In This Issue
School Survey
Site Council
M-A Intro Night
Lost and Found
Site Council Nominees
Attendance Corner
Health Corner

Nominating Committee
Heart Healthy Foods

Early Learning Center
Community Input
Speaker Michael Gurian

Rafiki Bracelets
Spirit Week
7/8th Dance Rules
Summer Drama
Science Star Party
Animal Welfare
Relay for Life
Return Sport Uniforms
Basketball Games
Tennis Team

Auction Tickets
STEM Labs
MPAEF Shopping
Business and Realtor


Q uick Links





Questions? Email:
This Week ThisWeek

Monday, January 29
  • ASB Spirit Week - Fun dress-up days for academy spirit points! Details in Programs and Activities section
Monday, January 29 - Friday, February 2
  • ASB Rafiki Week, support with $10 per bracelet 
Tuesday, January 30
  • Panorama Student Survey, at school
Wednesday, January 31
  • Hillview Parent Survey - complete by today
  • Total Lunar Eclipse Dawn Patrol Star Party, Hillview Science Team, 5:30 - 7:00 a.m., basketball courts at Hillview
Thursday, February 1
  • Hillview STEM Fair, 5:45 - 7:45 p.m., Hillview PAC
  • Fall 2018 MPCSD New Student Registration here
Friday, February 2
  • 7th/8th Dance, 6:00 - 8:00 p.m., Hillview PAC
Looking Ahead LookingAhead

Tuesday, February 6
  • Community Input Session of the School Board, 6:00 p.m., TERC, 181 Encinal Avenue, Atherton
Wednesday, February 7
  • 8th-Grade Parents and Students: Introduction to Menlo-Atherton High School, 6:30 - 8:00 p.m., Hillview PAC
Thursday, February 8
  • District English Learner Advisory Committee (DELAC), cancelled
  • Parent CafĂ© for Spanish Speakers, 5:30 - 7:30 p.m., TERC 181 Encinal Avenue
Tuesday, February 13
  • Hillview Site Council Meeting, 3:30 - 5:00 p.m., TERC
Friday, February 15
  • Lost and Found, last day before donating, Student Center

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Hillview Parent Survey - Complete by Wednesday
You have received your unique login information by email for the annual Hillview School Parent Survey; please complete it by Wednesday, January 31. Your responses are confidential and this year Panorama Education will be managing the survey process to ensure data privacy and security.

The survey will take about 30 minutes and you will be able to provide feedback to Hillview Middle School as a whole, as well as to specific teachers. To ensure that Hillview continues providing high-quality, rigorous learning experiences to our students, your participation is essential. Thank you for your time and input.

Site Council Meeting
Tuesday, February 13, 3:30 - 5:00 p.m. at the TERC office to review the results of the January parent and student Site Survey. All meetings are open to the public.

Eighth-Grade Parents and Students: Introduction to Menlo-Atherton High School
Wednesday, February 7, 6:30 - 8:00 p.m., Hillview PAC. Mark your calendars to hear Simone Rick-Kennel, Principal of M-A High School, give an overview of M-A's academic, athletic and extracurricular offerings. Q & A following with Mrs. Kennel, M-A's College Advisor, Ms. Mai Lien Nguyen, and Laura Duran, M-A Counselor, along with the perspectives from a panel of former Hillview students on what life at M-A is really like. An evening open to everyone. For queries email Alice Hom here.

Lost and Found 
The donation of all items is coming up. Come by the Student Center to check for a missing jacket, lunch box, scarf, the single shoe you have been looking for all over your house, or maybe that nice water bottle that keeps your drink cold for hours. We have it all and more! Come by soon. All will all be donated February 15.

Hillview Site Council Seeks Parent Nominees to Serve 2-Year Term
Applications due March 1.  The Hillview Site Council has three open parent positions for the two-year term beginning March 2018 extending through  June 2020. Applicants should have at least one child attending Hillview for the duration of the term. 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 parents should submit their name, a brief description of their background, and reasons for wanting to serve on the council by Wednesday, March 1. You may nominate someone by submitting their name and reasons why you nominated them. We will hold an election during the Site Council meeting on Tuesday, March 13, 3:30 - 5:00 p.m. in the Hillview front office conference room. Candidates must be present at the meeting on March 13. All parents of current Hillview students or of incoming Hillview students for the 2018-19 school year who are in attendance are eligible to vote. New members should plan to participate in the Site Council meetings on March 13, April 17, May 8, and June 5.

The Hillview Site Council, consisting of the 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. For more information and to submit your application, email Theanne Thomson here.

Attendance Corner
Good school attendance is critical for student success at Hillview. Students who go to school every day develop healthy patterns for life and positive mindsets that continue throughout their educational career and beyond. Thank you for modeling this for your child by making sure they are at school and on time every day.

Health Corner
At times it is difficult to decide whether to send your child to school. Your child needs to stay at home when they have:  
  • Any contagious disease
  • Nausea or vomiting within the last 24 hours or temperature over 100 degrees F; temperature needs to be normal for 24 hours before returning to school
  • Frequent coughing or very runny nose
  • Diarrhea within the last 24 hours
  • Sore throat
  • Severe headache
  • Skin rash - ALL rashes must be diagnosed by a doctor
  • Open sores, unless the area can be covered with a dressing
  • Earache, toothache or other severe pain
Our school office has competent and qualified personnel. If your child becomes ill or injured at school:
  • Basic First Aid will be administered by designated school personnel
  • For more complex illnesses and injuries, you will be notified and asked to pick up your child immediately
  • If you work or are unavailable, arrange for an alternate plan of care and pick-up
  • Evaluate your child's readiness to return to school base on the guidelines listed above
If your child needs to take medication at school: 
  • A Medication Authorization form must be completed and returned to the school office with medication before your student begins school
  • Medication (prescription and over-the-counter) must be in the original labeled container
  • Consider asking your child's doctor to arrange the dosage intervals so that medication can be given during non-school hours
  • Medication Authorization forms may be obtained here or in any school office

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Nominating Committee Members Needed!  
This five-person committee works to find parents who would like to serve on the Hillview PTO for the 2018-2019 school year. The goal here of the nominating committee is to help ensure that the board is balanced geographically and hopefully with some new faces. The group will meet in February and then can work independently and communicate how they choose. The slate will be due to present to the board in the spring of 2018. Contact Julie Nelson here if you are interested in serving on this fun committee!

Heart-Healthy Delights 
Valentine's Day, be sweet to your heart and your health. Treat yourself and your loved ones to some heart-healthy delights, including a fresh fruit bouquet, volunteering, or making a nutritious candlelit dinner. Go here to learn more about how you can spread the love this holiday.


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The Early Learning Center Coming Soon!
MPCSD is excited to open its Early Learning Center preschool for children ages 3-5 beginning in Fall 2018, pending Board approval in February. The ELC will offer a developmental, play-based, multi-sensory learning environment, with kindergarten readiness and multi-age groupings for children, in full- or part-day programs. Registration will begin in late February. Find out more here Questions? Contact Jessica Mihaly, Founding Director of the Early Learning Center here or for information in Spanish, contact Flor Espinal here.

We are also looking for donated items to help prepare the new preschool classrooms.
If you have items that you would like to go to a good home, please consider donating to the new ELC. Contact Jessica Mihaly here with questions or to arrange a donation.  Items sought are gently used: wooden toys and puzzles, Legos and Duplos, Magnatiles, costumes, puppets, wooden blocks, doll houses, books for 3-5 year olds, train tables and trains, play kitchens and dishes, and pretend food. (No Disney, movie characters, or violent images.)  In addition to these items for children, we're looking for a real boat or kayak to put in the playground and love seats or oversized chairs for reading areas.

Community Input Session of the School Board 
The District's Long-Term Financial Planning Initiative, February 6, 6:00 p.m., TERC, 181 Encinal Avenue, Atherton. T he district now has more information on its financial position and seeks community input on what should be prioritized based on current financial models. Questions that will be discussed include how MPCSD should respond to enrollment influencers like birth rate and housing development; how the district should prioritize any revenue increases that occur as a result of higher property taxes; how MPCSD should compare to neighboring districts; what the district's compensation and workplace culture should be and how these relate to retaining our teachers and staff.

Join the conversation on February 6. Superintendent Burmeister plans to present the results of the Long-Term Financial Planning Initiative at the regular Board meeting scheduled for June 5, 2018. If you can't make the meeting and wish to provide comments, send an email here.

MPCSD Parent Education  Speaker Series 
"The Minds of Boys and Girls", 
Wednesday, February 28, 2018, 6:30 p.m., Hillview PAC with  Michael Gurian, Author, Consultant, Philosopher. I n this inspirational, practical, and humorous presentation, renowned educator, family counselor, and New York Times bestselling author Michael Gurian focuses on helping boys and girls across the gender spectrum to succeed in school and life. Because boys and girls experience their home and school life differently, Michael explores how the minds of boys and girls develop distinctly - and how parents, educators, therapists, and others can care for and support the needs of our children. Based on more than thirty years of research and counseling practice, Michael traces how a child's learning mind grows, how the genders learn and grow differently, how acculturation influences boys and girls, and how crucial school success has become to life success. Michael brings to life not only the developmental science of girls' and boys' minds, but practical methods by which to educate, counsel, and mentor those minds. Michael also focuses on learning and life difficulties that young women and men experience. 

Michael will be available to sign books following the event. Books will be available for purchase.
Light refreshments and beverages will be served. Childcare will be available for potty-trained children.  More information here.


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Programs & Activities programsandactivities

ASB
Rafiki Week, Monday, January 29 - Friday, February 2. Remind your student to bring $10 to buy a rafiki bracelet.  Rafikis are bracelets that give back. Each bracelet serves a specific cause from providing healthcare to people in developing countries to empowering women with the tools to earn money to support their families. They are all made by mamas in Africa. Learn more here and support  this wonderful cause as sponsored and chosen by the Hillview ASB.

Hillview Spirit Week
January 29 - February, 2 Fun dress-up days for academy spirit points!
Monday - Rainbow/TieDye
Tuesday - College Day
Wednesday - Decades Day (throwback to any time period!)
Thursday - NFL Spirit (or wear your green STEM shirt)
Friday - Hillview Spirit Day

Dance
City of Stars 7th and 8th Dance
Friday, February 2, 6:00 - 8:00 p.m., Hillview PAC! Come celebrate a night in Hollywood on the red carpet at this can't-miss dance. Enjoy dancing, games, a photo booth, and delicious concessions courtesy of the music department. All proceeds from concessions will benefit the Hillview Music Department Disneyland trip. Thanks for your support!
 
Ticket Sales - Special discounted ticket pre-sale is going on during Spirit Week at lunch in the student store. $5 for ASB Card Holders and $7 for non-ASB Card Holders. Tickets will also be on sale at the door at the regular price of $8 for all students.
 
Rules and Expectations at the Dance will be communicated on HawkTalk directly to students during the week of the dance. These rules will also be shared with chaperones.
  • Cell Phone Use - Parents, cell phones are allowed at our dances, but they are not permitted on the dance floor, inside the PAC, outside in the concession area, or in the bathrooms. No texting, gaming, phone calls, or photography with cell phones. Approved Yearbook photographers with badges will be using DSLR's to photograph the event. Cell phone use is allowed only in the game room and PAC lobby, primarily to communicate with parents before/after the dance. Thank you for helping us communicate this expectation to your children.
  • How to Dress - Students may dress casual or semi-formal. Most students dress comfortably. This is a Hillview event, all handbook rules apply, including the Dress for Success norms. As a reminder, this includes being covered from top of chest to mid-thigh with no undergarments showing.   
  • Bring Student ID - Only Hillview 7th and 8th graders may attend. Students from other schools are not allowed. All students must have a Student ID/ASB Card at the dance. If lost, see Mrs. Fichou in the student store and/or print out a PowerSchool schedule to bring with you.   
  • No Food or Drink Inside - Food and drink will be sold in the concession/kitchen area, but no food or drink is allowed inside the PAC, PAC lobby, or classrooms. All food and drink must stay outside.  
  • Arriving Late and/or Leaving Early - Students can arrive on their own by 6:30 p.m. After 6:30 p.m., students must have a parent walk them inside the PAC lobby. If leaving prior to 8:00 p.m., a parent must meet them in PAC Lobby to tag-out with a chaperone. There are no exceptions to this rule. 
  • Be prompt to pick up your student at 8:00 p.m. so that our chaperones can go home to their families. Thank you!
Drama
MPCSD and Hillview Summer Drama Program
Register now for the Summer Drama Program, for incoming 4th grade through exiting 8th grade students who are enrolled in one of the MPCSD schools. Session 1 will present Disney's The Lion King KIDS and JR and will run June 25 - July 6. Session 2 will present Disney's Cinderella KIDS and The Little Mermaid JR and will run from July 9 - July 20. Join us and enjoy a summer of fun, singing, dancing, and acting (backstage roles available, too!)

Register online here. You may also email Rachel M. Knight here or William Hairston here for any questions. Flyer is available in the school office. 

Science Team
Total Lunar Eclipse Dawn Patrol Star Party
Wednesday, January 31, 5:30 - 7:00 a.m., on basketball courts at Hillview.  Join the Hillview science team for a Star party. We will be setting up two telescopes. See the total Lunar Eclipse as the moon reemerges, Jupiter and several moons, Mars and more. Dust off that telescope in the garage and join us. Friends and family welcome. More than 50% cloud cover cancels. Contact Jack Kearns here or Tom Lyons here for more information.

Service Team
Animal Welfare
We are thrilled to get back to Service for 2018! Last week, our students reviewed new service opportunities and started a new segment. The students made dog chews at this meeting. We will present these animal toys to our guest speakers from the Peninsula Humane Society on Thursday, February 8.

Parent Volunteers Needed to Coordinate Hillview's 4th Annual Relay for Life Event
Friday, May 18. We are excited to announce our annual event. We need a group of volunteers to help coordinate. Last year over 300 students participated and raised more than $65,000 for the American Cancer Society by getting friends, family, and neighbors to sponsor them for walking at the event. This is a very fun and inspiring event and we hope to have a great group of parent volunteers this year. Sign up here or email here to be part of the adult volunteer team. Student sign-up will start in March. We will have a kick-off lunch for the volunteers on Wednesday, February 7 at noon.

Hillview After-School Sports
Return of Volleyball and Flag Football Uniforms
Fall after-school sports uniforms should be returned to the Hillview front office; these are due back immediately.

Basketball League 
Teams expect players to attend all practices and games in the spirit of team respect and unity. If a player must miss a practice or game, PLEASE notify coaches as soon as possible.

Games for 8th-grade players are at Hillview, La Entrada, Woodside Elementary, or Corte Madera gyms on Mondays.

Games at Arrillaga Gym are scheduled as follows:
6th-grade girls on Tuesdays
6th-grade boys  on Wednesdays
7th-grade girls on Thursdays
7th-grade boys on Fridays

You may access team standings here for 6th and 7th grade; 8th grade standings are available from the team coach.

Tennis Program
Registration will begin January 29. Tryouts will be in early March. We will have a Varsity A level and two Varsity B level teams depending on the number of players. Varsity B level players with less experience will play matches in practice against other players of approximately the same level. Practices will be Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, or Sunday. Matches will be on Wednesdays for home but will vary when we play away and will begin end of March through mid-May.

Upcoming Spring Sports include: Track, Boys Volleyball, Drop-In Volleyball for girls (tentative), May Madness Basketball Clinic (tentative). Registration for all these activities will be in February. Watch for further announcements.

For questions, contact Harry Bell here or call 650 483-4049 and Matt Ericksen here.

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MPAEF News
  mpaefnews



Go  here  to Purchase Tickets to The Auction Party! 

Hurry and get your Auction Party tickets! Dinner Experience tickets are sold out.

2018 Fund-A-Need: STEM Labs!

Help fund the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Math) Labs at Encinal, Laurel, Oak Knoll, and Hillview by donating to our Fund-A-Need at the Spring Auction!

Why STEM?
Check in here to understand why STEM is so important to your child's education.

3 Ways to Support our 2018 Fund-A-Need  
  • For those of you attending the March 10 Auction Dinner Experience, you will have a chance to "raise your paddle" in support of providing a top-notch STEM education for all our kids
  • For those of you attending the March 10 Auction Party only, you will have a chance to support our STEM initiative at various levels during the party
  • And for those of you unable to join us that evening, you will have the opportunity to contribute via the online auction available after the event
Check here for more information on the various levels of Fund-A-Need and what your donation means to our STEM Labs.

February Shopping - Valentine's and Ski Week!
Chocolates, flowers and spa, we have it all at retailers like 1800Flowers, Godiva, See's Candy, L'Occitane and more! Whether you're going somewhere with snow or sun, The North Face, Target and Macy's have you covered. Staying home with the kids instead? Shop Fandango, Amazon and Safeway for movie tickets, board games and baking cookies for fun family time ideas. You must click through here for our full list of retailers, and to get up to 8% cash back to Menlo Park Schools. 

Thank You to our Business and Realtor Partners!
We want to take the opportunity to shout out some appreciation to some of our many business and realtor partners in the community. Thank you for your support!



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Community News communitynews      

Special Education Services in High School  February 1, 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m., Menlo Atherton High School PAC Building, 555 Middlefield Road, Atherton. Representatives from each comprehensive site Menlo, Atherton, Carlmont, Woodside and Sequoia will be available to answer questions. Resources for the evening include childcare, translation, light supper.

M-A Big Band Dance Returns, New Orleans-Style February 3, 7:00 - 10:00 p.m., M-A Gym. This New Orleans-themed evening will transport you to the French Quarter, where you will dance to live jazz music performed by the M-A bands and orchestra, participate in a second line parade, and sample Creole/Cajun food... jambalaya, po' boys, or fresh beignets, anyone? Free dance instruction will be provided! The whole community is welcome to join this fun-filled evening, M-A Music Program's primary fundraiser. Get your tax-deductible tickets here, or through the Menlo-Atherton Music Boosters here.

CIBSR Looking for Volunteers  Stanford Center for Interdisciplinary Brain Sciences Research is recruiting volunteers for a Social Skills study. Boys aged 8-18 with a developmental or intellectual disability can to take part in a research study investigating the effect of behavioral training methods on social skills. Participation includes a visit to Stanford for 3-4 days, cognitive testing, two optional MRI scans, and social skills training with a behaviorist. Here is more information.

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Newsletter Details Newsletter
 
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 Wednesday at noon . Email your submission to  hvnewsletter@mpcsd.org . 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.

Submissions for Off-Campus Community Event: E mail your announcement to  communitynews@mpcsd.org . The submission deadline is  Wednesday at noon.

Archives: Look up past issues in our  online archive.