Lotspeich Blast Aug 28, 2026
Key Dates
Friday, Aug. 28 — Show Your Spirit! Spirit Wear Day with Mr. Snowie at lunch
Tuesday, Sept. 1 — Grades 1-5 Picture Day and Class Picture Day
Wednesday, Sept. 2 — Pre-k and Kindergarten Picture Day. Parent Association Board Meeting, 8:30 a.m.
Thursday, Sept. 3 — Parent Night, 5:45 p.m. Parent Social, 7 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 4 — First Parent Association Meeting of the Year, 8:30 a.m.
Monday, Sept. 7 — Labor Day. No School
Wednesday, Sept. 9 — Board of Trustees Meeting, 6:30 p.m.
Monday, Sept. 14-Friday, Sept. 18 — Spirit Week!
Friday, Sept. 18 & Saturday, Sept. 19 — Homecoming
Friday, Sept. 18 — Family Grill-Out, 5-7 p.m.
Tuesday, Sept. 29 — Seven Hills Association of Rainbow Events (SHARE) Parent Forum, 6:30 p.m.
Wednesday, Sept. 30 — New Parent Cocktail Social, 5:30-7:30 p.m.
Photos of the Week
Cruz, the school's new therapy dog, makes his debut to students, faculty, and staff.
What to Know Now
Note for Pre-kindergarten/Kindergarten Families
This year, pre-kindergarten is in its own division, the Early School, and kindergarten is a part of the Lower School (kindergarten through grade 5).
Because many of our announcements are campus-based, you will continue to click on Lotspeich to find Early School information. Announcements are labeled as follows:
Announcement Labels:
ES – Pre-kindergarten families
LS – Kindergarten through fifth-grade families
ES/LS – Pre-kindergarten through fifth-grade families
ES/LS: New Year, New Gear — Spirit Day TODAY
During the week, every student received a new piece of Seven Hills spirit wear as a gift from the school to kick off the 2026-27 year.
We hope they’ll wear their new Seven Hills shirt today, Friday, Aug. 28, for our first Spirit Day of the year. We can’t wait to see everyone’s Stinger Pride and to celebrate a great first week in style!
LS: Girls Grades 4-7 Invited to STEM Event led by Upper School Student — Tomorrow, Aug. 29
Hi! My name is Lily Fraser. I am a senior at Seven Hills, and for my Challenge Experience, I created an organization called STEM ExploreHERs. We will host free, pop-up programs for girls in grades 4-7. The first one is this weekend, Aug. 29, from 2-3:30 p.m., and it is TAYLOR SWIFT THEMED! It is at Stephan Field Park in Indian Hill (meet at the pavilion).
If you can’t make it this weekend, no problem. Please sign up using the registration link, and I can email you about upcoming programs. We are working hard to empower girls to keep pursuing STEM.
You can also email us and follow our Instagram!
LS: Picture Day — Tuesday, Sept. 1 & Wednesday, Sept. 2
Picture day for grades 1-5 is Tuesday, Sept. 1. View the grades 1-5 picture day flyer for more information.
Picture day for kindergarten is Wednesday, Sept. 2. View the kindergarten picture day flyer for more information.
Be sure your student brings their best smile!
ES: Picture Day — Wednesday, Sept. 2
Picture Day for pre-kindergarten is Wednesday, Sept. 2. Be sure your student brings their best smile! View the pre-kindergarten picture day flyer for more information.
LS: Parent Night — Thursday, Sept. 3
Please join us on Thursday, Sept. 3, at 5:45 p.m. for Parent Night. This will be an introduction to your child’s day-to-day classroom activities, rules, and expectations. Please review the Parent Night flyer for more information.
ES: Parent Night — Thursday, Sept. 3
Please join us on Thursday, Sept. 3, at 5:45 p.m. for Parent Night. This will be an introduction to your child’s day-to-day classroom activities, rules, and expectations. Please review the Parent Night flyer for more information.
LS: New Year Reminders
The beginning of the year always includes so much information! A few key pieces are highlighted below.
Car Line Clarification
- Kindergarten is in the Early School car line.
- Grades 1-5 are in the Red Barn car line.
- If you have children in both Early School and Lower School, please pick all children up at the Early School.
Early Morning Care
Early Morning Care begins at 7:30 a.m. Please do not drop your child(ren) off before 7:30 a.m., so we can ensure they are supervised.
ES/LS: Pre-k and Kindergarten Car Line Transportation Schedules
Please fill out the pre-k and kindergarten dismissal information form for each of your children if you have not already. If you can’t remember, we kindly ask you to fill it out again, just in case, so we can upload all the files together for kindergarten and pre-k. When in doubt, fill it out! Thank you so much for your patience as we work through this year of divisional changes.
Grades 1-5 transportation schedules are up in Veracross. Next week, we will focus on getting the pre-k and kindergarten schedules put into the system. After these schedules are put in, you can change a daily schedule by filling out a student logistics request in the Veracross Parent Portal or on the Seven Hills app (search for “Seven Hills” in the app store).
LS: Programming Update
- This year, instead of students going to a specific Project Math class, we will bring project-based learning into the math classrooms. Math teachers in grades 1-5 will work in conjunction with Jacquie Berting, math specialist, and Lauren Fisher, science teacher, to continue many familiar cross-curricular projects, including the first grade plant sale, second grade bridges, third grade playground, fourth grade marble olympics, and fifth grade mini golf, and engage students in some new ones as well.
- Our fourth and fifth grade students will enjoy counseling classes with one of our Upper School counselors, Christine Stier. Seraphine Schomber will continue to be their school counselor, and Seraphine and Christine will work closely together throughout the year to support our students.
ES/LS: Introducing our LEAD Together Lineup for First Semester
We are excited to Learn, Educate, and Discuss (LEAD) Together with new programming for this year. Through these collaborative sessions, we hope to foster strong partnerships among families and educators to support student learning, belonging, and success.
As we get closer to each event, we will share more detailed information in the Blast. Please see this semester’s lineup on the flyer below, and RSVP for all events through this Google form.
Coming up soon is our very first event, “Beyond the ABCs: Is Your Child Truly School-Ready?” We are thrilled to share this wonderful learning opportunity for our families from Beginnings through first grade. For more details about this event, take a look at the flyer below.
ES/LS: Therapy Dog at Seven Hills
We are excited to welcome Cruz, our new school therapy dog, to the Seven Hills family! Cruz is a friendly, well-trained, double doodle mix — half Australian labradoodle and half goldendoodle. As he becomes familiar with his new surroundings and the school community, his time and activities on campus will gradually increase.
Participation in the therapy dog program is completely voluntary. If you prefer that your child not participate in activities involving Cruz, please complete our Therapy Dog Opt-Out Form. If you have questions about the program or the opt-out process, please reach out to Director of Safety & Security Jun Cho.
ES/LS: Calling All Parents
Are you interested in being interviewed as part of our schedule redesign process?
This year, we are redesigning our schedule across all divisions for the 2027-28 school year when we come together as a unified campus. As part of this process, we are shadowing students and interviewing faculty members, students, and parents. In these interviews, we are hoping to learn more about your experiences with how we use time at Seven Hills.
These 30-minute interviews are conducted one-on-one by a faculty member. If you’re interested in participating, please fill out a family interview interest form.
Questions? Reach out to Laura Leonard.
ES/LS: Email with Canvas Instructions Sent in Error
On Tuesday, Early and Lower School families received an email from Tony DePrato with the subject line, “Student Login Information and Canvas Parent Access.” Note that this email was sent in error. Early School and Lower School do not use Canvas. We apologize for any confusion.
ES/LS: Field House Lot Closed Remainder of School Year
As construction progresses on the new Lower School building, the Field House parking lot (Lot H) will be closed for the remainder of the school year. The drop-off and pick-up area and accessible parking spots are still available. A new parking lot recently opened off of Ellmarie Drive and is available for use while the Field House lot is closed.
Parent Association News
ES/LS: Walking Group Kickoff — Wednesday, Sept. 2
Start your morning with good conversation and great company! Join us for our first walk on Wednesday, Sept. 2, at 8:15 a.m.
Whether you stay for the whole loop or just pop in for 20 minutes, all fitness levels and schedules are welcome. We walk, talk, and cover topics ranging from the everyday to the extraordinary — and if the weather turns sour, we skip the walk and head straight for coffee!
Stay in the Loop
Join the WhatsApp Parent Walking Group to get route updates and weather calls.
ES/LS: First Parent Association Meeting of the Year — Friday, Sept. 4
We hope you’ll join us for our first Parent Association Meeting of the year on Friday, Sept. 4, at 8:30 a.m. It’s a great opportunity to connect with other parents, learn what’s ahead for the year, and find out how you can be part of all the exciting things the Parent Association has planned. We can’t wait to see you there!
ES/LS: The Parent Association is Looking for Room Parents!
We’re excited to launch our newly refreshed Room Parent Program for the 2026-27 school year!
This year, we’re combining the responsibilities of our former Grade Representatives into one streamlined Room Parent role, creating a simpler, more impactful volunteer opportunity that helps strengthen connections among families, teachers, and our school community.
Room Parents are coordinators, connectors, and communicators — helping organize volunteers, share information, and bring families together. You don’t need to attend every event or be at school during the day. In fact, most responsibilities can be managed from home through email and occasional planning, making this a great opportunity for working parents or anyone looking for a flexible way to get involved.
What you might help with:
- Coordinate volunteers for class parties, field trips, or light teacher support (such as organizing portfolios or making copies)
- Help organize simple community-building opportunities like a class playdate or parent gathering (one in the fall and one in the spring)
- Share Parent Association news and upcoming events
- Serve as a friendly point-of-contact for new and returning parents alike. Be a positive resource to assist with day-to-day questions, including Parent Association activities.
Please contact Lauren Bonaminio or Emily Emeneker if interested.
ES/LS: Fill out the Parent Survey
Now that school is officially underway and you have more free time without little children underfoot, please take a moment to fill out the Parent Survey. This survey lets us know your interests and helps us plan the school year.
ES/LS: Stock the Lounge
Do you like to organize? Do you have a good relationship with your Amazon delivery driver? We’d love for you to be the point person to coordinate Stock the Lounge! This role is an easy one, especially for new families.
Several times a year, we ask parents to help us restock the teacher’s lounge with easy, tasty treats. It’s a great way to give our teachers a little extra love throughout the year. The coordinator receives the items from our Amazon Wish List and replenishes the lounge in the Early School and Lotspeich.
Please contact Lauren Bonaminio or Emily Emeneker if interested.
ES/LS: Show Your Seven Hills Spirit!
The Spirit Shop is located in the lobby of the Kalnow Gym on the Hillsdale Campus. During the school year, we’re open most school days from 11 a.m. to 1:15 p.m.
Can’t make it in person? Shop anytime at our online store.
Want to Get Involved?
The Spirit Shop runs on the enthusiasm of our community — and we’d love your help! We’re looking for volunteers who can commit to a once-a-month shift during regular shop hours as well as folks who’d enjoy helping out at our occasional pop-up events throughout the year.
If you’re interested in either opportunity, sign up to volunteer!
Email us if you have Spirit Shop questions. We’d love to have you on the team. Go Stingers!
— Leesa Pruett Ceron & Lindsay Cassady
Announcements
ES/LS: After the Bell
We are excited to welcome both new and returning families to our After the Bell (ATB) program! As detailed in our welcome back email, all After the Bell registration options are available in your Parent Portal under Parent Links.
ATB Annual Plan
- Available for pre-kindergarten for 2-year-olds through fifth grade
- Limited availability for pre-kindergarten for 2-year-olds
ATB Daily Plan
- Available for pre-kindergarten for 2-year-olds through fifth grade
- Limited availability for pre-kindergarten for 2-year-olds
- Daily registration closes each Monday at 9 a.m.
Music Lessons
Piano and violin lessons are available for students in kindergarten through fifth grade.
- Lessons are offered based on instructor availability.
- To inquire about lessons, please email Jill Romerill, and she will connect you with an instructor.
Enrichment Offerings
We offer four enrichment sessions throughout the school year. Fall I offerings will be announced soon!
Stinger Staycation Days
Formerly known as Holiday Care, Stinger Staycation provides care on select days when school is closed. Check out the 2026-27 Stinger Staycation dates.
We look forward to a wonderful school year and to seeing you and your children in After the Bell!
— Jill and Christina
Athletics
LS: Homecoming and Youth Recognition Night — Friday, Sept. 18
Save the date for Friday, Sept. 18, for a fun evening of homecoming festivities. Our youth teams will be recognized after the varsity girls soccer game on the upper field around 6:45 p.m.