Raider Nation News

Week of June 8, 2020

GRADUATION DAY TOMORROW!

Dear Atholton Families,

Graduation Day has finally arrived! I am so thrilled for the Class of 2020. Tomorrow is the day for which you have worked so hard! CONGRATULATIONS! I am looking forward to our Virtual Graduation tomorrow at 6pm. It may be viewed here.

On Tuesday, June 16 from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM, we will have multiple collection and distribution stations set-up. For our seniors, this will be a very quick distribution of your diploma covers and an opportunity for those who were unable to pick up their diplomas. For our 9th - 11th graders, we are seeking to collect ONLY your athletic items. This is a very selective part of our student population. Everyone else in 9th - 11th grade will hold on to their materials until we return to school (this includes our redistricted students!). If you are a 9th - 11th grader that is planning to leave HCPSS, you will have to turn in all of your AHS/HCPSS items on this date. More information will be sent out regarding diploma cover distribution and 9th -11th grade drop-off later this week (Thursday).

This week we will VIRTUALLY welcome our rising 9th graders (Thursday, June 11) and our redistricted students (Friday, June 12) to Raider Nation. We are so excited to welcome our new students. We have created a link on our website regarding the schedule. Please refer to this link as well as the correspondence that will be sent to families tomorrow for planning purposes.

Lastly, on a very serious note, a lot has happened in our country surrounding the unnecessary and unfortunate death of George Floyd. Words of sympathy are not enough. This moment in time calls on all of us to reject the complicit message of silence. This moment demands our outrage. This moment demands that we reaffirm our role as champions of equity. This moment calls us to loudly condemn not only overt racial violence but also the less obvious structural racism that permeates every dimension of American life—economics, health, the environment, housing, and, yes, education. Moreover, a time for us all to build our own cultural competence.

Our superintendent, Dr. Martirano has already asked that you, “ please have the necessary conversations with your young people about this message as well as the statement issued last Sunday. Talk to students about being kind to one another, valuing and honoring others, the power of words, and appropriate social media use. Most importantly, we as adults should always model the behavior we expect from our young people.”

I am committed to accompanying you on our shared journey of empathy and learning until one day we can finally declare the horrors that ended the lives of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor a thing of the past. We are better than this.

Thank you for all you do to build an ever more just future that we all—black, brown, and white—will share. And thank you for allowing Raider Nation to play a small part in your efforts -- WE ARE ATHOLTON!

Warmest Regards,

Robert A. Motley

Principal