Winter Bash

If school is cancelled on Friday, or if after-school activities are cancelled on Friday the Spirit Team Winter Bash scheduled will be cancelled. If Winter Bash is cancelled, all tickets purchased will be good for a future dance, which will be announced as soon as the Spirit Team can come up with a date.

Award Winning Musicians

Congratulations to the following students who performed at the Howard County Solo and Ensemble Festival. Receiving a rating of II or Excellent: Shafer Burnett, Joseph Choi, Emily Galik, Deandra Fike, Allison Dunn, Agnes Kim, Joy Lee, Amy Mandelberg, Sarah Roberts, Rachel Runsonis. Receiving a rating of I or Superior: Lisa Alonso, Gloria Nam, Melinda Fu, Marissa Davey, Jenna Bergquist, J.D. Fishman, Zach Nies, Richard Gil, Jonathan Kahl, Joseph Choi, Ben Klawson, Dana Koehler, Liesl Krause, Maggie Woodbury, Jordan Lee, Courtney O'Haro, Anna Rimlinger, Mac Robertson, Philip Romano, Jonathan Schonfeld, Jonah Sengupta, Nicole Townsend, Melanie Tresnak, Brian Warsaw, Patrick Woo, Nathan Wray. Playing for Comments Only was Liam Beck.

Teacher Notes

From Mrs. Quinn, GT Resource Teacher:

GT Testing for nominated 6th and 7th graders took place this week. If your child was absent or missed this opportunity, contact Mrs. Quinn. Results will be mailed home from the GT Office in April.

New students, nominated by a teacher or parent, who enroll in the Howard County School System after the Winter/Spring testing period can register for GT Testing. However, the student must register at his/her new middle school and receive an ID number first. The Student Information Sheet must be completed and sent to the GT Office by Friday. April 25th, GT Tests will be given at the Faulkner Ridge Center in Columbia on Saturday, May 3rd.

Our next novel for the book club discussion is "The Skin I'm In" by Sharon G. Flake. Any student who would like to join this group should see Mrs. Quinn in the GT Room.

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

Volunteer Lunch Monitor

Volunteer Lunch Monitor needed every other Tuesday beginning February 26th from 10:45 AM-11:50 AM. If interested please email Lori Ferraro at ferrarofamily4@verizon.net or call 443-286-6117.

Community News

The College Savings Plans of Maryland now offers more options from the State of Maryland to help make it easier than ever to save for college. The Maryland Prepaid College Trust Allows you to lock in tomorrow's tuition at today's cost and offers the security of a Maryland Legislative Guarantee. The Maryland College Investment Plan offers 13 different investment portfolios managed by T. Rowe Price. Both plans are affordable, flexible, and offer great State and federal tax benefits! To find out more, plan to attend one of the Parent Information Nights, presented by Howard County Public Schools and the College Savings Plans of MD. All presentations are scheduled to begin at 7:00 PM.

Wednesday, February 27th - Patapsco Middle School
Tuesday, March 4th - Elkridge Landing Middle School
Thursday, March 6th - Patuxent Valley Middle School

The Laurel Boys and Girls Club will hold their Poms registration on Monday, February 25th from 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM at the club in Laurel. On Saturday, March 1st, registration will take place from 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM at Modell's in the Laurel Lakes Shopping Center. Online registration is now open. Visit www.laurelboysandgirlsclub.org

The Howard County Autism Society and AMC Theatres at Columbia Mall will be offering movie showings for families with special needs. There will be no trailers, the volume will be kept down and the lights will be kept up. Children are encouraged to take sensory breaks and all families and friends with special needs are welcome. All showings will start at 9:30 AM. Doors open at 8:45 AM. The cost is $6 per person. The upcoming schedule is as follows:

Sunday, February 23rd -"The Spiderwick Chronicles"
Saturday, March 29th - "Horton Hears a Who"
Saturday, April 12th - "Nim's Island"

HC DrugFree will sponsor its annual Teen Job and Volunteer Fair on Saturday, March 8th from 10:00 AM -- 2:00 Pm at Long Reach High School. The event is FREE for all high school students. Eighth graders are encouraged to attend. For more information, contact Laura Smit aqt 443-325-0040 or hcfrugfree@yahoo.com. You can go to the HC DrugFree website: www.hcdrugfree.org to see photos of last year's event.