Hillsdale PTSO Website



Become a Hillsdale PTSO 2023-24 Member (No Donation Required)

Welcome Back Hillsdale Families,

Yesterday, HHS (administration and Leadership, with support from PTSO and the Foundation) hosted a fun and exciting Maze Day for our incoming class of 2027, as well as new/transfer students. Thank you to the Leadership and other students who came during the last few days of summer to help make it such a successful day. And a very special thanks to the HHS Alumni who came back to help--that is definitely a tribute to the strong sense of community that we instill in our students.

With the beginning of the school year, there are always lots of papers, emails, and messages being sent, so we thought we'd take the opportunity to get our information out before that happens. 

A brief introduction--our names are Jen Ryan and Holly Yates and we are the PTSO Co-Presidents. Jen has class of 2020 and 2023 graduates, and an incoming freshman this year. Holly has a 2023 graduate and a junior this year. Our goal for the PTSO is to support school programs, engage in open parent/staff communication, and provide parents an opportunity to be connected and involved. We do this through parent education nights; monthly teacher/staff hospitality; supporting school wide events by volunteering/getting donations/etc.

Each Friday, you will be receiving a weekly bulletin from the PTSO that gives you a peek into what is happening around school, information about upcoming events, and other exciting things Hillsdale related. There will be lots of flyers attached after our weekly message, so always remember to scroll to the bottom of the bulletin.

Each second Monday of the month, we have general PTSO Meetings that all HHS families are invited to attend. They take place in person and on Zoom (with translation options available). There is a flyer attached with information about our August meeting.

The PTSO has a yearlong Sign-Up Genius in which we ask for donations*, gift cards, etc to be used at various events. This year our Sign Up has added requests from Hillsdale's Community Closet in an effort to get donations for members of our community that are in need. This is an ever evolving sign-up, so check back from time to time. All donations can be tax deductible! PTSO Sign Up Genius

THERE IS NO COST TO BECOME A PTSO MEMBER  (however, donations are always welcome)--as a HHS family, you are automatically a member of the PTSO--your level of involvement is up to you. Each year, we ask that you fill out a new membership form, so we have your most up-to-date information. On this form, you can choose how active you'd like to be. (No obligation is required) Our goal is to have more families become active members than last year--and we are well on our way to that! Click the link for this year's form. 2023-2024 PTSO Membership. 

We hope you and your students have a wonderful first day of school!

Jen and Holly

HHS PTSO Co-Presidents

The Shield 2024 Yearbook Pre-sales 

We have chosen a new publishing company that has better printing and better pricing for our 2024 yearbooks. The deadline schedule for the yearbook students also make production more smooth. 

Buy now!

$80 Early Bird Pricing ends October 1, 2023

Deals on personalization and icons included.

https://ybstore.friesens.com/768274/

Preventa del anuario The Shield 2024 Hemos elegido una nueva editorial que tiene mejor impresión y mejores precios para nuestros anuarios de 2024. El calendario de fechas límite para los estudiantes del anuario también facilita la producción. 

¡Comprar ahora! El precio de reserva anticipada de $80 finaliza el 1 de octubre de 2023 Ofertas en personalización e íconos incluidos.

Greetings Hillsdale Families

The Hillsdale Foundation welcomes you to the start of the new school year.  As we usher in new and returning students, we at the Foundation are excited to continue our work to support and uplift our school.

Who we are

The Hillsdale Foundation’s sole purpose is to raise funds that will go directly to the school, bridging the budget gap and supporting the programs that make Hillsdale unique.

This school year, the Hillsdale Foundation needs to raise $600,000 to support our students. This vital funding is how we support our award winning Small Learning Community model. (House System)  

Why we give

California ranks 33rd in the nation for student spending. Public funding for students in California is not enough to provide the excellence in education our students deserve.

Foundation funding provides:

• Houses & Advisory Classes
• Reduced class sizes in 9th and 10th grades
• Core subject teachers who are assigned for two consecutive years
• Valuable technology upgrades
• Grants to Booster Groups:  $30,000 to Dance, Drama, Music, Athletics & the PTSO

Although the recommended donation amount is $750 per student, we ask each family to give what they can to support their student’s education.  For those families who are in a position to give more, please consider a larger gift to uplift every child.  Hillsdale is stronger together.

Many companies offer matching gift programs. Click here to double your donation.

Thank you!

Together, we can make BIG things happen in Small Learning Communities

www.HillsdaleHSFoundation.org

Hillsdale Peace Pantry/

Community Garden

Hillsdale Community,

With the 2023-24 school year approaching, we hope this email finds you well. In Walk Out Walk On, Margaret J. Wheatley makes the argument that, "To name is to make visible." Our Hillsdale Community continues to "name" that San Mateo County is one of the most expensive places to live in the country. Our Hillsdale Community is strong and stands together. We want to thank all of the volunteers who continue to show up in our Community Garden and tend to our thriving garden on a daily basis. We want to thank all of our volunteers who show up every Friday at our Peace Pantry to work the drive thru or deliver groceries to homes. Lastly, we want to thank all of our volunteers who have put in the hard work to make our Community Closet a reality and are excited to officially open this Friday. Collectively, the efforts of all of our volunteers makes "visible" to our Hillsdale Community that we are interconnected and thus demonstrates community support for all Hillsdale families! We are seeking volunteers to sign up for August so we can continue this important community support. Our volunteer mantra is truly "no shame in the game" in terms of how often you can show up or when you can volunteer or even if we have not seen you in months. . .we are simply thankful for the time that you can give!

Please consider joining one of our volunteer teams OR simply sign up for a shift:

Hillsdale Community Closet

The Hillsdale Community Closet will be open each Friday in August to offer clothing and essential items to Hillsdale students and their families. We need adult volunteers for Fridays in August who can simply open and close the Community Closet morning hours (7:30am-10am) OR the afternoon hours (3:30pm-6:00pm). If you would like to volunteer at our Community Closet (Alameda Parking Lot) on a Friday in August please sign up here. *Please follow us on Instagram @hhs_community_closet

Hillsdale Community Peace Pantry

Our Emergency Food Drive Thru supports 130 Hillsdale families experiencing food insecurity. Every Friday a family receives a week's worth of groceries, cultural food staples from Mi Rancho (2x month) and essential items. We are open every Friday from 7:30am-9:00am in the Alameda parking lot. We need August volunteers to work the drive thru OR deliver groceries to 2-3 families who do not have transportation. If you would like to volunteer in August, please sign up here.

Hillsdale Community Garden

Our Hillsdale Community Garden provides organic fruits and vegetables to Hillsdale families enrolled in our Peace Pantry. Primary volunteer opportunities are Thursday harvest support from 4:00pm-5:00pm and Friday morning projects from 8:00am-11:30am. We also have flexible volunteer times to help with watering, pruning or special projects. Our amazing HHS Community Garden Directors Daniel and Yvonne indicate we will have an amazing harvest this year of fruits and vegetables so we definitely need a lot of help every Thursday afternoon for distribution Friday mornings at our Emergency Food Drive Thru. Please follow us on IG at @hhs_community_garden for updates. If you are interested in volunteering, please email Brett Stevenson at bstevenson@smuhsd.org. We have a WhatsApp group where we publish our weekly tasks in the garden.

Hillsdale Stands Together!

College & Career Newsletter

Latest College & Career newsletter - Direct URL here.

Did you miss one of the Workshops?? Find links to the recordings here

Highlights:

• Latest and upcoming, including UC PIQ essay workshop in May & all the recordings from Advisory
• Next steps for looking into colleges…the search and organization!
• College presentations in May
• CSM’s Connect to College Program on May 4 for all families!

Laura Burtness, Hillsdale's College & Career Advisor, LBurtness@smuhsd.org