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Wednesday, February 15
  • Regular School board Meeting 6:00 p.m., Hillview PAC

Friday, February 17

  • Lost and Found - last day to check for lost items
Monday, February 20 to Tuesday, February 21
  • NO SCHOOL - President's Day Plus
Friday, February 24
  • Deadline for Yearbook submissions
Tuesday, February 28
  • MPCSD Parent Education: Raising Empowered Girls, Lauren Hersh, 6:30 p.m., Hillview PAC
  • Library Winter Book Challenge deadline
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Hillview School Newshillviewschoolnews

Hillview Site Council Seeking Parent Nominees to Serve Two Year Term
The Hillview  Site  Council - a group consisting of Hillview's Principal, teachers, staff, student representatives, and six elected parents - is the body responsible for developing and monitoring the School  Site Plan. This Plan specifies the goals and metrics that drive major decisions on academics, the school environment, social-emotional well-being, technology, and any other significant areas related to the school. The  Site  Council is also responsible for creating, implementing, and evaluating the annual school survey.

The Hillview  Site  Council has four open parent positions for the two year term from April 2017 through April 2019. One of the positions is for a parent of a student who is an English learner.  The  council  meets approximately once a month after school. 

Interested paren
ts should submit their name, a brief description of their background, and reasons for wanting to serve on the council to Elizabeth Ouren by Wednesday, March 1. You can also nominate someone by sending their name and reasons why you nominated them. We will hold an election on Monday, March 13, at 3:30 p.m. in the Hillview front office conference room.  Candidates must be present at the meeting. All parents of Hillview students, or of incoming Hillview students for the 2016 - 2017 school year, who are in attendance at the meeting, are eligible to vote. New members should plan to participate in the Site Council meetings on April 17May 8, and June 5.

The Site Council will meet on  Monday, February 13 to review the results of January's parent and student Site Survey. All meetings are open to the public.

For more information, please contact  Site  Council President  Elizabeth Ouren or  Principal Haug

Community Wellness Circles 
On Friday, February 3, all of our 7th and 8th grade students participated in our second round of Community Wellness Circles in PE classes. In the Community Wellness Circles led by parent volunteers, students studied empathy and revisited the skills learned in our first circle, such as listening skills and personal awareness. Check in with your 7th or 8th grade student to hear about the event. For a script of the lesson, click  here.  If you are interested in volunteering to lead one of these circles on  Friday, March 17, please email Robyn Watts .  

Drop off and Pick Up Manners 
During drop off and pick up, traffic can sometimes get congested on Elder Avenue and at the Elder-Santa Cruz intersection. Please make sure that you are not blocking our neighbors' driveways and not blocking the Santa Cruz Avenue bike lane. Also please do not drop off or pick up students at the bus stops on Santa Cruz Ave - these are reserved for our SamTrans and Menlo Park City School District buses. Your cooperation is much appreciated!

Sidewalk Construction 
Sidewalk construction has begun on Santa Cruz Ave! We are excited about having these sidewalks for the safety of our students, but please drive carefully during construction times.

Hillview Yearbook Attention Parents of 8th Graders
Two ways this school year to feature your child in the Hillview yearbook:  
  • Dedication ads - we continue to offer optional dedication ads that you purchase for your 8th grader. We use an online system that you and your middle schooler can personalize your ad, i.e., immortalize a message to your child along with a baby picture, create a timeline using multiple photos of your child through the years.
  • Collage - we encourage all families to participate in our baby picture collage - submit your 8th grader's baby picture to be displayed in a collage with other 8th graders. The collage is completely free to all 8th grade families to thank you for all your support. We had 200 families include their child's picture in the collage last year. We hope to have even more this year!
Here are more specific instructions on how to purchase the dedication ad and/or submit a baby picture for the collage. Note that both the dedication ad and the baby picture submissions are due Friday, February 24, 2017.

Lost and Found 
The pile has gotten HUGE again! Lost and found will be donated  Friday, February 17  (President's Weekend). PLEASE come by and check it out to see if any of your stuff is there!

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MPCSD News mpcsdnews

Up next in the MPCSD Parent Education Series - a powerful topic with a nationally recognized speaker...

Raising Empowered Girls 

Lauren Hersh, Anti Trafficking Policy & Advocacy at Sanctuary for Families 

In today's world, the importance of empowering our girls is taking on a whole new meaning. Join International Gender Justice Expert, Lauren Hersh to discuss the complicated landscape where online overexposure is the norm and porn often precedes a first kiss. This workshop will examine some of the toughest issues that today's teens are up against through a gender lens-- sexting, slut shaming and sexual violence - and provide parents with tools to equip our young women as they navigate their growing independence. 

February 28th, 6:30 p.m., Hillview PAC

Free childcare available. Refreshments will be served. 

Additional information  or  email  with questions.

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Programs & Activities Programs 

Library
Young Inklings Book Contest
Hey authors and library lovers! The Young Inklings Book Contest is ON. The deadline is March 15. Winners get to work with a writing mentor and will see their work published in a book - you even get to have an author reading! Even if you don't win, it's a great experience for writers because everyone who applies will receive a personal, positive critique letter. More information here

Winter Book Challenge
One month down, one more month to go! Hillview Library's Winter Book Challenge is on! Check out the categories, see the rules and record your books on this  form  provided on the Hillview library website (make a copy for yourself). See your lovely librarians if you have any questions. 

Sports
Intramural Sports 
Indoor half court or full court games will continue through at least February as long as there is interest . All students invited, but the maximum amount of players on the court at anytime will be 32. If there are more than 32 players we'll rotate. Spectators are always welcome. Please remember, no food/drink in gym. 
 
After-School Sports 
Burgess League and 8th Grade MPMSL Basketball 
Games continue this week with 6th grade girls on Tuesdays, 6th grade boys on Wednesdays, 7th grade girls on Thursdays, and 7th grade boys on Fridays. All 8th graders will play on Mondays. Game schedules here for 6th and 7th graders. The 8th grade schedule is available here on the PTO website. 6th and 7th graders play in the Arrillaga Gym. 8th graders play at either Hillview, La Entrada, or Woodside Elementary.

After-School Tennis Program
Registration is now closed. Anyone signing up now will be placed on a waiting list. We'll do our best to add anyone from the waiting list to one of the teams. The program will begin with tryouts on February 26. All players who register will receive two tryouts. We'll have three  teams this season, one Varsity A team and two Varsity B teams. Depending on the number of players that tryout, we'll do our best to place all those who attend the tryouts.

Other Spring Programs to keep an eye out for include: Track, Boys Volleyball, Spring Volleyball, May Madness (Friday Basketball Clinic in May). For the Boys Volleyball Team we'll need an assistant coach and a team parent coordinator. If we don't get them, the program will be in jeopardy.

Spring Volleyball and Boys Volleyball will have registration in a week or two. Programs will start in mid March. Track will have registration near March 1 with the program beginning right after Spring Break. May Madness Basketball Clinic will run for four Fridays in late April and early May. Watch for further announcements for all four programs.

Questions regarding any of these programs should be directed to Harry Bell, Athletic Director, at 650-483-4049.  
 

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MPAEF Newsmpaefnews  

CALL FOR DONATIONS - MPAEF AUCTION
Calling all superheroes! The MPAEF auction team is collecting donations for parties, adventures, gift certificates and more for the spring auction by 2/24. Be a hero and save the day with your unique donation. And save the date now to join fellow crime fighters (and a few villains) at the MPAEF Auction Party on March 25 at MacArthur Park!
To donate your unique auction item click a link below or click  here  before the  February 24  deadline.

                                                                    
Thanks to Our Realtor and Business Partners

We want to take the opportunity to shout out some appreciation to just a few of our many realtor and business partners in the community. Thank you for your support!
Gold
Silver

Bronze
Titanium
 
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 Community News community  
 
M-A Drama Presents The Addams Family Musical  They're creepy and they're kooky, mysterious and spooky.... Wednesday Addams has fallen in love, and begs Gomez and Morticia and the family to act "normal" when she brings her boyfriend and his parents to dinner. Laughs for the whole family at the M-A Performing Arts Center. 
  • February 17, 18, 24 at 8:00 p.m.
  • February 19, 25, 26 at 2:00 p.m.
Tickets available  here; $10 for students/seniors; $14 for adults; group discounts.
  
Parents for Safe Routes - Join Us to Make Menlo Park's Streets Safer for Kids
Parents for Safe Routes is a new Menlo Park advocacy group committed to getting kids to school safely. Over 150 people have signed up on our growing mailing list. Please join us  here . To learn more about us, visit here.  

TheatreWorks Silicon Valley's Characters @ Play Spring Break Camp  April 10 - 14 , Oak Knoll School.  During this week-long camp, students will earn acting, movement, and stagecraft skills in a fun, playful, and engaging way; learn from professional Teaching Artists who are experienced artists and educators; and create a new character to bring to life with their new theatrical skills. For more information, visit here.

Center for Interdisciplinary Brain Studies Research, Stanford University: Seeking Research Participants   The study is a brief social skills and eye contact intervention. A Board Certified Behavior Analyst utilizes discrete trial training and positive reinforcement to increase eye contact during social conversation. Contact Ali Touros  or  visit our website  for more information. Please note that although the website says "boys with Fragile X Syndrome," we are recruiting boys with developmental/intellectual disabilities as well.

COMMUNITY SERVICE OPPORTUNITIES
All Students Matter Classroom Volunteers Needed Next School Year
Have you enjoyed helping in your child's classroom? Consider volunteering in a classroom in eastern Menlo Park or East Palo Alto where there are virtually no parent volunteers, and 88% of the students are low income and 40% are homeless. Work for about an hour, once a week in the same classroom (K-5), helping students with reading, writing, or math.  All Students Matter  provides training and coordinates everything. Sign up now to start in September. For more details, visit their website or contact Keri Tully .

SUMMER CAMPS  Summer camp registration is here! MPCSD runs blurbs for 501c3 non-profit camps in the newsletters; for a more comprehensive list, see the  District summer camp webpage .

Hillview Summer Drama Camp is offering its  5th annual   Summer Drama Camp at Hillview from June 21 to July 26.  Each camp is two weeks long with a performance at the end. This year we are doing Suessical the Musical and Annie. We have a total of fourThere are two separate camps each two-week session, one for incoming 4th and 5th graders and one for incoming 6th through exiting 8th graders. Please go  here  and click on the Summer Drama 2017 page for details and registration! Spaces are limited.

Steve and Kate's Camp Info Night  March 1 6-7:30 p.m. , Hillview PAC.  Want a chance to win 5 days of camp? All you have to do is come to our Info Night at Hillview Middle School and you'll be entered in a drawing to receive 5 days at  Steve & Kate's Camp in AthertonBut that's not all...this is your chance to watch a short presentation about Steve and Kate's Camp and have all of your camp-related questions answered by Atherton's very own director, Hannah. On this night, we will also talk about our Mentorship Program  designed for our older campers (aged 13-17).  RSVP  or simply show up!

Adventures in Writing Camp  July 10 - 21 , Laurel School.  Authors, teachers, and musicians are teaming up to help students fall in love with writing this summer! Adventures in Writing Camp is a two week "day camp" program that allows middle-school campers to create their own blogs! Visit  here  for more information and to watch a short video overview of camp.

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Newsletter DetailsNewsletter
 
T his newsletter is published by Hillview School parent volunteers every Sunday of the school year, except for Sundays preceding a full week of vacation.
 
Submissions : The deadline to submit for the Sunday Hillview Newsletter is the preceding  Wednesday at noon . Please email your submission to hvnewsletter@mpcsd.org . Please note that submissions may be edited for content and/or length. Submissions received after the deadline will be eligible for inclusion the following week. Submissions are eligible to run for up to two weeks.

To submit an announcement for an off-campus community event, please email your announcement to  communitynews@mpcsd.org. The submission deadline is  Wednesday at noon for the following Sunday newsletter. 

Archives: Missed an exciting edition of the Hillview Newsletter or other communications from the school? Look up past issues in our  online archive.