Exploring our traditions

Morning Meet-Ups are a special time for us to gather regularly and set our intentions for our week ahead. Led by Ms. Ilise and our 5th Grade students, our entire community gathers together to celebrate the week ahead with announcements, student sharing, important events from the week in history, and the announcement of our weekly bell-ringer, a special recognition for a student who displays HSH’s core values.

Several times each year, our entire community comes together to perform, share, and reflect on a given topic. From presentations of related class projects to song and dance, our Community Circles are a time to celebrate our diversity, individuality, and everyday accomplishments.

On the week before Spring Break, our students engage in a deep-dive exploration of learning. Each class explores a specific topic, usually falling under a larger schoolwide theme, and bases all of their learning for the week around that concept. As students engage in project-based learning, they ask questions and create solutions while transforming their classroom space through thematic multimedia projects.

On the last day of school before Thanksgiving Break, we invite our wider community of Grandparents and Special Friends to join us on campus for a Community Circle and classroom visits. This is one of our favorite days of the year, as it shows some of the most special people in our students’ lives their home away from home.

Twice each year, three students are recognized for their academic excellence, growth, improvement, and character. While we intentionally celebrate the everyday accomplishments that mark each student's growth, recognizing our Knight Award recipients each year is an opportunity to inspire all of us to work as hard as some of our most persistent and beloved peers.

Original sketches, stand-up routines, singing, and even acrobatics, our Talent Show showcases the interests and confidence of our ever-growing, constantly-inspired students. Not only does performing for their peers give students an opportunity to thrive outside of the classroom, but it’s also a valued opportunity to become the poised and creative individuals of whom we are so proud.

Even our youngest students embrace the importance of being socially grounded at the Schoolhouse, and each year we support their earliest efforts to be civically engaged. During Helping Hands Day, Early Childhood students create arts, crafts, jewelry, and doo-dads that the rest of the community happily purchases for quarters, dollars, and high-fives. This day brings all of our students together while also supporting the Children’s Hospital LA Foundation, teaching our students the importance of giving back.

Much like everything else we do at the Schoolhouse, the Spring Musical is more than just a performance; it’s a community event. Parent volunteers design costumes and apply makeup, while our 3rd through 6th Graders come together to perform their latest masterpiece. The Spring Musical is one of the most spectacular occasions of the school year, and in Hollywood, that can include everything from hand-painted sets to green-screen recordings to celebrity cameos.

Each school year, parents at every grade level are invited to observe and participate in some sort of cross-curricular presentation that celebrates their child’s work across disciplines. Our Early Childhood students have the Passion Projects, our 2nd Graders the Mock Museum, and the 6th Grade Science Fair is simply remarkable. Each year brings a new opportunity for students to amaze and support one another and our community.