Updates and Alerts

The Rita Moreno Awards are regional awards recognizing outstanding achievement in high school musical theater from Kern and San Luis Obispo Counties in Southern California up to Calaveras County.

Hillsdale was nominated for Overall Production for Cabaret and student Grace McCollum was nominated for Lead Actress for her performance as Sally Bowles in Cabaret.

Congratulations to Grace, the Cast/Crew and Creative Team of Cabaret!

The weekend of March 15-16, the Hillsdale High Mock Trial team competed as one of 34 teams in the State Finals in Los Angeles (about 450 teams in California total). After four rounds of intense competition, they advanced to the Championship Round to compete for the top spot against Trinity Pacific Christian School from Ventura County, the reigning state champs.

After a very close final round with fantastic performance by both teams, HHS finished in 2nd place.  

In addition to the second place team finish, the following Mock Trial team members were also recognized: 

• Navya Sinha, witness portraying forensic expert Rae Forrest, received an MVP award in Round 1
• Melody Puls, prosecution pre-trialer, received an MVP award during the Championship Round
• Nikki Donovan, defense attorney, received an MVP award during all 3 rounds she competed in, and took home an Outstanding Defense Attorney award for the entire tournament 

Shout out out to Mock Trial coaches: Matt Springman (HHS Teacher), Arielle Sison (HHS Teacher), Noah Gross (HHS Mock Trial Alum), Brenda Adams (attorney), Mike Spillner (attorney and HHS Parent), Mirissa McMurray (attorney, HHS Mock Trial Alum and HHS Parent) and Bernard Shek (attorney and HHS parent).

Learn more about the Hillsdale High Mock Trial Team: https://www.hhsmocktrial.org/

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!

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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.

 

The Hillsdale Empowerment Thru Action Team recently attended the Santa Clara University School of Education and Counseling Psychology's Center for Professional Development and Latinx Research Center's Latiné/x Education Summit titled "Juntos Apoyando a Nuestras Familias."

The annual event brings together teachers, school administrators, and licensed mental health providers to explore the role of community-based practices to promote equity within the Latiné/x community.

The HHS ETA, including DeShawn Mitchell, Rachel Lauderdale, Brett Stevenson and Jeff Gilbert (pictured with Carmina Mendoza of Santa Clara University) led a presentation around how Empowerment Through Action uses a community school model to center Latine/x students' sense of belonging and sense of self through restorative practices, trauma literacy, and a series of empowering actions.