Oakland Mills School Happenings | February 7, 2025 | Issue 159 | |
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We hope you've been staying warm with all the snow and ice! Lots of school fundraisers are coming up! Check out each school below to find out how you can help!
Have a beautiful day!
Brigitta Warren, Village Manager
Amy Carpenter, Events & Administrative Coordinator
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Oakland Mills High School
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Congratulations to the OMHS varsity cheerleaders, who took home second place in Howard County and are moving on to regionals! | |
OMHS Boosters Superbowl Squares Fundraiser
Get your squares before the start of the game! $20 per square. Purchase & info HERE.
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Savage Mill Tri-M Performance
February 22, 12:30 p.m.
8600 Foundry St., Savage
Free!
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OMHS Food Pantry
February 26, 3:30 to 5:30 p.m.
at OMHS (front parking lot)
If you'd like to donate, scroll down to the donations box to find out how.
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OMHS FAB Mattress Fundraiser - SAVE THE DATE!
March 30, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
At OMHS
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Volunteer to help with sports concessions
Help the Boosters keep the Hut and concessions booth staffed during games! Sign up HERE.
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PTSA Fundraising: Help fund greatness—be a Backstage Rockstar!
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Fundraise from Your Couch: Donate any amount by May 1 to fuel teacher shoutouts, field trip adventures, and Senior Night magic. Psst—your wallet gets a tax break. Win-win!
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Dorm Essentials - The College Survival Kit: Help seniors not live on ramen noodles. Donate mini-fridges, laptop chargers, or coffee shop gift cards by May 15. Bonus points if you tape a “You’ve Got This!” note to your drop-off at the OMHS front desk. Items will be raffled off at the After Prom. Email ptsapresident.omhs@gmail.com to keep track of your donated items.
Lets support our students! Click HERE to donate now!
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Sports Schedules
It's that time of year! Fall sports are about to start. Visit County Sports Zone for schedules and results. Find ticket info and guidelines HERE. Go Scorps!
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Career Fair Community Brainstorming Meeting
February 21, 7:00 p.m. On Zoom
Want to help out with the career fair? Attend the first career fair community brainstorming meeting! Share your ideas, connections, donations, and/or help on the actual day of the job fair. The goal is to help students learn more about careers, summer jobs, internships, and workplace shadow options.
Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84751132682
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Oakland Mills Middle School
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OMMS Music in the Parks Fundraiser
Help OMMS music students participate in this year's Music in the Parks! Find out more and donate HERE!
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PTSA Texas Roadhouse Fundraiser
February 10 through February 28
8820 Stanford Blvd, Columbia
Purchase Texas Roadhouse gift cards and/or their delicious rolls (frozen) and cinnamon butter. Also, join the PTSA for 10% donation night at the restaurant on March 10th. Flyer
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PTSA Restaurant Night at Roggenart
February 12, 4:00 to 8:30 p.m.
6476 Dobbin Way
Flyer
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Donate to the PTSA
Support the OMMS PTSA by visiting the OMMS PTSA Givebacks Store to make a direct cash donation.
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OMMS School Store
At the OMMS school store, students use the Falcon Dollars they earned for good behavior to purchase items. OMMS is still looking for donations. Very popular items: cosmetics (they love the ELF brand ) and body care products; sporting equipment; small stuffed animals; small hand sanitizers (like from BBW); and snacks. If you'd like to donate, visit the store's Amazon wishlist.
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Stevens Forest Elementary School
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PTA Valentine's Day Dance
February 13, 6:00 to 7:30 p.m.
Open only to SFES students and their families. Enjoy a DJ, dancing and snacks. Free. No registration required. An adult (over 18), must accompany their children during the entire event.
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PTA Restaurant Night at Boro Kabob
February 20, 11:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
9350 Snowden River Pkwy, Columbia
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SFES PTA Meeting
February 24, 7:00 p.m.
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Help the PTA spread some sunshine on Valentine’s Day!
To celebrate SFES's amazing staff with a yogurt parfait bar and other treats, the PTA needs your help. Sign up HERE. Items can be sent in to the front office on Thursday, February 13. Questions? Email Sylvia, Recording Secretary at Sylvia.hennessie@gmail.com
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Mystery Readers Still Needed!
Find out more HERE.
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Talbott Springs Elementary School
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Black History Month Celebration
February 12, 6:16 p.m.
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Thunder Hill Elementary School
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PTA Meeting
March 6, 6:00 p.m.
THES
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THES International Night
March 27, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
THES
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Howard County Public School System
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School Closure Dates
February 17: schools closed
March 14: 3-hour early dismissal
March 31: no school for students
March 14 - 21: Spring Break
Emergency/weather closings info
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Capital Budget Prioritization Survey
The HCPSS Office of Capital Planning & Construction is seeking community input on the development of a capital budget prioritization process to objectively prioritize school system facilities based on identified capital needs. All stakeholders are invited to provide feedback via survey through Wednesday, Feb. 12.
Capital Budget Prioritization Process Community Survey
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Change to HCPSS Policy on Student Personal Devices
Beginning March 3, students will be required to keep personal technology devices put away and silenced during the school day. Read more.
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Attention Parents of Rising Kindergarteners: Don't Wait for Summer to Address Developmental Concerns!
If you have concerns about your child's development—whether it's their speech, motor skills, social skills, or learning—it's important to act now. Waiting until the summer for a referral can delay crucial support that your child may need before starting kindergarten.
Contact HCPSS's Child Find to schedule a screening. Call 410-313-7046 or email ChildFind@hcpss.org.
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Support for Immigrant Students and Families
HCPSS has created this website as a resource. More information will be added as it becomes available.
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Information for Families Regarding Visits by Representatives from State or Federal Agencies
Please see the Howard County Public School's message related to the Department of Homeland Security’s directive allowing immigration enforcement actions to occur in sensitive areas, including schools and bus stops, and the process school administrators take when schools are unexpectedly visited by representatives from State or Federal Agencies.
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Student RFID Bus Cards
Effective February 2025, HCPSS will expand its pilot program for a student bus identification card to all elementary schools and several others that are serviced by Zum Services, Inc., which has the required hardware and software readily available. Read more.
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Class of 2025 Graduation Window:
May 19-30, 2025
No graduations will be held on weekends or on Memorial Day, Monday, May 26. Specific information regarding the dates and times of each graduation ceremony will be finalized in collaboration with Merriweather Post Pavilion and provided by mid-April. More Info.
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Board of Education Meetings
- February 13, 4:00 & 7:00 p.m. – Regularly Scheduled Meeting
- February 27, 4:00 & 7:00 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.
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Oakland Mills Board of Directors
Education Committee
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OMCA Education Committee meeting
Next meeting: TBA
The Oakland Mills Community Association's Education Committee advocates for and assists our schools to ensure students attending schools in the Oakland Mills Cluster have top-quality educational opportunities in diverse, enriching settings. New members always welcome!
For more information contact Oakland Mills Board of Directors Chair and OMCA Education Committee Chair Jonathan Edelson at jledelson.omca@gmail.com.
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Community Resources & Announcements | | |
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HC DrugFree Upcoming Classes & Volunteer Opportunties
Guiding Good Choices Classes
Tuesdays & Fridays, March 18 - April 1, 1:30 p.m.
Held virtually on Zoom
For parents, grandparents, and guardians
More info & registration
Life Skills Classes for Middle & High Schoolers
Mondays, February 24 - May 5, 5:30 p.m.
Held virtually on Zoom
Registration
High School students: want to volunteer as a Life Skills instructor's assistant? Find our more HERE.
College students: want to work or volunteer as a Life Skills instructor? Find out more HERE.
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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.
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Oakland Mills Online (OMO) is an online social learning platform founded by Oakland Mills families to keep our community connected while we are socially isolated.
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Oakland Mills Local Leadership Team's mission is to make the village of Oakland Mills an inclusive, equitable and connected community that values and supports the healthy development of all children, youth and families.
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HC DrugFree provides resources and education on prevention, treatment, recovery, and health and wellness to help Howard County residents develop knowledge and skills to understand and address behavioral health (substance use and mental health) disorders. HC DrugFree website
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Oakland Mills United (OMU) is a community group started by recent OMHS graduates that advocates for the OM community and its schools and offers tutoring and college help. OMCA is a proud partner with OMU.
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Oakland Mills High School Food Pantry
February 26, 3:30 to 5:30 p.m.
Free, no contact.
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Columbia Community Care
Free Supplies & Food Distribution
Saturdays 9:30 to 11:30 a.m.
Locations and info
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Free Student Meals
Click HERE to learn more and apply.
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Oakland Mills United
Free tutoring and help understanding the college process HERE.
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The Howard County MultiService Center Free Grab-and-Go Meals
Mons. & Weds.: Noon to 4:00 p.m.
Third Sat.: 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
MORE INFO
If you are in need of food and cannot get to the center please call 410-313-0220 to schedule an appointment.
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Oakland Mills High School Food Pantry
Donations Accepted at The Other Barn, Mondays through Thursdays, 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
See details, including a list of needed items HERE. Donations always welcome! No expired food please! Donate in-person at OMHS on the second Wednesday of the month, make a monetary donation, or order donations through the pantry's Amazon Wishlist. More info.
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AOK Mentoring & Tutoring: Tutors Needed!
Would you like to be a volunteer mentor-tutor who supports Howard County elementary and middle school students? Are you a trustworthy adult who can commit to one school year of service for a student? A-Ok would love to meet you! Find the next A-Ok info session on the A-Ok website.
AOK News: A-Ok Mentoring-Tutoring, Inc. has rebranded and has a name and logo! The new name is AOK Mentoring & Tutoring, with a new tagline for the AOK acronym: All Our Kids.
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Oakland Mills United
Tutors needed! More info HERE.
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