HIll Country Middle School
MESSAGE FROM PRINCIPAL KATHLEEN SULLIVAN
November 3, 2017
Choir TMEA Audtions
This past Saturday, some of our 7th and 8th grade singers participated in the TMEA Region 32 Choir Auditions, competing against over 700 singers from Eanes, Lake Travis, and Leander ISDs. Our kids did an amazing job, and we had 25 students selected for the choir. Congratulations to these students--this took many weeks of hard work (and facing the fear of singing by yourself)!
We are so proud of them and look forward to hearing them sing with the region choir this Saturday at Lake Travis High School!
Thanks for your support of our singers,
Katy Bratton ans Ashley George
TMEA Band Auditions
We had a very exciting and successful Saturday with the Band students as well! Almost 70 students from HCMS auditioned with about 500 of the top band students from Eanes, Lake Travis and Leander ISDs in our All-District Audition at Canyon Ridge Middle School. We had 28 students from HCMS earn the designation of "All-District Band," meaning they placed in the top percentage of their room. Among those students, we also had 20 advance to the next round of All-Region auditions, which occur this weekend in Leander. We are so excited that they represented Hill Country so well! Please take a moment to congratulate them and wish those Region kids good luck on Saturday!
Kristen Hames and Chuck Fischer
Thank you to everyone who has already donated to the EEF Teacher fund for 2017-18! Hill Country is still in the lead with 22.5% but Westridge is closing in at 17.9%. Please donate today to help Ms. Sullivan beat the WRMS Principal! Our HCMS goal is 45% participation - I know 45% of our families want to keep our district EXCELLENT vs. ADEQUATE! The final donation day is November 3rd - but don't wait- donate now!
Veterans Day
HCMS' Veterans Day Celebration is November 10. Please send pictures of your families' veterans to grkgrl221@gmail.com by November 1. Please include your student's name and grade, the veteran's name, rank, branch of service, and years of service. This celebration is one of the finest things the Cougar Club and administration does! There will be a beautiful ceremony, and we want to honor our veterans with a lovely slideshow.
Please print a hard copy* (no larger than 8 x 10) with the following information written on the back of the picture:
* Name and rank of Military Personnel
* Years Served ex: 1983-2004
* Relationship to and name/grade of HCMS student/s i.e.: Grandfather of George Arias, Jr.
* Other Pertinent Details i.e.: Served in WWII, Awarded Silver Star, Purple Heart
* Place hard copy in the Veterans Day Pictures envelope in the front office
* Please do not send originals.
Pictures will be laminated for future use and will not be returned.
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
Volleyball Girls vs West Ridge
"It isn't hard to be good from time to time in sports, what's tough is being good every day." 8th Grade #Team #DistrictChamps #GoCougars
8th Grade vs WRMS
8th grade Red volleyball team caps off the perfect 10-0 season with a win over West Ridge 25-20, 25-18! UNDEFEATED DISTRICT CHAMPS! #GoCougars
8th Grade vs WRMS
8th grade Blue volleyball took home a DISTRICT CHAMPIONSHIP with their win over West Ridge 25-19, 30-28! Great season, ladies! #GoCougars
7th Grade vs WRMS
7th grade Red volleyball finished the season strong and beat West Ridge 25-23, 17-25, 25-16. Great work, ladies! #GoCougars
7th grade Blue volleyball lost a tough match to West Ridge, 12-25, 15-25. This team worked hard all season. #GoCougars
Cougar Football vs West Ridge
The 7B Football team ended their season undefeated after beating West Ridge 33-0! Add another District Championship to the books! 🏈🏆 #GoCougars
The 8th Grade A Team wrapped up an undefeated season with a win over West Ridge! 🏈🏆 #GoCougars #DistrictChamps
The 7A Football Team solidified a district championship with their 26-18 win over West Ridge!
🏈🏆 #Team #DistrictChamps #GoCougars
IMPORTANT REMINDERS
COUGAR CLUB NEWS
Cougars,
We need YOU! We need you to vote, we need you to attend our Cougar Club General Meeting, we need you to participate in CPK Spirit Days, we need you to donate pies and cakes, we need you to volunteer at our School Store, we need you to contribute to our teacher appreciation lunches, AND we WANT you to join us on November 10th at our Veteran's Day Assembly to honor these valued members of our community.
Read this week's newsletter to learn more about how you can participate!
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