IMPORTANT DATES:

December 15                Interim Progress Reports issued.
            December 22                Winter Break starts.    Schools closed.
            January 5                     School starts.
            January 19                   Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, schools and
            January 23                   End of Marking Period. All schools close 3 hours early.
            January 26                   Professional Work Day. Schools closed for students.
            February 4                   Report cards issued.
            February 16                 Presidents’ Day. Schools and offices closed.

INTRAMURALS

            Art Club                       In Progress.

Bridge                          In Progress.
            Imani Club                    1/27, 2/24, 3/24, 4/28, and 5/26.

YEARBOOK INFORMATION
ORDER BEFORE JANUARY 20TH, $25.00
AFTER JANUARY 20TH, $28.00

Dear Friends and Families of Lime Kiln Middle School,

We were so happy with the tremendous turnout for the Winter Concerts on Monday and Tuesday evenings. The concerts were outstanding. Thanks to Mr. Jackowski and Mr. Walls for their very effective efforts. Also, we are appreciative of the parents, who are truly supportive.

On Monday, the second quarter interim reports will be sent home with the students. This year is quickly advancing. The end of the marking period will be January 23rd.

As stated before, we can only allow students to ride another bus in an emergency. An emergency would be when a parent is out of town and staying with another family. Both students must have signed notes from parents, which must be approved by an administrator.

Please be careful when dropping off your students in the lower parking lot. After dropping off your child, please come to a stop before turning left to exit the lot. On at least two occasions, a teacher has almost been hit.

Today, we met with our sixth grade class to speak with them about some behaviors we are concerned about. At times, there is a tendency for our young students to think they are older than they are. The unacceptable behavior has included swearing and name-
calling that we know is not tolerated at home. Parents of students who continue this behavior will be contacted immediately.

In this month’s “Principal Communicator,” there were some very practical and effective
guidelines for communicating with students that I thought might be good strategies for parents, as well. Altogether, there are 10. I’ll include them over the next few weeks.

To avoid sounding judgmental, stick to describing what you see and feel.
Encourage students to share personal thoughts and feelings by sharing your own.
Never use words to belittle any child’s dreams.

Sincerely,
Brenda Thomas

Our students of the week are: Graham Broschart, Grace Park, Madison Coates, Kristen Smith, Jackson Philips, Kelly Wruck, Rachel Samelson, and Sam Ehrlich.

COUNSELORS’ CORNER…Attention: Eighth Grade Parents – Get Ready For High School!

The Guidance Department will be presenting the high school registration unit to all eighth grade students through their reading classes during the week of January 5-9. Please ask your student to share this important information with you each evening. At the end of the unit they will be prepared to complete their registrations forms. All completed registration forms are due back to the guidance office no later than January 23.

Parents are invited to attend Parent Nights at the school their student will be attending next year. Please refer to the dates for the Parent Nights below.

January 6, 2009                       Atholton High School Parent Night at 7:00 P.M.
                                                in the high school auditorium
                                                Snow Date - January 7

January 7, 2009 River Hill High School Parent Night at 7:00 P.M.
In the high school auditorium

January 13, 2009 Reservoir High School Parent Night at 7:00 P>M>
in the high school auditorium

Attention: 8th Grade Parents - Interested in JROTC??

Junior Reserve Officers T raining (JROTC) Program is a cooperative effort between the school system and the U.S., Armed Forces. The mission of the program is to motivate students to become better citizens through instruction about citizenship, leadership, communication skills, historical perspectives and other topics. The program can be taken for four years at Atholton, Howard and Oakland Mills High Schools.

December 8, 2008 is the opening date for students who do not have the JROTC program offered at their geographically designated school and are interested in enrolling in the program for the 2009/2010 school year. Those interested in the JROTC program should contact Atholton, Howard or Oakland Mills High School to arrange for an interview. An interview is not a guarantee of acceptance in the program. The final date for interviews is January 23, 2009. Requests for the JROTC program from students, who were enrolled in the Howard County Public School System during the open date for registration, will NOT be accepted after this final date unless the program is at risk for being eliminated due to low enrollment.

GT Spring Identification for Fall 2009

Students Currently Enrolled in GT Classes

Students currently participating in a Gifted and Talented class
in middle school are eligible to continue in that discipline next year.
A student may be nominated to participate in a discipline in which they are not currently participating. Students may be nominated to take the School and College Ability Test required for Eligibility and participation in GT courses for grades 7-8(currently in grades 6-7). Students may be nominated by teachers and/or parents for testing based on classroom performance, and/or successful participation in advanced-level program offerings .In addition, High school placement recommendations for 8th grade students will be made by the 8th grade team

Only students who have taken the School and College Ability Test may be

Considered for placement into middle school GT classes through the
placement review process.

Testing for the GT program will be administered on Tuesday, February 3, 2009 from 8:45-10:00 in the media center.

If you have any questions please feel free to email me at
tracy_spillman@hcpss.org or call (410) 880-5988. You can also email your nomination as well.

Sincerely,
Tracy Spillman
Gifted and Talented Resource teacher

CHESS CLUB…The Central Library Chess Club is about to start up again. Beginning on January 4, the rejuvenated club will meet from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on the first Sunday of each month. Although the membership of our club will be restricted to middle and high-school age students, members of the Columbia Chess Club will be on hand to tutor kids.

The Chess Club has been reconstructed before it can be publicized, so kids who come this winter will receive some high-quality one-on-one instruction.
Mary Jean Pfefferkorn, Information Specialist & Instructor
Central Library, Howard County, (410) 313-7834

THIS WEEK FROM THE PTA:

First Quarter Honor Roll Pizza Party

440 students were treated to a pizza party by the PTA in celebration of making the honor roll for the first quarter. Congratulations to all our students for their academic accomplishments! Thanks to all the parents who supported the event: Barb and Jeff Slayton, Dona DeZube, Sarah King, Virginia Bialick, Clare Mayhew, Sherri Tatum, Kathy Faber, Paula Smiraglia, Bernadette Yu, Denise Mitchell, and Kristin Moy.

WHAT’S UP NEXT WITH THE HOSPITALITY COMMITTEE? Well, we are asking for COOKIES; lots and lots of COOKIES. Homemade is great but no COOKIES will be turned away. We need dozens and dozens of COOKIES! December 15 is drop off day! We will then package the cookies later in the week so every teacher and staff member receives a treat to take home with them over the long winter break. Please contact Moira Monk at mdmonks@comcast.net if you would like to donate COOKIES to the Hospitality committee.

A great big THANK YOU to all the parents and students who helped make our November 24 Conference Day Dinner a success! The teachers and staff were treated to a cozy dinner of pastas, salad, assorted rolls and many desserts. In addition, there were many door prizes awarded. Without everyone’s assistance, we could not have hosted such a lovely dinner. Thank you to Mrs. Dupski for letting us use her room, it made it so much easier. When you see the people listed below, please extend them a great big THANK YOU for a job well done: Sarah King, Charlene Samelson, Angie Feeney, Rimmi Singh, Katie DeBlasis, Shannon Cirovski, Sandy Rogers, Kim Stubbings, Donna Collins, Cheryl Kirby, Mary Ellen Amtower, Stephanie Cates-Harman, Jenny Leopold, Cheri Horne, Michele Evans, Valerie Yakoumato, Kathy Frank, Monica Spain, Tonya Howes, Amy Bagley, Shari Underwood, Jessica Rinaldi, Young Na, Brea Poindexter, Carol Zimmerman, Maureen Bentz and Moira Monk and anyone we may have inadvertently left off the list. We would also like to thank the following LKMS alumni (class of 2008) for helping set up and clean up Mrs. Dupski’s room: Maureen Monk, Jenny Evans Maggie DeBlasis, Emily Love, Hibah Askari, Joel Samelson (and his younger sister), and John Bialek. THANK YOU!

Box Top$ for Education – Please remember to help support LKMS by clipping the box tops from your favorite products. Each box top is worth 10 cents and is an easy way to support our great school. For more information, and even money-saving coupons, go to: http://www.boxtops4education.com