Raider Nation Newsletter

Week of May 3, 2021

Teacher Appreciation Week

Dear Atholton Families,

Welcome to the month of May!

The HCPSS Board of Education declares May 2021 as Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month in the Howard County Public School System. Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month celebrates the rich heritage, cultural, intellectual, economic, and social contributions of Asian, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander heritage.

Now that the hybrid model is in full operation, Atholton has determined that a few spaces are available in our building to allow additional students to participate in in-person learning. We want to invite as many students as possible to benefit from in-person participation as long as space allows. I am writing to explain the process our school will use to identify and invite individual students to come to school two or five days per week during the current school year.

These two factors determine our ability to enable a student to participation in-person learning at school for either two or five days weekly:

Space must be sufficient to allow us to continue to comply with health and safety protocols and social distancing guidelines in classrooms, buses, and cafeterias and other eating spaces.
Our ability to accommodate a student will vary by grade, classroom, and individual student schedule, because sufficient capacity must be available for every class that a student participates in, as well as on the school bus and in the cafeteria.

Our leadership team is following this process to enable additional students to participate.

We are analyzing student data to identify students currently participating virtually who would benefit from a return to in-person instruction, as well as current A/B (2 days/week) group students who would benefit from five days of in-person instruction based on the eligibility criteria listed below.
We are also reviewing parent/guardian requests for students to take part in in-person learning either two or five days per week, and will invite as many students as possible based on capacity availability.

A student is considered eligible for 5-day, in-person participation if they meet any of the following criteria:

Receiving special education services
Previously participated in a School-Based Learning Center
Demonstrate a need for additional learning support based on their level of attendance, engagement, academic performance, social-emotional well-being, internet connectivity, or homelessness

If you would like to request that your child be considered for in-person return for either two or five days per week for the current school year, please email your request to the AHS Admin Team at: ahs@hcpss.org as soon as possible, and no later than 5 p.m. on Friday, May 7, 2021. We will review each request as it comes in and notify you as soon as it is determined whether we will be able to invite your child to participate.

Additional details (Links to an external site.) about the criteria and process are provided online.

Please don’t hesitate to contact Ms. Nasir at Adrienne_Nasir@hcpss.org if you have any questions or concerns about this process.

The HCPSS Digital Education Center (DEC) is moving forward. Parents/guardians of current HCPSS students who wish to commit to the DEC should log in to HCPSS Connect Synergy by Wednesday, May 5 at 4 p.m. (directions are posted here). Families must commit to the DEC for the full 2021-2022 school year. Students who wish to return to in-person learning during the 2021-2022 school year, if that option is available, should not sign up for the DEC.

We are gearing up for our Senior Day this Friday! Here is what is planned in our stadium:

Senior Awards Ceremony

• We will hold an in-person Senior Awards Ceremony from 1 p.m - 3 p.m. THIS IS BY INVITATION ONLY.

• As we have done in years past, all parents of seniors who will be honored at the event will be receiving an invitation (they started going out Friday, April 29th). In order to observe social distancing protocols, this event is limited to invited seniors and their 2 guests.

• The event will be livestreamed through the Atholton Raider Nation Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/AtholtonRaiderNation/

Senior Celebration

• Event takes place from 5 p.m. - 8 p.m. This event is open to ALL seniors!

• See the flyer below.

• The PTSA is planning for food items off-campus. Stay tuned for more information regarding these plans.

Graduation

• Tuesday, June 1 @ 7 p.m. at Merriweather Post Pavilion

• A Class of 2021 Graduation Packet will be sent electronically this week with very important information regarding the last day for grades for seniors. Remember -- there are NO FINAL EXAMS!

• Please email Ms Bopst (Krista_Bopst@hcpss.org) if you have any questions. Please check our web page and FAQ first!

Lastly, this week is Teacher Appreciation Week. To say that the last year and a half has been challenging is an understatement. The challenges our teachers faced, in and out of the classroom, have never been greater — in particular, harnessing an array of new digital tools to personalize and improve instruction. Despite the challenges, they continue to make a difference in children's lives and convey a love of learning. They spend each and every day helping your students discover themselves and the world. This is precious, invaluable work. Please join me in honoring and recognizing the awesome teachers of Atholton High School. Please take a moment this week to send an email to thank them for all they do.

Wishing everyone a fantastic week!

Robert A. Motley

Principal

Advanced Placement Information (Digital (at-home) Exams)

If you have chosen to take your AP exams digitally at home, please read the following important information that you will need to successfully prepare and take your exams digitally. PLEASE read the 4 steps to set up for your exams. The link is at the bottom.

AP Digital Exam Information

HCPSS has prepared a Chromebook-specific instruction sheet for accessing the digital testing app. HCPSS recommends that students use the HCPSS issued Chromebooks for taking their exams digitally. Students planning to take any of their AP exams digitally at home should read and perform the instructions as soon as possible.

Students that do not currently have an HCPSS-issued Chromebook but would like to have one to take the exams, can pick one up in the media center if they are attending school in person. Virtual students must email Adrienne Nasir (adrienne_nasir@hcpss.org) or Jamie Melcher (jamie_melcher@hcpss.org) to arrange to pick up a device.

Personal Windows or Mac Device - Install

The HCPSS recommends using your HCPSS issued Chromebook for testing. If you want to use your personal Windows or Mac computer, you will be responsible for manually installing the application and supporting any installation issues that may occur. Mobile devices (including iPads) and personal Chromebooks do not work with the 2021 AP Digital Testing App.

Visit https://download.app.collegeboard.org/ if you want to install the application on your personal computer.

Advanced Placement Information (In-Person (at school) Exams)

Important Information about In-Person/Paper AP Exams

Location -- In-person exams will be administered at Atholton High School, except for Chinese (arrangements will be made with those students).

Testing Dates -- In-Person Testing occurs 5/3-6/4. Check the AP Student Portal for when your specific exams occur.

Note about Illness -- If you have any symptoms or feel unwell, do not come to in-person testing. You can arrange for an alternative testing time and/or makeup exam. Please call Mrs. Sauers or Ms. Dix at 410-313-7065 to let us know not to expect you for that date and to work on arranging a makeup time. Let’s avoid spreading any illness.

Arrival/Pick-Up Times– All students should arrive no later than 7:30 am for an 8 am exam and 11:30 am for a 12pm exam.

If you need to be picked up, all morning exams should be finished by 11:30 am, and all afternoon exams should be finished by 4:00 pm.

Entrance Protocols-- The exams will occur in the Media Center Labs, the Career Center, the Cafeteria, and the Small Gym. After parking/drop-off, enter the main entrance to Atholton where you will be asked to sign in. You will then be directed where to go for your specific exam.

Be sure to bring the following:

A mask that covers your mouth and nose. You will need to wear this within the building at all times.
Pencils and black or blue ink pens.
Photo ID – government-issued or school ID.
A water-bottle
For AP Biology, Calculus, Chemistry, Environmental Science, Physics, or Statistics, you may bring up to two calculators. Visit the College Board website and click on the link for their course for the specific calculator policy.
For AP Spanish, French, German, Chinese, or Music Theory, bring your fully-charged school-issued Chromebook. You will need this for the speaking/sight-singing portions of the exam.
If you are taking two exams in the same day, bring a lunch.

Prohibited Items:

Phones and Smart Watches are not permitted. Additionally, watches that beep or have alarms are prohibited. If you bring either of these items, they will be bagged, labeled, and kept with Mrs. Sauers or Ms. Dix, AP Coordinators, for the duration of the test.

You are discouraged from bringing backpacks and other personal belongings. If you need to bring something, it will be kept in the front of the testing room.
No food or drink is allowed in the testing area. If you have two tests on the same day, your lunch will be kept in the front of the testing room.

Class of 2021 Information

Atholton will hold its senior awards ceremony on May 7 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. and the senior celebration will take the same day (5/7) from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Graduation is Tuesday, June 1 at 7 p.m.

A few housekeeping items for the Class of 2021:

Graduation chords

Honor cords for JumpStart Dual Enrollment participants (any student who earned college credit from Howard Community College while they are still in high school) are available to be ordered from Balfour this year. Students will order the cords using this link (https://bab.memberclicks.net/honor-cordsand select the second link, Howard County Dual Enrollment Honor Cords) and the cords will be shipped to the students home. For any questions, please email jumpstart@hcpss.org.
Other chords (NHS and other honor societies) are handled by the teacher sponsor. Please contact them for information on obtaining chords.