HIll Country Middle School
MESSAGE FROM PRINCIPAL KATHLEEN SULLIVAN
November 10, 2017
We'd love to see you!
Parents, please know that your presence is welcome at all HCMS activities and events. So much happens on our campus, and we would love you to come see our students in action. Keep an eye on the school calendar so that you are aware of all of the possibilities: assemblies, pep rallies, speakers, concerts, programs, book fairs, athletic events, and more! We are so proud of all our Cougars do, and we know you will be impressed, too!
Fit Fest Shout-Out
Last Friday we had our annual Fit Fest. Every student participated in a session on nutrition, on health and wellness, and on physical fitness. Topics ranged from skin care to meditation, Zumba to CPR, and so many more. It was great to spend a day focused on life skills that will benefit their emotional well-being. In addition to being a lot of fun, this day aligns well with our focus on Social-Emotional Learning initiative.
A HUGE shout-out to Gilbert Tuhabonye who spent time inspiring our students with his story of how he overcame a brutal attack on his life, and turned that event into a catalyst for his life today. Through his story he encouraged our students to live each day with joy, to give back to others, and to be determined in life. We are so grateful he was able to share how running has had such a positive impact on his life, and how for him it is a calming force that grounds him. He encouraged our students to find their passion and calming force in their own lives, as well. What an uplifting message it was!
Thank you to our parent volunteers! They helped with everything from securing Gilbert, to volunteering behind-the-scenes, to bringing food for presenters, to presenting sessions, and more! Without their help, Fit Fest would not have been possible.
*UIL Academic Event Student Sign-Up*
Student sign-ups are from November 8th - November 15th. All students are asked to complete the form whether you are participating or not. To participate, students must sign-up using their school email log in.
Be a part of a team! Have fun with a small group of students who like subjects you like and are interested in bettering themselves. Win medals! Have a celebration party after the contest! Help promote your awesomeness! Beat area schools and show them who is the most awesome! (it's HCMS!)
Students have the opportunity to participate in UIL Academic events by signing up for try-outs, trying out at the assigned times, and practicing with their teams. This is a great communication, educational, and team building event. Sign up below!
Students may sign up to try-out for as many events as he or she would like, HOWEVER, student may ONLY participate in one event on Tuesday and one event on Saturday. Students will need to decide which event to choose if selected for multiple teams.
For more information on individual events, use this address: https://www.uiltexas.org/aplus/events
For more information or questions, please contact Crystal Boyd, cboyd@eanesisd.net
TIMELINE
Sign-ups - November 8th - November 15th
Names to individual coaches - November 17
Coaches contact participants - November 20 - November 30
Try-outs begin for teams - December 1
Teams announced - December 21st - 22nd
Practices from January - competition
Competition dates - Students must be passing all classes to participate:
Wednesday, March 21 (Ready Writing, Editorial Writing, Mathematics, Number Sense, Calculator Skills) and Saturday, March 24 (all other events)
UIL Celebration party will be the week after the event competitions. Students must be passing all classes, have paid the party fee, and ride the bus to and from the event.
Community Approves Penny Swap & Drop/TRE
Eanes ISD voters overwhelmingly passed the proposed tax ratification, or Penny Swap & Drop proposition by 89 percent in the November 7 election. The TRE approval lowers the overall Eanes ISD tax rate by more than a penny to $1.20 and adds an estimated $3 million of non-recapturable funds to the district's operating budget. Read More at
BOOK FAIR VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
We are looking for volunteers to help at the November HCMS Library Book Fair!
Sign Up @ https://goo.gl/SgWZpr
Donate old iPhones and cords to the Library!!
The Cougar Scoreboard
To keep up with Cougar Athletes in action visit https://twitter.com/HCMS_Athletics
IMPORTANT REMINDERS
COUGAR CLUB NEWS
Cougars,
Have you recently been asking Calgon to just take you away? Life is just way too busy. And with the end of the year approaching, it's likely to get plain hectic! So Cougar Club has taken it down a notch. As you'll notice, we don't have a lot of news to share, but it's about quality, not quantity. Please read our weekly newsletter to check out the quality ways you can contribute to our exceptional school!
SCHOOL CALENDAR
HEALTHY STUDENTS
EISD has chosen to highlight self-awareness and self-management as our SEL focus for the second nine weeks.
SELF-AWARENESS: There is a growing body of evidence suggesting “that mindful practice could be beneficial to teens”. Being mindful is part of being self-aware. Educating teens about the mindfulness research and the benefits of mindfulness is a way to support teens in developing their own mindful practice. “Students who meditate before an exam perform better than students who do not”, and “mindfulness-based interventions have been demonstrated to reduce the symptoms of anxiety, stress, and depression.” In order to learn other strategies to on how to encourage your teen to be mindful read “Teaching Mindfulness to Teenagers: 5 Ways to Get Started.”
SELF-MANAGEMENT: Parents and staff members had the opportunity to hear Jessica Lahey speak at the beginning of the 2017-2018 school year. Jessica highlighted three points: autonomy, competence and connection. As caring supportive parents, we need to encourage our children to be autonomous and independent and try not to control their thoughts and actions. Children build competence through practice and experience. Contributing to household chores builds competence. Viewing failures as learning opportunities allows our children to learn from their mistakes. Loving your child for all their strengths and weaknesses and accepting them for who they are builds connection. Building autonomy, competence, and connection with our kids develops self-reliant, competent and resilient adults.
The Gift of Failure: How the Best Parents Learn to Let Go So Their Children Can Succeed by Jessica Lahey.
“In Praise of Mediocre Kids” is another article that supports Jessica Lahey’s message of building autonomous, independent kids by not “pushing” our kids and trusting they will find their own way.
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HILL COUNTRY MIDDLE SCHOOL
1300 Walsh Tarlton, Austin, Texas 78746