Viking Voice Parent Edition

Welcome back to Lansdowne High School! We are excited to start a new school year full of learning, growth, and teamwork where we are working together to Ignite Brilliance, Expect Excellence and Celebrate Greatness.

Last year, we became a Community School. That means we are working with more organizations and people in our area to help students, families, and the whole community. You might see new events, more help when you need it, and chances to share your ideas. Be on the lookout for messages from Dr. Carey, our Community School Facilitator (CSF), who is helping lead this important work.

We continue to focus on creating supportive classrooms where all students can thrive and receive high-quality instruction. Every classroom will reflect high expectations for all students, aligned with our belief that diversity enriches learning and every student has unique potential. You will see this commitment to igniting brilliance, expecting excellence and celebrating greatness in

• our changes to our procedures for submitting missing work,
• increased opportunities for academic intervention and enrichment, and
• improved outreach efforts to partner with parents with the goal of improving academic outcomes for our students.

We want to hear from you. Please share your questions, ideas, or concerns. When we work together, our school becomes stronger for everyone.

Thank you for being part of our school community. It continues to be an honor to be the principal of Lansdowne High School and getting to know your child and the community. I look forward to the continued opportunities for us to work together in supporting our students throughout the year.

With gratitude,

Allison Seymour

Principal

#DoGreatBeGreat #VictoriousVikings

Follow LHS on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter @LansdowneViking

Friday, August 8th: Schedules available in FOCUS

Wednesday, August 13th: Fall Athletics Begins

Wednesday, August 13th: Class of 2029 Parent Meeting, 6 PM, Auditorium (Parents Only, please)

Thursday, August 21st: Early Entry Day for Class of 2029! 7:30 AM - 11:15 AM

• Transportation and Lunch will be provided.

Monday, August 25th: First Day of School for All Students
Monday, September 1st: NO SCHOOL for Students and Staff

Thursday, September 4th: Back to School Night and Resource Fair, 5:30 – 8:00 PM

• We will begin in the Auditorium at 5:45 PM with Principal’s Message

September 15th and 16th: Underclassmen Pictures at LHS

Tuesday, September 16th:

• Shared Decision-Making Team, 5:30 PM, Library
• Athletics Boosters Meeting, 7:30 PM, Shop 6

Here is our CORRECTED Refrigerator Calendar (sorry): Yearlong Refrigerator Calendar for 2025-2026

Log into the Parent Focus Portal. If you need directions on creating an account, the directions are below. Click this link for directions to access your students schedule, attendance, and report card.

Schedule changes will not be made to change periods, lunches, or teachers. Schedule changes will only be considered for the following reasons:

• Omission of a course required for graduation
• Incorrect level of a course
• Placement in a course you have already passed
• Participating in an internship program and needed release time
• Enrolling in a college course and needing to adjust schedule. Student must provide copy of college schedule.

To make a schedule change request before school starts:

• Open house on August 11 - 14 from 10 AM - 1 PM for 10-12th graders. First come, first serve.

To make a schedule change request after school starts:

• Students will receive a schedule change request form in homeroom on the first two days of school. Submit the form and their school counselor will call the student down to address the schedule change. Students will only be able to request a change for the above mentioned reasons.

Parents are now able to log in to Focus, BCPS’ Student Information System, and Schoology, BCPS Learning Management System. Parents will need to create a parent account with the same e-mail address they provided to their school to sign up. Parents must be marked in Focus as having educational access to gain access to their student’s information. It will take up to 30 minutes to gain access to Focus and up to 48 hours to access Schoology. There is a link within Focus that will take parents directly to Schoology. If a parent clicks the Schoology link before the connection is established, the parent will receive an error message. Parents can contact their child’s school to resolve any issues with this process.

Here are the directions to create a parent account for access to student grades. The email addressed used to set up the account MUST match what is on file with the school. If you need to make a change to your email, please reach out to our enrollment clerk, Ms. Jiggetts at (jjiggetts2@bcps.org).

If you are still having difficulties after confirming your email addresses match, please contact the BCPS help desk at (443) 809-4672 or by visiting https://www.bcps.org/tech_support.

Directions in Spanish

Thank you for your continued support in sending your student to school every day. As a result of your partnership, our average daily attendance rate last year was 88.62%, an improvement from our previous year's rate of 86%. We also saw a decrease in the number of students missing 18 or more days of school (chronically absent) by 5%.

Lateness to school has been an ongoing concern at LHS. Starting this year, students will be required to use their Student ID to sign into school when they are late (not in class at 7:30 AM) to school.

• Students who had been in the building before 7:30 AM but didn't make it to class by the late bell will be required to report to the library to sign in for the day.
• Students who are dropped off by caregivers or arriving late by foot will be required to sign in the main lobby or main office.

Caregivers with a FOCUS account will receive an email notifying them of the time that their child arrived at school.

Chronic absences and lateness will be addressed by the Dean of Students and Assistant Principals.

Breakfast will continue to be available to students each morning.

Please share this cell phone policy with your student. We will share daily during the first month of school.

Students are expected to have their phones OFF and AWAY during instruction.

• In book bags or purses is acceptable.
• Students may also put their phone in a pouch that will be behind their teacher's desk.
• Students may put their phone in a red box that they can keep on their desk for the duration of class.

If a student is caught using a cell phone during class without express teacher permission, the following consequences will apply:

• First Infraction: A verbal warning will be issued by the classroom teacher that includes a review of the cell phone policy for LHS. A message will be sent home by the teacher.

• Second Infraction: A written reminder of the cell phone policy will be issued by the classroom teacher that includes a review of the cell phone policy for LHS. A message will be sent home by the teacher.

• Third Infraction: A safety assistant will be called to the room to bring the student and their phone to the Dean of Students. The phone will be confiscated by the Dean for the remainder of the school day. A phone call home to the parent will be made.

• Beyond the 3rd Infraction: Teacher will submit a referral to the office. This will be considered insubordination. The phone will be confiscated and securely locked up in the main office until a parent can pick it up. Repeated offenses after the 4th one will be consequenced by Friday School, Saturday School, Assignment to the Reflection and Refocus Room, and/or out of school suspension.

Full LHS Policy can be found here

This year, students and staff will engage in at least one day per instructional unit of tech-free lessons. The lessons will occur on different days, so our students need to be prepared each day for class with the right materials.

With a technology free lesson comes the need for a binder, paper and something to write with. We are asking students to come prepared daily with the following school supplies, including their charged devices.

If you need assistance in securing school supplies for your LHS student, please reach out to our Community School Facilitator, Dr. Joy Carey (jcarey2@bcps.org).

We are thankful for the members of our student support team at LHS. Please take note of their contact information and do not hesitate to reach out at any time with concerns or questions.

School Counselors - (443) 809-1417

• Joshua Grubka, Chair, AVID and BARR (jgrubka@bcps.org)
• Megan Blue, Last Names A - D (mblue2@bcps.org)
• Jennifer Stefanoski, Last Names E - K (jstefanoski@bcps.org)
• Daniel Bramer, Last Names L - P (dbramer@bcps.org)
• Julie Cabaniss, Last Names Q - Z (jcabaniss@bcps.org)

School Social Worker - (443) 809-1415

• Angela Donn (adonn@bcps.org)
• Jonathan Rosenblum (jrosenblum@bcps.org), Spanish Speaking

School Psychologist - (443) 809-1415

• Krystal Neal (kneal2@bcps.org)

Pupil Personnel Worker -

• Venisha Simmons (vsimmons@bcps.org), (443) 809-6869
• Mark Anelli (manelli@bcps.org), 443-809-6754, Supporting our Multilingual Families

School Nurse - (443) 809-1477

• Ruby Godbolt (rgodbolt@bcps.org)

LHS Wellness Center - (443) 809-4726

• Christina Halley (challey@bcps.org)

We will continue our enrichment program called SUCCESS Time. Overall, most students were appreciative of this program and took advantage of the opportunities it provided to them.

What is SUCCESS Time? It is a period of time that we will focus on topics such as social-awareness, responsible decision making, relationship skills, self-management, and self-awareness. Students will also have time to check their current grades, develop a plan of action and then communicate what they need in terms of support to an accountability partner.

When does SUCCESS Time happen? Every day at 7:30 AM. The room assignment is listed as "Enrichment" on your child's schedule.

• Monday Morning Meetings
• Tuesdays/Thursdays - Academic Focus
• Wellness Wednesday - SEL Lessons
• Future Friday - Career Lessons, Activities and Opportunities

What are our goals? To improve attendance to school, to improve grades, and to strengthen our community and sense of belonging at LHS

Welcome to the 2025-26 school year! We are excited to embark on our second year as a Baltimore County Community School and look forward to bringing more opportunities and resources to our students, families, and neighbors. As the Community School Facilitator, it is my job to identify the needs and find ways to address them with the help of our growing number of community partners.

Last year, more than 700 people responded to our Needs Assessment Survey and participated in listening sessions. This feedback identified areas of focus for this year including the need for: academic support in math and reading, mentoring, college and career readiness opportunities, and help finding and keeping jobs. To that end, many of the new student programs and resources will connect to those areas.

Here are some things to look forward to:

🗓️Monthly parent meetings - These meetings will take place each month and highlight different areas of interest based on parent feedback. Please be sure to respond to the parent survey at Back to School Night so we can prioritize your requests for resources and information.

👪Mentoring programs for students - Select students will be invited to participate in new programming aimed at creating leadership skills, enhancing problem solving approaches, and building capacity for conflict resolution.

🍏Fresh produce at our bi-monthly food pantry distribution dates - One of the best ways to stay healthy is to eat healthy foods. As part of our focus on improving attendance and reducing chronic absenteeism, we are partnering with Zahradka Family Farms in Essex to provide fresh produce to families who visit our food pantry.

📢Job Fairs - LHS will host a Futures Fair for students in October, as well as a Community Job Fair in conjunction with our feeder pattern schools in April. Thanks to our growing number of partners, we are able to pull these resources together to support the community.

We look forward to seeing you throughout the year and encourage you to reach out if we can help. If you would like to partner with us in making Lansdowne even better for our students and families, feel free to contact me: Dr. Joy Carey jcarey2@bcps.org or 443-809-2476.

More information about the Wellness Center can be found by clicking here.

Registration Forms (English and Spanish) can be found here: Registration Forms

Maryland State Department of Education has implemented it's Blueprint for Maryland's Future and there is some very important information that our students and their caregivers must be aware of.

College and Career Readiness begins BEFORE 9th grade! That's right, but we are still working to provide students with the supports they need to earn the designation of being college and career ready by the end of Grade 10. It is very simple for students to earn this designation. If your child follows these steps, they are well on their way:

1. Show up to school, on time, every day when they are well enough to come to school.
2. Attend every class, every day when they are in the building.
3. Come prepared with their device and learning tools.
4. Complete and submit all schoolwork in a timely manner.
5. Take every test - in the classroom and state tests - seriously. They most definitely matter.
6. Work hard to earn Cs or better in all classes. "I only need a D" mentality is extremely harmful.
7. Read, read, read.

The benefits of having the designation of being college and career ready at the end of grade 10 are many. A few include access to FREE courses at the Community College of Baltimore County, access to FREE Advanced Placement tests, and reimbursement of workforce development licensure fees.

More information will be shared with families throughout the year.

AVID’s Mission is to close the opportunity gap by preparing all students for college readiness and success in a global society.

AVID in BCPS is a schoolwide system in K-12 schools that supports all students across the campus with college and career ready skills.

AVID middle and high schools offer an AVID elective class for students in the academic middle with aspirations of completing an early college experience (AP/IB/dual enrollment courses) during high school in preparation for matriculation. For one period a day, students receive the additional academic, social, and emotional support that will help them succeed in their school’s most rigorous courses.

It is not too late to enroll your child in AVID. There are seats open in classes across all 4 grade levels. Email Ms. Monica Jett (mjett@bcps.org) and Mrs. Tiffany Saylor (tsaylor@bcps.org) to learn more.

CCBC Catonsville Upward Bound Program is an intensive enrichment program that enhances the academic and personal growth of students. We serve 9th - 11th grade Lansdowne High School students.

• We provide FREE tutoring via google meet on all core subjects Monday-Friday after school or 24/7 via tutor.com
• FREE college tours (virtual, day, and overnight)
• FREE academic and enhancement two Saturdays a month at CCBC Catonsville
• We give stipends for participation

For more information, please contact us at catonsvilleupwardbound@ccbcmd.edu or call us at 443-682-1187.

BCPS Tuition Free Program is an early college access program for all BCPS students, offered by the Community College of Baltimore County and Baltimore County Public Schools.

About the program

• Eligibility: Students must be enrolled in a BCPS high school.
• Cost: Students only pay for supplies. Tuition, fees, and books are covered.
• Benefits:
  • Get a jump start on your college education while saving money and time.
  • Be better prepared for college academics and college life.
  • Earn credits toward your CCBC associate's degree, a continuing education certificate or credential, or transfer to another college of your choice.

Are you looking for plans after high school? How about trade school, community college, or a 4-year college! UMBC’s Educational Talent Search Program (ETS) is for you! We are a FREE college access program designed to support students in 6th-12th grade explore their post high school options. Some FREE activities include college campus visits, cultural field trips to museums and plays, as well as trips to Six Flags and Dave and Buster’s. We also offer individual, small, and large group check-ins and workshops on career/college readiness topics.

Pick up an application from the School Counseling office.

Questions? talentsearch@umbc.edu or 410-455-2901

Did you know that LHS has developed a Positive Behavior Plan to help guide us with our work around supporting the social-emotional needs of our students? You can find the full plan on our school website.

There are three components to our work that we are focusing on monthly.

1. Social Emotional Learning Skills

• CASEL is the organization that we have begun to use as a framework to guide our work. Monthly our students are engaging in classroom lessons that focus on one or more of the topics in the framework: Self-awareness, self-management, responsible decision making, relationship skills and social awareness.

2. BCPS Mind Over Matters Campaign

• Mind Over Matters is an ongoing movement to raise awareness about mental health and promote wellness for students and staff in Baltimore County Public Schools. Each month there is a different theme that we focus on in a variety of ways. More information about the Minds Over Matters campaign can be found here.
  

3. Celebration and Acknowlegement of Virtues

• Why virtues? Virtues are universal and recognized by all cultures as basic qualities of well-being. When we practice virtues and build our “character muscle,” we attract what may have been missing in our life such as fulfilling relationships and achievement of meaningful goals.

We know that there is more work to be done to support our students emotional health and our team is committed to developing and offering more opportunities to help our students grow in these ways. Besides our student support team of school counselors, social worker, school psychologist and social-emotional learning teachers, we have partnered with Villa Maria and are currently in the process of partnering with other community-based providers to support our students and families. Should your student or family be in need of additional supports, please call our school counseling office at 443-809-1417.

Students are required to earn 75 hours of service learning in order to graduate. Many of these hours are infused in the courses students take, and are often linked to successful completion of final exams in middle school, as well as grades 9 and 10.

Members of the Class of 2026:

All hours (75) completed AND paperwork submitted by January 16, 2026. Students will not be able to participate in the end of year Senior Events (including Prom) until SSLH requirements are satisfied.

Members of the Class of 2027:

50 hours completed AND paperwork submitted by January 16, 2026 in order to attend Junior Prom.

Opportunities for service learning are shared regularly on the morning announcements. Students may speak with Ms. Cabaniss (School Counseling Office) about service learning opportunities, to turn in forms or to pick up forms to document hours.

https://www.bcps.org/cos/communications/FACE/student_service_learning

To be eligible to play fall sports, students MUST HAVE maintained at 2.0 unweighted GPA at the end of the 4th marking period and had no more than one failing grade.

Incoming 9th graders (Class of 2029) are all eligible to participate in Fall Sports regardless of middle school grades.

Registration paperwork MUST be submitted through FOCUS. Call Coach Murphy if you need assistance with submitting your paperwork.

If you have questions, please reach out to Coach Murphy, Athletic Director, via email smurphy4@bcps.org or at (443) 809-1424.

We are very thankful for those members of our school community who have joined our PTSA. We encourage you to join them because we know many hands make light work.

PTSA of Lansdowne High School

Please reach out to our Athletic Director, Shaun Murphy (smurphy@bcps.org) for more information about Boosters.

Email: ashinners@bcps.org
Website: lansdownehs.bcps.org
Location: 3800 Hollins Ferry Road, Lansdowne, MD, USA
Phone: (443) 809-1415
Facebook: facebook.com/lansdowneviking
Twitter: @lansdowneviking