April 1, 2026 | Issue 179

Lots of exciting things happening at our schools (no foolin')! Concerts! Sports! Construction! Pre-k/K registration! Volunteer opportunities! Prom! Graduation! (Did we use enough exclamation marks??) Browse all the wonderful opportunities below.

And THIS FRIDAY, April 3, OMCA donation requests are due. Scroll down to see details.

Have a marvelous day!

Brigitta Warren, Village Manager

Amy Carpenter, Events & Administrative Coordinator

Adjusted Start Time for High Schools

Beginning Monday, May 4, the high school student day will begin at 7:48 a.m., two minutes earlier than the current 7:50 start time. This will add a total of 1 hour and 4 minutes to the school year for high schools. The bus pickup schedule will remain unimpacted, and middle and elementary schools will not have an extended student day.

OMMS Renovation Information Session

April 16, 6:00 p.m.

OMMS

Have you seen the renovations underway at OMMS? Join the Howard County Public School System for a brief design presentation and to gain details on what to expect during construction.

OMMS Fun Run

April 11, 11:00 a.m.

OMMS

OMMS Spring Play: Newsies, Jr.

April 15, 16, & 17, 6:30 p.m.

Doors open at 6:00 p.m.

OMMS Cafeteria

Tickets available on booktix soon! The PTSA will again be selling concessions. If you are able to help please reach out.

OMMS PTSA Givebacks

Want to donate to the OMMS PTSA? Visit the PTSA's Givebacks page to find out how.

OMMS Music Department Donations

Feeling generous? All donations support the OMMS students of the arts including OMMS band, orchestra, and vocal music programs. Any contribution is greatly appreciated and is tax deductible. Donate HERE.

Donate to the Falcon Store

The PTSA is looking for donations for the Falcon Store. Students are able to purchase items with the Falcon bucks they earn for good behavior. Email the PTSA for suggestions or if you are interested in staffing the store during student lunch periods. 

TSES Preschool

Will your child be 3 years old by September 1, 2026? If so, they can be part of TSES's Learn Together Program. Preschool classes are 4 days a week (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday) from 8:35 to 11:15 a.m. More info. Questions? call the front office or email Mrs. Lauer at alauer@hcpss.org.

TSES Eagles Night Out

April 14, 6:15 to 8:00 p.m.

TSES

For TSES students and their important adult. Check out the details on the fliers in English and Spanish.

TSES Garden Work Days

April 18 & May 16, 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

Help get the TSES Garden ready for a season of growth! Families are invited to come dig, plant, and help prepare the garden for the months ahead. No gardening experience needed—just bring your enthusiasm! Sign up

TSES Spring Concert

May 6, 6:30 p.m.

OMHS

TSES Sunshine Cart Donations Needed!

The Sunshine Committee would love your help in showering TSES's amazing staff with monthly treats! Please consider donating individually wrapped snacks and/or drinks. Donations can be dropped off at the front office Prefer not to shop? Monetary donations are also welcome. Please send checks or money orders (payable to Talbott Springs Elementary School) in a sealed envelope marked Attention: Sunshine Committee. If you have any questions, please contact patricia_cristiani@hcpss.org.

Thunderbird Night

April 17, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.

THES

For the THES school community. Enjoy a community potluck and share your family traditions (food, performance, and crafts). Volunteers needed! Sign up to help by March 27.

THES Spotlight Concert

April 29, 6:00 to 7:00 p.m.

THES

Thunder Hill Career Fair - Volunteers Needed!

May 1, 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

THES

Sign up to volunteer HERE.

Thunderbirds SOAR Cart: Donations Needed!

The THES Thunderbirds are working hard this year demonstrating THES's SOAR behaviors! They are earning many DOJO points for Showing Kindness, Including Others, Showing Respect to Others, and Being Responsible. They can use DOJO points to shop at the SOAR cart every other week. We are looking for creative ways to replenish items on the cart. If you would like to donate an item, you can use this Amazon Wish List to have items sent directly to our school.

Thank you for your consideration and generosity! -- THES SOAR Team

https://a.co/240ihGJ

School Closure Dates

New closures and openings due to inclement weather days.

March 30 - April 3: CLOSED for Spring Break

April 6: OPEN full day (closed before)

April 15: 3-hour EARLY DISMISSAL (closed before)

May 14: OPEN full day (was 3-hr early dismissal)

May 25: OPEN (Memorial Day)

May 27: CLOSED

June 8: OPEN full day (early dismissal before)

June 11-15: OPEN full day (was 3-hr early dismissal)

June 16-18: 3-hr EARLY DISMISSAL (was closed)

Updated Last Day of School: June 18

Emergency/weather closings info

HCPSS Pre-K Application Period Open

HCPSS’ full-day pre-k program is open for applications for the 2026-27 school year. Families of children who turn 4 on or before September 1, 2026, are eligible to apply. Additional information, including a link to the application, is available online.

HCPSS Seeks Resident Members for Ethics Panel

Deadline: April 8

The Howard County Board of Education is seeking to fill multiple openings on the school system’s Ethics Panel. Currently, the Panel has an immediate opening for a member, and will have three additional openings July 1.

HCPSS Seeks Judges for 2026 Simulated Congressional Hearings

HCPSS seeks community members to serve as judges in the 2026 Simulated Congressional Hearings (SCH), being held at elementary schools across the county from May 1-June 9.

Volunteers Needed for Battle of the Books

Community volunteers are needed for the 2026 Battle of the Books reading celebration for 5th grade students. This year’s event is being held Friday, April 24 at Merriweather Post Pavilion. Interested volunteers should register online. High school students can volunteer and receive service hours if they sign up for the same shift with a supervising adult, and should contact winifred.lafrancechambers@hclibrary.org with any questions. 

Board of Education Meetings

Upcoming Regular Meetings:

• April 30, 4 & 7 p.m. – Regularly Scheduled Meeting
• May 19, 4 & 7 p.m. – Regularly Scheduled Meeting

Board meetings may be viewed live or on-demand online, and during and after each meeting on Howard County Comcast channel 95 or Verizon channel 42. Upcoming Public Hearings can be found online.

OMCA Donation Requests

Due THIS FRIDAY, April 3 by 5:00 p.m.

The Oakland Mills Community Association Village Board determined at its March 10, 2026 meeting that it would consider a second round of donation requests from registered 501(c)(3) charitable organizations. In order to be considered, the request must be complete, per the requirements in our donation policy, and must be received on or before 5:00 pm EDT on Friday, April 3, 2026. Incomplete, inaccurate, or late submissions will not be considered or eligible for re-submission, so please read the donation policy carefully. Requests should be submitted to Brigitta Warren, OM Village Manager, at manager@oaklandmills.org.

If your organization originally submitted a complete request by the October 15, 2025 deadline per the donation policy, and OMCA did not fund or fully fund it, you will receive automatic reconsideration. There's no need to resubmit.

Please contact Brigitta Warren, OM Village Manager, at manager@oaklandmills.org to submit your request or to ask any questions.

DONATION POLICY

Host Families Sought for AFS Exchange Students

Last year there was an AFS student from Moldova at OMHS and next year there will be a student from Brazil! Next school year, around 15 AFS exchange students from around the world will come to Howard County, Baltimore County and Baltimore City for a life-changing year. You can help your family to learn about another part of the world! Host families volunteer to provide room and board for a student and get to know a great kid. Exchange students attend your local high school. Students are available from countries around the world, such as Germany, Italy, Chile, Spain, Thailand, China, and many more. You can pick kids who enjoy hobbies such as soccer, volleyball, photography, crochet, singing, running, baking, drawing, or playing piano or a band instrument.

If you would like to hear more about the process of becoming a host family or any other aspect of our program, please contact Christina McGarvey at AFSBaltimore@gmail.com.  

Volunteers Needed to be Mentors

OhanaHC matches students from OMHS and three other Howard County high schools with adult mentors there to help them reach their chosen goals. More mentors are needed for OMHS students! Interested in helping? Click the button below to find out more.

The Grassroots Day Resource Center at Leola Dorsey is located at:

10390 Guilford Road, Suite A
Jessup, MD