Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) is hosting financial aid nights at its seven high schools next month to provide students and parents with strategies and tips on paying for college. Staff from the College of Southern Maryland (CSM) will present on the college fund search as well as share tips and other helpful resources about scholarships and the college planning process. The following is a list of dates, times and locations. All financial aid nights are open to the public. Students are not required to attend the session set for their specific high school. Tuesday, Oct. 2 – St. Charles Read more…

St. Charles High School senior Alexandra Risinger missed 28.5 days of school last school year. She was one of the 12.4 percent—or 3,516 Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) chronically absent students who missed 10 percent, or 18 or more days during the 2017-18 school year. Risinger’s mother passed away in the beginning of her junior year causing her to miss a lot of school. She intentionally avoided school for a period of time, saying, “It took me a while to be ready to go back.” Later in the school year Risinger broke her foot while playing lacrosse, and her already-high Read more…

Renee Deminne has always had an interest in eastern Europe. It’s a fascination born out of Deminne’s love of history. “I like history in general,” said the St. Charles High School senior. “But eastern Europe is the intersection of Europe, the Middle East and Asia.” “She had an interest in history and languages fell into that,” Deminne’s mother, Theresa, said. “Her interest in history and language kind of collided.” Deminne spent the summer studying Russian in Moldova, a country between Romania and Ukraine that was formerly under Russian control. She was among 20 American high school students — out of Read more…

Administrative teams of six Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) recently received public safety radios to directly communicate with first responders if a life-threatening emergency arises at a school. The digital portable radios — Motorola XTS 5000 models — directly connect schools with Charles County’s Department of Emergency Services, prompting a faster response by first responders, said Jason Stoddard, director of CCPS safety and security. The radios were given to Indian Head, Eva Turner, Malcolm, Dr. Gustavus Brown, Mt. Hope/Nanjemoy and Dr. James Craik elementary schools. “Each school has a unique security issue,” Stoddard said. Mt. Hope/Nanjemoy and Malcolm are remote, Read more…

The Board of Education of Charles County is looking for applications from county residents interested in serving on the Charles County Board of Education Ethics Panel. The Board will be appointing new members in October to the all-volunteer, five-member panel, which interprets ethics regulations and provides advisory opinions to Board members and employees subject to the regulations. The ethics panel is appointed every four years prior to the election of Board of Education members. The panel reviews complaints concerning any alleged ethics violation and receives and maintains all forms required to be filed under the ethics regulation. Ethics panel members Read more…

Capt. Mary Dempsey is a soldier in the Army Reserve who is deployed as a logistics officer in Kuwait. Prior to her March 2018 deployment, Dempsey was an integral part of the physical education department teaching staff at St. Charles High School. She describes the news of her deployment as a whirlwind of events, and credits St. Charles staff for helping her quickly transition. “This commitment that I made did not come without sacrifices that this school had to make along with me,” Dempsey said. To express gratitude to her colleagues, other school staff and principal, Rick Conley, Dempsey nominated Read more…

Park your phone. Buckle up. Slow down. Be safe. Those were the messages Superintendent Kimberly Hill, Sheriff Troy Berry and members of the Charles County Sheriff’s Office shared with Maurice J. McDonough High School student drivers this morning during the kickoff of the 11th annual We Care campaign. McDonough student drivers were greeted Sept. 25 by Berry, Hill, McDonough Principal Steven Roberts and officers who passed out fliers reminding the teens of driving rules and driving safety. It was a safety message repeated at all county high schools where school resource officers, principals and staff members also stopped and passed Read more…

Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) is asking the Board of Education to consider a grading change that would standardize the scale middle and high school teachers use to determine an “F” grade. Should the F grade scale be 0 to 59 percent or 50 to 59 percent? Currently, the answer depends on which Charles County high school a student attends. CCPS Superintendent Kimberly Hill wants a uniform grading scale for all secondary schools. The Board will hold a Town Hall on the grading policy prior to its Oct. 22 grading policy work session. Staff will provide a brief overview at Read more…

Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) students can apply for the 2019 Prudential Spirit of Community Awards Program, which honors middle and high school student volunteers. The annual program recognizes students for exemplary acts of volunteer service in their communities. Students receive the awards for serving their communities through volunteer activities such as helping those in need, promoting health and safety, or protecting the environment. Students in Grades 5 through 12 are eligible to apply and must have participated in a volunteer activity within the past 12 months. Students can apply online at https://spirit.prudential.com/apply/2019. Applications must be submitted online by Nov. Read more…

More than 110 representatives of colleges, universities and military branches set up in North Point High School’s gym Sept. 17 to talk to high school juniors and seniors about the future. Students from each of the county’s seven high schools spent the morning and afternoon visiting the 21st annual Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) College Fair. And while students can get information at any time by typing a phrase or two into a search bar, nothing beats face-to-face communication with people who know the ins and outs of a school. More benefits of attending the college fair? “One-on-one conversations,” Aniyah Read more…