Superintendent’s Report May 27, 2021 Board Meeting Dr. Michael J. Martirano, Superintendent

Graduation

● Good afternoon, Board members. Tomorrow begins our commencement week. While the pandemic precluded holding many of the traditional senior-year experiences, I want to thank the school administrators, staff and parents who have worked hard to make sure our graduates are honored with as many memorable experiences as possible.

● There have been questions regarding the use of masks at the graduation ceremonies. In alignment with the most recent State orders, Merriweather Post Pavilion has lifted the mask mandate since it is an outdoor venue. Therefore, graduates and guests will not be required to wear a mask at commencement ceremonies. However, any staff, students, family members and guests who wish to wear masks are welcome to do so and it is still recommended statewide that unvaccinated individuals continue to wear masks and socially distance themselves.

● I want to thank Howard Hughes Corporation for arranging to honor our graduates again this year by lighting up the 6100 Merriweather Drive building in Downtown Columbia. The high rise building will be brightly lit with each high school’s colors for 2 hours before and 2 hours after the start of their commencement, and then the colors for each of that day’s graduation schools will rotate in 5-minute intervals after 9 pm. We greatly appreciate this celebration on behalf of our graduating seniors and their families.

● I congratulate every member of the Class of 2021, and wish you a lifetime of good health, fulfillment and happiness.

Spring Sports Update

● The Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association (MPSSAA), which governs all high school athletics programs, has announced that Spring state playoff and championships will take place this year between June 5th and the 19th. Culminating events will take place a few days beyond the last day of school on June 18th and 19th for baseball, softball, boys and girls lacrosse, tennis, and track and field.

1 ● Full details for each sport are provided on the MPSSAA website, and high schools are sharing the information with their student athletes.

Celebrations/Recognitions

● This week our Food and Nutrition Service team achieved a major milestone, serving over six million Grab-and-Go meals since schools were closed due to the COVID pandemic last March. This remarkable milestone reflects the amazing dedication and tireless work of the members of our Food Services team, under the leadership of Mr. Brian Ralph. Please join me in congratulating and thanking them for their outstanding and unwavering service to ensure all children have access to essential nutrition.

● We have several state- and national-level achievements to celebrate. I’ll begin by congratulating the robotics team, which won this year’s Chairman's Award, the most prestigious award from FIRST Chesapeake.

FIRST, which stands for “For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology,” is an international robotics community that prepares young people for the future through inclusive, team-based robotics programming. The Chairman’s Award honors the team that best represents a model for others to emulate, embodies the mission of FIRST, and encourages more of today’s youth to become science and technology leaders.

Please join me in applauding this impressive recognition for the Glenelg robotics team.

● Next I’d like to highlight the achievement of the Burleigh Manor Middle School team, which recently excelled in the You Be the Chemist Challenge. The team is the Maryland winner and placed top five in the country, earning them a spot in the national challenge.

● The You Be The Chemist Challenge is a collaborative, multilevel student science competition that celebrates the science of chemistry and elevates STEM careers.

Please join me in congratulating the Burleigh Manor team as they prepare for the national competition in June.

● I’m delighted to share that several Howard County middle and high school students earned top honors at the virtual Maryland History Day competition, organized by Maryland Humanities.

2 I’d like to recognize eight students who are headed to the national competition after earning first or second place in their category:

○ Violet Kucler [Koose-Ler] and Wren Kucler [Koose-Ler], from Burleigh Manor Middle School, in the Junior Group Exhibit category; ○ Sebastien Spencer and Samuel Yoon, from Folly Quarter Middle School, in the Junior Group Website category; ○ Anna Chalupa [Cha-loo-pa] and Gitanjali Raghava [Gee-taan-juh-lee Raw-guh-vuh], from Howard High School, in the Senior Group Exhibit category; ○ And Allison Faith Comising and Joshua Strohmayer, from , in the Senior Group Website category.

I’d also like to acknowledge four students who earned special awards:

○ Cate Lee and Pat Steil, from Clarksville Middle School; ○ Nadia Ghaicepour [Gace-pour], from Marriotts Ridge High School; ○ And Ariella Schulterbrandt, from Clarksville Middle School.

Please join me in congratulating all of our History Day winners for their hard work this entire school year exploring the theme, Communication in History.

● I’d like to recognize several of our high school students who received national medals this year from the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. This awards program is the nation’s longest-running and most prestigious recognition program for creative teens.

I’d like to congratulate the following students for earning gold medals: ○ Tammy Chen, from Centennial High School, ○ Yinxi [Yin-see] Chen, from , ○ Michelle Lee, from , and ○ Naomi Ling, from River Hill High School, who also won a silver medal.

I’m also pleased to acknowledge the following students for their silver medals:

○ Allison Abruscato, from Glenelg High School, ○ Mohamed Elhassan [El-has-sen], from Hammond High School, and ○ Ashna [Osh-na] Pandya [Pan-ya], from Glenelg High School.

Please join me in congratulating all of our Scholastic Art & Writing Awards winners for earning this impressive achievement.

3 ● I’m proud to honor Kerry Johnson, a first year dance teacher at Hammond High School, who recently received the 2021 Emerging Leader Award from the Maryland Dance Education Association.

This recognition is a testament to Ms. Johnson’s hard work and dedication in the field of dance education as an undergraduate student and in transitioning to her career as a dance educator. She was selected for serving as a positive role model for all students and her dedication to professional growth.

Let’s all celebrate Ms. Johnson, who is doing a wonderful job at Hammond High School, which happens to be at her alma mater.

This concludes my report. I will address additional topics at the start of our COVID-19 Update/2020-2021 School Year Status work session later on today’s agenda.

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