The Board of Education’s next monthly meeting is Tuesday, April 4 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 student and staff recognition starts 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 website at www.ccboe.com. Select the live stream image displayed in the center of the home page. The following is a tentative meeting agenda and is subject Read more…
More than 300 students from Charles County Public elementary, middle and high schools, as well as county private schools, entered their science or history fair projects for awards as part of the second annual Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) History, Industry, Science and Technology Expo held March 18 at St. Charles High School in Waldorf. The Expo now combines the annual Science and History Fairs and showcases CCPS programs available for students. These programs include robotics, the system’s Code.org computer science partnership, Project Lead the Way, Career and Technology Education (CTE) offerings and more. Milton M. Somers Middle School sixth Read more…
Charles County Public Schools hosted the 2017 History, Industry, Technology and Science (HITS) Expo on March 18 at St. Charles High School, during which students presented History Day entries. First- and second-place category winners advance to the state competition on April 29 at the University of Maryland Baltimore County. The following students placed at the Charles County History Day competition. Winners in the Historical Paper, junior division, are Dameon Smith, first place, seventh grade, General Smallwood Middle School, “Sophie Scholl and the White Rose;” Cody Lehman, second place, seventh grade, Milton M. Somers Middle School, “Muhammad Ali Takes a Stand Read more…
Billingsley Elementary School is the name of the next Charles County Public elementary school, planned to open at the start of the 2018-19 school year. The new school brings the total number of elementary schools in Charles County to 22 and will be built off Billingsley Road in White Plains. With a vote of four to three, the Board of Education at its March 21 meeting selected the name from a list of six recommendations submitted by a school naming committee. Groundwork to prepare the school site is underway. The Board is hosting a groundbreaking ceremony on Thursday, April 20 Read more…
The Board of Education honored five Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) employees during its March 21 meeting for their commitment to teaching and learning, and for making a difference in the lives of students. Honored were Christina Caron, Anastasia Griffin, Yvonne Haws, Tyler Miller and Mary Montgomery. Caron is the learning resource teacher at Mary H. Matula Elementary School. She is an integral part of the school community and manages the gifted education program. Caron also leads the assessment program at Matula and launched before-school book clubs this school year for staff and students to share their love of reading. Read more…
The Board of Education presented two resolutions to Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) students and staff at its March 21 meeting. The Board votes annually to accept resolutions. The following resolutions were presented: Month of the Young Child; and National Student Leadership Week. CCPS celebrates the Month of the Young Child annually in April. This year’s national theme is Celebrating Our Youngest Learners. Month of the Young Child recognizes early learners and that all children should enter school well prepared and ready to learn. Accepting the resolution at the Board meeting were Rachael Ashby, three-year-old program teacher at Indian Head Read more…
The Board of Education honored four students at its Tuesday, March 21 Board meeting for excellence in academic achievement, career readiness and personal responsibility. Honored were Lindsey Johnson, senior at North Point High School; Justin Butler, an eighth grader at Mattawoman Middle School; Astha Patel, a fifth-grade student at Mary H. Matula Elementary School; and Savannah Trice, a fifth grader at Walter J. Mitchell Elementary School. Johnson, a student in North Point’s biotechnology program, is committed to her studies and is a student leader. She carries at 4.18 grade point average and is described by her teachers as motivated, enthusiastic, Read more…
Students who want to play an instrument in middle and high school have to get started in fifth grade. “If you don’t start in fifth grade, it’s very hard to start,” Andrew Blumhardt, Indian Head Elementary School music teacher, said. “It’s like just starting math in fourth grade. Think of all the stuff you’ve already learned in math. Can you imagine just learning addition in fourth grade?” To drum up excitement about band and orchestra, elementary school music teachers from around the county tour its 21 elementary schools giving demonstrations of various instruments to an audience of fourth graders. In Read more…
Four Charles County Public middle school robotics teams earned awards at the 2017 VEX Robotics Maryland State Championship held March 11 at La Plata High School. Three teams from Piccowaxen Middle School and one John Hanson Middle School team were recognized with awards. The teams were four of 24 competing teams from Maryland. The Motorized Madness and Happy Wheels teams from Piccowaxen were named Tournament Finalists at the event. Students on the Motorized Madness team include Piccowaxen eighth graders Matthew Hale, Cheyanne Milbrook and Sydney Robertson. The Happy Wheels team includes sixth graders Mia Ross and Nathan Todd, and seventh Read more…
A robotics team from North Point High School, the Meme Team, is representing the school system at the 2017 VEX Worlds – VEX Robotics Competition High School Division next month after earning a tournament semifinalist ranking at the state event. The team includes North Point freshmen Christopher Moreno and Max Stine, sophomore Tyler Ulmschneider and juniors Alex Booth, Tyler Cataldo and Jabari Grubb. North Point’s Meme Team is one of only 14 Maryland teams to qualify for the event, planned for April 19-22 in Louisville, Ky. The 2017 challenge is called Starstruck in which teams compete in matches with robots Read more…