First Quarter has ended … what a great start to the
year! Our students, staff members, and
families have worked together to build a great foundation for the 2008-9 school
year. We hope to highlight some of the
many things that have occurred and provide some important information too.
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First … some instructional
highlights …
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Paul Higdon’s US
History classes have been visited by a Revolutionary War reenactor who talked
with our students about life during that time.
Mr. Higdon also brought “History
Alive” with a presentation by a visiting artist portraying Amelia Earhart. Thanks to PTSA sponsorship, “Amelia Earhart”
will continue working with our students throughout the year to prepare for Howard County History Day.
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You should check out
what Mr. Rosnik’s class has built in the Tech Ed area … they designed and built
a full size garden shed … looks fantastic.
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Finally, Mr. Stuller
brought his classes down to The Commons recently to conduct a lab experiment to illustrate Newton’s three laws of inertia, F=MA, and equal and opposite force. In an activity that resembles a combination
of bowling and curling, the students get
to actually see how force works.
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Our Student Government
Association and Class Councils must be congratulated on the excellent Spirit
Week they planned … the theme
days were a hit, the Powder Puff football game was a blast, the Pep Rally was a
lot of fun, the Homecoming Parade was a huge success, and over 1000 students
attended the Homecoming Dance. We also
enjoyed all of the good food at the AfterProm Pasta Dinner and the Poms Pancake Breakfast. This year’s first edition of the school
newspaper, The Stallion, and the yearbook, Stampede 2008, were
also hot commodities. Thanks to all of
the students and staff members who made this week a fun, spirited community
event thanks also to all of the families who pitched in or came out to show
their support!
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What can we say about Jukebox
IV? These shows just get better and
better … it was great to see a packed house each night. People are now coming from other communities
to see this wonderful piece of our culture.
Congratulations to the many, many students who were involved in this
awesome experience … thanks to Terry Eberhardt, Sally Livingston, and Trish
Spruill for organizing the show and to the many other staff members and
families who helped out in a variety of ways to make this show a great success!
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In other Fine Arts
news, our Marching Band will appear at M & T Bank Stadium this
weekend based on their award winning performance at last year’s championships
held at the
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The Fall Athletic
Season has been very exciting!
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Our Boys Soccer Team
is undefeated and won the
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The Varsity Football
team has been among the area’s elite
throughout the season. The Cross Country
teams have qualified for the State Championships next weekend.
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The Volleyball Team is
also playing tonight in the Regional Quarterfinals at River Hill tonight … 5 PM
… Best Wishes to Coach Olsen and the Lady Mustangs!
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Jenna Albright and
Tory Stader were two of four girls in all of
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Exciting performances
were also turned in by the Girls Soccer teams and the Field Hockey squads. Our Freshman Volleyball Team won every match
this season… special congratulations to Coach Ault and his players.
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Finally,
congratulations to the Cheerleaders and Coaches O’Brien and Arnal for taking
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Several staff
members have been recognized recently for their hard work and dedication to
our students and community … Roy Rosnik has been chosen as the Maryland State
Technology Educator of Excellence by the Technology Educators Association of Maryland. Mr. Rosnik will represent
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Our Family and
Community Partnerships Council is up and running, looking for ways to make
our community a better place. We are working on initiatives to promote
awareness about making good decisions and providing positive alternatives to
negative choices. We are also advocating
for better traffic safety and driving habits.
If you are interested in joining this group or supporting its efforts, be
on the lookout for more information.
Another way to get involved is to represent Marriotts Ridge on the newly
formed countywide Black Student,
Family, and Community Network (BSFCN) … this organization is looking for
representation from every county school … please contact us if you are
interested.
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Our final item for
this update … We want to congratulate the more than ninety students who will
receive National Honor Society recognition this Thursday. These students are to be commended for their
achievements. We must thank our NHS
Sponsors, Lynn Rashid and Tracey Rizzo, and the NHS Committee for their efforts
in coordinating this week’s ceremony and for working with our student members as they organize the
upcoming Toys for Tots drive and our NHS Tutoring Program. Whenever this time of year comes around, I am
reminded of a quote from Socrates that we could all probably benefit from on a
daily basis …
The surest way to
live with honor in the world is to be in reality what we appear to be.
If we can be of assistance to you, if you would like to
offer your services, if you just have a quick question, please feel free to
email us at patrick_saunderson@hcpss.org.
Looking forward to seeing you at the upcoming games and
events … make sure to mark American Education Week (November 17-21) and
Staff-Family Conferences (November 24-26) on your calendar.
Go Mustangs!
Pat Saunderson, James LeMon, Cara Moulds, Rosalie Bowen, and Gene Brown