Chesapeake is moving into the most exciting time of the year. There are an enormous amount of things that will be occurring over the last nine weeks of school. Currently we have not received word from the Central Office as to the official last day of school for bother students and teachers. As soon as that has been established Chesapeake will get the information to the community. That being said CHS is moving forth with the plans for AP testing the first two weeks of May, the MSA/HSA assessments the third week of May and the Senior activities the fourth week of May.

I am very pleased to announce that we have had a sixty percent increase in the number of students taking the AP tests over last year. The increase has necessitated that some of the tests be moved off site. We are in the process of confirming with Our Lady of the Chesapeake that use their facility for our larger tests. Thank you very much OLC in advance. Information will be coming home with students by April 23 where all the tests will be administered, the time of the test and if needed parents permission to drive to/from the test site.

May 19 through May 22 will be administration of the MSA/HSA for students need to pass the test to fulfill their graduation requirements. Help sessions are planned after school for these assessments and we would like everyone to take advantage of them. There will be a three hour delayed opening for students that have already met he MSA/HSA requirement. Students who are scheduled for testing will need to be at school at 7:17 a.m. Seniors on partial schedules will need to make arrangements so that they are in attendance for their classes that will meet at a different time those four days. The schedule for the week is published in the newsletter. Please review that carefully.

The Chesapeake High School Report Card from the State of Maryland Department of Education is included in the newsletter. As shared earlier in the year you will see that CHS did not meet AYP in English/Special Education. We have been working hard all year to improve our performance. The greatest help you can give us is to let your students know the seriousness of the assessment and the need for them to perform their best. The scores do appear on students' transcripts and students in the Classes of 2009, 2010, and 2011 must score proficient or better in order to graduate.

Connect ED is alive and well and working for the Chesapeake community. CHS has seen an increase in the number of parents attending school sponsored events that have been announced using the AACPS sponsored phone calling system. We are please that parents have been able to take the time out of busy schedules to obtain valuable information about helping students meet with success. The Connect ED system will be used to provide attendance information daily and if there are errors in the information, please call the school and speak with Mrs. Reigle. She will handle all corrections as needed.

Senior parents, the anticipation of graduation is at the forefront of your thoughts I am sure. Continue to encourage the seniors to maintain the focus on school for the next seven weeks. After May 4 if a senior is involved in an alcohol or drug related incident on school property or at a school sponsored event, they jeopardize their opportunity to participate in the graduation ceremony. On April 21 the seniors will attend an assembly that will remind them of what they need to do to maintain themselves in good standing till the closure of their school year. CHS wants all eligible seniors to be able to participate in the culminating ceremony. This means that they need to be making wise choices with their activities and behaviors. Counselors and administrators have been contacting parents of seniors who are in danger of not graduating. Third making period report cards are distributed on APril 23 and the fourth marking period interims will go out on May 9. Look for these documents so that you are not surprised by a phone call form the school.

As you have read in the paper AACPS is anticipating some significant budget cuts for the school year 2008/2009. Dr. Maxwell has proposed a budget that will help the school system to continue on its journey to greatness. We are waiting to hear from County Executive Leopold in May to see if he will support Dr. Maxwell's request. There will be County Council hearing in May regarding the budget and I hope that the Chesapeake community will attend those meetings to gain the attention of the County Council. We need to impress on them the importance of giving AACPS the necessary funding to operate efficiently, effectively and successfully.

Always remember COUGARS CAN AND WILL.

Sincerely,

Patricia A. Plitt
Principal