October 21, 2020
Hello Hellgate Community!
Welcome to a new week and our last rotation of classes this quarter. Today, our students arrived to periods 5 and 6. We will complete this schedule on November 6, 2020. I want to use this transition to give an update and “thanks” for a very successful COVID school year. We started our year under a number of uncertainties that persist today. We still have swirling conversations about our schedule, athletics, content delivery, and most importantly, student safety.
We will not have answers to many of your questions about the specifics of our schedule for at least another week. Our School Board is in deep conversations right now about what our bell-schedule will look like and how we can best continue to deliver a safe educational experience to everyone. Quarter 1 will end on November 6, 2020. Next week after the board meeting, we should know what the schedule for Quarter 2 will look like. Quarter 2 will begin November 9, 2020 with periods 1 and 2.
Despite all of our collective uncertainty: Nationally, statewide, and locally, we have had a great year so far. Our goal was to prioritize student safety while emphasizing relationships and classroom learning. Our staff has been able to quickly transition to 2-hour class periods, change delivery models, adjust to ever-changing class lists, and implement a host of building-wide cleaning / sanitation protocols. With all of your help and support, we have worked to adapt to our new COVID world and still maintain the fundamentals of what makes Hellgate so amazing.
It has been wonderful to see many of you at our modified extra-curricular events. I have thoroughly enjoyed seeing our students involved in band concerts, virtual classes, Student Government, clubs, volunteer activities, and athletics. There have been many times that have felt just like a high school should, and I value our ability to create these opportunities. When focused on the moment or particular event, I almost forget about COVID --and it is a great reprieve.
I want to extend a huge “thank you” to all of you for working with us and our entire staff during this very unusual time. I know it is not how any of us wished the 2020 school year would go, but it is because of a giant collective effort and partnership that we have been able to provide the very best education experience possible under our altered landscape. It has been a real treat to walk around the building and see our students engaging with our staff on all sorts of things that look very “normal,” and I am grateful for the ability to be a part of it. I will pass along additional specifics as soon as I am able to do so. In the meantime, have a great week and stay safe.
Judson Miller
Principal
As of Wednesday, September 9, 2020 all MCPS meals will be provided free of charge to all students. These meals are also available to all youth in the community under 18 years of age. Meals will be free through the end of the school year!
