Happenings

October 23, 2015
Cardboard Box Sleep Out





















On October 15th, over 50 Hill-Murray School students braved the cold and slept in cardboard boxes to express solidarity with the homeless. The "CardBoard Box City Sleep-Out" attracts over 500 Twin Cities youth annually to raise awareness about homelessness.  "Sowers of Justice" co-presidents Michelle Abbott and Val Schram organized Hill-Murray's 10th year of participation in this great night of service. 

"We always see the cardboard box event as a way to introduce students to the issue of homelessness," Michelle said.  

Val added, "It's a real student-friendly event, and after our students have done this event, they're eager to serve at Simpson shelter, march in the Homeless Memorial March, and participate in Lobby Day with the Minnesota Coalition for the Homelessness."  

"That's how we got started in social-justice activities at Hill-Murray," added Michelle.  

Hill-Murray students were responsible for serving dinner, snacks, and breakfast at the event.  They also danced to the beat of Sheltered Reality, a local percussion group.  Despite the cold, a great time was had by all.

Hill-Murray Students Share the Gift of Reading

Hill-Murray Middle School students spent the morning on October 13th, sharing the gift of reading with Children from Maple Tree Childcare. This event is a H-M tradition that spans almost 20 years.  Jane Rolnick read stories to start the morning, then H-M Middle School students assisted the children with making crafts and reading some of their favorite preschool books to the children.
L.I.F.E. Club Events

The Hill-Murray L.I.F.E. (Life Is For Everyone) Club is a Pro-Life presence on campus and in the community.  On October 3rd, Options For Women East (a local pregnancy resource center and clinic) held its annual Walk For Life.  Hill-Murray students, staff and faculty marched from St. Pascal's Church to the OFWE Clinic.  Once there, they took a tour of the clinic and got to see a real-time ultrasound (sonogram) of an 11-week-old fetus, courtesy of the daughter of OFWE's director, Vaunae Hansel.  Marchers also got to see OFWE's room full of baby items (clothing, furniture, diapers, etc.) that OFWE gives to women and babies in need.  Last Spring's baby bottle donations drive at H-M raised over $3000 for OFWE!  Baby items like the ones pictured above were purchased with some of that money.
 
October 6th, four students (Joe Head, Austin Kees, Molly Prior, and Angela Yarusso) and two staff members  (Sra. Head and Mrs. Yarusso) attended the Woodbury Life Resource Center's annual Gala at the Oakdale Prom Center.  Thank you to current H-M parent Mr. Tim McCarthy for funding this exciting opportunity for the L.I.F.E. Club. 

Hispanic Heritage Week

The first week of October, Hill-Murray students enjoyed celebrating Hispanic Heritage Week.  There was daily trivia for Chipotle gift cards, a contest where students could guess the amount of candy in the pi�ata, and our first ever Middle School only "Fun, Food, and Fiesta" celebration.  On Friday, students wore their Hill-Murray Spanish t-shirts, listened to music by famous Hispanics during passing time, and were entertained by the Mariachi group "En Vivo" during lunch.
Business Education Students Learn to Manage a Company

On October 13th, students in Mrs. Donnelly's business education classes participated in the Junior Achievement Titan Online Simulation.
Students competed in teams to determine which team could achieve the highest return on investment.  They learned about allocating
money for research and development, marketing, production, and other facets of running a business.  Tom O'Hern, Hill-Murray class of '97 facilitated this event.

Mrs. Lee Wins Teacher Appreciation Contest

Thanks to Hill-Murray parent Kristi Otto, H-M teacher Michelle Lee was one of 11 grand-prize winners in the Precision Roller's annual Teacher Appreciation Giveaway on Facebook.  The prize included a $50 Staples gift card, and a HUGE variety of basic classroom supplies as well as science bulletin board decorations.  Congratulations and thank you Michelle for being an amazing teacher to all Hill-Murray students!

We Need Your Used Shoes!

Illustrating Hill-Murray School's commitment to serving the poor and vulnerable in our society, senior Caitlin Noseworthy is calling on all members of our community to join her for her month-long shoe drive in November.  Backed by Hill-Murray's various social-justice clubs-Sowers of Justice; NHS; Student Council; C.A.R.E; and Link, Caitlin will be donating all of the shoes she receives to Simpson homeless shelter, where Hill-Murray has a long and profound relationship of service.  

Caitlin said, "I'd like to gather as many men's, women's and children's shoes as I can for Simpson.  The need of the guests of the shelter is overwhelming, and I hope everyone can help me out. Not only Hill-Murray students, teachers, staff, and administrators, but also parents, alumni, and friends of the school."  

As a member of NHS and "Sowers of Justice," Caitlin has been transformed by her service experiences.  "This is such a caring community.  We all care deeply about making a difference in the lives of those who are disadvantaged.  I know that service has become an integral part of who I am, and I hope my shoe drive will become an annual event and be led by Hill-Murray students long after I graduate this year."

Spa Day

On October 7th, Hill-Murray students participated in a "Pamper Me" event at Living Well Disability Services, where they spent the evening providing facials, foot and hand soaks, and painting nails.  The staff was impressed with the patience and care the students displayed to the residents.  The residents enjoyed their one-on-one time with the students and their special day at the "spa."

Middle School Service Team in Action



Hill-Murray's Middle School Service class teamed up with Grandma's Coats for Kids to collect winter gear for K-6 elementary students.  Grandma's Coats for Kids is a charity organization run by H-M Alumni Wendy Weber Kenneally ('79) and Mary Kay Schmitt ('68).  Our H-M Middle Schoolers collected 56 coats, 115 hats, 67 pairs of gloves, 30 scarves, 10 pairs of boots and 9 pairs of snow pants. The winter gear was distributed to students at Cowern Elementary on October 19th. 

Reuse Recycle!

Last week, Hill-Murray Middle School art students had a lot of fun decorating 70+ mini pumpkins & gourds that Nancy Lynch, Director of Taher Food Services, had left over from an event.  Thank you Nancy, and great work students!

Craft Items Needed for Makerspace
 
What is a Makerspace?  A Makerspace is a place where students can come and make, create, build, and design many different things.  A Makerspace helps create STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) connections.  Every Monday, after school, there will be a new activity available for students to try and to show off their creativity.  This area is open to all students in grades 6-12 in room 048.  Read more about Makerspaces at: http://makerspace.com/home-page.
 
In order to make this space possible we need your help!  If you have any of the items below that you would like to donate, it would be very much appreciated:

Construction paper
Yarn
Pipe cleaners
Popsicle sticks
Beads
Tissue Paper - both colored and white
Colored clay - like Sculpey (must be able to either air dry or be "baked" in an oven)
Knitting Needles and Crochet Hooks
Wire  (all colors)
Embroidery Floss (all colors)
Wooden Dowels (all sizes)
Paints (Poster or Acrylic)
Ribbon
Toothbrushes (not used)
Fabric (any type)
Any rubber or foam stamps or supplies
Glitter
Buttons
Fake Flowers
Pom Poms
Paper Punches (fun designs)
Scissors that cut with fun designs
Fun Duct Tape

Alumni Founders Speaker Series

The Alumni Founders are '62-'71 alumni of Hill High School and Archbishop Murray Memorial High School - our founding schools that merged in 1972 to form Hill-Murray School.  The goal of this series is to bring a wide variety of speakers to campus to promote life-long learning and the lively exchange of ideas.  Please join us for our first speaker:

Metro Transit Police Chief John Harrington
"The Evolution of Police Work Over the Years"
 
Monday, October 26th in the Hill-Murray Chapel and Commons
5:30-7:00pm - Wine and Cheese Social & Tours of the School
7:00pm - Chief Harrington
Free Will Offerings kindly accepted
Please RSVP with names of those attending by October 23rd to:
Christine Jones - cjones@hill-murray.org or 651-748-2410

 


Empowering Pioneer Parents Presentation

Upcoming Events:

 

P/T Conferences 3:30-7pm - November 4

Early Release - P/T Conferences 1-5pm - November 5

No School - November 6