Updates and Alerts

Read the Guest Column in the December 16 issue of the San Mateo Daily Journal authored by Hillsdale's Brett Stevenson and Roseanne Foust, President of San Mateo County Economic Development Association:

 

The playing field isn’t uneven, it’s broken — here’s how to fix it

When the bell rings at the end of the day at Hillsdale High School in San Mateo, students walk outside to vastly different worlds depending on their family’s income. Many students walk home to houses worth $2 million or more.

Other students may have to wait until 9 p.m. when they can enter someone else’s apartment where their family rents floor space for the night. They unfold a blanket and sleep until 7 a.m., when they have to be out. Or they may live in a small apartment with another family working together to pay rent in one of the least affordable places to live in the country. The wealth gap in San Mateo is creating an ever-widening opportunity gap for students in our community. 

Read more.

Hillsdale Community, 

If you have been considering joining the fight to help Hillsdale address food insecurity in our community, NOW is the time. One hour a week or month, volunteering at our Peace Pantry, on a Friday morning would make a huge difference in supporting Hillsdale families with a week’s worth of groceries. Our new Farmers Market format needs additional volunteers to ensure this support continues in 2025. If you would like to volunteer at our Peace Pantry this Friday OR in November please sign up. 

Gratitude is our theme in Empowerment Through Action (ETA) for the month of November. We are grateful for our partnership with Second Harvest Food Bank. October 25th marked a major shift from a Food Drive Thru to a Farmer’s Market model at our Peace Pantry. (see photos below) We believe this new model will directly benefit our families with our ability to offer individual choice for weekly groceries. However, we are in need of more volunteers on Friday mornings with this new model. We are beyond thankful for all of the extra support we received last Friday.

On October 25, we also hosted our Third Annual Harvest Dinner in the garden. Resident Chef PJ prepared a homemade dinner as folks enjoyed being in community together on a beautiful fall evening. At our Harvest Dinner, we expressed our gratitude and appreciation to our wonderful garden volunteer team. We also recognized a few individuals by presenting our first Annual Daniel Wolfsohn Master Gardener Award. To close the evening, we presented our 2024 Heart of a Knight Award to ETA parent and alumni parent volunteers who have made a significant impact on our community this year. Our Garden Team has worked tirelessly to harvest 1,794.93 pounds of organic fruits and vegetables this far in 2024. 

Hillsdale Stands Together!

---

Volunteer Opportunities

Peace Pantry

If you would like to volunteer at our Peace Pantry this Friday OR in November please sign up here. Our volunteer team meets in the Alameda Parking Lot every Friday morning at 7:00am (shift #1) and/or 7:30am (shift #2) to provide weekly groceries and essential items to families. Volunteers can sign up to help set up and/or work a station at our Farmer’s Market and/or break down. No experience required. 

Community Garden

If you are interested in joining our Community Garden Team please email bstevenson@smuhsd.org to learn more. We currently need Thursday harvest support from 3:30pm-5:00pm. All you need to do is show up. No experience required. Our Community Garden Team is currently producing a weekly harvest of organic fruits and vegetables which directly supports Hillsdale families enrolled in our Peace Pantry. *Please follow us on Instagram, @hhs_community_garden, for updates. *We need additional support in November putting a fresh layer of wood chips down to help prepare our garden for rain and winter.  

Community Closet

Our Community Closet Team is working hard on our Community Closet expansion project. Soon, students will be able to access a well designed space to shop for clothes and essential items. Our volunteer team is currently in need of (ONLY) men’s (high school age) jeans, Hillsdale gear/swag, new socks, new undershirts, shampoo/conditioner and essential items. We can accept donations every Wednesday from 2:45 - 4 p.m. OR Friday mornings from 7:30 - 8:30 a.m. in the Alameda Parking Lot. *Please follow us on Instagram @hhs_community_closet.

 

Congratulations to Hillsdale High School 12th grader Anya Lin - she recently was the recipient of the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition Youth Leader Award, presented at the August 29 14th Annual Silicon Valley Bicycle Summit. Anya was honored for her efforts to create a bike-friendly community in and around her school. Anya also spoke at the 14th Annual Silicon Valley Bicycle Summit about her club's efforts to improve the communities inside and outside of Hillsdale High School.

Anya serves as the co-president of Hillsdale High School Bike Club (with 12th grader Miles Kim) and her goals are to make biking more accessible, fun, and safe for everyone at school. The HHS Bike Club runs a bike lending program where they receive bikes from the local police department, refurbish them, and lend them out to students for free, ensuring that anyone who wants to ride a bike, will be able to have one. The Club also promotes biking through events like “Two-Wheel Tuesday”, where students and teachers have bike races in the courtyard, and “Ride for Pancakes Day”, which encourages green transportation. 

Additionally, as partners with the San Mateo Transportation Department and Alta Planning, the Bike Club has been actively making roads safer around campus. From participating in walk audits and planning sessions with city planners to assisting in project implementation, club members have successfully increased safety at key areas of congestion around the school.

The Class of 2025 Fundraiser Alumni Tailgate & BBQ is Friday, September 27 at Hillsdale's home football game vs Sacred Heart Prep! All are welcome to attend! 

See the flyer below to pre-order food. No same day sales! 

 

Hillsdale's 10th grade humanities team invites the Hillsdale community to the 30th Anniversary of the Battle at Dawn on Monday, September 16 at 6:45 a.m.! 

Visit the Sign-Up Genius link to help out!