You are receiving this email because you have expressed an interest in the Perry Hall High School PTSA, are a Perry Hall High School staff member, or have a student enrolled in the school. To ensure that this newsletter does not end up in your SPAM folder, please add [email protected] to your contacts. You may unsubscribe if you no longer wish to receive our emails. Gator Gazette October 28, 2018 In This Issue Greetings! From the Principal's Desk This week Baltimore County Public Schools' Interim News from the PHHS PTSA Superintendent Verletta White's Learning and Listening Tour concludes with a visit to Perry Hall High School on News from PHHS Tuesday from 6 to 7 p.m. News from BCPS and PHHS Community It offers an opportunity for parents, students and PHHS PTSA Business Partners community members to provide her with direct feedback on a host of matters that are important to them. Last year, I This Week at PHHS got to know Ms. White a little bit. I served on the Next Week at PHHS Superintendent's Parent Advisory Council, a group that met quarterly to provide feedback to her and other members of BCPS leadership on a host of topics. I was one of only a Quick Links few people representing the interests and perspective of PHHS PTSA secondary school parents. We discussed everything from Perry Hall HS overcrowding, to technology, to school safety and more. I PHHS Alumni Association felt heard. Active in PTAs at all of my children's schools, PHHS Athletic Boosters having met with politicians and Board of Ed members, and Baltimore County Public Ms. White's predecessor, I can tell you these sessions Schools were among the best I've participated in over the years. I've seen suggestions and feedback offered at the Advisory Council meetings result in action. It isn't easy for parents to communicate their issues to school system leadership, especially if they aren't actively involved in an organization with regular access or an allotted time slot at a monthly Board of Ed meeting. Parents in our area have concerns about population growth, school overcrowding, funding choices, testing, curriculum changes, bus matters, safety, and other things. I urge you to take this opportunity and come to the school Tuesday night to meet Ms. White, share your thoughts and ask your questions. I think you will leave with a better understanding of BCPS's thinking on things, but perhaps more importantly, help the interim superintendent and her team to better understand the issues of importance in our part of the county from the perspective of those people most affected by them. On another topic, PTSA membership cards will be sent home this week. Envelopes containing the cards will be distributed in homerooms to the youngest Perry Hall High student of a joining family. The PTSA membership drive is ongoing. If you would still like to join, you can download an application form from our website or purchase your membership online by credit card or Pay Pal. Seniors planning to apply for a PTSA scholarship are reminded that they must join by January 25 in order to be eligible. Dues for the year are $10. If you have questions about PTSA membership, please feel free to e-mail our chairperson, Heather Grueninger. Thank you to everyone who has already joined out PTSA! Have a good week! Chris Christine Hagan President, PHHS PTSA 2018-2019 School Year [email protected] From the Principal's Desk Dear Parents, The principal's Chess Challenge took place on October 18. I played against nine players during lunch at the same time. Kudos to Ady Yang for his win, and Matt Nikzad for his tie. The SADD organization ran the bi-annual blood drive with the Red Cross Association on Thursday. Kudos to Ms. Robinson and the SADD students for their work. The Army Team Challenge was held on Thursday in the gymnasium. Many students came down with their class to work as a team to solve physical and mental problems. Thanks to the PE Department for their support. I attended the Girls' Varsity Soccer Team County final on Tuesday evening at CCBC Catonsville against Sparrow's Point HS. Unfortunately, we lost 1-0 in overtime. The team still goes onto Regionals and we wish them the best. The Boys' Varsity team lost in the playoffs to Catonsville on Friday, so their season has ended. However, the team is young, and we show great promise for next year. Kudos to the Perry Hall High School golf team who played in the state MPSSAA championship this week at College Park. Kyle Bull, Colin Kurkoba, Frank Sallese, Dylan Weiss and Tyler Arnold traveled to the tournament, which was held Monday. The team placed 11th out of 17 teams. Councilman David Marks will present the Perry Hall athletes with a proclamation on November 2 at Basta Pasta for their achievement. On Friday, we saw the last home football game against Parkville. The seniors were honored, and the team won a hard game in the cold rain. The groundbreaking ceremony for the turf field was conducted before the game. Many dignitaries were present from Baltimore County Government, Local Politicians, Rec Council, BCPS, and the Sports Boosters. Kudos to the Sports Boosters for their fundraising efforts. The work should start in November. See picture below. Andrew Last PHHS Principal News from the PHHS PTSA New PTSA Meeting is November 13 Just a reminder that because of Election Day, the November PTSA board meeting will take place the second Tuesday of the month instead of the first. It will be Tuesday, November 13, at 6:30 p.m. in the school library. All are welcome. __________________________________ PTSA Membership Drive Underway Membership in Perry Hall High School PTSA costs just $10. Approximately half of your dues support our local chapter with the balance helping to fund the county, state and national PTA. There are a variety of benefits associated with PTSA membership: At Perry Hall High School, students that are PHHS PTSA members and that attended the Greg's Driving School program at PHHS are automatically entered into a drawing to win a $50 Amazon gift card. Seniors who join by January 25, 2019, are eligible to apply for a PHHS PTSA scholarship. Faculty members who are PTSA members are eligible to win a reserved parking space, and may be considered for a faculty grant in the spring. Membership forms were sent home with students at the start of the year and are available in the school office. They also can be downloaded from the PTSA website. Or, if you prefer, you can purchase your membership online via a PayPal link. Congratulations to Mr. Whipple, art teacher, this month's winner of the PTSA's reserved parking spot! __________________________________ Introducing "The Great Gator Restaurant Raffle" Our PTSA has a new fall fundraiser, "The Great Gator Restaurant Raffle." Tickets cost just $10 and you could win up to a $1000 in restaurant gift cards. The raffle is currently underway. Tickets can be purchased along with your PTSA membership, or on the PTSA website. The raffle runs until mid-December with the drawing planned for 4 p.m. Thursday, December 13, at the Safeway in Perry Hall Marketplace. The grand prize winner will win 20 $50 restaurant gift cards with two second place winners winning five $50 restaurant gift cards. This fundraiser is a collaborative effort between the PTSA and the High School's three Booster programs, Band, Theatre and Athletic. Visit the PTSA website for more details or ask your Booster program how you can help them and the PTSA raise money to fund a variety of PTSA and Booster initiatives. __________________________________ Plan for the Next Used Clothing Drive: Saturday, November 10 Support the PHHS PTSA! Please bring your gently-used clothing, accessories, shoes, and household items (bedding, towels, curtains, tablecloths, pillows) as well as children's toys, games, puzzles and stuffed animals to the PHHS Senior Parking Lot on the second Saturday of each month (September to May). Donations should be secured in tightly tied plastic bags or sturdy, sealed boxes. Proceeds from the Clothing Drive are used to support our PTSA. This event follows the BCPS Inclement Weather Policy for closings and cancellations. Please check the BCPS website when bad weather threatens. If activities get cancelled, then our clothing drive gets cancelled too. We will attempt to reschedule whenever possible. Click here for more information or to download a schedule of dates for the school year. __________________________________ Know Someone Who Needs to Take Driver's Ed? Greg's Driving School is a prominent supporter of Perry Hall High School PTSA. Greg's Driving School classes offered at Perry Hall High School cost $360 and are held from 2:45 to 6 p.m. at the High School throughout the year. For every participant, Greg's donates $50 to our PTSA. Students that are PHHS PTSA members are automatically entered to win a $50 Amazon gift card. For a complete schedule of classes offered by Greg's Driving School at Perry Hall, and a link to register, visit the Driver's Ed page on our website.The next class will begin on November 26. Perry Hall High School PTSA thanks Greg's Driving School. This business donates thousands of dollars to our organization each year. __________________________________ Save the Date: Winter Arts & Crafts Fair is December 2 Our annual Winter Arts & Crafts Fair will again take place on a Sunday. This year it is December 2 from 11 a.m.