UPCOMING EVENTS:

1/13/2020    Hearing/Vision Screening - 8th graders and new students only

1/13/2020    Orchestra Winter Concert at MHHS, 7 PM

         Fundraiser at Yogi Castle for PMS Music Boosters, 12- 10 PM

1/15/2020    Knight Time Schedule - School Store Open and Town Hall Meeting

1/15/2020   Rising 5th and New Student/New Parent Orientation, 6:30 - 7:30 PM at Patapsco                                                                                                     

          (snowdate 1/22)

1/17/2020    Geography Bee

1/20/2020    No School - Martin Luther King Jr. Day

1/22/2020    Knight Time Schedule - School Store Open

1/24/2020    End of 2nd quarter

1/27/2020    No School - Professional Work Day

1/29/2020    Club Day Schedule

2/3/2020     Report Cards Issued

2/4/2020    No School - Special Primary Election Day 

 

Dear Patapsco families:

Happy New Year! I hope you and your family had a wonderful winter break. We have an excellent start to 2020 and we look forward to meeting with all of our students next Wednesday, January 15 at our Town Hall meeting which was rescheduled from last Wednesday. This Town Hall meeting will be a reminder of the expectations, rules, and policies that we have at Patapsco, along with community building and to remind students to finish the year strong.

We encourage you to have a conversation with your student about finishing the year strong, too. We want all of our students to be academically successful and to continue to grow as positive young-people. We have our 3 R’s, which are Resilient, Responsible, and Respectful that we highlight through the Town Hall. As many of us make New Year’s Resolutions, please ask your student about their goals for 2020 and the second half of the year.

Thank you for sending us your best,

Mike Babe

Principal 

Patapsco- a place where everyone is valued and important! 

Art Department

Congratulations to 6th Grader Ariaan Keller and 7th Grader Rachel McCloud! Their work was selected for the county wide show, "Why Art Education Matters: A Graphic Design Challenge". It runs from January 4 -30, 2020 at the Columbia Art Center. The Artist's Reception is January 14, 5-6:30 pm.

Attendance Matters

Teachers and staff are committed to ensuring your child’s success in school!  We need students in school so their brains can thrive, grow, and shine! Our families play an essential role in making sure students arrive to school safely everyday and reiterating why attendance is vital for success in school and on the job.  Attendance is an important life skill that will help your child graduate from college and maintain a job. Let’s keep the partnership between families and our school alive by encouraging students to attend school everyday and on time!

WHAT CAN PARENTS DO:

*Talk about the importance of showing up to school every day; make that an expectation.

*Help your child maintain daily routines, such as finishing homework and getting a good night’s sleep.

*Try not to schedule appointments during the school day.

*Don’t let your child stay home unless truly sick.  Complaints of headaches or stomach aches may be a sign of anxiety.

COMMUNICATE WITH THE SCHOOL:

*Ask for help from school officials, student services staff, afterschool programs, and community agencies if you are having trouble getting your child to school

*Check on your child’s attendance to be sure absences are not piling up.

Are you receiving Canvas announcements from teachers?

Teachers often send messages to classes and parents through announcements in Canvas. All you have to do is set your preferences in Canvas and you will receive emails and/or texts.

Log-on to Canvas and follow these simple steps:

1. Click on the Account icon.

2. Make sure you have entered ways to contact in Canvas by Clicking on the “Settings” link and entering ways to contact on the right hand side.

3. Next, click on the "Notifications" link.

4. Set your preferences. You can set preferences to immediate, daily, or weekly notifications.

 Looking Ahead to Next Year: Family Orientations in January

School orientations are an excellent way to get to know staff and become familiar with your child's new school, learn about school programs, and hear about ways students and families can get involved.

Beyond the orientations in January, there will be additional opportunities throughout the spring for staff to welcome you and your child, gain familiarity and comfort with staff, and build community. We will continue to share those opportunities with you as plans are finalized. You can also visit school websites to find out about upcoming events that you could attend such as curricular nights, plays, and concerts.

Please review the orientation dates and times below. If you are unsure of the school your child is scheduled to attend, please visit School Locator and follow the instructions to find your child's school or visit HCPSS Connect. If you have questions, please call our front office. 

Rising 5th Graders and New Student and Family Orientation Date at Patapsco Middle

We look forward to seeing all of our families of our rising 6th grade students at 6:30pm on Wednesday, January 15th for our Rising 6th Grade Parent and New Parent Orientation: On this night, we welcome our rising 6th grade parents to the building, to learn about the transition to middle school (Snow Date- January 22nd). Parents and guardians will have the opportunity to walk around the building to do a self-guided tour of Patapsco at 6:30 PM.  We will have our orientation at 6:45 PM in the cafeteria. We look forward to seeing you!

New families to Burleigh Manor Middle

We are so excited to meet current 5th-grade families, as well as any families new to Burleigh Manor Middle, at our Family Orientation Night on January 14th, 2020! We'll be sharing important information about Burleigh Manor, and answering any questions you may have about our school and programs, from 6 pm to 8 pm. Stay tuned for more details on the agenda for the evening. Please note our snow date- January 21st.

New families to Dunloggin Middle School

The Dunloggin Middle School's New Student Parent Orientation for 2020-2021 will be held on Thursday, January 16th at 6PM.  The GT Parent Orientation will immediately follow. The snow date for both programs will be Thursday, January 23rd.

Spelling Bee

Our annual school-wide spelling bee began with 34 students who won their classroom bees.  We have many excellent spellers so the school-wide competition was fierce. The words that challenged our students began with easy words like chain and neon.  The words quickly became more difficult like diaphoresis and Lascaux.

Our 2020 school champion is Monica Moon.  Our runners up are Anjali M and Shyam B. Monica will go on to represent our school at the 

Howard County Library Spelling Bee

Saturday, March 21st, 2020

Oakland Mills High School


2:00 PM

Please come to cheer Monica on or watch the bee from home on the Howard County Government channel.

Congratulations to all our participants!  Special thanks go out to Principal Babe for being the Pronouncer, and to Mrs. Shaw and Mrs. Vasquez for being our judges.

Pathways to the Future

Patapsco Middle School will be hosting our first “Pathways to the Future” on April 3, 2020.  We are looking to showcase a variety of careers and to show students that there are many paths to success. This day will be an exploration of life after high school, including professions in trades, service professions, and other careers that allow for technical training.  We will have sessions in the morning for volunteers to share their work experiences and their pathways to their career followed by lessons for students about life management training (interview skills, citizen responsibilities, dual enrollment in high school/college courses, basic budgeting skills, and etiquette/social skills).

Patapsco Middle School is searching for speakers to volunteer their time to present to groups of approximately 20 - 30 students about their path to their career.  Our hope is that speakers will be able to volunteer from approximately 8:30 am - 11:30 am. The presentations would be between 20 - 25 minutes, and they would be repeated four times (to different groups of students).  

You can choose to present for 2 sessions or 4 sessions.  1 session will be approximately a 20 minute presentation to students, with time for questions and answers.

 

Please let us know if you, your organization or someone you know might be a good fit for our event.  We appreciate any contact information or possible leads that will help make this day as successful as possible for our students.

Sincerely,

Rachel Millstein, rachel_millstein@hcpss.org

Kathryn Stubleski, kathryn_stubleski@hcpss.org

Danielle Healey, danielle_healey@hcpss.org

 Link: https://forms.gle/UFjqaLqoodJewiq46 Or scan:

COUNSELOR CORNER

Parents and Guardians of current 8th grade students!!!

As of Wednesday, January 8th, 8th grade students are able to access their 9th grade course recommendations through Synergy. Please review the information and dates below to stay on track with the high school registration process: 

Ms Lee and Ms Kempthorn met with students Thursday January 9th and Friday January 10th, during their Social Studies class, to help them complete the online registration process. 

IMPORTANT NEXT STEPS-

• January 9th and 10th: 9th grade course recommendations reviewed / Students complete online registration through Social Studies class

• January 17th, finalized online course requests and Course Placement Review Forms, contact School Counselor if you need help making changes.

  • *students who would like to change their World Language recommendation will need to fill out a CPR form. Students will then need to submit a request for a “new” course- the World Language they would like to take.

• January 20th: Online 9th grade Course Requests/Registration “locked” and online Course Placement Review Forms Submitted

If you have any questions or concerns related to scheduling, please don’t hesitate to reach out to staff for assistance: 

• Ms Kendra Lee, Counselor A-L (kendra_lee@hcpss.org)

• Ms Morgan Kempthorn, Counselor M-Z (morgan_kempthorn@hcpss.org)

• Ms Glass, GT Resource Teacher (samantha_glass@hcpss.org)

• Mrs Jamie Kim, International Student Liaison (jamie_kim@hcpss.org)

• Mrs Michelle Whelan, Special Education ITL  (michelle_castillo@hcpss.org)
   

Helpful Documents to review:

High School Course Requests- User Guides https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jf6qVFzADag&feature=youtu.be

2020-2021 High School Course Catalogue  

Course Placement Online Course Placement Review Form.pdf 

Online Registration Synergy Instructions https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jf6qVFzADag&feature=youtu.be

Course Placement Review Synergy Instructions https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ejo_RmcFtts&feature=youtu.be

Navigating Through High School

9th Grade Course Options for 2019-2020 9th Grade Course Options for 2020-21.PNG

 

As we move into the new year we have a lot on the horizon. Below you will find information regarding important dates to come! 

In your spare time, review the Middle School Course Catalog. We will be going over classes for 6th graders and will be happy to answer any questions. Go Knights!

From the Health Room

Hearing and Vision is scheduled for Monday, January 13th for all 8th grade students and any students new to Maryland. If your child wears glasses please remind them to bring them on Monday.

Reminder students must be fever free for 24 hours without medication before they can return to school. If your student is absent with a contagious illness such as flu, pink eye, strep throat, GI illness, or respiratory illness please notify the health room at 410-313-2574 or Megan_Blouse@hcpss.org

MUSIC BOOSTERS

The Patapsco Music Department would like to congratulate the following musicians, who have been accepted into the 2019-2020 Maryland Junior All-State Chorus and Orchestra:  Ria J, alto; Julia C, cello; Joseph L, cello; and Rachel S, cello.  Kudos also go to Ugo E, selected as a bass (chorus) alternate.  We are so proud of all of your work preparing for this difficult audition and look forward to your All-State performances in March!

Concert Closet: The Boosters are currently collecting gently worn concert attire: long-sleeved, button-down, white oxford shirts, black dress pants, black skirts, black belts, and black dress shoes. We are especially in need of girls’ black skirts, black dress pants, and black dress shoes. Last year we helped students by giving out over 40 pieces of FREE concert attire that they can keep until they outgrow. Please send your donation to school in a bag labeled "Concert Closet." Thanks for your donations!

All of Patapsco's families can help to support the Patapsco Music Boosters during our 2nd Yogi Castle fundraiser!  We did a great job at the Chorus fundraiser in December and everyone had fun enjoying frozen yogurt together! From 12 pm until closing this coming Monday, January 13th (the night of our orchestra concert) a portion of the proceeds will be donated to the Patapsco Music Boosters-- please mention the Boosters when you order so they can receive the funds.  Who doesn't need an ice cream for lunch or snack or dinner or dessert on Monday? Thanks for your support! 

Help us Bring Heart & Sole Back to Patapsco Middle! 

Girls on the Run®’s middle school program, Heart & Sole®, creates a positive, structured space for girls in 6th-8th grade to develop life skills using a running-based curriculum. We would love to bring this program back to Patapsco Middle School, but we need two adult volunteer coaches who can deliver our program and serve as mentors for girls on the team! The Spring season will run from mid-March through the first week of June. Coaches can be men or women over age 18 and do NOT need to be runners or have previous coaching experience. Free training is provided. Please email Susan Michel (susan.michel@girlsontherun.org) if you’re interested or have questions. Potential coaches should also complete the Girls on the Run online coach application at https://www.raceplanner.com/volunteer/index/sp-20-coach-app.   

Community News

For more Community News visit the Community News and Programs page http://www.hcpss.org/community-news-and-programs/ on the HCPSS website for announcements of upcoming events and programs sponsored by non-profit organizations.