Lotspeich Blast Jan 12, 2024
Dear Parents,
Happy New Year! I hope the Winter Break was filled with great joy for you and your family!
We came back last week and have hit the ground running! Last Saturday, Seven Hills hosted a First Lego Robotics qualifier competition for the second time in two years. Thank you to all who participated in some way — gathering materials, setting up both Founders and Kalnow, making sure our visiting teams knew where to go, selling concessions, serving as judges and MCs, and cheering on our students. Our coaches — Laura OGrady, Danielle Levine, Jacquie Berting, and Kate LaBare — spent countless hours coaching students as they built robots, programmed them, designed innovation projects, and prepared presentations. Our two teams of 10 fourth and fifth graders should be so proud of their accomplishments!
Our yellow team, known as the “Brick Wolfz,” qualified for the district tournament, which will be held at Loveland Intermediate School on Saturday, Jan. 20. Our blue team, known as the “Blueberry Hedgehogs,” also did well representing Seven Hills with “gracious professionalism.” Jacquie Berting, nominated by her team, received the Coach’s Award! Please join me in congratulating all who were involved!
In addition to this good news, one of our fifth graders, Lila Testerman, won first place in the 2023 National Chemistry Week Illustrated Poem Contest in the third through fifth grade category. This year’s theme was “The Healing Power of Chemistry”; her poem follows:
Steaming liquids, dreaming of cures.
Mixing the magic, that will cure tragic diseases.
People saved, diseases small.
All thanks to Chemistry, the power within.
That will cure people of sickness.
By Lila Testerman
Congratulations, Lila!
Our students are engaged in many academics and extracurricular endeavors, and we couldn’t be prouder of all they have accomplished!
Warmly,
Susan
Key Dates & Events
Monday, Jan. 15 — Martin Luther King Jr. Day. No School.
Monday, Jan. 15 — Flexible Tuition Forms Due
Thursday, Jan. 18, 25, and Feb. 1 — Grade 5 Ski Club
Friday, Jan. 26 — Kindergarten Field Trip to Newport Aquarium
Sunday, Jan. 28 — STEAM Fair at the Middle School
Week of Jan. 29 — Prevention Solutions Week
February — Black History Month
Friday, Feb. 16 — Faculty Professional Development Day. No Classes.
Monday, Feb. 19 — Presidents Day. No School. All buildings and offices are closed.
Announcements
RSVP for Lower School STEAM Fair — Sunday, Jan 28, at the Middle School
Kindergarten through fifth grade families are invited to an exciting morning of STEAM — Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math! This annual Seven Hills Lower School STEAM event will take place from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. in the new Middle School on the Hillsdale Campus, and you are invited to this free event! Your child will walk through the Middle School visiting 18, hands-on STEAM stations covering topics such as elasticity, electroscopes, drone racing, circuits, pulled string art, and more. All stations will be led by eighth grade students under the direction of their science teacher, Mr. Ken Revell. As your child completes each station, they will receive a stamp on their STEAM passport. As you leave, they’ll turn in their completed passports to be eligible to win a STEAM raffle prize! You really don’t want to miss this fun and educational event. If you plan to attend, let us know so we can have the proper number of supplies ready. Please RSVP for the STEAM Fair.
A few parent volunteers are needed to help with registration and direct participants. Please fill out the volunteer form. For any volunteer questions, please contact Trent Emeneker.
The 2024 Books for Lunch committee, chaired by Seven Hills parents Lisa Briquet and Lalitha Chunduri, is honored to present this year’s guest author, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Andrew Sean Greer! Please join us in the Madisonville Ballroom at The Summit Hotel on Feb. 2 for lunch, community, and an engaging address from Greer. Please visit 7hills.org/BFL to purchase tickets and learn more about the events, Greer, and his work.
Summer Program 2024 — Mark Your Calendars
Make 2024 the best summer ever! Make friends, discover new passions, and create memories that last a lifetime! With eight weeks of action packed camps, beginning June 17 through Aug. 9, there are all kinds of adventures and opportunities for your child to explore to make this the best summer ever. Priority registration for Seven Hills families opens at 9 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 13.
FC Cincinnati Soccer Camp — Register Now!
Seven Hills has partnered with FC Cincinnati for the summer of 2024 to offer a half-day summer camp option for Cincinnati kids ages seven to 14. The camp runs June 17-21, and families can register now. There will be other concurrent Summer Program options for June 17-21. Registration for the following camps opens in February.
Grades 2-6 Options
Morning: Ninja Warrior Training, Rockstar Rock Climbers 1, Singing and Dancing Around Town, and Wilderness Warriors.
Winter Enrichment
Our winter enrichment programs are now available for registration and the session begins Tuesday, Jan. 16. This seven week session ends the week of Feb. 26. To register, please visit Winter Enrichment.
Girls on the Run
We are pleased to be able to offer Girls on the Run to our third through fifth graders again this year! This is a self-esteem building program that culminates in a 5K in May with other GOTR teams across the city. Practices this year will be 3:30-4:45 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays. Please see the flyer to learn about the lottery, which takes place Jan. 29-Feb. 7.
School-Based Mental Health Counseling Available
Best Point Education and Behavioral Health is happy to partner with Seven Hills to offer school-based mental health counseling services. School-based services are beneficial because providers are placed directly within schools, which prevents students from missing important class time due to travel.
Haley Muth is a licensed professional counselor and the Best Point provider at Seven Hills. She has experience working with children, adolescents, and families in the mental health field. She earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Xavier University and her master’s degree in clinical mental health counseling from the University of Cincinnati. Haley is currently working towards being a licensed professional clinical counselor (LPCC). Haley’s office is currently located in the eighth grade wing of the Middle School, however she is capable of working with students in third through 12th grade.
Haley offers services related to the following: depression/anxiety/ADHD, parenting strategies, learning strategies/classroom support, sleep problems, trauma, loss/grief, crisis intervention and response, family support/parenting support, impulsivity/aggression, relaxation techniques, practicing and applying new skills at home and at school.
Parents can access these services for their students contacting the school counselors or by submitting a referral on Best Point’s website. Submitting a referral takes about five to 10 minutes and will ask questions related to demographics, concerns, and insurance information. Once a referral is submitted, Haley will be in contact with a parent to discuss next steps for therapy. Call Best Point at 513.272.2800 if you need further assistance! Haley can be reached at muthh@bestpoint.org or 513.822.8512.
Parent Community News
Happy 2024 and welcome back! The Parent Community is gearing up for a busy and exciting winter and spring. We’re looking forward to seeing all of you! We also have a lot of volunteer opportunities. If you’re new to volunteering with the Parent Community, jump in! We have options for everyone.
Save the Date — More details below!
- Euchre Night — Thursday, Jan. 18
- Parent Community Meeting — Friday, Jan. 26
- Lower School STEAM Fair — Sunday, Jan. 28
- Teacher Appreciation Week — Valentine’s Day week Feb. 12-15
Teacher Appreciation Week — Valentines Day Week, Feb. 12-15
Teacher Appreciation Week is coming the week of Feb. 12-15. The theme for Teacher Appreciation Week will be showering our teachers/staff with love. Note that students are off on Friday, Feb. 16. Last year, we added recess and lunch duty, which both teachers and parents loved. This year, we’ve tweaked it a little bit and are offering teachers two 30-minute slots where they can sign up for parents to read to their class, help with clerical duties (copying, etc), and also offer recess/lunch duty. Teachers will select time slots over the two week period of Teacher Appreciation Week and the following week leading up to Spring conferences (Feb. 12-22). Be on the lookout for the SignUpGenius next week!
It’s a big week. If you’re interested in helping coordinate Teacher Appreciation Week activities, please reach out to Emily Emeneker.
Parent Community Meeting + Sip and Shop — Friday, Jan. 26, 8:30 a.m. in The Commons
This is the third of four meetings we host throughout the year. All parents are welcome and encouraged to come hear about upcoming activities, provide feedback, and mingle with other parents. We’re excited to announce the Spirit Shop is opening early just for us, so come browse all the great new items! We’ll have some coffee (but feel free to bring your own too). Most of our agenda will be focused on upcoming events, brainstorming ideas, and meeting with Committee Chairs to start planning logistics for the winter and spring activities. Teacher Appreciation, Conference Dinner, VIP (formerly Grandpersons Day), May Fete, and Fifth Grade Closing Ceremony are all on the horizon. We could use a lot of hands, so if you’re interested in volunteering to help, we hope to see you at this meeting! If you’re not able to make it, but would still like to volunteer, please email Alisa Pitocco and Kelly Hill.
Parent Euchre Night Is Back! — Thursday, Jan. 18, 7 p.m.
Doherty and Lotspeich parents: join us for a night of parental socializing (and cards) at MadTree! If you’re new to the glorious game of euchre, don’t fret — it’s (relatively) easy to learn, and you’ll be among patient Midwesterners. The hardest part is not getting wing sauce on the cards! Let us know you’re coming by grabbing a “euchre player” slot in the sign-ups. See you at the table with the blue and yellow balloons!
Staff Appreciation Notes — Spread the Love!
Take two minutes to say “thanks” with a staff appreciation note!
Yearbook Photos — Please Submit!
The yearbook needs your pictures! Please send photos to lotspeichyearbook@7hills.org to be added to the yearbook!
Parent Basketball Group
All parents are invited to join the Seven Hills Parent Basketball Group (PBG). The PBG is a weekly standing pickup basketball game at the Hillsdale Campus for parents of students in all divisions of the school. The court will be open to parents starting at 7:45 p.m. and the pickup game(s) will begin at 8 p.m. Day of sign-up via SignUpGenius is required.
LGBTQIA+ Parent Community Group
Last year, we launched a new space for LGBTQIA+ families, which is being offered as a continued push toward our goal of an inclusive school. It is a new year, and we want to bring the families back together and invite any new families into our community. If you are interested in being part of the LGBTQIA+ community, please fill out this interest form.