Hillsdale PTSO Website



PTSO 2023-24 Membership Form (No Donation Required)

Happy Pink Friday, Hillsdale Families,

It's been a spirited, very pink week. It was a pink themed, spirit week. There were the Volleyball Dig Pink games last night and tonight the Pink Football game. Today PTSO and Leadership are hosting a Pink Breakfast for faculty and staff. A very special thank you from PTSO to the Weinberg, Sommerfeld, and Marcone families for their generous pink donations. We will update you with pictures in next week's bulletin.

Last night, we hosted an 8th grade family Knight for next year's freshmen. It is always gives us a sense of pride to be able to represent a school that offers so many options for its students. The families got a great snapshot of the wonderful Hillsdale community and student body. Thanks to all who worked to hard to ensure this event was welcoming to all who visited.

Donations, donations, donations...all families should have received emails from their class' PAC representatives on behalf of their student's class asking for Homecoming Hall Decorating donations. If you didn't receive the email, please let us know--we don't want anyone missing out. We are still looking for some final food and especially volunteers for tomorrow's big event, A Knight for the Cure. Click this link to see how you can help support the cause  AK4TC Sign Ups

Thank you so much for your donations to all causes that have been happening these past few weeks. We know it's a lot, but it is so appreciated by all involved--so on behalf of them, we'd like to express sincere gratitude.

Tomorrow is the last day to fill-out the anonymous survey for our WASC accreditation. By answering these questions as openly and honestly as possible, you help Hillsdale to know what is working and what needs to be worked on. Your participation truly helps shape Hillsdale!  WASC Questions

We look forward to hopefully seeing you at A Knight for the Cure this weekend, for food, fun, and to support the cause! See flyer for QR code to purchase tickets in advance. (Tickets will also be sold at the gate during the event)

Don't forget to read through all of the attachments---Senior class, Foundation, Musical, Community Closet, Athletics (including helping support concessions https://bit.ly/HHSKnightRider2023, and more)

Think Pink!!

Jen and Holly

HHS PTSO Co-Presidents

Your Foundation Fund Gift Helps Lay the Groundwork for Every HHS Student’s Future

At the Hillsdale High School Foundation, we hear lots of stories about how HHS positively impacts the lives of its students, including this one:

Ereni Delis graduated from Hillsdale in 2022 and is now a sophomore at UCLA, where she is majoring in Mechanical Engineering.  She’s also a member of the UCLA Concert Choir and Formula 1 race car team (how cool is that?!).

Ereni feels that Hillsdale – its Small Learning Communities, its teachers, and the school’s overall environment – provided her with a sturdy foundation to succeed both at college and in life:

“The HHS teachers and administration have established a culture where enthusiasm for curiosity and ideas is palpable. They believe in each student’s ability, and I can confidently say that it was their belief in me that drove a greater belief in myself. I learned about the importance of inquiry and confidence and also about how grit contributes to success.”

It’s because of donations from parents like you that Hillsdale is able to offer a personalized, rigorous, and equitable education to every single student.  If you have not yet made your gift to the Foundation Fund this year, please do so today.  Every gift, in any amount, gets us closer to the $600,000 Hillsdale needs to provide the programs that set our school apart from every other high school on the Peninsula.  You can make your gift online or through the mail.

If you’d like to read more about Ereni and her experience at Hillsdale, you can do so here.  And, as always, if you have any questions about the Foundation or feedback for us, please reach out to Katherine Goodman, HHSF Executive Director, at [email protected].

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 Homecoming: Underwater Escape

Join us for an Underwater Escape on Saturday November 4th @ 8pm-11pm at the San Mateo Event Center. Tickets are now one sale!

If you qualify for free/reduced lunch, you are eligible for a discounted rate for your Homecoming dance ticket (any guest tickets will be full price). If you are eligible and wish to purchase a homecoming ticket, please complete this form. (Please note that all attendance eligibility requirements still apply.)

Concession Volunteers Wanted

Knights families:

We have 2 back-to-back events coming up next week and signups are open for out Pink Game against Palo Alto High School on Friday, October 20 and A Knight for a Cure Game on Saturday, October 21. AK4TC Sign Ups

------- Coz once you try the shack, you'll keep coming back! -------

If you're feeling some FOMO over the fun we have during the games, be sure to sign up for a slot. 2 regular season football games and 1 flag football play-off game left on the schedule!

https://bit.ly/HHSKnightRider2023

Go Knights!!

Concessions Team: Chef PJ Stalteri and Melanie Baldwin

Spooktacular Pub Crawl

Hey Hillsdale Friends,

The Spooktacular 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 Music Boosters October Meeting

All music families, please join us for our Music Booster meeting, Wednesday, October 25th @ 7PM in Choir Room 501. In addition to our regular updates, we will be adding a short focus group with our administration. Hillsdale is currently undergoing an accreditation process. As part of the process, the admin team is gathering information about our school. We will spend 15-20 minutes at our meeting to capture the thoughts of our families. We’d love as many people there as possible, so the discussion can be fruitful. Share the word!

Props Needed for Shrek the Musical!

The Shrek props committee is desperately searching for the following items to make Shrek a success! All item donations and borrows need to be delivered before October 27. Contact [email protected] if you have any of these items!

• Picnic baskets (2)
• Plastic or Wooden Swords (8)
• Raffle drum (or bingo baller)
• Cart or wheelbarrow to hold a person
• Bench press or similar (small light weight)
• 2 daisy chains for around neck (flowers white)
• Old fashioned suitcases (2)
• Satchel or leather briefcase
• Blow up or stuffed deer (preferably w/o antlers)

Nosotras necesitamos:

• Tambor de rifa (o jugador debingo)
• Carro o carretilla
• Press de banca pequeño osimilar
• 2 cadenas de margaritas blancaspara alrededor del cuello
• Maletas antiguas (2)
• Cartera o maletín de cuero
• Ciervo inflado o relleno
• Cestas de picnic (2)
• Espadas de Plástico o Madera(8)

envíe un correo electrónico a [email protected] si tiene un artículoque podamos prestar o conservar

Stella Piccolo Preschool

Did You Know?

Stella Piccolo Preschool (www.stellapiccolo.com) is now open on Hillsdale’s Campus in the Child Development room (800 building)! Stella Piccolo is a private preschool new to Hillsdale, but has been working with families from San Mateo, Belmont, San Carlos, Foster City and other Peninsula cities since 2003. We are looking forward to providing Hillsdale Child Development students with experiences in a preschool setting! Stella Piccolo enrolls children three to five years old from 9am – Noon or 9am – 1pm and follows the school year calendar with a short summer program. Contact us to schedule a visit to stop by and see our classroom! 650-804-5923; [email protected]

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 [email protected].

HHS Drama: Shrek The Musical

HHS Drama presents Shrek The Musical, November 9-12. Visit hillsdaledrama.org for tickets. (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 plants to ensure the highest yield possible. Our Harvest Team picks fruits and vegetables every Thursday from 3:30-5:00pm for distribution on 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 would not be able run our Community Closet without our dedicated student and 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 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. 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!

Grad Knight

Seniors: Grad Knight 2024 at Santa Cruz - Early Bird Pricing of $175 has been extended to Friday, October 20th. Sign up today: bit.ly/GradKnight2024. Please see flyer (English / Spanish) for additional information.

Questions, please contact: [email protected]. A limited number of scholarships will be available.

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

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, [email protected]

650 558 2613