June 2024

Dear Rolling Hills families,

It's hard to believe it, but the end of the school year is upon us! We have both so greatly enjoyed all of the opportunities to support the growth of Rolling Hills' students both in and out of the classroom this year. We would like to highlight some of the important work that we were able to do this year, with the support of our fantastic Rolling Hills community!

Hope Squad

Hope Squads are now present on every campus throughout PUSD as of this school year. Hope Squad is an evidence-based, peer-to-peer youth suicide prevention program. The goal of this program is to increase inclusion and connectedness in schools by teaching students how to provide friendship, encouragement, and support for students who may be bullied or feel isolated. Ms. Chang and Mr. Sterk served as Co-Advisors to the Rolling Hills Hope Squad this year and met weekly with twelve peer-selected 4th and 5th grade students, covering important topics such as boundary setting, being a good listener, and using your strengths.

Character Counts Award

Ms. Chang took the lead in collaborating with our awesome team of Character Coaches and Custodial staff this year to create the Character Counts Award. This award was presented at each month's Friday Flag assembly to students who have gone above and beyond to demonstrate strong character in the areas of trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, or citizenship. In all, approximately 20 students were selected for the award this school year. Great job, Pumas!

Second Step

All classrooms regularly received valuable lessons from the amazing Second Step social emotional learning curriculum. Second Step empowers students with life-long skills that they will be able to use both in and out of the classroom. From TK-5th grade, each class has received age-appropriate lessons that focus on skills such as learning how to listen, managing your emotions, showing compassion, bullying prevention, and so much more. Ms. Chang led lessons in TK-3rd grade, while Mr. Sterk led lessons in 4th and 5th grade classrooms. In total we taught 191 Second Step lessons this year!

No Place for Hate

No Place for Hate is a nation-wide program in TK-12 schools that is aimed at building inclusion and appreciation of diversity in school communities. Our No Place for Hate student committee created and implemented lessons and activities throughout the school year to help support our goal of making Rolling Hills a welcoming place for all. This year, our students created and facilitated three different lessons, which went out to all Rolling Hills classrooms!

Small Groups and Individual Counseling

Mr. Sterk ran 225 small groups this school year, on topics ranging from conflict resolution, to coping skills, to friendship skills, to processing the loss of a loved one. Additionally, Mr. Sterk had 129 scheduled one-on-one student meetings, and 625 unscheduled student meetings.

Thank you for the many ways that you have allowed us to collaborate with you and your family this year. We are so appreciative to be a part of the Rolling Hills community, and proud of the valuable work that we were all able to do together this year. We hope that you and your family have a fantastic summer!

Florence Chang, Student Services Assistant

Pete Sterk, School Counselor