Weekly Update

Greetings LHS Community!

I am excited for our upcoming Spirit Week! We have lots of fun activities and interesting theme days planned! Be sure to pay attention to the theme for each day of the week and don't forget to sign up for our One Lunch Spirit Week Competitions! And, of course, please make sure that all outfits are school appropriate. Remember, you cannot wear anything that covers your face and look-alike weapons are prohibited.

Additionally, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you for a wonderful start to our school year. Students and teachers are working hard in the classroom and our fall sports and marching band are all performing at a high level. Parents, we also appreciate your unwavering support! We see you dropping students off for school, making sure they are ready to catch the bus, picking them up from practice, and of course encouraging your students to work hard in the classroom. I am incredibly thankful to have such a supportive school community!

Our students have done a terrific job decorating our hallways for Spirit Week! We can't wait for everyone to show up tomorrow morning to see their effort and creativity! Students, let's make this week Raider STRONG!

You may not know what you want to do after high school or you may know exactly what you want to do, but we all know that attending school every day gets you closer to achieving your goals. Attending school daily keeps you accountable and practicing skills you will need once you leave high school such as communicating, advocating, and problem-solving, not to mention all the academic material you pick up during your four years at LHS. So Raiders, be here so you can "get there" whatever that "there" may be.

Effective communication is critical to the success of St. Mary’s County Public Schools (SMCPS). This will be crucial not only for emergencies but for our ability to communicate with families in general. Online Emergency Information Update Forms are now available through the student’s Home Access Center (HAC). Once logged in, directions to access the online form can be found HERE. A video with instructions is available HERE. It is vital that all information is updated in eSchool. The deadline for the online submission of Emergency Information Update forms is October 31st, 2024. Please click here for the Blank Emergency Form. If you have any questions, please contact The Department of Student Services at 301-475-5511 ext.32150.

LHS Homecoming will be the week of October 14-18. Please review the information below.

Homecoming shirts will be delivered to class sponsors during Homecoming week.

SCHEDULE

• October 8 - November 8: Harvest Food Drive - donations go to class sponsors; Mr. Byrnes (F19) will collect for the freshmen class due to his location within the LHS main building. Totals are tallied on 10/16 for Spirit Stick points.
• October 14-18: SPIRIT Week (Theme is Celebrate!)
• October 18: Pep Rally (11:35 to 12:45PM). Senior Class Picture is during 5th period.
• If you have PM Tech Center, please make sure to get your Tech Center teacher to sign the permission form.
• October 18: Homecoming Football Game
• October 19: Homecoming Dance - Dance: 7 to 10 PM

HOMECOMING DANCE TICKET INFORMATION

General Information

• Homecoming ticket sales will end on Weds., Oct 16.

• Tickets are $25.00 each.

• Tickets will be purchased on a first come first serve basis.

• There are 1300 tickets available and approximately 2200 students - you should purchase your tickets early to ensure that you can attend the dance

• TICKETS CANNOT BE TRANSFERRED AFTER PURCHASE

Guest Tickets

• LHS students buying Guest Tickets should wait until the Dance Guest Form paperwork is completed to buy their ticket

• The LHS student will get a promo code for their guest with a completed guest form.

• LHS students must turn in a completed guest form to the LHS financial assistant, Ms. Mushrush, to receive a promo code.

• LHS students should not buy a Guest Ticket for another LHS student. In other words, all Guest Tickets should be non-LHS students.

To Purchase tickets:

Homecoming tickets will go on sale 10/2/24, at 9:00AM. All students must purchase tickets on GoFan.co or click here for tickets. NO cash will be accepted. All LHS students must buy their own tickets. Students must use their student ID as the access code. ONLY outside guests need to have the guest form signed and brought to the bank for a PROMO code. If you are bringing a guest, DO NOT buy your ticket without a CODE. We want to make sure that you both get tickets. There are only 1300 tickets, tickets will be sold first come first served. If you have trouble with the link or have questions, please contact Mrs. Mushrush (kmmushrush@smcps.org).

GIS STEAM Festival Station Planning Meeting will be held in Mrs. John’s trailer N4 during A lunch on October 18, 2024. Our station theme is “Create Your Own Country” and will involve visitors designing and coloring flags, building embassies, and making up fun facts about their imaginary country. The STEAM Festival will be Saturday, October 26, 2024 10 am to 2 pm. Student volunteers can earn Service Learning Hours for their time.

Mr. David's African American Literature Class visited the African American History Museum!

St. Mary’s County Public Schools congratulates the school coaches from across Maryland who have been selected as the 2023-2024 National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) Coaches of the Year. The NFHS annually honors a Coach of the Year in the top girls’ sports and top boys’ sports by participation numbers. Winners of the NFHS awards must be active coaches during the year they receive their award. This year’s awards recognize coaches for the 2023-2024 school year. We had 3 coaches from LHS who received MD Coach of Year Honors for the 2023-2024 School year:

Coach Darden--Golf (right)

Coach Kokolios-Boys Soccer (left)

Coach Marley--Swimming (not pictured)

On Friday, October 11, our Marching Band celebrated Senior Night! Congrats Seniors!

Order a Yearbook

If you are interested in purchasing a yearbook, please visit the Jostens site.

Grad Ads

Senior parents interested in creating a grad ad for the yearbook can do so through the Tribute Ads website. The deadline for creating an ad is December 15, 2024. Please visit the Tribute Ads site to create an ad honoring your senior. Information can also be found here.

Makeup Portrait Day for Grades 9-11

Legacy Studios will be back on Monday, October 28 in the auditorium to photograph students not photographed on our original portrait days of October 7 & 8. Portraits will take place during their English classes. ALL students need to be photographed for administrative purposes. Please note that this is not for students wishing to have retakes. If a student has been photographed and wants to retake a portrait, the student will report on November 19.

Class of 2025 Senior Portraits

Legacy Studios will be here on the dates below for senior portraits in the auditorium. Please note that these are the last opportunities for senior portraits.

Monday, October 14

Tuesday, October 15

Seniors MUST sign up for an appointment by clicking HERE. Information about different portrait sessions available can be found on the Legacy site. Please note that Legacy does provide the tux, drape, and cap and gown for portraits. Seniors, if you wish to be included in the senior section of the yearbook, you must have your picture taken by Legacy in a tux or drape with a blue background and no props. Portraits that do not meet this requirement will not be included in the senior section of the yearbook.

If you have any questions regarding portraits or sittings, please contact Legacy at 716-512-6336 or customercare@legacystudios.com or yearbook adviser Heather Page at hmpage@smcps.org.

We are aware that prices are high for senior portraits, but Legacy’s prices are comparable to other companies in the area that can handle the size of our school. Please consider the cost of portraits when considering which senior portrait sitting to book. Legacy’s price list is linked here.

Fall Sports Team Pictures

Athletes who were photographed have the chance to purchase team and/or individual pictures. Please visit the Legacy website and use code 4572E25. Please note that pictures will not be posted until about two weeks following the picture date to allow for editing and uploading. We appreciate your patience!

Pictures Needed!

We are in need of pictures for the yearbook! Please click here to see specific requests. Please submit your pictures to Photo Share, which links directly to our yearbook account or send them to Mrs. Page. We appreciate your help! Be sure to include the names and the grades of the people in your pictures!

Calling all 16-18 year olds! Are you interested about the voting process and getting ready to register for the first time?

The Principal’s Student Leadership Council is hosting a voter registration drive from now until October 15th. Eligible students (18+) can register to vote at the QR code link here and posted on flyers around the school hallway.

Under 18? Students 16+ can pre-register to vote using the same QR code!

For any questions, please email lhsstudentleadershipcouncil@gmail.com or visit @leonardtownslc on Instagram.

Interested in joining the Wellness Club? Keep an eye out for information about meeting days, times, and room number! The Wellness Club will include activities like yoga and walking and provide helpful nutrition information. More information to be released soon!

MTSS stands for Multi-tiered Systems of Support which promotes school improvement through engaging, research based academic and behavioral strategies/practices. LHS is a Tier I and II school. We are focused on positive behavior and community engagement. Our acronym to teach and exhibit positive behaviors is STRONG.

Please fill out the parent survey below help us improve MTSS at LHS. Make sure to include your child's name and ID # so they can receive STRONG Bucks.

In order to assist current students with attaining CCR status, we are going to allow student to take (if they are exempt via the awarding of a transfer credit) or retake (if they failed to achieve a PL of 3 or 4) the Algebra 1 and/or ELA10 MCAP. If a student needs to test/re-test, they should reach out to their school counselor to sign up. This should be done by November 8.

Need new Raider apparel??? Check out our new school store at www.leonardtownspiritwear.com

Pick your clothing, choose a design, and it will be shipped directly to your house. Check weekly for new sale items!

Need help finding out where to go for lunch? Click the button above to see open classrooms and club offerings for each day of the week.

Use this document to plan where you will go for lunch each day!

24-25 Weekly Tutoring Schedule

Monday - World Languages/PE/CTE

Tuesday - English

Wednesday - Science

Thursday - Math/Visual Arts/Theatre

Friday - Social Studies/Music

Need to study during lunch? Sign up for the media center for A Or B lunch By clicking on this link. Save it to your computer to sign up each day for a scholarly opportunity to get work done. You can always visit https://elibrary.smcps.org for resources.

We welcome you to incorporate physical activity into your day and join us in the gym for lunch. Completion of this form is a requirement for gym entry. Students are permitted to sign up for only one lunch block (either A or B). Students are expected to enter the gym through the side door adjacent to the girls locker room and be in the gym before the 10 minute bell. Students unlawfully tardy will be redirected to the cafeteria. Students are expected to remain in the gym, omit food or drink and have tennis shoes to be on the gym surface. Click the button below to sign up for the gym.

Parents who are dropping students off at school in the morning should use the parking lot lane closest to the building. Please do not park in in a space and wait to drop your student off. Unfortunately, parking is very limited for both students and staff. Utilizing extra parking spaces for this purpose can create an issue where there is nowhere for staff or student drivers to park. Additionally, please do not drive down the middle parking lot lane in order to drop a student at school. We appreciate your help!

ACCEPTABLE USE POLICY 24-25

Students will need permission to use Google's Additional Services. Please click on the links below.

The AUP is linked here as well as the information Specific to Google.

Technology related questions? Need tech help? Click the button below for more information.

Students, please make sure your laptop is charged each day. Bring your charger to school in case your battery runs out.

Need to purchase a laptop charger?

You can do one of two things:

1. Go the the Media Center in your School. They can assess you a fine so that you can pay using My School Bucks.
2. Go directly to the DELL store. You can purchase directly from their website and have it shipped to your home.

Ensure one of these links are being used:

www.dell.com/mpp/smcps (click Shop Recommended Solutions to get to the discounted power cords)

www.dell.com/mpp/smcps-chargers (leads directly to the purchasing portal)

More helpful links for technology can be found at the bottom of the newsletter!

Parents, if your student is new to LHS and you still do not have access to Schoology, please contact Ms. Smith (krsmith@smcps.org).

Due to safety concerns and the demands on the main office, we do not accept food deliveries of any kind. Thank you for your cooperation and understanding.

• Here Comes the bus
• Bus Routes
• Bus Stop change-request form
• Transportation Forms

Bus passes should only be requested when students have a change in physical address or when there is an emergency situation and a student needs to ride a different bus or get off at a different stop. Bus passes will not be granted for students simply wanting to go visit with a friend.

Need to obtain a bus pass?

Visit this site to submit a request electronically, or parents can write a note or send an email to Ms. Revis at btrevis@smcps.org. All relevant information must be included in the written request.

Bus Information includes: Student name, address, parent phone number, existing bus stop to be used, bus #, date, medical concerns, destination address, destination phone # and reason for the pass.

Website: https://schools.smcps.org/lhs/
Location: 23995 Point Lookout Rd, Leonardtown, MD 20650, USA
Phone: 301-475-0200
Twitter: @LHS_SMCPS