Proud to be a Mustang… Choosing Excellence in All that We Do!

September 30, 2008

Do you believe that over a month of school has already passed? Students are actively engaged in outstanding learning experiences, participating in clubs, sports, and the upcoming drama production. Interim Progress Reports will soon be distributed and Spirit Week and Homecoming are just around the corner.

Highlighting some of the terrific things going on in classrooms … in Ms. Skahill’s English 10 classes, they are studying The Catcher in the Rye. As part of this unit, each student had to select one song that reflects the main character’s personality and attitude. Students had to play the song to the class, explain the connection, and display CD covers that they had created to represent the song and the character from the book. The choices were very thought provoking and the discussions that ensued were excellent….a “shout out” goes to Cody, Mike, Rhesa, Nick, Tatiana, Lina, Lillie, Taylor, and the rest of the 6_th Period gang. Well Done!

Other highlights include Mr. Rosnik’s Computer Integrated Manufacturing class. The students in this class had to replicate six different parts in a manufacturing process. “Fisher Factory” had cut-off, slotting, drilling, welding, and paint station operations. The sixth group had to design the “movement process” from station to station and oversee the entire program. Our students did a great job and Mr. Rosnik was able to share this lesson with our whole staff through a short video.

One more … it was extremely enjoyable to hear loud music and lots of student activity down the hall from my office. I went exploring, thinking that it might be one of our music programs. Instead it was our outstanding dance program under the direction of Mrs. Spruill. They are doing a tap dance unit … they were awesome … have you ever tried to tap dance backwards? Even though I had plenty of paperwork to do, I hung around for a little while to watch … wonderful to see our students so actively involved in the learning process.

Looking at student achievement, did you see how our students fared on the SATs last year? Our students consistently score in the Top 3 for Howard County high schools in each category. The following students are to be heartily congratulated for their recognition as 2009 National Merit Semifinalists: Mark Brindisi, Hyun Lee, Josh Tilles, and Likun (Sam) Xi. In addition, Hilary Brewer was named as a Semifinalist in the 2009 National Achievement Program for outstanding African American students … outstanding! All of these student scholars will be considered for Finalist status in the upcoming months.

We also had many other students recognized as part of the National Merit Program. The students listed below were designated as Commended Students.

Hilary Brewer Catherine Chamberlain Tyler Dunn

Christine Kang Omar Khan Hye Kim

Sara Olson Rahul Rajagopalen Dan Schonfeld

Patrick Talcott Robert Zhang

Derek Coleman and Lea Simmons were also selected as Outstanding Students in the National Achievement Program.

We also had a celebration this past week for our MRHS Scholars to applaud their achievement on last year’s AP tests. As I have noted in earlier bulletins, our students did extremely well on these college level tests. In a tradition that was started last year, we chose one student who showed the greatest achievement overall to be recognized on a plaque that will be displayed for years to come … that student was Sam Xi. We are very proud of Sam and all of the students mentioned above … keep up the good work!

Please take a few minutes on Thursday night or over the weekend to review Interim Progress Reports that will be distributed on October 2. We all know that it is extremely important that students get off to a good start in order to achieve academic success. The vast majority of our students have started the year on a high note and we commend them. There is still plenty of time to get things going for those students who may have started out a little more slowly.

For those students who are struggling to achieve success, we have several resources available. We are starting our Mentor Program again this year. Students involved in this initiative will be matched with staff members who are willing to go above and beyond to lend a hand … over 40 staff members have signed up for this program. Our National Honor Society also provides afterschool tutoring in many different subjects.

We are very excited about the creation of our Leadership Academy. This endeavor will allow struggling students to learn organizational, academic, and leadership skills while enrolled in our Leadership Interns program. This program also allows some of our finest students to get involved as Leadership Fellows, mentoring our interns one period a day. 28 seniors have signed up for the Leadership Fellows program … what a great experience … helping your fellow students. Finally, for our students who need a little extra help in preparing for the High School Assessments (some students will be taking these tests next week), we have been conducting intensive review sessions during the school day and will continue to do so throughout the year. Students and families who may be interested in finding out more information about any of these experiences should talk with our guidance counselors.

A couple of housekeeping items … we continue to have a few students who need to be reminded that our school should be viewed as a professional work environment. All students must dress in an appropriate manner. We have even had students come up to us over the past few weeks regarding what they consider the inappropriate dress of some classmates… they have told us that it is distracting and disruptive. We would prefer to spend our time helping our students achieve success than serving as the “Clothes Police.” If you need more direction as to the dress code, it is specifically described in the Student and Family Information Guide. Thanks for your support!

Regarding the Student and Family Information Guide, we have been organizing our required paperwork and have noticed that many students never returned their rules and policies signature pages. With all of the paper that comes home during the first week, we understand that some things may have been missed. Students who have not turned in this document will receive a new copy that must be brought home, signed, and returned immediately. Students who do not have this document on file are not allowed to attend the Homecoming dance and other upcoming events. This form can be found at the back of the Student and Family Information Guide … feel free to tear it off and send it as soon as possible.

We are looking forward to a great Spirit Week and Homecoming next week. The SGA has done a fantastic job in putting together a wonderful schedule of events. While we want all students to have a great week, please be mindful that all school system policies are in effect. This week is a wonderful time for all of us … we would hate to see the actions of one or two ruin things for everyone. Make sure you come out to the Powder Puff game, the PTSA AfterProm Pasta Dinner, the Homecoming Parade, the big Football game, and the other sports events next week. Recognizing that three of our teams …both soccer teams and the football team … have been mentioned in the local sports polls, you are in for a treat any time that you come out to see the Mustangs in action. And won’t Homecoming be the real deal this year with our returning graduates …don’t miss out!

Finally, we want to wish our students of Jewish heritage a Happy New Year as Rosh Hashanah was celebrated this week. We also want to recognize the many contributions of Hispanic cultures on world history as National Hispanic Heritage Month is celebrated through October 15.

One last thing … make sure to put October 16-18 on you calendar for Jukebox … what a show! Go Mustangs!

Pat Saunderson, James LeMon, Cara Moulds, Rosalie Bowen, and Gene Brown