I hope that everyone had a great first week at AMS. We look forward to meeting new and returning PTSA members at our first PTSA meeting of the 2018-19 school year. Please join us Thursday, September 13 at 6:30 PM.
New members can join at the meeting. We offer many ways for you to get involved, become part of this community and lend a hand in making this school a wonderful place for our children to spend their middle school years.
Aug 30, 2018
We look forward to meeting all of our new AMS families tomorrow at Sneak-a-Peek Day, and welcoming everyone back to the school on Back to School Night!
We will have a table at both events and hope that you will stop by to join the PTSA. Please see the Membership Chair’s message below.
On behalf of the entire PTSA Board: wishing you and your family a happy, safe Labor Day weekend!
Aug 13, 2018
We’re so excited to start the new school year — which is right around the corner! We look forward to welcoming back our returning students and their families, and our students and families who are new to the IB experience and AMS. Please know that families are a VERY IMPORTANT part of creating a positive and supportive middle school experience: we need EVERYONE to join and support the PTSA.
Please look for our PTSA table at orientation and back to school events — or join online via the PTSA website. Our resources go right back into our school to support our students and teachers and to help make Annapolis Middle the best that it can be! On behalf of the entire AMS PTSA we thank you, we look forward to meeting you all soon and working with you over this next year!
June 15, 2018
To my old AMS Board – thank you for all your help these past 2 years. We are well aware what we did and went through to do those things – and I wanted you to know how much I appreciate your help and your time.
To the new AMS Board – have fun and do great things for the students and staff at AMS.
To all parents of AMS students – please try to find time to get involved in efforts and events at AMS, either through PTSA or the school directly. Though it’s a lot of hard work, our students deserve the effort.
Last, to our promoting 8th graders – good luck in high school and I can’t wait to see you all walk the stage as 2022 graduates!I am excited to leave AMS on its way to its long needed HVAC retro-fit, which I’m sure future students will enjoy. I hope the AMS community continues to grow next year!Angie Carroll, President
June 1, 2018
May 30, 2018
Annapolis Middle School opened to students in 1964, 54 years ago. AMS was an award-winning design and duplicated in the construction of other middle schools throughout Anne Arundel County. It is a very large design with an official state-rated capacity of 1,495 students, one of the largest in the county.AMS has been on the facilities improvement plan for over a decade – to receive an HVAC retro-fit for the back section of our school (including the cafeteria, gym, team teaching room and old band room), as well as new windows throughout. Each year, AMS was pushed back again and again. Even as younger schools received this retrofit, we did not. In the fall of 2016, we recorded temperatures in the mid to high 90’s in some of the rooms in this area. And I am sure many parents have heard stories of how hot the dance was, or how hot gym class was…
With our increase in student population due to last year’s Annapolis Cluster redistricting, it seemed our turn was finally coming. I have been in steady contact with AACPS officials checking our status and pleading our case. AMS actually made the Construction Status Report for starting work this summer…and we have had several engineers in and out all year taking measurements.
Then, I received this comment last week concerning our retro fit: The County included funds for the project but to date the State has not.
You can imagine how disappointed and to be quite frank, angry I am about this. It is finally the time for Annapolis Middle Students to get matching facilities of those in other schools across the county. I need your help in appealing to Speaker Busch and other Legislators to grant us these matching funds. These students are my children, my neighbors’ children, our community and our future. They deserve better than being told to keep waiting.
PLEASE CONTACT YOUR DELEGATES AND EXPRESS YOUR SUPPORT FOR MATCHING STATE FUNDS FOR AMS: [su_box title=”Delegate Information” style=”soft” box_color=”#f5d3f5″ title_color=”#070000″ radius=”6″]
Speaker Mike Busch (30A):
michael.busch@house.state.md.us
410-841-3800
And Delegate Herb McMillan (30A):
herb.mcmillan@house.state.md.us
410-841-3211
If your student is a magnet student, look up your representatives at: http://mdelect.net/
Remember – this is an election year![/su_box]
May 16, 2018
Vice President Communications – Cara McCandless
Second Vice President – Laila Gutzmann
Treasurer – Kate Treatment-Clark
Secretary -Molly Buell[/su_box]Although we have no more PTSA meetings, our two largest events of the year are coming soon: Dragon Games and the 8th Grade Dance and Celebration. Dragon Games will be Friday, June 1st, rain or shine. We are stepping it up this year with even more obstacles, games, activities and treats! All staff at AMS help – but we need parents too. If you can help, click here to sign up! If you can’t stay the whole time, please note in the comments how long you can stay.The 8th Grade Dance and Celebration will be June 13th. If you have an 8th graders and would like to help organize or decorate, please contact me.
April 18, 2018
With that in mind… I wanted to remind parents that Teacher/Staff Appreciation week is coming very soon, May 7th – May 11th. Our Teacher Appreciation Chair Christina Herring has items planned each day to thank our staff for all their hard work through the year. However, I am appealing to parents and students to send a personal note or small item in to show appreciation that week. Does your student’s math teacher LOVE coffee? Does your student’s language arts teacher have any spare pencils left? Does any teacher have any tissues left? Even small items can make a big difference.Also, watch the Blast to volunteer to help plant new items in the front planters. We cleared out a lot of dead and over-grown items last fall and its almost time to put new items in.
April 11, 2018
First of those is elections! At our PTSA meeting last week, we announced our slate of candidates for the PTSA Board for the 2018-2019 school year (see details in this post). Our elections will be at our May 3rd meeting. If there are any other candidates who would like to self-nominate, please contact me.
At our March PTSA meeting, Mr. McElhaney proposed an alternative idea for 8th grade end of year activities. At our April meeting, our 8th grade Assistant Principal Karla Steinbach said she would survey 8th graders for their opinions. I know that other schools have already announced their plans and dates and a few of you have asked me about AMS. The PTSA has dedicated $1,500 to 8th grade end of year activities. We will have an announcement in the Blast as soon as a plan is created and approved. We will also let parents know about the 8th grade dance when a date is established.
Feb 28, 2018
- Dragon Games
- Honor Roll Ice Cream
- 8th Grade Dance & Promotion
These are our big ticket items that we work very hard to fund and organize for all our students. Do you want to help? Please attend our next PTSA meeting next Thursday, March 1, at 6:30 p.m. in the Media Center to learn more and volunteer.
Feb 22, 2018
Laila, Dara, Robin, Evangeline, Melissa & TeresaThank you for set up:
Molly, Teresa, Diane, Laila and daytime AMS custodial crewThank you for chaperoning and clean up:
Cara, Jennifer, Allison (esp. for handling sales coming in), Molly, Evangeline, Ana, Heil, Sandra, Elvia, Laila, Marcus, Chelle, Diane and the AMS students that helped clean up.Thank you to the staff that came to help:
Mr. McElhaney, Mrs. Denney, Mrs. Early, Mrs. Saunders, Ms. Frazier, Ms. Alvear, Ms. Henry, Ms. Ruff & night AMS custodial crew. (I know I’ve missed a couple more, so please let me know and I will add to our next newsletter!)To continue the Mardi Gras spirit, our Teacher Appreciation Chair hosted a Mardi Gras breakfast today as a thank you for all AMS staff.[/su_box]
Feb 8, 2018
Laissez les bon temps rouler!
(Translation: Let the good times roll)
Jan 29, 2018
[su_box title=”Supporting AMS” style=”soft” box_color=”#ae49ec” title_color=”#070000″ radius=”6″]Just to let everyone know, in addition to our Pen & Paper fundraiser, AMS PTSA also raises money all year through several local and national programs: [su_list icon=”icon: paper-plane” icon_color=”#a5629d”]
- Giant A + Bonus – $700 raised so far… keep shopping with a designated card.
- True Value fundraiser – over $800 this fall
- Amazon Smiles – $30 …keep shopping, every little bit helps!
- Box Tops – $175…keep sending them in, the spring submission is soon.
- Dining Out Nights (Chick-fil-A, California Pizza Kitchen, Bertucci’s so far) – about $600 with more to come.[/su_list][/su_box] Many thanks to Beth Oldfield for setting up these events, including the upcoming night at Ledo Pizza (see below).
Please read the Blast to keep up with all these little ways you can help make a difference for AMS.
Last, the PTSA meets the first Thursday of every month, which means it is this Thursday, February 1st. We will meet in the Media Center, 6:30 p.m., and hopefully will be done by 8 p.m. Our January meeting was snowed-out so our agenda is packed, including: - Mardi Gras dance final preparations
-
Budget update
-
Dining Out Night update
-
Update from our Principal McElhaney on on-going efforts in the school.
Jan 18, 2018Did you enjoy yesterday’s snow day surprise?!
Now that the students are back in school, keep in mind that the end of the marking period is almost here. There are only 2 weeks left. Parent Connect is back up and running, so please be sure to check your student’s grades. This marking period is always rough and having the system down for a week along with irregular school days doesn’t help. I & I is back on and many teachers are accommodating students as best they can in these next two weeks. Don’t wait until last minute!
On a separate note, I am still in need of help for the Mardi Gras dance, February 9th. Specifically I am looking for:
- Volunteers to sell tickets before school and during I & I
- Decorating help (the afternoon of Feb 9th)
- Chaperones for that night (at door, food tables and wandering around giving beads away.)
Please contact me if you can help with any of these.
- We made $200 with our November Dining Out Night at California Pizza Kitchen! Thank you to all those that went and helped AMS out.
- We made $175 in Box Tops this fall! Please send in whatever you have soon – spring submission is the end of February.
- We sold over 500 pieces of AMS spiritwear this year! ringing in almost $1,000, once we sell all the remaining socks. As a positive, none of these items cost us anything so it is pure profit.
- We have about 25 pairs of AMS knee high socks for anyone to purchase, $15 a pair. To purchase, please send in a check payable to AMS PTSA.
Last, our Mardi Gras dance is coming up very soon. Once our February 9th date is confirmed, I will need help with ticket sales, during lunch or before school; decorating; and chaperones. If any of these appeal to you, please contact me.
If your kid is like mine, the PTSA has something that can help you out – AMS knee high socks. And I do mean knee high socks. They run adult sizing, so if you are looking for a way for your kid to cover their legs while accommodating their shorts or skorts – this is for you! Only $15! To order, send in a check payable to AMS PTSA and we will deliver them to the office with your student’s name and grade.
Or pick them up at January PTSA meeting, in the Media Center. Our agenda will include our fundraising to date, a spirit wear update, an AMS update and details on the coming Mardi Gras dance.Also, if you have any AMS or AMS approved sweatshirts/sweaters that you don’t need anymore, we have students that do need them. Please bring them in to the front office or our PTSA meeting to replenishment the Dragon Closet.
Nov 28, 2017
parents and staff time to meet and chat. During our meeting/social hour, we will be collecting goodies and snacks to provide for our awesome AMS staff during the conferences on December 8. Our Teacher Appreciation Chair will set up these items for teachers and staff and have to-go items so they can share with their families.
Also at our meeting/social hour, you can drop off items for the Dragon Dream Shop, our holiday shop where students can use their Dragon Dollars to “purchase” items for their loved ones. Please see below for more information of what to donate. The PTSA will be donating wrapping items.Thanks & Happy Thanksgiving,
Nov 17
If you are buying an item that you would like to be a present, please email me separately and we can arrange an “alternate” delivery than handing the items to your student. We are hoping to beat the holiday rush with delivery mid-December.
Also, keep in mind that every purchase helps your student by supporting PTSA programs throughout the year.
Oct. 31
Did you see the front planters? Thank you to Cara, Holly, Jazmina and Evelyn for helping clear out all that dead growth and getting the planters ready for winter. It looks a ton better. Let me know if you would like to be part of a spring cleaning/planting.
Oct 18
I would like to send a special thanks to Corey Childs, whom arranged for his soccer clubs to be part of the clean up. We had volunteers from the St. Mary’s soccer team and the AMS Soccer and Mentoring Program (through Annapolis Soccer Club). Those kids worked very hard.
Would you like to be part of a clean up at AMS? We’re starting to plan now to clean up our front planters and interior courtyards. Contact me at president@annapolismiddleptsa.com to sign up to help.
Oct 10
Are you looking for something to do to help AMS this weekend? SOFO (South Forest Drive Business Association) is organizing their 2nd Annapolis Middle School clean up this Saturday, October 14th, from 8 a.m. to noon. Bring your gloves! Work includes cleaning the fence area further and making headway with the plantings around AMS itself. Click here at this post to get more details.
Oct. 3
For those who haven’t participated yet – there’s still a little time! We extended the deadline through tonight. All participating students will be entered into a raffle for a $100 Westfield Annapolis Mall gift card! The winner will be picked at our October PTSA meeting.
Last, please join us this Thursday at 6:30 p.m., for our October PTSA meeting. This is the big one – budget! We have spent the last few weeks raising money, now we need to vote on how to spend it.
Sept 28
Sept 21
Thank you to everyone who has already submitted their Pen & Paper fundraiser donation! (see details below) We are very excited about what a successful fundraiser can do for our school:
- Bigger & better Dragon Games
- Larger Honor Roll Ice Cream Socials
- More items for the Dragon Den
- Greater ability to reach out to teachers and staff to help with programs & incentives through the school.
New this year is the ability to participate in our Pen & Paper online at: annapolismiddleptsa.com. Thank you Melissa Palus for setting up our website! if you have any questions, please email me at president@annapolismiddleptsa.com
Sept 19, 2017
To help busy parents and teachers this year, we are having a food truck on site so you can grab a bite before our event. We will have the Truck of Deliciousness on site in the Forest Drive bus loop. Menu includes a variety of sandwiches, hot dogs and chicken tenders along with beverages (see full menu and prices on this page: Food truck The food truck will set up at 4:30. I am looking forward to meeting and speaking with you Thursday night. The PTSA will have a table in the cafeteria so that you can visit during your student’s “lunch” block — or before the event. We will have membership forms, car magnets and older generation t-shirts for sale and can give you a preview of our 2017-2018 Fundraiser, the Pen & Paper, and our new 2017 spirit wear, supplied by a local vendor.
Sept 7, 2017Welcome Back!
The AMS PTSA welcomed back parents with our first PTSA meeting of the year, Sept 7 in the Media Center. Principal Sean McElhaney spoke to a large turnout of parents, letting them know about all the programs and initiatives the PTSA is planning this year and how you can help.
AMS PTSA memberships will be available, $10 for individual membership and $25 for family membership. You may pay with cash or check at the Back to School night on Sept 14 or you join online at www.annapolismiddleptsa.com/join-the-ptsa/.
Sept 4, 2017One more day to go!
Teachers started last Monday and the AMS PTSA welcomed them with breakfast, provided by our Teacher Appreciation Chair Christina Herring. In addition, a new AMS parent arranged a large donation of yummy muffins from Market and Main for our teachers. Thank you for your generosity!
As for the school, a lot has been done over the summer to prepare for all our students. Floors have been polished, classrooms re-arranged, bells added and tons more furniture has been brought in to set up all of our new classrooms.
The “Sneak-A-Peek” orientation for NEW students (6th, 7th and 8th graders) took place on Thursday, Aug 31 from 3 to 5 PM. All new students had a chance to find their classrooms and become familiar with the school and to buy gym uniforms. The PTSA had a table to register members and provide information about the school and our organization.
Last, please join us at our first PTSA meeting for the school year, this Thursday, September 7th at 6:30 PM in the Media Center. Our agenda will include our coming fundraiser and spiritwear sales, programs and plans for the school year, sponsorship search and AMS cell phone tower monies.
Aug 15, 2017Though the Back to School supplies and uniforms are everywhere… we still have three weeks until school actually starts. However… AMS has been super busy all this time. [su_box title=”What’s New” style=”soft” box_color=”#8a31d6″ title_color=”#070000″ radius=”6] Here’s another great thing our students have to look forward to this year: bells are being installed! No more “I guess class is over, time to leave”…there will be bells to announce each period. I know my son has been late a few times in the past so I’m sure this change will be welcomed by all.[/su_box]
There is still a lot more news to come… I will announce more next time!
July 30, 2017Depending on your bent in life there is either:
(A) only 7 weeks left of summer so have fun! OR
(B) only 7 weeks until the start of school so start getting prepared!
I lean to B personally. I walked the hallways with Mr. Mac this week – there’s a lot going on! Smart boards are being mounted, floors cleaned, materials coming in, teachers being hired… more than I can list here. Since the Back to School sales have already started, please see below or the Annapolis Middle website for our back to school supply list and uniform policy.
There is an update to the uniform policy – students can wear a black fleece jacket or pullover in school, no logo. The PTSA will try to offer one at our Spirit wear sale later in September.
To honor those that are more Option A, I will save you the details of other great changes coming this year and simply say, enjoy the summer!
See you in September!
July 5th 2017
Although school is out for students and teachers, there are still many AMS staff members hard at work this summer preparing our school for next school year. We will be expanding into new parts of building to accommodate our increased enrollment, so Principal McElhaney has been busy securing technology and resources for the new classrooms–among other things!
The PTSA Board is beginning to brainstorm new ideas for next year and discuss the budget for our programs. If you have an idea for an event or program, this is a great time to start the discussion. You can send your ideas to me at president@annapolismiddleptsa.com.
See you in September!
May 30, 2017
May 18, 2017
May 9, 2017
We had our May PTSA meeting last week. Thank you to those that were able to come. We heard from Mr. McElhaney and Domenick Chiddo about plans for the next school year along with how this one is going to wind down. AACPS has delivered a cooler unit for our cafeteria to use on the hot days, and AMS is slated for our HVAC retro fit summer of 2018.Important for AMS PTSA, we have our complete slate of candidates for the 2017-2018 school year. Voting will be at our June meeting.
May 2, 2017
Did any of you know that last week was Volunteer Appreciation week? On behalf of AMS PTSA Board, I wish to extend a huge THANK YOU to all our parents that support AMS and our PTSA with the many activities we do to benefit all students. I would like to especially point out:
- Teresa Porath – for coordinating our Dragon Den
- Robin Zagalsky & Ingrid Antonelli – for coordinating our Honor Roll Ice Cream Socials
- Beth Oldfield – for coordinating our Dining Out Nights
- Christina Herring – for coordinating our Teacher Appreciation efforts
Teacher Appreciation Week starts today!
This week is Teacher & Staff Appreciation week. Christina Herring, our Teacher Appreciation Chair has items planned for every day this week. Please send a note or treat to your favorite teacher or staff member that you know. A little appreciation goes a long way!
Here is what we have planned for our teachers:
- Monday – Luncheon (pizza & salad)
- Tuesday – Cake, Balloons & Thank You Cards
- Wednesday – Donuts
- Thursday – SweetFrog at the end of the day
- Friday – Goody Bags
Giant A + Bonus program results are in! Thank you to all parents that registered their Giant A+ Bonus card to benefit AMS this year. We earned $1,077 this year! We did this with only 47 families registered – let’s get more next year!
Did you miss the “Not My Child” at AHS? “Not My Child” was held recently at AHS for anyone wanting to attend. It was full of scary stats and what we as a county are doing to combat them. There is a huge push to inform middle school students of these dangers. Did you know the youngest person they have found over-dosed this year was 13? I highly recommend that every AMS parent attend if they can. And bring your child! The next local date is: May 11th — Crofton Middle School, 7 pm 2301 Davidsonville Rd, Crofton, MD 21114
Redistricting in Annapolis. Many of you may have heard that the entire cluster of Annapolis was up for redistricting. The committee met over the winter, sent their recommendations to the Superintendent who then added a few more things. All 3 components passed the April 19th BOE meeting in a blink of an eye. There will be break out meetings at the affected schools to let parents know what is happening next year.
The biggest change for Annapolis Middle is that graduates of Mills-Parole will come to AMS instead of Bates Middle, as it was prior to the 1997 redistricting. This will eventually increase our student population by about 200 students. We will also lose some current students who live in areas that are being redistricted to Germantown ES, therefore moving to Bates. Rising 8th graders will be “grandfathered” to permit them to remain at their original middle school; rising 7th & 6th graders will be transferred. Increasing our student population will also increase our teacher allotment, with the process just starting now. More information will be available in May. We hope to see everyone at the PTSA meeting this Thursday at 6:30 p.m.
April 18, 2017
I hope everyone enjoyed their break – we had some beautiful weather.
Wednesday night is the Board of Education’s vote on the Annapolis cluster redistricting. The 2nd item is important: switching “graduates” of Mills-Parole from Bates MS to AMS. This would alleviate the potential over-crowding at Bates (it has a smaller capacity than AMS) and transfer more than 180 students to AMS. Adding these students will put our building above 50% of our capacity. The Board of Education is still accepting comments via email.
On Thursday night, our 7th & 8th grade band members along with band members from other Annapolis cluster schools will present a joint performance at Annapolis High School at 6 p.m. This should be a great performance! Last, I would like to make a pitch for anyone interested even slightly in being on our PTSA Board for 2017-2018 school year. There are many rewards in helping at this level. All positions are up for a vote. Please contact me if you have any questions.
April 4, 2017
I hope that everyone can come to our PTSA meeting Thursday, April 6, at 6:30 p.m. We will discuss Dragon Games and the 8th Grade Promotion and Dance, and present a slate of candidates for the 2017-2018 school year.
March 29, 2017
I hope that everyone can come to our PTSA meeting next Thursday, April 6, at 6:30 p.m. We will discuss Dragon Games and the 8th Grade Promotion and Dance, and present a slate of candidates for the 2017-2018 school year.
This topic is of utmost importance to supporting the teachers, students and families in our cluster of schools.
Last, to maintain my consistent, backwards timeline… the public hearing on the Annapolis redistricting is Monday, April 3 at 6 p.m., at Annapolis High School. This is your opportunity to give your opinions directly to the Board of Education before their April 19 vote on the matter. Speakers will be limited to 3 minutes of testimony, and can sign up beginning at 5 p.m. There will be no testimony allowed the night of the vote – however, you can email the BOE members at any time.
March 22, 2017
I am very bummed that it is the end of March and I still have my heavy winter jacket out. Especially after those very warm days we had in February. With this coming warmth in mind, I want to remind parents that the back 1/4th of AMS does not have air conditioning. This area includes our gymnasium, auditorium, cafeteria, the old band room and old health class rooms. Moreover, many of these rooms do not have windows at all to add an air conditioning unit into or even open a window for fresh air. Those rooms that do have windows, the gymnasium & cafeteria – have windows that are useless for the purposes of providing a cool breeze. The gym’s windows are too high with no ceiling fans to circulate and most of the cafeteria windows don’t open at all.For years, many parents have advocated for AMS to have a HVAC retro-fit, as most other AACCPS schools not on the MGT list have already had. It is not slated to happen for AMS until summer 2018, at a cost of $12 million. Unless AACPS officials push us back further, as has happened for years. Personally, I don’t understand how a 53-year-old school keeps getting skipped over for a retro-fit in favor of schools that are much younger.Our nemesis in the HVAC retrofit other than cost is the fact that we are among the lowest capacity usage school in the entire system. This is a common problem in several middle schools including AMS, Corkran, Chesapeake Bay and Meade. Our state rated capacity is 1,495 students; we have about 780. That means technically, we use about 1/2 of our building. Though not reality, that is how our rating happens. An important addendum to this – I think AACPS should do the HVAC retro-fit before students are transferred – it’s not fair to make another 200 students and additional staff sweat along with us.In the mid-1990’s, Annapolis schools were redistricted. Mills Parole ES was moved out of AMS and into Bates. You can see what happened to AMS just by looking at the enrollment numbers. In 1996, AMS had 648 students; in 1998, it decreased to 508. Conversely, Bates had 543 students then increased to 656 in 1998. We have increased our enrollment since then, but so has Bates, which is projected to surpass its capacity in 3 years.
>> Altering the boundaries of elementary schools in the Annapolis cluster in the 2017-2018 school year.
>> Shifting Mills-Parole Elementary School to feed into Annapolis Middle School in the 2017-2018 school year.
>> Moving students from two neighborhoods north of the Severn River from Annapolis Elementary School to Arnold Elementary School, as well as some students from Germantown Elementary School to Annapolis Elementary School, in the 2019-2020 school year.
Thanks!Angie Carroll, President
Annapolis Middle PTS
March 14, 2017
Did you find something fun to do on your snow/rain/sleet day? Unfortunately this isn’t “snowman-building” snow…maybe next year.
Our next PTSA meeting will be April 6th, just before Spring Break. Although we have our largest annual event coming, Dragon Games, we have to start planning for next year too. Would you like to be part of our PTSA Board? Help with a Committee like Spiritwear? Please come to our meeting to learn what’s left to do for 2017 and what can come in 2017-2018 school year. Rising 6th grade parents are welcome!
Last …I would like to send my congratulations to the AMS winners in the County Regional Science Fair and the entire cast and crew of the AMS production Peter Pan. Well done!
March 8, 2017
Many AMS parents are concerned about Annapolis redistricting that is up for the Board of Education to vote up or down later in April. If you want to see the entire plan — elementary changes and middle school changes — there is a Community Briefing next Tuesday, March 14th at the Parham Building (2644 Riva Road), 7 – 9 p.m. They are also posted online at: http://www.aacps.org/redistricting/Annapolisredistricting.pdf
There are many changes at the elementary level; all schools in that level adjust their borders at least a little. On the redistricting committee, we tried to move towards neighborhood schools, eliminating busing students across town as much as possible while tackling the over-crowding at Tyler, Hillsmere and Germantown.
At the middle school level, AMS has been kept artificially low for years, in order to have swing space for elementary schools as they are being renovated. We have housed Mayo, Annapolis and West Annapolis Elementary schools in the past several years. Bates, on the other hand, is a smaller building but has more feeder schools. In the next few years it is predicted to go over its capacity. Our redistricting proposal is to move Mills Parole into AMS, as it was prior to the 1990’s redistricting.
I am also starting to work with the Annapolis Education Commission about another way to increase AMS enrollment, by increasing the number of Annapolis cluster students as IB magnet students. Although Germantown is an IB Primary Years school, they do not have automatic entry into our Middle Years Program. Likewise, this will also be true for those students starting at Monarch Annapolis, which will be another IB Primary Years school in our cluster. By increasing our magnet allotment specifically for Annapolis, this will offer these students a higher chance of entry, thus continuing the IB path they have already started. We are just starting this process, but there seems to be a lot of support for this.
Mar 2, 2017
I hope everyone enjoyed a happy Mardi Gras!! We had about 200 students at our Mardi Gras Spring Dance last Friday. I think everyone had a great time. We’re on for next year right? As with all great things, many people were involved with pulling this off. My many thanks to all of you!
[su_box title=”Donations” style=”soft” box_color=”#dc7df6″ title_color=”#070000″ radius=”6″]
Opportunity Builders, Inc – They hold a Mardi Gras fundraising gala every year and donated about 40 banners and fringe, 30 Mardi Gras wigs (the kids LOVED those) and many other items to our event.
Giant Bay Ridge – They donated a gift card (and thankfully also timed their sale) which we used to purchase many bottles of water, sodas and Capri Suns. The kids went through all of them. We also purchased some door prizes with the remainder.
Maria Ramas – She is an AMS parent that generously donated many of the wall hangings and feathered masks we used as decoration and at our selfie station.
Lisa Bridges – She is an AMS parent that donated water bottles and grapes for the event – both were very much appreciated by our students. (It was very warm in there.)
Thank you all for your contributions – it would not have been a successful night without you![/su_box]
[su_box title=”Volunteers” style=”soft” box_color=”#4cc2b3″ title_color=”#070000″ radius=”6″]
Ticket Sales and Prep:
Lori Bowan
Melisa Fennelly
Christina Herring
Suzanne Martin
Lisa Parrish
Susan Wichmann
Flossie Hartman – Main office secretary
Nan Henry (6th grade science teacher) and the Morning Announcement Team
** Daytime custodial staff that helped move all the tables out!
Chaperones:
Francia Arteaga
Stacey Baca
Nick Bridges
Melissa Fennelly
Russ Fennelly
Kathi Lynch
Suzanne Martin
Beth Oldfield
Melissa Palus
Ana Serpos
Anastacia Zepeda
AMS Staff on Duty for the Dance:
Hanne Denney – 8th grade AP
Meagan Early – 8th grade Counselor
Jennifer Gross – 6th grade Counselor
Nan Henry – 6th grade teacher
Christina Saunders & son – 6th grade teacher
Nina Marhamati – 8th grade teacher
** And a special thanks to our evening custodial staff that helped us get everything back to normal!
Thank you for all your work and dedication to our AMS students![/su_box]
Did you miss out this time? We have lots of PTSA events coming up this spring. Come hear about them at our PTSA meeting, THIS THURSDAY at 6:30 p.m. Our agenda will include:
- March and April movie nights
- Principal’s report
- Introduction & presentation by our new IB Coordinator, Domenick Chiddo
- Dining Out Night at California Pizza Kitchen — Coming Soon!
- Annapolis redistricting update
Feb 17, 2017
There are less than 2 weeks until our Mardi Gras Spring Dance, on February 24th. Posters are around the school and it’s part of the morning announcements.
I went to Tulane University in New Orleans and completely fell in love with Mardi Gras. The colors everywhere, the mass of beads, King Cake, the Krewes and their parades and all the excitement. I hope we are able to bring some of that magic for our students.
But we need help pulling this off. If you can donate items for door prize or time to help set up the decorations, please let me know at president@annapolismiddleptsa.com.
Feb 8, 2017
There are about 2 weeks until our Spring Dance – Mardi Gras! Please talk to your student about coming. Several parents are working hard to make it a fabulous evening. Tickets are $5 each and go on sale during I & I and lunch starting next week. You can send cash or checks can be made to AMS PTSA.
Can you help set up? Please contact president@annapolismiddleptsa.com.
I hope all of our Honor Roll students had a great time Monday at the Honor Roll Ice Cream Social. Each student on the Honor Roll got to enjoy ice cream with all the toppings they could possibly want. Thanks again to Robin Zagalsky and Ingrid Antonelli for coordinating this event, and to all their helpers and donating parents.
Recommendations from the Annapolis Redistricting Committee for redistricting Annapolis cluster schools were forwarded to the Superintendent’s office as of last week. The final plans will be presented to the Board of Education on February 15. At that same meeting, the BOE also will vote on the final operating and capital budgets to be sent to the County Executive. Go to www.aacps.org to see the proposed budget and send comments to the BOE members before Feb 15th.
Thanks!
Jan 31, 2017
I hope that many of you can join us this Thursday for our monthly PTSA meeting at 6:30 p.m. Our January meeting was canceled due to possible weather issues, but we are looking at lows in the upper 20’s and no precipitation, so we should have no problems.
Our agenda includes: Annapolis Redistricting update (and possible changes for Annapolis Middle), the Spring Dance, the upcoming Coffee with the Principal and a report on events planned later in the year.
Jan 24, 2017
Despite the rain, I hope you and your students had a fun extra long weekend. I know my kids enjoyed just sleeping in.
- arranging decorations – 2 people
- selling tickets – 2 people (during school day)
- decorating the day of – 5 people
- helping during the event – 10 people
- clean up! – 6 people
Please contact president@annapolismiddleptsa.com to volunteer. This will be discussed at our February PTSA meeting next Thursday, Feb. 2nd. We look forward to seeing you.
Jan 18, 2017
I met with 30 other parents in the Annapolis Cluster to complete our recommendations for the Annapolis Redistricting Committee. Our final proposals are being formalized and will be presented to Dr. Arlotto next week. We have spent several hours in meetings and online communication coming up with viable, more neighborhood-friendly elementary school areas in our region.
For note for AMS, it is being proposed to add Walter Mills-Parole to our AMS feeder system. This would add students to AMS, which currently has one of the lowest building occupancy percentages in the county. This also will ensure that Bates Middle doesn’t go over capacity, which they are predicted to do in the next few years if there are no changes.
None of our recommendations are set in stone. There will be formal presentations of our recommendations on March 14 from 7 – 9 p.m., at the Parham Building at 2644 Riva Road. There will be an opportunity for public comment on April 3 at Annapolis High School at 6 pm. The BOE is expected to vote during their regular April 19th meeting.
While all of this is going on… AACPS is also starting its 2017-2018 budget process. Public comments can be sent to BOE members via email, see them in this link: http://www.aacps.org/html/BoardOfEducation/board-email-listing.asp
This is your chance to tell the members of our BOE what is important to you. School start time? Transportation? Teacher raises? Anything that you feel could be room for improvement…now is the time. Vote to pass the budget will be February 15th.
Mr. Mac is planning to add Coffees with the Principal starting in the 3rd Quarter…watch the Blast for dates!
oh…
Movie Night! We hosted our 2nd Movie Night last Friday. The kids had fun, though I think there was some confusion between the County closing school on Saturday and our event. Since we are having a dance in February, we are looking to have our 3rd Movie Night in March.
Dec 6, 2016
Dear AMS Parents,
Many of you are aware that the Annapolis Cluster is starting our redistricting process. Last week was our first meeting, though only an organizational one. We elected a Chairperson from Annapolis High School and a recording Secretary from Edgewater. I will forward information on as it becomes available. If you have any questions for the committee, please email me at president@annapolismiddleptsa.com or Scott Schuller directly at sschuler@aacps.org. He is coordinating all public questions.
Our PTSA meeting last Thursday went well. We discussed the progress of our fundraiser, Annapolis redistricting, new social events to explore and AACPS Magnet Committee, specifically concerning IB. We would love to hear your opinions and your thoughts on how you can help make AMS better for all students. Our next meeting is January 5th at 6:30 p.m.
Nov 16, 2016
I would like to offer a heartfelt “Thank You” to all the parents who have supported our Pen & Paper Fundraiser. Together, we are partners in making Annapolis Middle a supportive place for our staff to teach and a wonderful place for our students to spend their middle school years. We hope your students enjoy their day out of uniform tomorrow!
Although we have not reached our PTSA fundraising goal–YET–we are still moving forward with two fun events for our students: Movie Night and the Dragon Dream Shop. You can get the details on both events below. We will be in touch about our plans to continue the fundraiser in advance of our next “no uniform day.
October 25, 2016
Thank you to EVERYONE that ordered spirit wear! We sold over 100 pieces total! They are set to arrive at AMS on Monday, November 7th. There will be at least 1 great thing after the election – your spirit wear will be delivered to you!
For those of you that ordered, I will be contacting you soon to find out your student’s name and Caring Community teacher. Did you miss the order deadline? Don’t worry! PTSA has ordered a limited quantity of sweatshirts that will be available for purchase later in November.
Last, our November meeting is coming soon – Thursday, November 3rd at 6:30 p.m., in the Conference Room. I hope to see you all there.
October 11, 2016
At our PTSA meeting last Thursday, we:
- Passed our 2016-2017 Budget to include funding for Dragon Den, Dragon Games, Honor Roll Ice Cream Socials, enrichment grants, classroom support, two dances, movie nights and teacher appreciation activities.
- We discussed our fall fundraiser – the Pen and Paper. For a simple $30 donation, we will offer your student 3 no uniform days, to be announced to time with the Honor Roll Ice Cream dates.
- Elected a Secretary – welcome Susan!
- And gave information about the Annapolis redistricting plans, advocacy to secure a/c for AMS, new spirit wear and the new school start times for the 2017-2018 year.
Thank you to those that came out for the meeting and emailed me for more information. I am happy to give information or dig it out if I don’t know.
See you at our next meeting, November 3rd.
Sept 11, 2016
Please join us at our October meeting this Thursday, October 6, at 6:30 p.m. in the Conference Room, past the Main Office to the left. At our last meeting, we had a great introduction to Mr. McElhaney. This time we will “introduce” you to our big plans this year – dances, movie nights, expanded Dragon Den and Dragon Dreamshop and an even bigger Dragon Games!
All of these great things need 2 things to happen:
1. Participation in our fundraiser, the Paper & Pen
2. Volunteers! We need parents that can help plan, purchase supplies, advertise and work these events. These are not full year commitments, usually just a few hours before and during will do it.
See you Thursday night! Parking might be tight as Thursday is also IB Magnet Information Night for area 5th graders