Anne Frank

Ms. Jones, eighth grade language arts teacher, suggested this tie in since one of the reading topics for eighth grade is "The Diary of Anne Frank".
The Oconee County Library will host the traveling exhibit "Anne Frank: A History for Today" from Sunday through March 14.The exhibit, sponsored by the Georgia Commission on the Holocaust, features 17 panels of photographs and text that chronicle the Holocaust through the eyes of Anne Frank and her family, showing the effects of National Socialism on the lives of a typical Jewish family.Photographs include family pictures and text includes entries from her famous diary. Accompanying the main exhibit are the smaller exhibits of "The Anne Frank Secret Hiding Place" and "Witness to the Holocaust: World War II Veteran William A Scott III at the Liberation of Buchenwald Concentration Camp." There will also be a couple related films.
For more information about the programs, call Alice Rossiter at (706) 769-3950.

March is Youth Art Month

Works by the Clarke County Schools are on exhibit at the Athens Regional Library in the Children’s section. Please go by and take a look at Success!!!

Baseball

Hilsman doesn't have its own team but the boys play as Cedar Shoals' C team
DATE:TEAM:LOCATION:TIME:Games:
Fri. 2/29Prince Avenueat Prince Ave.5:30 1 (7 innings)
Sat. 3/1Newton Co.CEDAR SHOALS12:00 2 (5 inning games)
Sat. 3/8Madison Co.CEDAR SHOALS12:00 DH
Sat. 3/15HabershamCEDAR SHOALS12:00 DH
Sat. 3/22Jackson Co.at Jackson12:00 DH
Sat. 3/29Madison Co.at Madison12:00 DH
Sat. 4/5Habersham at Habersham12:00 DH
Sat. 4/12Jackson Co.CEDAR SHOALS12:00 DH
Sat. 4/19Newton Co.at Newton12:00 2 (5 inning games)
Sat. 4/26Oconee Co.CEDAR SHOALS12:00 DH

Future Business Leaders of America

FBLA State Leadership Conference trip and competition results. The students attended the GA Music Hall of Fame, the Macon Arts & Sciences Museum, and Mercer University. We hope to attend the FBLA National Leadership Conference in June. These students placed at the State level in their competition events:

Aubrey Bullock 8th place Business Concepts
Cathy Deng 1st place Business Spelling
2nd place Business Computations
Gilbert Dominguez 4th place Business Concepts
9th place Computer Literacy

Please congratulate these students when you see them.

Box Tops for Education

One of our parents, Joyce McHan has set up Hilsman with the Box Tops for Education fundraising program. Clip the Box Top labels from any General Mills foods that you have. We will collect them in the main office.One student in Mrs Varnum's class has already turned in 100 which translates to $10.

School District News

CCSD Academic Calendar Options

http://ccspub.objectwareinc.com/do/pageView?id=113098

Click on the link above to read about the proposed calendar options for 2008-09 and 2009-10 for CCSD! Follow the instructions on the link and submit your feedback to the Board of Education no later than March 5th. The Board meets March 6th to vote on these proposals. 2008-09 is a challenging year to schedule with the Presidential election in November and so many schools serving as polling places. This is your chance to give feedback on an important issue.

Call to Action

Please read the attachment for information about Speaker of the House Bill RIchardson's proposed legislation in the Georgia Legislature to eliminate property taxes for local schools. The Georgia School Board Association is opposed to this legislation and encourages everyone to contact your representative! Read the "Call to Action" attachment for more information. A listing of local legislators is also included.

Georgia Performance Standards in Mathematics

If you have questions and want more information about the new performance standards, go to http://www.georgiastandards.org/mathframework.aspx for details about the standards at all grade levels.

Parent Workshop

Tuesday, Feb 26, 7-9pm
This is a Parent Support Workshop run by Mr. and Mrs. Daniel to give parents tools for help with homework, behavior,etc., also some assistance with High School issues.

MANY HONORS

Math Counts

It is my privilege and honor to inform you that Hilsman swept all before them at the Northeast Georgia Mathcounts competition last Friday. As a teacher at Hilsman I felt very proud of our students who performed with wonderful professionalism at the contest. Not only did we finish first in the team competition, Cathy Deng also managed to perform well enough to win the top place for individual excellence. To top it all, three out of the four members of the second team won places to compete in the state finals. So now Hilsman has more than half of the students who will compete in the State finals. If you see these students in the hall please congratulate them – they represented our school with class.
Cathy Deng
Jason Ye
John Bolen
Mike Xiao
Xing Gao
Akshay Hariani
Anise Crane

Shareef Bacchus
Mathematics Tutor

Spelling Bee Regional Competition

1st place: Cathy Deng (she will compete in the state tournament in Atlanta in March)

Regional Science Fair

Best of Show in Middle School: Jason Ye

1st place:
Logan Glenn
Madison Hogan
Daniel Harrison

2nd place:
Xing Gao
Erin Hollander
Cathy Deng
Maggie Bergmann

3rd place:
Aubrey Bullock

Regional Ricoh Sustainable Development Award: Xing Gao
Society for Science and the Public Award: Maggie Bergmann, Jason Ye, Erin Hollander
Jackson EMC Award: Jason Ye

1st and 2nd place winners will go on to the state competition in April

Basketball

The girl's basketball team fell to Clarke Middle in the championship game, however it was their only loss of the season. Great season everyone.

Panic at Hilsman

Sonny Ortiz, Justus Ortiz’s father, is coming in to share with 7th grade social studies classes on Friday, Feb. 29th. Mr. Ortiz is the percussionist for Widespread Panic. He will be bringing in a number of percussion instruments, especially drums, from various African and Asian cultures. This will serve as the culminating activity for a study of African and Asian cultures and a great way to end our celebration of Black History Month.

New Signs

In case you haven't noticed, Hilsman is getting new signs at the entrance. If conditions allow there is also a landscaping plan to go with them. The signs are being funded via SPLOST.

PTO Meeting and Congratulations

PTO Meeting

There will be a PTO meeting next Monday, Feb 11 at 6pm in the MediaCenter. Meetings usually last one hour and include reports on schoolactivities and programs as well as use of PTO finances and other issues

Title I Explanation

Hilsman has become classified as a Title I school and is thereforeeligible for some additional funding. District representative MonicaKnight will hold an informational meeting Monday, Feb 11 at 5:30 pm inthe Media Center. This is just before the PTO meeting

County Spelling Bee

Congratulations to Cathy Deng, a Hilsman 8th grader for winning the County Spelling Bee. She will compete in Eatonton on Feb. 23rd in the regional competition.

Teacher Appreciation

Thanks to everyone who helped out with the Teacher Appreciation Lunch this Tuesday

PTO Meeting

There will be a PTO meeting next Monday, Feb 11 at 6pm in the Media Center. Meetings usually last one hour and include reports on school activities and programs as well as use of PTO finances and other issues

Title I Explanation

Hilsman has become classified as a Title I school and is therefore eligible for some additional funding. District representative Monica Knight will hold an informational meeting Monday, Feb 11 at 5:30 pm in the Media Center. This is just before the PTO meeting

Coffee Fundraiser

Our coffee fundraiser is year-round so please remember to stop by the Village Herb Shop to pick up your favorite beans.

UGA "Pink Out"

On Thursday, February 14th, the UGA Athletic Association plans to "Pink Out" Stegeman Coliseum for the women's basketball game against rival Florida at 7 p.m. They are using the Pink Out promotion to raise awareness for breast cancer research, and encourage everyone attending to wear pink to the game (pink t-shirts will also be on sale at the game). They are also offering $1 admission to the game using the coupon posted under the Promotions section of georgiadogs.com. This is a benefit for breast cancer research in conjunction with Athens Regional. For more information, please visit www.georgiadogs.com and click on the Promotions tab to the left of your screen

Sports News and FBLA Congrats

FBLA

Hilsman Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) members attended the Region Leadership Conference on Wednesday. These are the students who placed and were recognized in their competition events at the Region level:
Cathy Deng 1st place Business Spelling
3rd place Business Computations
Mike Xiao 1st place Business Computations
Jason Ye 2nd place Business Computations
Morgan Smith 3rd place Business Spelling
Shaq Siddiqui 2nd place Business Concepts
Gilbert Dominguez 2nd place Computer Literacy
Maggie Bergman 3rd place Career Exploration

Please congratulate these students when you see them!


Sports News

Basketball

Girls - Congratulations to our girls team for finishing the season with a perfect 6-0 record. Now their challenge is to keep the winning streak going in hopes to capture the Clarke County Middle School Championship. Their first game in the tournament will be played at BHL. Our girls will be playing CMS on Wednesday February the 6th at 5:45. Please come out and support our Lady Panthers.

Boys - Our boys have suffered a very trying season this year. Please let them know that we are proud of them. However come tournament time every year a Cinderella story is possible. If they can pull two wins together, it is possible our boys can claim the championship. Our boys will play BHL in the first round of the boy’s tournament. The game will be at BHL on Thursday February the 7th at 5:45. Please come out and show our support for the boys.

Soccer and Track

For those who are in need of physical and are interested in playing soccer or running track for Hilsman Middle School please pick up a physical form in the main office. All students who plan on trying out for these or any teams must have a physical.

February Important Dates and more Congratulations

February Dates to note

Friday, February 8th End of progress report period
Monday, February 11th: PTO Meeting, 6pm in HMS Media Center
Thursday, February 14th: Adopt-A-Class
Friday, February 15th: Progress Reports Distributed
Monday, February 18 -- Professional Learning Day
Saturday, February 23rd: Regional Science Fair at Athens Tech

Congratulations to Hilsman 4-H CPA participants

Hilsman students fared especially well at the 4H CPA competition on Saturday, January 26. We are
very proud of all the students who competed.

Except as noted, all received first place in their respective categories:
Adrian Haynes - Conservation and Recycling
Valeria Bermeo - Dog Care and Training
Kemarcis Howard - Food Safety and Preservation
Hannah Sanders - Health
Breanna Derricotte - Ocean Ecology
Christine Jahng - Performing Arts Instrumental
Brison Brown - Time and Money Management (Sweepstakes Winner)
Jamia Johnson - Time and Money Management
Audrey Smith - Using Water Wisely

For more info about the 4H program, please contact the County 4H agent at ebarber@uga.edu

Volunteers Needed

Teacher appreciation

HMS PTO will be sponsoring a faculty/staff luncheon on Tuesday, Feb. 5 (Fat Tuesday). We are serving a Cajun Menu and need your help. If you'd like to help by cooking or donating an item please contact us at jukso@aol.com
LET US KNOW IF YOU ARE WILLING TO COOK SOMETHING OR PURCHASE AN ITEM FORTHE LUNCHEON. WE'LL GET BACK IN TOUCH WITH YOU VIA EMAIL TO LET YOU KNOWWHAT ITEMS ARE NEEDED.
This will avoid getting too many of one item and not enough of another. We need all nonperishable store bought items by Monday, Feb. 4(you can give them to Mrs. Smith in the office). Food items need to be in the conference room before 9:00am on Tues, Feb. 5. People that are willing to make a dish for the luncheon we have receipes...we just need volunteers. Some of the dishes include, red beans and rice, sweet potato souffle, cornbread, bread pudding, pecan pies, corn maque choux (don't forget we have receipes for all of these dishes if you need them). Please contact Kelly directly at jukso@aol.comAnna Steffl and Kelly Sanders - PTO food coordinators

Volunteer Hosts for Principal's coffees needed

Once again, Dr. Price would like to hold Principal's coffees in the homes of parents that live in neighborhoods that feed Hilsman. Parents in the general vicinity would be invited to attend and to ask questions of Dr. Price and his administrative staff. Coffees usually last about an hour and a half and a light dessert could be served. He would like to hold a meeting once a month through the end of the school year and then pick it up again when we start back to school. This is just another way of having a dialogue with the parents of the children served by Hilsman. We need a parent/guardian willing to step up and kick things off by holding the first coffee in March. Please contact Dr. Pice at pricet@clarke.k12.ga.us or reply back to this email.

Test Monitors needed

Parent volunteers are needed to help with hall monitoring for the CRCT test (April 8,9,10, 14 and 15 from 8:30-11:30). Last year we had about six volunteers. Anyone who volunteers in the building will have to have a background check unless they were checked last year. Please contact Georgie Bullock at bullockg2@clarke.k12.ga.us or 706-548-7281 ext. 29240 or just reply back to this email

Congratulations Students!

Science Fair
Hilsman Students had a great showing at the School District Science Fair competition this past Saturday. An asterick (*) indicates that they will go on to regional competition.

Animal Science
1st Maggie Bergmann*
3rd Jeff Bellah Behavioral
Science
1st Anna Schramski*
2nd Madison Hogan*
Biochemistry
1st Cathy Deng*
3rd Taylor Hallenbeck
Chemistry
1st Logan Glenn*
3rd Zoe Bolen
Environmental Science
1st Xing Gao*
Mathematics
1st John Bolen*
Medicine & Health
1st Justus Ortiz*
2nd Kidron Bullock/Mariah Pettis*
Microbiology
1st Daniel Harrison*
2nd Aubrey Bullock*
2nd Erin Hollander*
Plant Science
1st Jason Ye*
3rd Christine Jahng

Academic Team
The Hilsman Academic team placed Second at the recent PAGE Academic Bowl. They were the only undefeated team going into the finals and the overall points leader, but fell in the finals. The team will be competing again at other events.

Welcome back!

Welcome back to school everyone!

Parents of Eighth Graders - Cedar Shoals is hosting an important meeting for parents of students rising to ninth grade next year. The registration process and other important aspects of high school will be presented. Thursday, January 24th, 6:00 p.m., Cedar Shoals Auditorium.

Congratulations to the Spelling Bee winners:Cathy Deng - 1st placeJay Morris - runner up

Science Fair is January 17

Next Basketball dates are:
1/17 at Clarke Middle
1/24 at Home against Burney-Harris
Tip off at 4:30

Don't forget to pick up your funraiser coffee at the Village Herb Shoppe