Due to inclement weather conditions, all Charles County Public Schools activities scheduled for Monday, Dec. 27, 2010, have been canceled.

The Charles County public school system does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age or disability in its programs, activities or employment practices. For inquiries, please contact Dr. Patricia Vaira, Title IX Coordinator and Section 504 Coordinator (students), or Keith Hettel, Section 504 Coordinator (employees/adults), at Charles County Public Schools, Jesse L. Starkey Administration Building, P.O. Box 2770, La Plata, Maryland 20646; (301) 932-6610/870-3814. For special accommodations call (301) 934-7230 or TDD 1-800-735-2258 two weeks prior to the event.

Due to inclement weather conditions, all Charles County Public Schools are closed today, Friday, Dec. 17, 2010. There is a code two, a two-hour delay, for employees who follow the code system.

The Charles County public school system does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age or disability in its programs, activities or employment practices. For inquiries, please contact Dr. Patricia Vaira, Title IX Coordinator and Section 504 Coordinator (students), or Keith Hettel, Section 504 Coordinator (employees/adults), at Charles County Public Schools, Jesse L. Starkey Administration Building, P.O. Box 2770, La Plata, Maryland 20646; (301) 932-6610/870-3814. For special accommodations call (301) 934-7230 or TDD 1-800-735-2258 two weeks prior to the event.

Due to inclement weather forecasts, all Charles County Public Schools are closed today, Thursday, Dec. 16, 2010. There is no code for employees.

The Charles County public school system does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age or disability in its programs, activities or employment practices. For inquiries, please contact Dr. Patricia Vaira, Title IX Coordinator and Section 504 Coordinator (students), or Keith Hettel, Section 504 Coordinator (employees/adults), at Charles County Public Schools, Jesse L. Starkey Administration Building, P.O. Box 2770, La Plata, Maryland 20646; (301) 932-6610/870-3814. For special accommodations call (301) 934-7230 or TDD 1-800-735-2258 two weeks prior to the event.

The new Board of Education will be sworn into office in a ceremony scheduled for 4 p.m., Monday, Dec. 20, at North Point High School in Waldorf. The ceremony will be held in the auditorium and is open to the public.

Two new Board of Education members, Patricia Bowie and Michael Lukas, were elected into office. They join incumbents Roberta S. Wise, Donald Wade, Jennifer Abell, Maura Cook and Pamela Pedersen, who were re-elected to their positions. The Board begins a four-year term and elects officers at its first meeting of the year, Jan. 11.

Charles County Public Schools provides 26,858 students in grades prekindergarten through 12 with an academically challenging education. Located in Southern Maryland, Charles County Public Schools has 35 schools that offer a technologically advanced, progressive and high quality education that builds character, equips for leadership and prepares students for life, careers and higher education.

The Charles County public school system does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age or disability in its programs, activities or employment practices. For inquiries, please contact Dr. Patricia Vaira, Title IX Coordinator and Section 504 Coordinator (students), or Keith Hettel, Section 504 Coordinator (employees/adults), at Charles County Public Schools, Jesse L. Starkey Administration Building, P.O. Box 2770, La Plata, Maryland 20646; (301) 932-6610/870-3814. For special accommodations call (301) 934-7230 or TDD 1-800-735-2258 two weeks prior to the event.

Four Charles County public high school seniors were recently selected to participate in the 2011 Maryland General Assembly Legislative Page program.

The students who will serve as student pages for the 2011 legislative session are: Kristina Milman of North Point High School; Shaun Ross Gardiner of Maurice J. McDonough High School; and Kymani Gilmer of Thomas Stone High School. Asia Lamar of Westlake High School was selected as the Student Page Alternate.

The opportunity to serve in the legislative page program is offered annually to Charles County Public Schools seniors. Students who apply are selected through a series of interviews. Applicants must also write an essay to describe their interest to participate in the program.

These students will have the opportunity to work with the General Assembly as Student Pages for two weeks during the spring 2011 legislative session. During the two-week period, these students will be assigned to work with either the Maryland Senate or House of Delegates in Annapolis. Duties include delivering messages to staff, distributing legislative materials, and working with staff committees and other legislative offices.

The program is designed to interest youth in state government and the proceedings of the legislature, increase participation in government, foster leadership skills and provide students with worthwhile experiences in state government.

For more information, visit the Maryland General Assembly's Web site at http://dls.state.md.us/.

Charles County Public Schools provides 26,858 students in grades prekindergarten through 12 with an academically challenging education. Located in Southern Maryland, Charles County Public Schools has 35 schools that offer a technologically advanced, progressive and high quality education that builds character, equips for leadership and prepares students for life, careers and higher education.

The Charles County public school system does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age or disability in its programs, activities or employment practices. For inquiries, please contact Dr. Patricia Vaira, Title IX Coordinator and Section 504 Coordinator (students), or Keith Hettel, Section 504 Coordinator (employees/adults), at Charles County Public Schools, Jesse L. Starkey Administration Building, P.O. Box 2770, La Plata, Maryland 20646; (301) 932-6610/870-3814. For special accommodations call (301) 934-7230 or TDD 1-800-735-2258 two weeks prior to the event.

Charles County Public Schools hosted its fourth annual Junior Reserve Officers Training Corp (JROTC) Joint Services Military Ball on Friday, Dec. 3 at North Point High School.

This is the fourth consecutive year CCPS has sponsored a joint ball for high school senior cadets. In previous years, each school organized its own ball to celebrate traditions of the JROTC programs. The ball included ceremonial military traditions, such as the Presentation of Colors by the Joint JROTC Color Guard. Students and guests also participated in toasting to honor military personnel, leaders and ball guests. These toasts included references to the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, to the JROTC instructors and to the CCPS cadets in attendance.

Henry E. Lackey High School senior cadet Cherokee Carroll served as mistress of ceremonies, and Roberta S. Wise, chairman of the Board of Education of Charles County, welcomed ball guests. More than 150 cadets attended the ball and were presented with certificates of participation by their JROTC instructors. After certificates were presented to all cadets, students and guests participated in two other military ball traditions: cake cutting and the presentation of a military court.

The military court consists of a king and queen, both of which are selected from students who have participated in their school's JROTC program each year in high school. Thomas Stone High School senior William Turgeon was selected as king, and Maurice J. McDonough High School senior Sydney Atchison was named queen.

All six county high schools have JROTC programs, which teach students skills, values and good citizenship to the community. Participation in JROTC also provides students with leadership opportunities and advanced rank for those who enter the military after high school.

JROTC programs were first introduced in Charles County Public Schools in 1998 at Henry E. Lackey High School. Donald M. Wade, Board vice chairman and former longtime JROTC advisor in Prince George's County, was instrumental in launching the program.

More than 850 CCPS students are enrolled in county JROTC programs. These students also participate in a county drill meet, held annually early spring, and co-curricular activities such as Color Guards, Armed and Unarmed drill teams, Armed and Unarmed exhibition drill teams, academic and field event competitions.

Charles County Public Schools provides 26,858 students in grades prekindergarten through 12 with an academically challenging education. Located in Southern Maryland, Charles County Public Schools has 35 schools that offer a technologically advanced, progressive and high quality education that builds character, equips for leadership and prepares students for life, careers and higher education.

The Charles County public school system does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age or disability in its programs, activities or employment practices. For inquiries, please contact Dr. Patricia Vaira, Title IX Coordinator and Section 504 Coordinator (students), or Keith Hettel, Section 504 Coordinator (employees/adults), at Charles County Public Schools, Jesse L. Starkey Administration Building, P.O. Box 2770, La Plata, Maryland 20646; (301) 932-6610/870-3814. For special accommodations call (301) 934-7230 or TDD 1-800-735-2258 two weeks prior to the event.

La Plata High School's It's Academic team will participate in the regional televised competition as the first-place winner in the annual Charles County Public Schools competition, held Dec. 8 at the College of Southern Maryland.

The three-member team of Captain Colin Qualters, Melissa Reen and Alex Smith scored 310 points in the championship round against North Point and Thomas Stone high schools to earn the top spot. The school was presented with a $500 scholarship from the Greater Waldorf Jaycees and the team will compete against George Marshall and St. Albans high schools on Feb. 5, which will be aired on WRC TV (NBC 4) March 5.

Max Flerlage is the La Plata team's alternate and Ricky Bamberger, Michael Bradford, William Coggins, Tyler Cox, Julianna Dawson, William "Bao" Dinh, Rex Holmes, Bhaskar Joshi, Molly Monaghan, Ayla Padgett, Matthew Paesch and John Sackman are also members of the La Plata team. Principal is Evelyn Arnold and team coach is Corinne Fox, a science teacher at La Plata.

Placing second in the competition was the North Point High School team, followed by the Thomas Stone High School team in third place. Teams from Henry E. Lackey, Maurice J. McDonough and Westlake high schools also competed. Each of these schools was presented with a $250 scholarship from the Jaycees.

As the second place winner, the North Point team will also earn a chance to compete in a televised competition on NBC 4 next fall. North Point earned second place in last year's county event, earning them a chance to compete in a televised game earlier this fall. They advance to a playoff game against Wootton and Quince Orchard high schools, which will air April 2.

The five other high school three-member teams were: Lackey - Captain Andrew Bode, Chad Myers and Darrin Watson; McDonough - Captain Ross Gardiner, Melissa Bortner and Kevin Shin; North Point - Captain Erin Chapman, Nick Teleky and Gaston Lopez; Thomas Stone - Captain Sean Ward, Alaric Powell and Jessica Wiley; and Westlake - Captain Misha Stone, Leah Warren and Alexia McGowan.

Chynna Keys is the Lackey team's alternate and Jessica Davis, Tamara Dixon, Tenisha Newton, Eric Vines and Jolana Watson are also members of Lackey's team. Principal is James Short and team coach is Don Browder, a social studies teacher at Lackey.

Deanna Huntt is the McDonough team's alternate. Principal is Jervie Petty and team coach is Daniel Brady, a science teacher at McDonough.

Completing the North Point team are Cayley Dymond and Keith Nottingham. Principal is Kim Hill and Peggy DeVeny, a literacy instructional assistant, and Deen Stewart, a foreign language teacher at North Point, are the team's coaches.

Jorge Alamo-Guzman is the Stone team's alternate and Chase Arnold, Emmanuel Bakare, Phil Banky, Dominic Barrasso, Lemuel Carpenter, Mia Chase, Jemm Dela Cruz, Raymond Johnson, Emily Le, Alexys Lewis, Jasper Raguindin, William Turgeon and William Trusnovic are also members of the Stone team. Principal is L.C. Martin and Nancy Jeffrey, foreign language teacher at Stone, is the team's coach.

Asia Lamar is the Westlake team's alternate and Hakeem Brown, Waill Essa, Victoria Lord, Chris Tengco, Sean Thomas, Summer Sandoval and Samantha Wood are also members of the Westlake team. Principal is Chrystal Benson and team coach is James Ressler, an English teacher at Westlake.

The Dec. 8 competition will be broadcast on Comcast Channel 96, the school system's educational television station, and Verizon Fios Channel 12 later this month. Check the programming schedule at http://www2.ccboe.com/publicinfo/channel96/schedule.cfm for dates and times.

The Charles County public school system does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age or disability in its programs, activities or employment practices. For inquiries, please contact Dr. Patricia Vaira, Title IX Coordinator and Section 504 Coordinator (students), or Keith Hettel, Section 504 Coordinator (employees/adults), at Charles County Public Schools, Jesse L. Starkey Administration Building, P.O. Box 2770, La Plata, Maryland 20646; (301) 932-6610/870-3814. For special accommodations call (301) 934-7230 or TDD 1-800-735-2258 two weeks prior to the event.

The Maurice J. McDonough High School varsity football team won the 2010 Maryland Football Championship title for the 2A division Dec. 4 against Middletown High School of Frederick County.

The Rams scored 21 points against the Middletown team in the championship game held at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore.

The team will be recognized for their accomplishments by the Charles County Board of Education at 1 p.m., Tuesday, Dec. 14. Additionally, clips and pictures from the Maryland State Championship games were featured during the national broadcast of the Baltimore Ravens game Dec. 5.

Charles County Public Schools provides 26,858 students in grades prekindergarten through 12 with an academically challenging education. Located in Southern Maryland, Charles County Public Schools has 35 schools that offer a technologically advanced, progressive and high quality education that builds character, equips for leadership and prepares students for life, careers and higher education.

The Charles County public school system does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age or disability in its programs, activities or employment practices. For inquiries, please contact Dr. Patricia Vaira, Title IX Coordinator and Section 504 Coordinator (students), or Keith Hettel, Section 504 Coordinator (employees/adults), at Charles County Public Schools, Jesse L. Starkey Administration Building, P.O. Box 2770, La Plata, Maryland 20646; (301) 932-6610/870-3814. For special accommodations call (301) 934-7230 or TDD 1-800-735-2258 two weeks prior to the event.

The Board of Education's next monthly meeting is Tuesday, Dec. 14, 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 recognition begins at 4:30 p.m. The meeting is televised live on Comcast Channel 96 and Verizon FiOS Channel 12, and is rebroadcast throughout the week. Board meetings are also streamed live on the school system Web site at www.ccboe.com.

Executive session - 11:30 a.m.

Call to order - 1 p.m.

Pledge of Allegiance, Maurice J. McDonough High School's JROTC unit

Maurice J. McDonough High School Football Team - Class 2A State Champions

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
• New student advisor update
• CIP update
• St. Charles High School redistricting timeline
• Navy housing
• Solar energy concepts
• Student exchange process, English Language Learners (ELL) intake process/handbook
• Budget update
• Board policy 4610 amendment
• Legislative update

Recognition - 4:30 p.m.

• Students
• Employees

New business and future agenda items

• New business
• Future agenda items

Action Items

• Minutes
• Personnel
• 2011 Legislative issues packet

The swearing-in ceremony for the new Board of Education is set for 4 p.m., Dec. 20, at North Point High School. Two new Board of Education members, Patricia Bowie and Michael Lukas, were elected into office. They join incumbents Roberta S. Wise, Donald Wade, Jennifer Abell, Maura Cook and Pamela Pedersen, who were re-elected to their positions. The Board begins a four-year term and elects officers at the January meeting.

Charles County Public Schools provides 26,858 students in grades prekindergarten through 12 with an academically challenging education. Located in Southern Maryland, Charles County Public Schools has 35 schools that offer a technologically advanced, progressive and high quality education that builds character, equips for leadership and prepares students for life, careers and higher education.

The Charles County public school system does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age or disability in its programs, activities or employment practices. For inquiries, please contact Dr. Patricia Vaira, Title IX Coordinator and Section 504 Coordinator (students), or Keith Hettel, Section 504 Coordinator (employees/adults), at Charles County Public Schools, Jesse L. Starkey Administration Building, P.O. Box 2770, La Plata, Maryland 20646; (301) 932-6610/870-3814. For special accommodations call (301) 934-7230 or TDD 1-800-735-2258 two weeks prior to the event.

• Colin Buckingham, a 2010 Thomas Stone High School graduate, made a guest appearance on last night's NBC episode of "30 Rock." Here is a direct link to the episode: http://www.nbc.com/30-rock/video/chain-reaction-of-mental-anguish/1263030//. Buckingham, who plays the part of an elf, was heavily involved in the theatre department at Stone.
• Niya Costley, a special education teacher at Dr. Gustavus Brown Elementary School, recently contributed more than 25 crocheted pieces to the Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef exhibit, a project organized by the Institute for Figuring in Los Angeles. The exhibit is on display Oct. 16 through April 2011 at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History. The exhibit features crocheted corals made of yarn and found materials that were constructed using particular techniques to create complex, natural-looking pieces. Costley's pieces were used as part of the Smithsonian Community Reef and include brain coral, lettuce coral, mushroom coral, sea pen and sea anemones. For more information on the exhibit, visit http://www.mnh.si.edu/exhibits/hreef/.
• The Westlake High School varsity girls' soccer team recently received a sportsmanship award from the Capital Area Soccer Referee Association (CASRA). The team received the award for displaying fair play, sportsmanship and respect to game officials. The award was developed three years ago in honor of James Humphrey, who was a longtime high school soccer official, and given by officials. The team was presented with the award at the school last month by Marjorie Watson, Maryland state assignor, and Dennis Stansbury, Maryland state official and CASRA Board member. For more information on CASRA, visit http://www.casrareferees.com/.

Charles County Public Schools provides 26,858 students in grades prekindergarten through 12 with an academically challenging education. Located in Southern Maryland, Charles County Public Schools has 35 schools that offer a technologically advanced, progressive and high quality education that builds character, equips for leadership and prepares students for life, careers and higher education.

The Charles County public school system does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age or disability in its programs, activities or employment practices. For inquiries, please contact Dr. Patricia Vaira, Title IX Coordinator and Section 504 Coordinator (students), or Keith Hettel, Section 504 Coordinator (employees/adults), at Charles County Public Schools, Jesse L. Starkey Administration Building, P.O. Box 2770, La Plata, Maryland 20646; (301) 932-6610/870-3814. For special accommodations call (301) 934-7230 or TDD 1-800-735-2258 two weeks prior to the event.