Raider Nation Newsletter

Week of January 11, 2021

Dear Atholton Families,

There was so much that took place this week that was both disturbing and reassuring. The disturbing events that occurred in our nation’s capital had us all glued to the television in disbelief. However, as our elected officials from both sides of the aisle stood together to certify the election results in spite of the violence reassured me that the health and democracy of our country are strong and intact. I met with teachers Thursday morning before classes to make sure they were well prepared with the materials provided by HCPSS to help our students digest all of the events. Let’s hope that we never have to endure a similar attack on our democracy!

Due to the events on Wednesday, our Scheduling NIght was moved to tomorrow evening (Monday, January 11 @ 6:30 p.m.). We hope you can fully devote your time and interest to this important event as you and your student(s) begin to map out a schedule for next year. You can find information regarding tomorrow night’s program here.

If you have watched the last couple of Board of Education meetings, you should know that Dr. Martirano, our superintendent, is aggressively pushing to get small groups of students into the building. His plan would call for designated staff to return full-time to the building beginning February 1 and then developing a plan for small groups afterwards. Please stay tuned for critical developments regarding small groups. There will be surveys sent to families to ascertain your wishes regarding returning to school. I will keep you posted.

As we talk about bringing small groups of students back to the building, I hope you saw the disappointing news that the 2020-2021 Winter Athletics season has been cancelled. Please see the information sent by HCPSS here.

Believe it or not, we are fast approaching the end of the first semester and technically the end of a school year. As we prepare for the second semester and the start of basically a new school year, we will repeat some of the same events we did at the beginning of the first semester. First and foremost, we will need to collect all of the textbooks from the first semester. We are organizing a full week to allow families to stop by the school and drop off textbooks. It will take place from January 25 - January 29. In an attempt to accommodate your schedules, the drop-off times will be 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. We will have bins set up for you to drop off textbooks. Also, we will need to distribute materials for the second semester. We are designating February 10 as our distribution date. As the date approaches, I will send out more information on protocols and which courses will have materials to distribute.

Lastly, a huge thank you to those who have already dropped off items for our Atholton High School Food Drive, in conjunction with the Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Commission. Please keep the items coming. To further assist in this effort, we have created an Amazon Wish List of items you can donate. Please use this link (https://a.co/bpNGjYS) and click away to have items donated to our cause! Thank you all so much for your participation. A reminder that the food drive ends this week on the 13th!!

Wishing everyone a fantastic week and I hope to see you tomorrow evening during Scheduling Night!

Robert A. Motley

Principal

Scheduling & Registration Process

Course registration for students grades 8 - 11 will open Monday, December 21, 2020, for the 2021-2022 academic year. Students and their parents/guardians may review their teachers’ course recommendations, select their electives, and submit if necessary a Course Placement Review form through HCPSS Connect (Synergy) via the student log-in. All course requests and alternates must be submitted by Friday, January 15, 2021.

Each student must select 7 courses and 4 alternates. Alternate courses are just as important as the 7 other courses. The first alternate will be used as an 8th course in the event we stay in the 4x4 Model. It can also be used as a replacement for a course that was not able to fit in the students’ schedule. HCPSS is scheduled to return to a 7-period day next school year. Please add appropriate alternate courses in priority order and without duplicates.

All Course Placement Review (CPR) submissions will go through a review process. The Course Placement Review request must be submitted electronically through HCPSS Connect (Synergy) via the parent login. Requests received by January 15, 2021, will be given consideration prior to finalizing courses, and requests received after this date will be accommodated if space is available.

Dates to Remember

January 11, 2021, 6:30pm – Scheduling Night (more details to follow)

January 15, 2021 – Deadline for making course requests

January 6–February 17, 2021- High School counselors will schedule virtual course registration appointments with all students. Students will be notified of the appointment date/time via Office 365 Email and Canvas. It is critical that each student attend their appointment to ensure that course selections are complete and their progress towards graduation.

Helpful Links

FlexTime Presentation

HCPSS Scheduling Video

AHS Electives Video

Course Request Entry Instructions

Course Placement Review Instructions

HCPSS Connect Guides

SENIORS -- GRADUATION REQUIREMENT

Parents....please help us in assuring that our seniors complete this VERY important graduation requirement:

One of the requirements to graduate is the World of Workpiece (resume and mock interview). As you may remember, seniors completed the resume through their English 11 classes last year. They were not able to complete the mock interview as it was supposed to take place last March. Instead of an interview this year, ALL SENIORS will need to complete a post-secondary statement.