Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) is sponsoring summer enrichment camps for students in kindergarten through Grade 8. Camps begin the week of June 22 and run through the week ending on July 24. More than 40 sessions are available; camps run Monday through Friday. Parents can choose from morning or afternoon sessions. A lunchtime activity period is available. Registration begins Monday, March 2 on the CCPS website at https://www.ccboe.com/index.php/summer-camps-2020. Cost is $90 per camp session. Students should be registered by the grade level they will begin at the start of the 2020-21 school year. Morning sessions operate from 8 a.m. Read more…

Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) is hosting its History, Industry, Technology and Science (HITS) Expo Saturday, March 7 from 1 to 5 p.m. at St. Charles High School in Waldorf. The Expo is a showcase of student work in history and science, as well as hands-on learning opportunities for students, parents and community members. Attendees can participate in hands-on learning activities and opportunities in areas such as science, technology, education, history, engineering and more. Some of the planned activities include escape room fun, live raptors from the Nanjemoy Creek Environmental Education Center, K9 demonstrations, scavenger hunts, homemade ice cream, crafts Read more…

Elysia Young, a Malcolm Elementary School fourth grader, is set to represent Charles County at St. Mary’s City’s annual Maryland Day Celebration. The March 21 event marks the state’s 386th anniversary with a ceremony, speeches, living history and museum exhibits. Young will present the Charles County flag during the ceremony. Each year, Charles County fourth graders are invited to submit an essay on “Why is Charles County a great place to live?” This year, Young’s submission was selected out of 40 entries. Her mother suggested that she pen an essay for the contest. Young’s friends and teacher, Denise Kennedy, knew Read more…

Four Unified Bocce teams from Maurice J. McDonough High School earned awards at the Interscholastic Unified Sports Indoor Bocce Invitational held Feb. 10 at Hagerstown Community College. The teams are named for McDonough school colors: black, purple, orange and white. The purple team earned first place in division two. The white team earned fifth place among teams competing in division three. The black team earned sixth place overall in division one, and the orange team earned sixth place overall in division four of the event. Unified sports teams include a combination of students with and without disabilities who train together Read more…

More than 140 students participated in the Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) winter chess tournament held this past Saturday, Feb. 22 at Henry E. Lackey High School. The tournament is open to interested students in kindergarten through Grade 12. The tournament follows a Swiss-style format in which each student plays four games. Students compete in eight grade-level divisions and trophies are given to division champions. Students who earn a top finisher award in their respective categories receive a medal, and all participants receive a certificate for their performance. Felix Cummings served as the tournament director. The following students were recognized Read more…

Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) held its second Teacher of the Year recognition ceremony Feb. 20 to honor nominees chosen for the awards program. Honored were nominees for the 2020 Washington Post Teacher of the Year and Charles County Teacher of the Year award programs. This is the second year in which a teacher was nominated from each Charles County public school and center. During the ceremony, Board of Education Chairman Virginia McGraw unveiled the recipient of the 2020 Charles County Teacher of the Year honors, James Ball of North Point High School. Ball is an art teacher and is Read more…

The Board of Education of Charles County is holding a 6 p.m. work session on Monday, Feb. 24 in the boardroom at the Jesse L. Starkey Administration Building. The work session will be televised live on the Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) website, ccboe.com, and broadcast on Comcast Channel 96/Verizon FiOS Channel 12. The following is an agenda and is subject to change. All agendas are posted on BoardDocs a week prior to Board meetings. To access BoardDocs, visit the school system website at https://www.boarddocs.com/mabe/ccpsmd/Board.nsf. Call to order – 6 p.m. Public Forum Work Session Review of policy series 9000 Read more…

The Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) and the Maryland State Advisory Council on Gifted and Talented Education recognized 17 Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) students Feb. 11 for accomplishments in gifted education. Each student was recognized with a Student Accomplishment in Gifted and Talented Education Award at a ceremony held at North County High School in Glen Burnie. They are: Tiwaloluwa Dapo-Adeyemo, eighth grade, General Smallwood Middle School; Genesis Rodriguez Batalla, fifth grade, Indian Head Elementary School; Nathan Bean, fifth grade, C. Paul Barnhart Elementary School; Caroline Bradley, fourth grade, Dr. James Craik Elementary School; Brooklyn Cannon, fourth grade, Read more…

The Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) and the Maryland State Advisory Council on Gifted and Talented Education honored six Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) educators for their efforts and accomplishments in gifted education. Kathleen Morgan, principal at Dr. Thomas L. Higdon Elementary School, was honored with an Outstanding Educator in Gifted and Talented Education – Local School Administrator Award. Five CCPS teachers – Charna Brooks, Stacey Durham, Danielle Nagle, Michelle Simone and Christina Trest – were honored with Outstanding Educator in Gifted and Talented Education – Teacher as Leader Awards. They were honored at a Feb. 11 ceremony held Read more…

Once a week, students at Dr. Gustavus Brown Elementary School close their mouths and talk. They chat about animals, colors and say the Pledge of Allegiance without making a peep. The sign language club at Dr. Brown has been meeting for three years under the direction of Darcy Piazza, an educational sign language interpreter with Charles County Public Schools (CCPS).   Many students joined the club to better communicate with their friends who are deaf or hard of hearing. “I knew there were deaf people in my school, and I knew I wanted to talk to them,” said Olivia Bellamy, Read more…