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Letter from Administration

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Dear Hillview Middle School Hawks, 

Welcome to the 2026-2027 school year! I hope everyone had a fun and relaxing summer break. This summer was special for me as I was able to enjoy lots of time with my wife, Morgan, and our two sons, Jackson who is 6 and going into first grade at Valley View Elementary, and Mason who just turned two months! We were able to enjoy a few short day trips this summer as we navigated being a family of four. If having a newborn wasn’t exciting enough, we decided to sell our home and purchase a new one this summer. It was quite the adventure loading the two boys and our dog, Ozzy, into the car as we drove around town while people came to tour the house. I am happy to be back to have a break from moving boxes and furniture! I look forward to talking with students about their many summer adventures during the break. The new school year is approaching quickly and we are excited to welcome our students back to school on August 3rd!

We have some new team members joining the Hillview staff. We are welcoming Anastasia Assel, our new vice principal. Our new school psychologist is Kwame Dakwa. Attached to this message are Mrs. Assel’s and Mr. Dakwa’s letters of introduction. Joining our teaching team are Cheryl Armour (7th/8th grade ELA), Jane Dane (8th grade Science). Joining our classified team as instructional aides we have: Stephanie Silva, Jolene Chavez, Aleah Long and Denise Salazar coming from Rancho Vista. Giovanni Magana and Ian Dominguez coming from Esperanza. We are super excited to have you all join Hillview and we look forward to getting to know you. Please join me in welcoming all of them to the Hillview Hawk family! Some additional changes in our teaching staff include Mrs. Taylor transferring to teaching Pre-Algebra and 7th grade math, Mrs. Khalifa transferring to teaching 7th grade social studies, Mr. Ramirez transferring to teaching 8th grade math, and Mr. Hilliard transferring to teach our Future Forward Career Lab. We are also excited to have Mr. Mann on campus for a full day this year allowing for woodshop to be offered during the afternoon periods!

Hillview Updates 

A huge thank you to Mrs. Rossall, Westside’s Superintendent, Cabinet, Westside’s Board of Trustees, Dr. Weber, Maintenance and Operation, and our Technology Department for all their hard work and support with our beautiful NEW E-Sports lab at Hillview! We look forward to beginning our e-sports program this year offered before and after school. Also, a huge thank you to our custodial staff, Kelly, Joel, Kim and Brittany for all their hard work making sure our campus is clean and ready to welcome staff and students back. The campus looks amazing! 

Our theme for this school year is “Hillview: Pathways of Possibilities!” We are excited to be offering three new CTE Exploratory Academies: Introduction to Digital Technology, Introduction to Film and Broadcasting, and Introduction to Health Sciences. All three of these academies are connected to CTE Academies and Pathways at local high schools. We added additional modules/careers in our Future Forward Career Lab for students to explore! Hillview offers endless possibilities for students to be successful as they are beginning to plan their future paths! 

Hillview is also excited to announce that we will be partnering with Kaiser Permanente for the Hippocrates Program that will allow students to have hands-on experience working at a local Kaiser Lab gaining valuable knowledge and experience to help prepare them for a career in the medical field. 8th grade students will be given priority to sign up for the Hippocrates program. We will also offer an advanced section after-school program for Auto Pros Academy. Students can sign up for Auto Pros Academy during the orientation sessions. 

Last school year, Westside Union School District partnered with the Lancaster Police Department for two school resource officers. Hillview will be hosting one of the resource officers throughout the school year. We look forward to continuing this partnership.

6th Grade Honors Orientation/Early Schedule Release 

Congratulations to our incoming sixth graders that will be attending Hillview as part of the honors academy! An orientation meeting for sixth grade honors students and their families will be held on Wednesday, July 22, 2026 beginning at 12:00pm. to 2:00pm. Students will be participating in activities with the WEB Leaders in the gym while parents will be meeting with administration in the cafeteria. Students will receive their schedules, tour the campus, and PE clothes will be available for purchase in the front office. The cost for PE clothes is $25.00 for the shirt and shorts set and only cash will be accepted. All sixth grade honors students and families are highly encouraged to attend. 

7th Grade Orientation/Early Schedule Release 

7th Grade Orientation and Schedule release will be on Thursday, July 23, 2026. 7th grade students with the last name beginning with the letter A-L and their families are highly encouraged to attend the orientation and early schedule release at 8:00a.m.-10:00a.m. 7th grade students with the last name beginning with the letter M-Z and their families will attend the orientation and early schedule release at 12:00p.m.-2:00p.m. Students will participate in activities with the WEB Leaders in the gym while parents/guardians are in the cafeteria with admin. We will also be doing a presentation with Kim Karr from I CAN Help about social media. Students will receive their schedules and take a tour of the campus. After the orientation meeting, families and students will reconnect and PE clothes can be purchased at the ASB window for $25.00 (cash only). If students are unable to attend, they will receive their schedule on the first day of school.

8th Grade Early Schedule Release

8th grade students are able to come pick up schedules from 12:00p.m. to 2:00p.m. on Friday, July 24, 2026. Tables will be set up in the Hillview Gym with the students’ schedules. If students are unable to attend the early schedule release, their schedule will be provided on the first day of school during the first period. PE clothes can be purchased at the ASB window for $25.00 (cash only). 

Arrival/Dismissal Information 

Monday, August 3rd is a minimum day with dismissal being at 12:51p.m. Students will be following the “odd” day schedule. Also, Tuesday, August 4th is a minimum day and students will be following the “even” day schedule. The odd and even schedules are attached below for reference. Entry/exit gates are located on Peonza Ln near the gymnasium or on Maestro Ln (behind Hillview) near the twirl gate.

On the first day of school, students will go to their first period. Their first period teacher will provide them planners and information about the schedule for the day. Parents/guardians are welcome to walk their student(s) to their first period on the first day of school, but we ask parents/guardians to please not enter classrooms or the cafeteria with students at that time. There will be many opportunities for parents/guardians to volunteer in the classrooms throughout the school year. If you would like to register as a district volunteer, please call 661-722-0716 ext 77526 to schedule an appointment for fingerprinting at the district office. I look forward to seeing families on campus in the morning on the first day!

If students were unable to attend early schedule release prior to the first day, we will have a table set up with schedules outside of the front office.

As a friendly reminder, traffic near the school during arrival and dismissal will be impacted since Rancho Vista Elementary begins and dismisses at the same time. Your patience and cooperation with following the traffic laws during this time is much appreciated and essential to the safety of our students. During dismissal, only students with siblings at Rancho Vista will be permitted to go to that campus. Please remind your student it is very important they go straight to their dismissal location and not linger in the area after school. 
 

Westside Pathfinders Updates

Registration for the Boys and Girls Club at Hillview is open! The program is offered for only 6th grade students at this time. The program runs immediately after school each day until 5:30p.m. Parents will go to the back gate on Maestro Ln for pick up. If you are interested in registering your student(s) in the Boys and Girls Club please visit https://www.avbgc.org/westside-school-district-sites. Students participating in Boys and Girls Club will report to the patio area outside of the cafeteria to check in for snacks and attendance after school ends.

Additional after-school activities and programs include: Innovation Education, Sports, AutoPros Academy  (Fridays), Model UN Club, Newspaper Club, after-school tutoring until 3:00p.m. Tuesdays-Thursdays, Coding Club, E-sports, Gaming Club, Dance club, Theater Club, Running Club, LEGO Robotics, and Choir Club. More information about when club and sports meetings/try outs are will be shared in the daily announcements and on ParentSquare. 

PTSA

Our wonderful PTSA have been busy planning many great events for this school year! Please support the PTSA by becoming a member for $8.00 using this link: https://jointotem.com/ca/palmdale/hillview-middle-school-ptsa Thank you to our PTSA for all your support and we are looking forward to the wonderful events planned. 

Upcoming Events

  • July 22- 6th Grade Orientation 12:00p.m.-2:00p.m. 
  • July 23 - 7th Grade Orientation A-L 8:00a.m.-10:00am, M-Z 12:00p.m.-2:00p.m.
  • July 24 - 8th Grade Early Schedule Release 12:00p.m. - 2:00p.m. 
  • August  3 - First Day of School - Minimum Day ODD Schedule - Dismissal 12:51p.m.
  • August 4 - Minimum Day - EVEN Schedule - Dismissal 12:51p.m.
  • August 5 - Fall Pictures
  • August 6 - Fall Pictures
  • August 13 - Back to School Night 5:00p.m. - 6:30p.m.
  • August 20 - Annual Title I Meeting/PTSA Association Meeting 2:15 p.m. in the Hillview Library
  • August  31- Minimum Day “ALL Schedule” Dismissal @ 12:51p.m.
  • September 1 - No School Labor Day
  • October 1 - Quarter 1 Ends
  • October 13-October 17 - No School Fall Break

I hope you enjoy the remainder of summer break and I look forward to partnering with you to ensure that your student has a successful year at Hillview! If you need anything at all, please do not hesitate to contact me via phone (661-722-9993), email (jordon.holmes@westside.k12.ca.us), or ParentSquare. It is going to be a fantastic year!

Go Hawks!

Mr. Holmes

Principal