EAGLES NEST
September 2, 2022
Centennial High School Community:
Thank you for sending your students back to us ready and excited about the new school year. If this week is any indication of how we will live and learn together throughout the school year, it’s going to be great! I’d also like to thank those parents who were able to attend our annual New Student Orientation and Back-to-School night. It was good to reconnect with returning families and meet new members of our CHS Community.
By now you’ve probably reviewed all of the paperwork and syllabi your student has carried home this week. If you haven’t signed at least one form, chances are you’ve missed something. Check in with your student to ensure they’ve given you everything you need to see and acknowledge. For example, most English teachers have sent home an Academic Integrity pledge that requires your signature. Additionally, you have homework that I assigned to you this summer. Remember that Family File update I asked you to take care of in early August? Well, 52% of you have. That’s pretty good, but not quite where we want to be. You see, I’ve been challenged by some of my colleagues to see who can get to 100% first. I’ve got a track record for winning this friendly wager and I’d appreciate it if you could help me do it again this year. Also, it’s really in the best interest of our students when this information is current and up to date; which is the real motivator for getting this done early. Beyond that, students without a completed update to the Family File will not be permitted to attend extracurricular activities beginning next week (e.g. sport events and school dances). This is also a motivator. I appreciate you for taking the time to visit HCPSS Connect and taking care of this important task. Please read on for a list of common pitfalls that prevent a successful update to your Family File information.
Throughout the week, school administrators visited every English class to review school and school system policies, procedures, and guidelines. All students had the opportunity to ask questions about their rights and responsibilities and to get clarification about expectations for behavior as CHS citizens. Take some time to ask them about these visits and to ensure they do not have any questions that need to be answered. Let us know if there is anything we need to reinforce with the student population.
Speaking of reinforcing information, the biggest area of concern we’ve had in the first five day of school has been in terms of the Dress Code. This policy is one of the topics we covered during our visits to English classes and I want to ensure we communicate that to you. You can read the full policy at https://policy.hcpss.org/9000/9210/. If your student is found to be in violation of this policy, we will simply ask them to make a correction. If the problem is repeated, we’ll let you know and ask for your help and partnership in ensuring future compliance.
Finally, I’d like to take a moment to thank our PTSA, Booster, and Friends of Music organizations for all they have done to contribute to our school community over these past several weeks. The time and support you have given to our students and staff is the most valuable asset we could ask for and you have given in spades! If you haven’t pledged your support for our school community through membership, we encourage you to submit your applications today. It takes a village!
Have a fabulous Labor Day weekend,
Cindy Dillon, Principal
UPCOMING EVENTS
See what’s happening at CHS! (and add our Google Calendar to your phone!)
Support the CHS Boosters
Join the CHS Boosters for Trivia Night on Saturday, September 24, 2022. Registration is open now thru September 14 - Read more.
Picture Day - September 13 & 14
Lifetouch will be at our school on September 13 and 14 to take underclassmen pictures. Order forms were sent home with students, and additional forms are available in the front office.
CELEBRATE CENTENNIAL:
Got great news about our students, staff, or community? Send it our way and we’ll shout it out!
Congratulations to Emily You, a 10th grader at CHS, who won the silver medal at Summer Nationals Fencing competition Division II women's epee.
Congratulations to Lucas Yang on being named a National Speech and Debate Academic All American! Of 141,000 scholars, Lucas was selected as one of the top 1% to earn this prestigious recognition. In addition to his outstanding scholastic achievements, he was honored because of his outstanding character and leadership. Way to go!
PTSA/Boosters
See what’s happening with CHS PTSA or CHS Boosters by clicking the names or by visiting our
Centennial High School PTSA NEEDS YOU!! - Read more
CHS PTSA Open Positions for Next Year - Read more
Recap of the August 9th ‘Welcome Back’ newsletter. Read on if you’d like to review the information or if you missed that communication...
GETTING TO SCHOOL
The official school hours for Centennial High School for the 2022-2023 school year, as set by the HCPSS Board of Education, will be 7:25 am to 2:10 pm. Bus schedules will be printed the week prior to school in the local newspapers.
We believe that the safest way for students who do not drive themselves to get to school is by accessing the transportation provided. However, we do understand that there may be occasions when it is necessary to drive your student to school. When that happens, please follow the procedures listed below to help ensure the safety of all students during school arrival time:
Students who must be driven to school are to be dropped off at the gymnasium doors or along the sidewalk next to Burleigh Manor Middle School on the entry boulevard following the established traffic pattern.
Drivers may not use the parking lot aisles to drop off students.
Students may not be dropped off along Centennial Lane.
Students crossing Centennial Lane from adjacent neighborhoods must use the crosswalks.
Parents are to refrain from making U-turns on Centennial Lane as it impedes traffic and contributes to unsafe conditions for students and drivers.
Students who are driving themselves to school are encouraged to arrive early to avoid being tardy. Traffic jams occur daily during the morning rush along Centennial Lane. We very much appreciate your partnership to ensure our commitment to student safety.
STUDENT SCHEDULES
Schedule Changes Will Only Be Made for one of the following reasons:
You are scheduled for less than 7 classes.
You passed a class in summer school and need to update your schedule.
You need a class to graduate and it is not currently on your schedule.
You need an adjustment to accommodate release time or the intern/mentor program.
Questions about student schedules should be directed to Student Services: 410-313-2857
WELCOME VISITORS
In order to ensure the safety of all students and staff, all visitors must press the buzzer located to the right of the main entry doors to be admitted to our building. When we greet you, please provide us with your name and the reason for your visit. For example: ‘I'm Mrs. Somerville and I'm picking up my daughter, Tracy, for early dismissal.' -or- 'I'm Mrs. Dillon and my son, John, forgot his lunch - again.' ...you get the idea. We will buzz you right in.. All visitors must sign-in at the front office during regular business hours 7:10-2:40.
As a gentle reminder, please remember to bring a valid form of identification (e.g. Drivers License) if you are picking up one of our students. It's also a good idea to double check your Emergency Procedure information to ensure the list of individuals authorized to pick up your student during the school day is up to date.
FAMILY FILE UPDATES NEEDED - All families must update their emergency contact information annually. While we recognize many of you may not have any changes to make, you must click through all of the screens and click submit in order to have this task completed. Some decisions require annual permission, such as permission to photograph your student, for example (this one is pretty important if you want your student to appear in the yearbook or in team/activity postings). We’d like Centennial to be the first high school to have 100% of the Family File information to be fully updated, so visit HCPSS Connect today and click submit on the final screen!
Common Roadblocks to Successfully Updating the Family File:
You can reset your password with or without a security Q&A. So, if you've tried to update and hit a roadblock, please try again.
If you are having trouble remembering your username (which is the full email address for an adult responsible for the student account), call or email us and we'll let you know what you should be using to access the initial time. Please note: You can not complete this task using the student login/account. It can only be completed via a guardian account.
Families new to HCPSS should receive an authorization key in your email. Follow those instructions.
If you've requested a reset, and haven't received an email, we need you to check your junk or SPAM folders. That seems to be where a bunch of those things are ending up. If you still don't have it, give us a call.
PARKING PERMITS
Seniors and juniors who wish to park at Centennial High School must complete a parking permit application online. All Howard County students are required to pay a fee of $15 to park at school during the school day. Please visit the main page of our website for a link to the parking permit application.
STAY CONNECTED
Centennial High School’s website is a great source of information at www.chs.hcpss.org
Twitter: @hcpss_CHS
Intagram: @CentennialHS
Facebook: @chs.hcpss.org
Visit the CHS PTSA website at www.chs-ptsa.org and CHS Boosters website atwww.centennialboostersonline.com.
Also another source to receive school news via email is the HCPSS News. To register please go to www.hcpssnews.com, click on Subscribe and select Centennial High School.
GOT BOOKS? IT’S NOT TOO LATE TO TURN THEM IN! - Outstanding Financial Obligations:
If you spent a part of your summer vacation cleaning your room and you found some CHS Textbooks or Media materials, you should bring them to school as soon as you get a chance. Any fines that were previously paid will be refunded in full. Because students with outstanding obligations may be excluded from some school activities and functions, students should contact the Front Office as soon as possible to clear their obligations. Further, students with outstanding obligations will not be issued parking permits.
MEDICATION FORMS
Students who require medication to be administered during the school day need to have new forms completed for this fall. For your convenience, you can find these forms on-line at the HCPSS website by clicking on the link for Physician’s Orders (http://www.hcpss.org/aboutus/forms.shtml).
Please visit the Community News and Programs page on the HCPSS website for announcements of upcoming events and programs sponsored by non-profit organizations (http://www.hcpss.org/community-news-and-programs/).