Seven Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) teachers were recently named 2018 Outstanding Teacher Honorees by Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative, known as SMECO. The annual awards program honors teachers for outstanding teaching accomplishments in the areas of science, mathematics, technology and engineering. Honored as Outstanding Mathematics Teachers of the Year are Jennifer Davis of Malcolm Elementary School, Christina Laverty of Henry E. Lackey High School and Megan Parsons of Theodore G. Davis Middle School. Honored as Outstanding Science Teachers of the Year are Michael Forrest of Matthew Henson Middle School, Michael Johnson of William A. Diggs Elementary School and Monica Morgan Read more…

Styrofoam is recyclable, but the process is costly and not widely available in the United States. Plastic bags don’t go in a home recycling bin, but grocery stores will collect them. Textiles that are still in good shape can be donated, not thrown away to clog up landfills. The students at William B. Wade Elementary School know this. And on Friday, April 20 they proved it when Frankie Sherman, recycling and litter superintendent for Charles County Government, stopped by the school to play a recycling game with third grader Allison Macdonald, fourth grader Arzelle Cayetano and Nicholas Cruz, a fifth Read more…

Chances are, visitors to St. Charles High School will not find Principal Richard Conley holed up in his office. He’s too busy walking around the school, interacting with students. “He’s a very hands-on principal,” said senior Keara Watkins, president of the school’s Student Government Association (SGA). “We always see him out in the halls. He’s concerned about students.” Conley’s commitment to students was honored recently during the annual Maryland Association of Student Councils (MASC) convention in Ocean City where he was named the recipient of the Wayne Perry Principal of the Year award by the MASC. The award, named after Read more…

The Board of Education of Charles County is holding a public work session at 6 p.m., Monday, April 30 in the boardroom at the Jesse L. Starkey Administration Building. The meeting will be televised live on the Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) website at ccboe.com and broadcast on Comcast Channel 96/Verizon FiOS Channel 12. The following is a meeting agenda and is subject to change. Call to order – 6 p.m. Pledge of Allegiance Public Forum Work Session Be the Difference Awards discussion Policy 4000 committee update School calendar discussion  Adjournment About CCPS Charles County Public Schools provides 26,900 students Read more…

The Maryland Association for Environmental and Outdoor Education (MAEOE) recertified 12 Charles County Public schools, as well as the Nanjemoy Creek Environmental Education Center, as 2018 Maryland Green Schools. The Maryland Green School program honors schools for their commitment to developing stewards of the Earth and reducing environmental impacts. The 2018 Maryland Green Schools in Charles County are: Gale-Bailey Elementary School; Dr. James Craik Elementary School; Arthur Middleton Elementary School; Samuel A. Mudd Elementary School; J.C. Parks Elementary School; Piccowaxen Middle School; North Point High School; General Smallwood Middle School; Milton M. Somers Middle School; Thomas Stone High School; William Read more…

Jemia Butler, a Thomas Stone High School senior, was named the 2018 Career Research and Development (CRD) Student of the Year at the annual employer/employee breakfast held April 19. Butler works at the salon retail store Beauty 4U in Waldorf. Butler was surprised at the breakfast when her name was announced for the award. “I have a lot of confidence, but knew there were a lot of good nominees. I am excited that I was chosen,” Butler said. She has worked at Beauty 4U since October 2017 and spends a lot of her time helping on her family’s farm. As Read more…

When chorus students at Theodore G. Davis Middle School asked their teacher why the school didn’t have a drama club, Mark Pavlecic didn’t have an answer. “I began researching this answer and see what I needed to do to make it happen,” he said. Pavlecic knew he had the support of his choir students who were willing to put in the time to rehearse and stage a show, but how could he pitch it to the rest of the school? “I chose the musical, “Aladdin Jr.,” because it was familiar to many students,” he said. He collaborated with the school’s Read more…

The Board of Education of Charles County at its April 17 meeting approved changes to the Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) extracurricular activities and athletics eligibility requirement policy in place for students in grades 9-12. The changes are effective with the start of the 2018-19 school year and include updated requirements that address high school freshman first quarter participation in sports and extracurricular activities, use of a parent note as acceptable documentation of a lawful absence, and further defines extracurricular activities and lawful and unlawful absences. Under the changes, eighth-grade students who are promoted to high school as freshman automatically Read more…

More than 250 teams — including 47 from Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) —competed in the Maryland Destination Imagination (DI) Tournament held April 7 at the University of Maryland Baltimore County. A total of 22 CCPS teams were recognized for placing in the top five teams in their challenge and level, with 12 teams placing first, second or third. Teams that place first, second or third advance to the Global Finals Tournament set for May 22 to 27 in Knoxville, Tenn. The following CCPS teams advance to the global DI tournament next month: Maze Craze challenge:  Second place, secondary level: Read more…

The Board of Education at its April 17 meeting honored six Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) exemplary employees for their dedication to student success and commitment to teaching and learning. Honored were Elizabeth Brandkamp, Debra Coates, Ashley Lyles, Angela MacKay, Jacqueline Taylor and Tiyata Winters. Brandkamp is a third-grade teacher at Mary B. Neal Elementary School. She was nominated for recognition before the Board by Neal Principal Deborah Brown for her passion for teaching and love for children. Brandkamp has been teaching for the past 12 years and became a teacher so she could make a difference in the lives Read more…