The Hill Academy Newsletter- May 24th, 2020

H.I.L.L. Message

Following up from last Tuesday's announcement, we would like to remind the student-athletes of the importance of staying engaged and connected. We never imagined that we would be ending this school year apart, and more than anything we would like to be together, capping off the school year with our colleagues, mentors and teammates. Our staff is continuing to find ways to support and challenge the student-athletes in this remote setting. With just under four weeks remaining in the school year, there is plenty of opportunity for growth, development and achievement!

Life at the Hill and Upcoming Events

End of Year Schedule

Although our campus doors will remain closed, our remote learning plan will continue as scheduled. Teachers and coaches will be available in their remote learning environments and will continue to provide on-going instruction, support and feedback until June 12th for the Junior School students and June 16th for the Secondary School students. Students are expected to continue to log in and receive instruction until that time.

Athletic Gala: Save the Date

We know that our students and their families - particularly the 2020 graduates - are affected greatly by the circumstances affecting their end-of-year. With that in mind, The Hill Academy will be celebrating this year's Athletic Gala in a Virtual event. 

Save the date - Thursday, June 18th 6pm-8pm The Hill Academy will be hosting a YouTube Live gala event to celebrate the athletic and academic accomplishments of our student athletes.

Handbook updates

Please note that there have been some updates made to the Hill Academy Student Handbook 2019-2020 to reflect the impact of COVID-19. This includes an updated version of the calendar. 

Please visit the handbook here. 

Monday Assembly Coach Noble will be running a Monday morning assembly at 9:00am via Instagram Live. All students are expected to tune in to the @thehillacademy1845 instagram account at 9:00am for the weekly message, journal entry and challenge.

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Hill Lacrosse and Hockey

Hill Lacrosse and Hockey.

Actor Bill Murray was a recent guest on a coaching podcast hosted by NFL coach Pete Carroll and NBA coach Steve Kerr and he shared a quote that really resonated with me. One of the key components to success in acting for him was to simply "make the others around you look good." If this is the focus; a positive culture is created and a reciprocation of energy occurs. Although we remain in isolation, this is a great mindset to maintain. Despite circumstances, how are we still able to serve others? Week in Review:

-Our boys lacrosse program hosted Tom Schreiber, the top lacrosse player in the game. He has had a prodigal type rise in lacrosse; being the son of a HOF player and excelling at every level. Diving deeper into his background, it is clear to see that humility, intelligence, determination are the factors that drove a great player into a generational player. He described his constant pursuit to find any edge and the concept of "practice after practice." This meant, if most are relying on practice to improve, he was going to add sessions at different times of the day to incrementally gain an advantage. He has become one of the most complete players ever in the game, every year adding different elements to his game. -We hosted Vicky Sunohara on our Wednesday Leadership Series. You can't help but smile when you see Vicky!  She was an original Hill coach and legendary Women's hockey player and leader, competing in three Olympic games. She is currently the Head Coach for the U of T Women's hockey team and attributes success to a positive team culture where every player is completely committed to the team goals. -Our Hockey program hosted Topher Scott, former Cornell Coach and director of The Hockey Think Tank. He broke down specific strategies on how to win 1 vs. 1 situations within the game and reinforced the importance of resilience through this unique time. -Hill Hockey Prep Alum and prospect for the Detroit Red Wings, Kaden Fulcher, was on with our goalies to discuss some of the finer points of the position and the importance of setting clear goals throughout your career. -Our girls lacrosse program and hockey program hosted free virtual clinics during the week. We want to give people a sense what we are doing at The Hill and also provide some programming for those at home. We are fortunate to have some amazing strength and conditioning coaches hosting optional speciality sessions every Tuesday/Thursday/Friday at 4pm. Like Tom Schreiber said, you have to be continuously looking for your edge!

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Hill Performance As we approach the end of the year, it's important to ensure all submissions in the course have been made. 

This week, Coach Noble challenged our students to seek out feedback from a mentor or coach. It's important to discover what each student's unique value is to a team or environment, as well as find the gaps in their development whether from a character or physical standpoint. We preach the importance of self-awareness and this activity is a great opportunity to reflect and set the foundation in order to improve.

Students were to complete a list of physical self-testing from home and collect their numbers and data, as well as put together a highlight video with their group mates. Please ensure a submission to Google Classroom by Sunday evening.

In the coming weeks, students will be assigned their final task relating to their culminating assignment. This will account for 10% of the students' final grade. Stay posted via Google Classroom for rubrics, instructions and resources.