As we finish Spring Break and get back to school this week, we hope that you all enjoyed the time away and are ready to finish the year on a high note.  As we look back over the month since our last update, there is so much to highlight …several Famous Firsts and other great news about our students and community.  Please grab a cup of coffee or a snack and take a few minutes to read through all of the fantastic things going on at Marriotts Ridge.

_ At the Howard County Mathematics, Science, and Technology Fair, our students performed extremely well among the best our county offers, including one Famous First …Brian Kim was chosen as the Howard County High School Grand Prize Sweepstakes winner … quite an honor!  In addition, Brendan McMurtray won the Animal Biology division and Vidya Gondalia, Casie Duncan, Cara Koontz, Amanda Jefferson, Alison Murphy, and Nick Davey also received awards.  Good Luck to Brian and our other scholars who will advance to the Baltimore Science Fair.  Congrats also to Dan Sageman, Science Team Leader, and to all of our Science Department members, including Amy Harich, our Science Assistant, who does so much to organize our school's Science Fair.

_ The MRHS Winter Sports Teams were extremely successful this year.  Leading the way was our outstanding Boys Basketball team that made a great run at the county championship.  The team was led by two people who achieved a pair of MRHS Famous Firsts …Kevin Seker who was selected as Player of the Year and Marcus Lewis who was chosen as Coach of the Year.  Continuing our trend of Firsts, our Wrestling Team had an excellent season, resulting in two student athletes, Kyle Marvin and Evan Peck, being chosen for the Senior All Star Tournament.  Our Poms won first place in the Prop/Novelty category and third place in the High Kick division at the State Championships.  All of those long practices surely paid off …our hats are off to hundreds of winter sports athletes and their coaches …we also commend our Mustang Maniacs for showing such great spirit at our games!

_ Another Famous First…one of our students, Jire Bademosi, has received the very high honor of being chosen as one of the two finalists to become the next Student Member of the Howard County School Board of Education.  Along with several candidates from across the county, Jire was interviewed by the student officers of the Howard County Association of Student Councils who chose the two candidates who will stand for election in April.  All Howard County middle and high school students will participate in this voting process.  We wish Jire the best!

_ Our Choir Program continues to distinguish itself.  Ten of our Madrigals were chosen to participate with the 2008 Maryland Senior All State Chorus.  The Madri gals also performed at the celebration ceremony for this year's Howard County Women Hall of Fame.  Finally, two of our seniors, Colleen Clancy and Sam Ock, performed at the 2008 Howard County Student Councils Teacher of the Year ceremony at the Howard County Board of Education two weeks ago.  Congratulations to our singers and their leader, Mr. E … Terry Eberhardt!

_ Our Art program continues to shine in many arenas.  At the Eighteenth Annual Howard County Junior/Senior Art Show, Marriotts Ridge had the highest number among all county schools of accepted works by the jury panel.  As Ms. Miers-Bond said, “not bad for our first year with seniors.”  The artwork of thirty-five artists from Marriotts Ridge is on display until April 16 at the Howard County Department of Education…you will be amazed if you get a chance to get over there …not just by our students but by all of Howard County's finest.  I have walked through the exhibit at least five times and always see something new.  Outstanding!  Congratulations to Dorian Alexander, Amy Beverungen, Hilary Brewer, Samir Marinelli, Emma Meade, Jessica Starr, Kevin West, Josh Sinn, Myles Sullivan, Shirley Weng, Dan Myers, Michael Bargamian, Kelsey Woods, Zac Yelnosky, Katie Jurney, Chelsey Curtin, Alec Vlahos, Audra Swearingen, Igor Khrustalev, Elly Kokes, Kristen Miller, Sonya Beall, Jiangjiang Cao, Caroline Kessler, Matt Cornell, Ali Kapustin, Emma Claffy, Tori Peck, M itch Fader, Matt Hartley, Kelsey Cole, and Sarah Sheehan …wow!!!  The following students were recognized, as part of a regional group of 600 recipients from over 6,000 submissions, with a Gold Key by the Alliance for Young Artists and Writers and will be considered for national recognition:  Amy Beverungen, Chelsey Curtin, Katie Jurney, Caroline Kessler, Sarah Sheehan, and Audra Swearingen.  Finally, in news that made its way to us a little late, we want to applaud Colleen Quinlan on her artwork being selected as one of twenty-five pieces from Howard County that were chosen by the Maryland Art Education Association to be displayed at the State House in Annapolis as part of the Emerging Student Art Exhibit.  We commend all of these students and our art teachers …LaVerne Miers-Bond, Jaye Ayres, and Marina Kramvi!

_ Among the many wonderful students who participate in our GT Research classes, four students …Felicia Kulp, Allison Smalley, Lindsay Cohen, and Beth Warsaw …have been selected to present at the Howard County GT Student Learning Conference in April.  These students have worked very hard this year and we wish them well as they represent themselves and our school at this event.  Thanks to Paul Eckert, GT Research Teacher, for his leadership!

_ Congratulations to our Mustang African American Awareness Club (MAAAC), Multicultural Club, Southeast Asia Club, and our Fine Arts Department for two outstanding Multicultural Assemblies a few weeks ago.  Many students were involved in this project to highlight the rich history and contributions of many cultures represented within the Marriotts Ridge Community.  We also appreciate the efforts of Trish Spruill, Terry Eberhardt, Nick Ellis, Farah Evans, Rosemary Lather, Cindy Bonus, Harriet Lee, Marie Jones, Tekyia Brower, Sheila Jones, Unsil Choi, and many others who made this program a great success!

_ Another successful Red Cross Blood Drive was held recently, resulting in 138 units of blood being donated which surpassed the goal of 120 units.  Many thanks to the students, staff members, and families who participated …kudos to Bob Siskind and the many students who helped organize and run this endeavor!

_ In addition to our Choir Program, our Orchestra hosted and participated in the Howard County Orchestra Adjudication and was just phenomenal … no need to buy a ticket for the BSO when you can just head down the hallway.  So impressive!  Congratulations to our orchestra members and Strings Director Rosemary Lather!  We can't wait to see our Band perform at the county band adjudication two weeks from now …I am sure that they will be wonderful.  Finally, we must recognize our Orchestra and Band All State students who also performed at the Maryland Music Educators Conference.  Well Done!

_ Our Computer Programming Teams and Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) continue to excel.  At this year's Loyola Programming Competition, the programming team of Kevin Tran, Mark Brindisi, Patrick Talcott, and Tyler Dunn finished fourth out of twenty-six teams, the highest place among Howard County high school teams.  And now for another Famous First … hosting the Region IIC FBLA Conference, the Marriotts Ridge chapter came in Second Place overall.  Calvin Tan, Alan Cheng, Tyler Dunn, Jason Suh, Mitch Stahm, Kevin Tran, and Eric Krokos all placed first in their events.  These students and several other MRHS students who finished in the Top 3 in their events have advanced to the State Conference in April.  What a great accomplishment … good luck at the next level.  Congratulations to Lorene Cannella who coached our programming team and to Reg Hahne who sponsors FBLA and organized the regional conference!

_ As we head towards the end of the year and AP exams, many of our students are taking national examinations in French, Spanish, and Mathematics.  We commend these students for accepting this challenge and wish them well … just a reminder that AP exams take place during the first tw o weeks of May.   Over 200 MRHS students signed up to take AP exams this year … an outstanding representation!  Thanks to all of our teachers for all that they do every day to challenge our students to be the best that they can be.

_ Three other events that were huge successes recently must be mentioned.  Class Acts was a wonderful fundraiser and great spirit activity for our student body.  Congratulations to our seniors on their victory.  We appreciate the dedication shown by Laura Bejm, Sarah Palm, Rich Malt, Mark Dubbs, Robin Grey, Tracey Rizzo, Jim Ventosa, and Bernadette Allman in sponsoring this event.  The Boosters “Luck O'the Irish” Mustang Madness Dinner and Auction was a great success.  We applaud the efforts of the Madness Committee and the 250+ MRHS community members who came out to have a good time raising money for our many extracurricular activities.  Finally, Senior Switch Day was a wonderful experience for all involved.  Over fifty students participated in this worthwhile event, teaching classes, working in the cafeteria, or serving as administrators.  We visited classes throughout the day and were very impressed by our seniors.  We also enjoyed how tired our “administrators” were at the end of the day and how much their feet hurt.  All fantastic events in our school community!

_ Looking ahead, we have many events coming up.  I want to mention one in particular … our Drama Department proudly presents Once Upon A Mattress on April 3, 4, and 5 at 7 PM.  We have thoroughly enjoyed wandering through the daily practices.  Make sure to put these dates on your calendar … you will love the show.  While there are probably over 100 students and staff members involved in this production, I want to mention one student in particular at this time.  Robert Kubisen does an incredible job of running the light and sound for a great number of the events that occur throughout the year in our auditorium.  Robert is outstanding …we truly commend his efforts, his dedication, and positive attitude!

_ In addition to the upcoming AP exams, we will be giving the Maryland High School Assessment (HSA) exams in May.  These tests are given to all students in American Government, Biology, English 10, and Algebra.  Students must now take and pass them in order to graduate.  Review sessions will be hel d throughout the coming weeks …be on the lookout for more information.  If you have not seen anything and feel that your son or daughter would benefit from such assistance, please contact our guidance counselors.

_ Third and Fourth Quarter grades are very important in finishing the year on a high note.  We want to remind all students to remain focused on their courses until the end of the year.  Students must pass the final two quarters in order to receive course credit…don't let up.  For those students who can use some assistance, we have started several initiatives and are already working with several students … please contact a guidance counselor for more information.

_ One last thing … actually two …Attendance and Final Exams.  As of Spring Break, we had the highest attendance percentage among Howard County high schools and have achieved the Excellent rating on the state standard for the third straight year (the only Howard County high school to do so) … help us keep it that way.  Please remember that missing more than 5% of any class for any reason … that is 9 class periods … may lead to denial of course credit according to state regulations.  We are already sending reminder letters to families …please make sure that students are here unless they are truly sick or there is some other extenuating circumstance.  Regarding final exams, we want to remind everyone that these assessments must be taken in order to receive course credit … that goes for all students, seniors included.  According to county policy, final exams may not be taken early … students who miss final exams must take them as soon as they can after the exam period. 

We hope that you enjoyed reading about the latest accomplishments and news at Marriotts Ridge…there are so many things to highlight, I am sure that we forgot something …we will try to catch it next time.  As we get the spring season going … Congratulations to the Boys Lacrosse Team and Head Coach Dan Sageman on their victory at the Northeast Lacrosse Tournament last weekend …and head towards the upcoming concerts and senior events, I am sure that we will have many other items to recognize in the upcoming weeks.  We look forward to seeing you around the Ridge.