Proud to be a Mustang …Choosing Excellence in all that we do!
May 15, 2008
We last had the opportunity to update you about what is going on Marriotts Ridge at the end of March. We are just finishing Advanced Placement testing for over 300 students who are taking over 700 tests. These tests are used to determine college credit in certain courses … we are confident that our students did extremely well. In addition, we start High School Assessment (HSA) testing on Monday … we know that our students are prepared. Please make sure that they get a good night’s sleep, eat a good breakfast, and get to school on time each day next week. Speaking of making sure to be here and be on time, we must commend our students and families for achieving the highest high school attendance rate in Howard County so far this year. Please help us finish the year on a high note.
Before we go any further, we want to take a minute to tell our seniors and their families how proud we are of the Class of 2008. These students have built a wonderful foundation on which this school will continue to grow and prosper. They will be missed but not forgotten. We look forward to hearing about their many future successes. And what a senior prank … every chair in the building (over 2,000) arranged in The Commons for all to see on Wednesday morning … as they said, “Stand up … Get on yo’ feet for the Senior Class of 2008.” It has been our pleasure.
Sit back and enjoy reading some of the highlights of the past few weeks … our students and staff are doing some fantastic things!
· At the Howard County History Day competition, both of Marriotts Ridge’s representatives, Elizabeth Hughes and Brian Tich, were chosen for first and second place honors in the Senior Individual Performance Division. Elizabeth portrayed Amelia Bloomer and Brian took on the character of John Steinbeck. This is the second year that Marriotts Ridge students have taken top honors at this county competition. Elizabeth and Brian did a wonderful job representing Marriotts Ridge and Howard County at the Maryland History Day contest. Congratulations to these two outstanding ninth graders and their teacher, Mr. Paul Higdon. Thanks to our PTSA and Boosters for sponsoring the year long “History Alive” learning and preparation process.
· Once Upon A Mattress was a smashing success! Running for three nights to huge crowds, our actors and crew members were outstanding. It is truly a joy to see all of their hard work pay off. Our Drama Department is amazing … we have been nominated for the most Cappies (18) of any school in the area … most notably for Best Show and Best Critics Team. The winners will be announced in early June … we can’t wait to hear. Congratulations to all of the involved students and our phenomenal directing team, Ms. Sally Livingston, Mr. Terry Eberhardt, Ms. Trish Spruill, and Mr. Bill Eikenberg!
· At the Baltimore Regional Science Fair, MRHS was very well represented. Wendy Zhang, Brian Kim, Brendan McMurtry, and Yebo Fu all won awards for their research. As a state winner, Brendan will go on to compete at the national level. We applaud their efforts and congratulate our Science Team under the direction of the team leader, Mr. Dan Sageman!
· One of our seniors, Laura Patzer, was chosen by the Maryland State Department of Education for a MSDE Service Star Award. Only two students from each school system are chosen in recognition of their outstanding contributions to the community. This is quite an honor for Laura and our school … a Famous First! Laura is truly a very deserving recipient for all of her service with several of our clubs and school initiatives.
· The MRHS Math Team finished first in our division for all of Howard County. With this great improvement, we will be moved into the top division next year … I am sure that they will continue to work hard and attain great success. Brian Kim was recognized as the top scoring freshman in the county, finishing 4th among all students. Alex Lee and Sam Xi were also commended by the county for their outstanding work. Congratulations to the team and their coaches, Mr. Eric Ebersole and Ms. Melissa Barbieri!
· The Music Programs continue to shine. On the spring trip, competing against teams from all over the East Coast, our Choral and Instrumental programs achieved Grand Champion status. Sam Ock, Kelly Harrigan, Samantha Crosby, Greg Townsend, Brian Kim, and Winston Chiu also received awards for their efforts as soloists. Congratulations to all of our performers and their directors, Mr. Terry Eberhardt, Mr. Nick Ellis, and Ms. Rosemary Lather (who all received the highest honors for directors also). Wow! At their spring adjudications, the three music programs achieved superior and excellent ratings. Finally, their spring concerts were absolutely outstanding … no need to drive to the Kennedy Center or the Meyerhoff when you can just come to Marriotts Ridge. Keep up the wonderful work …Bravo!
· Our spring concert season culminated with our fabulous Dance Concerts. This year’s program “Strike a Pose” was absolutely outstanding. Thanks to our dancers, their director Ms. Trish Spruill, and their student teacher Ms. Jennifer Hennessie.
· Several staff members received awards from the Howard County Special Education Citizen Advisory Committee for their dedication to our students with special needs … I commend them for all that they do. Please join me in saluting Laura Bejm, Brian Bohlayer, Linda Davis, Bob Fleming, Sally Livingston, Rich Malt, Christine Schmidt, Cara Moulds, and James LeMon.
· Kevin Eikenberg, one of our juniors, won First Place at the Fourth Annual Howard County High School Student Film Festival for his film, “Life of an Extra.” Kevin made this “mockumentary” while participating in our fall play. Over 25 films were submitted from across the county for this competition … congratulations, Kevin!
· If you missed it, you must put our National Art Honor Society’s Art Fest on your schedule next year. What a wonderful event! We thoroughly enjoyed viewing the hundreds of pieces of art displayed, the interactive activities, the music performed … a very nice event for students and family members of all ages. Well Done!
· Marriotts Ridge participated in the Annual University of Maryland Chemathon. Students spent an entire Saturday participating in 8 science competitions and two juried events. Competing against over 20 teams, the Level I team of Wendy Zhang, Sarah Lee, Belinda Chen, David Wang, So-Myong Kim, and Yebo Fu took first place honors in one of the competitions. Also competing against over 20 teams, our Level II team of Felicia Kulp, Sama Beg, Laura Patzer, Maroop Singh, Jackie Meisel, and Meagan Peaco earned 6th place overall. Great job!!! Congrats to all of these students and their coaches, Ms. Jen Cooper and Ms. Karen Schneider.
· We applaud the following students who have been elected by their fellow students to serve as members of the Executive Board for the 2008-9 Student Government Association:
President Dan Schonfeld
First Vice President Malena Silva
Second Vice President Sarah Ferrell
Treasurer Mark Brindisi
Recording Secretary Rachael Follmer
Publicity Secretary Caroline Titan
Historian Stephanie Morrow
Parliamentarian Emily Griffith
HCASC Member Tyler Dunn
We are very proud of these students and are confident that they will do a wonderful job!
· We are so very pleased to announce that Ms. Jean Evansmore, one of our BSAP Council of Elders, has been chosen by as a 2008 Friend of Education by the Howard County Board of Education. These awards recognize community volunteers who go above and beyond. Even though Ms. Evansmore has no true family tie to Marriotts Ridge, she willingly gives her time every Wednesday to come in and work with her Mustang Family. We salute Ms. Evansmore as someone who has made a real impact on our school community … thank you!
· We had the opportunity to attend the Howard County Public School System’s Gifted and Talented Student Learning Conference and our own GT Enrichment Night. We thoroughly enjoyed hearing about what our students had been doing throughout the year in their research projects and mentorships. These experiences are very worthwhile and offer great real-life opportunities for our students. I strongly encourage families to consider this possibility when creating course schedules in the future. Our GT program is aligned with our AP classes through our Scholars Program. Congratulations to the following students who helped plan and/or presented at the countywide conference: Jire Bademosi, Melissa Navarro, Alli Smalley, Felicia Kulp, and Lindsay Cohen. We also appreciate the efforts of our GT Resource Teacher, Mr. Paul Eckert.
· Fifteen MRHS students participated in the Howard County Public Schools/Howard County Chamber of Commerce “Passport to the Future” program this year. All of our students succeeded in completing the requirements of the program … the judges’ feedback was that they were all very well prepared and that their portfolios were excellent. Congratulations to the following students … Jeremy Armiger, Kelly Jacobs, Rashaud Lashley, Umar Raja, Julius Rotimi, Elizabeth Koehler, Matthew Buck, Hannah Collins, Sarah Camillo, Thomas Grudberg, Elizabeth McKnight, Raven McKnight, Jennifer Nielson, Natalie Czepinska, and Ly Dinh … and their teacher, Ms. Pat Brodian!
· The Howard County Council of Elders Celebration of Excellence was held last week and four of our students … Jordan Haskins, Antwoine Johnson, Meagan Peaco, and Josephine de Graft-Johnson … were honored for their scholastic achievements and contributions to our community. Josephine was also recognized as the countywide recipient of the Gloria Washington Wallace Memorial Award and Meagan was highlighted for her cumulative 4.0 grade point average. Congratulations!!
· Our spring sports teams have had outstanding seasons. Three teams … Baseball, Girls Tennis, and Boys Lacrosse … all played in the county championship games. Another Famous First … Baseball is the first Marriotts Ridge varsity team to win a county championship! Several students won individual county championships …Haley Katsman in tennis and Jocelyn Henline and Ali Green in Outdoor Track. Many of our teams continue to compete in the playoffs … a highlight was the no-hitter thrown by Tim Blair yesterday. Way to go!
· Another great edition of The Stallion was distributed today. If a copy of it does not make it home, check it out on our website. Congrats to our newspaper staff and their advisor, Ms. Amanda Olsen.
· Finally, two incredible achievements for our school …Jire Bademosi, rising junior, was elected as the Howard County Student Member of the Board of Education. In an election involving over 18,000 high school and middle school students, Jire garnered over 10,000 votes. Jire will represent Marriotts Ridge and all of the students of Howard County on the Board of Education next year … what an outstanding accomplishment. Watch for her on TV. In addition, Mr. Terry Eberhardt, Choral Director and Fine Arts Team Leader, was chosen as the Howard County Teacher of the Year. This is a well deserved honor. Mr. Eberhardt defines all that is good about our profession … we tip our hats to him. He will go on to compete for the Maryland Teacher of the Year award that will be announced in the fall … we have no doubts about who should be selected!
We are excited about Prom and After Prom. Thanks to our Junior Class, especially Class President Caitlin Eggleston and Class Sponsors, Ms. Bernadette Allman and Mr. Jim Ventosa, for putting together what looks to be a great evening. Great Appreciation must also go to our After Prom Committee, headed by Ms. Karyn Littlejohn, for putting together “Viva Las Vegas.” Please join us in reminding our kids to make good decisions … let’s make this a memorable weekend for all of the right reasons.
P.S. Put the following number into your cell phones for easy access …410-313-2284. This number is the Howard County Police Department’s hotline to report underage drinking parties. We must do everything that we can to show our kids that we truly care about them. Thanks!