Two Charles County Public Schools varsity cheerleading teams have a chance to compete at the state level as winners in the county competition held Oct. 31 at North Point High School.

The team from North Point received first place and La Plata High School won second place. Both teams will compete in the southern regional competition Nov. 10 against teams from Anne Arundel, Howard and St. Mary's counties for one of four spots at the state competition.

The southern regional competition is 7 p.m. at North Point, and the state event is Nov. 14, 3 p.m., at North Point. The top four teams from both the southern and northern regions will compete in the state competition. The northern region includes Baltimore, Carroll, Frederick and Harford counties.

Other Charles County public high school teams placed at the county competition. At the junior varsity level, La Plata won first place and Thomas Stone High School earned second place. A team from North Point also won first place in the freshman-level competition.

The competitions are sponsored by the Maryland High School Cheerleading Association.

More than 470 Charles County public middle and high school students boarded a school bus Oct. 31 to learn more about careers in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields at the second annual Southern Maryland Youth Technology Summit, held at the College of Southern Maryland. Presenters spoke to students about STEM careers, and discussed internship and scholarship opportunities.

The event also featured hands-on activities for students, such as flight simulation and remote control robots, and afternoon workshop sessions for participants to learn about rocketry, robotics, the college application process and the Maryland Mathematics, Engineering and Science Achievement (MESA) program.

Monique Varlas, instructional specialist for STEM programs, said Charles County Public Schools became involved in the event to highlight the system's commitment to exposing students to all career possibilities. "There is a large base of private and public sectors that need our students to be informed and excited about STEM careers," Varlas said.

The school system also provided an attendance incentive for students to foster participation. An attendance contest among middle and high school students was held, and the school with the highest number of students in attendance will be rewarded with additional funds for school materials.

Additionally, nine CCPS teachers were invited to make STEM-related presentations during the workshop sessions and provided hands-on activities for participants. Participants also had the opportunity to learn about STEM college programs available in Southern Maryland. "There were sessions on college programs that our students can participate and earn degrees in without ever leaving Southern Maryland," Varlas said.

The event was open to students and community members in the tri-county area, and featured presenters from the Energetics Technology Center, U.S. Navy Naval Air Command, the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Stump Neck Division, the Sheet Metal Workers, Local 100, the National Security Agency, Mirant Mid Atlantic, LLC, the College of Southern Maryland, the Department of Defense and Lockheed Martin.

participation in the Future Educators Association (FEA) during an induction ceremony held Wednesday, Oct. 28, at Thomas Stone High School.

Each Charles County Public middle and high school has an FEA chapter for students in grades 6 - 12 who are interested in becoming educators. Student members are asked to pledge to serve as role models for their participation in FEA by promoting a positive attitude toward education to enhance the quality of educational programs.

Ashleigh Ingram, an FEA member and senior at Maurice J. McDonough High School, welcomed student members to the ceremony and Jenae Perkins, Westlake High School senior and FEA member, spoke about the purpose and focus of the organization. Samantha Shelton, Charles County's 2009 Agnes Meyer Outstanding Teacher award recipient, served as the mistress of ceremony and spoke to students about her educational experiences and congratulated the students on their FEA induction.

Benjamin Stoddert Middle School has the largest participation with FEA with 43 members. McDonough High School has the second largest FEA chapter, with 38 members, followed by Milton M. Somers Middle School, with 38 members.

The FEA aims to motivate middle and high school students from diverse backgrounds to pursue careers in education while studying teaching, working to improve the image of teaching, boosting faculty morale and linking students, parents and the community.

Fourth graders at Mary H. Matula Elementary School got a chance to celebrate reading and literacy with glue, paint, glitter and a pumpkin the week of Oct. 26 as part of the school's fifth annual Character Trait Pumpkin Project. The project requires students to pick and read a book of their choice, and then select a main character to model a pumpkin after.

Student pumpkins were on display in the library and cafeteria, and were featured as part of the school's "Fall Festival" held Oct. 30 for parents, students and the Matula community. Popular choices this year included the characters Bella and Edward from the "Twilight" series, the "Cat in the Hat" from the Dr. Seuss series, and Ramona from the "Beverly Cleary" series.

Barbara Simmons, a fourth-grade teacher at Matula, said the idea behind the project is for students to have a fun and creative way to practice reading skills. Parent volunteers were also on hand to help students complete their pumpkins.

Jennifer L. Davis, a science teacher at Benjamin Stoddert Middle School, was recently selected as a 2009 Science Tools Grant award recipient by the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association (AFCEA).

Davis will receive $250 to use toward lab supplies for the Stoddert science department and for students to use in a guided, in-class group science project. She will receive the grant next month at a ceremony hosted by the Southern Maryland AFCEA chapter.

The Science Tools Grant program is a joint effort between individual AFCEA Chapters and the Educational Foundation to promote effective science teaching and to enhance the abilities of capable STEM teachers in K-12 schools worldwide.

Teachers can apply for the grant through their local AFCEA chapter. For more information, visit http://www.afcea.org.

The Board of Education's next monthly meeting is Tuesday, Nov. 10 at the Jesse L. Starkey Administration Building on Radio Station Road in La Plata. The public portion of the meeting begins at 1 p.m. and Public Forum is at 6 p.m. The meeting is televised live on Comcast Channel 96 and rebroadcast throughout the week. All televised Board meetings are also streamed live on the school system Web site at http://www2.ccboe.com/boe/live/.

Executive session - 12 p.m.

Call to order - 1 p.m.

Pledge of Allegiance, Thomas Stone High School's JROTC unit

Superintendent's update to the Board

Reports of officers/boards/committees

• Correspondence/Board member updates
• Education Association of Charles County update
• Student Board member update
• Enrollment
• CIP update
• Civics Mosaic/Russian visit
• Communications update

New business and future agenda items

• New business

  - 2010 Legislative issues packet

  - Contract award approval for Dr. Gustavus Brown Elementary School full-day kindergarten addition

• Students
• Staff
• Recognition: American Cancer Society, Relay for Life

Public Forum - 6 p.m.

Action items

• Minutes
• Personnel

The Westlake High School Key Club partnered with other key clubs located in the tri-county area on Saturday, Sept. 19 to participate in the Greenwell State Park Clean-up. The annual project brings together students and volunteers to help pick up trash, paint signs for the park and work on other conservation-oriented projects.

Student members include sophomore Kayla Packard, juniors Tyra McMillian, Tiona Wilkerson and Megan Hill, and seniors Kevin Diggs, Kayla Marshall, Kevin McKenzie, Tashima Mitchell, Walters Suggs and Tori Wilds.

The Key Club is the oldest and largest international organization for high school students. It is sponsored by the Kiwanis International Organization. The Key Club offers students opportunities in leadership development, service-learning, personal enrichment and the possibility of college scholarships.

For more information on the Westlake High School Key Club, visit http://www2.ccboe.com/westlake/community/.

More than 100 Mary B. Neal Elementary School community members and local athletes joined together on Saturday Oct. 24 for the school's first five- and one-mile run/walk event to raise money for Maryland's Harvest for Hungry organization.

Proceeds totaled $2,700 and benefited the Kids Helping Kids campaign. The top runners were recognized for their completion times at an awards ceremony held following the race. The top three students in the one-mile run were Jay Hall from Berry Elementary School, Emily Haws from Westlake High School and Christian Coombs from Neal.

The top male runner in the five mile race was Christopher Jones of Waldorf, and the top female runner was Crystal Rapp from St. Mary's County.

Additionally, the top runner in the 12- to 18-year-old age group was Patrick Jones from Waldorf, and the top runner under the age of 12 was Jett Hall from Waldorf.

For photos of the event or additional news from Neal, visit the school's Web site at http://www2.ccboe.com/neal/news/.

Charles County Public Schools will recognize school psychologists during Maryland School Psychology Week, celebrated Nov. 9-13. The school system employs more than 31 school psychologists who help children succeed academically, socially and emotionally.

Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley recently issued a proclamation to establish School Psychology Week to recognize the work the school psychologists do on behalf of children. School psychologists collaborate with teachers, parents and other professionals to create safe, healthy and supportive learning environments for all students that strengthen connections between home and school.

School psychologists create solutions for each student and situation, bridging learning, social and emotional performance, and use different strategies to address student needs. They also work individually to enhance their achievement and school functioning.

Training requirements to become a school psychologist include a minimum of 60 graduate semester hours and a year-long internship. The training emphasizes preparation in mental health, child development, school organization, learning, behavior and motivation.

For more information on what school psychologists do, visit the National Association of School Psychologists Web site, www.nasponline.org, or the Charles County Public Schools Web site at http://www2.ccboe.com/psychdept/index.cfm.