EAGLES NEST
January 25, 2019
From the Principal’s Desk…
This past weekend, one of our neighboring schools lost a student to suicide. The young man’s family agreed to share the manner of their son’s death in hopes it would help other students and their families. As I read the letter my colleague wrote to her community, it reminded me of two similar letters I have had to write during my career. There are no words to describe the lasting impact a loss like this leaves on every person in the community. My heart goes out to our friends and family at River Hill High School.
Given the nature of this loss, I want to share some of Mrs. McKinley’s letter with you:
The death of any member of our school community is a loss, but learning of [a] sudden death may be especially difficult to accept. Feelings of anger, hurt, guilt, and sadness are natural. These emotions may be particularly difficult for adolescents to manage, and they may have many questions about what happened. Common grief reactions include sleep disturbances, temporary loss of appetite, anxiety, and fears about the health and safety of friends and family. Some suggestions for dealing with your child’s questions and concerns include:
Listen to your son or daughter and let him or her know you are available to answer any questions.
Encourage your son or daughter to express his or her feelings and talk about your own feelings.
Talk to your son or daughter about your beliefs regarding death, loss, and suicide.
We ask you to assist us in providing the strong and clear message that troubles and concerns should always be shared with trusted people who can help. Although it might not seem obvious at the time, problems can always be worked out. Additionally, please reinforce our message to your child about what to do if someone tells them that they are thinking of suicide or of harming themselves. The best thing to do, as a friend, is to bring it to the attention of an adult who can help. Even if that friend says not to tell, friends always tell someone. The Maryland Youth Crisis Line can be reached twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week at ‘2-1-1 select 1’ if you are concerned about your child and need immediate help. If your child appears to be struggling for any reason in the coming weeks, please contact Student Services for further assistance. Students can also call the Maryland Youth Crisis Line if they are concerned about a friend or themselves.
Here at Centennial, students, staff and parents have acknowledged our teens experience high levels of stress and experience anxiety. I believe we contribute to this stress by failing to encourage a healthy work/life balance. The push to get the grades, polish the college app, and get into the Ivy League has caused us to lose sight of the moments that help us to feel fulfilled and satisfied with who we are and where we are right now. Spend some quality time together with your family. Do it now. Put down your phones and listen to one another. If you’re not sure where to start, or want to affirm you’re doing the right thing already, here are 10 Simple Ways to Connect With Your Teen.
All my best,
Cindy Dillon
UPCOMING EVENTS
See what’s happening at CHS! (and add our Google Calendar to your phone!)
CELEBRATE CENTENNIAL:
Congratulations to Centennial's Science Olympiad team on their first place win at the Fairfax High School Science Olympiad Invitational last Saturday. The CHS team came out clear winners in a field of 50 teams. Highlights included gold medals in Astronomy, Boomilever, Codebusters, Dynamic Planet, Herpetology, and Fermi by Thomas Luo, Helen Yang, Takumi Fukuzawa, Matthew Zhang, Jocelyn Mathew, Nadine Meister, Christina Cha, Ruoheng Zeng, Steppan Konoplev, and Joyce Zhang; silvers in by Aaron Raj, Annie Liu, Jerry Yuan, Anjali Gajendiran, and Andrew Zhao; and bronze medals Zeyu Zhong, Eric Kim, Matthew Liu, Matthew Won, and Srija Makkapati. Congratulations to all team members and good luck at the upcoming Princeton University invitational!
Megumi Fukuzawa has won first place in the Md Coalition for Gifted and Talented Education’s Student Essay Contest for her piece, “What have gifted education opportunities meant to me?” Way to go, Megumi!
EAGLE NEWS
Centennial High School presents …..
Shrek
Show dates: March 21-24, 2019
Auditions are being held for three roles that are elementary and middle school age students for our spring musical, "Shrek". See below for details. Let me know if you have any questions Kathryn_carlsen@hcpss.org
Roles:
Audition Date: February, 2nd from 1pm-3pm in the Choir Room at Centennial HS
Audition Material: Please prepare and memorize the following sections of these songs for the role you are eligible. Click here for sheet music and a reference recording .
Rehearsal Schedule: Please check the rehearsal schedule to make sure that students are available during those dates.
Click here to sign up for an audition!
CHS Hall of Fame
Our CHS Athletics HOF induction is Sat Feb 9th. @5:15 PM Between Boys JV 4PM and Varsity 6PM games V. Long Reach.
Seniors:
Interested in speaking/performing at Senior Events such as Graduation and Senior Awards Night?
Here are the requirements for Speaking/Performing at Senior Events: Due by February 15th
All speakers and performers must submit an online application and video submission by February 15th to be reviewed a panel of judges. Link is listed below. You will need to sign into your school GAFE account in order to submit. No late submissions will be considered. Read more
https://goo.gl/forms/ZZYEHROHJlJFZWXI3
Class of 2022 - Pancake Breakfast (Cancelled)
The Class of 2022 pancake breakfast on February 2nd at Glory Days is cancelled due to low participation. If you bought a ticket through the OSP, you will be refunded. Thanks for your support.
CHS Speech and Debate
Centennial High School will be hosting a Speech and Debate Meet for the Baltimore Catholic Forensic League on January 26, 2019. This is the only meet Howard County is hosting this season and we are excited to have teams from all around the region compete in various speech and debate events.
The CHS Speech and Debate team would appreciate any support you can provide as we have to provide food for the approximately 100 volunteer judges. If you would like to sign up to contribute, you can or sign up on our sign up genius www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0D4CA4AB2EA02-chsbcsf or email Ting-Yi Huang (tingyi.huang@gmail.com) directly.
If you are interested in judging a Speech or Debate event (no experience necessary!), we always need extra judges. The Public Forum topic this month is Resolved: The United States federal government should prioritize reducing the federal debt over promoting economic growth. If you would like to judge, please contact Michelle Flynn (michelle_flynn@hcpss.org).
Thank you for your continued support of our team!
Peer Relationships and Substance Abuse Parent Workshop
Please join The Council of Elders of the Black Community of Howard County and Howard County Public School System in a workshop on what parents need to know about peer relationships and substance abuse. Read more
2019 Graduation
The window for graduation dates for the Class of 2019 is Monday, May 20 - Friday, May 24 and Tuesday, May 28 - Friday, May 31. Read more
PTSA/Boosters News
See what’s happening with CHS PTSA or CHS Boosters by clicking the names.
GALA 2019 TICKETS PRICE INCREASE February 1st!
Hurry! Ticket prices for the March 9th 2019 Gala will increase from $70 to $75 on February 1st so order your tickets today at www.centennialboostersonline.com.
SAVE THE DATE for our upcoming PSAT/SAT/ACT Prep Courses! Registration will open soon.... If you have any questions please contact Jackie Crispell at jcrispell@verizon.net - A Portion Of The Proceeds Benefits CHS PTSA! Read more
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/).
GTAC Educator Recognition
Advanced-level learners and/or their families are invited to recognize a G/T Resource Teacher, content or classroom teacher, or administrator who has enriched their educational experience. All educators who have a letter of recognition submitted on their behalf will be honored at the annual GTAC Educator Recognition Event on April 2, 2019 at 7 p.m. at Reservoir High School. The form to submit a letter of recognition is here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc59NBTccdtGwQM6p AxAWoDNqb2LjWV61EiMQA_jyo9HAUDOg/viewform.
The deadline for submission is February 15, 2019. The full article on the HCPSS website is available at https://news.hcpss.org/news-posts/2019/01/g-t-advisory-seeks-nominations-for-educator-recognition-due-february-15-2019/
Leadership U Class of 2019
Is your student looking for leadership opportunities? Does he or she want to make a difference in our Howard County community?
Consider joining the Leadership U Class of 2019! Leadership U is an exciting, unique, experiential leadership, teambuilding, and community service opportunity for current high school sophomores. This unique four-month program involves a week-long summer program of hands-on activities, as well as involvement in a team community service project. This program is for students with leadership potential, a desire to learn with others, and for those with an interest in the community. Come to learn more and speak to some of our grads at one of our information sessions: January 31 at Miller Library, February 11 at Central Library or March 7 at Miller Library. All sessions are from 7-8pm. Parents and students in both 9th and 10th grade are encouraged to attend. Additional information is available at http://www.leadershiphc.org/leadership-u-2/ or email Meg Ignacio mignacio@leadershiphc.org. Applications are due March 14, 2019.
ISO Student Member of the Howard County Board of Education - Could you be the next SMOB?
Attention sophomores and juniors: Are you interested in helping to shape county education policies? Applications are now being accepted for the Student Member of the Howard County Board of Education. The student elected by the students of Howard County will serve a one-year term on the Howard County Board of Education, July 1, 2018 to June 30, 2019. Applications are available in Student Services. Completed application packets must be received by Ms. Cindy Drummond, HCASC Advisor, HCPSS, 10910 Clarksville Pike, Ellicott City, MD 21042 or by email (cindy_drummond@hcpss.org), no later than 4:00 pm on Friday, February 9, 2018.