Raider Nation Newsletter

Dear Atholton Families,

Tomorrow is PRESIDENT’S DAY. Please remember that we will have a FULL DAY of school tomorrow, February 21. I have received several inquiries regarding previously scheduled trips. Parents are allocated three discretionary days to use throughout the school year. Please just inform us that you intend to use one.

This past week has been an exciting one! Dr. Martirano stopped by Atholton to serve as a judge for our Black History Month Door Decorating Contest. We had over SIXTY doors to judge. The competition was fierce as departments and teachers went above and beyond in answering the call to highlight Influential African American Trailblazers in their content areas. Our student judges, along with Dr. Martirano, concluded the difficult task with the following results:

• 1st PLACE: Ms. Street (Spanish) – Afro/LatinX

• 2nd PLACE: Mr. Decker (Art) – African American Trailblazers in Art

• 3rd PLACE: Ms. Toohey (Math) – Mathematics in Music

Congratulations to all of our participants and below are images of some of the outstanding work. Enjoy!

We will end our celebration of Black History Month with a school-wide assembly this Thursday, February 24. There will be an evening performance by the Black Student Union on Wednesday, February 23 @7:45 PM. I hope you can attend!

On Friday, Atholton celebrated the Lunar New Year as well! The parents of the Asian Student Union hosted a small celebration for the staff with tea and various snacks. The day concluded with an evening celebration held by the Asian Student Uion. There was origami making, calligraphy, and arts and crafts. Please see the photos below. A huge thank you to our parents and the ASU, in particular, Yen Lin.

Another milestone last week was the celebration of our senior winter athletes. Both basketball programs honored their seniors before the start of their games. The Lady Raiders came away with a win over Wilde Lake on Tuesday and the boys pulled out a nail-biter against Centennial on Thursday. We had the opportunity to recognize our senior wrestlers during the game as well! Congratulations to all of our senior athletes. We wish everyone the best of luck as we head into the playoffs! GO RAIDERS!!

Our Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (JROTC) is an integral part of the Atholton community. On February 5th, the Raider Battalion competed in the DC Area Best-of-the-Best Drill Competition at Woodrow Wilson High School in DC. This was the first competition for the battalion in over two years (since before the COVID shut down). The Raider cadets competed in six events and took home two 1st Place Trophies, two 2nd Place Trophies, and one 3rd Place Trophy as well as the 1st Place Team Overall honors. Additionally, we recently celebrated our high achieving cadets who were recognized as the Cadet of Quarter for the 2nd Quarter. They were James Obasiolu, Salma Hassnein, Lourdes Long, and Reggie Jenkins. Congratulations to Ltc. William Reinhart and all of the cadets in our JRTOC program – we are so very proud of you!!

Lastly, as we enter the playoffs for winter sports, spring sports are right around the corner! In fact, spring sports tryouts are less than 2 weeks away. Please make sure you get your forms in prior to February 25th.

TRYOUTS: Participants are expected to be at ALL tryouts beginning March 1st. Practices will begin immediately after teams are selected. All participants MUST have all forms filled out prior to February 25th. Participants will not be allowed to try out if paperwork is missing or incomplete. Just because paperwork has been submitted, it must be cleared by the AAM. Please concur with coaches that all of your paperwork has been accepted.

SPRINT SPORTS TRYOUT SCHEDULE: Spring tryouts will begin on Tuesday, March 1st. Click here for tryout schedule

SPRING ATHLETIC FORMS: HCPSS has developed a portal through HCPSS Connect to submit ALL of your tryout forms. Parents/guardians must use the parent portal to submit paperwork. Click here for step-by-step directions on how to submit forms online.

PHYSICALS: The Athletic Boosters have provided a convenient opportunity for students to have a physical at Maple Lawn First Cal Urgent Care. Click this link for more information. Reminder: Wellness visits are NOT considered a physical.

For more information, please contact Mr. Senisi at Michael_Senisi@hcpss.org.

Wishing everyone a fantastic upcoming week!

Warmest regards,

Robert A. Motley

Principal

Ms. Wade -- 9th Grade ONLY (Kim_Wade@hcpss.org)

Mr. Cohen -- Last Name A - E / Grades 10 - 12 (Phillip_Cohen@hcpss.org)

Ms. Meledick -- Last Name F - Kj / Grades 10 - 12 (Dana_Meledick@hcpss.org)

Ms. Clearfield -- Last Name Kk - P / Grades 10 - 12 (Lisa_Clearfield@hcpss.org)

Ms. Wright -- Last Name Q - Z / Grades 10 - 12 (Keturah_Wright@hcpss.org)

In an effort to continue expanding our authorized set of digital tools for instruction, HCPSS has curated a new set of supplemental digital tools that are available only through Google’s menu of additional services. HCPSS is committed to leveraging technology in ways that ensure all students have access and opportunity to communicate, collaborate, create, and innovate safely and responsibly anywhere, anytime in support of learning. These supplemental digital tools are approved by HCPSS and comply with federal, state and Howard County Board of Education student data privacy policies. Due to Google’s settings, students must access this set of tools by utilizing Google’s menu of additional services, which requires consent by a parent or guardian.

To provide consent:

1. Log in to HCPSS Connect.

2. Select More Options from the left panel.

3. Select HCPSS Google Menu from the middle of the page.

4. Click the check box to provide consent. Changes are saved automatically.

A parent or guardian must provide consent for each student by selecting the student’s name at the top of the page.

Monday, March 7th, 2022 @ 6:30 pm in the Atholton High School Auditorium

The night will begin with counselors presenting detailed information on the following topics:

• the role of AHS Student Services in the college application process

• letters of recommendation

• requesting transcripts for colleges

• college search tips

• important deadlines

The second part of the evening will be a panel discussion with local colleges and universities.

They will discuss topics such as:

• the college application process

• school-specific information

• college prep tips

• FAQs

February 21 -- FULL DAY OF SCHOOL (President's Day)

March 16 -- 3-hour Early Dismissal

April 1 -- 3-hour Early Dismissal

April 11 - 18 -- School Closed (Spring Break)

April 27 -- 3-hour Early Dismissal

Click Below for Boosters' Organization News

PTSA

Athletic Boosters

Drama Boosters

JROTC Boosters

Music Boosters

Technology Boosters

Email: Robert_Motley@hcpss.org
Website: www.ahs.hcpss.org
Location: 6520 Freetown Road, Columbia, MD, USA
Phone: (410) 313-7065