Raider Nation Newsletter

Week of October 11, 2021

Dear Atholton Families,

This week will mark the end of testing for a while (whew!). We will have our PSAT testing this week. The PSAT will be administered to students in grades 9, 10, and 11 on Wednesday, October 13, from 7:25 am - 11:15 am. Sophomores and Juniors will take the PSAT NMSQT which is used to qualify students in grade 11 for National Merit Scholarship Finalists and Semi-Finalists. Students in grade 9 will participate in the PSAT 8/9.

On Wednesday, Seniors are encouraged to schedule college visits, spend time working on college essays, and/or researching the world of work. Seniors may use an excused discretionary day as the media center and other school resources will not be available to them for the entire day. Be sure to indicate such on your absence notes. You may send those notes to our attendance secretary, Ms. Weinberg at Mona_Weinberg@hcpss.org.

Students who are testing will have a late lunch and attend periods 4, 5, and 6 after testing. A good breakfast is recommended! There is no make-up day for PSAT. Students must attend school on time in order to participate in this county-wide initiative. As a way of getting in the right frame of mind, we are making Wednesday college shirt day. Students and staff are asked to wear their college gear!

The College Board encourages electronic devices and smartphones (smartwatches, etc.) to be left at home or in vehicles. Proctors will collect electronic devices during testing, and students will not be allowed to wear any technology (earbuds, headphones, etc.) or head coverings during testing. Students should bring a calculator with fresh batteries for the math portion that allows calculators. Calculators will not be provided to students by the school according to the College Board directions. Students are encouraged to bring extra #2 pencils. If you have any questions prior to Wednesday, please contact Ms. Williams at the school or email her at Adrienne_Williams@hcpss.org.

Last week, I provided information regarding upcoming parent conferences in November. You may recall that the default for ALL conferences will be virtual. However, should you feel the need for an in-person conference, please reach out to Sherri Whitsett at Sherri_Whitsett@hcpss.org or call the school and ask for Ms. Whitsett. We will make every attempt to accommodate your request.

We are finalizing upcoming Homecoming activities and are excited to be able to celebrate. The theme this year will be MONSTER MASH. Each class is in the process of determining what their respective representation will look like. I cannot wait to see their creative ideas! We had to change our plans slightly. We can no longer host the event in our stadium as the tent company requires more time than we have (a football game is scheduled!) to set up the tent and dance floor. Therefore, we will be moving the event to our very large interior courtyard. We are exploring the possibility of some form of heaters but are limited based on HCPSS regulations. We will instruct students to come dressed appropriately for the outdoor event. We will hold an outdoor pep rally on Friday, October 29.

Here is the tentative schedule for Saturday, October 30. I hope you are able to join us!

8:30-10am: Pancake Breakfast (Cafeteria)
9:45-10:30 am: Powder Puff Football game (not finalized)
11am-11:45: Parade
1 pm: Football Game (wear black)
6:30pm-9:30pm: Dance- Outdoors (AHS Interior Courtyard)

Lastly, as we all can do our part to help save and preserve our environment, please consider turning off your car engines while waiting to pick up your students from school events. For every 10 minutes the engine is off, you will prevent one pound of carbon dioxide from being released. Any time the weather allows us to turn off our engines - Let’s do it!

Wishing everyone a fantastic week!

Robert A. Motley

Principal