January 2025 - News & Notes
Dear Walt Whitman High School Parents & Community Members,
Happy New Year! We hope that your winter break provided you with an opportunity to relax, recharge, and connect with family and friends. As we welcome the New Year, many of us reflect on setting resolutions or new goals, both personally and professionally. As an educational institution, we continue to uphold the goals established last August: we remain steadfast in creating a sense of agency and enhancing the sense of belonging for all our students. We look forward to what the new year brings at Whitman HS.
In the spirit of the new year, we would like to take this opportunity to reiterate our school expectations. We encourage you to review this month's News & Notes in its entirety to ensure that both students and parents/caregivers are fully informed about our expectations moving forward.
Schedule at a Glance
Wednesday, January 8 - Personal Body Safety Lessons in homeroom
Thursday, January 9 - Cluster Choral Music Concert at 5:00 p.m. in the auditorium
Monday, January 13 - Career Day in the Commons (periods 2 & 3);
Tuesday, January 14 - Career Day in the Commons (periods 4 & 5)
Wednesday, January 15 - Holocaust Survivor Assembly during OneWhitman; Rising Grade 9 Virtual Parent Meeting 6:00 p.m.
Monday, January 20 - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, no school for students and staff
Tuesday, January 21 - PTSA General Membership Meeting at 7:00 p.m. in the media center
Wednesday, January 22 - Cluster Instrumental Music Concert at 7:00 p.m. in the auditorium
Wednesday, January 17: OneWhitman; Semester 2 Parking Permit applications due by 3:00 p.m.
Friday, January 26: End of Marking Period 2
Wednesday, January 29: Professional Day, No School for Students
Thursday, January 30: Beginning of 2nd Semester and Marking Period 3Staffing Update
After 24 years with MCPS and over 14 years serving as the Building Services Manager at Whitman, Frank Gross retired on January 1, 2025. Mr. Gross is highly regarded as one of the most respected professionals and leaders in our school system. His expertise and unwavering commitment to Walt Whitman High School are truly admirable and exemplify his strong work ethic.
We are also pleased to announce the appointment of Pierre Julien as our new Building Services Manager, effective January 13. Known as JP, he has previously served as our Preventive Maintenance Specialist. Please join us in congratulating JP on his new role!
In January, we also bid farewell to our Community Engagement Officer (CEO), Mike Chindblom. Mike made significant contributions to our school community over the past two years. His deep understanding of our community and his support during critical incidents have been invaluable to us. Mike will be transitioning to be the CEO at Poolesville High School.
We are excited to welcome Officer Patricia DeSouza as our new CEO. Officer DeSouza joins us with a wealth of experience most recently serving in the same role at Northwest High School. Please join us in welcoming Officer DeSouza to Whitman.
Student Attendance Expectations
Attendance and on-time arrival to school are essential to student learning. Both Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) and the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) require that students be punctual and maintain regular attendance. Specifically, it is imperative that students arrive on time to school each day. We are currently monitoring on-time student arrival to first period and we will be contacting the parents of students who have excessive tardies and absences. Students who drive to school or are dropped off by parents must be in class by the second bell at 7:45am. As a result we will be conducting periodic hall sweeps to ensure that students are on time to class. Lastly, attendance will have an impact on students being able to attend extracurricular activities (ex: sporting events).
As always, thank you for partnering with us to ensure that our students maximize their academic potential and develop essential life skills. Walt Whitman High School is indeed a special place because of our students and consistent attendance is key to continuing our traditions of excellence.
Student IDs
MCPS is dedicated to maintaining a safe school environment for all students. As such, all students are required to wear their school-issued student ID throughout the school day. In the event a student loses their ID, a replacement fee of $5 will be charged to their School Cash Online account for each new ID issued. If you have lost your permanent ID, request a replacement using this Google Form. Students are not allowed to continually wear a paper ID.
Students issued temporary paper ID cards will be required to pay a fee of $5 for a new ID each day unless it is returned to the Main Office. Additionally, students without lanyards will be assigned one and will also be required to pay a $5 fee. We kindly ask for the support of parents and caregivers in reinforcing these school expectations to help ensure the safety of our school community.
2025-2026 Course Registration
Please see the registration calendar below. Counselors will begin Course Registration the week of January 6th through English classes. Then in the middle of January, Counselors will meet with students through English classes to submit course registration cards. Additional course registration cards can be found in the counseling office. The course registration window closes on January 31st.
Registration is a crucial decision-making process. Some of the factors that should be taken into consideration in making course selections include:
Graduation requirements
College prep considerations
Degree of readiness for course under consideration
2025 Spring Semester Parking
We are currently accepting applications for student permits for the 2025 Spring Semester. Student parking at Walt Whitman High School is a privilege offered to all eligible students.
Students must reapply each semester for consideration. All students may apply for parking until the deadline of Friday, January 17 at 3 pm. More information and a link to the application can be found in the Spring 2025 Parking Letter.
OneWhitman
OneWhitman continues to be an important setting where students and staff engage in conversations about real-world issues to develop and sustain an inclusive culture where all students, staff, and community members are safe and can thrive at WWHS.
This school year we have been extremely fortunate to have all OneWhitman sessions facilitated by students. Below are the topics of the lessons covered this school year.
Lesson 1: Orientation (9.11.24)
Lesson 2: Celebrating Diversity (9.25.24)
Lesson 3: Microaggressions (10.11.24)
Lesson 4: Hispanic Heritage Month (10.23.24)
Lesson 5: Islamophobia (11.13.24)
Lesson 6: Representation in the Media (12.12.24)
Holocaust Survivor Assembly on January 15
MCPS Updated Reporting Hate-Bias, Bullying, Harassment and Hazing Incidents
The Walt Whitman High School Vision Statement states - Walt Whitman High School is a community which preserves the dignity of all people so that every student will learn in a safe, supportive, and co-constructed environment which cultivates intellectual and social growth. This statement identifies who we strive to be each and every day, not by our words but by our actions. As such, hate/bias and intolerance have no place at Whitman and are not tolerated in our school. It is imperative that parents/caregivers have meaningful discussions with their children about the impact of hate speech.
Please review the updated Ways to Report resource provided by MCPS. It is important that we work together to combat all forms of hate and ensure a safe school environment for all.
*Any incidents of Hate-Bias can be sent directly to swc@mcpsmd.org
*Anonymous reports will be investigated
Athletics Reminders
The winter sports season is off to a strong start and going well for all of our student-athletes and their respective teams. Please visit our website at Walt Whitman Vikings to see schedules for our squads. We are charging admission for boys' and girls' basketball games and wrestling. No cash will be accepted at games and all tickets must be purchased through GoFan. We offer single-game tickets or you can purchase a pass for the entire winter sports season. Here is a link to purchasing tickets: Walt Whitman High School Events and Tickets by GoFan
All boys' basketball games will be Tier I. This means students must show their ID at every home and away game. Only home and visiting students may attend the games. Middle and elementary school students must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. Only two guests per adult will be permitted to attend Walt Whitman High School games.
The spring sports season starts in less than two months (March 1st) and registration for spring sports will open on Monday, January 27th. Please visit our website at Walt Whitman Vikings at that time for more details on the registration process. All families must register for spring sports through ParentVue.
Don’t forget to follow us on Instagram @whitmansports and X @WWHSAthletics
Walt Whitman High School continues its commitment to fostering a supportive and welcoming environment for all students.
Sincerely,
The Walt Whitman High School Administrative Team
Go Vikes!