The Hill Academy Newsletter- December 13th, 2020

December 13th, 2020 HILL Message (from Academic Director Rick Kunc): Let us be our very best. Our HILL principles are all about being our best and this past week was filled with our students at their best. Our door decorating was stellar, our leadership class was cutting down Christmas trees and selling those to our community, our girls' lacrosse team will be collecting donations for Kenya Lacrosse and our Writers Craft students started a food drive for the Orangeville Food Bank. This in addition to practicing hard and showing up in the classroom every day. Even with the holiday pending, our students once again answered the call. The message in our Monday assembly this week is about being our very best in the darkest of moments. Covid 19 has clearly brought some dark moments and as we have said many times our students have answered the call with their best each time we have asked it of them. We are now asking you to be your best over the holidays. We have been trying to get out from under the restrictions from the pandemic for almost a year now. With the vaccine on the horizon, we are all hopeful of some type of normalcy returning to our lives. And now is when it is the easiest to let our guard down. So, it is now that we must double down on being our best. Over the holidays, please limit whom you see. Please wash your hands often. Please respect social distancing and wear a mask. Please take all the steps that your local jurisdiction asks of you to stop the spread of Covid 19. Please be at your best. Doing so will help to ensure a safe return to The Hill in the New Year and will help to ensure that you and the ones you love stay well. And of course, enjoy the holidays. No matter what your religious affiliation, enjoy this time with your family and take some time to unplug, get outside, and take a breath. It is these opportunities that provide us with the reboot and the charge for our batteries. And we need that charge of energy to be our best when we come back to The Hill in the New Year. Happy Holidays and see you all in 2021!

Quote of the Week: "Mom? This box is meowing."

• - Rusty Griswold - Christmas Vacation

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Other Notes and Important Information: Monday Morning Assembly: There is a Monday morning assembly tomorrow. Secondary students will tune in by clicking the Zoom link below at 8:30am: Monday Morning Assembly Nonperishable Goods Drive: Ms. Campagna’s Grade 12 Writer’s Craft class is collecting nonperishable goods for the Orangeville Food Bank. We invite our generous Hill community to give to those in need this holiday season. The food bank also encourages donations of non-edible necessities, such as shampoo, dish soap, and feminine hygiene products. Please click on the link above and see requested items on the main page (Reverse Advent Calendar). The last day to bring in donations is Wednesday December 16th. Thank you in advance for your generosity and support. Holiday Spirit Week: Tuesday 15th - Red & Green clothes/Holiday accessories Wednesday 16th - Holiday Pajamas Thursday 17th - 'Ugly' Holiday sweater Participation - A canned good / Nonperishable food item. Everyone is encouraged to take part in the donations and theme day - cans can be dropped off at the office in support of Ms. Campagna’s period 3 food drive for The Orangeville Foodbank. Inclement Weather: In the event of school closure due to inclement weather or unsafe driving conditions, you will be notified through email. Additionally, it will be posted on The Hill Academy Twitter account (@thehillacademy). The information will be posted by 5:50 am at the latest and all attempts will be made to notify earlier. If nothing has been posted, then the school day will resume as scheduled. If it is a remote learning day, students are expected to log onto their classes to get instruction for the day. OUAC/Ontario Universities: Grade 12 /PG students who plan to apply for an Ontario University should note that applications are due to the OUAC by January 15th, 2021. Please note that this date falls in the remote learning time following the holidays. Students would get their log-in information before leaving on December 17th. Students can collect their OUAC login information from Kyle Kallay or by emailing guidance@thehillacademy.com Community Involvement: Students who plan to graduate in June 2021 will require a total of 20 community involvement hours. These hours can be accumulated through various activities. However, due to the continuing COVID-19 restrictions, we are not expecting students to complete these hours within the community as we would traditionally. If you would like to investigate how to meet the requirement of community involvement hours, please start your search at the Hill Guidance website here. Lunch/Snacks: A continued reminder that sharing food is strictly prohibited as part of the COVID-19 regulations at The Hill Academy. Students must be mindful of the rules that we have in place which are there to protect our student-athletes. Uniform: Students are reminded to wear only Hill Academy clothing when at school. Students wearing hats, slides or other non-Hill clothing items will have uniform infractions noted. Peel Public Health Advisory to Schools: With the high level of COVID-19 in our community, we need to do everything to stop the spread. Starting Monday, December 7, 2020, all children with at least one symptom of COVID-19, even mild symptoms, must stay home, self-isolate and are recommended to get tested. Household members, including siblings, also must self-isolate while the symptomatic child is awaiting test results. We ask that you continue to complete the daily screen and if one symptom is reported your child is to stay home. Please ensure you notify attendance@thehillacademy.com of their absence. New Balance Orders: Your New Balance orders have been placed. Ms. Bush is in the process of sending out invoices and orders should arrive by early January. Parents/students will be notified once orders have arrived and students will be able to pick up their orders from the front office. Masks: If you're looking for last-minute gifts or stocking stuffers, our Hill masks are still available for $20.00. Please visit the online school store to purchase. Masks are available to pick up this week at the front office or can be mailed out. https://www.thehillacademy.com/shop Parking Passes: The Hill Academy will be implementing parking passes for students who drive to school for the 2020-2021 school year. Please note, the school will require your name, vehicle plate number, and the name of any student that you will be driving to and from school. We will also require written authorization from that student’s parent, giving you the authorization to drive these students. This is to be sent to Ms. Bush before you return to school from the Holiday break, so she can prepare the passes. Please email cindy@thehillacademy.com. Parking Pass form Any student who drives and parks at school MUST have a parking pass. Any student driving another student other than day school transportation to and from school will lose their parking privilege for a week. The second offense will result in a 2-week parking suspension, the third offense will result in parking privileges being revoked permanently. A parking area is provided for students in the big parking lot adjacent to the side parking lot by the main building. These are the ONLY areas where you may park. Careless driving will not be tolerated on school property. Be sure to obey directional signs and all other traffic signs. The privilege of parking your car on school property may be removed if you do not adhere to the posted signs. Police may be contacted if you are driving carelessly or dangerously. Thank you for your cooperation.

HILL Athletics (From Athletic Director Brodie Merrill): We have adopted a saying at The Hill; “finish through the tape.” This can be applied in various ways. When we do sprints on the ice, the field, in strength and conditioning, we don’t pull up or slow down as we are nearing the end; rather we drive through the line with our most powerful strides. This is an overall mindset. A consistent theme I’ve noticed in my time at The Hill, there is always a group of students that stay to the final day and take advantage of the extra reps or attention. There is a level of consistency that I’ve grown to respect in our student-athletes. These same students and players tend to be the ones making the biggest impact on the ice or field. The reality is there are not many days off in the life of a high-level student-athlete. Some can look at that as a huge sacrifice, but those that are in pursuit understand that it is part of the deal. As Sydney Crosby said, “a life in hockey is time well spent.” The normal rules do not apply in the life of an athlete. Take some time to disengage and take advantage of the break. We need to recharge the batteries. Can your downtime still be productive in some way? Our challenge to you is to finish through the tape this final week and come back a little stronger in some way. Just remember the game doesn’t wait on anyone. Somewhere along my career, I adopted the tradition of working out on Christmas day. Whether true or not, the competitive side of me figures it was a way to get a little step ahead. Finding the little edges in sport and in yourself is what makes it enjoyable and fulfilling. If you remember, shoot me a message on Christmas to let me know if you worked out and what you did. Big thanks to our Hill Community for your buy-in throughout this Fall. It has presented us with many unique challenges and we have held our ground. Please stay safe over the holiday. We are thankful to work with so many amazing student-athletes and look forward to seeing everyone back after the holiday. This Week's Lacrosse Schedule: Monday: Remote Non-Athletic Tuesday: Grade 9,10, 11 Boys Lacrosse: 8:10- 9:10am Team Session Grade 12, PG Boys Lacrosse: 9:30am- 10:30am Team Session Girls Lacrosse: 12:25pm- 1:25pm Team Session Wednesday: Grade 9,10, 11 Boys Lacrosse: 8:10- 9:10am Team Session Grade 12, PG Boys Lacrosse: 9:30am- 10:30am Practice (weather permitting) Girls Lacrosse: 12:25pm- 1:25pm Practice Thursday: Grade 9,10, 11 Boys Lacrosse: 8:10-9:10am Team Session Grade 12, PG Boys Lacrosse: 9:30am- 10:30am Practice (weather permitting) Girls Lacrosse: 12:25pm- 1:25pm Holiday Team Session Friday: PD Day- No Classes or Practices This Week's Hockey Schedule: Monday: Remote Non-Athletic Day Prep: Zoom Meeting 4pm (check google classroom for details) Tuesday: Team Black and Team Grey @ Alder Arena Pad Green 8:15am- 9:15am Wednesday: Senior Varsity and Team Red @ Alder Arena Pad Green 8:15am- 9:15am Thursday: Senior Varsity and Prep @ Alder Arena Pad Green 8:15am- 9:15am Friday: PD Day- No Classes or Practices **Please note that parents are NOT permitted inside the arenas during practice time.**