Raider Nation Newsletter

Week of March 29, 2021

Welcome Back!

Dear Atholton Families,

We have arrived at the week of the return of many more students to Atholton High School. Tomorrow, our GROUP A 9th and 12th graders as well as ARL students return to the building. Our GROUP B students will arrive on Thursday! For those families who have changed their mind and wish to return, AND have completed the waitlist form (see below), you will be notified at the end of the week regarding the status of your request.

For our returning students, please review the following expectations with them:

Student Expectations:

Wear a mask (see photo below on proper wearing of masks)
Maintain social distancing
Follow ALL posted signs (one-way hallways/stairwells, etc.)
DO NOT SHARE materials
Wash hands/use hand sanitizer frequently
Be respectful of others and their personal space and health
Complete Parking Application if driving to school (see below)

For those of you who need to know to which group you belong, here are the directions to find out:

Parents/guardians may view your child’s group designation at any time by taking the following steps:

Log in to HCPSS Connect Synergy (Links to an external site.) using parent/guardian credentials
Select Student Info from the left panel
Scroll down to the Other Data section to see the Student group for the attendance field.

If after logging in you do not see the options, please confirm you are logged in with your credentials and not as your child. If you need additional assistance, please contact our front office at 410-313-7065.

If you are eligible for and opted in to receiving transportation services, you can now log in to the HCPSS Bus Stop Locator (Links to an external site.) for locations and times.

I hope my Class of 2021 parents received my email last week regarding senior events and graduation. I met with members of the senior executive board to begin planning for an exciting senior celebration. In addition, we have begun preparations for our in-person graduation ceremony as well. Now is the time for our families to decide if they are attending graduation in-person or will participate virtually. The default will be in-person. I will be sending out information after spring break asking seniors to declare if they intend to participate virtually in our graduation ceremony. If so, they will have to submit a video for the ceremony. More information will be coming soon.

Believe it or not, preparations are already underway for the next school year! The Board of Education is committed to establishing a Digital Education Center as many students have thrived in this current virtual environment. Digital Education Center Virtual Information sessions will be held this Wednesday, March 31. Additional information is available through the Digital Education Center webpage and DEC FAQs. Following the information sessions, families will be asked to complete the DEC Interest Survey in Synergy by April 14. The interest survey will only be used to facilitate planning and is not a commitment for the 2021-2022 school year. Parents/guardians will be asked to commit to enroll their children in the DEC at a later date.

Lastly, we are in the process of distributing HCPSS Chromebooks to ALL students. Please reach out to Ms. Nasir at Adrienne_Nasir@hcpss.org regarding the sign-up process to receive your device.

Have a fantastic week and enjoy spring break which begins this Friday!

No newsletter next week.

Robert A. Motley

Principal

Face Mask Expectations

Changing from Virtual to Hybrid or Hybrid to Virtual?

The selection process to return to in-person instruction has officially ended. We are now in the process of reviewing all of the data to determine how many of our students have elected to return to a hybrid model and how many have elected to remain in a fully virtual model. As we prepare for the safe return of students, we will use the data to determine how many students we can accommodate and make any necessary adjustments in our classroom and cafeteria set-up. For this and other logistical reasons, we cannot accommodate any changes that add to our in-person learning model. If for some reason you would like to move from the fully virtual model to the in-person hybrid model, OR you would like to move from the hybrid model to fully virtual, you will need to complete a form. You may access the form here: Atholton High School Hybrid Learning Waitlist.

Advanced Placement (AP) Exam Registration

AP Exam Registration – The deadline to register for an AP Exam for a semester 2 course in the College Board AP Portal is March 12th. Once you register in the AP Portal at College Board, if you plan to take the AP exam, please complete the AHS AP Registration Form,

College Board will not be charging cancellation fees, however, they will be charging a late fee of $40.00 per exam, for students who register after the deadlines. Invoices will be sent out via email later in March, and payment will be due for all exams by April 16, 2021.

If you have any questions, please contact Nina Dix, Nina_Dix@hcpss.org or Deborah Sauers, Deborah_Sauers@hcpss.org

Student Parking @ AHS for Hybrid Students

Parking on campus at Atholton is a privilege, not a right, that the school provides to students. These policies are in place to help keep the parking lot safe and provide the opportunity for students to drive to school. These policies have been modified for the 2020-2021 school year.

All permitted drivers must possess a valid Maryland driver’s license
Vehicles must be tagged and registered
Vehicles may only be parked in one of the student parking areas
Vehicles may not be parked along curbs, in the grass, reserved or teacher spaces, bus lane, or visitor spaces
Students may not go to the student parking lot or to their cars without administrative permission.

Ability to park on campus may be revoked temporarily or permanently for the following:

Parking in unauthorized areas (see above)
Unsafe driving or violating traffic laws while on school property or entering school property
Having items in a vehicle that violate HCPSS drug, alcohol, and/or weapons policies
Other violations of HCPSS or Atholton regulations

HCPSS Parking Policies:

Howard County Public Schools is not responsible for vehicles or contents of vehicles while parked on school property
Student vehicles parked on school grounds may be subject to search per HCPSS and Howard County Police Department policies and procedures