Charles County Public Schools held its annual Winter Chess Tournament on Saturday, Feb. 24 at Henry E. Lackey High School. More than 200 students competed in five grade-level divisions – kindergarten to second grade; third and fourth grades; fifth and sixth grades; seventh and eighth grades; and ninth through 12th grades. The tournament follows a Swiss-style format in which each student plays four games. Trophies were awarded to first- and second-place winners. All other students who placed received a medal. Felix Cummings served as the tournament director. The following students placed in their division:       Grades kindergarten through second: Aundre Read more…

When Addy Hebou embarked on his Eagle Scout project, he knew what he was going to do. “The first thing I thought of for my Eagle Scout project is the first thing that comes to everyone’s head, ‘We’re going to build something,’” said Hebou, a North Point High School senior. Eagle Scouts have produced outstanding and much-needed projects, Hebou would just have to figure out what he could build. The more he brainstormed with troop leaders of Troop 410, the more Hebou leaned toward putting something together that incorporates his love of music with Scouting. Maybe he could put together Read more…

The Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) and the Maryland Advisory Council on Gifted and Talented Education honored four Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) teachers – Christina Caron, Jonica Gaskill, Jessica Meador and Joni Rooney – for their efforts and accomplishments in gifted education. Each received a 2018 Teacher as Leader in Gifted and Talented Education Award. Nominees were selected by Ann Taylor, CCPS content specialist in gifted education, and Joyce Campbell, gifted education resource teacher for CCPS. They were honored at a Feb. 21 ceremony held to honor the Governor’s proclamation of February as Gifted and Talented and Education Read more…

Thirteen Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) students were recognized Wednesday by the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) and the Maryland State Advisory Council on Gifted and Talented Education for their accomplishments in gifted education. Each received a Student Accomplishment in Gifted and Talented Education Award. They are: Claire Bright, fifth grade, Dr. Thomas L. Higdon Elementary School; Garrett Carson, fifth grade, Mary H. Matula Elementary School; Erin Cooley, fifth grade, Mt. Hope/Nanjemoy Elementary School; Temiloluwa Dapo-Adeyemo, eighth grade, General Smallwood Middle School; Toluwanimi Dapo-Adeyemo, eighth grade, Smallwood; Ada Donohue, fifth grade, Dr. James Craik Elementary School; Hannah Krauel, eighth Read more…

Wednesdays are booked for select students in first and second grades at Dr. Thomas L. Higdon Elementary School. It’s the day they meet with their Reading Partners to brush up on reading and vocabulary skills. Reading Partners was started by former Superintendent of Schools James Richmond in the mid-1990s. The program is in all Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) elementary schools for students in kindergarten through fifth grade. At Higdon, the reading partners meet for 30 minutes, their time broken down in 10 minute intervals. The first 10 minutes is spent on word work and site word recognition. The students Read more…

It was an ordinary assignment in Bryan Hill’s art room at Mary B. Neal Elementary School. Last year, Hill, a veteran teacher with District of Columbia Public Schools, was new to Charles County Public Schools and wanted to get a reading on his new students and their level of art skills. The assignment was draw a toucan. Fourth graders watched a video on the birds, looked at photographs of the animals with the distinctive bills and talked about Toucan Sam, the Fruit Loops mascot. Samantha Jensen, now a fifth grader, got to work. On a piece of construction paper, she Read more…

Emily Winkler, a Milton M. Somers Middle School eighth grader, will represent Charles County in the Scripps National Spelling Bee later this year. Winkler clenched the title of champion during the annual Charles County Public Schools Spelling Bee Feb. 15. She correctly spelled “Rembrandt.”  Winkler is no stranger to the Bee’s winner’s circle — she was runner up last year to teammate Haley Payton, now a freshman at La Plata High School. Jack Alcorn, a Somers seventh grader, and Jasmine F. Flores, a St. Peter’s Catholic School eighth grader, battled for the second and third place. The two went back Read more…

Four Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) Unified Indoor Bocce teams competed at the Interscholastic Unified Sports State Invitational held Feb. 13 at Hagerstown Community College. A team from La Plata High School took first place in division four of the event, and a Maurice J. McDonough High School team earned third place in division three. The La Plata team competed against eight teams in division one of the event to win first place. Team members are students Shane Crockett, Elaina Dixon, Emily Depew, Abbey Magsakay, Jarrett Mulloy and Danielle Murphy. William Boehm, a technology education teacher at La Plata, coaches Read more…

Several Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) students earned medals in the recent regional SkillsUSA competition and advance to the state event set for April. Career and technology education (CTE) students from North Point High School and the Robert D. Stethem Educational Center compete in the event annually. SkillsUSA competitions showcase CTE students, involve industry professionals in evaluating student performance and help to train students for employer and workforce needs. The students compete locally and continue through the state and national levels. At the regional level, first-, second- and third-place winners in most categories – and some who compete in specific Read more…

Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) has a moratorium in place for students living in some areas of the Milton M. Somers Middle School attendance zone. Superintendent of Schools Kimberly A. Hill approved the moratorium in June 2016 to help alleviate overcrowding at Somers. The moratorium is temporary and affects only students moving into homes built after July 15, 2016, in specific neighborhoods. Students who live in the St. Charles neighborhoods of Gleneagles South, Gleneagles North, Villages of Wooded Glen and Villages of Piney Reach who moved in to a home built after July 15, 2016 attend Benjamin Stoddert Middle School. Read more…