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

November 13, 2008

 

 

Report Cards were distributed this afternoon.  Please take a few minutes to sit down with your son or daughter and review this important information.  Based on my reports so far, the percentage of students who earned Honor Roll status this quarter was the highest that it has ever been for any quarter in Marriotts Ridge history!  In addition, from my quick analysis today, our academic ineligibility (below 2.0) percentage is the lowest that it has ever been.  Congratulations to all of our Honor Roll Students … we will hold our Quarterly Ice Cream Celebration very soon!  We also commend those students who might not have reached honor roll status but have shown great improvement … keep up the good work!

 

As proud as we are of our students’ academic accomplishments, I also feel that I need to bring items of concern to your attention when they arise.  We have noticed this week that there are several students who made bad choices recently.  We had two small fights in the past couple of days that involved less than a handful of students and were ended very quickly (you may have heard about these “all out riots” by the time the news traveled around the community).  Please help us reinforce that fighting is never a good solution to any issue at school.  In addition, it seems that we have some students who do not realize that eating and drinking, talking, texting, getting up and wandering around are not appropriate in class or when attending an assembly or performance … I had two students tell me today that they had never been told that these were inappropriate behaviors so I thought that I would mention them again for everyone’s benefit.   We appreciate the support of all students and families in these matters.  Thank you!

 

Now for some more good news ….

 

Our Soccer Coach, Kevin Flynn, has been chosen as Howard County Coach of the Year and Maryland 1A/2A State Coach of the Year in Boys Soccer … a well deserved honor!

 

The Marriotts Ridge Marching Band and Color Guard competed in the USSBA 20th Anniversary Celebration and National Championships at M&T Stadium last Sunday.  Thirty-three bands from up and down the East Coast participated in this competition.  Marriotts Ridge placed well in Class III and won the coveted “Best Percussion” award.  Congratulations to our band students and Mr. Ellis … a round of applause for the many parents who came out to help also!

 

During the last game of the Varsity Football season, a 31-20 victory over Centennial, Senior Kyle Williams set a new Maryland State High School Football record for most career receptions.  Kyle finished his career with 179 receptions, breaking the previous mark of 174.  Congratulations to Kyle, his teammates, and Coach Ken Hovet on this outstanding accomplishment … I am still amazed!

 

Representing our Fine Arts program, Erica Fedor, Leslie Decker, and Josh Tilles have been chosen by the Cappies organization to have their reviews of plays at other schools included in local publications … congratulations to these students and our incredible Drama Teacher, Ms. Sally Livingston!

 

Speaking of Fine Arts, we highly recommend that you come out to see The Importance of Being Earnest next week … this looks to be another great show at Marriotts Ridge.   The play runs Thursday, November 20 – Sunday, November 23 … Thursday through Saturday at 7 PM with the Sunday performance starting at 3 PM.  Before the show on Sunday, our Art Department is hosting an Afternoon Tea at 1 PM.  Please come out and support our students … from what I have seen and heard so far, I can’t wait!

 

Remember that November 17-21 is designated as American Education Week.  We would love to have you visit our classrooms and see the great things being accomplished by our students and staff members.  Please join us!

 

Pick A Time will open on Saturday morning, November 15 at 12 AM so that you can schedule conferences to be held November 24 – 26.  A week or so ago we advertised that we would open it up today.  I decided to change that date after we had a computer virus attack our data clerk’s computer and all grades had to be manually reentered by teachers.  Pushing the conference registration process back by a day or so allows teachers to get their grading information back from the data clerk in order to contact families of struggling students regarding conferences.  Thanks for your understanding and patience.  You can access Pick A Time by going to our school website, www.marriottsridge.net. 

 

Thanks in advance to our South Asian Society students and their sponsor, Ms. Cindy Bonus, for providing snacks for the staff on the 24th and to our awesome PTSA and Boosters for sponsoring the Staff Appreciation Dinner on the 25th.  Please make sure to sign up for conferences … great time to see teachers again, ask any questions, and address any concerns early in the year.

 

Finally, please help support our SGA “Harvest for the Hungry” Canned Food Drive and the NHS “Toys for Tots” Toy Drive … we are so blessed in this community … let’s help those who need a little extra support at this time of the year.  We have enjoyed watching the kids fill up the shed that Mr. Rosnik’s class built with canned goods … check it out on The Commons on your next visit.  From what we are hearing, it sounds like I am going to be taking a swim in the “pond” out in front of the school if we fill the shed to the top with cans… so come on … FILL THAT SHED!

 

If we can be of assistance to you or just answer a quick question, please feel free to email us at patrick_saunderson@hcpss.org.  We will try to get back to you as quick as we can.

 

Looking forward to seeing you during American Education Week, and at the play and other events ….Go Mustangs!

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