Monday Message
November 2, 2015
Weekly Newsletter
General Notes/Reminders
Ms. Vickie Plitt, GBHS Principal
Mr. Brian Love, BMAH Administrator
Mr. Kevin Garner, STEM Department Chair
Ms. Derronda Williams, Guidance
Sophomore Job Shadow –
Thursday, November 19, 2015
Thursday morning the 19th, we will be leaving at
8:00 sharp for the Koshland Science Museum and
the National Museum of Health and Medicine.
 BRING A LUNCH!
 Student should wear black
pants/skirts/BMAH shirt and black shoes

We need four parent volunteers !
Parent/Student Portal for
Information
A Blackboard Information site has been created for
BMAH students and parents. All information related to
the program will be uploaded to this site. There is a link
to the main GBHS blackboard site for your convenience.
Parents/Students
Goto: https://blackboard.aacps.org
Login: bmah
Password: gophers
New BMAH Shirts have arrived!
They are being distributed!
IVY Insight
Have you thought about going to an IVY League School?
Check out this resource!
https://www.admitsee.com/college-admissions/getaccepted-to-harvard-and-stanford
DuPont Challenge
Out-of This World Awards for Students and Teachers!
More than $100,000 in awards are given out to winning
students and their sponsoring teachers, including an
expenses-paid VIP trip to Orlando, Florida.
Important Dates:
November 15, 2015 – Entry Period Begins
January 31, 2016 – Deadline for Submitting Essays
April 15, 2016 – Winners Announced
http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render?ca=17d
847b2-0bc2-4b9a-a195-ce40b9fd0936&c=935e4560c455-11e3-9849-d4ae528eb986&ch=952f0dc0-c45511e3-99f9-d4ae528eb986
Samsung Solve for Tomorrow
Contest
A STEM-based education competition in which schools
have a chance to win a share of $2 million in
technology and prizes!
The challenge is for teachers and students to use STEM
creativity and ingenuity to solve a problem within their
community. Prizes will be awarded at each stage of the
competition; from the 255 State Finalists to the final five
National Winners.
To enter, just answer a few short questions on our
website: www.Samsung.com/Solve
In addition to the above mentioned, we will be
awarding five teachers in every state including D.C.,
two Galaxy tablets. There will also beone winner from
each state that will receive a $20,000 technology
package for their school.
Fifteen National Finalists will receive a trip to attend
our pitch event, where they will present their video
to a panel of judges and will win a minimum of
$40,000 in technology. Finally, the five National
Winners will also be invited to attend a celebratory
event in Washington D.C. in addition to winning
$120,000 technology package for their school.
After-school Buses – Passes are
REQUIRED to get on the Bus.
Get them from the teacher!
Buses for students staying for after-school support or
classes has begun. Buses leave GBHS at 3:45.
Bus 14 – Driver (Bobbie)
South Part of County
Stops: Broadneck Library, Hillsmere Library, Crofton
Middle School,& Annapolis Library on Riva Road.
Bus 219 – Driver (Teresa)
Takes all other students to NCHS first to pick up STEM
students or transfer buses.
Stops: West County Library, Meade Middle School,
Maryland City Elementary School.
Students from 219 may transfer to the following buses:
Bus 299 – Driver (Melinda)
Stops: Linthicum Library, Brooklyn Park Library, and
Brooklyn Park Middle School.
Bus 129 – Driver (Terri)
Stops: Corkran Middle School, North County Library,
Pasadena Library across from Northeast HS
PSAT/SAT Prep will meet in room M213 – Mrs.
Stavely
Band/Orchestra will meet in the music area to the left
of the auditorium.
Requirements for BMAH
Please remember that you are required to do (2) National
Challenges within the four years of the program. Take
advantage of the Grants/Challenges that are posted
regularly in the newsletter and on the Information Portal.
Examples: National History Day, DuPont Challenge, et
cetera
Seniors will have the opportunity to complete (1) of
the challenges within the Capstone class.
PSAT/SAT Myth
Students in the 11th grade are being told that if they sit for
the SAT then the PSAT is invalid. This is not
true. There are 3 criteria for qualifying for National
Merit. GBHS has spoken with the college board and it
was reaffirmed that students may take the SAT as many
times as they like and this does not affect their national
merit standing. Please let all students know the
importance of the PSAT and the SAT.
National Merit Scholarship
Qualifications
If you’re a high school junior or the parent of a high
school junior, it’s a good idea to familiarize yourself with
the National Merit Scholarship qualifications, as most
juniors will take the PSAT/NMSQT (National Merit
Scholarship Qualifying Test) in October of their junior
year.
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After-school Courses
We will be offering a PSAT/SAT Prep and
Band/Orchestra courses after school on Tuesdays and
Thursdays starting Tuesday, September 15, 2015. If you
are interested in enrolling in these classes, please
complete the attached form and return to me ASAP.
mailto://ksgarner@aacps.org
Presently, we will NOT be offering Fitness for Life this
semester.

In order to be eligible for the National Merit
Scholarship Program, a student must: 1) take the
PSAT/NMSQT during his or her 3rd year (junior
year) of high school 2) be in high school and plan
to enroll in college full time by the fall after his or
her high school graduation and 3) be a U.S.
citizen or a permanent U.S. resident with the
intention of becoming a U.S. citizen. If a student
meets these requirements, he or she will
automatically be eligible to participate in the
National Merit Scholarship Program (NMSP).
Of the about 1.5 million juniors who take the
PSAT/NMSQT each year, approximately 50,000
juniors with the highest PSAT/NMSQT Selection
Index scores (or total PSAT scores) who meet
the eligibility requirements described above
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qualify for NMSP recognition. That is, roughly
the top 3% of 11th grade testers will
qualify. Note that the Selection Index qualifying
scores vary from year to year and state to state,
as students are selected for NMSP recognition
from each of the 50 U.S. states and the District
of Columbia. During the April following the
PSAT/NMSQT administration, these 50,000
students are invited to select two colleges to
which the National Merit Scholarship Corporation
(NMSC) will provide a reference.
During the September following the
PSAT/NMSQT administration, approximately 2/3
of those 50,000 students will receive Letters of
Commendation recognizing their academic
abilities and potential. Commended students are
not eligible for National Merit scholarships. The
remaining 1/3 of the 50,000 students qualify as
National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists. For the
Class of 2015, in order to qualify as a
Semifinalist, students had to have earned
a PSAT/NMSQT Selection Index score of at least
201 to 222 (240 is the highest possible
PSAT/NMSQT score), depending on the state in
which the student lives. To view a list of the
qualifying scores by state for the class of 2015,
visit our National Merit Scores page.
Once a student qualifies as a Semifinalist, he or
she must complete the National Merit
Scholarship Application and submit it to the
NMSC in order to move on to the next round of
qualifications (Finalist) and to be considered for a
National Merit Scholarship. Additionally, if he or
she has not yet taken the SAT and had those
scores reported to the NMSC, he or she must do
so in October, November, or December of his or
her senior year.
During the February of senior year, NMSC will
notify those Semifinalists who have qualified as
Finalists. Of the roughly 16,000 students who
qualify as Semifinalists, about 15,000 of them will
qualify as Finalists. Of those 15,000 Finalists,
approximately 8,200 of them will be selected for
Merit Scholarships, which can be a National
Merit Scholarship, a Corporate-Sponsored Merit
Scholarship, or a College-Sponsored Merit
Scholarship. Scholarships are awarded based
on skills, abilities, and accomplishments as
exhibited through a student’s application
materials.
Please be sure to
check the calendar regularly.
New additions to be added
weekly.
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
 BMAH – Sophomore Job Shadow - New
Thursday, November 19
National Museum of Health and Medicine
8:00 A.M. – 1:30 P.M.
All Sophomores – YOU NEED TO BRING A LUNCH
½ of the students will go to the Koshland Museum
 BMAH – Sophomore Job Shadow - New
Thursday, November 19
Koshland Science Museum
8:00 A.M. – 1:30 P.M.
All Sophomores – YOU NEED TO BRING A LUNCH
½ of the students will go to the National Museum of Health and
Medicine
 BMAH – Freshman – Medical Rounds
Tuesday, December 8 – New Date
Anne Arundel Medical Center
8:30 A.M. – 1:45 P.M.
All Freshman – We need chaperones!
 BMAH – Sophomore Job Shadow - New
Thursday, December 10
National Museum of Health and Medicine
8:00 A.M. – 1:30 P.M.
All Sophomores – YOU NEED TO BRING A LUNCH
½ of the students will go to the Koshland Museum
 BMAH – Sophomore Job Shadow - New
Thursday, December 10
Koshland Science Museum
8:00 A.M. – 1:30 P.M.
All Sophomores – YOU NEED TO BRING A LUNCH
½ of the students will go to the National Museum of Health and
Medicine
 BMAH – Senior Retreat
Monday, May 13, 2015
TBD
BMAH Pathways
(Log into Blackboard)
Aging and Wellness – Mrs. Speach, Lead Teacher
PLTW Bioengineering – Mr. Shawn Huerbin, Lead
Teacher
PLTW Bioscience – Mrs. Angela Quade, Lead Teacher
Public and International Health – Ms. Jessica White,
Lead Teacher
Microsoft Office 365
If you are currently an
AACPS Student you can
receive Microsoft Office 365
free.
Office 365 for Education
includes Office 365 ProPlus,
which allows students and
employees to install the
latest version of Office on up to five PC or Mac
computers* and on other mobile devices, including
Windows tablets and the iPad.
*Outlook, Access, and Publisher are available on PCs
only
To get started downloading your free version of Office,
follow the steps below:
1. Go to https://portal.office.com/OLS/MySoftware.aspx
2. On the sign in screen, login with your AACPS Network
Username/Password
For Students, your username is your 6-digit
student ID number
Include @aacps.org as part of your username
Example: 123456@aacps.org
Senior Internships
We are approaching a critical time in the BMAH
internship program. Completion of all of the requirements
of the internship is MANDATORY to receive the BMAH
endorsement on your diploma. The internship and ALL of
its components should be completed by the end of the
first semester.
Please see below for the list of what is needed.
Internship Requirements
• 135 hours in an approved internship site
• Daily activity logs
• Seven completed reflection questions
• Final project/product
• Final summary
The internship portal has a new look and web address.
The new address for the portal is
http://aacpsstudentinternships.org You will be asked to
update your profile the first time you log in. The
Managing Your Internship document will help you
navigate the new portal
Jill McKay
Internship Facilitator
BioMedical and Allied Health Magnet
443-679-6207
jmckay@aacps.org
Anne Arundel County Public Schools
This is on BMAH BlackBoard Information Portal
Think out of the box. Move into
the 21st century…
Ask your teacher if you can use Prezi, Wordle, Glogster,
videos, NearPod, et cetera to present projects or
classroom assignments.
BMAH Contact Information
BMAH Administrator and Principal Designee
Mr. Love
Contact: blove@aacps.org
410-761-8950
Guidance for BMAH
Ms. Williams
Contact: djwilliams@aacps.org
410-761-8950
BMAH Coordinator/STEM Department Chair
Mr. Garner
Contact: ksgarner@aacps.org
410-761-8950
Freshman Mentor
Ms. Payne
Medical Rounds I
Biology
Astronomy
Contact: spayne1@aacps.org
410-761-8950
Sophomore Mentor
Ms. Bol
Medical Rounds II
Biology
AP Biology
Contact: vbol@aacps.org
410-761-8950
Pathways
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Mrs. Speach
BMAH Aging & Wellness I, II
AP Lang
Film & Writing
BMAH Capstone – Seniors
BMAH Student Success
BMAH Student Advisory
Contact: aspeach@aacps.org
410-761-8950
Aging & Wellness is NOT Just about “old” people or Nursing Homes
Often when young people here “aging” they have a stereotypical view that is quite narrow in scope about all the diverse
facets of the aging population.
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Mr. Huerbin
Tech Design II
Principles of Engineering
Biotechnical Engineering
Engineering Design
Contact: shuerbin@aacps.org
410-761-8950
BioEngineering – PLTW Project Lead The Way is the nation's leading provider of science, technology,
engineering, and math (STEM) programs. Through world-class K-12 curriculum, high-quality teacher professional
development, and outstanding partnerships, PLTW is helping students develop the skills needed to succeed in the
global economy. Nationally Accredited Pre-Engineering Program
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Mr. Garner
BMAH Coordinator/STEM Department Chair
Contact: ksgarner@aacps.org
410-761-8950
BioInformatics
BMAH Health Information Systems
BMAH Database Management
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Mrs. Quade
Biology
Principals of Biomed
Biomedical Innovation
Medical Innovation
Contact: aquade@aacps.org
410-761-8950
BioScience – PLTW Project Lead the Way Biomedical Sciences
Four courses in three years
All project based and student driven learning
PLTW is preparing students for the global economy through its world-class STEM curriculum, high quality
professional development and engaged network.
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Ms. White
US History
US Government
Public & International Health I, II, III
Capstone Research
Contact: jcwhite2@aacps.org
410-761-8950
Public & International Health - Integrates the knowledge from fields such as epidemiology,
medicine, economy and the behavioral sciences
Edmodo
Twitter
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