Henry Box Brown (c. 1815 – June 15, 1897) was a 19th-century Virginia slave who escaped to freedom at the age of 33 by arranging to have himself mailed in a wooden crate in 1849 to abolitionists in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

For a short time, Brown became a noted abolitionist speaker in the northeast United States. As a public figure and fugitive slave, Brown felt extremely endangered by passage of the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850, which increased pressure to capture escaped slaves. He moved to England and lived there for 25 years, touring with an anti-slavery panorama, becoming a magician and showman.

Brown married and started a family with an English woman, Jane Floyd. Brown's first wife, Nancy, remained in slavery. Brown returned to the United States with his English family in 1875, where he continued to earn a living as an entertainer. He toured and performed as a magician, speaker, and mesmerist until at least 1889. The last decade of his life (1886–97) was spent in Toronto, where he died in 1897.

Brown's escape highlighted the power of the mail system, which used a variety of modes of transportation to connect the East Coast. The Adams Express Company, a private mail service founded in 1840, marketed its confidentiality and efficiency. It was favored by abolitionist organizations and "promised never to look inside the boxes it carried."

State law requires that all public schools in Maryland survey students about school climate. The purpose of the survey is to gain valuable information about the quality and character of each school’s learning environment so that schools can promote a climate that supports student learning. All students, grades 9 through 11, will take the Maryland School Survey per MSDE. The survey will ask students about topics such as student engagement, interactions with adults and with other students in the school, the school environment, bullying, and safety. The survey will not ask about a student’s personal experiences, and students will not be asked to provide any information that might violate their privacy.

Students will complete the survey during regular school hours during the testing window (February 21 through April 21) in their Science class. If a student does not have a science class in their schedule, they will be contacted by Ms. Kiehlmeier about another time to complete the survey.

Please read this letter for more information.

IMPORTANT: All athletes must register online using Family ID, each season and year. Students must have a completed Physical Form (physical forms are good for 1 calendar year). Additional athletic forms can be found on the SMCPS Athletics website.

Along with the important Family ID documents please make note that athletes must be registered students at Leonardtown High school and have a minimum of 2.0 GPA or higher to be eligible to participate in athletics and additional conditioning opportunities.

Spring sports pictures will take place on March 10, 2023. Times TBD.

We would like to invite parents to Returning Raider Parent Night February 28, 2023 regarding our registration process, Naviance and AP courses.

We will open up the evening at 6:30 in the Auditorium for a brief overview of the evening, and then offer each of the following sessions at three times, so parents can attend multiple sessions of interest.

Our sessions will include:

• Naviance for 9th and 10th graders: what Naviance is, how we are using it with our students, the graduation requirements associated with Naviance, and how you can further explore careers and colleges with your student from home.
• Naviance for 11th graders: using the Naviance functions for college exploration and college applications, and dual enrollment opportunities.
• Registration at LHS: courses available, how students are recommended for courses, graduation requirements, Dr. James A. Forrest Career and Technology Center opportunities, and the application process and timeline.
• AP Teacher Panel: AP teachers from various subject disciplines will share expectations, level of content rigor, and skills presumed when taking AP Courses.

If you have questions you’d like to submit in advance of the event, please fill out this questionnaire.

SMCPS will administer the In-School SAT, free of charge, on Wednesday, March 22, 2023 to all Juniors.

To prepare for your exam, all students are encouraged to create a College Board account. If they have not already done so, you can do so here, then link your account to Khan Academy for additional practice.

Once you have logged in to your account, you can view your October 2022 PSAT scores and link them to Khan Academy (Link Below) for SAT Prep.

Why should juniors take the SAT?

• SAT scores may be required for admissions.

• Strong scores may help your admissions chances.

• Studies show students who take SAT a second time score higher than students who take test only once.

• May be required for scholarships, transfers and special programs.

• Scholarships may require scores.
  

Resources

• https://satsuite.collegeboard.org/sat/practice-preparation
• https://satsuite.collegeboard.org/media/pdf/sat-school-day-student-guide.pdf
• You can also prepare via the SAT Prep course through Edgenuity.

Please contact Ms. Kiehlmeier (klkiehlmeier@smcps.org) with any questions.

Winter Team Pictures

Winter athletes who were photographed have the chance to purchase team and/or individual pictures. Please visit the Legacy website and use code 4572E23.

Interested in Becoming a Yearbook Staff Member for the 2023-2024 School Year?

Click HERE to apply!

Order A Yearbook!

If you are interested in purchasing a 2022-2023 yearbook, please visit the Jostens site. This offer will be available until February 24. After that, sales will close. Yearbooks will be distributed in the spring.

Pictures Needed!

Counselors went into 9th grade English classes to complete some activities in Naviance this week. Check out the presentation here. We look forward to meeting with you all again during registration March.

If you need a letter of recommendation from your school counselor, please use this link, Student Recommendation Request, make a copy of this google document and then share it with your counselor once you have completed it. Please include a resume as well to your counselor. Counselors are not included in your teacher recommendations for common applications, our letters are considered “Counselor Evaluations.”

ATTENTION SENIORS! Any senior who is in need of a mid-year transcript sent to a college, must make the request in Naviance. Mid-year information will not be sent until grades are finalized and a GPA calculation update is completed. Our goal is to have this updated so we can begin sending information on or about February 10th.

Make sure to know your counselor!

• Hensel: A-C - jahensel@smcps.org
• Wolcott: D-Go & GIS - rrwolcott@smcps.org
• Neitz: Gr-L - lkneitz@smcps.org
• Guidry: M-R - lcguidry@smcps.org
• Marino: S-Z - cmmarino@smcps.org
• Sawyer: Freshmen Academy - wnsawyer@smcps.org

Need an appointment? Please e-mail Guidance Secretary, Ms. Williams (jkwilliams@smcps.org).

New Scholarships Added to Naviance

2023 Environmental Scholarship

Delegate Matt Morgan Scholarship-District 29A

Maryland Farm Bureau Scholarship

Morgan State University Southern MD Alumni Chapter- George F. DeFord Scholarship

SECU Scholarship Program

To view all scholarships, login to Naviance via Clever. Click Colleges >> Scholarship Search.

Upcoming Events:

CSM's Dual Enrollment Virtual Information Session

February 28th at 6 PM

Learn about the opportunities to enroll in college classes on our campuses or receive college credits with our partnerships with the local school system for our In-School Dual Math, English and other classes. RSVP here.

CSM's Night of Engineering

March 23rd at 6:30 PM

Leonardtown Campus, Building A, Auditorium and Online via Zoom

Please register to attend: Link

MDCAPS Account-Seniors

If you have completed the FAFSA and qualify for state financial aid, you may be receiving emails from the Maryland Higher Education Commission asking you to make an MDCAPS account. Documents for MDCAPS need to be uploaded by the March 15, 2023 deadline. Please visit the Career Center if you need assistance or have any questions. Click the link provided to make an MDCAPS account: Link

ASVAB (Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery)

LHS will be hosting a spring ASVAB test on March 15th at 8 AM in the cafeteria. Grades 10-12 are welcome to sign up to take the ASVAB. Register Here

Learn how to create a MySchoolBucks account: click here.

MySchoolBucks & the Media Center

New for 2022, families have the option to pay for lost or damaged resources in My School Bucks. A resource can include: library books, laptops, chargers, textbooks, consumables, etc.

When a media specialist marks anything as lost or damaged in Destiny, that fee AUTOMATICALLY shows up as a "real time fee" in My School Bucks.

Please refer to this information on My School Bucks and your school library.