IMPORTANT DATES:

April 16                        Report Cards issued
April 24                       Countywide Professional Day, schools closed for students.
April 28, 29, 30 &        Science MSA, 8th grade only
                    May 1
May 1                           Climb for Hope Family Night, 7:00 pm
May 7                           Enrichment Fair, 6:30 pm
May 9                           Music Trip to Hershey Park
May 12                         Interim progress reports issued.
May 12                         Spring Concert, Reservoir High School
May 12                         PTA Elections
May 16                         Professional Work Day, schools closed for students
May 15                         Fine Arts Festival, 6:00 pm
May 21, 22, 23             6th Grade Outdoor Ed
May 26                         Memorial Day, all schools and offices closed.
May 28                         International Festival
June 3                          Parent Volunteer Luncheon
June 6                          8th Grade Boat Trip
June 11                         8th Grade Farewell
                                                  6:00 – 7:00 p.m. Reservoir High School for Ceremony
                                                   7:30 – 9:30 p.m. Lime Kiln for Student Dance

INTRAMURAL SCHEDULE
STUDENTS MUST HAVE A SIGNED PERMISSION SLIP ON FILE IN ORDER TO PARTICIPATE
SIGN-UP SHEETS ARE POSTED IN THE CAFETERIA

Imani Club                    4/15; 5/20 and 6/10
Stepping Class              Thursdays, 3:15 – 4:45
Bridge Club                  Wednesdays, 3:15 – 5:00 (started 4/9/08)

Dear Friends and Families of Lime Kiln Middle School,

We have completed the Reading portion of the Maryland School Assessment. Thanks to all of you who made sure your students were well rested and ate breakfast. Research shows this makes quite a difference in achievement levels.

This is the first year LKMS has sponsored a Destination Imagination Team. We would like to thank Mrs. DeBlasis for her tremendous efforts in making this team such a success. In the regional competition, they did exceptionally in the Instant Challenge—they received a perfect score. This weekend they will be competing in the Destination Imagination State Tournament. Good luck to Maggie DeBlasis, Jackson Phillips, Louie Schaab, Michael Owca and Carrie DeBlasis!

Congrats to the LKMS Chorus for the outstanding job they did Wednesday at the county adjudication. Thanks to Mrs. Hill for her efforts in getting our students so well prepared.

Please reserve the evening of May 1st for a very special event. This has been designated as The Climb for Hope Family Night. Look for the flyer attached to this week’s Leopard’s Tale. Maryland Climber Chris Warner, who sent back dispatches last summer to students here at LKMS during his successful climb to the summit of K2, will be here as will JHU cancer researcher Leisha Emens, who is working to create a vaccine to fight breast cancer. There will also be a Youth Awards Ceremony.

This week, as we continue through the 25 Rules of Civility from the book, Choosing Civility by P. M. Forni, we focus on Rule 25: Don’t shift responsibility and blame. Below are highlights from that chapter:

This concludes our summaries of The 25 Rules of Civility.

Enjoy your spring weekend!

Sincerely,
Brenda Thomas

Our students of the week are: Katie George, Wes Horne, Sean Y Kim, Brian Glueck, and Michael Slayton.

THE RULES OF CIVILITY

Rule 25: Don’t shift responsibility and blame

GROCERY SHOPPER #1: “Ma’am, you didn’t have to push me. You could have just told me I was in your way by the produce scale & I would’ve stepped aside.”

GROCERY SHOPPER #2: “I didn’t see you.”

GROCERY SHOPPER #1: “You didn’t see me & yet you shoved me aside?”

GROCERY SHOPPER #2: “Boy, somebody got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning!”

Grocery Shopper#2 refuses to accept responsibility for her rude treatment of #1. In fact, she turns the tables on him by faulting him for being cranky. Her shoving, the uncivil act, gets lost behind her defensive smoke screen. Shopper#1 never gets to hear the simple, decent words that soothe the bruised soul: “I’m sorry.”

7th GRADE NEWS

Social Studies

Mr. McMullin:
Mr. McMullin's 2B and 4A Students will have an opportunity to explore Canada and the U.S.A. during 4th quarter. We will learn about geography, history, culture and current events of these two exciting places. YES, another Map project on the way!

Mr. White:
We are finishing our Latin American Island maps/projects, and will be moving on to starting the North America map project of the USA and Canada for fourth quarter.

Mr. Kelly:
In Mr. Kelly's S.S. classes students will begin the fourth quarter with a study of the United States and Canada. As usual, students will start the unit by learning about the geography of the U.S. and Canada. Students will complete their final map of the year and will follow it up with a Map Quiz before moving on to learning about the history of Canada.
In other news, students are also finishing up their study of the rainforest which was closely tied to our World Environments Student Service Learning initiative in 7th grade. We've been clocking those SSL hours while learning about where the rainforest is located, different layers of the rainforest, and the feeding habits of rainforest animals like bats. We should be completing our final reflections on our student service learning experiences over the fourth quarter.

Reading

Mrs. Yarn:
Mrs. Yarn's reading classes will start a unit on information literacy for 4th quarter. They will spend time exploring a topic and find sources, both internet and print, to help answer questions. This will be an in class project. We will also begin our routine of working with the vocabulary book again as well as continue our independent daily reading journals.

Mrs. Eckstein:
Seventh grade reading has begun their research unit. Students will participate in activities to analyze the reliability of the Internet, learn tips to avoid plagiarism, learn to organize projects, and learn how to take quality notes.

Mrs. Colbert
The Power of Inquiry~ Seventh graders are using the research process to problem solve and make decisions based on real life situations. Students are researching presidential candidates and determining which person will make the most ideal president based on brainstormed "ideal qualities." The final product will be a visual that will be used to support their persuasive speech.
Seventh graders are also enjoying the futuristic Nancy Farmer novel, The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm which focuses on three unusual detectives who search for the General's missing children. The Newberry Honor book is launched in the year 2194.

Identifying a research problem and finding a solution~ Eighth graders are completing the research process by using problem-solution organizers. Students will identify a specific problem then read, interpret details, take notes, collect data and create a final product for their solutions. Eighth graders are using the text, Be a Better Reader to enhance their skills.

English

Ms. McGrail:
Ms. McGrail's classes are currently doing some detective work on the elements of mystery and suspense. We have already investigated how suspense is created by viewing short clips from the "master of suspense," Alfred Hitchcock. Also, we will closely examine evidence from the works of (to name a few) Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Edgar Allen Poe. Parents, get your alibis in order because the 7th grade is ready to crack the case!

In grammar, we are speculating whether subordinate clauses are essential or non-essential.

Mrs. Barrett:
Do you love to laugh? Then you are in the right place as Mrs. Barrett’s and Mrs. Felsen’s students explore the world of parody and satire. Prepare to make your audience laugh by creating your own Fractured Fairy Tale! Don’t forget about our friends, the parts of speech!

Our adventuresome GT students are exploring the tragic world of Antigone. Be sure to ask about the death and burial traditions in Ancient Greece! Don’t forget to become your character by journaling from the perspective of a character from the play of your choice. Carpe Diem!

Math

Mrs Gluck:
Mrs. Gluck's MSM II classes are wrapping up a unit on tax, discount, and interest. We will begin a unit on statistics and graphs the week of April 14th. With only one more quarter to go students will finish up with a unit on probability.

Mrs. Gluck's Pre-algebra classes will review rules on adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing integers. Our first unit for 4th quarter is operations with rational numbers.

Ms. Lee

Algebra/Data Analysis: 4th quarter will be used to prepare ourselves to take the High School Assessments. The test will take place in school on May 22 and will allow Algebra students to receive High School credit for completion of the course. More specifics about the test are yet to come...

MSM2: 4th quarter we will dive into our last two units of the year: Statistics and Probability. Be on the look out for Circle graphs, Box and Whisker plots, and all sorts of compound probabilities!

COMMUNITY PROGRAM
On May 1st,, from 7:00 – 8:30, the Lime Kiln Middle School Youth Development Center is proud to announce a family evening with Keynote Speakers Chris Warner, whose NBC film on climbing K2 has just been nominated for an Emmy Award, and Dr. Leisha A. Emens, lead researcher from the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins. They each will present an inspiring message of hope and accomplishment. The mountaineer and the cancer researcher are teaming together for this program entitled CLIMB FOR HOPE in which cancer survivors will be led by an Earth Treks Climbing Team as they climb Mt. Kilimanjaro this June. We urge you to reserve this night on your calendar as there will be activities for youngsters at this family event and world class presentations of inspiration. More information will follow soon.

International Visitors Enrich Language and Social Studies Classes
This past week during one of the MAS testing days, two AFS exchange students visited LKMS. Youssef from Tunisia shared his culture with three of Mrs. Choinski's and Mr. Glaze's social studies classes and spoke French with Mrs. Gentile's eighth grade class. Francisca from Chile visited with one of Mr. White's seventh grade social studies class and spent the rest of her day sharing her langauge and culture with Spanish classes. Both students were a big hit in the LKMS cafeteria."

From the PTA:

PTA Update from the President:
It is hard to believe that the school year is down to one quarter! It has been my pleasure working with all of you this past year. It certainly would not have been as successful without each and every one of you. As the year comes to an end it is vital that we establish sold leadership for school year 2008 – 2009. I know from the March Executive Committee Meeting that we will be saying good-bye to Joan Brittingham, Allison Pihl and myself. At this time I am in the process of forming a nominating committee. Our elections will be on Monday, May 12. The executive committee will need to approve the slate of officers at our next meeting on Wednesday, April 16. At this time I have three questions for our Lime Kiln Community:

Would like to join the Executive Board as?

The President
The Treasure
The Recording Secretary.

Would like to be apart of the Nominating Committee?

3. Would you like to be more active and chair a committee?

I would love to have members on the nominating community that have contacts in our feeder schools of Clemens Crossing, Dayton Oaks, Fulton and Pointers Run. Please contact me by email lynn@seibelsrestaurant.com or phone 301-384-5661 ext 5. As always if you have any questions feel free to call.

Lynn Martins
LKMS PT President

Looking for a Great Night Out?
Red Hot & Blue on Main Street in Laurel will donate 25% of all sales for the evening of Wednesday, April 23rd to the Lime Kiln Middle School PTA. Enjoy an assortment of award-winning dishes and a night off from cooking while supporting your PTA and the services it provides for LKMS students, families and staff.

In a RUSH? Just call in your order and it will be waiting for you when you arrive. The menu is available at www.redhotandblue.com. Print the flyer at the end of the PTA section!

RED HOT & BLUE
677 Main Street - Laurel 20707
301-953-1943
LKMS STAFF APPRECIATION week will be soon upon us. We are planning a trivia contest, luncheon and daily treats for our wonderful teachers and staff. If you would like to help with the activities planned for the week of May 5 – 9, please contact Moira Monk mdmonks@comcast.net or (410) 531-6752. Thank you in advance for your assistance with this wonderful week.

Join the Atholton High School PTSA

The AHS PTSA is presently recruiting volunteers for their Executive Board for the 2008/2009 school year. Positions are open for:

President                                             First Vice-President
Second Vice-President                          Treasurer
PTACH Representative (2)                   Recording Secretary
Corresponding Secretary

If you are interested or have any questions, please contact Eileen Jones at 410-997-9448 or ejones1956@verizon.net.

PTA GOLF TOURNAMENT

Get your favorite foursome together for the 10th Annual Fulton Elementary and Lime Kiln Middle School PTA Golf Tournament. This year’s event will be held on Friday May 2nd at Hampshire Greens Golf Course in Silver Spring. Registration will begin at noon with a 1:00pm shotgun start. This is a fun event for serious golfers and amateurs alike that tremendously benefits our students. All proceeds from the Golf Tournament are used to fund academic and cultural arts programs that are not covered by the school budget including audiovisual equipment, teaching software, Space Day, and Family Nights.

The cost is only $420 per foursome or $110 if you sign up as an individual. This fee includes complimentary use of the driving range and putting green, 18 holes of golf with a cart, complimentary beverage cart, 20% discount in the pro shop before the tournament, and admission to an great after-party featuring a buffet, prizes, raffles, and a silent auction.

Have a business you’d like to promote? Various Sponsorships are available:
Buffet Sponsor $400, Beverage Cart Sponsor $500, Hole-in-One Sponsor $500
or Hole Sponsor $300. Please contact the Committee Chairs for details.

Questions? Contact
Committee Chairs:
Christia Chappell
christia_chappell@yahoo.com
240-280-1305 (home)
443-975-5237 (cell)

Yvona Ward
yward@helix.nih.gov
301-725-8474 (home)
443-864-3501 (cell)

Parents Social Event

The parent social Fundraiser on Friday, March 28th at the Gathering Hall in River Hill was a big success. Everyone enjoyed socializing with their friends and teachers. We also enjoyed hearing some classic rock tunes from MisSpent Youth. We raised around $12,000 to be split evenly between Fulton Elementary and Lime Kiln Middle School. We could not have it come together and be successful without the following people. A huge thank you goes to Lynn Martins, Kelly Felix, Jim and Cheri Horne, Leslie Ahmuty, Karen Groner, Allison Pihl, Andrea Keating, Keri Teodori, Debbie Taymen, Julie Sisk, Colleen Cunningham, Freda Chase, Christia Chappel, Terese Werner, Kathy Taylor, Martha Campbell, Melanie McKibbin, Charolette Hoyson, Lisa Goheen, Steve English, Chrissy Mudd, Yvona Ward, Cindi Caplan, Thank you also to the parents and business sponsors that donated money and auction items to help raise the necessary funds for our schools. We also thank all the teachers and staff at Fulton and Lime Kiln who donated their time and energy towards the auction. We appreciate everything you do for the students and the school!

Thank you,

Diane Thometz and Leanne Glueck
co-chairs of the Silent Auction Parents Social Event

PTA Events through June

APRIL

16 7:00 PTA Meeting
28 3:15 SIT Meeting

MAY

              2    LKMS/Fulton Golf Outing
              3    PTAC Meeting
            5- 9 Staff Appreciation Week
            12    PTA Elections 2008-2009
         19    3:15 SIT Meeting
         28    7:00 PTA Meeting

June

2 7:30 PTAC Meeting

677 Main Street - Laurel 20707
301-953-1943

Lime Kiln Middle School PTA Presents…

GOTTA EAT NIGHT

Wednesday, April 23rd
5:00 p.m. – 9 p.m.

Enjoy a great night out!
(Remember there’s no school on Thursday)

Red Hot & Blue will donate 25% of all sales for the evening to the Lime Kiln Middle School PTA. Please plan to join us for an assortment of award-winning dishes and a night off from cooking while supporting your PTA and the services it provides for LKMS students, families and staff. (Present flier when paying to ensure proper credit)

In a RUSH? Just call in your order and it will be waiting for you when you arrive. The menu is available at www.redhotandblue.com.

Directions: Take Route 216 East. Turn LEFT onto Main Street. Red Hot & Blue is on your LEFT. There is plenty of parking behind the building. See you there!

COMMUNITY INFORMATION

Open Your Door to the World

Have you ever thought of hosting an exchange student? About 25 AFS exchange students will be arriving in Howard County in August. They are currently being matched with HC families like yours.

Perhaps an athlete?
            *Heiko plays American football in Germany
            *Natacha from Thailand is a runner.
            *Serap plays volleyball and is her class's VP in Turkey.
            *Francesco from Italy is an avid soccer player and fan.

Perhaps an artist?
            *Rutuja's (India) drawings reveal her love of nature.
            *Bianca from Chile is a singer who enjoys arts and crafts.
            *Berna, a hip hop dancer, has a dual heritage, German and Turk.

All these young people are good students. They are looking foward to joining an American family and learning what the US is really like. AFS has 60 years experience in student exchange, during which time they have perfected the process of supporting and enriching the exchange experience for families and students. Contact one of the volunteers below for more information on hosting an exchange student or on going abroad with AFS.

Sally Bryne 301-604-7739 Cindy Clemens 410-730-7411
s.b.byrne@juno.com cindy.clemens@verizon.net

Reservoir High School will present Jekyll & Hyde, The Musical on April 17th-19th at 7:30 PM and April 20th at 2:00 PM. The musical is adapted from the Robert Louis Stevenson classic short story that tells the tale of a well-intentioned doctor whose experiments attempting to separate good and evil go terribly wrong, turning him into a monstrous alter ego (PG-13). Tickets are $10 general admission, $7 students and senior citizens. Call 410-888-8850 for tickets and information.

The Reservoir Music Booster is sponsoring the 2nd Annual Musical Madness 5K May 10th and would like to invite your school community, faculty, students and their families to join the fun. Below please find the details for the upcoming event with a poster attached. Your assistance in promotion of this event is greatly appreciated. Registration is now open.

Become Part of the Solution….Help to Make Positive Changes…Join the Atholton High School PTSA. The AHS PTSA is presently recruiting volunteers for their Executive Board for the 2008/2009 school year. Positions are open for:
President
First Vice-President
Second Vice-President
Treasurer
PTACH Representative (2)
Recording Secretary
Corresponding Secretary

If you are interested or have any questions, please contact Eileen Jones at 410-997-9448 or ejones1956@verizon.net.

RIVER HILL PTSA YARD SALE

Chances are, you’ve accumulated all sorts of stuff in your closet, basement, attic or garage that you no longer need or use. Good news – now is your chance to unload your excess sports equipment, electronics, books, furniture, toys, baby gear, appliances, collectibles, craft supplies, video games, CDs, etc. at the PTSA Neighborhood Yard Sale, Saturday, April 12, 2008 from 8am to 2pm in the bus parking lot (or cafeteria, if it rains). Come to sell or come to shop. Spaces are $20 each and sellers keep the profits of their sales. Spaces are assigned on a first-come, first-served basis. PTSA will provide all community newspaper and online advertising, street signs, balloons, and a charity collection truck at the end of the event. PTSA will also accept your unwanted items as a donation and will keep the proceeds of the sale of any donated items (to benefit the Post Prom Party, an event that keeps kids safe on Prom night).

A yard sale can provide a sense of camaraderie and connectivity among everyone in the community. Please tell your friends and neighbors about this event. One man’s trash can be someone else’s treasure, and who doesn’t love a bargain? The registration form is online at www.riverhill..org, click on the YARD SALE sign. If you have any questions, please call Bonnie Brunett at 410-531-4939 or email Sheila Bishoff, PTSA President, sheila@networkint.com.

Call for Nominations for SECAC’s 10th Annual Staff Appreciation & Recognition Night

The Special Education Community Advisory Committee (SECAC) invites you to nominate a teacher or other staff member who you think has most significantly enhanced your child’s educational experience by providing excellence in teaching and related services. Nominees may be teachers, bus drivers, guidance counselors, psychologists, administrators, occupational, physical and speech therapists or other staff members. SECAC will only accept nominations from parents, guardians or students.

You may nominate either
· two staff members per child or
· a child’s team.

If nominating a team, you need to supply the names all of the team members.

For nominations of individual staff members, please describe (50-200 words) some action, attitude, approach that you feel made that individual stand out at making an exceptional difference to your child’s experience or education.

For team nominations, please describe (50 - 400 words) how the team has worked together to provide an exceptional educational experience. Kindly avoid writing a separate citation for each team member.

Citations may be edited for length for the purposes of the recognition event, although your nominee will receive a copy of the complete version.

If you have pictures of your child (with or without the nominees) and would like to contribute them to our Recognition Presentation, please forward them with your nomination.

We will celebrate their contributions with you and your family, as well as the nominee’s guest and administrator, on Tuesday, April 29th 2008, at 7 p.m. in Oakland Mills High School’s Auditorium, 9410 Kilimanjaro Rd, Columbia, MD 21045.
(see http://www.hcpss.org/schools/schools_high.shtml for directions)

Please understand that SECAC has asked your child’s teacher to send this nomination form home with your child. Your child’s teacher is not soliciting a nomination. (Teachers, thank you very much for helping SECAC to distribute this form.)

e-mail nominations are much preferred (address below). Please include:

Nominee _____________________________________________________________
Staff Position __________________________________________________________

School/bus company_________________________________________________

Your name__________________________ your ph # __________________________
Your address or e-mail address ____________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
(we will use your contact info to invite you to the awards ceremony.)

Kelly Meissner, Co-Chair SECAC Recognition Night

COFFEE & CONVERSATION…The next Coffee & Conversation with the Board of Education will be held on Saturday, April 26th, 9:30 – 11:00 a.m. at Muray Hill Middle School, Media Center.