Dear Hill Families,

Thank you for your patience and support this past week as we completed our final round of STAAR testing.  Our students continue to learn and be challenged in these last weeks of school, and we are so proud of their accomplishments.

Next week, we will celebrate our fifth graders as they get ready to move onto middle school.  For many of them, we can remember when they walked into the Hill front doors for the first time in kindergarten.  They have grown into wonderful students and we are so proud of their accomplishments at Hill School.

We continue to work on staffing for the 2018-2019 School Year.  Here are some updates to our staffing below:

Hill third grade teacher, Kate Hoffner, is resigning from AISD to pursue other career options.  We appreciate Ms. Hoffner’s service to the Hill Dillos over the past several years and will miss her eco-friendly reminders and leadership on campus!

Hill first grade teacher, Catherine Frank, is resigning from AISD to move to Houston to be closer to her family.  We appreciate Ms. Frank’s service to our Hill students over the past two years and wish her luck teaching in Houston!

Also, Hill first grade teacher, Sally Schwarz, is resigning from AISD to spend more time with her family.  We appreciate Mrs. Schwarz’s service to our Hill students this past year, and look forward to seeing her in the Hill hallways as a parent in the years to come.

We have been busy interviewing and hiring new staff to replace these wonderful teachers.

In first grade, we have hired Suzy Wright, who comes to Hill from Bridge Point Elementary in Eanes ISD.  Mrs. Wright has several years of experience teaching kindergarten, 1^st and 2^nd grades.

In third grade, we have hired Abby Bolin, who is a recent graduate from the University of Texas at Austin.  Ms. Bolin comes to Hill School after student teaching second grade at Blazier Elementary in AISD.

In third grade, we have also hired Madison Mischnick, who is also a recent graduate from the University of Texas at Austin.  Ms. Mischnick comes to Hill School after student teaching kindergarten and fifth grades at Summitt Elementary in AISD.

Working collaboratively with the PTA, we have decided to return to Mr. Taveirne supporting Hill’s technology needs next year in conjunction with his duties as a PE teacher.  We appreciate Donny Branam’s service to the Hill community as technology specialist over the past two years.

Have a wonderful weekend!

BN

Please return parent and student library books immediately – – Mrs. Pustka and Mrs. Banda must get all items in order before our summer break can begin.  If an item is lost, please contact Mrs. Pustka at celeste.pustka@austinisd.org  or by phone at (512)841-8036 to receive replacement cost details.

All students in 3rd-5th grade have completed their fitness testing for the school year. Parents may view their student’s results online through the parent portal, or please visit www.dillostrong.weebly.com to request a copy directly from the PE teachers.

Mark your calendars and get ready to start summer reading with a splash!

Check out this website for all the necessary information:

Summer enrollment for Ballet Austin NOW OPEN!
Six-Week Program: June 18 – July 29, 2018
Classes for children of ages 18 months to 7 years meet one time per week.
Classes for children of ages 8-10 years meet two times per week.

Classes are offered at two convenient Austin locations:
DOWNTOWN (classes for children ages 18 months to 10 years)
Ballet Austin
501 W. 3rd Street
NORTHWEST (classes for children ages 18 months to 7 years)
Ballet Austin @ the J
Jewish Community Center (JCC)
7300 Hart Lane, Austin, Texas 78731

If you pre-ordered a yearbook it should have gone home on Friday or will go home on Monday depending on the teacher. If you still need to purchase a yearbook they will be on sale for $40 at dismissal. We will be at the front of the school from 2:40 to 3:15 May 14th -18th. Please make your checks out to Hill PTA or bring cash. You may also send a check with your child. Have them bring it to the office and at the end of each day we will collect the checks and deliver the book to your child. Feel free to contact Robin or Alexis at yearbook@hillelementary.com

Did you know NWACA has expanded it’s boundaries to include the area around Hill Elementary?  They held a meeting Monday night and Julie Cowan spoke about the state’s recapture policy and how it negatively affects our schools. Julie recommends we contact our state government and tell them we need “a sustainable funding system that has multiple sources of revenue, none of which unduly burden one group of tax payers, like home owners.”. Please also tell them of the need to “update the school finance formula to restore Austin’s funding to where it was in 2011 and to take into account the rising cost of doing business in our thriving city.” Please email gregg.abbott@gov.texas.gov, ltgov@gov.texas.gov, joestraus@speaker.texas.gov, and schoolfinancecommission@tea.texas.gov. The quotes above are from Julie Cowan’s presentation. Julie also recommends looking at the following website to learn how recapture affects our entire state. http://www.taxparencytexas.org