Co-Curricular Activities

The following activities do not fulfill the Interscholastic Athletic Requirement. All students participating in any non-athletic programs are required to complete a regular exercise program in that term. 

The Dial: Fall and Winter Terms | Contact Dr. Rinkevich mrinkevich@thehill.org or Mrs. Winter at awinter@thehill.org.

Are you interested in creating history at The Hill School? If so, join The Dial as a member of the editorial board! Working alongside other students, you will design, plan, edit, and create a volume of our school’s yearbook—something that students have done for over 120 years! This is an important task that allows you to create a permanent printed keepsake that records and celebrates the lives of hundreds of students, faculty, and staff members. Students in every form can participate in The Dial, but spots are limited to 10 students each term. Approval by the faculty adviser is required. 

Hill News: Fall, Winter, and Spring Terms | Contact Mr. Swartz aswartz@thehill.org.  

Students participating in The Hill News afternoon activity will have an opportunity to shape their own role inside our student-led journalism program. Any student wanting to work on a special project for The Hill News (writing a weekly column; launching a podcast; creating multimedia packages for the website; etc.) is welcome, regardless of prior experience. Current editors can use this time to accomplish their production goals. Students hoping to take a leadership role in the future can use this time to shadow editors and to receive training specific to their chosen paths. Afternoon activity is also a good time to cover breaking news stories, so this is a great place for students who want to quickly up their experience with reporting, including photojournalism and videography. Current staff members who would simply like to write or produce more and receive immediate feedback and subsequent publishing are also welcome. 

Speech and Debate: Fall and Winter Terms | Contact Mr. Malinak at nmalinak@thehill.org.

Hill Forensics, also known as Speech and Debate, is a competitive team. This afternoon activity brings together a diversity of interests in arts, academics, argumentation, acting, public speaking, current events, and other individual interests of students at Hill under the umbrella of a single team that practices, travels, and competes together. Much like Track and Field, there is a wide range of competitive options. In addition to a decade of success across these events, Hill has a strong group of returning team members in Lincoln-Douglas Debate, where individual competitors address philosophical questions, and Public Forum Debate, a partner event about current events. Just as in any sport, team members are expected to attend daily practices, prepare for their given event(s), and attend competitions regularly as representatives of The Hill School. 

Engineering and Design: Winter and Spring Terms | Contact Dr. Ehsan hehsan@thehill.org 

Students participating in Engineering and Design are able to work in the Fabrication lab, learn and work with different rapid prototyping machinery such as CNC router, 3D printer, and Laser Cutter to design and produce products of their own. Students are guided through the design and manufacturing of products. Students learn about mass production and ways to market their products. 

During the winter term, students interested in competing at the Technology Student Association (TSA), will be provided the space, training and materials to work on their project. *Teams are only allowed to compete at TSA if the team members are enrolled in this co-curricular activity or upon Director’s approval. Students who are competing in individual competitions must be enrolled in this program.   

QED robotics program is offered in both Winter and Spring. Students attending this program will be prepared to participate in different selective robotics competitions. *No prior experience is needed. In partnership with Hobart’s Run, QED provides opportunities for students to teach engineering/STEM to the Pottstown Local Community. 

Afternoon Arts and Community Service also are considered non-athletic/non-interscholastic afternoon activities. Learn more in the panels below.

The following activities do not fulfill the Interscholastic Athletic Requirement. These activities require two seasons of interscholastic athletics. 

Fall Sculling and Learn to Row: Fall Term | Contact Mr. Scully at wscully@thehill.org 

The Fall Sculling program aims to provide a fall training opportunity for all rowers, with a focus on small boat skill development and sculling. The development of small boat training skills is crucial to the athlete’s long-term development and will improve their overall boat-moving ability in any boat class. The program will also include cardio and strength components, so that athletes will improve technically and physiologically over the fall. Participants are not eligible for Hill Endurance Lab, with the exception of sixth formers.

Hill Endurance Lab: Winter term | Contact Mr. Scully at wscully@thehill.org 

Requires approval; priority is given to returning members of the spring crew team. Available to students who did not participate in fall small boat training program. Students must participate in two seasons of interscholastic play at Hill and make a varsity-level commitment in at least one of those sports.  This program is designed for rowers or other spring athletes looking to prepare for their spring season by participating in the winter power-endurance program. The winter program is a rigorous combination of indoor training on the Concept2 ergometer, weightlifting, running, yoga and other strength and power-endurance work.

Strength and Conditioning: Fall, Winter, and Spring Terms | Contact Mrs. O’Brien at eobrien@thehill.org 

Requires approval. Admission to this program is contingent on approval by the athletic department. Students in S&C participate in two seasons of interscholastic play at Hill and make a varsity-level commitment in at least one of those sports. Priority is given to upper form students. Sixth formers may have the option to participate in two terms of strength and conditioning if they are committed to playing their primary sport at a higher level. Sixth formers that decide to do two seasons of this activity will be asked to assist the Athletics Department with additional responsibilities during the week and on weekends. Strength and Conditioning is for The Hill student-athlete who wants to improve athletic performance and sport-specific skills in their only off-season. Student-athletes will have the support of our Strength & Conditioning Coach and priority time in the Hill weight room; will have a weekly yoga class to work on flexibility and core strength; are encouraged to do sport-specific skill work; and may pursue opportunities for club team play, after fulfilling S&C program commitments.  

The following activities DO NOT fulfill the Interscholastic Athletic Requirement

Dance: Fall, Spring | Contact Ms. Johnson at lcobbs@thehill.org  

Limited to 12 students. This afternoon activity focuses on enhancing dance training in the following techniques: ballet, jazz, hip hop, contemporary. Dancers will focus on improving their technical ability and performance quality.  Afternoon dancers will participate in a recital at the conclusion of each term. Meets Mon-Fri for about one hour and 15 minutes each day. 

Intramural Ultimate: Spring Term | Contact Mr. Mellander kmellander@thehill.org. 

Fifth and sixth formers priority, under formers will be considered as space allows. Co-ed athletic activity in which students will learn the primary styles of throwing discs and play the game of Ultimate. Students will also learn disc golf, other games, and compete against other schools. 

Recreational Squash: Fall Term | Contact Coach Cardwell jcardwell@thehill.org 

Students participating in this co-curricular activity will learn the game of squash and will have the opportunity to improve their skills daily under the direction of our head boys and girls squash coaches. Meets Monday – Friday. 

Spin & Barre: Fall, Winter, Spring Terms | Contact Athletic Department eobrien@thehill.org 

Limited to 16 students, fifth and sixth formers priority, under formers will be considered as space allows. This afternoon activity will focus on providing students with a unique exercise experience utilizing Hill’s newly purchased spin bikes. Participants can expect a variety of challenging spin classes three times per week, and two barre classes each week. Meets Monday - Friday for about an hour each day.  

Rock Climbing: Winter Term | Contact Ms. Deery ddeery@thehill.org 

Limited to 18 students. Activity fee will be assessed prior to the start of the season. Financial aid is available for those who qualify. Learn how to climb! Attend the Philadelphia Rock Gym 2-3 days/week and learn skills of top rope, bouldering, movement and positioning, footwork, handwork and team building. Rentals, transportation and instruction are included in this activity! No climbing experience is required. Learn to climb on Hill’s top rope wall and Kilter Board right on campus. Please note weekend climbing will also be a part of this program, dates to be determined. 

Game Management: Fall, Winter, and Spring Terms | Enrollment limited; preference given to fifth and sixth form. Contact Mrs. O’Brien at eobrien@thehill.org 

Requires approval by the athletic department. Students in Game Management assist the athletics department in all aspects of game day operations. Students will have the opportunity to develop skills such as broadcasting, social media, graphic design, scorekeeping, and more. Students should expect to present for all home competition days and possibly select away games. This co-curricular will fulfil the interscholastic athletics requirement for fifth and sixth formers. 

Pottstown Community Service: Fall, Winter, and Spring Terms | Contact Mrs. Skitko at cskitko@thehill.org

Opportunities with service learning in engineering and financial literacy. This afternoon activity provides an opportunity to serve the greater community as well as learn about The Hill’s distinctive Hobart’s Run neighborhood improvement initiative. A 501(c)(3), Hobart's Run was launched by The Hill in 2016 to work with residents through projects that create a clean, safe, and inclusive community; provide incentives for home ownership and improvements; and generate positive, sustainable commercial and retail development. Opportunities may include visiting residents of the Manatawny Manor or Keystone Villa care communities; contributing to the restoration of historic Edgewood Cemetery; mentoring children and youths at the Ricketts Center; and tutoring children of immigrant families. We also encourage participants to identify their passions and design their own service projects.  From time to time students will assist with publicizing community events and take part in neighborhood clean-ups, and they will be asked to share reflections about their experiences. In addition, speakers who represent local nonprofits and other service endeavors will be invited to speak to students throughout each term.   Learn more about our Community Service program.

Afternoon Arts (Media Art, Music, Recording Studio, Visual Art, Theatre, and Theatre Tech): Fall, Winter, and Spring | Contact Mrs. Lim at ylim@thehill.org

Application or Audition Required. This program is for serious and dedicated students who will consistently demonstrate excellence, discipline and artistry. Driven and committed fifth and sixth form students may apply to participate in three-terms of Afternoon Arts in one discipline. This application process is slightly different. The deadlines to apply are August 15 for the three-term distinction, September 1 for the fall term, and by midnight before varsity tryouts for winter and spring terms. Learn more about Afternoon Arts.