Outdoor Education

6th Grade: Outdoor Education will be held on May 19th - 21st. The cost is $150 per student. Permission forms went home with report cards on Wednesday, January 30th and are due Friday, February 22nd.

Lunch Monitor

Volunteer Lunch Monitor needed every other Tuesday beginning February 5th from 10:45 AM to 11:50 AM. If interested please email Lori Ferraro at ferrarofamily4@verizon.net or call 443-286-6117.

World Language Program

Attention 6th grade students and parents: A letter about the world language program in middle schools and a selection form was sent home with 2nd quarter report cards on January 30th. All students should return the form even if they are not selecting a world language course next year. The selection forms are due back to FT teachers by Thursday, February 7th. Any student who turns in the selection form after February 7th may be placed on a waiting list.

Revised Religious Observances Policy

A revised Religious Observances policy was adopted by the Board of Education on October 1, 2007 and went into effect January 22, 2008. The goal of Policy 3000 is to foster respect for and understanding of the diverse religious and non-religious beliefs and practices of our community and of the world. All requests for student absences due to religious obligations require completion of an Absence for Religious Obligation form. This form is available in the student services office and is also available on the school system website (www.hcpss.org - see For Parents; Forms). All requests should be submitted two weeks in advance to the principal, who will forward them to the Office of Equity Assurance.

Teacher Notes

From Mrs. Quinn, GT Resource Teacher:

GT Testing for nominated 6th and 7th graders will be Wednesday, February 20th, period 1 in the GT Room. Parents who nominated their children for testing were sent a confirmation email. If you did not receive an email, contact Mrs. Quinn.

Attention talented writers and artists! Please submit your poetry, short stories, and artwork to our online magazine, IMAGINATION. Be sure to include a cover page for each submission.

Congratulations to Mr. Lewis' 6th grade GT Social Studies students who will participate in the History Day Competition on Saturday, March 29th at Reservoir High School. (Jenna Berquist, Emily Galik, Venya Gushin, Caroline Johnson, Ali Lieberman, Hope Loiselle, Taylor Mann, and Ada Schnake) Check out the photos from our own History Day at Mrs. Quinn's website.

The PE Department needs your help. We would appreciate any donations of tissue boxes for our students. We also are in need of a working stereo system. If anyone would like to donate a working system (CD player/radio/speakers) it would be greatly appreciated! Please contact Craig Blum, Jeannie Kenney or Ron Somerville. Thank you.

Good luck to the 39 band students who are performing for judges at the Howard County Solo and Ensemble Festival Saturday.

The Sixth Grade Orchestra and Jazz Band performed at Winter Concert II on January 23rd. A good time was had by all.

Joseph Choi will perform with the Maryland All-State Band at the end of February.

Our very own Anna Rimlinger is composing a piece of music for the band to perform next year. We are anxiously waiting for a sneak peak.

Richard Gil has composed a percussion duet, which will be performed at the Spring Concert.

Cosmic Bowling

8th Graders! Come Cosmic Bowling on your day off! Friday, February 8th 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM Normandy Lanes Brunswick Bowling (8419 Baltimore National Pike Ellicott City, MD 21043) Cost to Student is $7 - this includes shoes, and all you can bowl (Total cost is $11- PTA is paying $4) Chaperones needed! (No siblings if you chaperone!) You are responsible for your own transportation. Parents: Please pick your child up promptly at 3:00 PM so that the chaperones do not have to wait. Contact: Dawn O'Haro by oharodw@aol.com or 410 461-5786. Turn in permission slip with cash or check (made payable to MVMS PTA) to MVMS Front Office by Friday, February 1st. NO Walk-ins! We must have a count by February 1st!

Roller Skating Party

ATTENTION 7th GRADERS! Join your classmates for an afternoon of fun at the PTA sponsored ROLLER SKATING PARTY on Tuesday, February 12th (Election Day) from 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM at The Supreme Sports Club (7080 Deepage Drive in Columbia 410-381-5355). The reduced cost is $5, which includes admission and skate rental. Make your $5 check payable to MVMS PTA. Please no cash! You may bring your own skates if you wish. Snacks are available for purchase at the snack bar. Parents are responsible for transportation. Children MUST be picked up by 4:00 PM. Please check your child in and out with one of the parent chaperones. Contact Cathy Terrill 410-313-8081 or Katie Berges 410-480-0414 with any questions. Download directions and a permission slip which should be returned to the your child's FalconTime teacher with $5 check by Friday, February 8th.

Community News

The ten villages of Columbia are sponsoring "Roots of Howard County in Celebration of African American History." The event will be held on Sunday, February 10th from 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM at Historic Oakland in Columbia. Visit the African Art Museum of Maryland, view displays from the Howard County Center of African American Culture, see the poster entries from the "Images of Freedom" contest and enjoy a performance by the "Ambassadors of Jazz." The event is free and light refreshments will be available.

In celebration of Black History Month, the Howard County Central Library in Columbia, will present "Meet Phyllis Wheatley," the acclaimed colonial-era African-American female poet, as portrayed by local actress Jocelyn Richard. The event will take place at 1:00 PM on Saturday, February 2nd. To register, call 410-313-7860, or online at www.hclibrary.org. (Click on the Events and Programs/Central tabs.)

The Girl Scouts of Central Maryland are offering two classes in Babysitter Training with CPR and First Aid Certification. At the end of the course, participants will earn a certification card for babysitting, as well as certification in CPR and First Aid. You do not have to be a Girl Scout to take the class. Classes will take place on Saturday, March 1st, at 9:00 AM and on Saturday, April 19th at 9:00 AM. Both classes will be held in Ellicott City. Classes are open to girls ages 12 - 17. Fee of $75 covers all materials and certifications. Bring a bag lunch. For more information, call 410-358-9711 or 410-988-2991.

The Howard Community College Educational Foundation will hold a gourmet Chinese buffet provided by the Hunan Manor Restaurant to benefit the Silas Craft Collegians Scholarship Endowment. The event will take place from 5:00 PM - 8:00 PM on Monday, March 10th at the Hunan Manor Restaurant in Columbia. Tickets are $40. For more information or to purchase tickets, call 410-772-4450 or visit:
www.howardcc.edu/specialevents.

Individual Differences in Learning (IDL) will present "How to Prepare your Different Learner for College" on Monday, February 11th at Linden Linthicum Church in Clarksville. Doors open at 7:15 PM. A $5 donation is requested from non-members, or you can join IDL for $25. For more information, go to www.gifteddifferentlearners.org or register at info@gifteddifferentlearners.org.

Registration is now open for the Winter Stressless Tests Study Skills courses. Middle School Study Skills classes at Burleigh Manor Middle School: Tuesday afternoons from 3:45 PM - 5:45 PM, February 5th - March 4th; Monday evenings, February 11th - March 10th, 6:30 PM- 8:30 PM. High School Study Skills classes at Centennial High School: Wednesday Evenings, February 20th - March 12th, 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM. For more information on these and other courses and workshops, or to register, go to www.Stresslesstests.org, or contact Betty Caldwell at 410-740-4659 or at Bcaldwell@comcast.net.

The Jewish Federation of Howard County is sponsoring a middle school "Mix & Mingle" Jewish Social - open to all 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th graders on Saturday, March 8th from 7:30 PM - 9:30 PM. The event will be held at Beth Shalom in Columbia. Tickets are $5 in advance or at the door. There will be a DJ from Washington Talent Agency, ipod shuffle prize, other prizes & snacks. For information on tickets, call 443-535-9808 or deb3kids2001@yahoo.com.

"Be Ready for Fast Pitch" Register for Western Howard County Youth Baseball/Softball League. To register call 410-313-7275 or go WHC website: www.whcsport.com. Contact jean Shea 410-313-4626 or Jshea@howardcountymd.gov.

Ultimate Sports! For Ultimate Players! Compete in a variety of sports each week including kickball, soccer, basketball, volleyball, wiffleball and more. Registration is available online, www.howardcountymd.gov/rap or registration forms are available in MVMS front office.

Girls Howard Recreation Youth Volleyball League Registration is available online, www.howardcountymd.gov/rap or registration forms are available in MVMS front office.

The Glenelg High School Marching Unit will hold their Citrus Fruit Sale again this year from November through March. In the February/March sale, they offer pink grapefruit, navel oranges, temple oranges. Orders are due by Wednesday, February 20th for fruit to be picked up at Glenelg High School on Saturday, March 1st. Order forms are available from the Glenelg High School office, by contacting Danita Kinnison at 410-489-5260 or ghsfruitsales@comcast.net or for downloading from our website at: www.glenelgbands.com (click on Fruit Sale Website). Please mail the completed fruit order form with your check made out to GHS Marching Unit Fruit Sale to the address given on the form.

2008 Summer Camp for Middle and High School Girls Sponsored by Women's Giving Circle of Howard County: The Women's Giving Circle of Howard County has expanded its residential summer camp, Journey, to include two groups of Howard County students: 25 girls entering eighth and ninth grade in the fall of 2008 and 25 girls entering tenth, eleventh and twelfth grade in the fall of 2008. Maryland Leadership Workshops, Inc. (MLW) will operate Journey, as it has for the past two years.

The Women's Giving Circle is an organization of women philanthropists dedicated to addressing the needs of women and girls in Howard County. MLW has been providing leadership training programs for middle and high school students in the state of Maryland for over 50 years. Journey will run from Sunday, July 20th through Saturday, July 26th, at Washington College in Chestertown, MD. Student delegates to the program will live in the college dorms, eat in the college cafeteria, and experience a collegiate atmosphere during the week long program.

Journey's Program Directors are MLW staff members Caroline Gifford, a Howard County native and teacher for Washington, D.C. Public Schools, and Kimberley Gordy, Admissions Officer for Goucher College. Atholton High School Principal Marcy Leonard is Outreach Program Facilitator and Policy Board Member of MLW. The summer camp is the outgrowth of the Women's Giving Circle's efforts at supporting girls during a formative development period of their lives. Program components will include:

• Workshops on empowerment and motivation, communication skills, decision making skills, group dynamics, self-awareness, goal setting, and conflict resolution.
• Small and large group projects for delegates to apply and get feedback on their leadership and interpersonal skills.
• One-on-one interactions between staff and delegates to address specific areas of growth for individual delegates and identify an action plan for post-site implementation
• Recreational activities such as swimming and athletics and team building games and activities, including a Confidence Course. "The theme of womanhood and what it means to be a woman will be prevalent in every aspect of the program," said Dorothy Harris, Chair of the Women's Giving Circle Advisory Board. "Issues of feminism, women's history, equity, gender differences, and female consciousness will be interwoven as the girls are challenged to think about the preconceived expectations that society has set forth for them and how to break those expectations to become their own individual person," she added. The camp will be restricted to girls who are living in Howard County and now attending seventh through eleventh grade. The cost of the camp is $550. Financial assistance is available. Applications can be obtained at www.womensgivingcircle.org and in guidance offices at local middle and high schools. Applications are due Friday, March 14th.

For further information, contact Colleen Taggart-D'Agrosa, womensgivingcircle@comcast.net, 301-854-1107.

The Women's Giving Circle for Howard County with support from Johns Hopkins Applied Physics lab and Math Engineering Science Achievement (MESA) presents a special event for Middle and High School girls. The event will take place on Sunday, February 10th, 3:00 PM - 5:00 PM in the Howard Room, APL Building 1, Johns Hopkins APL in Laurel. Parents are invited to accompany their daughters. No admission fee. Registration suggested at womensgivingcircle@comcast.net or 301-854-1107. Flyers are available in MVMS front office.

Columbia Association Summer Camp 2008 Booklet is available in MVMS front office and student services office.