More than 860 high school students in Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) are enrolled in Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (JROTC) programs. The JROTC program curriculum is accredited through each military branch and teaches students about military history, leadership, wellness and life skills. Instructors from several high schools presented a JROTC program overview to the Board of Education at its Nov. 12 meeting. Helping to present were Gunny Sgt. Clive Bailey of La Plata High School, Lt. Col. Linda Ray of North Point High School, Gunny Sgt. Samyra Rogers of St. Charles High School and Command Sgt. Maj. Charles Wagenbrenner Read more…
The Board of Education at its Nov. 12 meeting honored five Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) staff members for their contributions to students and the school system. Honored were Renard Barnes, Amanda Nadeau, Christina Trest, Sabryna Valen and Bianca Watson. Barnes is an instructional assistant in the Emotionally Adjusted (EA) program at the F.B. Gwynn Educational Center. He works hard to establish and support relationships with both students and staff. No matter the type of accomplishment a student achieves, he celebrates their success with positive encouragement. He seeks ways to celebrate the smallest successes of his students. Barnes has worked Read more…
The Board of Education at its Nov. 12 meeting honored four Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) students for accomplishments in the areas of academic achievement, career readiness and personal responsibility. Honored were Logan Bivens, Ashani Davis, Brady Freundel and Shirley Luu. Bivens is a fifth grader at J.P. Ryon Elementary School and was recognized by the Board in the area of career readiness. He is well known by teachers as a role model and hard worker. Bivens aspires to be a firefighter and volunteers at a local fire department. According to Bivens, there are several firefighters in his family who Read more…
Superintendent of Schools Kimberly Hill, along with other Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) staff, is hosting a school safety and security Town Hall at 6 p.m., Monday, Nov. 18 at Thomas Stone High School. The Town Hall will be televised live at ccboe.com from the Thomas Stone auditorium. Staff will address safety and security issues, updates to school safety procedures, building enhancements and See Something, Say Something efforts. Following a brief presentation, staff will answer questions, take suggestions and hear comments. Viewers can submit questions electronically on CCPS social media outlets Twitter, @ccps and Facebook at Charles County Public Schools. Read more…
It’s not often that a string quartet or vocalist performance opens a formal business meeting. On Nov. 6, the La Plata Business Association’s (LPBA) monthly meeting began with student performers from La Plata High School showcasing the talents of Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) students. For the past six years, the LPBA has partnered with Keith Grasso of Island Music Company to host Rocktoberfest and donate the proceeds to CCPS. This year’s donation to CCPS was $41,000 – the highest donation provided to CCPS since Rocktoberfest started in 2014. Rocktoberfest is held annually during October in downtown La Plata. The Read more…
Indian Head Elementary School launched a new program this school year to focus on social and emotional needs of students. Called “Move This World,” the program provides students with strategies to express emotions in a positive way. Students learn about and use 10 “emoger” strategies to display their feelings. The emogers focus on breathing, counting to 10, giving someone a smile, hug or fist bump, walking away quietly, drinking a glass of water, meeting in the middle, putting yourself in another’s shoes, active listening, looking for help, and tightening and releasing muscles. At the start of each school day, students Read more…
The Board of Education’s next monthly meeting is Tuesday, Nov. 12, 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. The meeting is televised live on Comcast Channel 96 and Verizon FiOS Channel 12, and is rebroadcast throughout the week. Board meetings are streamed live on the Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) website, www.ccboe.com. Click on the middle of the main page to start the live streaming. The following is a meeting agenda and is subject to change. Executive session – 12 p.m. Call to Read more…
Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) is expanding the student identification (ID) badge program to all high schools, Matthew Henson and General Smallwood middle schools and Billingsley Elementary School. These schools will begin to implement the program next week. The use of ID badges provides school employees immediate recognition of who belongs in the school. Badges are also part of the CCPS safety and security strategy. School administrators will issue each student an ID badge featuring their name, school of attendance, class grade and school year. The IDs feature a barcode at the bottom for use with procedures such as tracking Read more…
Staff from the Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) Career and Technical Education (CTE) department will attend several Parent-Teacher-Student Organization (PTSO) meetings this month to spread awareness of CTE opportunities for students transitioning to high school. CTE programs are available at all seven Charles County high schools, as well as the Robert D. Stethem Educational Center. These programs range from Project Lead the Way biomedical and engineering pathways, to the Teacher Academy of Maryland (TAM) pathway. North Point High School and Stethem offer other specialized programs such as a pathway in culinary arts, physical rehabilitation or graphic and media design. The Read more…