the survey in the months to come. In the meantime, I’d like to recognize that the impressive results like the ones we are seeing are possible only because of the creativity, dedication, and perseverance of our outstanding teachers.
We continue to see declining numbers of COVID in our community as we begin the third trimester. MPCSD has now gone four weeks without one positive case reported, and San Mateo County numbers are moving toward the orange tier. This is encouraging news, and yet we must maintain our vigilance to avoid a fourth spike. Our staff have all received their first COVID vaccine doses at this point, and it’s looking like second doses for the majority of our staff will take place on March 24, 25, or 26.
Please continue to stay engaged with the conversations happening at a district level. Proposed cuts, a parcel tax in the fall, and plans for the 2021-22 school year will again be topics discussed at this Thursday’s Board meeting. And if you haven’t already done so, please provide essential input to the district as it makes decisions about the future using this Google form. Thank you.
All the best,
Willy
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The California Healthy Kids Survey
CHKS will be administered in SMART classes and in PE/Electives for DL students on Thursday, March 11 and March 18.
The survey will be done online and has different protocols for opting in and out for each grade:
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7th grade families, an opt-out process
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6th grade families, an opt-in process
The survey is both anonymous and confidential and cannot be tracked back to any individual student. On top of questions about school safety, it also asks for feedback about factors that promote school success, such as 'caring adults at school' and 'academic motivation'. Hillview highly values this data. We have provided links to preview the questions, for hybrid here and DL here, if there are concerns.
These are just previews; be on the lookout for emails to opt-in and out-of the survey if you haven't done so already.
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Hillview Site Council Meeting
Tuesday, March 9, 3:30 - 5:00 pm, via Zoom
The Hillview Site Council comprises Hillview parents, teachers, staff, and students.The site council meets monthly to develop and evaluate progress on school-wide goals.
All parents in our community are welcome! Email Karen Dearing, site council chair here, if you would like the Zoom link to join the meeting.
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Parent Information
Hillview would like to share information from Menlo Atherton High School pertaining to high school registration. See Community News.
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Hillview 2021-22 PTO Board Nominations
We are actively seeking volunteers to serve on the Hillview PTO Board for the 2021-22 school year. The PTO Board is a great way to get involved with Hillview and there are a variety of roles. New parents are welcome and encouraged to submit their names, and if you know others who might be great Board members, nominate them too! Please contact the Hillview PTO Nominating Committee team here to send nominations, ideas, or learn how you can get involved.
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Each week a staff member will be randomly selected to share a little bit more about themselves so the Hillview Community can get to know them better.
Jennifer Noravian
Jennifer is Hillview assistant office manager and has been at Hillview for 1 ½ years. When not at Hillview Jennifer loves swimming (anything on the water-kayaking and SUPing, boat rides, even crabbing), hiking, watching movies.
Favorite Quote: "If you don't ask, the answer is always no." Nora Roberts
Favorite Movie: Daddy’s Home (1 & 2)
Favorite Ice Cream Flavor: Salted Caramel
Favorite Subjects as a Middle School Student: Government and World Affairs (called GAWA), Students were required to watch the national news every night and every Friday was a quiz on current events. You also had to be able to identify politicians by sight. I also enjoyed Latin and Studio Art, where you worked at large tables and listened to music on the radio.
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What you probably didn’t know about me: I lived in Washington DC for five years before moving to California. I planned art tours for museums and then worked as a publicist at the National Museum of Women in the Arts.
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One more thing:What I like about Hillview is that it feels like a high school campus, but is appropriately adjusted for middle schoolers. It's a lot of fun working in the office and helping all the families and teachers who come in! This is my second year at Hillview. Before that I was an instructional aide at Oak Knoll and before that I volunteered teaching Art in Action in the elementary classrooms at Laurel and Encinal.
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Brian Benelli, Keenan Quijano, Tracy Berliner, Mike Bratt, Tom Lyons and Jennifer Noravian
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Attention 6th Grade Students
Are you interested in making a tile for an all-school mural on campus?
Ms. Kogan, Hillview art teacher, has made supply bags for anyone who would like to be a part of this mural. Just stop by the main office to pick up a baggie and watch the linked slide presentation here for simple directions. Bring your finished tile back to the main office so your tile can be fired and placed in the mural. Questions? Contact Ms. Kogan here.
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Draw Together with Mark Kistler
Friday, March 12
K-8th grade MPCSD students, families and staff
Let’s draw together on Zoom on Friday night, March 12. You are invited to participate in one of the drawing workshops with world-renowned artist and drawing teacher, Mark Kistler. Bring a paper and pencil and a positive attitude as we draw in 3D. Kids, invite your family to draw along so we can have fun together. Let’s make this a community event! See you on March 12!
Workshop #1 K-3rd grade, 5:30 - 6:20 pm, Zoom here
Meeting ID: 965 9320 3690
Passcode: draw3d
Workshop #2 4th-8th grade, 6:30 - 7:20 pm, Zoom here
Meeting ID: 946 8498 0296
Passcode: draw3d
Workshops will be recorded. Sponsored by MPAEF Jeanie Ritchie grant and Fund-a-Need.
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Acts of Kindness
February was a short month, but packed to the brim with acts of kindness!
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Our students planted and decorated succulents in kindness kits delivered to Costano Elementary School in the Ravenswood School District. |
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The entire Hillview community joined Service Team in creating over 100 Valentines Day cards for Seniors at Lytton Gardens. |
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Thank you for helping us deliver random acts of kindness to our local community! |
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Next Service Team Meeting and Project |
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Do you like going to the beach? Want to keep ocean animals safe? Come learn about the Surfrider Foundation and beach cleanup days at our next meeting on March 18!
Email here with any questions.
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Call for Submissions to Hawks Nest
Friday, March 12 deadline
The topics for March: News, Entertainment, Sports, Local, Cartoons, with themes on #Happiness, #FeelingLucky, #Opportunity, and, as always, #ActsofKindness. It is a big month with International Women's Day, Saint Patrick's Day, International Day of Happiness, Passover
The February issue here, includes an interview with Governor Gavin Newsom, a piece on Year of the Ox, a history of Black History Month, and Valentine's Day, and sports updates on Steph Curry and Super Bowl LV.
Students will earn two Block H points for each submission. Submissions can be sent to Editor, Arhaan Gupta-Rastogi here, Editing Team, Lia Lev here or Kai Kapoor here, or Advisor, Ms. Slaughter here.
Anyone can submit a story! Everyone is welcome. Join us, contribute, share, and provide feedback. We’d love to hear from you!
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Hillview After School Athletics - Spring Athletics Survey
The California Department of Public has recently issued new guidance
here for Outdoor and Indoor Youth Recreational Sports. This new guidance has opened a pathway for the Hillview PTO to offer students after-school sports.
The Hillview PTO has developed a quick survey to gauge student interest in participating in a safe, fun after-school program.
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Hillview After-School Athletics Survey here.
Please note that the guidance restricts student participation to one team over the same season or time period. While we encourage all interested students to complete the survey, please indicate that those students already involved in a sport would be unable to participate unless that restriction is lifted.
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Please Help! Parent Survey: Cuts and Parcel Tax
Thank you to all who have been sharing input about our district's financial planning at Board meetings and Community Engagement Sessions. Here is a survey we invite you complete. It asks for feedback on specific proposed cost savings and important questions about the replacement parcel tax that will be on the ballot in November 2021.
Please complete the survey by March 22. Thank you for your input!
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School Board Update
February 25
The Board meeting opened with a special public comment by two students from Encinal, Gabriel and Natalia, who advocated for skin tone bandage choices for students. Gabriel and Natalia each read a letter to the Board. Gabriel said, “We are learning about racism in my class and we noticed that there’s only one color bandaid for everyone. This one bandaid does not match my skin and maybe other people in my class. I am the only Black person in my class, so I might not feel so good about my skin tone without a bandaid that matches me.” Natalia added, “The school only has one type of band-aid color and because some people are different colors they feel bad sometimes. We need different kinds of bandaids because of different kinds of people who are special like us.” Superintendent Erik Burmeister and Board President Sherwin Chen were pleased to let the students know that they will now be purchasing a variety of bandages and make them available to all students, so each child has choice and feels included. President Chen thanked the students and urged them to never stop advocating for what they believe in and making a difference for themselves and others.
Superintendent Burmeister presented cost savings measures and specifically asked the Board for a green light to move forward with the necessary notifications to staff whose positions may be modified for next year. The Board agreed to give him flexibility on these potential cuts. The district is required by law to give layoff notices to teachers on March 15. Any teachers that receive these notices are not necessarily losing their jobs, but the district may only remove a job if the notice has been given by the deadline. Frequently, the positions will not end up being cut or the affected staff member will be hired in a different position within the district. There was a robust discussion about the potential cuts, but no final decisions were made at this meeting. The Board will continue considering cost savings at the next several meetings. The amount of the replacement parcel tax will affect how much the Board needs to cut. Help inform our decisions by participating in the Parent Survey about MPCSD Cost Savings and Parcel Tax here.
The Board decided to hold separate discussions in the future for the potential redesign of the World Language program independent of any associated budget cuts.
Superintendent Burmeister provided a pandemic response update. The county’s move to the Red Tier does not trigger any changes to our current reopening model. The county, and MPCSD’s MOUs with the labor partners, continue to require 6-foot distancing, meaning that MPCSD can’t bring back all students full time because our facilities don’t accommodate all students at one time with 6-foot distancing. MPCSD is still planning to open in Fall 2021 with all students full time, although many mitigations will likely continue such as masks, hygiene, and some degree of distancing. County guidelines and the pandemic’s trajectory will continue to guide our plans; MPCSD remains nimble to make adjustments as necessary.
The next Board meeting: Thursday, March 11 at 5:00 pm, Zoom link on district website here.
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"Are You Using Technology or is Technology Using You?”
Monday, March 15, 6:30 pm, Zoom register here
Find out on March 15 at our next Speaker Series event featuring Q&A about the acclaimed movie "LIKE" with Dr. Naama Barnea-Goraly, child and adolescent psychiatrist and former Stanford brain researcher. She will help decipher the information presented in "LIKE" as well as answer your pressing questions about social media addiction. Dr. Barnea-Goraly will draw upon the latest evidence-based research to advise parents how to help our children use social media in healthy ways.
We have rights to share the movie with our community from March 11-17. After you register for the event you will receive information about how to watch the 49-minute movie at your convenience. Then, on March 15, 6:30 pm join us for the interactive discussion with one of MPCSD favorite speakers, Dr. Barnea-Goraly.
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MPAEF Auction is Days Away! Here's a Sneak Peek
Preview the Online Auction here. A little “sneak peek” of a few items here you can bid on March 10-15:
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Lake Tahoe Summer Getaway
Value: $6,000 Starting bid: $2,500
Four Seasons Resort and Residences
Napa Valley
Value: $1,400 Starting bid: $700
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Online Auction March 10-15 here. Email us here with questions!
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for your Support!
We want to take the opportunity to show our appreciation for our business and realtor partners in the community.
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Gold
Coldwell Banker Realty here
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Silver
Nancy Goldcamp, Realtor here
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8th Grade Parent Information
Menlo Atherton "High School Planning" webinar hosted by M-A Counselors.
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Thursday, March 11, 6:30 pm, register here. Incoming 9th grade families are encouraged to attend. Information in English and Spanish here.
- Thursday, March 18, parents will select elective courses through Infinite Campus. Parents will receive information and details on how to do this on or before March 18.
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All Students Matter Help Students Who Need You Most - Learn about volunteering next school year, 1x/week in a K-8 classroom in eastern Menlo Park and East Palo Alto. Join us virtually for an Information Session, Thursday, March 25, 10:00 am, Zoom (RSVP for link here). Over 80% of East Palo Alto and eastern Menlo Park students are performing below grade level in reading and math. As a classroom volunteer, you will work with the same teacher and student for one hour, every week during the full school year. It’s an opportunity to build a relationship with a student and impact his or her life. We provide training and coordinate logistics with you and your schedule in mind. Learn more about us or sign up to volunteer here.
Legarza Basketball, All-Sports, and Volleyball programs give children the knowledge and motivation they need to achieve their personal best in sport and life. Our program is tailored to help your young athlete succeed on and off the court in a safe, professional and encouraging environment of learning and fun. Summer programs are now enrolling here. We will be offering morning, afternoon, and all day programs June - August.
Bay Area Lady Sonics AAU Free Sonics Skills Clinic, Encinal Elementary School, Saturday March 20, 2:00-3:30 pm. Strict health and safety protocols will be observed. Bring your own basketball, water bottle, and mask. Email Nick Fogel here or (650) 346-9556 for more information.
Alpine Strikers FC We are back to playing GAMES!!! Register NOW for the upcoming Spring soccer season for Alpine Strikers FC here and gain more information on our return to playing games safely!
Boy Scouts of America Troop 109 Adventure is Calling! BSA Troop 109 is hosting a virtual open house on Tuesday, March 9, 6:30 pm. All interested boys ages 10 - 17 and their parents/guardians are welcome and encouraged to attend. Come learn about our troop and scouting from current and former scouts, parents and troop leadership and learn why a boy who joins Scouting will see things, do things, and BE things that he never imagined. Register here to receive the Zoom call information.
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