Dear Hill Community,

We want to keep you updated on the latest information from Austin ISD regarding the COVID-19 planning. In response to the developing and rapidly-changing situation and to provide the district sufficient time to plan for minimizing the risk of exposure to COVID-19, Austin ISD has cancelled classes for students only on Monday, March 23 thru Friday, April 3. This means students will not be on campus for two weeks following spring break.

Please visit www.austinisd.org/coronavirus regularly throughout the week to continue to receive updated information from the school district. I will receive more guidance later in the week and will communicate with the community accordingly.

We wish our Hill families health and safety during this time. Thank you all for continuing to do your part to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Jack Drummond

Principal

We are excited to announce the nominations for the 2020-2021 Hill Elementary PTA Board. Thank you to the nominating committee for their time and dedication finding these great Nominees! And thanks to the Nominees for their willingness to serve on the Board.

Hill Elementary PTA
Nominating Committee Report
Executive Officers Slate for 2020-21

The following individuals have been nominated for the offices indicated for the 2020-21 school year:

President – Hanna Curran
President Elect – Ruhi Bell
Vice President 1 (Communications) – Caroline Marquis
Vice President 2 (Sponsorship) – Margaret Bettinger
Vice President 3 (Membership) – Theresa Ellington
Vice President 4 (Ways & Means) – Tiffany Cross
Treasurer – Misti Neese
Secretary – Kerri Westmoreland
Campus Advisory (CAC) Representative – Kelly Tarun

Each candidate has expressed their willingness to serve.

This slate is the recommendation of the undersigned nominating committee.  Other nominations from the floor will be accepted at the PTA meeting held on Thursday, March 12, 2020 at 7:50am.  Voting will take place at this meeting.

Hill PTA Nominating Committee:

Hanna Curran – Nominating Committee Chair
Kerri Westmoreland
Theresa Ellington
Margaret Bettinger
Maitri Shah

Dear Hill Community,

It is hard to believe that spring break is already upon us! We hope your families enjoy some time outside in beautiful weather with breaks to read a great book as well.

As many of our families have travel plans for spring break, we want to remind everyone of safe practices as your students return to school. Students should not return to school if they are exhibiting 100.4 or above fever until after they have seen a physician for clearance. If traveling overseas to one of the countries heavily affected by COVID-19 (Coronavirus), the school district asks that you alert Hill School and self-quarantine for 14 days. While we always want our students at school learning if they are able, we prioritize their health and safety above all else. We will be happy to work to excuse absences with a note during this time as families may be exercising extra caution, which is appreciated.

We want all families to know that our planning to keep students healthy and safe will continue as we work with Austin ISD to monitor the evolving situation with COVID-19. The district will continue to update families as well. They suggest visiting Austin ISD and the CDC sites with the most timely information.

If you have any questions, we are always available. As always, thank you for encouraging your student(s) to frequently wash their hands to ensure we stay as healthy as possible. We wish everyone an amazing week and look forward to seeing all of our Dillos upon their return!

Jack Drummond

Principal

The schedule of evening events is out and you won’t want to miss a minute of the fun. Come early, bid often, stay late and cowboy up! Every dollar benefits Hill Elementary PTA. Still need a ticket?! Grab one here before we sell out – tickets will only be sold at the door, if available.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

7:00 PM  Doors Open

Wine Pull – will you be the lucky winner of the $150 wine pull?

Mystery Box – Stop by the Mystery Box table and walk home a winner

Wine Pull and Mystery Box available from 7:00pm until they sell out. Arrive early to win.

7:30 PM  Casino Opens

The Hill Hoopla Cowboy Casino officially opens with blackjack, roulette, three card poker and crowd favorite craps tables. Win enough at the tables to be entered in the casino raffle – must be present to win.

8:45 PM Live Auction One

You don’t want to miss the first live auction. Which package will you walk away with? Packages include: Private Chef Dinner & Cheesemaking, Colorado Vacay, Home Theater, the coveted Hill Parking Spot or the Braces from Dr. Erin Arnold & AD Orthodontics.

9:45 PM Live Auction Two

You won’t want to miss our special presentation and chance to win the amazing packages in the second live auction. You could win a Louis Vuitton Sienna PM, Principal for the Day, a 4-day Breckenridge House or the Dell Matchplay VIP package.

10:30 PM Raffle Closes

Turn in those raffle tickets! Pick your prize and stick around to see if you are the big winner.

10:45 PM Silent Auction Closes

Keep an eye on your watch. The silent auction closes at 10:45pm.

Bull Riding Champion Trophy Presentation

Casino Winner Announced

HOOPLA 2020 – Tickets on Sale Now!

DON’T MISS COWBOY CASINO, FRIDAY MARCH 6^TH  7-11PM at the Junior League of Austin Community Impact Center on Bluffstone Drive!

What does the price of a ticket include? Entry into the event, food featuring a grilled quesadilla bar, shrimp ceviche station, chips, queso and salsa – dancing, revelry, the musical stylings of celebrity DJ – DJ2DQ, online and live auction bidding access, and casino games!

But what about drinks? Drinks are cash bar (credit cards accepted). Be sure to check out our available family sponsorships that include drink tickets, and a lyft voucher for a safe ride home!

And what do I wear? It’s the Wild West, Baby…come dressed in your Rhinestone Cowboy inspired best (bling buckles, jeans, fringe, boots and hats), or just as you are if dressing up just aint your thing …anything goes!

When do ticket sales end? Tickets will be sold online through the night of the event and a limited amount will be available for purchase onsite during the event. Early bird ticket pricing ends soon! Ticket prices will increase from $50/person to $60/person after March 1^st!

How do I find out about Auction items and Buy-In parties? Preview some of the awesome parties online now under Featured Items, stay tuned for more. We will have signage posted at the event detailing items by category and item number to assist in your online search. 100% of the proceeds from these items go to back to Hill PTA to benefit the school!

What’s all this I’m hearing about online bidding? Bidding on Silent Auction items and the ever so popular Buy-In parties will all be online via web browser courtesy of BidPal mobile bidding! Be sure to register your credit card information online prior to the event so you will be ready for the bidding action. Once registered, you will receive an email with additional information so you can start bidding on items at Hoopla.

Need a babysitter? Nanno has partnered with Hill Hoopla Cowboy Casino this year to make sure your little Dillos are covered.  Please use code HILLHOOPLA for 20% off babysitting.  Code is valid for one time use. Just go to www.nanno.com to book.

Looking to participate?! We need volunteers! This evening couldn’t happen without you!  Sign up HERE.

Questions? Contact us at hoopla@hillelementary.com.

Come join your fellow Dillos for a night of fun – you won’t want to miss it! Tickets and sponsorships are available for purchase online HERE.  

Dear Hill Community,

It was a fun week of learning at Hill School as we wrapped up a successful fall semester. We were so proud to see students sharing family traditions with each other as Hill’s cultural diversity was on full display! We hope our entire Hill community has a wonderful winter break full of family, friends, and reading of course.

Social Emotional Learning is a focus on our campus as we believe in developing the whole child beyond just academics. Compassion and giving to others are such great examples of SEL in action this time of year. Our Hill Families Helping Families program was again a huge success to make the holidays special for those in need. We can’t thank our amazing counselors, volunteers, and families who donated enough for supporting this work. Our weekend backpack program continues to support families with weekend food. Hill’s annual food and coat drive this year brought in around 280 coats and hundreds of cans of food to support the Austin community. We are proud of this philanthropy and the wonderful lessons it teaches our Dillos.

As you have noticed, we are nearing the completion of the sidewalk addition on Tallwood across from our school. It should be completed during or just after our winter break. We are thankful for the improved safety that this Safe Routes to School work brings for our students. In January, we anticipate the city completing a traffic study to assess our crossing guard need at the Hyridge 4-way stop as well. Thank you for your continued patience during these changes as we continue to evolve safe routes to Hill school!

Lastly, we look forward to a busy spring semester that is just around the corner. Ms. Herb and Maestro Williams have been rehearsing for months for our first ever production of the Lion King musical. Our annual UIL competition will take place in February. We will also finalize our Campus Architectural Team planning in January as construction is planned to begin in May on our ten studio addition and new fitness space. We will continue to collaborate with our community as we plan for a modernized Hill campus ready to prepare our Dillos for bright futures.

Our staff wishes all of our families a safe and happy winter break!  We look forward to seeing all of our students back on January 8th.

Principal Drummond

Dear Hill Community,

We enjoyed seeing all of our families, staff, and friends who attended the Hill Fall Carnival this past Saturday! It was perfect weather for all of the fun activities and food. We want to thank all of our volunteers who make this massive undertaking possible, especially our executive PTA and Dillo Dad group. Their hard work started months in advance, and our school is so grateful for the long hours they put in to support Hill School.

At school, we have wrapped up our first 9 weeks of instruction and many fall conferences. Thank you to all of our staff members for their dedication to our students and their progress. Many teachers will begin tutorials soon, if they have not already begun, for students who need the extra support. We encourage all of our parents and guardians to continue close partnerships with our teachers to ensure all students have solid plans to support them academically and emotionally. We are off to a great start so far as we look ahead to further success.

I want to invite all of our stakeholders to the next Principal Coffee, tomorrow (Thursday), where the Parkhill, Smith, and Cooper architectural team will update attendees on phase one of our future modernized campus with a proposed 10 studio addition and new gym. Discussions will include construction planning, updated parking/traffic plans, and updates from our last community meeting. The team will also be attending our next CAC meeting to examine how the phase one construction will affect our campus for the 20-21 school year. We are excited for the future for Hill School and the opportunities a modernized campus will bring for our community!

With Halloween upon us for Thursday, just a friendly reminder that students should not wear costumes to school on October 31st. We appreciate your support in helping your student dress appropriately as usual.

We hope you have a truly wonderful week!

Principal Drummond