Lutherville Lab Report

January 23, 2025

Lutherville Families,

If you can believe it, we are in the second half of the school year! The second marking period closed last Friday and we are in the third quarter. Second MP report cards will be published online on January 29th. We will again survey for families desiring a printed copy.

We marked the halfway point on Friday with a Mid-Year Celebration Assembly. We watched a video montage of highlights from the first half of the year, honored two students from each class who've made great growth with "Leopard Leap" awards, cheered for teachers in silly competitions, and were wow'd by performances from our Dance Clubs. It was a great morning to be together and celebrate the good work that happens every day at Lutherville Lab.

Earlier last week, we had an awesome Lego Night community event! It was highly attended, the kids had a blast, their creativity was on display, and many pizzas were consumed. What a great night for our students! These kind of special events are made possible by the PTA and a group of willing parents to support this kind of project. Our PTA is small, but mighty, and every volunteer and support makes a big difference in making these kind of things possible. If you're willing to be on call to help make an event like this possible, please email LuthervilleLabPTA@gmail.com to let the PTA know!

This week, we celebrate the accomplishment of 3rd graders Joseph H, Parker J-B, Dot L, and Shreyansha P. for winning our in-house Safe Racer competition! They will go on to represent Lutherville Lab in the BCPS-wide competition!

Finally, as I think everyone is aware -- there is some winter weather on the way. Today, learning materials for students in grade K-2 and fully charged Chromebooks for students in grades 3-5, were sent home with students. Please put these materials in a safe space and do not allow children to use the Chromebooks, unless we are closed through Thursday! Our chargers are affixed within charging carts, so they were NOT sent home.

As a reminder, BCPS will send system-wide messages about school closures and delayed openings, which will also be posted to BCPS social media accounts. Virtual learning will only occur once three full days of closure have occurred. So far this school year, we have not had a full day of closure. So, virtual learning will not occur unless we are closed Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and then buildings were *again* closed Thursday, we would have virtual learning on Thursday.

When we re-open, we will be in a testing window for the Star Assessment, and we will need all our devices back immediately. So, again, please put it somewhere safe and leave it there, unused, until Thursday or our return.

We hope everyone is able to navigate the storm safely and the children have some fun and make some memories of playing in the snow.

In partnership,

-Mr. McComb

Intermediate Dance Club rocked out for the schoolmates lats Friday morning!

January 29 -- MP2 Report Cards Published in FOCUS

February 3 -- 100th Day of School (if no closures)

February 16 -- School Closed

February 17 -- School Closed

February 20 -- 1:05 dismissal

February 25 -- Art Show

I am thrilled to share that Baltimore County Public Schools has again selected Lutherville Laboratory as a site for the Principal Internship Program. This important initiative identifies highly effective administrators seeking to become principals and provides professional development and internship experience to prepare them to lead one of Baltimore County’s extraordinary schools. The program provides the opportunity for host schools to learn and benefit from talented leaders with unique skills and experiences from across Baltimore County.

Lutherville Lab has been selected as an internship site for one of the county’s emerging leaders in this program. Tracy Hanley will join our school on Monday, February 2, 2026, and serve as a Principal Intern for one month. During this experience, Mrs. Hanley will lead targeted initiatives aligned to our mission and vision. With the support of our faculty and staff, Mrs. Hanley will also lead the daily operations of the school from Wednesday, February 18th until the conclusion of the internship on Monday, March 2nd.

Mrs. Hanley joins us from Carroll Manor Elementary School where she has served as an assistant principal for the last 4 years. Prior to that, Mrs. Hanley has served in diverse leadership roles over the course of 20 years of experience with Baltimore County Public Schools. A graduate of York College, she first entered the field of education as a high school English teacher at Loch Raven High School and continues to support students, teachers, and communities in realizing their greatest potential.

The opportunity to learn from and share the work that we engage in as a school and community is a testament to the hard work of our students, faculty, and staff. We are excited to welcome Mrs. Hanley to our school and look forward to Mrs. Hanley leading us during the internship experience.

Mr. Bruns and Mrs. Feltman reprised their mystery egg game, where 4 of the 12 were NOT hardboiled and they found out...the hard way.

We are so excited to announce the 2026 Lutherville Lab art show, which will be right at home in our school! This will allow families to not only see the art selected for the show, but the wealth of beautiful art on display throughout our building. If you haven't been in for a while - our school is bursting with beautiful color and is a sight to behold!

There will be opportunities to support with mounting art pieces and Mrs. Powell and Mrs. Hopkins would love some volunteers. More information to come on signing up for that opportunity soon!

The Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) has identified several resources for families:

· Parents/guardians can identify a “standby guardian” to care for their child if they are detained or deported, by completing this Maryland Judiciary form and providing a copy to schools, health care providers, and family members.

Families trying to locate someone who has already been detained, may use the

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainee locator.

· Legal assistance is available from a variety of sources, including immigration lawyers in private practice, accredited representatives (non-attorneys who assist individuals in immigration proceedings), and legal-aid organizations:

· The People’s Law Library of Maryland Immigration Advocates Network

· Immigration Advocates Network

· Several immigration organizations have provided guidance related to preparing for and/or responding to immigration action.

· Family Preparedness Plans – Michigan Immigration Rights Center

· ACLU

· Immigrant Resource Center

USAHello

At our assembly, we modeled a staff practice of "passing the Lab Coat" when Mrs. Tunison recognized Mrs. Nicholson's contributions to our 5th grade. We took the moment to emphasize the importance or seeing and recognizing the contributions of others. Each classroom at Lutherville Lab has a recognition system so that our students can feel seen for their contributions as well.

January Update on School Comparisons

Our school Instructional Leadership Team recently had an annual check-in with the Director of School Performance. In that meeting we learned that there is a ranking for all 1448 schools in Maryland showing how each school performed relative to their comparison school group. In that ranking, Lutherville Lab ranked #37 in the state of Maryland, our of 1448 schools. And 18 of the schools ahead of us have a selective admissions process, such as Eastern Tech and Carver Center, in BCPS.

On this metric (outcomes relative to similar schools), Lutherville Lab is performing in the 97th% of schools in the state of Maryland. WAY TO GO LEOPARDS!!

In December, the Maryland State Department of Education updated their "Similar Schools" comparisons, which shows how a school, in this case Lutherville Lab, compares to schools with similar student characteristics: grade space, race/ethnicity, economic disadvantage, multilingual learners, and students with disabilities.

This is another lens onto the excellent work that the teachers and staff are doing with students at Lutherville, in partnership with our community. We hope that you, too, take great pride in the work we are doing together!

Virtual Learning Plans

With inclement weather expected over the weekend, we want to remind that BCPS will transition to Virtual Learning after 3 days of school closure. To date, we have not had any school closure days.

BCPS Black History Month Writing Contest

In celebration of Black History Month, the Office of English Language Arts and the Office of Social Studies are co-sponsoring a writing contest for all students in Grades K-12. A winner will be selected in each of the following grade level bands: grades K-2, grades 3-5, grades 6-8, and grades 9-12. Winning students will be recognized at the Black Excellence Program on Saturday, February 28th at Loch Raven High School. Prizes for winners are generously provided by The Education Foundation of BCPS.

Student writers are invited to respond to the following prompt:

2026 marks one hundred years of national Black History commemorations! When Dr. Carter G. Woodson planned the first official observance of Black history, he could hardly have anticipated the imprint he would leave on the world. In recognition of 100 years of celebrating Black history, students of BCPS are invited to reflect on the power of remembrance and the importance of telling accurate and inclusive histories of African Americans. Choose an African American activist, artist, athlete, author, musician, scientist, or other public figure to spotlight. In what ways does highlighting their story contribute to an accurate and inclusive history? What part(s) of their story has left an imprint on you, and how will this shape your future contributions to your community?

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Black_History_Month_Writing_Contest_2026.docx.pdf

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On January 13th, Dr. Rogers presented the FY2027 proposed budget to the Board of Education. The presentation video is available on Board Docs. The slides from the presentation are below. The presentation outlines numerous gains in student outcomes the system has made over the past two years, previous cuts made in reducing central office positions, and in order to meet the requirement of a balanced budget proposal, there are proposed cost savings outlined below.

For more information, BCPS has created this Budget 101 website, which provides pertinent information.

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FY27 Superintendent's Budget Presentation Board-Rev.pdf

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Save the Dates!

Spirit Night - Our first Spirit Night of the year will be THIS Monday, January 26, 2026 at Honeygrow (At York Rd. and Ridgely Rd.) during all open hours. Whether the grocery store shelves are bare or you just want an excuse not to cook on a Monday night, Honeygrow is donating 20%! Pick up orders made online using the promo code GIVE143 or in store mentioning Lutherville Lab PTA is the only way for us to get credit for your participation. This event is happening Sun or Snow Day.

Young Entrepreneurs - Workshops are Thursday, January 29, 2026 (also this week) and Thursday, February 26, 2026 from 4pm - 5:30pm. This week's activities include making individual/team plans for the Community Entrepreneur Fair, practicing making change while playing Monopoly Jr., and more. This is open to all LL students in any grade. Please email DQuinn16@gmail.com with any questions.

Registration is now open for student tables at the Lutherville Community Entrepreneur Fair which will be held on Sunday, March 22, 2026 1-4pm. If your student would like to have a table at the event, please e-mail their name(s), homeroom teacher(s), and product to LuthervilleLabPTA@gmail.com. If sharing a table with other friends, please mention the names of their teammates. Tables are free to LL Students.

Book Fair - Book Fair runs the first week of February (2/2-2/6). Students can shop the Book Fair during their Library period or after school from 5-7pm on Tuesday (2/3) and Thursday (2/5). Every student will select a free book to keep from the amazing selection procured during our Book Drive. Please consider signing up to help students find something they will love to read. https://www.signupgenius.com/go/8050C48ADAB2AA3FF2-61577462-book#/

Heart for Hopkins - Friday, February 20, 2026. Join us for a night of fun, while generating funds to support children receiving care at Johns Hopkins Hospital. More details coming soon!

Roarin' Run! - Our largest fundraiser of the Spring, the Roarin' Run is scheduled to take place on Friday, May 8, 2026 (with a Rain Date of 5/15). If you are able to join the planning team to help make this event a success, please let us know! We plan to meet March 7th, April 19th, and then need help at the race. Please email christinemiller923@gmail.comif you are able to help!

Awesome events like Lego Night happen because parents/guardians like you volunteer to lead or support. Thank you to this great team who made Lego Night happen!

Thank yous!

LEGO Night- Thank you for helping to make our first LEGO night an overwhelming success! The cafeteria was filled with families who created their own beautiful creations and built bonds with other families in our special school community. Thank you to Bricks and Minfigs (Cockeysville) and to Annaarsh Designs (Towson) for their donations.

Book Drive- We've reached our goal!!! (and are no longer accepting donations) Thank you to everyone who donated books to our Book Drive! It has been a huge success. Every student will be able to select a free book of their choice from the Book Drive donations during the Book Fair. You rock, Leopards!