The Hawks Nest #1
Hillview ASB, HawkTalk, & Mr. Darmanin - April 16, 2020
What is "The Hawks Nest"?
HawkTalk and ASB have combined to bring you this newsletter to help us all stay connected, stay spirited, and stay hopeful during these challenging times. Staying together while staying apart from one another is an important part of our own mental health. We aim to fill that role and bring that feeling of togetherness that is so important at school delivered right to your inbox every week.
The best part is each newsletter will be packed with news, activities, contests, surveys, school pride, written by students, for students. It is our sincere hope that you will take the opportunity to laugh, learn, and play along with us from home as we host virtual spirit weeks, photo contests, food competitions, and even the Hillview 2020 Talent Show on YouTube! That's right, YOU can be a part of our journey as we make the best of it. We will also have special announcements from our staff with resources we hope you can use. We look forward to bringing you content, including HawkTalk, and some good news when we need it the most.
We hope The Hawks Nest will help you remember the best part of school are people just like you. All of us are in this together... and while we sit at home in our nests for the remainder of the school year, it doesn't have to stop us from being together.
~Mr. Darmanin
The Show Must Go On...A Virtual Talent Show benefitting Second Harvest Food Bank SV
As our community deals with the COVID-19 public health crisis, neighbors experiencing or on the brink of poverty are disproportionately impacted. Working families who rely on hourly wages are scared as shifts and pay are being cut.
Second Harvest of Silicon Valley remains committed to providing nutritious food to anyone who needs it. Help Hillview Middle School reach our goal to help Second Harvest respond to the increased need and continue providing food all throughout Santa Clara and San Mateo counties!
All Acts Are 60 Seconds Each! A fast paced talent show perfect for YouTube!
Our 8th Grade ASB wants to continue our proud tradition of ending the school year with a talent show. Since we can't host it in our performing arts center, we have decided to make this special event a YouTube LiveStream spectacular with one simple rule....submit a video showing off your talent in 60 seconds or less from your home. We hope our fast paced talent show will keep you entertained while encouraging everyone to stay home for a night of entertainment as Hillview students wow you with.....well, we have no idea yet what they are going to do with only 60 seconds each, but I'm sure it will be somethin’ special!
Our goal is to have 6,000 live viewers tuned in and $6,000 for Second Harvest Food Bank during our livestream on Friday, May 15th at 6:30pm. Donate early or during the livestream!
Second Harvest Food Bank Donation Page for Live Stream: http://fundraise.shfb.org/goto/
YouTube Live Stream Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9mHAd6_Jsxz0u4_wYfPggA
Submit Your 60 Second Talent Videos: tinyurl.com/hvts2020
During these uncertain times, your gift will help bring our school community together and help the greater Bay Area community feel secure and stay healthy.
Sincerely,
Brian Darmanin
Student Activities and HawkTalk Director
ASB Elections? Coming Soon!!!
This year's candidates for office are:
ASB President
Brooke Fehrenbach
Tessa Goldman
Stephen Halsey
Abbie MacLeod
Kate McBride
Will Miller
Corbin Nam
Lily Nye
Ella Thomson
Activities Commissioner
Maddie Blunt
Elizabeth Chan
Alaina (Lainey) Egnal
Kelsey Kraska
Lauren Mrva
Varsha Sripadham
Hayden Frye
Art Publicity Chair
Lilah Chen
Mackenzie Danzig
Miller Scott
Kaylie Tedesco
Media and Photography Manager
Luna Brosamer
Sara Djafari
Arden Margulis
Teagan Murphy
Lexi Nelson
Ameya Nori
Sophia Rennison
Shiloh Robinson
William Sherman
Secretary
Izzy Enerio
Zoe Fong
Student Store Manager
Charlotte Hayhurst
Callie West
Paul Whelan
Treasurer
Aliana Marakovic
Addison (Addy) McCombs
Celeste Zucker
Check back on our next edition of Hawks Nest to find out how YOU get to view their speeches and cast your vote!!!
Hillview Staff Meeting on Zoom!
Hillview Social Distancing Staff Meeting
Keeping connected while staying apart
We miss you all so much!
7th Graders: Apply to W.E.B. (Where Everybody Belongs!)
WEB (Where Everybody Belongs)
Hillview Middle School WEB (Where Everybody Belongs) program is recruiting! The program here is run by teachers Jacky Schlegel, Rob Lawrence, and Kara Connelly.
The program is seeking current 7th-grade students, to help lead the 6th-grade orientation and welcome all new students.
Join the Google Classroom with the code 6hnu2uj to learn more information about the program, the application process and requirements.
The Hillview Counseling Connection
Feeling down about Distant Learning? Here are some feel good things you can do to boost your mood!
SOCIALIZE - “Facetime” or “Hangout” with friends, write letters to family and friends, or have a family game night!
Keep a GRATITUDE JOURNAL - Write down 3 things you are grateful for each day.
MEDITATE (we know, funny right) BUT IT WORKS! In fact, Multiple studies suggest that meditation can help lessen feelings of depression and anxiety.
GET OUTSIDE! - Move around, exercise, go for a walk or hike.
Start a new HOBBY - maybe skateboarding, sewing, or coloring! Ooooh COLORING!
Whatever you do, just do something. Things to avoid that make our moods low include:
Isolating ourselves from others.
Too much screen time.
Eating poorly.
Not getting enough sleep.
Here are some San Mateo COunty Resources that may be helpful if you are in need of support outside of school.
Youth & Family Mental Health Resource Guide
San Mateo County COVID-19 Community Resources: Behavioral Health, Food, Financial & Immigration Support
San Mateo County COVID-19 Community Resources: Behavioral Health, Food, Financial & Immigration Support (Spanish):
Wellness while Physical Distancing:
Take Care of Yourself and Reach Out If You Need Us - or even just to say Hello!
Ms. Johnson: csjohnson@mpcsd.org
Ms. Raczkowski: kraczkowski@mpcsd.org
Ms. Watts: rwatts@mpcsd.org
Stay Well - HV Counselors
YOUR TURN! We'd love to include you in our next newsletter!
Photo Challenge #1: The Weekly Wag!
Eclair showing off her shades
Wolverine with his cat, Fifi
Ms. Garagozzo's new work BFF. (sorry front office, you have been replaced!)
Ms. Briot and Boomer. He smells good!
Ms. R's Fam
Mr. Darmanin, daughter and their newly adopted Lilly Belle
HawkSquawk Poll! What do YOU think?!?
By: Elizabeth Furman
With all this free time on our hands, we’re bound to get a little bored, and for many, social media is the perfect deterrent! So the question is, which social media platforms have Hillview been spending their time on? Take this quick poll and see which are Hillview’s top time-spenders!
How Shelter in Place May Help Our Environment by Riona and Sophie (8th Grade)
While it is hard to stay motivated while being stuck at home, try to remember that this will not last forever. The government has put these measures in place for everyone's safety (not to make you bored out of your mind…). Staying in touch with friends and family can help you remember that you are not in this alone and hopefully we will all be back to our normal lives very soon. Setting up a Zoom, Google Meet, or Facetime with your relatives or friends can be very entertaining and great way to pass time.
During these confusing times, I think we all are in need of some good news! Due to the quantity of people staying home due to the coronavirus, the greenhouse gas emissions have decreased immensely. This is because there are not as many cars driving on the roads, and many factories have been shut down for the time being. Also, the oceans are clearing up and the marine animals have been thriving the past few weeks because all of the trash and chemicals that are dumped into the oceans have been slowly going away. Another piece of great news is that many cities are much cleaner than normal. For example, one city that has not seen blue skies in over ten years because all of their factories left their skies filled with greenhouse gas emissions, now has blue clear skies ever since they closed the factories.
As a result of having stores closed, and other public places, it means not as many public and personal transportation has been running. Because of this, the environment has benefited greatly. Smog has cleared from the air in China, and in Venice the water has cleaned up a new marine life as it has been able to swim through the canals. According to CNBC, Italy’s air quality has also improved. Pollution levels have dropped significantly and have been really changing the climate. A lot of people haven’t noticed this since most of the news revolves around the COVID-19, but our goal is to bring light to the different positive things happening around the world to better balance what is going on. Let’s use this time to realize how amazing our world is, and we need to start taking better care of it.
Overall, staying at home has done wonders for our world and its environment! This is a great time to realize how special our world is and how we need to take better care of it. Think of this as a reset. A clean slate with the world and a chance to help preserve its natural resources. While this good news might not particularly impact hillview students, we can use this information to help make great changes in the world and our daily lives!
Source: Good News Network
Mealworm Burgers and Cricket Bars
The answer to creating a sustainable future may finally be upon us: insects! Every year, huge amounts of energy and resources are put into the production of meat and other food products. These problems might have a solution, and it's been right under our noses all along. Insects, pound for pound, have way more protein than any other animal. They require much less energy to process, and, according to Bear Grylls, they don’t taste so bad, as well. Trillions of insects are already killed each year with pesticides. Now, scientists are realizing they might be more valuable than the crops they’re destroying. In a momentous vote, the EU is now taking steps to approve the selling of insect products, such as Six Foods, LLC’s new brand of chips, Chirps Chips (pictured), which are chips containing cricket. Whether you think it’s disgusting or delicious, bugs may be the key to creating a sustainable future for all of us.]
Designing Masks for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing by Dylan L.
For most teens, Social Distancing means a time to relax (and catch up on some much needed sleep). But for one college student, it means a chance to help others. Ashley Lawrence, a 21-year-old woman at Eastern Kentucky University, realized that masks can pose a problem for people who are deaf or hard of hearing.
When it comes to ASL (American Sign Language), lips can often matter just as much as hands.
ASL speakers need lip-reading to interpret grammar, so masks can be problematic. Lawrence came up with a simple and unique solution. Her mother taught her to sew, and she began sewing plastic windows on masks, to make peoples’ mouths visible.
Lawrence has been giving her masks to hospitals, as well as deaf individuals, entirely free of charge. She created a GoFundMe Campaign to support the shipping and making of her custom masks, but she shut it down in just two days after reaching her $3,300 goal.
Lawrence’s project (called the “NHH Mask Project”) began with a smaller group of volunteers, but she now has plans to create her own Facebook Page dedicated to spreading awareness for her new types of masks, and hopes people all over the world will follow in her footsteps and create more of her unique masks. Lawrence is even thinking about making a youtube tutorial on how to make one of her inventive masks.
Lawrence is an example of how we can all make a difference. Something as little as making/donating a mask can help someone in need. We all have the power to help our community during this time. It’s up to you to choose to.
Celebrate Earth Day...virtually!
Earth Week is next week!
Hillview 6th graders are having a live virtual Earth Day assembly from 10-10:30 am on Thursday, April 23rd. Anyone can enjoy the jugglingput on by Earth Capades. To watch, follow this link. Missed it? That's ok! That link will also hold the recorded version once the event is complete so you can access it anytime!
Music News: Dua Lipa - Future Nostalgia Review by Ashlyn R.
Hey Hawks, looking for some great new music to listen to? Look no further because I have a great tip on a new album release! While many prominent artists like Lady Gaga and Sam Smith have delayed their music releases due to the pandemic, rising star Dua Lipa decided to drop her sophomore album, Future Nostalgia, on March 27, seven days ahead of schedule. This album features already popular hits like ‘Don’t Start Now’ and ‘Physical’ alongside great new songs such as ‘Cool’ and ‘Hallucinate’.
Personally, my favorite track is ‘Levitating’, a fun, bubbly song about the feeling of falling in love. But while this early release may have seemed seamless to an outside observer, for Lipa herself, it was really stressful. In an interview for the New York Times, she said, “I would tell people that I want my next record to be like an organized mess… And then everything just got spun around and I was like, what happened to my organized mess?” She initially had doubts about releasing the album while so many people were struggling to adapt to social distancing, and she even considered pushing the release back to the summer.
However, after the album leaked onto the internet, Lipa made the big decision to release the album early and give her fans some comfort during this pandemic. So, if you are running out of new music to listen to or are just a Dua Lipa fan, listen to her new album Future Nostalgia available on most streaming services.
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/07/arts/music/dua-lipa-future-nostalgia-coronavirus.html
Hi Hawks! Mr. Haug here.
I filmed a brief message to you, and you can view this on the upcoming episode of HawkTalk (releasing soon!).
I wanted everyone to know how much we miss you. Your energy, enthusiasm, and smiling faces inspire us on a daily basis, and not having that definitely makes us feel sad. And I also want to say to you that going through challenging times like these help us become more resilient. It is an understatement that not returning to school this year is not an ideal situation, and yet we can find ways to make the best out of Distance Learning, we can rise to the challenge of being more in charge of our learning without the structure and physical presence of our teachers, and we can continue to connect to each other and keep our school community alive. So let’s make this a great Shelter in Place and a Great Distance Learning experience. The choice is always ours.
HILLVIEW BINGO! by Hailey H.
Do you wanna see what your other Hawks have done at Hillview?! Save/Screenshot the image below and markup the squares that you have completed! Once done, email your bingo board picture to hharris@mpcsd.org, or put it on your Instagram and tag @hillviewasb! How many square did you get?
What's Next on Nest?
In our next edition...
- HawkTalk!
- Results from the photo contests and poll with photos of you!
- An update on the ASB Election Ballot and Speeches!
- Brand new photo challenges and polls.
- Talent Show updates
...and so much more!