Raider Nation News

Week of January 27, 2020

Welcome to the Second Semester!

Dear Atholton Families,

The 2019-2020 school year is moving along at lightning speed. February is this weekend! This week marks the start of the second semester and the half-way point of our school year! There is no school today for students but teachers are busy at work grading midterms and entering second quarter grades.

As we reach this midpoint in our school year, this is the time to check-in with your student to make sure he/she is on-track with their studies. This is especially the case for our seniors. I encourage parents to reach out to teachers to discuss concerns and open the lines of communication to ensure the success of your child. The question to ask both student AND teacher is, “What will be different this second half of the year?”

Last week, I had the pleasure to attend one of Atholton’s Ice Hockey games. Yes, ICE HOCKEY! For those of you who do not know, ice hockey is considered a club sport in Howard County and our team is comprised of both males and females. The Raiders were up against River Hill at the Columbia Ice Rink. I had an opportunity to meet the coaches and see our students in action on the ice. It was an exciting game with the Raiders winning 10-6. However, I have to acknowledge Ayden Herring who did an outstanding job standing in as goalie. A special thank you to Ms. McElroy for the official invitation and to Ms. Snoddy who was so welcoming and helpful. I look forward to seeing more games and if you have not had the good fortune of watching Raider ice hockey, I strongly encourage you to do so. Keep up the great work Raiders! Thanks for team pic below.

This week is short and we have a lot going on! Just a reminder that we have ALL 11th graders engaged in MISA testing this Tuesday and Wednesday. Additionally, there will be a senior meeting in the auditorium on Wednesday from 9:00 -- 9:30 to begin discussing graduation preparations. There is a graduation tab on our website. Please check this regularly or you may email our Graduation Coordinator, Ms. Bonomo-Thomas at Jeanette_Bonomo-Thomas@hcpss.org with any questions.

As our winter sports season is coming to a close, what better way to celebrate our winter student athletes than with a Winter Pep Rally. The Winter Pep Rally will take place this coming Friday, January 31.

I am so excited to meet our new families tomorrow night at our New Student and Parent Orientation night for our redistricted families. Although this night is geared toward our incoming 10th grade students, parents of incoming 9th students who have been redistricted to Atholton are more than welcome. Below you will find the agenda for the evening. We look forward to seeing you!

A huge THANK YOU to the entire Atholton community for coming out and participating in our Chick-fil-A contest with Hammond and Reservoir High Schools. The competition was fierce but Atholton finished in second place behind Reservoir. We are told that is was VERY close! I have to add that if the restaurant was across the street from Atholton, we would have won! Location, location, location! See the pic below from the halftime presentation.

Lastly, a reminder that school is closed on February 4 due to the 7th Congressional District special primary election. As of today, there will not be any adjustments to the school system A Day/B Day calendar at this time and we will continue forward with the calendar as published. There is an updated calendar on the HCPSS Website which reflects the closure of schools and the unchanged A/B day rotation.

Wishing everyone a fantastic week!

Warmly,

Robert A. Motley

Principal