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This Weektop 

Monday, January 9
  • NO SCHOOL - Staff Development Day
Tuesday, January 10
  • School Resumes
  • Hillview Site Survey Opens
Looking Aheadlookingahead
 
Monday, January 16
  • NO SCHOOL - Martin Luther King Day
Tuesday, January 17
  •  PTO General Meeting, 9:00 - 10:30 a.m., Hillview PAC

Tuesday, January 23

  • MPCSD Parent Education: Susan Stone Belton, 6:30 p.m., Hillview PAC

Thursday, January 26

  • Hillview Science Fair, 5:45 - 7:00 p.m., Hillview PAC

Friday, January 27

  • Hillview Site Survey Due
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Hillview School NewsHVNews

ACTION REQUIRED! Attn: Parents of Current 6th Graders - Whooping Cough (Pertussis) Tdap Vaccination
All incoming 7th graders in the 2017-18 school year are required by law to provide proof of a whooping cough booster, or Tdap shot (Td does not meet the requirement). Students will not be admitted to school if proof is not received before the first day of school. 
 
To avoid exclusion on the first day of school, bring an updated copy of your child's immunization record showing proof of Tdap to the school office now. Do not mark or highlight this record. If there is a verified medical condition against vaccination, you are required to provide the school with a doctor's written statement. The information required in this statement may be found in the FAQ section on the Shots for School web site (see link below).
 
Acceptable proof of immunization includes:
  • Print-out or copy of immunization record from your child's clinic or physician's office;
  • A copy of the yellow immunization record;
  • A certification of Tdap booster notice from your child's clinic, physician's office or pharmacy. 
All these documents must have your child's name, date of birth, date Tdap was administered, and a stamp or physician's signature from the clinic. 

For more information about the law and whooping cough, visit  shotsforschool.org, or contact Nancy McMahon, Health Services Assistant at  [email protected] or  (650) 321-7140, x5912.

Annual School Site Survey
Before the break, Mr. Haug sent a message alerting parents to an email they will receive on  January 10 , an invitation to provide feedback about the  Hillview  program, as well as individual teachers. Please do not overlook this important opportunity to help us improve the experience for your students!  You will have until  January 27  to complete the approximately 30-minute survey, and we will look forward to reviewing and reflecting on your thoughts during "Feedback February." If you do not receive your personal invitation on  January 10 , please contact the school office and we will make sure you get your link. All survey responses are confidential. If you have additional questions, please contact  Hillview 's Site Council President,
The Memory Project with Ms. Kogan's Advanced Art Class
Each year, Ms. Kogan's Advanced Art class works on a portrait drawing project supporting the organization, The Memory Project. The Memory Project is a nonprofit organization that invites art teachers and their students to create portraits of children around the world that face various hardships; many of whom live in orphanages. Hillview art students drew realistic portraits based on photographs of three year olds in an orphanage in Columbia. They learned the names of the children as well as their favorite color, which they had to incorporate into the drawings. Most students spent about two weeks on the portraits and focused carefully on creating the best drawing possible as the drawing would become a cherished possession of the children. Click here to see video footage of the portrait delivery from The Memory Project. You can easily see how thrilled the children are to receive such a personal present. What a wonderful gift our students gave to these children, touching their lives thousands of miles away from Menlo Park. Collectively, The Memory Project donated $5300 to the orphanages in Columbia that participated in the portrait program to help the youth at these locations.  

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MPCSD News mpcsdnews

The Online Directory is here!
The District Student Family Directory is available online, at last! By now you should have received an email with information about creating an account at the MPCSD district site.  You'll need this account for secure access to the directory. If you didn't receive the email, please check your spam folder or contact Al Hart to get an account.

The directory is available when signed in to the  mpcsd.org site or directly at  district.mpcsd.org/directory. When signed in to the district site, under the Parents & Community menu you'll see Student Family Directory (you will not see this option unless you are signed in). We will also be making a printable PDF version of the directory information available soon as well. It will be posted to a link on the secure site when ready. Apologies for the delays in getting this first version out!

We welcome any feedback about the directory.  Please send comments to    [email protected]. If you see mistakes in your information that need to be corrected, please also contact [email protected] with corrections.

MPCSD Parent Education Event with Susan Stone Belton on January 23 
MPCSD Parent Education returns with a stellar line-up for the Winter and Spring. Click here to see the full line up. We kick off the next season with a must-attend for parents of all ages. 

EFFECTIVE DISCIPLINE FROM TODDLERS TO TEENS - A talk by Susan Stone Belton, Coach, Speaker, Author
January 23, 2017, 6:30 p.m., Hillview Middle School PAC
 
Learn what discipline really means and really looks like, and why consistency is so important. Learn the three steps to calmly and competently manage your child's behavior (and yours!) in any situation.

As always, free childcare for potty trained children will be available.  

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Hillview PTO Newshillviewptonews

Character Ed Returns in 2017 - Please Volunteer to Lead Community Wellness Circles
Ms. O'Brien, Ms. Watts and Ms. Staff are looking for parent volunteers to lead groups of students as part of the new "re-mixed and re-branded" Character Ed, now known as Community Wellness!
 
Training takes place at 2:40 p.m. on Thursday, January 19, with guest trainer Karen Junker, who works with area schools developing community building circles, conflict resolution circles, suspension diversion and bullying intervention.
 
Parent volunteers will train on January 19 with Ms. Junker and the Hillview Community Wellness team, then facilitate groups of 15-20 students on one   Friday  in February and one   Friday  in March around a discussion prompt. The prompt in December, led by Hillview teachers, was "What stresses you out?" Please   email  Hillview parent Susannah Hill to sign up or learn more.

PTO General Meeting
The PTO will be holding the second of three general membership meetings on Tuesday, January 17 from   9:00 to 10:30 a.m.  in the Hillview PAC. In addition to regular business and reports there will be two major items on the agenda. The Hillview PTO Executive Committee will be discussing Measure X and Mr. Haug will be answering questions about the Family Survey.

Winter After-School Programs
Hillview's PTO is excited to offer its students a wide array of after-school programs this Winter! We have a few new program offerings, as well as, the returning favorites. We now offer both beginning and advanced Mandarin. Starfire is not only offering a coding class again, but they have also added a new Design Thinking and Engineering class this Winter. There is something for every student's interest! Click on any of the links below to gather more specific information about each program, including a description of the program, registration links and pricing. Please keep in mind that each program will only be offered if the minimum student enrollment is reached. There are scholarships arranged by the PTO for qualifying students; please contact your child's counselor, or  click here . For more information, see Hillview After-School Programs.
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Programs & Activities Programs 

Hillview Science Fair 
Science Fair Volunteers Needed
The Science Fair is fast approaching on January 26!

The Young Scientists have been hard at work on their projects and are excited to present them. In order for the Science Fair to be a success, we need volunteers!  As a volunteer:
  • Your time commitment will be from 5:45 - 7:00 p.m.
  • You will interview 2-3 projects/students.
  • You will fill out an assessment form for each interview.
  • Absolutely no Science experience or background needed.
Please email Suneeta Chilukuri if you can volunteer or if you have any questions.
 
Sports
Hope everyone enjoyed a great Holiday Break!

Intramural Sports
 
Intramural sports will begin this week on Wednesday and Thursday with a new activity. For the next couple of months we'll play half court or full court basketball games. 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. Next Monday will be an exception in observance of the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday. Next week, the 8th graders will play on Tuesday, January 17. Click here to see the game schedules for 6th and 7th graders. The 8th grade schedule is available here on the PTO website.

We congratulate the boys basketball tournament team for their efforts in the annual Evergreen Tournament in San Jose. They played over the holidays, played well, and represented Hillview with much class.

After-School Tennis Program
Keep an eye out for after-school tennis registration. It will start in late January or early February. Watch for further announcements.

Questions regarding any of these programs should be directed to Harry Bell, Athletic Director, at 650-483-4049.  
 
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MPAEF Newsmpaefnews  
 
New in 2017! MPAEF January Summer Camp Online Mini-Auction 
Plan your children's summer at the best camps in the area and enjoy a discount by participating in the MPAEF's brand-new  Summer Camp Online Mini Auction starting  January 17. We will offer about 20 gift certificates for area summer camps starting on  Tuesday, January 17. Stay tuned for more details -- same bat time, same bat channel...
 
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 Community News community  
 
M-A PTA Computer Donation Program: WANTED: old computers and parts, working or not, for M-A PTA computer donation program. We also need cameras and camera memory cards for the Digital Photography students. We securely erase all information from all donated computers, and your donations are fully tax-deductible. For individual or corporate donations please contact Sue Kayton at (650) 853-1711. Click here to visit our program website for more information.  

Portola Valley Theatre Class: Students ages three through high school are invited to join in the fun Under the Sea   in a theatre class this winter! Learn to act, explore characters different from you, and play fun games. Classes culminate in a short performance in April. Winter session starts the week of January 23. Click here to register !
 
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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 [email protected] . 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  [email protected]. 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.