Raider Nation News

Week of June 15, 2020

Tuesday is distribution and collection day!

Dear Atholton Families,

Congratulations to the Class of 2020!! Last Monday was Atholton’s Virtual Graduation. I truly enjoyed watching all of the student videos and I was amazed by the level of creativity that went into them. A job well done Class of 2020. Life handed you lemons and you made lemonade! BRAVO! It is through this newsletter that we bid farewell to our seniors and their families. Your last newsletter!

There are just a couple of remaining items for our seniors. First, I sent out an email regarding the PTSA’s project to create a senior graduation video. Please see below for more information regarding this endeavor. Also, the pictures are finally in! If you have been waiting for all of the pictures from our June 1 “graduation ceremony” in our junior parking lot, you may find them here.

This Tuesday is a busy day for our school. We have two events occurring simultaneously -- our senior diploma cover distribution AND our 9th be- 11th grader collection (only a select number of students). Information was sent out last week regarding both events. You can find the information below. Please be sure to follow the guidelines outlined for each event.

As a high school principal, there are TWO questions that have been asked of me on a consistent basis:

Will students return to school in the Fall?
What is happening with fall sports?

These are valid questions. Unfortunately, decisions regarding both are made far up the chain from the building principal. I will keep everyone informed and be sure that the message from our superintendent, Dr. Martirano is getting out to everyone. Here is what has been shared thus far regarding both topics from HCPSS: school year 2020-2021 and fall sports (On Wednesday, State Superintendent Karen Salmon announced that high school athletic training activities may resume, and this week MSDE released revised guidelines outlining a range of options for fall athletics, with decisions to be jointly determined by the local school system, Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association (MPSSAA), and local health department. HCPSS will continue to work with MPSSAA through the summer as we approach the scheduled return to athletics in August, and will prepare our facilities for anticipated use by HCPSS athletic teams this fall.)

I know this does not provide concrete information at this time. As frustrating as this may be, we are just as frustrated as whatever is decided, we will have to work on a plan to implement it. The sooner we know, the better we can prepare. So I join in your frustration.

All “official” grading ended last week and no new assignments will be assigned for the remainder of the school year. Teachers are in the process of finalizing grades and students still have an opportunity to make-up any missed assignments by simply reaching out to their teacher. Just a reminder that students will receive either a “P” or “I” for the fourth quarter. Those receiving an incomplete grade (I), will be allowed to make up the work through September 15. This week students will be engaged in several activities ranging from classroom discussions on current events to completing surveys on their distance learning experiences.

Lastly, as we bid farewell to our seniors, this past week we welcomed two new groups of students to Raider Nation. Last Thursday and Friday we held virtual visitation days for our incoming freshman and our redistricted students. We are so thrilled to welcome them to Atholton. Please help make their transition to our community a smooth transition and let’s show them how welcoming, inclusive, and inviting we are.

Warmest Regards,

Robert A. Motley

Principal

Important Information

9th - 11th Grade Collection of Materials

Please click here for information regarding the collection of materials for 9th - 11th graders.

Senior Diploma Cover Distribution

Please click here for all of the information regarding diploma cover distribution.

Senior Graduation Video Information

AHS Senior Families:

The PTSA previously requested 10-15 second videos of the seniors to help us create a graduation video, but the response has been low. I would now like to ask for something completely different from what we have received in order to create a memorable video and photo show that represents their entire high school experience, not just their recent graduation ceremony.

What I think we need are the kinds of videos and photos that you would normally post on Facebook or Instagram or TikTok or other social media platforms. In other words, your best and most memorable clips of your senior and even their friends (group photos and videos if you have them). Here are some examples:

Group or individual photos or videos from:

the Senior homecoming in Sep 2019 (including photo shoots at home)
the Junior prom in May 2019 (including photo shoots at home)
AHS sports teams in action
AHS robotics or academic competitions
AHS drama productions or club activities
AHS award presentations
Students just hanging out together
Students at a party
Teachers and staff in action

Please send me whatever you have that best represents your student's high school experiences and don't feel that you need to limit it to in-school events. Think of it as a multimedia yearbook. And don't worry about the 10-second limit either. I'll just include the best parts of what everyone sends. So, only send your best stuff!

Where to send them: For large files that will not go via email, use FileMail.com and my primary email address (dthalheimerusa@gmail.com), or Dropbox, or Google Photos, or just text it to me at 410-935-4010 as long as the video quality stays high. Thank you.

David Thalheimer