Hawk News from the Principal

Dear River Hill Families,

I hope you were able to take advantage of the beautiful weather we experienced this weekend. If you are like me, you were wondering if we are indeed at the end of October as temperatures soared into the 80s! Despite the weather, this past week marked our school’s fall athletics foray into the postseason. This is an exciting time.

First up is golf. River Hill sent a team of four into the state championship last Wednesday – Benjamin Siriboury, Helen Yeung, Michelle Yeung, and Mark Berg. The team crushed the competition, taking home the state title, with one of the largest margins in tournament history – 41 shot difference between them and the next team! Congratulations to Benjamin, Helen, Michelle, and Mark! However, River Hill was not done dominating the tournament, seniors Helen Yeung and Benjamin Siriboury found themselves in contention for the boys and girls individual titles. Helen crushed her competition taking home the individual girls title and Benjamin found himself in a playoff for the state title finishing second. A fantastic showing for our school as we took home the Maryland 4A/3A Golf Team State Title and the Individual Girls 4A/3A State Title. Congratulations to Coach Graves and the entire team on a great season! As a golfer, it was a pleasure to watch them play!

Next is soccer. Yesterday’s beautiful weather set the stage for a great double-header of soccer. The afternoon began with our boys going up against Oakland Mills in the first round of the playoffs. The Scorpions came out strong against our Hawks scoring first. However, our boys were not to be outdone coming back in the second half with two goals to capture the win, 2-1. It was an exciting game with the highlight being a stopped penalty kick by goalie Zach Glass to prevent Oakland Mills from scoring! After the boys win, it was time for the girls to take the field against the Atholton Raiders. It was a tight game with our girls pulling off the victory 1-0. Both teams will now face the Reservoir Gators in another double-header on Tuesday. Boys at 5pm and girls at 7PM. I hope you can come out to support!

This week will see our cross country team, field hockey, and football teams in action. The Cross Country Regionals will be held at River Hill on Thursday. Our field hockey team will battle the Centennial Eagles on Tuesday for the Regional Championship. Our football team will host Oakland Mills on Friday evening for the first round of the playoffs. We wish all of our teams the very best!

This Wednesday’s HawkTime will be devoted to winter athletics. Information sessions will be held during this time for anyone interested in a winter sport. Information on winter athletics can be found below.

On another note, last week I provided information regarding parent conferences next month. Please see the info below. The window will open next week for scheduling those conferences.

REMINDER – School Closes 3 hrs Early this Tuesday, Oct. 31.

Have a great week!

Warmest regards,

Robert A. Motley

Principal

The window to set up conferences will open on November 6 and close on November 16. As in years past, we ask that parents adhere to the following guidelines when scheduling your conferences:

• November 6 & 7 will be reserved for scheduling of conferences for students with a grade of “C” or lower

• November 8 conference scheduling open for all

Conference Information

• On Monday, November 21, conferences will be in-person only. Teachers will hold all conferences in person at River Hill, and parents may only attend their scheduled conferences in person.

• All conferences will be held in-person or virtually on Tuesday, November 22, and Wednesday, November 23 (teacher discretion). Please note that most teachers elect to conduct evening conferences on Monday and Tuesday in lieu of holding conferences on Wednesday.

  
  

Instructions for Sports Registration (additional attachment provided with instructions as well): DUE BY: Friday, November 11 (DO NOT SEND DOCUMENTS VIA EMAIL; FOLLOW ALL DIRECTIONS)

1. Go to https://www.hcpss.org/connect/Links to an external site. *Do NOT use your Mobile Phone

2. Login to your HCPSS Connect Portal (Parents & Guardian MUST use the parental login. Using your students log in info. will not allow you to register); Once logged in, go to the menu on the left and click the bottom option More Options (Family File, Reports Cards, etc.). ​If you have more than one student make sure you have selected the student from the drop down menu at the top of the page.)

3. Click on Athletic Registration on the right hand side Menu, select the correct season Fall/Winter/Spring;

4. Complete all of the forms: Parent Authorization Form, Sudden Cardiac Arrest Form, Concussion, please complete all additional documents…Do not skip or leave any boxes blank.

5. Physical Examination Form: Verification of an examination within 12 months of the tryout date for the particular sport must be submitted in each academic year of participation. Upload ALL pages of the Physical Examination Form. Older physicals will not be accepted. https://www.hcpss.org/athletics/forms-and-guidelines/Links to an external site. (Physical Forms can be found here to bring to doctor’s office) If you are having trouble getting a doctor’s appointment try this: https://riverhill.membershiptoolkit.com/physicalsLinks to an external site.

6. Upload a RECENT Utility bill (Dated September 1, 2023 OR later), it must be the actual bill. Older Utility bills will NOT be accepted. Utility examples: BGE, Water OR Cable Bill ONLY (Must match address the school has on file for enrollment). **No Cell Phone Bills will be accepted**

Common Errors:

• File size may be too big on downloads. Make sure document is under 4MB

• Just because forms have been submitted, that does not necessarily mean they have been accepted

• AAM will go through to ensure proper dates, signatures, boxes checked off, address matches Synergy address.

**Reminder Physicals for Athletics are different from those used to register to attend school. The Athletic Physical includes a Clearance without restrictions by Medical Staff.

Please, make sure physicals have all signatures (Parent/Guardian, Athlete, and Physician) before scanning and uploading.

**Returning Athletes-If a Student Athlete is returning from Fall to play Winter and/or Spring season and wants to use the fall physical, parent/guardian will need to click the checkbox (option to use physical on file dated) and save. Otherwise, it’ll wait for a new one to be uploaded. Reminder, returning athletes will still need to complete permission information and upload a new utility bill.

Academic Eligibility for Athletics

For high school, a full-time student earns academic eligibility to participate in extracurricular activities by maintaining a 2.0 grade-point average (GPA), calculated using credit or non-credit courses, with no more than one failing grade for the marking period which governs eligibility for that activity.

*All Students: 1st Quarter Grades are used for winter athletic eligibility

River Hill H.S. Winter Athletics Coaches Contacts: For sport-specific information

Allied Bowling: Kelley_Pfeffekorn@hcpss.org (Kelley Pfefferkorn): Reach out to Coach Pfefferkorn for details

Boys Basketball: Matthew_Graves@hcpss.org (Matt Graves)

Girls Basketball: Teresa_Waters@hcpss.org (Teresa Waters)

Cheerleading: Jessica_Garry@hcpss.org (Jess Garry)

Indoor Track & Field: sprinterace1984@gmail.com & ammschmidt@gmail.com (Donnie Richmond & Ammera Schmidt)

Wrestling: Remy2747@gmail.com & tperkins5186@yahoo.com (Jeff Rermgosakul & Thomas Perkins)

*What to Bring: Water bottle (large size), sneakers (basketball/cheer/track), wrestling shoes/headgear (wrestling), athletic clothing for all; be prepared for outdoors for track. Please contact your sport specific coaches for questions about equipment and scheduling.

*Anyone who is planning to try out for a team should be sure to check with sport specific coaches on schedules/details; once tryouts are completed, all teams will begin official team practices, scrimmages and then games. Winter sports participants should be prepared to potentially play during holiday breaks as well. Refer to your coaches for scheduling details.

October 31 – School Closes 3 hrs Early / End of 1st Marking Period

November 20 -- School Closes 3 hrs Early / Parent Conferences

November 21 -- School Closes 3 hrs Early / Parent Conferences

November 22 -- No School for Students / Parent Conferences

November 23 - 24 -- School Closed / Thanksgiving Break

PTSA and Boosters

Email: Robert_Motley@hcpss.org
Website: www.rhhs.hcpss.org
Location: 12101 Clarksville Pike, Clarksville, MD, USA
Phone: (410) 313-7120