Panther Post

First Quarter is in the Books!

It's hard to believe but we are already through quarter one of the 2022-2023 school. It's been a great opening few months at Pikesville High School and the year is only getting started. Although aspects of the pandemic are still with us, our students and teachers are rising to the challenge everyday. Our 1st quarter attendance numbers are up versus last year as well as the percentage of students receiving A's and B's in their 1st quarter classes. Our boy's and girl's mentoring program is meeting on a regular basis and with the help of our Panther Student Advisors, meaningful and authentic relationships are being created everyday. Our Panther Senior Leaders have conducted their first school-wide mini lesson on "getting involved" . This mini-lesson educated students on our Pride. Honor. Success. program as well as informed them on the various ways they can get involved in school activities. As a result, four new clubs were formed the next day. Our first group of Panther Scholar's were selected for October (see photo below) and our Panther Pride program has begun with students earning recognition and prizes for always doing the right thing. We had our first concert of the year several weeks ago in the school auditorium. Under the leadership of Mr. Wilson, Ms. Yadush,and Ms. Monreal, our orchestra, guitar, and choir performed multiple pieces in the presence of friends and family. It never ceases to amaze me that a school as small as Pikesville can have that many talented students. It was Pawesome to hear! Our fall sports teams have made us proud in the stadium and on the court. As we come to the close of the fall sports season, we all can be proud of the dedication and sportsmanship our fall teams demonstrated throughout the season. Thank you coaches and our athletic director Ms. Loverde for all you do for our athletes. Every study out there shows that being involved in athletics is an important factor in academic and social success for high school students. Speaking of sports, we had a spirited Panther Homecoming Week in October culminating in a Panther Pep Rally and homecoming dance. These events always bring increased excitement and school pride to not only the student body but staff as well. These are the events students remember for a lifetime.

Thank you parents and guardians for entrusting PHS with educating your child. We know you have choices and do not take your support and dedication to PHS for granted. We look forward to building on a successful first semester in the months to come.

If you are reading this on Tuesday, November 8th, be sure to get out and vote!

Thank you as always-

Eric

He helps the student to understand a topic if there needs to be clarification and is an overall nice teacher

Because of his attempts of keeping our minds active but learning at the same time

Because he is a fun teacher and puts his own spin on teaching history

Because he is a good person and an even better teacher

Because he makes each student feel special and knows how to help

Students in Algebra 1 and Geometry are currently in Unit 2 of the Illustrative Math curriculum. Family resources for each course can be accessed using the links below. You can learn more about the Illustrative Math curriculum here.

Algebra 1 Unit 2 Family Resources

Geometry Unit 2 Family Resources

Teachers in the Math Department recognize students each month as Math Students of the Month for demonstrating one of the following attributes. October awardees will be presented their certificates and their names will be in the morning announcements this week.

Rho Kappa National Social Studies Honor Society

The PHS chapter of Rho Kappa would like to congratulate the following students on their acceptance into the National Social Studies Honor Society:

Angel Kate Artagame

Samantha Beck

Brady Brown

Ava Burgunder

Jason Chan

Febechukwu Di-Ibor

Rena Finkel

Destiny Garrison

Eleanora Gilman

Sydni Glick

Samantha Levine

Cayla Liss

Alexandra Melnik

Olivia Robbins

Jackson Roemer

Allan Ryan

Jack Smith

Hannah Swird

Christoher Taylor

Sarah Wiener

Brooke Zayon

Noah Zayon

Each of these students has shown overall excellence in school with a commitment to the study of the social studies which includes history, psychology, criminology, economics, etc. Congratulations to all!

Model UN

On November 18th, members of the PHS Model United Nations Club will participate in a Model UN training day to help prepare for the Conference in March. PHS Ambassadors work together to learn the process for the conference and to begin to give students awareness of global issues and the problem-solving processes involved in international relations. In other words, students begin to explore the path to solving the world's problems. We look forward to making another great showing at these events.

Students of the Month

The following students have been recognized by their social studies teacher as the student of the month. Congratulations to all!

Nusaibah Musarrat (from Mr. Lambert)

Amy Deleon (from Ms. Johnson)

Everett Saunders (from Mr. Goodman)

Mark Poberesky (from Mr. Babcock)

Camille Diggs (from Mr. Ohara)

Kayla Quince (from Mr. Smith)

Chau'Niyah Ellison (from Ms. Bartkowski)

Destiny Bynum (from Ms. Bush)

First Quarter Grades

The Social Studies Department of Pikesville High School would like to recognize and thank all of the students that have worked hard and achieved success for the first quarter. The vast majority of our students are learning new things and acquiring and refining skills every day and it will be reflected in their grades. We are proud of your "pawsome" work! Keep it up!!

If your student did not meet the level of success that they were hoping for, there is time to improve during the second quarter. Having a lower grade in the first quarter is not the end of the world, but it's probably time for your student to make some changes. If a student is struggling they should ask themselves these questions:

Am I working on my assignments and turning them in while I am in class?
Have I taken advantage of going to coach class with my teacher?
Have I taken advantage of going to coach class with the department chair, Mrs. Johnson?

If the answers to these questions are all "yes," then please reach out to your child's teacher to schedule a conference about what other obstacles might be in the way of success for your student. If the answers to these questions are "no," then start by reminding your student that the best time to get work done is in class. Missing assignments are the #1 reason that students are unhappy with their grades. Missing work usually means a student was present in class and did not turn in their graded assignment. This can pile up quickly and get to a point where it is can feel insurmountable. Students can prevent this by doing and turning in their work for each and every class on a daily basis. Teachers are working hard to support students in class and each of us believes in the ability of each of our students.

English Department:

All students are working diligently to complete their PBAs in each English course. These cumulative unit essay assessments are designed to measure mastery of core standards that have been reinforced in each lesson of the unit.

Students in grades 9 & 10 are working through Curriculum Based Assessments, known as Periodic Assessments, that are designed to prepare students for success on the MCAP exam in the spring.

The Pikesville High School Music Department works very hard to make band, chorus, orchestra, and percussion ensemble a great experience for our students.

You can help us to keep the music alive in Pikesville High School. We are having our annual fruit sale and this year, and we’ve taken our sale online! By purchasing some fresh, delicious fruit, you will help us maintain a top-notch music program. Just click the link below to log on to our group fruit sale website.

http://freshfruitorder.org/PikesvilleMusic

The attached flyer shows what is available and prices.

The deadline for ordering fruit with a credit card online is 11/27/2022. All orders are shipped directly to the customer or another recipient. All prices include UPS shipping, and you can choose a ship date between 11/16 and 12/14.

Thank you for supporting our organization! Remember it’s our students who benefit.

November is Native American Heritage Month; in recognition of this month, the Equity Task Force is sponsoring a series on the morning announcements to promote the contributions of Native Americans to American culture and society, in addition to exposing students to something greater than they may already be aware of regarding Native American culture. These daily “did you knows” are a great first step to introduce a more complete view of this often-overlooked group.

In addition to Native American Awareness Month, this November the Diversity Club will focus on Russian culture after highlighting Japanese culture in October and Ethiopian culture in September. Have your student be on the look out for some events focusing on the Russian culture throughout the month!

Most of our current seniors, juniors, and sophomores have "Class of" t-shirts purchased and given to the students using funds from a grant. That grant has expired. The student council would still like to order t-shirts for our Class of 2026 students. We'd like to do that in one of two ways: have a couple local businesses sponsor the shirts with our thanks to them on the back of the shirt, or to raise enough funds through community/family donations without sponsorship.

We'd be happy with either option as long as we can raise the two thousand dollars to get the shirts for our students to show their PHS pride and spirit.

These current freshmen are years away from graduating. They'll be class of 2026 in the spring or next fall or in two years. Eventually I'd like to raise enough for them to get shirts.

If you would like to help us in this endeavor, please message: egoodman@bcps.org