It has become a highlight for the Hillcrest faculty and staff each year as school winds down.

The annual luncheon sponsored by the HHS Parent-Teacher-Students-Association (PTSA) provided a huge spread of food, including bar-b-que beef and chicken, baked beans, cole slaw, cookies, brownies, ice cream and cold soda.

“It was just fabulous,” said Assistant Principal Kirk Slater, and plenty of teachers, counselors and secretaries chimed in their agreement.

In addition to the food provided, there were a number of gifts given away in drawings. Teachers could enter by filling out a ticket, with those who were PTSA members getting extra chances to win.  The prizes included certificates for meals, a variety of gift bags, certificates for golf and bowling, plus products from Pampered Chef.

Monday morning started with juniors and seniors filling the auditorium to receive academic honors, followed by the annual Memories Assembly video presentation.

Students were recognized for grades, for meeting the requirements for the A+ program, for community service as part of the Key Club, and four top students received the Betty Thompson Award for Excellence in English.  The former HHS English teacher was on stage for the presentation.

Four new members of the Hillcrest Hall of Fame were announced by principal Jay Rush.  Seniors Gabrielle Barton, Taylor Kleier, Nathan Loya and Sarah Thomas were given the school’s highest honor.

The 35 minute video, produced by Chandler Reed, the Cabinet Media Commissioner, included moments from the past year at Hillcrest.

Monday is the beginning of the end for the Hillcrest Class of 2012.  Final exams will take place, as will some traditional ceremonies.

Senior honors will be handed out at 9 a.m. in the HHS auditorium, followed by the Memories Assembly, which is one of the most anticipated events of the year, especially for the graduating class.

The honors portion of Monday’s program will feature recognition for the top achievers in the class. This includes scholarships and awards, and parents are encouraged to attend.  The school’s highest honor–the Hall of Fame–will be announced for the first time as well.

Senior Chandler Reed is the Media Commissioner on the Hillcrest Cabinet, which means the video portion of the Memories Assembly is his responsibility.  At last report, Reed planned to edit most of the weekend to wrap up the look back at the past school year.

The annual Media Banquet will be held Friday, May 11 at Hillcrest starting at 6 P.M. The banquet program follows at 7:15 in the Recital Hall at CBC, where awards to current media students will be presented, and one senior will receive the $1,000 dollar HTV Alumni Scholarship.

The program will conclude with a major milestone.  HTV Magazine number 200 will be screened for the first time.  The show will feature hundreds of clips from the past, with introductions by the current staff.

Along with reaching show 200, long time adviser Dave Davis is retiring at the end of the year. He will continue to teach part-time, overseeing HTV Magazine for two more  years until he leaves Hillcrest in 2014.

“I think it’s going to be the most significant banquet ever, because not only is Coach Davis retiring, but it’s also the 200th show. The staff this year have been really great, so it will be very interesting to see the outcome of awards,” said News Director Morgan Wilson.

There’s change buzzing around the Hillcrest dance team.  In the coming year they hope to make a name for themselves.

“The dance team may not be known for many performances, but the girls work hard to do the performances that they did do,” said Coach Amber Venegas. “I would like to change that and have the dance team grow. I can not wait to show HHS the enthusiasm that the team is going to have next year.”

This Thursday after school in the science wing, any boy or girl interested in trying out for the HHS Honeybees will go through a clinic to learn a routine, then try out.  Results will be announced on Friday.

The team plans to perform at basketball and football games next year, and to participate in school assemblies.

The Honeybees have been a Hillcrest tradition for decades.  Back in the 1980s, they actually met and rehearsed every day during first hour. The team was eventually moved to an extracurricular program, meeting after school.

The End-of-Course-Exams, or EOCs, have begun at Hillcrest.

Students in Algebra I, English II, Biology and Government classes are taking the exams, which replaced the MAP tests a few years ago.

EOC Coordinator Crystal Champion says things have gone smoothly, with very few hiccups.  The tests are now taken on computers, and that occasionally causes some issues, usually with logging on and off properly.

The students taking the tests have a lot on the line, according to Champion.

“Getting them here and getting them to do their best is always the challenge, but it’s important because the test is also their final exam,” said Champion.  That means the tests impact final grades.

Hillcrest will continue testing through Tuesday, then Champion will start the process of administering make-up tests to those who were absent.

The 2011-2012 Hillcrest Highlighter yearbook is expected to arrive at Hillcrest by May 10. Students will not be able to pick up the book until after EOC tests are completed to help reduce distractions in the classroom.

This year’s yearbook theme is, “Get Energized.” The books cost $42 dollars this year. Students who are still interested in purchasing a yearbook will be able to do so from Ms. Sherrie Bellmer in room 127.

“We only ordered 100 extra copies this year. It will be first come, first serve,” said Photography and Copy Editor Kimberly Moore.

Students who still need to purchase their yearbook can do so from Brenda Stone up until the yearbooks actually arrive. Official yearbook receipts will be issued by next week. All students must have their receipt and student ID to pick up their book.

If any student still owes money for the layaway program, they should see Ms. Bellmer as soon as possible.

Visitors to the capitol in Washington D.C. will see artwork created by a Hillcrest senior during the next year.

Jamie Blaine entered a competition against students in Congressman Billy Long’s district, and she took first out of 31 entries from across ten counties.

The winning piece will hang in the capitol building for one year with winners from other congressional districts. Literally thousands of people will view her work and see that if came from Hillcrest High School, according to art teacher Heather Weter.  

“We are so proud of Jamie.  She works very hard to be the best that she can be and it is paying off.  Jamie represents Hillcrest and our area of the country in this competition, I couldn’t think of a better person for the job,“ said Weter.

Blaine will receive two plane tickets to attend the ceremony for all the congressional winners at the Library of Congress in June.  She will also receive a monetary award.

The Aldo Sebben Relays at Missouri State University are an annual test for the Hillcrest track teams, where well over 1,000 participants from around 50 schools will compete.

Both the girls and the boys are racing at MSU today in the meet named after the late MSU Athletic Director and long time Bears track coach.  It is the nation’s oldest high school invitational track meet.

In the recent Scarlet Relays held at Glendale, Hillcrest’s girls 4X100 relay team placed first against 14 other schools.  Kelly Dole took top honors in the 100 meter hurdles. Overall, the Lady Hornets placed in nine events.

The boys 4X400 relay team finished second overall at Glendale. Lougen Lewis, who was on that relay team, also won the 400 meter sprint for the boys.

After today’s relays at MSU, the Hillcrest teams will compete in the Ozark Conference meet on May 3 at JFK Stadium, and then the district meet at Carl Junction on May 12.