End of term news

Congratulations to the DAR essay winners:

Grade 6: Madison Hogan
Grade 7: Jeffrey Bellah
Grade 8: Kara Keen

These students will be invited to a luncheon with their parents and teacher in January.


Thanks to all the parents who bought coffee at the recent Holiday concert. Remember you can purchase coffee at the Village Herb Shop in the Food Lion shopping center and the PTO will get a portion of sales


Friday is the end of the term. Report cards will be mailed out, but I'm not sure when.


School will start again on January 8th. Have a great holiday!!

Holiday Concert and other News

Band/Chorus concert at Hilsman on Monday, Dec17, 7pm

The PTO will also be selling Oor Shared Forests coffee before and after the concert - great stocking stuffer for your coffee-drinking friends and family. Just $10 for a 12oz bag. Of that, $3 goes to the PTO.Alternatively, you can purchase coffee online at http://www.1000facescoffee.com/ (There will be a small delivery fee if you order online.) Or...you can purchase coffee at the Village Herb Shop in the Food Lion shopping center at the corner of Cedar Shoals Dr and Gaines School Rd.

Next basketball game is Thur 12/13 at Burney Harris starting at 4:30

PSP will not meet next week and will resume on 1/8

Thanks to everyone for donations to the Can-a-thon and the Bear Hollow plastic bag campaign.

Band/Chorus Concert Date Change

The Band and Chorus Concert date has been changed from Dec 13 to Dec 17 at 7pm

Please continue to bring in your empty plastic bags for recycling

Can-a-thon

Hilsman is participating in the 27th annual Can-a-thon to benefit the Athens Emergency Food Bank on Barber St. All donations stay in Clarke Co. The goal for the school is to collect at least one can per student as a total. Any homeroom that brings in over 50 cans will be eligible for a pizza or breakfast party. Rummage through your pantries and come up with some cans.
Thanks

Update of Upcoming Events

Please note the corrected date for the Band Concert

December 13th - Band Concert @7:00
December 13th - Chorus Concert @7:00

Basketball (all starting at 4:30pm)
11/28 @ Coile
12/6 Clarke Middle @ HMS
12/13 @ Burney Harris Lyons

Ongoing:

Canned Food Drive until Dec 4th

Plastic bag collection for Bear Hollow - Bring your plastic grocery bags to be recycled into plastic lumber for use at the Bear Hollow zoo.

Toys for Tots until Dec. 17th - Bring new toys for distribution to the needy

Coffee Fundraiser - Coffee is available at the Village Herb Shop next to Food Lion. Hilsman gets $3 for every bag of coffee that you purchase.

Fundraising stuff arriving this week

Fundraising Items - We expect to have all the items ordered as part of the fundraiser ready to go home with your kids this Friday

The BETA Club is holding a canned food drive starting Monday 11/19 and going through 12/4. The drive is to benefit the Athens Area Emergency Food Bank.

Ongoing reminders:

Bring in your plastic grocery bags to help build things at Bear Hollow

Pick up coffee at the Village Herb Shop to benefit the PTO

Update for October 22

Conferences

This week is early release at 1:30 pm Tue-Thu for parent conferences.

The PTO is supplying a meal for teachers on Tuesday thanks to Barbaritos for a deep discount and to Kelly, Anna and the other parent volunteers who organize these support activities. Due to the great response for the last meal we have enough left over drinks, paper goods, etc to not need anything extra this time.

Hispanic Month activites

Picasso exhibition in the Conference room all week - Open from 8am to 8pm. An exhibit of several of Picasso's masterpieces: Guernica, Night Fishing in Antibes, and The Dream. Parents are welcome to come on by. Students in a number of classes will also be tying in with the exhibition.

El Gran Carnival is Thursday with Food and exhibitions from around the Hispanic world. The students have been working very hard to put on a great exhibition for everyone. Please come from 6-8 pm.

Book Fair

The Book Fair will continue all week in the Media Center and will be open Tuesday evening as well. Many books available at a discount.

PTO

The PTO will meet on Monday Nov 12 at 6pm in the Media Center

Hilsman updates

Fundraiser
The fundraiser has finally wrapped up. We will give final results after a few minor issues are tied up. We will turn in QSP orders next Monday and then it will take a few weeks to get the items delivered. We turned in the coffee orders today and expect to deliver those to the students on Monday or Tuesday next week.

Coffee

We now have a convenient retail outlet for purchasing coffee and crediting the Hilsman PTO. The Village Herb Shop in the Food Lion shopping center at the corner of Gaines School and Cedar Shoals has the same coffee that we sold in the fundraiser. It is still $10/bag of which $3 goes to the school. Be sure to mention that you are buying for Hilsman PTO. Their hours: 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday; 1-6 p.m. Sunday

Parent Workshop

Just in case you didn't get the letter - There will be a parent workshop this Saturday, Oct 20, from 10am-noon entitled "Homework 21st Century Style". It is meant to help parents assist their children with homework and class studies. Contact Shirley Daniel at Hilsman for more information.

Hispanic Heritage Month

Spanish students are engaged in a number of activities that will
culminate in EL Gran Carnival at Hilsman on Thursday October 25 from
6-8 pm. Come view the student's projects, nosh on a wide variety of
foods from Hispanic countries, enjoy the demonstrations, costumes,
dances and parade.

Book-Fair

The Book Fair will be open during parent conferences and during school hours. Lots of great
books at great prices. Media Center. October 22nd - 26th.

Canned Food Drive

Bring in your canned goods for the NE Georgia Food Bank

Upcoming Activities

Fundraiser

We have extended the final day to turn in orders to this Friday
October Oct 12. We only raised about half the money we expected. If
you haven't ordered or made a donation, please consider doing so this
week. Send packets in with your child or drop at the office.

Hispanic Heritage Month

Spanish students are engaged in a number of activities that will
culminate in EL Gran Carnival at Hilsman on Thursday October 25 from
6-8 pm. Come view the student's projects, nosh on a wide variety of
foods from Hispanic countries, enjoy the demonstrations, costumes,
dances and parade.

Book-Fair

The Book Fair will be open during parent conferences. Lots of great
books at great prices. Media Center. October 22nd - 26th.

Reach Out and Touch Club

Now taking applications for the 2007-2008 school year. Reverend David
Nunnally, Sr., is the founder. The Reach Out and Touch Club offers
participation in:

Career and Professional Awareness Day
Martin Luther King, Jr., Day of Service
College and Career Awareness Day
And the Beautillion Scholarship Dinner

Please pick up an application in Mrs. Gantt's Room #311
There are only 12 applications available.
First Come - First Served

Canned Food Drive

Bring in your canned goods for the NE Georgia Food Bank

After School Program

Plans are still being finalized for this program.

Hilsman Fundraiser Reminder

Just a reminder that this is the final week for the Hilsman PTO fundraiser. Packets are due back in school on Tuesday October 2. Please encourage your children to participate and help support the school. There is the traditional QSP packet with magazines, wrapping paper, etc and there is our new locally based coffee fundraiser. I hope you can find something worth buying, however if you really don't want to buy anything, please consider making a donation of $20 or so to the Hislman PTO. Checks can be sent in with the packets.

Fundraising, Scholars Institute

Open House

There was a good crowd at Open House last night. Thanks to Anna Steffl and Kelly Sanders and the other volunteers for making a great meal for the school staff. This is one of the many activities supported by you, the PTO, through volunteerism and a bit of cash.

Fundraising

Your children all received a fundraising packet yesterday. If you have not seen it, you might want to ask about it. Two separate fundraisers were bundled into one envelope. There was the main envelope from QSP, but stuck inside was a smaller set of papers related to the coffee sale. If you have not participated in the fundraiser in the past, please take a look at the coffee. It is an excellent alternative if the QSP items are not to your taste. The sale continues until Oct 2.

Hilsman Scholars Institute

Mrs Srivastiva (srivastaval@clarke.k12.ga.us) and Mrs. Clark (clarkc@clarke.k12.ga.us) have revived a program aimed at promoting academic excellence, community service and self-improvement. For a better explanation, please see the slide show available on our website:
http://hilsmanpto.googlepages.com/HilsmanScholarsInsttute.ppt

Sex Education

Dr. Price is seeking a parent interested in serving on the School District Sex Education Committee. For details please contact Dr. Price at: pricet@clarke.k12.ga.us

Open House and Fundraisers

Hilsman Open House is on Tuesday Sept 11, 6-7:30 pm

Parents will have an opportunity to follow their children through their daily classes and meet their teachers.

Fundraiser Kickoff

Your children will receive a fundraising packet at school on Tuesday. It will contain info, order forms, etc for two of our fundraisers: QSP/Reader's Digest and 1000 Faces Coffee. Please support the school by ordering some items. 30-50% of proceeds go directly to the PTO which distributes the funds for a wide variety of school projects and activities. Deadline to return the packets is Oct 2.

Kroger Fundraiser

Don't forget our easiest fundraiser - the Kroger Plus Card. We only have 37 families signed up so far. I'm sure many more of you shop at Kroger. All you have to do is take our form to Kroger one time and link it with your Plus card at the register. It's that easy. If you still need the form, find it at our website: http://hilsmanpto.googlepages.com/Kroger_07_08.pdf

Hilsman phone extensions are now available on our web page:

http://hilsmanpto.googlepages.com/HILSMAN_TEL_DIRECTORY.pdf

Upcoming sporting events:

Thursday: Football at BHL 5:00

Volleyball: at HMS on 9/12 at 4:30

Cross-country meet Saturday at Athens Academy 8:45

Hilsman Open House - Staff Dinner Assistance

Hi all,
Anna Steffl and I are on board once again to coordinate the Hilsman Faculty/Staff dinners and luncheons. PTO funds some of this, but we also need help from HMS parents to feed all faculty and staff members. Some of you helped last year by bringing in store bought goods and/or homemade items (thanks!).

Our first dinner is HMS Open House (Tues, 9/11). Most teachers stay late on Open House days so we thought we'd show them how appreciative we are by offering them dinner. We'll begin feeding faculty at 4:30 that afternoon.Anna and I usually plan a theme dinner or luncheon, ask parents for the things that aren't too perishable (items their child can bring in) and we do the rest. Some of you like baking and preparing food so let us know if you're interested in making something instead of bringing in a store bought item. We love your help! There are currently 70 faculty members and approx 90 faculty/staff. We feed a lot of people! Usually, we sponsor a luncheon 3 times a year as well as pizza 2 times a year on Tues. Conference Nights. We try to provide the faculty with a really nice meal. We ran out of money last year due to large numbers and quality luncheons. Thus, we decided to hold 2 really nice luncheons/dinners and 2 pizza Conference dinners. FYI...we put out 2 huge baskets of snacks welcoming everyone back to school at the beginning of the year.

We are asking that parents donate the following for the dinner Tuesday night.
We need the following items:

• Sturdy Paper Plates (dinner and dessert)
• Plastic Forks,Spoons/Knives
• Paper Napkins
• 12 pks of canned drinks or bottled water

Whatever is left over we store and use for the next luncheon/dinner

We also need the following for the dinner on Tuesday (some are homemade if you'd like to make something):

• Sugar cookies (with sprinkles for fun!) and/or Biscotti
• Green salad with vinaigrette dressing
• focaccia bread(Kroger has a nice one in their bakery section)
• tomatoes
• fresh basil
• Parmesan Cheese (only one person needs to provide this)

Let me know if you can donate any of the above. All items are to be dropped off Tues. morning before 10 a.m. in the Conference Room at Hilsman (first door on the right when you walk in the building).

You can email me at jukso@aol.com

Thanks for helping!

Kelly Sanders

PS Our menu for Tuesday night's dinner is as follows:

• Green Salad with vinaigrette dressing
• Caprese Salad (tomatoes, basil, mozzarella drizzled with olive oil and balsamic)
• Italian Sausage, Peppers and Onions in Marinara
• Plain Marinara Sauce w/o meatSpinach Lasagna
• 2 types of cooked pasta (probably spaghetti and penne)
• Focaccia Bread
• Dessert-Sugar Cookies/Biscotti

August 26, 2007 Update

Picture Day is Friday, August 31

Science Fair has been scheduled for Jan 17, 2008 - time to start
planning

Open House Tuesday, September 11

After School Program offerings and schedules still not firmed up by
the District yet. A schedule should be available by Open House


Hilsman Cross Country Team

This is the team's second year at HMS. As a result our goals will be
to build on our successful first year, introduce our new student-
athletes to the sport, develop our runners' conditioning, as well as
our ability to compete as a team at meets.

Schedule:
· Information meeting during homeroom on Wednesday, 8/22 from 8:20 to
8:40.
· Will run from 8/27 to 10/13 (longer if we are able to participate in
the City Championships at the end of the season).
· Tryouts will be conducted as part of regular practices. The final
team roster will be posted on 8/31.
· Practices:
o Monday (4:00 to 5:15)
o Tuesday (4:00 to 5:15)
o Thursday (4:00 to 5:15)
o Additional practices will be added as needed to prepare for
scheduled meets.

Equipment
· Running shorts, not basketball shorts.
· Running shoes, not basketball shoes - Bulldog sports has a good
selection and will offer HMS Cross Country team members a 20% team
discount. Saucony is a good, reasonably priced running shoe.
· A light shirt, water bottle, sunscreen, etc.

Transportation
· Students will need to be picked up by a parent at 5:15pm. No student
will be allowed to ride with a friend without written and signed
permission from their parent. These letters will be kept on file.

Meets:
Date Day Place Time
9/6 th Cedar Shoals H.S. 4:15
9/15 sa Athens Academy 8:45am
9/25 th Athens Academy 4:15pm
10/4 th Athens Academy 4:15pm
10/13 sa Oglethorpe County H.S. 9am
10/23 tu * Athens Academy *TBD City Championships

Team performance:
· The policy of Hilsman Cross Country Team is that every team member
will be expected to maintain good behavior and grades. All team
members are "student athletes". Therefore, team members must do their
best, both in terms of grades and behavior, in practice and in school.
Poor behavior, insufficient participation or failing grades will
result in dismissal from the team.
· All team members must have a completed physical and be academically
eligible in order to participate.
· All team members must have signed parent permission to practice off
of the HMS campus.

Team Member Expectations:
All team members will be expected to -
· Dress out and be on time for all practices and meets
· Encourage and support all team members
· Practice sportsmanship
· Do their best during practice and in school

More Information:
For more information about the Hilsman XC Team please contact Coach
Oulevey at (706) 207-9412.

First PTO meeting this Monday, August 20

The first Hilsman PTO meeting will be held this Monday, August 20 at
6pm in the Hilsman Media Center. We will discuss PTO initiatives for
the coming year, go over funding, and the administration will report
on the first week of school and upcoming items of importance. We hope
to have coffee provided by one of our fundraising partners.

Please plan on attending!

Welcome to the 2007-08 School Year

As you probably know, school begins Monday, Aug 13. There are a couple of activities this week for preparation:

Thursday Aug 9

Sixth Grade Transition Camp, 2:30-5:30 (Students Only)
Sixth Grade Orientation 5:30-6:30 (Parents Included)

Friday Aug 10

Sixth Grade Orientation Backup 9-10 am (Parents Included)
Seventh & Eighth Grade Orientation 10:30-11:30 (Parents Included)

We need a few parent volunteers to help prepare and serve hot dogs, etc for the Sixth Grade Camp. If you can help, please contact Laura Trammell asap at trammelll@clarke.k12.ga.us Parents of seventh & eighth grade students are requested.

Kroger Fundraiser

Please go to our web page (http://hilsmanpto.googlepages.com/fundraisers) and print out the Kroger fundraiser page. The page has a bar code on it that you have scanned at Kroger and linked to your Kroger Plus Card. If you did this last year, you still have to do it fresh this year. This is the easiest fundraiser ever!Printouts will also be available at orientation.

First PTO Meeting
First PTO meeting of the year will be on Monday August 20 at 6pm in the Media Center.


If you have anything to send out or want to add a friend to this list, please send an email to hilsmanpto@gmail.com