Hillsdale PTSO Website



PTSO 2023-24 Membership Form (No Donation Required)

Knights Families,

Next week is Pride Week at Hillsdale! We are excited that the second week of October will be filled with such inclusive events and activities!!

October is also Breast Cancer Awareness Month. We have one of our biggest community events of the year on the 21st--A Knight for the Cure. During this event, we have a flag football game (featuring students from all classes playing and coaching) We have food, vendors, and LOTS of fun. Proceeds from the evening are split 5 ways-- between the 4 classes and breast cancer research. How can you help support? There are so many ways--you can attend (tickets sold at the gate or by our Leadership students throughout the week); you can volunteer to help; you can donate items...you can even support by spreading the word and getting people to come by that evening. See attached flyer for details and sign-up link here. AK4TC Sign Ups

There will be a Pink Game for Football on Friday, October 20. You can show support by wearing pink--and there are also concession spots available. Sign up here https://bit.ly/HHSKnightRider2023. Some of our other athletics teams are "wearing pink" for October, too! While you're checking out the games/matches--make note that there are lots of Senior Knights up and coming for our fall sports. Come show your support for our senior athletes.

Also on October 20, PTSO will be working with Leadership to treat our faculty and staff to their annual Pink Breakfast. It's going to be yummy!l

Shrek tickets are live and on sale TODAY! Click this link to purchase. Shrek Tickets You can also "dress the part" by purchasing some of the Shrek merch that is available on the drama webpage Drama Webpage  Our drama performances are one of the many displays of artistic talent we have at Hillsdale. 

This October heat is something else, ironically, The Community Closet is looking for donations of fall/winter clothing for their drive. See attached flyer for specific needs. 

Mark your calendars if you have a current 8th grader, our 8th grade family knight is coming soon, Thursday October 19th at 6:30pm to be exact. 

Don't forget to---

• Sign up for PTSO 2023-2024 membership if you haven't; thanks if you have 
• Donate to the foundation if you haven't; thanks if you have
• Check out the fundraisers attached to this bulletin--some fan favorites are in there!
• Have an amazing week; because we all deserve to have one

Until next week...

Jen and Holly

HHS PTSO Co-Presidents

Matching Gifts and Sponsorships, Oh My!

AT&T, Genentech, Gilead, Google, Hewlett Packard, LinkedIn, Microsoft, Visa.

What do all of these companies have in common? Last year, they all made matching gifts to the Hillsdale High School Foundation!

When you make your gift this year to the Foundation, or if you’ve made your gift already, please make sure to visit our Double the Donation plug-in to see if the company you work for will match your donation.  Some companies will even match the hours you volunteer at Hillsdale High School!

Or maybe you own a local business and are interested in advertising to the Hillsdale community AND supporting our school.  If so, please consider becoming a 2024 Hillsdale High School Foundation Business/Corporate Sponsor! We’re signing up renewing and new sponsors for the 2024 calendar year now through Friday, December 15th, 2023.  You can click here to read through our updated sponsorship packet, and our current list of generous sponsors below!

Regalos de contrapartida y patrocinios, ¡Que Bien!

AT&T, Genentech, Gilead, Google, Hewlett Packard, LinkedIn, Microsoft, Visa.

¿Qué tienen en común todas estas empresas? El año pasado, todas ellas hicieron donaciones de contrapartida a la Fundación Hillsdale High School.

Cuando hagas tu donación este año a la Fundación, o si ya has hecho tu donación, por favor asegúrate de visitar nuestro complemento Double the Donation para ver si la compañía para la que trabajas igualará tu donación.  Algunas compañías incluso igualan las horas que usted trabaja como voluntario en la Escuela Secundaria Hillsdale.

O tal vez usted es dueño de un negocio local y está interesado en anunciarse a la comunidad de Hillsdale y apoyar a nuestra escuela.  Si es así, ¡por favor considere convertirse en un Patrocinador Empresarial/Corporativo de la Fundación de la Escuela Secundaria Hillsdale 2024! Estamos inscribiendo patrocinadores nuevos y renovados para el año calendario 2024 desde ahora hasta el viernes 15 de diciembre de 2023.  Puede hacer clic aquí para leer nuestro paquete de patrocinio actualizado, y nuestra lista actual de patrocinadores generosos a continuación.

HHSF 2023 Business/Corporate Sponsors

KNIGHT SPONSOR $5,000

Crystal Springs Village Shopping Center

Stewart Dealership Group -- THANK YOU

FOR RENEWING FOR 2024!

ARMOR SPONSOR $2,500

Nick Delis Properties

Xelay Foundation

SHIELD SPONSOR $1,250

Alfie Holmes Painting

Bella Nails

Heritage Bank of Commerce

Dennis J. Murphy - Your Peninsula Realtor

SWORD SPONSOR $850

At the Shop Auto Repair

Intelligent Investing, LLC

Orthodontics of San Mateo

Peninsula OBGYN Integrative -- THANK YOU

FOR RENEWING FOR 2024!

Scrub-A-Pup

HHS Community Closet - Clothing Drive

We are really excited to launch our Fall 2023 Clothing Drive in support of Hillsdale Families who face the ongoing challenge and high cost of living in San Mateo. To find out more about our programs, please see HHS Community - A Call to Action.

We continue to need clothing and essential items for our Community Closet. From September 18-October 13th we are asking Hillsdale students, families, and staff to consider donating the following:

1. Jeans, hoodies, sweats, Hillsdale gear 
2. Homecoming/prom clothes and accessories
3. Winter clothing
4. Essential items: toiletries, towels, sheets, school supplies, new socks, undershirts and underwear, etc.

All items should be clean, undamaged, and something that a current teenager would wear/use.

Starting September 18, we will be accepting donations in Advisory classes, Thursdays (2:30-4pm) and Friday mornings (7:30-9 am) at the Community Closet. The Community Closet is located in the Alameda parking lot next to the stadium/track.

Interested in Volunteering? Please sign up here: HHS Community Closet, and we will add you.

Many thanks to all of the community members and volunteers who have already contributed their time, effort, or items to our HHS Community Closet! Flyer Link

Fall into New Armor flyer link: English / Spanish

HHS Athletic Contests Calendar

Come support the Fighting Knights at this week’s contests. Games in blue = home games

Go Knights!

GoFan Ticket Link

Family Pass Link

HHS Bell Schedule for Week of October 9

There is No School on Monday October 9 - Staff Professional Development Day. Please see the complete bell schedule here.

AP Exam Registration for 2023-24

If your student is taking an Advanced Placement (AP) course this year at Hillsdale High School, registration for AP exams is open!

The College Board requires students enrolled in an AP course and participating in the AP Exams in May 2024 to register, pay, and commit to taking the exam during the fall semester. To ensure accurate and timely processing of all AP test registrations, the deadline to register and pay for taking AP exams at Hillsdale High School is October 31st, 2023. After October 31st, student registrations will be assessed a $40.00/exam late fee until December 11th. After December 11th, no student will be allowed to register for any exam. 

Students will need to use and navigate two online systems to register for exams:

1. Students will need to register and pay for the exams through https://user.totalregistration.net/AP/53165.
2. In their College Board account, students will confirm they are taking the exam and use this platform for the online learning tools. Students can access this through myap.collegeboard.org. Students MUST complete both steps in order to register. 

The registration directions are outlined in this presentation. The presentation also includes information about requesting testing accommodations for students with IEPs/504s and how to request financial assistance. 

The registration deadlines are hard deadlines and it is important that all families are aware of them. AP teachers will review the registration process with students, but for more information you can:

• Visit the AP Exams section of the Hillsdale High School website
• View this presentation
• Visit the AP section of the College Board website at https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/. 

If you have questions, please reach out to your course teacher or email Ms. P. at sprenskypomeranz@smuhsd.org.

Spooktauclar Pub Crawl

Hey Hillsdale Friends,

The Spooktauclar Pub Crawl is back! Please join us for this very fun “adult” event! Please sign-up using the link below, and don’t delay, this event will sell out! Flyer Link

Saturday October 28 @ 5pm

Downtown San Mateo

$75 per person - includes dinner and 4 drinks

Sign-up here and pay before October 22.

Please note: This event is not sponsored nor supported by Hillsdale High School. This is a parent initiative to help offset the cost of Grad Knight Expenses for the Class of 2024.

HHS Drama: Shrek The Musical

HHS Drama presents Shrek The Musical, November 9-12. Visit hillsdaledrama.org for tickets. (Flyer Link)

Concession Volunteers Wanted

Wanna join the fun? Sign up to volunteer here:

https://bit.ly/HHSKnightRider2023

Team work makes the dream work! Go Knights!!

See you at the next game!

Concessions Team: Chef PJ Stalteri and Melanie Baldwin

Flyer Link

HHS Community Closet, Garden and Peace Pantry - October

Hillsdale Community,

We are entering the final months of 2023. Our HHS Community Support Team is busy as evidenced by the amount of activity in the Alameda Parking Lot throughout the week but especially on Thursdays and Fridays. 

Our Community Garden Team continues to harvest 80-100 pounds of organic fruits and vegetables each week. Our volunteer gardeners hand water each afternoon and work daily to trim the tomato plants and other vegetables to ensure the highest yield possible. Our Harvest Team then picks 100 pounds of fruits and vegetables every Thursday from 3:30-5:00pm so we can distribute fresh produce to families Friday mornings at our Community Pantry. We are always looking for volunteers to support this work. 

Our Community Closet Team is busy preparing for our Fall/Winter Opening on October 27th. We hope to have a robust offering of winter coats, jeans, hoodies, Prom/homecoming dresses and accessories, men’s dress shirts, Essential items (e.g. new underwear, laundry soap, toiletries, backpacks, notebooks/binders) and HHS gear. We are really impressed with an incredible team of Leadership students who are spearheading the HHS Fall 2023 Clothing Drive in advisory and then joining our adult volunteer team after school to sort and stock clothes. We would not be able run our Community Closet without our dedicated adult volunteers so to put simply, thank you for your time and effort.

Interested in Volunteering? Please sign up here: HHS Community Closet, and we will add you or please stop by on a Thursday at 2:30pm or Fridays at 7:30am.

Flyer Link

Our Community Peace Pantry Team supports 130 Hillsdale and Bridge families every Friday morning from 7:30am-9:00am. We are blessed to have the continued support of Second Harvest Food Bank who supplies weekly groceries for families. In addition, thanks to the financial support of Hillsdale families, staff and community members during our annual Holiday Giving Campaign we are able to provide a $25.00 bag of groceries (cultural food staples) and essential items from Mi Rancho Market twice a month. Our Friday Morning Volunteer Team at the Peace Pantry will be celebrating their fourth year doing this work this spring. The volunteers who work the Drive Thru Line or deliver groceries to families who do not have transportation allow our community support efforts to continue! Thank you for continued service to HHS Families! If you would like to volunteer in October, please sign up here.

Hillsdale Stands Together!

Seniors - Order your Cap and Gown for Graduation!

It's time to order your cap and gown for graduation! Cap and Gown are free of charge and yours to keep, but you need to complete the order form by November 1st so that we order your the correct size. Students who do not complete the form are not guaranteed to receive a gown in the correct size. 

Gown Order Form (MUST be completed from the student SMUSHD email address) DUE NOVEMBER 1st

Senior Portraits

If you have not yet taken your Senior Portrait (the one in your cap and gown) please schedule it as soon as possible! The photo's are taken off site at a studio in San Carlos. Please use the link below to setup an account and schedule your appointment:

https://local.prestigeportraits.com/ca/san-carlos/990-industrial-road.html

Having trouble scheduling? Please call (877) 825-7922

Grad Knight

Registration for Grad Knight at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk is now open! Early bird pricing of $175/person is available through Friday, October 13. More info and and/or to sign up, please see flyer or visit bit.ly/GradKnight2024. Sign up today!

Flyer Link: English / Spanish

In case you were unable to attend the Senior Family Meeting at BTSN, the slide presentation can be found on the Senior Information page of our Hillsdale website.

October College & Career Newsletter

Greetings, 12th grade families, and welcome to October.

Here is the latest College & Career Newsletter.

Highlights of this month’s newsletter:

• How to visit a CSU or UC
• Interested in barbering or cosmetology? Read on for Skyline’s Open House next week
• This week’s Career Speaker Series: Trades & Public Works. Sign up!
• Drop in hours to get support with your post-HHS plans
• New majors at the UCs
• Community college application timeline
• Filing the CSS Profile, a financial aid application used primarily for 4 year private colleges
• Colleges that dedicate resources to first generation college-bound students
• Real Talk: College Board– Supporting Black Student Programming

Starting today and every Monday until December, we have College and Financial Aid Open Office Hours from 2-3:45. Students are welcome to drop by and ask any questions! I will be in the office, as will at least 1 counselor. All 12th graders are welcome. Please send your student to us; we'd love to support them.

All my best to you and your family as we enter Fall.

Best-- Laura Burtness, LBurtness@smuhsd.org

650 558 2613

Call for Entries: Multicultural Art Showcase Seeks Student Artists

Join a celebration of cultural diversity through art! Welcome to the "Our Shared Stories" Art Showcase, an extraordinary opportunity for talented artists aged 14 to 18 in San Mateo County to express their cultural heritage and creativity through hangable artworks. The "Our Shared Stories" Art Showcase is organized by Hillsdale High School student Alex Carreon, a dedicated Youth Cultural Ambassador of San Mateo County. With 12 years of professional art instruction, Alex aims to celebrate diversity, empower young artists, and foster cultural unity. As a Chicano student, Alex understands the power of art to bridge cultures and create positive change within the community through this county-wide art project. Learn more about submission requirements: bit.ly/OurSharedStories

Convocatoria de Inscripciones: Exhibición de Arte Multicultural Busca Estudiantes Artistas

¡Únase a una celebración de la diversidad cultural a través del arte! Bienvenido a la Exhibición de Arte “Nuestras Historias Compartidas”, una oportunidad extraordinaria para artistas talentosos de 14 a 18 años en el Condado de San Mateo para expresar su herencia cultural y creatividad a través de obras de arte colgables. La Exhibición de Arte “Nuestras Historias Compartidas” está organizada por el estudiante de la Escuela Preparatoria Hillsdale, Alex Carreon, un dedicado joven Embajador de la Cultura del Condado de San Mateo. Con 12 años de formación artística profesional, Alex tiene como objetivo celebrar la diversidad, empoderar a los artistas jóvenes y fomentar la unidad cultural. Como un estudiante Chicano, Alex entiende el poder del arte para unir culturas y crear un cambio positivo dentro de la comunidad a través de este proyecto de arte en todo el condado.

Obtenga más información sobre los requisitos de envío: bit.ly/OurSharedStories