Hillbrook School | Reconnect: Alumni

New Pianos Bring Joy to our Music Classrooms!

12/14/2016

Erin Schwartz

Our students and teachers are enjoying the new pianos that have found homes in each of our music classrooms, two independent and generous contributions from Hillbrook families.

The Boe Family - Maria, Quintin, Hailey ('16), and Jacquiline Boe ('19) - donated the beautiful piano that is now making music in Elisabeth Crabtree's classroom. Hailey now attends Santa Catalina and Jacquiline is currently in 6th grade at Hillbrook.

The Bonelli Family - Shelley, Steve, AJ ('10), and Katherine ('15) Bonelli - donated the beautiful piano in Kristin Engineer's classroom. Katherine graduated 2015 and attends St. Francis High School. Meanwhile, AJ graduated 2010 and attends Boston College.

We are so deeply grateful for these thoughtful new additions to our music classrooms and look forward to having them be a part of many student experiences and stories for years to come!

Hillbrook Students Contribute 100 iPads to Local Youth Organization, Treasures 4 Teens

10/5/2016

Erin Schwartz

Alexander Nickel ('16) & Liam Strand ('16) Honored as Los Gatos Youth Citizens of the Year 2016

9/27/2016

Hillbrook Alumni Named National Merit Semi-Finalists

9/15/2016

Congratulations to Hillbrook alumni Cole Hammers ('13) and Maya Wilcox ('13), as well as former HB student Max Prichard who have all been named National Merit semifinalists!

National Merit Scholarship semifinalists represent less than 1 percent of U.S. high school seniors and are the highest-scoring entrants in each state.

Graduation News from Avery McEvoy ('09)

6/23/2016

Erin Schwartz

Avery McEvoy ('09) is currently interning at an environmental engineering consulting company in Orange County, "and loving it!" She will be will be graduating from University of Southern California (USC) with a master's degree in Environmental Engineering in May next year.

Congratulations on your engagement, Shelby S. and Grant Zamudio ('01)!

6/22/2016

Erin Schwartz

Hillbrook alumni Grant Zamudio ('01) recently got engaged to Shelby Saso & are planning a wedding for August of next year. Grant works at Colliers International in corporate real estate brokerage and Shelby works in the development department at Christo Rey High School. They reside together in Palo Alto, California.

Congratulations to you both on this happy and exciting time in your lives!

Hillbrook Alumnae Return to Hillbrook to Teach with Breakthrough Silicon Valley!

6/13/2016

Erin Schwartz

Hillbrook alumnae Kiara Cardona ('13) and Maya Wilcox ('13) are on campus this week prepping for an exciting summer as teachers with Breakthough Silicon Valley. Both young women will be in the science labs here at Hillbrook teaching chemistry and biology, respectively.

The Breakthrough Collaborative—of which Breakthrough Silicon Valley (BSV) is a part—serves a dual mission in our valley. First, it provides a place for academically-motivated middle school students with limited educational opportunities to connect with like-minded peers in a rigorous summer program. In addition, the program provides a place for talented high school and college students to serve as teachers, mentors, and role models.

Kiara and Maya are thrilled to be reunited with their school and campus as teachers and are already planning ways to integrate the creek into their lessons. They are also looking forward to emulating the interactive, engaging, and sometimes humor-filled models of some of their Hillbrook teachers to capture the joy and potential of each of their students this summer.

Isabel Starn (Gatley) '47, The Children's Country School Alumna Returns to Hillbrook!

5/26/2016

Erin Schwartz

The Children's Country School alumna Isabel Starn (Gatley) '47 visited Hillbrook last week to check out our Art Show and, of course, experienced so much more. Head of School Mark Silver hosted her on a campus tour where played the joint role of storyteller - sharing stories and memories of TCCS - and spectator - marvelling in all the changes and advancements that time and intentionality have bestowed upon our campus. Meanwhile, she enjoyed seeing the way in which Hillbrook has preserved this space that meant so much to her, enjoying time in our Tower woodshop. In the time of the TCCS, this area housed the music room.

It is always a special and cherished joy to connect and reunite with students who have called this campus home over the past 81 years. Welcome back, Isabel!

Graduation Speech to Class of 2015

6/4/2015

Debbie Dembecki

Ally Weinstock ('11) returned to Hillbrook as a speaker at graduation, sharing her wisdom and experience with the Class of 2015.

Annual Alumni Celebration - BBQ and Basketball!

4/14/2015

Debbie Dembecki

Friday, May 8th, 3:45 - 7:30pm

Hillbrook School's Alumni BBQ and 3rd annual Alumni Basketball games are scheduled for Friday, May 8th (Mother's Day Weekend).

Hillbrook Graduate Mei Mei Chang ('14) Shares Design Process

12/12/2014

Debbie Dembecki

Mei-Mei Chang, a graduate from 2014, visited the 8th grade science class as a guest speaker earlier this school year. She spoke to the class about a pneumatic potato launcher she made out of pvc pipe. The launcher is quite a challenging piece of equipment to both design and build and our 8th grade class marveled at the fine craftsmanship Mei-Mei put into this device. Having just finishing a design challenge themselves-rocket building-Mei-Mei was able to share her own design process to help the students prepare for their culminating presentation reports. This was an incredibly valuable visit as the students were able to see how the skills they were practicing can be applied to other projects as well. Mei-Mei discussed her design process and the challenges she faced along the way. She shared the multiple iterations of her launcher and the importance of research and seeking advice from expert builders to improve a design.

After sharing her design process, the students eagerly followed her outside to demonstrate the launcher's capabilities. Students collected data to correlate the effect of angle and air pressure on the distance the potato is launched. They had their hands full as they set about to measure the distance-well over 90 meters for the longest launch. This lesson in projectile motion was an extension of this physics unit and a practical application of their recent rocket flight analysis. Mei-Mei also primed the students for their upcoming air pressure unit as she adeptly shared how the gas laws she learned in 8th grade apply to the function of this potato launcher. The 8th grade is grateful to Mei-Mei for taking the time to build this launcher and to return to Hillbrook to teach this invaluable lesson.

Alum Jimmy Castles ('10) Ties for 2nd at State Golf Championship

6/9/2014

Jimmy Castles, a 2010 graduate of Hillbrook School and graduating senior at Bellarmine College Prep, shot a 3-under 68 to tie for second at the state golf championship. The championship, which included 54 of the state's best golfers, was held on June 4th at San Gabriel Country Club in San Gabriel.

Castles started his round on the 10th hole, with one birdie and one bogey before making his move on the front nine. He birdied 1, 2, 3, 6 and 7 and bogeyed 4 and 9 to finish just one stroke off the lead.

Jimmy qualified for state at the Northern Califorina championships in Roseville on May 19th, shooting a 1-over 73 which tied him for ninth overall.

Congrats Jimmy!!

Alumni Celebration 2014 Information

4/1/2014

Join Hillbrook alumni, alumni parents, faculty and friends for an afternoon and evening of fun on Friday, May 9! All are welcome for this festive reunion, so please spread the word!

The event will consist of the return of our annual alumni basketball game, campus tours, mingling, networking, and a family style barbecue dinner. Additionally, we will be honoring a beloved teacher: TBA!

Here is a schedule of events:
3:45 – 4:45: Hillbrook “A” team vs. 9^th grade alumni basketball game

4:45 – 5:45: 9^th/10^th grade alumni vs. older alumni basketball game

5:45 – 6:30: Tours, Hillbrook History Walk, Reconnecting with old and new friends & teachers
6:30 – 6:45: Remarks from Head of School Mark Silver, and recognition of our faculty honoree
6:45 – 8:00: Family Style Barbecue Dinner

Please RSVP directly to this invitation to let us know that you are coming and email Scott Sweeney at ssweeney@hillbrook.org if you’d like to participate in the Basketball Game.

If you have questions, please email Karen Brein at kbrein@hillbrook.org

Will you be featured in the Alumni Journal?

3/7/2013

megan

Calling all alumni!

We're now accepting submissions for the 2013 Alumni Journal. Send updates and photos to klevitas@hillbrook.org We want to hear about marriages, births, graduations, jobs... anything! You may even be picked to be featured in a feature article.

All submissions are due by March 22nd.

Hillbrook Alumni Mackenzie Pridham Selected as Offensive Player of the Year

11/20/2012

megan

Congratulations to Hillbrook Alum and Cal Poly Soccer's Junior forward Mackenzie Pridham, who became the first Big West Conference Offensive Player of the Year selection in Cal Poly men's soccer program history on Monday afternoon. Pridham, whose 11 goals during the regular season rank second among Big West players and 23rd among NCAA Division I players, was also named to the all-conference first team. Click here to read the announcement by Cal Poly.

Alum Logan Stevens Has Star Quality

11/1/2012

megan

Hillbrook Alumna Molly Ball Honored as Los Gatos Youth Citizen of The Year

10/28/2012

megan

Alumni Celebration reconnects Hillbrook students across the years

5/17/2012

Hillbrook alums from across the years returned to campus Friday for the Annual Alumni Celebration. The event offered former Hillbrook students and their families an opportunity to reconnect with old friends, reminisce about their time at Hillbrook, play in a alumni basketball game, and enjoy a barbecue dinner. The gathering was a fun mix of new and older alums, as well as many alum parents, who were just as excited to reconnect with their parent friends. The first student of The Children’s Country School, Richerd Cancilla, was among the alums enjoying the afternoon on campus. Richerd is featured in the award-winning documentary about the early years of Hillbrook School by PE Teacher Paul DiMarco and Alum Parent Felice Leeds, "As the Twig is Bent", which was also shown at the Alumni Celebration. [...]

Retired PE teacher and coach Al Gates was honored during the event for his many years of teaching and coaching at Hillbrook. Al started working at Hillbrook in 1973. Over the next 18 years he coached hundreds of boys in PE and sports, and in the process helped to build the excellent athletic program we are known for today. Al was part of significant changes at Hillbrook, including the creation of the Hillbrook Invitational Basketball Tournament, the development of a robust sports program, and the christening of Founder’s Hall. The stories about Al at Hillbrook are legendary. With his kind heart, sharp mind and big personality he made countless friends and positively impacted hundreds of young lives. [...]

Retired Athletic Director Al Gates to be Honored

5/1/2012

Mary Babbitt

Remember running around Hillbrook School for "Friday Fitness" or P.E.? Did you play on a Hillbrook athletic team? Chances are you remember retired Hillbrook Athletic Director Al Gates. He will be honored at the Annual Alumni Celebration, May 11th from 4:00-7:00pm at Hillbrook School. Please join us to reminisce with Al, enjoy a BBQ, basketball game and a relaxing afternoon with old friends. There is no cost to attend, but please RSVP to cthorpe@hillbrook.org.