IMPORTANT DATES:

December 22                Winter Break starts.    Schools closed.
            January 5                     School starts.
            January 19                   Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, schools and
            January 22                   Chorus Concert, 7:00 pm
            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,

In this month’s “Principal Communicator,” there were some very practical and effective
guidelines for communicating with students by Robert Ramsey that I thought might be good strategies for parents, as well. These are the concluding suggestions:

Show by what you say and how you say it that you take students (and their problems and feelings) seriously.
If you show that you enjoy listening to students, they will be more likely to listen to you.
When communicating verbally with students, the smaller the group, the better. One-on-one is best. Break large groups into smaller ones when giving complicated instructions.
Be willing to talk about whatever kids really want to talk about.

All in all, the best way to get through to students is to say what you mean and what needs to be said, in plain language and at the earliest appropriate time. This should come as no surprise—it’s also the best way to communicate with all age groups.

We are very appreciative of the tremendous support you provide Lime Kiln Middle School. On behalf of the staff, we wish you a very meaningful and restful holiday.

Sincerely,
Brenda Thomas

Our students of the week are: Katherine Malonoski, Ian Bulk , Sarah Bank, Chris Moy, Robert Dass, Brian Timmick, Michelle Rinaldi, Jason Howes, and William Dolan.

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

HOWARD COUNTY RECREATION AND PARKS…Howard County Recreation & Parks has a trip called "After-School Snow-Tubing & Pizza Party" that is scheduled to pick up and leave for Ski Roundtop on February 21st from Lime Kiln Middle School. My staff picks up the children in the parking lot of the school in a county van, drives them to Ski Roundtop for snow-tubing, travels to Pizza Hut for dinner then drops them back off at Lime Kiln at 11:00pm.
Check out our Snow-Tubing Trips on page 18!
http://www.co.ho.md.us/RAP/RAPDocs/WinterGuide09Web.pdf

THIS WEEK FROM THE PTA:

The PTA wishes everyone a very relaxing and safe winter break and a happy holiday season. See you in 2009.

PTA MEETINGS: All PTA meetings take place on the 3rd Wednesday of the month. The next few meetings will be held on: January 21, February 18, and March 18. Everyone is welcome to attend. If you are someone who would like to get involved, but are not sure how, come to the meeting. We are a very friendly and hard-working group and we would welcome your ideas and input as well as any help you are willing to give. Join us; we look forward to meeting you.

MEMBERSHIP IN THE PTA: The PTA currently has 528 names on the membership roster. Are you on the list? The goal this year is 550 members. If you have forgotten or put off joining the PTA, please be sure to send in your information and dues right away. It’s not too late. Please give the PTA your information on a sheet of paper and place it in an envelope marked “Membership Chair.” Don’t forget to include your dues ($7/per person). Information needed: name(s), address, home and/or cell phone number, e-mail, and child’s name and grade. Just send it in with your child and ask them to give it to their homeroom teacher. The teacher will get it to where it needs to go.

MAGAZINE FUNDRAISER CHAIRPERSONS: The PTA is still looking for a few good people to step forward to help organize and run the magazine drive for next year. The PTA will be signing the contract very soon, and really needs people to be ready to take this on. The magazine drive is basically the one and only fundraiser the PTA has that pays for all the programs it offers. Various persons taking a piece of this position makes lighter work for all. The work begins approximately 1-2 weeks before school starts getting the packets prepared to go home in the first day folders. From there, the kickoff starts. The PTA is lucky to have many volunteers to help with the Wednesday magazine count and the Friday prize day give-away. The requirement of the chairperson(s) is to be the liaison between the magazine company, the school and the PTA, as well as our great volunteers. Please think about what you can do to help and grab a few friends or neighbors to help you. The PTA appreciates anything you can do.

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!