Summer's Almost Here, Everyone!

June at Hillwood is very eventful: International Day, the Graduation/June Party, and the start of Hillwood's Summer Session.

International Day:
International/Heritage Day at Hillwood is always the first Friday of June every year. Students are allowed to come to school in their own cultural clothing, Hawaiian clothing, or uniforms and are encouraged to bring in any kind of dish that relates to their country. The food brought in is served for lunch which is around 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM. Parents were invited too for lunch and were welcome to stay for the June Talent Show which started at 1:30 PM to 2:45 PM.

During the talent show, everyone performed at least twice. Ms. Schmitt, as mentioned before, is the main person in charge of all talent shows. She always has each class sing at least two songs for the talent show. She also holds auditions for students who want to do additional performances. The Spanish teacher, Senorita Lydia, also has students perform brief plays in Spanish to show off our language skills.

Graduation/June Party:
The Graduation/June Party is also known as the last day of school. The party is held for graduating 8th graders and Kindergarteners. Every year, Hillwood's 8th graders get into excellent high schools around the Bay Area.

This fall: Julian will attend Tamalpais High School in Marin, Julien will attend SHCP or Galileo High in San Francisco, Irene will attend Oceana High School in Pacifica, and Brigette will attend School Of The Arts in San Francisco.

The Kindergarten students are also graduating to go to 1st grade - at Hillwood again! The Graduation Party includes the whole school singing 'The Star Spangled Banner', 'Amazing Grace', and the Hillwood Song, the valedictorian (Brigette) giving her speech, and all the graduates receive their diplomas. After the elaborate ritual, all the graduates go to the family room to celebrate with teachers, families, and friends.

Hillwood's Summer Program:
The last two weeks of June is the start of Hillwood's Summer Program. During June and July, going to Hillwood like a summer day camp. Students and other children are allowed to enroll for the summer program and everyday is full of fun activities.

Mrs. Grantz and Ms. Tom lead the children daily: they go to Altal Plaza Park, the library, Moscone Park, Marina Greens, and had picnics. We also went on weekly field trips to the Exploratorium and other museums.

A Note to Students as We Sprint Off from the Starting Line in 2010

New year, new decade, and even better, a chance to start again with a clean slate. 2010 is finally here and as we enter the new decade we remember the good times we had in 2009, but greatly look forward to the exciting things we will do and see this year. However just because it is a new year doesn't mean we don't all still have work to do and lives to lead, especially us busy students.

Students, we may breathe a sigh of relief as we have now survived the first semester of school and wait expectantly for our grades, but we have to remember the work never ends, especially for all those eighth graders out there. You have to keep your wits about you as you progress towards high school. Even I, a high school-er already, have heard that I should already be looking at colleges, and I'm a freshman! This is just one of those reminders that keeps us on our toes to prepare us for the future. After all we are the future of this country, and by extent our planet, but that is still a while away. For now we are free to study up and express ourselves.

So remember to keep up the hard work and Happy New Year to all.