Pickup for all back to school items will be held on Friday, August 14th from 10am-4pm! While we aren’t allowed into the building, parents and students can still drive through to pick up all of their ordered merchandise (Marketplace orders, yearbooks from last year, preordered Sprout school supplies, open house items, and more)! We plan to collect Library books from last year, as well. Stay tuned for more details!
Click here in case you missed the Virtual Principal Coffee on Thursday.
Below are a list of parent-led Facebook pages for each grade level. Hill PTA will occasionally also send pertinent information that will be posted. This is not monitored by the Hill PTA. The Hill Elementary Facebook and Instagram handles are below as well for your reference.
PK: 2020-2021 Pre-K Dillos
Kinder: 2020-2021 Dillo Kindergarten
1st: 2020-2021 First Grade Dillos
2nd: 2020 – 2021 2nd grade Dillos
3rd: 2020-2021 Third Grade Dillos
4th: 4th Grade Hill Dillos
5th: Fifth Grade Dillos
Hill PTA Instagram: @hillelementarypta
Hill PTA Facebook: @hillelementarypta
Please email dillodetails@hillelementary if you have trouble joining.
Merchandise Orders DUE Wednesday!
LAST CHANCE to order your NEW Hill Merchandise for the 2020-21 school year. ORDER BY MIDNIGHT, WEDNESDAY, July 22! All orders placed during this window will be ready for pick up at Open House, more details to come. CLICK HERE to order.
Please contact hilltshirts@hillelementary.com with questions.
2019-2020 Yearbook Orders DUE Wednesday!
Did you forget to order a yearbook for the 2019-2020 school year? Not to worry! 2019-2020 Yearbooks are on sale through WEDNESDAY, July 22. Click here to order. Yearbooks will be available for pick up during Open House along with all your Dillo merchandise and school supplies (more details to come).
Virtual Principal Coffee THIS Thursday!
Don’t forget to join Principal Drummond THIS THURSDAY, July 23rd at 10:00am for a virtual Principal Coffee. In order to help us prepare, you are invited to complete this Google Form to submit your top questions you currently have. While every question may not be answerable at this time, it will help us prepare for the most common questions and to see what further information we need to gather.
Hill Principal Coffee 7/23
Time: Jul 23, 2020 10:00 AM Central Time (US and Canada)
Meeting ID: 837 7632 2672
Password: dillos
Join Zoom Meeting
Dear Hill Community,
We hope everyone is having a nice week of summer. We will plan to give a weekly update through your email and the PTA newsletter each week for the remainder of summer so all of our families have the most up to date information.
Hopefully everyone was able to view Dr. Cruz’s video with some updated information on school reopening. Since then, we had the announcement that learning for all students will begin online for the first 3 weeks of school, with no in-person learning on any campus during that period. This decision is based on the health order from the Austin-Travis County Health Authority which prohibits in-person instruction or student activities on campuses for any public or private school through September 7th. We know this creates hardship for some families during an already tough time. We appreciate everyone’s understanding and flexibility. This is an opportunity for us to ensure the safest possible start to school with more time to prepare for students on campus, as we see decisions and changes still being made weekly at many levels.
With this decision, we were also updated this week that the district is continuing to move forward with securing 24,000 Ipads to distribute to any PK-2nd grade students who need them for at-home learning. The distribution method is still being developed with more information to come soon.
The data from the district’s June Family Pulse Survey has been made available to help us with planning for the upcoming semester. Based on responses, 42% of families reported they intend to send their student(s) to campus for learning, 41% reported they intend to send their student(s) to campus conditionally, and 17% reported they would not be sending their student to physical campus as we begin the semester. Obviously, we know these numbers are not final and will change based on many factors. A second Pulse Survey will be sent out in the coming weeks. Thank you for taking the time to give us this crucial information on your intentions for when in-person learning is possible!
We look forward to seeing anyone who can make it at our first Principal Coffee coming up this week on Thursday, July 23rd, at 10:00 am. Here is the Zoom information:
Hill Principal Coffee 7/23
Time: Jul 23, 2020 10:00 AM Central Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 837 7632 2672
Password: dillos
In order to help us prepare, you are invited to complete this Google Form to submit your top questions you currently have. While every question may not be answerable at this time, it will help us prepare for the most common questions and to see what further information we need to gather. Thank you for helping us to make this Principal Coffee as useful as possible for our families. We will plan to have an August Principal Coffee prior to school beginning as well.
While the unknown right now is not comfortable and not ideal, the one thing we do know is that our staff cannot wait to connect with your students again. Enjoy the last full week of July and see you on Thursday!
Principal Drummond
The LAST DAY to order your NEW Hill Merchandise for the 2020-21 school year is THIS WEDNESDAY, July 22! We’re super excited to share our redesigned Hill T-shirts and hats along with a few extra goodies for the upcoming school year. Pre-order NOW – July 22! All orders placed during this window will be ready for pick up at Open House, more details to come.
We are also excited to be supporting our 5th graders this year with a portion of all sales going to their 5th grade legacy project. This year has a lot of uncertainty but what we do know is, we are all here as a community and family to support our Hill Dillos!
CLICK HERE to order.
QUESTIONS? CONTACT: hilltshirts@hillelementary.com
Please join Principal Drummond THIS THURSDAY, July 23rd at 10:00am for a virtual Principal Coffee. In order to help us prepare, you are invited to complete this Google Form to submit your top questions you currently have. While every question may not be answerable at this time, it will help us prepare for the most common questions and to see what further information we need to gather. Thank you for helping us to make this Principal Coffee as useful as possible for our families. We will plan to have an August Principal Coffee prior to school beginning as well.
Topic: Hill Principal Coffee 7/23
Time: Jul 23, 2020 10:00 AM Central Time (US and Canada)
Meeting ID: 837 7632 2672
Password: dillos
Join Zoom Meeting
Dear Hill Community,
I wanted to give everyone a quick update as we have entered the month of July. As you can see, baby James is combating the heat with a new love for the water. He is getting too big too fast!
As you may have seen earlier this week, the Texas Education Agency provided updated guidance on the reopening of schools in the fall. It stated that families will have the option of either 100% on-campus learning or 100% virtual at-home learning. It also outlined some steps for screening any individual who comes onto campus once we reopen. You can check the new release linked here for the information outlined.
With this new guidance, we will work as leaders in the Austin Independent School District to finalize our planning and procedures for a successful beginning to the school year on August 18th. We will focus on logistics and safety first, to ensure we create the safest possible environment for all students who will be physically attending campus to begin the fall. Some steps for this have been outlined and shared through the AISD Summer Vision updates you can find here. The July 2nd edition shared safety protocols from the district, including possible draft schedules to give parents an idea of what a day may look like. As you know, much can change in the next month depending on decisions by the state. We will continue to keep everyone updated regularly.
While we have been planning for this state guidance being likely in recent weeks, we still have a lot of work to do and questions to answer in regards to the logistical challenge of students attending campus each day with the current safety protocols stated. Still, we want to ensure all families have an opportunity to receive up to date information and ask questions through a Principal Coffee we will plan to hold on Thursday, July 23rd, at 10:00 am. This will not be the last of the summer but will hopefully help our families with decisions they may still be considering in regards to student learning at Hill School. With many meetings being called regularly by district leadership, the date/time may need to be tentative. We will communicate any changes ASAP.
Hill Principal Coffee 7/23
Time: Jul 23, 2020 10:00 AM Central Time (US and Canada)
Meeting ID: 837 7632 2672
Password: dillos
Join Zoom Meeting
Thank you to all of our families who completed the first round of Family Pulse surveys sent out in June to help us with planning. This information is crucial and please know that at least one more survey will be coming out in the coming weeks. Please take the time to complete the next survey and help us with planning! Knowing numbers of attending families and their concerns will ensure we are ready as the school year approaches to meet the needs of our community. It is appreciated.
If you haven’t driven by school recently, major progress has been made on our extended front circle drive that will take cars off of the street during drop-off and pick-up, supporting safety around campus. The land behind our school has been elevated and leveled as we prepare for pouring the foundations of our modernized studio neighborhood and fitness space. It is wonderful to see the future of Hill coming to fruition!
Lastly, if you haven’t checked out the amazing merchandise available for purchase to help support our PTA and 5th graders, make sure you visit the online marketplace to see cool shirts, hats, stickers, and more. A special thank you to our volunteers who worked so hard on this! Be sure to place your orders by July 22nd to have your order ready as school begins.
Thank you for your continued patience, engagement, and support as we plan for the best possible return to school in the fall. Know that we will work closely with our families to make this complicated situation workable, whether on campus or online, to best support our students. Have a great weekend!
Principal Drummond
Hill Elementary is a blue ribbon school located in Northwest Hills in Austin, Texas. It serves the communities of Northwest Hills, Great Hills, Lakewood and Jester Estates, near the greenbelts of northwest Austin.
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