Believe it or not, today marks the end of the first marking period. The first day of school seems like just yesterday. It has been a fantastic first quarter. Since the first day of school we have had sixth grade outdoor education, a coat drive, fire and emergency drills, teen night, flu shots, school pictures, MAP testing, a food drive, a hypnotist and all of the engaging instruction that goes on each and every day at Mount View Middle School. It is inspriring to be around all the positive energy in the school on a daily basis. It has also been wonderful getting to know the students and the Mount View community. I consider it an honor to be your principal.
As the calendar turn to November, I’d like to share some details about some upcoming events. Report cards will be distributed on November 15. Please take some time to sit down with your child and review his or her report card. It is important to recognize the effort and hard work they put forth during the first quarter. At Mount View, we believe that intelligence is malleable and improves with perseverance, effort and focus. Students with a growth mindset are more likely to graduate, attend college and have more options for future employment. Each report card is an excellent opportunity to reflect on their hard work and to set goals for the rest of the school year.
The quarterly honor roll at Mount View has been updated to be congruent with HCPSS guidelines. Students will be recognized at Mount View for their report card based upon the following criteria:
American education week is November 14 to 18. Mount View would like to welcome parents to visit the school during this week. November 17 is designated as Invite Your Parent to School Day. You do not need to be officially invited by your child, but teachers will be highlighting their instruction on November 17. We would love to see you here at school if you can find the time to visit.
Parent-Teacher conferences will occur on November 21, 22 and 23. School closes three hours early on November 21 and 22 and there is no school for students on the 23rd. Like last year, HCPSS will use "Synergy Conference Management" to schedule parent-teacher conferences. Starting Friday, November 11, 2016 at 8:00 a.m. until Thursday, November 17, 2016 at 4:00 p.m. Parents can log into HCPSS Connect to view and select from the time slots available. Parents who encounter problems with scheduling conferences may call the main office at 410-313-5545 for assistance. Conferences are booked in 15-minute blocks with 10 minutes to conference and 5 minutes to travel between classes. To allow more slots available to parents, we ask that you limit your requests to 3 teacher conferences. Synergy will not prevent you from scheduling more than 3 conferences, so we respectfully ask that you refrain from doing so. If you do schedule more than 3 conferences, we will have to delete all additional conferences after the first 3 chronologically. If you have a unique family situation, please send me an email or call me at 410-313-5545 by November 10. Please watch for e-news updates about conferences, and remember to bring a printed copy of your conference schedules with you. We will not have schedules available during conferences times. Due to the number of scheduled conferences, walk-in conferences will not be available.
Traffic during morning arrival continues to be an issue for Mount View and Marriotts Ridge. I am told that it takes over 15 minutes to travel the last quarter of a mile on Old Frederick Road just to get to traffic light on Woodford Drive. This significantly impacts arrival times for students and staff. Furthermore, it hinders the ability of the school to begin instruction on time each day. Having more students ride the bus is an easy solution that would quickly alleviate this congestion. Additionally, many parents are creating an unsafe condition for students and staff by dropping their child off in the faculty parking lot. Students should only be dropped off in the designated drop off loop. Thank you for your understanding and consideration regarding morning arrival.
As the holidays approach, I would like to extend the warmest wishes to the Mount View community for a happy and healthy holiday season. Please feel free to contact me if I can be of any assistance.
Sincerely,
Allen Cosentino
Principal