Edition 35 Week of 05/05

We are hosting a Sound of Silence parent and community event that will be hosted at Wiley H. Bates Middle School that is open to the entire Annapolis cluster community.

We would like to invite you to our Sound of Silence Program on Thursday, May 9, 2024, at 5:30 PM. All community members are invited to attend the parent event at our school. We encourage all parents to have a follow-up conversation with their youth. Discuss the topics with them and have an open conversation.

This program was created for youth, to help dismantle and break the stigma related to mental health and give access to mental health services. Sound of Silence otherwise known as SOS is a targeted assembly for all Middle and High School students. We provide a panel of mental health and substance misuse professionals along with representation from SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions) Department of Health, Crisis Response, and the leading Prevention Coalitions that represent Anne Arundel County. We talk about target topics that can lead to mental health disorders, how to prevent self-medicating through substance misuse, suicide prevention, maintaining healthy relationships, and many more. We encourage our youth to talk and ask questions and also provide services using each school's Behavioral Health Facility following if our youth should need the help.

We hope you can join us for a very educational evening. Even if you do not need the information, someone you know does. Reach out and help in any way you can.

This week is Teacher Appreciation Week! Our PTA is so excited to show our amazing and hard-working staff how very much we appreciate all that they do.

We will be treating our teachers to a luncheon on Wednesday. We need donations of drinks (regular and diet sodas, bottled water, or sparkling wat88er). You can drop them off in the main office through Tuesday, May 7th. If you would prefer to make a monetary donation, you can do that on our website. (https://batesmiddlepta.memberhub.com/store/items/551671)

And lastly, we are collecting gift cards that will be raffled off during the week. Any amount, any store or restaurant. You can drop those off in the main office, too!

At Wiley H. Bates, our nurses are AMAZING! Nurse Hannah and Ms. Michelle work tirelessly from bandaging scraped knees, to administering first aid as well as be a listening ear. They offer guidance on health matters as well as take the time to educate our students on important health topics. Please pop in and thank them for all they do! We are lucky to have you both!

Our school typically records high numbers of absences and early dismissals on the day of the Blue Angels Air Show. This year, that event takes place on Wednesday May 22.

To streamline the process and get ahead of the massive data entry required on a day like this, please ensure that a parent/legal guardian submits a student absence or early dismissal through the Parent Portal by 8:00am Monday May 20. To support that process, please see the reminders below.

Mobile Device

• Open your PowerSchool Mobile App
• Select "More" at the bottom right
• Select "Forms"
• Select 2023-2024 AACPS - Absence or Early Dismissal Form
• Enter the date for Blue Angels (05/22/2024) for the Start Date and End Date
• For the reason, select “Other”, then type “Blue Angels”

Desktop

• Parent Portal
• Select "Forms"
• Select "2023-2024 AACPS - Absence or Early Dismissal Form"
• Enter the date for Blue Angels (05/22/2024) for the Start Date and End Date
• For the reason, select “Other”, then type “Blue Angels”

Additionally, for early dismissals where students will not be picked up by a parent/legal guardian, select “Other (Name on legal ID must match name entered)”, then type the pick-up person’s first and last name.

If you are having problems with submitting your request through parent portal, you may email your request to cclark3@aacps.org.

AACPS now has Facebook pages in six different languages!

Come find us on Facebook!

Like, follow, and share for:

• Monthly AACPS Calendar
• Announcements
• Weather-related closures and delays

English: www.facebook.com/aacps

Spanish: www.facebook.com/aacpsspanish

Chinese: www.facebook.com/chineseaacps

Korean: www.facebook.com/koreanaacps

Vietnamese: www.facebook.com/vietnameseaacps

Urdu: www.facebook.com/aacpsurdu

File attachments:
AACPS on Facebook.pdf

For all interested Bates Middle School Families: Free prepacked bags of non-perishable pantry items will be available for pickup on Saturday, May 11 from 10-11:30 am at the flagpole front entrance of Bates Middle School.

Are you interested in playing sports at A-High?

On, Monday, June 3 from 5 pm to 7 pm come to Annapolis High and meet all the head coaches in the cafeteria!

Program:

5:00 pm – 5:30 pm – Athletic Department Overview

5:30 pm – 7:00 pm – Breakout Sessions with A-High coaches

Due to our school's large HVAC replacement project and to allow time for staff to pack up and move their classrooms to accommodate the next phase of this project, we have asked for and received a one-day waiver both for the end of this year and the beginning of next year.

Barring any further closures for weather or other emergencies, the last day of school for students at Wiley H. Bates Middle School for the 2023-2024 school year will be Monday, June 10, 2024, one day earlier than other students in the school system.

The first day of classes for Wiley H. Bates Middle School students for the 2024-2025 school year will be Tuesday, August 27, 2024, one day later than other county schools. We will begin the year on the school system’s traditional staggered schedule, with sixth graders beginning classes on August 27, 2024, and all other students beginning classes on August 28, 2024.

Now is a GREAT time to start planning to get the needed immunizations for students entering 7th grade. Please see the attached flyer to know which immunizations are needed. Please talk to your pediatrician and schedule an appointment.

In need of Food Pantry Volunteer(s) for next school year. To learn more and to possibly shadow a current volunteer please contact our School Social Worker, Shauna Rykiel srykiel@aacps.org

We have many kids in need of uniform pant donations. We do have many smaller sizes in our uniform closet however we are in need of larger sizes. If you would like to donate a pair or two, we could use more larger sizes. Feel free to drop them off at the front office. Thank you!

Here are some links:

Amazon.com: SANTINY Women's Golf Pants with 5 Pockets High Waisted Quick Dry Stretch Pants for Women Travel Work Casual : Clothing, Shoes & Jewelry

https://oldnavy.gap.com/browse/product.do?pid=792006002&vid=1&searchText=khaki#pdp-page-content

Do you have questions about transportation?

Please forward any questions to our administrator, Mr. Walker at jewalker1@aacps.org

Do you have questions about your student's attendance?

Please contact Christine Clark at cclark3@aacps.org.

Do you have specific student concerns, ie. behavior, scheduling, academic performance, etc. please contact your grade level administrator or counselor:

6th Grade

Administrator: Mr. Walker jewalker1@aacps.org

Counselor: Ms. Weiss dweiss@aacps.org

7th Grade

Administrator: Mr. Lustgarten jlustgarten@aacps.org

Counselor: Ms. Barnett cmbarnett@aacps.org

8th Grade

Administrator: Ms. Adkins ktadkins@aacps.org

Counselor: Ms. McFadden cmcfadden@aacps.org

Do you have an emergency concern (after hours)?

Please contact our Principal, Ms. Hicks, at 302-314-6146.

A SHOUT OUT to these Wiley H. Bates students who are performing at the Children's Theatre of Annapolis:

Caeden McConnon

Addison Bartels

Madison Creese

Madigan Ward

Feel free to come out and support these students as they perform in the Descendants the Musical.

Details on the show can be found here: https://www.childrenstheatreofannapolis.org/

Tickets can be purchased here: https://cta.ticketleap.com/disney-descendants-the-musical/

Get creative and show what makes you feel safe at school! Draw or paint your own safe space – it could be a cozy corner, a supportive friend, a service animal, or even a favorite activity. Click the above picture or scan the QR code for more information.

(En Español: Dispositivos Conectados Chromebook Sorteo)

As part of AACPL's commitment to help close the digital divide, through a grant provided by Anne Arundel County and the State of Maryland, we are proud to participate in a free Chromebook giveaway for eligible Anne Arundel County residents. Distribution events will be held starting in January 2024.

Please click on this link for more information.

AACPS is hiring for all positions. Click HERE to apply.

Katherine Hicks, Principal

Christine Clark, Editor

We are better together!

Email: cclark3@aacps.org
Website: www.aacps.org/bates
Location: 701 Chase Street, Annapolis, MD, USA
Phone: 410 263-0270