Tag: The Hill School

Pottstown MLK Day observance at Hill School today at 4 pm

This comes from Rev. Vernon Ross, Jr., Pastor of Bethel AME Community Church.

You are invited to attend and to encourage your congregation, family, friends, and others to attend the Annual Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Celebration on Sunday, January 19, 2014 at 4:00 PM.

The Celebration will take place at The Hill School Center for the Arts, and the Pottstown Community Martin Luther King Choir will be singing.  Our special guest will be Mr. David Carlisle, Director of Music, Ms. Melanie R. Hill, Violinist, and Minister Adrien Gale, Soloist.

The proceeds of a free will offering will be given to the Pottstown School District to support their Math/STEM Programs.  This is a wonderful opportunity to help our youth in the Pottstown Community!   We hope to see you!

The Hill School Center for the Arts is located at 860 Beech Street, Pottstown, PA 19464.

Pottstown area non-profits: Grant opportunity!

It’s not too late to apply to the Hill School Student Philanthropy Council! Deadline is THIS MONDAY, JANUARY 20th. See details at this link and below:

The Hill School now is accepting applications from Pottstown-area nonprofit organizations for its Student Philanthropy Council (SPC) grant program. Interested organizations may download and submit a Request for Proposal. View and print a PDF of the Request for Proposal here. Completed applications must be submitted by Monday, January 20, 2014.The SPC was established in 2009 through a gift to The Hill School courtesy of Charles A. Frank III, Hill ’59, and his wife, Betty. Hill student participants solicit and evaluate local nonprofit requests for funding, and then award a total of $10,000 in grants each year. Last year, through the Franks’ leadership and the generosity of several other donors, The Student Philanthropy Council became an endowed program at the School with the establishment of The Student Philanthropy Council Endowment in honor of Kay and David Dougherty.

Last year, representatives of the SPC presented a total of $10,000, to four local organizations: Pottstown Downtown Improvement District Authority ($2,110); The Growing Center ($2,690); Montgomery Child Advocacy Project ($2,500); and the Pottstown Cluster of Religious Organizations ($2,700). Read more about the recipients of the 2013 grants.

The SPC is comprised of 12 students –  including co-presidents Sanobar Shaikh ’14 and Omeed Alidadi ’14 – who meet once a week to study the process of philanthropy and visit the sites of various organizations. Mrs. Amy Lehman, Hill’s experiential education coordinator, is the faculty adviser to the group. SPC members are chosen based on the quality of their applications, interviews, and their sincere ability to commit time to the group.

Hill School artist to showcase glass creations this Sunday

The Hill School is once again on Pottstown’s Historic House Tour, but this year there will be a special open house taking place at the Center for the Arts at 860 Beech Street. Hill’s Director of Security – and fellow girls’ basketball coach! – will be showcasing his glass-making and poetry. Please stop by to see this multi-talented artist in action and support The Mercury’s Operation Holiday.  See below for details in the press release provided by The Hill…

On Sunday, December 8th from 2pm to 7pm, Glass Tears founder Randal S. Doaty will be holding an open house at the Center for the Arts at the Hill School located at 860 Beech Street in Pottstown. Doaty is a local glass artist and poet who will be showcasing his Glass Tears creations and poetry, as well as selling his custom Glass Tears Christmas tree ornaments to visitors.

Doaty will be handcrafting special Christmas Tears ornaments with his flame working torch to sell as a fundraising effort. All of the proceeds from the sale of his custom creations will go to benefit the Pottstown Mercury’s Operation Holidays to benefit local families at Christmas. These special ornaments will only be sold at this special Open House event and are not available for sale at the Glass Tears webstore.

The Mercury’s stories of families facing difficult challenges during the holiday season inspired Doaty to offer his unique gifts to raise money for this local effort. Randal Doaty is currently the Director of Security at the Hill School. He is also known throughout the community as a real estate business man and former Chief of Police. On Sunday he will put on his artist’s hat and share another side.

The Glass Tears concept was born when Doaty noticed a scrap of glass sparkling in the sunlight in a scrap glass bucket at Taylor Backes glass studio in Boyertown. He remembers thinking “glass tear” when he saw glass dropping during a visit to the studio. Weeks later, Doaty commissioned his long-time friend and fellow glass artist Will Dexter to create a similar free standing glass teardrop as a sympathy gift for a good friend.

The original glass teardrop Dexter created was beautiful, but it had no voice. Doaty decided to pen the very first poem he had ever written entitled “Glass Tears”. The union of the glass art and the poetry became a winning combination. Others who saw the unique sympathy gift began to order them and the Glass Tears business was born. To date Doaty had written more than 400 Glass Tears poems and has also published his first book of poetry.

The original intent of the Glass Tears gift was an expression of sympathy, but today these gifts are used for a wide range of occasions. “Tears are the punctuation marks in life’s most powerful moments” says Doaty. His glass art and poetry are now used to convey messages of courage, hope, faith, joy, sorrow, friendship, thanks and much more. These special keepsakes have been sold around the world and as far away as Australia and Africa.

The special Christmas tree ornaments that Doaty will be crafting on Sunday are his special occasion tears represented by their unique colors glass. He has an emerald tear of hope, a blue Christmas teardrop for grief support, a purple tear of courage, a pink breast cancer battle tear, an ivory tear of love or faith, plus several more. He even has a black onyx “Biker’s Tear” that has become popular with motorcycle enthusiasts.

The ornaments and decorative hangers will sell for $15 each or two for $25. They will only be sold as fast as he can handcraft them at the event or while his supplies last. This is a great opportunity to help local families who cannot afford a special holiday of their own. Doaty hopes to inspire other local businesses to step in and support the Operation Holiday during these difficult economic times.

 

First Year Teacher Sprint

Well, this is the longest I’ve gone without posting here since starting the blog in April 2010. I ask for your understanding. I’m in the midst of a first-year-teacher sprint.

As many of you know, I started teaching English at The Hill School this past September. Well, actually, the training began in August, and I’ve been going non-stop ever since, figuring out how to fit in all the activities in the life of a boarding school teacher:  lesson plans, reading papers, grading and comments, seated meals, parents’ weekend, dorm duty, professional development, and, now, assisting with girls’ basketball.  Somehow I moved on-campus 5 weeks ago with all this swirling about; I’m not sure how that even happened, but it did!

I did manage to squeeze in a few book events for the Legendary Locals of Pottstown. Laura Catalano wrote a wonderful article for The Mercury last week – Thank you to The Mercury and Laura! I also had the chance to attend a ceremony for the MOSAIC Community Garden, which was recognized with a Montgomery County Planning Award.  Here’s another nice Mercury article about the garden and the award. I do miss my Pottstown people and being in the midst of Pottstown’s happenings, but I also love being in the classroom, working with young people, talking about stories, teaching writing, and wrestling with ideas and the big questions about life that good literature raises.

I have not, however, given up on posting events here and on Facebook! It will likely come in spurts, though, whenever I can briefly switch gears.

Hope all is well with you, my dear readers and friends. I’m wishing you a joyous holiday season!

Peace,

Sue

 

 

 

Pottstown CARES initiative to be underway shortly…

Pottstown CARES: Part Two

 The second part of the CARES project will be a clean-up day TODAY, Friday, October 25 in a targeted area of Pottstown, from High Street north to Beech Street, and Hanover Street east to Edgewood Street.  All 505 Hill School students as well as Hill faculty and staff; 50 Pottstown High School students and numerous faculty members; and many Borough workers and officials will be dispersed to weed, pick up trash, and complete other “spruce up” tasks in public spaces in the core downtown area during this day of service that precedes National Make a Difference Day (October 26).  A team of volunteers also will work to beautify Edgewood Cemetery.

The CARES organizers estimate that a total of 700 students and adults will be contributing to the clean-up during the morning of October 25.

Last summer Borough residents were encouraged through a Mercury article and the Borough website to shares suggestions and requests for specific homeowner projects that might be tackled by the volunteers, in addition to general street and sidewalk clean-up.

The massive volunteer crew will assemble under Hill’s former hockey rink roof at 8:30 a.m. to receive instructions. Pre-organized teams then will disperse to their designated project areas until about 12:30 p.m., when they will return to Hill for a picnic lunch prepared by Sodexo, Hill’s food service provider.  Sodexo is generously donating the meals for all school district and borough volunteers as well as Hill students and personnel.

 After lunch, a celebratory group photo of all participants will be taken on Hill’s campus. 

 In addition, as part of the October 25 clean-up day, the Pottstown School District is running a blood drive from 7:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the high school. Individuals interested in making a donation at the Pottstown High School on October 25 may send an email to Pottstown faculty member Mark Agnew at magnew@pottstownsd.org or call him at 610-970-6707.

Hill’s fine woodworking class students are painting new planks for a park bench to donate for one of the MOSAIC community gardens. A team of volunteers is expected to help build new compost bins for the garden at 423 Chestnut Street. Also, Hill School art students and faculty will be canvassing neighbors to ask for input on the design of a public, downtown Pottstown mural they would like to create in partnership with Pottstown High School art students.

Numerous organizations have contributed funding, tools, supplies, or other support to the CARES project.  In addition to equipment being shared by each of the three entities involved – from rakes to a public address system – the United Way has generously donated $1,000 toward tool procurement in addition to loaning tools through their tool share program.  Home Depot made a greatly appreciated cash donation to the project as well. CARES project organizers wish to give special thanks to the Pottstown Police Department and the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department for their support.

Individuals who would like to donate work gloves, trash or leaf bags, or tools for this and future projects may take their items to Borough Hall at 100 E. High Street.

 Borough Manager Mark Flanders emphasized that Pottstown CARES is not intended to be a once and done affair, but a starting point that builds momentum for additional efforts that increase residents’ pride in Pottstown.

“It is my hope that this is the beginning of something bigger, and that, as time goes on, Pottstown CARES is a way of life for the residents of Pottstown – rather than a scheduled event,” Flanders noted.

Hill Headmaster Zack Lehman arranged for all 505 Hill students as well as faculty and staff to participate in the October 25 clean-up day.  He said he is excited about the synergy occurring between Hill, the Pottstown School District, and the Borough – and he is passionate about Hill’s involvement in the community.

“Hill was happy to provide the space for the community education event and to serve as the rallying point for the clean-up project,” Lehman said. “I see these CARES initiatives as the first of many cooperative projects.  Hill contributes to Pottstown in many ways, from our existing, highly engaged student community service program, to enthusiastic support of local businesses. We are eager to demonstrate our commitment to the town that has been Hill’s home for 163 years, and very happy to do so with our CARES partners.”

“Pottstown CARES provides community stakeholders with the opportunity to send the clear and inspirational message that, when working together, we are more effective in our actions,” said Dr. Jeff Sparagana, Pottstown superintendent.

“Together, we are Pottstown,” Sparagana said.

Boro, School District, and Hill School team up for Pottstown CARES 10/19 & 10/25

POTTSTOWN CARES PRESS RELEASE – PART I

Borough, Pottstown School District, and The Hill School

Combine Resources and Volunteers for

Two Pottstown CARES Events

Residents invited to free community resource and activities fair on October 19; 700 volunteers to embark on Pottstown clean-up set for October 25

 

POTTSTOWN, PA –Volunteers from the Borough of Pottstown, The Hill School, and the Pottstown School District will combine forces to demonstrate their care for our hometown in several tangible ways in a two-part, two-day event, with separate components planned for Saturday, October 19 and Friday, October 25.

This joint CARES (Community, Awareness, Responsibility, Empowerment, and Sustainability) endeavor was conceived last spring during conversations between Borough Manager Mark Flanders, Pottstown School Superintendent Jeff Sparagana, and Hill School Headmaster Zachary Lehman.  The three leaders envisioned a collaborative project that would help to “spruce up” a designated area in the core of Pottstown while also boosting community pride and awareness about Pottstown resources.  A small committee of representatives from these three key Pottstown entities began meeting late last spring; they sought feedback at a community forum held at the Ricketts Center in late June; and they have been meeting regularly since that time to manage myriad details for the project.

The first part of the CARES project will be a community education and activities day on Saturday, October 19.  (Please read below about the second CARES event on Friday, October 25.)  This free information fair on October 19 will occur rain or shine from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at The Hill School, under the former outdoor hockey rink located off Beech Street near Hill’s Center For The Arts.  Attendees may park in the Center For The Arts parking lot. The GPS address for this location is 860 Beech Street.

This October 19 community day will allow nonprofits and other Pottstown-focused, helpful organizations — ranging from arts and recreational organizations to the Bloodmobile, Reduxtech e-waste recyclers, and other service providers — to share free materials about their programs and talk with Pottstown residents.

A variety of free children’s activities will be available through the YMCA and other organizations, and the Masons will be doing child identification fingerprinting.   

Numerous local food vendors will be on hand selling various refreshments, from French fries to vegetarian foods.  Free, gently used office supplies also will be available at a “Get Organized Pottstown” station.

The Pottstown Cluster of Religious Communities will be accepting donations of food, clothing, and other essentials near the Center For The Arts parking lot in Hill’s old rink. Greatly needed items include: Canned soups and stews; canned prepared pasta; canned fruit; oatmeal; personal hygiene items; small bottles of  laundry detergent; cleaning supplies; socks; underwear; and coats.

In addition, the Chester County Pet Food Pantry will be accepting donations of pet foods, and Forgotten Cats will be represented.

An e-waste collector will be on hand to accept any old items that had electricity running through them.  The e-waste collection truck will be located in the Center For The Arts parking lot.

 The Miller-Keystone Blood Center Bloodmobile will take walk-in blood donations.  Registration for walk-in donations will be located in the lobby of Hill’s Center For The Arts.  People who would like to sign up in advance to donate blood on October 19 at The Hill may contact Jason Coady, a Hill teacher who is coordinating this effort, by emailing him at jcoady@thehill.org.  Also, CVS will provide a flu shot clinic from 12 to 2 p.m.; people interested in getting a flu shot should bring their insurance card if they have one.

A voter registration table will be set up and individuals will be there to help people with this process.

As part of the day’s activities, The Hill will provide two free screenings of an inspirational, multiple award-winning film about “the power of one” demonstrated by nine individuals on six continents, all of whom are working to make their communities a better place.  The film “Opening Our Eyes” (PG-13, www.openingoureyes.net) will be shown in The Hill School Center For The Arts at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. in the Green Room, located off the CFTA lobby.

Also, The Hill invites individuals to take a free, self-guided “Art Walk” architectural tour of Hill’s historic campus.   Interested guests should look for the Art Walk registration table under the rink roof, where they will be provided with a brochure and map of the tour sites as well as an Art Walk visitor badge.  All tours must begin by 3 p.m.

Additional organizations that have registered so far (as of October 10) to participate in the CARES information-sharing event include: Community Connections; Community First Development Corp., Inc; Children and Youth Services; the Colebrookdale Railroad; Genesis Housing Corporation; the Greater Pottstown Tennis Association; Habitat for Humanity of Montgomery County; the Montgomery County Health Department;  the Pottstown Borough, including the Codes Department; Pottstown Carousel; the Pottstown Downtown Improvement District Authority; the Pottstown Fourth of July Committee; the Pottstown High School Key Club; Pottsgrove Manor; Pottstown Memorial Medical Center; Pottstown MOSAIC; the Pottstown Office of Family Services of Montgomery County; Richard J. Ricketts Community Center/Olivet Boys and Girls Club; Sunnybrook Foundation; the United Way; the World War II Dance Committee; and the YMCA and YWCA.

Participating organizations are asked to complete registration and set up between 10 and 11 a.m. on October 19.    They should enter the site from the Center For The Arts parking lot off Beech Street.

MOSAIC Produce Stand Open Again this Saturday at Garden!

This comes to us from Laura Washington, MOSAIC Community Garden Manager…
The Produce and Information Stand will Open Again this Saturday at the Garden at 423 Chestnut Street!
 
Thanks to our generous garden members and our generous garden plots, we have plenty tomatoes, green peppers, herbs and local fruit for sale!
Stop by and pick up the latest copy of Organic Gardening or other information on food justice and where to buy fresh, wholesome foods in our local area!  We have a list of local organizations and companies who offer nothing but the best.  Pick up a copy during your garden visit this Saturday!
The stand and information stand will be open for business on Saturday, October 5th at 9:30 AM sharp!
 
Be sure to get there early so you don’t miss out on some of the super-fresh items being offered Saturday!  This may be your last chance…
 
 
MOSAIC is Popping UP Everywhere!  Catch Us “If You Can” at these LOCAL EVENTS!
 
MOSAIC has a table at this year’s Schuylkill River Festival
 
12pm to 6pm at Riverfront Park, 6pm to 8pm Art and Music on High Street. Music, Art, Kayak Rides, Stone Skipping Contest, “Artcicle” Recycled Bike Event, Historic Walking Tours, Petting Zoo, Food, Beer Garden and More!
Saturday, October 19, 2013 and Friday October 26, 2013
 
MOSAIC has a table on Oct. 19th at the Hill School and is lending a helping hand on the 25th along with the Hill School as part of the CARES endeavor!  CARES, which stands for Community, Awareness, Responsibility, Empowerment and Sustainability is a two-day event pioneered by the Hill School, the Borough of Pottstown and Pottstown School District.  
 
The events were designed to  increase community activism, spruce up Pottstown’s core neighborhood, and create momentum for additional efforts. 
 
The 19th is an information and awareness event being held at the Hill School.  The event will offer a variety of services and resources, including a blood drive.  If you would like to register to donate, please visit http://vols.pt/M8yrqe and select the time that’s best for you. Thank you!
 
October 25th is the day planned to spruce up Pottstown!  Please email me to find out more and to learn how you can be a part of this great opportunity!

CARES Project seeks resident input for spruce-up projects

The Pottstown CARES Project will debut on October 25th as a new kind of community cleanup day in Pottstown’s core neighborhood. CARES stands for Community, Awareness, Responsibility, Empowerment, and Sustainability. It is being organized by The Hill School, Pottstown Borough, and Pottstown School District, and will include participation by students and staff from all organizations. Right now the organizers are seeking input from residents in the form of concerns and suggestions for doable spruce-up projects that will, nevertheless, make a positive impact on the neighborhood bounded by High Street, Hanover Street, Beech Street, and Edgewood Street.

Requests can be e-mailed to PottstownCARES@pottstown.org.

The types of projects that could be undertaken might include painting a fence, cleaning up alleys, getting pot holes filled in, or weeds pulled from gutters and along sidewalks. Even if all the suggestions cannot be completed on Oct. 25th, the plan is to follow up with other CARES project days and the building of collaborative relationships to strengthen neighborhood pride, safety and appearance.

Property owners and residents who would like work done on their property will have to sign a waiver to allow volunteers to come onto their property. For more details, see Evan Brandt’s post here on The Digital Notebook.

Planning meeting this Tuesday for repair/clean-up day set for Oct. 25th

Brought to you by The Hill School and Evan Brandt’s Digital Notebook…

Residents and business owners of the Borough of Pottstown have the opportunity to share suggestions and requests for targeted neighborhood property repairs and general “clean-up” needs during a community conversation to be held at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, June 25 in the Ricketts Center, 640 Beech St., Pottstown.

During this gathering, representatives from the Borough, the Pottstown School District, and The Hill School will begin planning a collaborative volunteer project that will involve teams of personnel and students from these three entities on Friday, Oct. 25.

The Project is focusing on the core redevelopment area bounded by High Street, north to Beech Street, then from Hanover Street east to Edgewood Street.

Dubbed the Pottstown CARES Project — with CARES representing Community, Awareness, Responsibility, Empowerment, and Sustainability — this endeavor will utilize the efforts of The Hill School’s students, faculty, and staff; a dedicated group of Pottstown School District students and teachers; and a crew of Borough maintenance professionals.

Pottstown residents are encouraged to attend the meeting Tuesday evening to help organizers plan how to make a tangible impact on the borough on Oct. 25, both in terms of improved aesthetics and, ideally, heightened and sustainable Pottstown community spirit and commitment.

Light refreshments will be served.

For additional information, please contact Assistant Borough Manager Erika Weekley at 610-970-6515 or eweekley@pottstown.org.

Blog at WordPress.com.

Up ↑

%d bloggers like this: