Knightly Newsletter

Fri, 02/05/2021 - 6:31pm

 

UPCOMING EVENTS:

2/5

Report Cards Posted after 4 PM

2/9

Music Boosters Meeting, 7 PM Zoom

2/10

Family Commitment Survey due by 5 PM

2/12

Professional Work Day / No School for Students

2/15

Schools and offices closed- Presidents’ Day

 

Thank you, families for attending Back to School Knight! We are so appreciative of our school-families partnership. Together we make #OnePatapsco!

 

Are you interested in working with students at Patapsco Middle School or know someone who is?

Classroom monitor position 

  • This position would begin on March 1st  

  • The hours would be 8:25am - 3:10pm (M,T,W,TH,F) and 8:25 - 11:30am on Wednesdays 

  • The pay rate is $14.25/hour.

Close adult support to some of our special education students.

  • For the special ed position, you would apply through an outside agency that staffs these positions in our schools. 

  • The position is for 6-hours each day. 

  • We also frequently need subs for this role, as well.

If you are interested in any of these positions, please email Andrea Harmon at andrea_harmon@hcpss.org to schedule an interview. 410-313-2848.

Thank you!

 

Quarter 2 Report Cards

Your child's Quarter 2 Report Card will be accessible via HCPSS Connect on Friday, February 5 after 4PM.

Parents/guardians may view/download report cards by taking the following steps:

  1. Log in to HCPSS Connect using your parent email and password

  2. Select More Options from the left panel

  3. Select Report Cards from the middle

  4. Select the report card you wish to access

 

Family Commitment Survey

Parent Instructional Preference Commitment Deadline Extended to February 10

HCPSS has extended the deadline for parents/guardians to make the commitment regarding sending their child to school for all or part of the week (depending on program availability) and receive virtual instruction the remainder of the week, or to have their child remain fully virtual for the remainder of the 2020-2021 school year. 

This extended deadline gives families additional time to review the answers to hundreds of frequently asked questions about student in-person return and other student-related issues, as well as a comprehensive new Hybrid Learning document that will be shared with staff, students and families on February 5.

If you have not already done so, please complete the two-question commitment form in HCPSS Connect by 5 p.m. on Wednesday, February 10.

If a parent/guardian does not complete the commitment form by the extended February 10 deadline, the system will default to select that the student will remain virtual for the remainder of the year. School administrators are available to respond to any questions or concerns.

 

Lightspeed Platform

 

Beginning February 8, 2021, our school is participating in the use of Lightspeed, a platform and instructional support tool that helps teachers keep students on track and safe as they navigate online learning.

Lightspeed enables teachers to link students’ HCPSS or personal Chromebooks and HCPSS Dell laptops into a single virtual classroom for synchronous lessons, giving teachers the ability to monitor students’ screens and share resources.

Lightspeed allows teachers to:

  •  Assist students with using the technology

  •   Monitor live independent work

  •   Lock screen to transition between live whole group activities and live independent  work

  •   Close browser tabs and automatically navigate to websites

Teachers will only have access to Lightspeed during regularly scheduled class time.

Teachers do not have the ability to control computer screens, including clicking buttons and changing settings. However, teachers can direct and lock a student’s computer to specific websites. If the website turns on the student’s camera and/or microphone, the teacher would be able to observe the video and audio the web camera picks up. For example, if a student was on a site viewing their own image via the web camera the teacher would be able to see that content.

Additionally, to comply with the Children’s Internet Protection Act, HCPSS uses Lightspeed to filter ​inappropriate content and monitor ​general usage of the Chromebooks, during and beyond the school day.

There will be no opt-out option for Lightspeed. HCPSS-issued devices and accounts are governed primarily by HCPSS Board policies: 8080 Responsible Use of Technology, Digital Tools and Social Media, 3040 Technology Security, and 3060 Student Data Governance and Privacy. We’re looking forward to offering this additional platform for our teachers to better provide support for our students. Thank you as always for being our educational partner during this unprecedented time of virtual learning.

If you have any questions, please contact Ms. McNabb at mary_mcnabb@hcpss.org 

 

 

Distribution of Chromebooks & Other Items (art supplies) Available for Pick Up

For more information

 

Updated HCPSS Family Math Support Center Information

The Office of Secondary Mathematics has been working on updates to the online HCPSS Family Math Support Center, specifically resources to support students and families who have mathematics semester one and for those who will be taking mathematics semester two.

For students taking mathematics now, during semester 1, Math 6 (Gr. 6), Pre-Algebra GT (Gr. 6), Math 7 (Gr. 6/7), Math 8 (Gr. 7/8), MS Algebra I (& GT), and MS Geometry GT, the following mathematics courses are helpful to support your student and strengthen skills and standards. You can find these updated resources under the Middle School Math drop-downs. Note that the Illustrative Mathematics video lesson summaries (helpful videos for review purposes) are provided for units 1-7. 

The "Get Ready Mathematics" courses are resources that may be good for students and families who are looking for extra support to prepare them for second semester mathematics courses or to keep math skills current. Also, for a student who had mathematics semester one, you can look at the "Get Ready Mathematics" to either review prior knowledge or prep for your student's next math class in the fall of 2021. The "Get Ready Mathematics" courses through Khan Academy are available for Math 6, Pre-Algebra GT, Math 7, Math 8, Algebra I, MS Geometry GT, Algebra II, and Precalculus.

 

COURSE REGISTRATION INFORMATION on our website

Rising 7th and Rising 8th Grade Parents/Guardians

The registration window for the 2021-2022 school year is open now until February 15th. 

Please make sure to sit down with your student to review course options and selections. 

Do you have questions? Please see the PMS FAQ 2021-2022, located here and on Canvas, under the Student Services, MS Registration Resource Page.

 

For questions regarding scheduling, please contact our school counselors:

Kendra Lee (A-L): Kendra_Lee@hcpss.org 

Morgan Kempthorn (M-Z): Morgan_Kempthorn@hcpss.org

 

Patapsco Middle School PTA Board and Brush Fundraiser! 

Looking for a fun DIY kit to do at home? Are you BOARD and want to BRUSH  ? Grab one of these awesome wood @HOMEKITS that you can complete all in the comfort of your own home.

The @HomeKits are $25 each and come with pre-stained wood, instructions, paint brushes, rags, sandpaper, gloves and their stencil. We encourage using paints that you have at home but we do offer an add on paint kit for an additional $5. All you need to do is 

click the link below and pick a design .

New designs are added weekly!

To order your kit, go to :https://boardandbrush.com/.../patapscomiddleschoolhomeki.../

Patapsco will receive 20% of kits purchased.

 

Knightly Newsletters

All previous newsletters are posted under News at http://pms.hcpss.org/ 

 

Community Notices:

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