Adventures Journal

February 22, 2025 | School Year Session No. 7

After missing our first three sessions due to weather and weather-related conditions, we were so excited to meet again this Saturday. The weather was cool but sunny, an overall nice winter day.

At the left is a description of the day by Team Saturday’s Program Reporter, Kevin, who returned after a semester off  needing to focus on important school work and band; he plays trumpet!

Kevin is a student at Loudoun Valley High School and has been a regular with Team Saturday for many years. This Saturday, he observed and reported on the day, took photos, and also provided staff with  A LOT of much needed, exceptional support. Thank you, Kevin!

And many thanks to our two teacher assistants Miguel and Emily too! Your help makes the sessions so much better! We are very fortunate for your support.

Speaking of support, many thanks to the wonderful Hill School 8th Grade mentors who did their work with care and excellence. Thank you Arabella, Aydan (Dan), Caroline, and Carter!!

We had a couple of guests too! Rachel Wilkinson, from James Madison University, and Christian Lyman. Rachel was visiting to see the program in action and Christian was also here to check out Team Saturday but he also filled in as the sports coach in the afternoon leading fun games that all the kids loved! 

As always, our deepest appreciation for our wonderful staff –

Lukas, Tina, Megan, and Sheleda; The Hill School, their awesome staff supports and resources; and all of the program’s donors and supporters. ❤️

We look forward to the next session on March 8th!

December 14, 2024| School Year Session No. 6

Our sixth and final session of 2024 was a delight! It was our holiday celebration with the students, their families, our wonderful 8th grade and high-school mentors, staff, volunteers, and two very special guests – Mr. and Mrs. Tom Northrup, who created this one of a kind, beautiful program. 

We wanted to show our appreciation and celebrate this awesome community they created (Team Saturday) by presenting the Northrups with a quilt made by Team Saturday. 

Everyone had a hand in the piece work and Mr. Lukas expertly stitched every part together for the finished quilt! Thank you! 

Many thanks too to Ms. Debbi for preparing the delicious buffet including vegetarian chili, gluten free mac and cheese, and gluten free sugar cookies! And thanks too to all the student volunteers (both 8th graders and high-schoolers) who helped prepare the party buffet.

We hope to have more family gatherings in the future since many commented on how good it was to have a chance to get to know one another!

Our deepest appreciation to everyone involved Team Saturday, thank you for all you do. Good wishes to you and your families all the time.

November 16, 2024 | School Year Session No. 5

Our fifth session of the school year! We had a very nice session with lots of time outdoors, pizza, and art. Gwyneth Mac Murtrie – Director of Education, Morven Park Center for Civic Impact – led a  Pollinator Heroes workshop in the morning that everyone really enjoyed. 

Our two Team Saturday high schoolers worked with Debbi to prepare a homemade gluten-free pizza lunch for everyone in the program (they also really enjoyed helping to serve the drinks and lunch to their classmates; it's like a café.) 

After recess, everyone enjoyed art class making and finishing holiday ornaments.

Many thanks to:

• The Hill School 8th grade mentors: Sam, Ava, Jonas, Rowan,  and Nate

• Our Teacher Assistants: Emily and Miguel

• Our Program Reporter: Nyla

• Our teachers, Debbi and Lukas, and our Bus Drivers Tina and Sheleda and Megan who are invaluable and appreciated beyond measure

• The Hill School, Our Children Foundation and all of the parents, program supporters, and helpers for making this extraordinary program possible

November 9, 2024 | School Year Session No. 4

Our fourth session of the school year was very  nice. It was a beautiful and more seasonably cool November day.

In art, students designed holiday ornaments and other beautiful creations using Sculpey® clay that they will paint at our next session. The students also had a chance to continue work on their quilt squares. Mr. Lukas has created a board on which all the finished squares are posted so we can see the amazing progress that the students have made.

In cooking, students made pastries akin to Pop-Tarts and also learned how to make cheese and spinach filled triangles using phyllo dough. Both were served at our family-style lunch.

In between our morning activity blocks, we had a “mini recess” which included a lot of jumping in big leaf piles; great fun!

Since all of our activities, including morning assembly, were a lot longer than expected, recess was our afternoon-block activity. After recess, we convened in the library for book browsing and check out time followed by our afternoon assembly.

Our Middle School group, supervised by Mr. Lukas and Ms. Maria, were tasked with few assignments (a great help to the program). After successfully completing these tasks, they made bracelets. They enjoyed all the outdoor free-play time too and a couple helped get lunch ready (thank you).

The Hill School 8th grade mentors were kind, friendly, and helpful. We greatly appreciate, and need, their help!

Many thanks to:

• 8th grade mentors: Elyana, Ava, Sam, Alana, and Dani

• Cooking Teacher Assistant (high schooler): Miguel Flores

• Substitute Program Reporter (high schooler), filling in for Nyla Carter: Emily Aguilar

• Art teacher Lukas and our Bus Drivers Tina and Sheleda and Megan who are invaluable and appreciated beyond measure

• The Hill School

• Our Children Foundation

• All the parents, program supporters, and helpers for making this extraordinary program possible

October 26, 2024 | School Year Session No. 3

Our third session went well and we had a lot of fun despite record-low attendance. One very bright side to low attendance is that the mentors and Team Saturday kids have a lot more time to get to know one another!

In art, the students continued work on making squares for the 30th Anniversary quilt. If they finished a letter square, they moved on to custom hearts!

In cooking, students had a chance to roll out dough, cut, and bake sugar cookies; some mixed custom icing colors and expertly decorated the hearts and pumpkins shaped treats. Students also had a chance to help make the chili and cornbread for lunch from scratch.  We brought in some popcorn and chili peppers grown in our garden.

After  our family style lunch and recess we played a fast-paced game of Foxhunt, then everyone had a chance to find a hidden pumpkin to take home. Many thanks to Henry and Kylie for finding the perfect hiding spots for each pumpkin!

After a little time to browse and check out books from the library, we concluded the day with gratitude.

Many thanks to:

• 8th grade mentors: Ord, Henry, Caitlin, Allie, Elyana 

• Our high-school mentor: Kylie

• Cooking Teacher Assistant Miguel

• Program Reporter: Nyla

• Art teacher Lukas and our Bus Drivers Tina and Sheleda and Megan who are invaluable and appreciated beyond measure

• The Hill School

• Our Children Foundation

• All the parents, program supporters, and helpers for making this extraordinary program possible

October 12, 2024 | School Year Session No. 2

Our second session of the school year went well!

After our morning assembly and spending a little time with Mr. Lukas working on squares for the 30th anniversary quilt, Fionnuala Quinn, director and founder of Discover Traffic Gardens, engaged the kids with two wonderful one-hour workshops. 

Fionnuala’s morning workshop involved making portable street design playmat kits; in the afternoon, making custom Sidewalk Superintendent magnetic poetry kits – she even brought in an old fashioned typewriter for the kids to type out words that they needed that weren’t already supplied. 

At afternoon assembly, all the kids enthusiastically responded “yes!” when asked if they had fun. The 8th graders commented on how expertly the workshops were set up for maximum creative play and enjoyment – just the right amount of instruction and structure in addition to abundant supplies to allow the imagination to soar. 

Click here to read Fionnuala’ s wonderful write up!

During the last half of the morning workshop, teacher assistants Emily and Miguel helped with preparing the food, setting up the lunch tables and the serving area for the midday meal. They also helped serve lunch and clean up the kitchen. Everyone helped clean up the lunch room.  Thank you!

Lunch was shared family style, with tables set with tablecloths and flowers and included homemade black bean burgers, baked macaroni and cheese, and oatmeal-chocolate chip cookies. After lunch, we enjoyed a good amount of outdoor time on the playground before heading back to the art room.

Afternoon assembly was very short and the students didn’t have a chance to check out books; this was expected and necessary but disappointing since our goal is to allow at least 10-15 minutes each session for browsing and check out. 

Team Saturday’s most excellent team of bus drivers: Tina, Megan, and Sheleda were right on time and safely transported the children to and from the program. Thank you!

Lukas, along with Tina, Sheleda, and Megan, provide a solid, stable, consistent foundation that allows this program to continue. I cannot emphasize enough the significance of, and gratitude for, their commitment and support of Team Saturday. Thank you!

Many thanks to the 8th grade mentors: Ord, Henry, Gin Gin, Caitlin, Allie, Elyana! And many thanks again to Fionnuala Quinn, The Hill School, Our Children Foundation, and all the program supporters and helpers for making this extraordinary program possible.

July 27, 2024 | Summer Session No. 4

Our fourth summer session was lightly attended but the students still made great food and enjoyed making things with Craftsman Lukas.

We started off with toast and juice for breakfast then broke out into groups. In cooking, students divided up pre-made homemade pie dough into small circles, which they rolled out, filled with jam, folded, sealed, and decorated them with their own unique pastry symbol. Once everyone finished, we baked and iced them. Yum! 

In crafts,  the students started a new, very cool tote bag project that involves rivets! Some worked on earlier projects including some embroidery. Craftsman Lukas carefully prepared the fabric, straps and hardware for each bag before the classes. He also works with the kids on the sewing machines! Thank you, Lukas!

In the 2nd block the students not only made their hand pies – now called Team Saturday Dumpletarts –but they readied locally grown veggies for sautéing and for the spaghetti pasta sauce made with local tomatoes canned by Lukas and his mom, Debbi. 

 In block 3, students helped pull the program lunch ready including slicing and baking the garlic toast made with sourdough baguette and garlic grown in the Team Saturday garden. On the menu: cooked spaghetti noodles warmed in the skillet with melted butter and topped with homemade tomato sauce, sautéed local zucchini, peppers, and onions, yellow pear tomatoes from the TS garden, and garlic toast. For dessert: TS Dumpletarts!

Garden note: the drought is taking a toll on the Team Saturday garden. We had hoped to harvest an abundance of green beans this week but there were none! There were, however, some gorgeous sunflowers and plenty of yellow pear tomatoes.

Speaking of climate, it was finally cool enough for the kids to have recess out on the playground!

Many thanks to Miguel for being an outstanding student mentor / teacher assistant and to Kevin for his reporting on the sessions for us (see left); he has quite a unique style and wit. 

Many thanks to ALL the students for their help preparing the  program lunch including the extra dumpletarts and for cleaning up nicely afterwards.

Many thanks to Megan who filled in for Tina and got the kids to and from the program today safe and sound!

Many,  many thanks to all the Team Saturday students and staff, The Hill School and staff, and everyone who makes this program possible!

July 20, 2024 | Summer Session No. 3

Our third summer session went really well. It is always fun to work with the Team Saturday students!

Craftsman Lukas goes above and beyond to prepare very cool, thoughtful, projects for the kids. This week, most students worked on customizing their aprons – decorating them with embroidery and patches, a couple others with fabric paint. A couple of the students completed very pretty, lined, tote bags; they were so proud! 

In cooking, students prepared from scratch, black bean burgers, veggie pasta salad, zucchini muffins, and peaches with freshly whipped cream for lunch. It was pretty cool to know that some of the cherry tomatoes in the black bean burgers, and the cucumbers in the pasta salad were from the Team Saturday garden harvested just that morning. The other produce, tomatoes, zucchini, peppers, and peaches were from our home garden and Moutoux Orchard. The kids seem to really like being responsible for preparing the lunch for everyone; they are willing to take on just about any task, from cutting up veggies, shaping the burgers, setting out plates, etc., and most definitely, whipping cream. Thank you!

Many thanks to Miguel for being an excellent student mentor / teacher assistant and to Kevin for reporting on the sessions for us (see left).

As always, Tina got the kids to and from the program today safe and sound. Thank you!

Many,  many thanks to all the Team Saturday students and staff, The Hill School and staff, and everyone who makes this program possible!

July 13, 2024 | Summer Session No. 2

Our second summer session went really well. The few challenges were balanced by unexpected good fortune / blessings. 

Rey, a very mature and responsible high-schooler visiting from Arizona, assisted Lukas for the arts projects, and Miguel (our new Team Saturday mentor) helped in the kitchen. Both Rey and Miguel were focused on helping the other students (as well as the teachers) and went way above and beyond making sure the kitchen and lunchroom were as tidy as could be; sweeping, washing dishes, packing up supplies, and more. Our very own program reporter, Kevin, documented the activities for the day (see report to the left). Thank you, Kevin, Rey, and Miguel!

In cooking, the kids made delicious pico de gallo (including garlic and a yellow pear tomato from the Team Saturday garden), flour flat breads/tortillas from scratch,  and then prepped, baked, and served the cheese quesadillas for lunch. For dessert, a few of the students volunteered to make the cream cheese frosting from scratch and ice the homemade carrot cake cupcakes made with carrots from the Team Saturday garden. 

Every student had a hand in making the lunch for all of us in the program today. Thank you!

In art, the kids had a variety of projects to continue and start from customizing their aprons (by sewing patches, embroidery, and painting), learning how to use a sewing machine, to sewing beautiful, lined custom grocery tote bags.

We did go out to the playground but it was really too hot even at 11:00. Their second free-play break was in the gym.

Tina got the kids to and from the program today safe and sound. She says most of them fell asleep on the bus ride home! There were no problems with Bus #3 but we certainly appreciated knowing there was a backup bus. Thank you!

Many thanks to all the students, the Team Saturday staff, donors, The Hill School, and all those who make this program possible!

July 06, 2024 | First Team Saturday Summer Session!

Our first summer session of 2024 went very well! It was pretty close to  ideal with regard to lesson content, student ages, ease of working with the kids, program flow, and the following unexpected bonuses: 

• One of our long-time students, Miguel, stepped into a leadership role as a Team Saturday mentor/teacher assistant; and another, 

• Kevin, a rising high school freshman, took on the new role as Team Saturday news reporter! See his report to the left.

In cooking, Ms. Debbi taught the students how to make and water-bath can blueberry jam from blueberries that she and her husband harvested (and donated to the program) from a local farm, Creek Crossing, in Lincoln in addition to some harvested from the Hill School‘s blueberry bushes.

Students also made blueberry-yogurt-granola parfaits using the local berries and granola made by Ms. Debbi. A few of the students volunteered to make, slice, and serve the pizzas for all the students at lunchtime – thank you!

In art, Lukas led a project of customizing denim aprons. Students had the choice to sew, embroider, or paint (or a combo) designs on them.

Ms. Tina, driver extraordinaire, got the students to and from the school safe and sound.

Since it was so hot, free play was held in the gym. 

Many thanks to all the students, the Team Saturday staff, donors, The Hill School, and all those who make this program possible!

May 18, 2024 | Homemade Pizza and Strawberry Shortcake, Roller Skating

This was the last school-year session. The older kids (Team Senior) went to the Bush Tabernacle Skating Rink in Purcellville while the younger kids (Team  Junior) had cooking and games on campus. 

In cooking class they prepared toppings and assembled pizzas for everyone in the program. They even whipped the cream for the strawberry shortcakes! By the way, at least 1/3 of the strawberries came from the Team Saturday garden! 

All the Juniors received  very cool t-shirts printed by Reston Shirts with artwork by two of the students: thank you, Scout and Edwin! 

A big shout out thank you to the wonderful Hill School Eighth Grade mentors –  Connor, Bria, Peyton, Braemon, and Maren who took really good care of the The Team Saturday kids! We greatly appreciate the Eighth-graders; their help is instrumental in the success of each session.

Many, many thanks to our awesome staff: Lukas, Megan, Stokes, Sheleda, and Tina.

As always, many millions of thanks to The Hill School, Our Children Foundation, and all those who make Team Saturday a reality.

We look forward to Team Saturday in the fall!

Team Sat Seniors Amelia, Milo, and Jasper with their wooden constellation art project led by Lukas Burgher. Photo by Lukas Burgher, May 2024.

April 20, 2024 | Chicken Cacciatore, Beautiful Spring Weather, Outdoor Time

Today was nice all-around. The weather was beautiful and a lot of time was spent outdoors! In Team Junior, sports and cooking (making chicken cacciatore) were the two main activities with a long recess on the playground followed by games and legos.  Team Senior students enjoyed sports, art and being outdoors.

A big shout out Thank You to the wonderful Hill School Eighth Grade mentors –  Elizabeth, Maren, Peyton, Merric, Bria and Keagan who carefully guided and engaged with the Team Saturday children. The Team Saturday kids absolutely love hanging out with their mentors. Thank you, too, to high-schooler and Hill School alumnus, David M., who helped Chef Harry and the students make the delicious lunch.

As always, we send our deepest appreciation to The Hill School, Our Children Foundation and all those who make Team Saturday a reality.

April 13, 2024 | Team Senior Tennis Clinic, Homemade Granola, Beautiful Day

Many thanks to Hill School’ s Will Heron and Michelle Woodruff at Foxcroft School who made it possible for Team Saturday (Senior) to use the tennis courts at Foxcroft this weekend -- and on such short notice. 

All of us in the program greatly appreciated the generosity and kindness to make a very special day for fourteen of our Team Saturday Teens and the attending program staff. The tennis workshop, led by Riverside High School counselor Kevin Grigsby, was a great success and the day was thoroughly enjoyed by all. By the way, Kevin volunteered his time, energy and expertise today. Thank you, Kevin!

Team Senior’s Lukas Burgher coordinated with Kevin to create this wonderful event and shared this lovely description:

It was such a pleasure to spend the day on the beautiful Foxcroft campus as a group. The strong wind was tempered by periods of bright sun. Our students enjoyed their time being introduced to tennis, lounging in the sun, talking about life, eating pizza, and being silly together. The staff had fun too.  The young man at the front gate was very helpful and accommodating. All of the children were very respectful of the space.

Mr. Grigsby noted that Samantha S., a student at Foxcroft and Team Saturday Teen, was an exceptional assistant during the workshop.

Back on campus, Team Junior enjoyed a fun day with their friends. In the morning they made granola in cooking class with Ms. Cynthia and played lots of games in sports with Ms. Sheleda. After lunch and a long recess on the playground (it was such a beautiful and sunny day even with the winds) the children had time to browse books in the library. Nine students checked out books (three of them returned their books from April 6 so they could check out another!)

A big shout out Thank You to the ten wonderful Hill School Eighth Grade mentors (Charlotte, Camden, Caroline, Peyton, Bria, Maren, Merric, Sophie A., Elizabeth W. and Margot) who carefully guided and engaged with the Team Saturday children. The Team Saturday kids absolutely love hanging out with their mentors.

As always, we send our deepest appreciation to The Hill School, Our Children Foundation and all those who make Team Saturday a reality.

Image above left: This artwork was created by Jacky Arellano when she was a Hill School 8th grade mentor at Team Saturday! She went on to graduate from Foxcroft and is now excelling at Shenandoah University.

April 06, 2024 | Library Workshop,  Professional Soccer Coach, Chicken BBQ

This session was very nice for all involved. It was a beautiful spring day that went smoothly with some delightful highlights.

Since we had such low attendance, the Team Saturday Junior students stayed in one big group and benefited from a lot of one-on-one time with their favorite mentors. 

After art (weaving bookmarks with Ms. Debbi), sports (wax museum with Coach Andre), lunch and recess, Hill School’s awesome librarian, Ms. Butu came in in the afternoon and gave a wonderful introduction-to-the-library workshop for Team Junior. The students LOVED this and each of them checked out a book (Ms. Butu has set up a really nice system for us – Thank you, Ms. Butu). After the students checked out their book, they sat with their mentors and read. 

In Team Senior, Hans van Zutphen met the students and engaged them in (as a volunteer) a short soccer workshop. It was inspiring for all involved. 

Two lucky Team Senior students had a cooking class with Harry to learn how to prepare a meal for a large group of people. High-schooler David M. was Harry’s assistant in the morning.

Cynthia Watts volunteered  her time to work with the two Team Senior cooking students to get a feel for the program, the kitchen and the students. It was a very helpful intro to help planning the summer cooking classes.

All of the volunteers - students and adults - were engaged with the children and seemed to have a good time themselves. 

Many thanks to our wonderful Eighth-Grade Mentors: Sophie L., Averi, Keagan, Brooks and Elizabeth. And many thanks to our equally wonderful high-school volunteers Kylie G. and David M.!

Many thanks to you, The Hill School, and everyone who makes the Team Saturday program possible.

March 09, 2024 | Street Tacos, Legos and More

Today’s session was fun. The total attendance was low and reasons ranged from no reason at all to not feeling well or because a friend wasn’t going.  The chilly and rainy day didn’t help!

We combined the Juniors (9) into one big group and they enjoyed sports and art (garden sun catchers) in the morning and legos and games in the afternoon. 

Harry worked with the high-school volunteers –  Will R. and David M. – to prepare an awesome build-your-own street taco bar for all students, volunteers and staff. It was great to have Andre back as Junior sports coach; he also did a great job helping with afternoon assembly and with the post-session meeting with the Eighth graders.

In Team Senior, the (7) students enjoyed sports and continued building their wooden constellations  and other wood-working projects.

It was a different kind of session but the kids seemed to be having a good time with one another, including the Eighth Graders – Sophie L., Averi, Brooks, Micah and Palmer –w ho, once again, did a great job making the Team Saturday student’s their priority and engaging with them fully.

Many, many thanks to The Hill School and everyone who makes Team Saturday possible.

Photo by Andre Dengler, March 09, 2024

February 24, 2024 | Zines, Graffiti Art, Guests

Today’s session was fantastic. The Eighth graders – Averi, Brooks, Camden, Caroline, Charlotte, Keagan, Merric and Sophie L – are exceptional as are the staff – Lukas, Stokes and Lisa. 

We had three guests: Laura Ogelman (librarian at Foxcroft), who, along with Lukas planned and led a 'zine making workshop for Team Senior in the morning; Charles Barrett (teen counselor, motivational speaker) who led a presentation (organized by Laura and Lukas) for  Team Senior in the afternoon (click here to read the review); and,  Cynthia Watts, who I met while tending the Team Sat garden a few weeks ago. She came to see the program in action!

 Many, many thanks to Laura and Charles who volunteered their time and energy to the program! 

In addition to the zine workshop and Mr. Barrett’s presentation, Team Senior enjoyed sports with Coach Stokes.

In Team Junior, the students had a chance to practice Graffiti style in art class and make a delicious snack mix in cooking.

In addition to his fine work with Team Junior, Keagan helped out with setting up the projector for Charles Barrett’s presentation -- and -- led the first part of the afternoon Team Junior assembly! All of the Eighth graders were excellent mentors. They were mature, helpful, focused on,  and engaged with, the Team Saturday students all day making the session a great experience for everyone. THANK YOU!

February 10, 2024 | Very “Kool” Author Assembly

Many thanks to Hill School’s Ms. Coulter for setting us up to have our very first virtual author assembly as well as to Eighth Graders Margot and Keagan and to Team Saturday’s Ms. Cameron for all of their theater/tech assistance. Ms. Cameron was able to work some tech/phone magic to help with the internet connection and also proved one of the best interview hosts (she did this with no notice)! 

We welcomed the very patient, generous and multi-talented visionary creative, Bobbito García aka Kool Bob Love to speak with Team Saturday about his recent kids book, Aim High, Little Giant, Aim High. After starting out with an awesome mindfulness exercise, he shared a wealth of helpful and inspiring guidance! A few of the kids had a chance to ask questions and receive incredibly thoughtful responses from him. Thank you Bobbito García!

After the assembly the children enjoyed activities including sports, making caramel corn from scratch, designing a unique miniature tiny house community and making wooden constellations!

Many thanks to:

• Our student volunteers: high-schoolers Kylie and David and Eighth graders Margot, Keagan, Micah, Sophie A., Trey and Aidrek

• The awesome Team Saturday team – Tina, Megan, Sheleda, Lukas, Cameron and Harry

• The Hill School for all the resources, guidance and support for making the Team Saturday program possible!

Photo by Cameron Hughes, February 10, 2024

JANUARY 27, 2024 | Tae Kwon Do

First, many millions of thanks to Mr. Tony Horkan for sharing his time, expertise and kindness in a Tae Kwon Do workshop for the Team Junior kids and the Eighth Grade assistants! It was a lot of fun and all of us wish Mr. Horkan could hold more workshops for the program during the year! Note: before the pandemic, Mr. Horkan’s workshops were an annual tradition at Team Saturday. We are so happy to welcome him back! 

Heartwarming, active and fun were a few descriptions of this session! 

With the Tae Kwon do workshop in the afternoon, we offered just sports and art in the morning and only had two student groups in Team Junior. Cooking with Mr. Harry was greatly missed but he’ll be back on February 10th.

The Eighth Grade Assistants – Margot, Sophie A. , Trey, Michah, Aidrek and Palmer – did a fantastic job for their first time with the program. It was as if they already had many Team Saturday experiences under their belt. Thank you!

The students in Team Saturday Senior enjoyed the game Agree To Disagree in the morning (Pie is the best breakfast food, anyone?!) which was followed by art (weaving the BEST potholders) and sports.

As always, many thanks to our staff – Tina, Megan, Sheleda, Andre, Cameron, Lukas, Stokes and Harry for making Team Saturday a wonderful experience for everyone. Thanks, too, to Harry who did the grocery shopping for us even though he didn’t teach this session.

Photo by Cameron Hughes, January 27, 2024

JANUARY 13, 2024 | Weather and Garden

Since we did not have our session today – complicated forecasts; student and staff safety first – we were able to tidy up and inventory our cooking class supplies.

And – there is also time to write this quick garden journal entry!

This past growing season included some extremes, from drought and extreme cold early on (which knocked out 90% of our strawberries), to drought and extreme heat. Nevertheless, we harvested over twenty pounds of green beans; at least another twenty pounds were left to dry for seed. 

The popcorn and pie pumpkins didn’t fair too well. It is a gift to be able to experiment and not rely on what we grow as our sole source of food. The goal of the Team Saturday Garden is for interested students to learn how to grow food “as if our lives depended on it" while having a lot of fun in the process.

This coming year we will engage and involve the kids ... and share the harvest. The plan to make this happen is in the works now.

There is SO much vegetable and grain goodness that can be grown in these raised beds that The Hill School generously lets Team Saturday use. THANK YOU HILL SCHOOL!

We also have ample resources from KidsGardening Community, Virginia’ s Agriculture in the Classroom and more. We are also pouring over the awesome Hill School’s Dornin Science Lab lesson plans to figure out a way to integrate those activities into our Team Saturday program. Thank you Susan McCaskey and Mike Barreda!

Stay tuned!

DECEMBER 09, 2023 | Games, fun and hot cocoa

Just a note of deep gratitude and appreciation for:

• The awesome 8th Grade mentors  this past session (Caroline, Camden, Charlottee, Will, Braemon, Addie, Charlie, Colton and Kai) and those who have worked with us this fall: their level of maturity and assistance would make Mr. and Mrs. Northrup very proud! 

• Special guest volunteer, David, Hill School Alum and 9th grader at Evergreen, who assisted Ms. Maria all day with a variety of tasks. Our gratitude to the other High Schoolers who have helped us this fall too: John, Nathaniel and Kylie.

• Special guest volunteer, Kevin Grigsby – a counselor at Riverside High School – who led a drum circle for our Team Senior kids in the morning. Many thanks to Lukas, who made the connection with Kevin and is developing future partnership activities.

• Special guest volunteer, Lisa Robertson, who was our Hot Cocoa Bar “barista”! And to Neville  Bossi, beloved former Banneker Elementary teacher, who helped us during a couple of sessions this fall.

• Our wonderful teachers and bus drivers: Ms. Pamela (Junior Art), Chef Harry (Junior Cooking), Coach Andre (Junior Sports), Coach Stokes (Senior Sports), Mr. Lukas (Senior Art – and – bus driver, subbing for Ms. Megan who is recovering from surgery and who we send lots and lots of good wishes),  Ms. Tina (Lead Bus Driver), and Ms. Sheleda (Team Bus Driver) and Ms. Cameron (the most awesome, versatile substitute ever).

• The Hill School and all the program’s supporters; and,

• To all the Team Saturday students and their families who bring joy and energy to us all!

NOVEMBER 11, 2023 | Fall collages, painting, pasta, sports and more

We had another beautiful fall day!

Coach Lukas and Stokes offered a variety of activities in Team Senior Sports and Ms. Cameron (her photos to the left!) led Senior Art students on a hike around the beautiful Hill School campus to collect natural materials for their project and spend some time enjoying  play in the fall leaves.

In Team Saturday Junior, Coach Andre offered a lot of fun activities for the kids in sports. In art, Ms. Pamela’s students finished up some of their sewing projects and created gorgeous watercolor paintings (see our home page for a photo). There are some excellent young sewists in Team Saturday! And in Chef Harry’s cooking class, the aroma of the delicious pasta dish that they prepared filled the lunchroom.

Many thanks to all of our excellent teachers and to our awesome bus drivers Tina (who  co-leads Team Senior’s morning assembly too), Megan, and Sheleda. 

Ms. Neville Bossi volunteered with Team Junior again this session, leading their morning assembly. Thank you, Neville!

And many, many thanks to our wonderful Hill School Eighth Graders who all did a great job: Braemon, Will, Charlie, Addie, Kai and Colton.

Thank you Hill Shool!

Photos by Ms. Cameron Hughes

OCTOBER 28, 2023 | Celebrating the Autumn Beauty

What a wonderful and beautiful fall day. We had one of our largest turnouts ever with 37 Team Saturday students! We all enjoyed a cookout and a lot of play in the afternoon - plus an all-day visit from many of our students beloved 2nd grade teacher from Banneker, Ms. Neville Bossi!

Lukas secured a donation of small pumpkins for the kids from Wegmeyer Farms in Hamilton! Many thanks to Tyler and Harriet Wegmeyer!

The Team Junior kids had cool sports with Andre, cooking with Harry (buttery waffles, crispy on the outside, tender on the inside), and and sewing and collages with Pamela.

Team Senior learned Shesiko embroidery with Lukas and tested their strength and endurance in sports with Sheleda and Tina.

Many thanks to Megan, Tina, Deniesha and Neville who volunteered all day to make the day go smoothly, all the staff - teachers and bus drivers - and all the students

We couldn't do this without the help of our awesome 8th Grade assistants and high-school volunteers. A big shout out of thanks to 8th Graders Alyssa, Charlie, Kai, Will, Braemon and the high-schoolers (and former Hill students) Kylie G., John F., Nathaniel R. and Will R.

Team Junior Art Class Photo by Pamela Schmidt

SEPTEMBER  30, 2023 | A Beautiful Day

It was awe-inspiring to witness what each student, teacher, volunteer, and 8th grader brought to the program to make the day perfect. Thank you all!

• Sheleda and Tina were a great team setting up activities like bowling and basketball drills for the Team Senior sports kids; they also went outdoors to play on the playground.

• Lukas had a small but committed group of Team Senior art students working with him to make corn-hole boards for our fall 'celebration' during the afternoon of our October 28 session.

• Pamela led a wonderful Team Junior Art class that she broke down into three production units to complete the project in one session: corn-hole bean bags. She brought in her own scrap fabric and taught the kids how to prepare and sew the bags (by hand and with sewing machines) - these turned out SO good; the kids did a great job!

• Harry's omelete cooking project was a big hit and much loved.

• Andre engaged the Team Junior Sports kids in a variety of fun games from 4-square to Night in the Museum.

• Cameron did a great job assisting the Team Juniors both with the morning assembly and as a activity group volunteer. She also collected and  brought gently used books for Team Junior to take home.

• Eighth-graders Kendall, Lizzie, Thomas, and Alyssa did a great job with the kids and by sharing keen observations and offering suggestions to improve the sessions.

• Sheleda, Tina, and Megan - our dream busing team - transported our awesome Team Saturday students safely to and from Hill School!

SEPTEMBER  16, 2023 | First session of the Fall!

Today’s session was as  beautiful as the day’s perfect fall weather. Despite a few hiccups, as expected on the first day of anything, everyone had a really great time seeing old friends and making new ones. 

In Junior Cooking, the students made quesadillas; in Art, they painted wood tiles for the Blueberry Bee pollinator garden; and, in Sports the students enjoyed a variety of activities that kept them on their toes and having fun. 

In Team Senior, there were quite a few new-to-the-older-group students joining the older kids for the first time. In Senior Art, they created very cool string artwork and in Sports, participated in different games.

A big shout out to our First Block 8th Graders: Addie, Thomas, Kendell, and Lizzie – they all did a fantastic job mentoring the Team Saturday students and assisting the teachers. Way to go! Thank you so much!

More big thanks to:

•  the Team Saturday students and their families for bringing us all so much joy;

• the Team Saturday teachers -- Andre, Cameron, Lukas, Stokes, and Harry --  who come together each session, all with their unique gifts, to share their time, very interesting projects and activities, and guidance;

• the Team Saturday bus drivers -- Tina, Megan, and Sheleda -- who lovingly transport the children safely to and from the program and also offer valuable insights and guidance; and, of course ... 

• Everyone at The Hill School and all those who provide us with everything we need, and more, to make Team Saturday possible.

SEPTEMBER  09, 2023 | Our First Team Saturday Family Day Open House

We are so grateful for all the families who came out for our very first family day open house. This is an event we plan to continue as a Team Saturday tradition. It's an opportunity for families to meet with one another and with our teachers and build community.  A million thank yous to all who made it a reality and to The Hill School, as always, for making Team Saturday possible.

Photo (and the sign itself) by Lukas Burgher.

MARCH 04, 2023 | Black-out Poetry, Street Tacos, Handmade Wallets, and Soccer

What a lovely day today - again!

In our younger group, Team Junior,  along with the wonderful Eighth Grades assistants – Eliza and Miles - and high-school assistant Nathaniel participated in a lot of outdoor play and soccer in the playground, made monkey bread AND then street tacos for themselves and everyone in the program for lunch. In art, they hand-sewed super cute felt wallets.

Our Team Senior students (grades 6-12) enjoyed sports and made blackout poetry in art. 

Click here to see more photos of the day!

FEBRUARY 18, 2023 | Discover Traffic Gardens STEM Workshop, Instapot Pasta, Sewing, Sports and more

What a lovely day today - again!

In our younger group, Team Junior,  along with the wonderful Eighth Grades assistants – Natasha, Miles, Ryan, Serena, Charlotte, and John – learned in cooking how to make beef and tomato pasta in an Instapot plus bruschetta – with fresh basil right off a live plant; in sports they played tag and soccer; and, in art they made their own felt wallets while practicing basic sewing stitches and appliqué. 

Our Team Senior students (grades 6-12) enjoyed sports and participated in a special workshop led by Fionnuala Quinn, Discover Traffic Gardens, to test STEM lessons. It was  fun and educational since they had a chance t to add their own ideas! Their work will be included in an activity guide to be distributed to schools and they will receive their own copy too.

FEBRUARY 4, 2023 | Valentines and Journaling

Today was pretty exciting since we had our first Field Trip (more on that in just a bit)!

In Team Junior (grades 2-5), students made valentines in Art with Miss Pamela, build-your-own tortilla pizzas in cooking with Mr. Uram, and had a lot of fun with yoga and play in sports with Miss Cameron and Coach Andre -- we benefitted and greatly appreciated the help of our Eighth Grade assistants and a couple of awesome High Schoolers!

The field trip to the Middleburg Library for a wonderful workshop for the Team Senior kids in grades 6-12: Journaling for mental wellness writing, art and reflection – with a pizza lunch following! 

Many thanks to Laura Ogelman, Library Assistant at Middleburg Library, and the wonderful folks at Loudoun County Public Library for all their hard work designing, funding, and hosting this special activity for us! 

JANUARY 21, 2023 | Celebrating the Chinese New Year

We were very excited to welcome the founders of the China Folk House Retreat, Dr. John Flower and Dr. Pam Leonard, to screen their documentary in the theater for everyone in the program plus others in the community - they also brought in construction items and other objects to show the kids and sent them home with a bag of Lunar New Year treats!

This special activity was extra great fun since it coincided with the Lunar New Year! In cooking, the kids learned how to make dumplings and were able to share with the folks from the China Folk House!

We were very excited, also, because Joan Gardiner will be leading the Senior Field  Trip to the China Folk House Retreat on April 22!

OCTOBER 22, 2022 | Obstacle Courses and Traffic Gardens

During this session the children in our younger group (students in grades 2nd through 5th) enjoyed Discover Traffic Gardens activities led by Engineer Finn (see toolkit project photo on the left), outdoor chalk obstacle courses with Miss Cameron, and making construction mud pies (chocolate pudding and oreos) with Miss Maria and Mr. Uram.  

We were very happy to welcome a few of The Hill School’s Eighth Graders as assistants and mentors for the young children – Hayden, Daniela, Alex, Abby, Paulina, Michaela, and Nicolas – they all did a great job and we send them a big Thank You!

The older students (grades 6 and up) enjoyed sports and basketball with Coach Stokes and Designing custom houses with Engineer Lukas.

It was a beautiful day and we all had such a good time!

OCTOBER 8, 2022 | OUR FIRST SESSION THIS FALL!

We all were very happy to have our first session after having to cancel our scheduled opening on September 24th.

There were 16 Team Junior students (grades 2-5), and 17 Team Senior students (grades 6-12).

Team  Junior enjoyed making oatmeal-berry bake in cooking with Chef Cris with the help of two Team Senior students, Amelia and Emily (thank you, ladies!) In sports, they enjoyed games with Coach Andre! And in art, they made beautiful cloth collage patches with Ms Pamela.

Team Senior enjoyed sports with Coach Stokes and designing houses with Engineer Luke in art. 

It was a fun day and we really enjoyed seeing all of the students and the teachers. Many, many thanks to everyone involved and to The Hill School for making this wonderful program happen!

JUNE 25, 2022

We were so excited to welcome Dylan Shelton, artistic director of Ohio-based Madcap Puppets, and his extremely fun show, Jack and the Gentle Giant, on Saturday, June 25th! 

After Dylan had performed for a sold-out audience of  700 at Wolf Trap  just the day before  it was amazing to have the show all to ourselves at the Hill School’s Dornin Science Barn! 

It was great fun as he engaged students and their parents in the show! Dylan also supplied all the fixings for everyone to make their own sock puppets to take home. 

Many thanks to Dylan and Madcap Puppets and to The Hill School for letting us host this special event in their Dornin Science Barn venue for the Team Saturday families and others in the community!

Photo by Joan Gardiner

MAY 21, 2022

This was our final session for the 2021-2022 school year and it was a scorcher. Except for our grill chef, Lukas, (and the long line of students awaiting a burger or hot dog) most were able to stay cooler under the shade of the trees for the big end-of-year cookout. Tina and Lukas with the help of a few Team Saturday Senior students prepared a delicious feast - with vegan options - for all of us. For dessert, ice pops (Sharon’s idea), pies (Cameron’s) and more. 

The students enjoyed cooking, art, and sports activities during the day with lots of games in the afternoon. Sharon led a group of students to photo-document the day – click here to see the day through their eyes in our  gallery! They used iPhones given to the program for the day as well as an old-fashioned Polaroid camera.  The photo on the left is by a Team Saturday Senior student.

Thank you to all the Team Saturday students, staff (Sarah Dornin, Will Roszel, Pamela Schmidt, Stokes Hill, Lukas Burgher, Sharon Hallman, Tina Wallace, and Michelle Hansen) – and The Hill School – for making the day wonderful!

APRIL 23, 2022

This was a very special day for many reasons, two of those being 1) we welcomed the wonderful Hill School 8th Grade volunteers back to the program since before COVID, and 2) the return of  horseback riding – an annual activity Julie Coles had offered to Team Saturday for many years, a beloved tradition. 

Julie welcomed our Team Junior students and 8th grade volunteers to experience riding and grooming horses and the cutest ponies EVER, as well as a nature hike at her beautiful Springfield Farm. What a treat - even for the Team Saturday staff! Many thanks to Julie Coles, Sloane Coles, Peyton Coles, Katy Long, John Arellano and Brianna McColl. Click here to see more photos on our Gallery page.

The older students had opportunities to make pizza, Papier-mâché bread boxes, Ukrainian Decorated Eggs, and play sports throughout the day.

APRIL 9, 2022

On this very chilly and blustery day (with a shower of hail), Fionnuala Quinn, founder of Discover Traffic Gardens who had led very fun STEM workshops for Team Saturday students pre-COVID, returned for another super fun day. Click here to visit our Gallery page to see more photos. Fionnuala partnered with Sarah Dornin’s cooking class -the students prepared Road Traffic menu items including, Rocky Road, Traffic Light Kebabs, and Construction Pies!

We were excited this day to welcome back Joan Gardiner, our beloved Team Senior art teacher, since before COVID! She led the older students in Ukrainian Egg Decorating. The Team Senior cooking class students made steak and cheese subs and the sports class played a variety of games.

MARCH 5, 2022

Today the students had so much fun and some parents let us know that their child(ren) were SO HAPPY when they got home!

The younger group learned how to make Irish Soda Bread in cooking, make toy paper trucks in art, and play many different types of games in sports. The older students enjoyed art (sewing decorative patches), cooking (chicken ceasar salad), and sports (basketball and more.) 

FEBRUARY 19, 2022

This was our first day back with programming back inside the school for just about two years! We had hoped to start in January but a spike in COVID cases necessitated a delay.

It was a crisp cold day and we had a really nice turnout. The sounds of delight from the children – their energy, and enjoyment of the activities was breathtakingly beautiful and so worth the wait. The younger children rotated through cooking, yoga class, and sports and the older students were able to choose from cooking, sports, and art - they could try them all or stay with just one.

New! We added a cooking class for the Team Senior students in addition to sports and art.

NOTE: After some discussion, we decided to refer to the 2nd-5th graders as Team Junior and our 6th-12th graders as Team Senior. For years, the younger student group had been referred to as “Team” Saturday, and the older students, “TEEN” Saturday. We all agreed that it was often challenging to differentiate “Team” and “TEEN” when speaking so we’re giving these two new titles a go.

DECEMBER 11, 2021

It was a very warm and blustery day. The night before, people in other parts of the country experienced devastating tornadoes.

Out of an abundance of caution, we made the decision to conclude the session early - the wind gusts were blowing everything off the tables, even though we were in covered areas! 

Even though turnout was low and we closed early, staff made the time very fun for all with holiday wreath making and hot chocolate!

The students also ranked their favorite activities for the new year - where we will be able to resume normal - pre-pandemic - programming after almost two years! Basketball and cooking were the top ranked activities.

We are looking forward to seeing everyone in the new year!

Many thanks to The Hill School for the immensely beautiful campus and the resources we use for the program. 

NOVEMBER 20, 2021

Our fourth session started out COLD. Did this deter our awesome Team Saturday students? 

No! 

We had the most students this session at twelve! We also had busing for the children for the first time in almost two years! 

Many thanks to the awesome Tina Wallace for figuring out the bus route and schedule and her like-clockwork timing.

The day started with Lukas and Sarah showing how to make a fire - a very welcome and warm activity. After that, Lukas led an energetic game of kickball while others climbed trees.

During the second block, some students engaged in a wonderful Thanksgiving craft utilizing a variety of beautiful fall leaves - a wide range of colors and shapes - that Sarah designed and led; others enjoyed border-line out-of-control free play and had a lot of fun too. 

There was lots of moving around needed to keep warm.

After lunch (held both out by the fire and inside the barn) we embarked on a walk to visit the pond and see the “seaworthiness” of a handmade toy boat; it did okay. 

Many launched milkweed-pod boats into the pond and set free countless milkweed seeds sure to find their way to fertile ground to grow into next year’s crop of pollinator food.

Our last activity included a walk out to the woods to play Creeping Coyote and explore a little. A  student found the skull of a buck with its antlers intact.

What a great day!

Many thanks to The Hill School for the immensely beautiful campus and the resources we use for the program. 

NOVEMBER 13, 2021

Today we definitely needed a fire – it was chilly and blustery with some sun but it was mostly cloudy (albeit pretty clouds) and it even rained a little in the morning.

The rain motivated us to start the day with the stick weaving craft instead of soccer - the children came up with quite a variety of beautiful designs.

After that we took a long hike out to the pond stopping by the site of our future corn-pumpkin-squash-watermelon garden site that we will prepare using a method called  “lasagna mulching”.

We spent only a little time at the pond since it was mighty chilly. Some found these HUGE sycamore leaves and a lot of milkweed pods along the way.

After lunch the students were able to free-explore the woods, play the Jedi game, and the Creeping Coyote game - we also looked at the shelters that Hill School’s seventh graders made; very cool. One of our students found a turtle shell that Lukas offered to take home to clean up.

Before leaving, the kids were able to harvest lettuce to take home and explore the garden a little where their strawberry patch is looking super healthy. Everyone got to take home some multi-colored dried popcorn on the cob as well as books donated by Cameron - thank you Cameron!

Another great day and many thanks to Lukas and Sarah, to Bob Dornin for setting out the game goals for us to use, The Hill School, and all those who make this program possible!

OCTOBER 23, 2021

We are delighted to share that we had over twice as many students than our first session on October 9th  and we welcomed one new student, a third-grader from Banneker!

Photographer, Sharon Hallman, spent some time with us to meet the kids and to get a feel for the program even though it’s so different from before; it was great to have her join us! Thank you, Sharon!

And as you know, the weather was beautiful - un día hermoso.

Before lunch, activities included a visit to the garden and soccer, then out to the woods for the Jedi game, Creeping Coyote, and unstructured woodland exploration.

After lunch around the fire circle (sans an actual fire), soccer and art activities were available and all the kids decided to make art! No formal activity - just art free time with big paper, watercolors, oil pastels, and pencils. There were some very good drawings and paintings made! Those who pressed flowers at the first session gathered those to take home and some children broke off to play four-square.

Towards the end of the session, we allowed time for the Team students to harvest veggies from the garden - we have three beds in the Hill School Community Garden – the jalapeños were going gangbuster and the kids loved them; there was also some nice lettuce, beans, and zinnias. We even have some strawberries ripening! And, we’re keeping fingers crossed for popcorn!

The kids were able to choose from a selection of gently used children’s books (picture, chapter, middle grade, and young adult) and all were given mini pumpkins and Halloween treat bags before heading home.