HDHS Hillcat Newsletter

Dear Hillcat Families,

Our Parent Advisory Meeting will be Thursday, February 20, 2025 in the High School Media Center from 6:00-7:00 p.m. We attached a link to a survey to gather information on topics you would like to discuss during our meetings. Please take a minute to complete the survey so we can facilitate an engaging and collaborative discussion.

https://forms.gle/ZDgqwZsrvHEzrLEM7

Thank you,

Mr. O'Rourke

Principal

- End of Semester 1 January 17th

- Early Release Day for students January 17th

- No School Monday January 20th

- Start of semester 2 January 21st

FAFSA Support for Seniors and their Families: The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) opened on December 1st! All students who are planning or considering applying for college, trade programs, or certificate programs should apply for their FAFSA. For additional information and assistance, please reach out to your School Counselor. You can also access more resources through Granite Edvance File Your FAFSA. One-on-one appointments are available through Granite Edvance and can be set up by emailing: findyourdirection@graniteedvance.org.

Reminder: Semester 2 starts on January 21st! Students will receive copies of their Semester 2 schedules in Advisory on Thursday, January 16th. Schedules are also accessible in PowerSchool by toggling to "Semester 2" in the upper right hand corner. Students will be allowed to make Semester 2 course schedule changes until the end of the day on January 27th in accordance with our add/drop policy. If you have any questions please reach out to your student's school counselor.

Attention Sophomores: All Sophomores will be meeting with Concord Regional Technical Center (CRTC) at school on January 22nd during PREP. This overview will provide information about all of the programs CRTC has to offer, allow students to meet instructors, and learn about the application process. There will be a CRTC Class Preview Day field trip to Concord on February 4th. Permission slips will be available starting January 22nd and will be due to the Counseling Center by January 28th. Applications for the 2025-2026 CRTC school year will open on February 1st.

The class of 2028 is hosting this year's Winter Carnival Dance to raise money for their class going forward. This year the dance will be on Friday February 14th from 7-9pm in the Hillsboro-Deering High School Cafeteria. Admission for students will be $5 per student. So whether you would like to celebrate Valentine's Day with someone special or need a dance party before all the candy goes on sale. We look forward to seeing you at the Sweetheart Dance.

Parents are families interested and able to donate, drinks, snacks, candy, and or Valentines decorations to help the Freshman class raise money. That would be greatly appreciated.

As a reminder, there is after school academic support offered every Tuesday and Thursday after school from 2:30-3:30. Anyone is welcome!! No need to schedule, just drop in and get work done with the support of certified teachers. Please encourage your students to utilize this resource.

Join us for the Construction Careers Fair at Hillsboro-Deering High School, where students and the local community can explore exciting opportunities in the construction industry. This event will feature representatives from construction companies, hands-on demonstrations, and insights into various career paths, from carpentry to plumbing and HVAC. Discover how the construction field is evolving and the skills needed to build a successful future. Don't miss this chance to connect with industry professionals and learn about the diverse career opportunities. Also, there will be raffles for prizes as well as food available. Don't miss this exciting opportunity for our community!

The HDHS Jiu-Jitsu club is having a great year. We had roughly a dozen students begin training at the start of this school year. We continue to add new members. The students training here are rapidly improving in their skill in and knowledge of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Newcomers are always welcome.

The club has been in operation since 2016. We train Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu which is an art that emphasizes using leverage and position to take down an opponent, pin them, and submit them using strangles and joint locks. Mr. Denslow has been training since 2008 and greatly enjoys sharing his knowledge of this martial art.

There is still time for students to register for the Greece trip, Grecian Odyssey. If you are planning to join us, you can enroll using this link: www.eftours.com/2842710HR. If you would prefer to enroll over the phone, please contact EF’s Traveler Support Team at 800-665-5364. Please reach out to Michelle Prentiss at mprentiss@hdsd.org or Jeramy Thompson at jthompson@hdsd.org you have any questions!

The Hillsboro-Deering Drama Club is excited to announce its first production, Puffs showing on Friday, January 24th at 7:00 pm and Saturday, January 25th at 1:00 and 7:00. This 110 minute play is in two acts with a 15 minute intermission. Tickets are $5.00 for adults, $3.00 for students and Children 5 and under are free. Proceeds from ticket sales will be used to offset expenses incurred for this performance and for future performances.

Members of the HDHS National Honor Society visited Ms. Murdough's and Mrs. Whipps's kindergarten classrooms for a read-aloud of Bear Snores On. They made character puppets and chatted about the story.

The HDHS DECA Chapter has 36 students preparing to compete at the NH DECA State Competition this year. It will be a very competitive year as there are over 600 students from around NH competing.

Round 2 of the Virtual Business competition started on January 14th and will conclude on Friday January 24th. You can follow our Virtual Business teams at: https://www.knowledgematters.com/high-school/competitions/deca/. Good luck to those teams competing!

The chapter also earned THRIVE in the Chapter Campaign earning them a pennant, flag and plaque as well as qualifies them to send 2 students to ICDC in Orlando, Florida. Congratulations on this achievement!!

Students in Mrs. Gehrig's Photography and Design class have been learning about creating effects with light and shadow. In the upcoming weeks they will be working with various subject matter and techniques to emphasize light and shadow in their digital photographs.

Band and Chorus Concert

The band and chorus concert takes place on Wednesday, January 15th at 7:00 pm in the Middle School following the middle school's band and chorus concert. Their next concert will take place on Wednesday, May 21st.

Monadnock Valley Music Festival

The Monadnock Valley Music Festival's concert takes place on Saturday, January 18th. Jadelyn Baez, Victoria Brown, Christopher Gordon, David Kopf, Valarie Rife, Kairi Sparrow, Justice Trombly, Noah Welch, and Skylar West were all nominated and selected to participate in this regional festival.

Students in Health/Wellness 2 completed a board game performance assessment to demonstrate their understanding of various drug categories, impacts of substances on the body, and impacts on the various dimensions of wellness. They participated in playing the games their peers created to learn about the topics their peers studied as well!

After reading the memoir Night, by Elie Wiesel, students in Mrs. Prentiss's English 9 classes completed a Sentences that Resonate Project, identifying powerful sentences based on symbolism and themes throughout the book, creating a visual illustrating those sentences, and writing papers analyzing their significance. Students produced some excellent writing and some beautiful artwork.

The theme for January is Local Business. Staff will be wearing attire promoting local businesses in town every Wednesday during the month. The February theme is going to be Cancer Awareness. Staff will be wearing a color in support bringing awareness to different forms of cancer affecting us all in different ways. Students are more than welcome to join in on the theme with staff.