The Hill Academy Newsletter- May 31st, 2020
H.I.L.L. Message
We understand that with every passing week it becomes more difficult as the reality of missed competition and in person end of year celebrations start to sink in. We hope the student-athletes can lean on the support system at The Hill and know that we will continue to do anything we can to support our student- athletes and help them stay on track to achieve their goals in school and sport.
Our theme for the week was "find a way." We want to encourage our student-athletes to continue to embrace the "FIO" (Figure It Out) mindset. At times like these you must take a step back and remember the commitment you made to yourselves. The commitment and dream you had in September is still alive and thriving inside of you. Always bear in mind that your inner strength is far deeper and far stronger than any obstacle that you will ever encounter!
Life at the Hill and Upcoming Events
OUAC Deadlines June 1st is the deadline to respond to an offer from an Ontario University. Applications that were submitted in January will have received a response and your confirmation status can be viewed through the OUAC service.The OUAC will have sent an email on Friday to all applicants who have not yet responded. The email had specific instructions on how to respond to an offer of admission. If you have questions about the admission process, marks or the possibility of deferral, please contact guidance@thehillacademy.com.
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.
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.
Hill Lacrosse and Hockey
Our weeks continue to be full of high level remote training, complimented by inspirational guest speakers, but I think the most valuable aspect to our remote learning has been the daily mentorship from our Hill coaching staff. I want to acknowledge our coaches for all the behind the scenes work, reaching out individually to players, providing direction, and focusing on the controllable aspects of our new routine. Weekly Highlights: -Director of High Performance for the Toronto Blue Jay Angus Mumford joined us for our weekly Leadership Series. One of his many great messages was: difficult situations can be looked at as threats or opportunities and he encouraged our student athletes to maintain an "opportunity" mindset. -Hill Alum Kyle Whitlow joined our boys lacrosse program to reflect on his time at The Hill, his career at Marquette University, and his recent experience starting and operating his own business. There were so many relatable messages for our current student athletes and it is good for them to have perspective on those that have come before them at The Hill. If you get the chance, check out his bakery The Sweet Oven! We are proud of the success that Kyle has had both on and off the field and I hope our players could see a little of themselves in Kyle and draw some inspiration. -To mix things up, our hockey program hosted high level soccer coach Derek Salvador. We thought it would be fun for the players to experience a new activity and learn some transferable athletic skills. Just like our normal routine, the expectation is students attend all our of programmed sessions. We are aware that everyone has unique situations at home and we are understanding. We hope that regardless of circumstance, our students can continue to communicate with coaches and keep us up to date. Our goal is to continue to hold the student- athletes to a high standard. If players are looking for an extra edge, our strength and conditioning coaches continue to run speciality training sessions every Tuesday, Thursday, Friday at 4 pm. We are approaching the finish line and as coach O'Connor reminded our student- athletes, "finish through the tape!"
We are excited to launch our remote training summer platform, providing access to our Hill coaches and programming throughout the summer time. We have some fun and exciting things planned and the focus will be on skill development and overall hockey and lacrosse mentorship.
Hill Performance As we approach the final stretch of the school year a common theme to reiterate is the idea of finishing strong. Our situation has changed, but process and expectations remain the same. Put in your best possible effort these next two weeks and be proud of the work you put in and finishing what you set out to accomplish this year.
This week our students were given the opportunity to catch up on past submissions and assignments. This upcoming week students will receive their final task which is to be completed before the end of the school year.