CCPS and the Maryland General Assembly Student Page Program

Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) is accepting applications from high school seniors interested in participating in the Maryland General Assembly Student Page Program. Each year, CCPS selects three high school seniors and one alternate to represent the school system in the program.

Student Pages spend two nonconsecutive weeks working in either the state Senate or House of Delegates during the legislative session in Annapolis. The session runs annually from January to April. Pages will serve one week during the first eight weeks of the session, and the second week during the last five weeks.

Pages receive a $55 stipend per day and must have transportation. Duties include keeping bill books up-to-date, distributing materials on the floor to members, assisting visitors and delivering messages to members.

Interested students must meet the following qualifications:

·         Reside in Maryland and attend a Maryland public high school;

·         Registered as a high school senior;

·         Be at least 16 years old;

·         Provide a social security number;

·         Have an interest in government and history;

·         Demonstrate outstanding classroom performance, behavior and judgement; and

·         Be reliable and courteous.

Students must apply for program consideration and can receive an application from the program sponsor at their school. The application is also available on the Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) website at http://www.ccboe.com/images/students/StudentPageApplication.pdf .

Along with the application, students must complete an essay assignment provided by their school’s program sponsor. Completed applications and essays must be submitted by Monday, Oct. 1 to the program sponsor at their school. Program sponsors are the following CCPS social studies teachers:

·         Henry E. Lackey High School, Jonathan Webster;

·         La Plata High School, Chris Butler;

·         Maurice J. McDonough High School, Nate Mouli;

·         North Point High School, Anna Newton;

·         Charles High School, Jonathan Perry;

·         Thomas Stone High School, James Lloyd; and

·         Westlake High School, Matthew Panzarella.

A panel of CCPS staff reviews applications and essay submissions to determine finalists for the three positions, as well as the alternate. Students who are selected as finalists will interview with a panel on Thursday, Oct. 11 at the Jesse L. Starkey Administration Building.

 Additional details about the program are posted on the Maryland General Assembly website at http://dls.maryland.gov/careers/student-page-program/.

Board increases GPA, attendance rules for sports, clubs

The Board of Education on Tuesday unanimously voted to increase grade and attendance requirements for students participating in extracurricular activities and athletics.

The new requirements take effect next school year, but students’ grades the second semester of this school year will impact their eligibility to participate in extracurricular activities in the fall of 2015. The new rules require students to maintain a 2.25 grade-point average with no failing “F” grades to participate in any extracurricular activity, including sports. Additionally, students may not be absent more than 9.5 days in the previous semester.

The change raises the standards from a 2.0 grade-point average and takes effect with the 2015-16 school year. Incoming ninth graders are no longer automatically eligible to participate in fall sports or clubs the first semester; the student’s second semester grades in eighth grade will determine eligibility. Students promoted from fifth to sixth grade are automatically eligible to participate the first semester.

Currently, students must maintain a minimum grade-point average of 2.0 and receive no more than one failing grade per quarter in order to participate in extracurricular activities.
The Board also approved the following eligibility guidelines:

• Eligibility for fall extracurricular activities will be based on a student’s second semester grade-point average at the end of the previous year.

• Eligibility for winter extracurricular activities will be based on a student’s second semester grade-point average at the end of the previous year.

• Eligibility for spring extracurricular activities will be based on a student’s first semester grade-point average.

• If a student receives a failing grade in any quarter, they are ineligible for the remainder of the season and semester. Students cannot gain eligibility at interim.

• Any student who receives a failing grade for the semester is ineligible for participation for the following semester.

• Students academically ineligible at the end of the second semester cannot regain eligibility by enrolling in summer school.

On Maryland tobacco farms, turning a tradition into potential health benefits

Surprise! A positive article about tobacco!


[The 2011 Charles County Fair Queen -- Queen Nicotina LXXVI -- is Ms. Meaghan Pfeiffer, who was sponsored by La Plata HS SGA. Ms. Jacqueline James was first runner-up and Ms. Kourtney Wathen was second runner-up.]

Ann Gerhart
The Washington Post
November 14, 2011

Can tobacco, the weed with a killer reputation, be the next miracle drug?

Warning: The subject of this exploration will constrict your blood vessels, choke your windpipe and dispatch you to an early grave, 5 million of you a year. The most lucrative crop the Americas have ever seen, it kept the British at bay, kept the enslaved entrapped, kept Hollywood sexy. Until it didn’t anymore.

Stipulation: Deep bows to the great public health triumph of wrestling Big Tobacco to the mat and changing human behavior. Never before were millions persuaded to give up a highly pleasurable, relatively cheap habit because it was bad for them. And never since.

But: Tobacco itself refuses to die. It’s stubborn. It’s meant to grow here. The seeds are tiny as a flea and germinate like crazy. In less than a month, you can have a robust green crop that’s good for much more than smoking. You can grow vaccines in it. Extract protein from it. Make drugs from it.

Ten years after Maryland became the only state to use its tobacco settlement money to pay hundreds of farmers to quit growing the evil sot-weed, it’s turning out that tobacco has redemptive virtues. Nobody needed to bother exploiting them before; the stuff was so fabulously successful for 400 years as a vice. Even nicotine, the natural and highly addictive chemical in tobacco, has its benefits.

People smoked in part because a cigarette could calm you down and pep you up. Now research studies are exploring exactly how nicotine may safely halt cognitive decline and help those with Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, depression, schizophrenia and attention problems. The pure nicotine in the smoking cessation patch used in these studies is extracted from an American product that American farmers know how to grow.

Read more HERE.

AP, SAT participation increases

Personally I don't mind the scores dropping as long as more students are taking the tests.

Charles County students increased participation in Advanced Placement (AP) and SAT assessment participation, according to data released this week by the College Board, which administers AP, SAT and other national programs.


Charles County Public Schools average score on AP exams rose slightly to 2.14 from 2.13 in 2010. Nearly 89 percent of all students taking the rigorous AP classes took at least one test in 2011. "Taking Advanced Placement classes in high school better prepares our students for future study and success," Superintendent James E. Richmond said.

While the number of students taking the SAT increased, average scores decreased. Scores for the class of 2011 were 1455, down from 1486 in 2010. National and state averages also declined. Average participation countywide is 39 percent, up from 35.7 percent in 2010.

Students average score on the critical reading section is 494; math scores are 488 and writing scores are 473. SAT tests are designed to demonstrate a student's mastery of certain subjects to colleges. Many colleges use the test as a part of the admissions process. Only scores for graduating seniors are included in the 2011 report. Students in the Class of 2011 were offered nearly $40 million in scholarships.

La Plata High School students averaged 1672, with 26.4 percent of graduates taking the SAT in 2011. Westlake High School students posted a 1492 average, with 18.5 percent participation. Both North Point High School and Henry E. Lackey High School students averaged 1445. North Point had 62.9 percent of its graduates taking the SAT and Lackey had 30 percent. Maurice J. McDonough High School%u219s average is 1415 with 34.8 percent participation and Thomas Stone High School students averaged 1377 with 47 percent participation.

Charles County Public Schools offers Kaplan Live Online, an interactive SAT preparation class in Saturday session in the spring and fall.

"Last year we saw an increase in our scores and felt the success of students taking online programs and preparation classes was moving us in the right direction. To see a decrease this year disturbs us, and we are looking to see how to encourage more students who want and need to take the SAT to take advantage of these classes and become better prepared to take this test," Richmond said.

A detailed chart of SAT results for 2010-11 college bound seniors is posted on the Charles County Public Schools Web site at http://www2.ccboe.com/PDF/testscores/SAT-2011.pdf.

Charles County Public Schools provides 26,858 students in grades prekindergarten through 12 with an academically challenging education. Located in Southern Maryland, Charles County Public Schools has 35 schools that offer a technologically advanced, progressive and high quality education that builds character, equips for leadership and prepares students for life, careers and higher education.

School system sponsors scholarship workshop

Charles County Public Schools is sponsoring "The Scholarship Workshop," hosted by author Marianne Ragins, on Saturday, Oct. 16, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., at North Point High School.

 

The workshop is designed to help students successfully complete the college scholarship search and application process. Ragins is a one-time recipient of more than $400,000 in scholarship offers and author of "Winning Scholarships for College" and "College Survival & Success Skills 101." The workshop will cover the following:

• Resources to use to find scholarship opportunities;
• Easy guidelines for writing scholarship-winning essays with examples;
• Helpful tips on using the Internet to research scholarships;
• An inside look at obtaining positive recommendations;
• Helpful tips on how to stand out against other scholarship applicants;
• Ways to highlight your personality and achievements during interviews; and
• Last-minute strategies helpful in obtaining funds for college.

The seminar is free-of-charge and is open to county high school students, parents and guardians. Space is limited to the first 450 participants in attendance and reservations are required. Visit http://www2.ccboe.com/instruction/scholarshipworkshop.cfm. to register. Students who attend are eligible for the Ragins/Braswell National Scholarship. For more information on the scholarship and workshop, visit http://www.scholarshipworkshop.com/.

 

As a high school senior, Ragins applied for and received more than $400,000 in scholarship funds for college. She launched "The Scholarship Workshop" to present her experiences and help others in the college scholarship search process. Ragins has been featured in publications such as USA Today, People, Ebony and Newsweek and also made appearances on shows such as "Good Morning America" to speak about her experiences and the workshop.

 

Ragins received a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration from Florida A & M University and a master of business administration degree from George Washington University. Both of Ragins' degrees were obtained with scholarship funds. She is the founder and president of The Scholarship Workshop and sponsor of the Ragins/Braswell National Scholarship. For more information on registration, call 301-934-7309.

 

Charles County Public Schools provides 26,780 students in grades prekindergarten through 12 with an academically challenging education. Located in Southern Maryland, Charles County Public Schools has 35 caring community schools that offer a technologically advanced, progressive and high quality education that builds character, equips for leadership and prepares students for life, careers and higher education.

 

Student Recognition

Tonight I had the privilege of attending one of the many student recognitions taking place around the county. I went to Mcdonough where not only McDonough students were being recognized, but also Stoddert, James Craik, Eva Turner, and Brown. As always, Ms. Petty and staff were well prepared, the McDonough Wind Ensemble was phenomenal, but...the attendance by parents and students was once again lacking. I am very disappointed when looking out into the audience and see principals attending these recognition events, taking time away from their families, and have NONE of the students or parents show up. What is the answer? Should we not give out recognitions? Very sad right now.

Schools around state crack down on tag

You've gotta be kidding me....in the age of a fast food restaurant on every corner, both parents working and too busy to cook nutritious meals, and school systems strapped for money and time just to meet the academic requirements much less provide adequate time for physical education, we are now going to tell all the overweight, latchkey kids they can't run around and play tag at recess? What is this world coming to? It's not like a mandatory requirement at recess, it's OPTIONAL!!

Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2008
By MEGAN A. CONLAN

Capital News Service

ANNAPOLIS — Maryland elementary schools are restricting the types of games students can play at recess, causing some people to worry that administrators are eliminating the very activities that let kids be kids.

Although most schools already prohibit games like dodgeball and tackle football, stringent no contact policies are, in some cases, affecting more basic childhood games as well. Tag is one game being questioned at more Maryland schools.

Read more HERE

Register for Young Scientist Competition

The June 15 deadline is fast approaching for Discovery Education's Young Scientist Challenge, a competition that asks students to create a short video explaining a specific scientific concept.

Over the past nine years, more than 540,000 middle school students have been nominated to participate in the competition. Winners have gone on to speak in front of members of Congress, work with the nation's top scientists, and pursue academic careers in the sciences.

Find out more information at Discovery Education's Web site.

Activity Bus Transportation

Also new this year, per Superintendent Richmond...

"We are adding activity bus transportation to eligible high school students for the 2007-08 school year. The buses are for students participating in high school-sponsored activities that take place after dismissal time. The buses will be routed to serve as many students as possible and will drop students off at central locations along established routes. Students will either walk home or have someone pick them up from the central drop-off locations. Students may only use the service on days when there is an activity in which they are scheduled to participate. Students will be provided bus passes. Locations have not been finalized as of yet.

Maryland Association of Student Councils

A meeting of the Maryland Association of Student Councils took place Saturday at North Point High School. The 800 student delegate attendees picked two nominees to represent Maryland's million students on the State Board of Education. The two students chosen were from Prince George's County; Renford Freemantle of Beltsville and Haywood Perry III of Accokeek. Gov. Martin O'Malley will appoint one of the two nominees to the board.

In a quote taken from the Washington Post article

Roberta "Bobbie" Wise, the newly elected vice chairman of the Charles County Board of Education, said she was blown away by the student leaders.

"Those kids were impressive," Wise said. "My God, I wish I had that composure when I was campaigning."

Although I couldn't personally attend the meeting, my congratulations and compliments to the Charles County Association of Student Councils for a very organized and informative event.

Chess Grants for Schools

Yes! Grants are available from the Maryland State Department of Education to support existing or new chess programs Maryland schools. Grants of up to $10,000 a year per program may be awarded! Proposals are due by February 15th!

For more information about the Chess in Maryland Schools program or to apply for one of the grants, call 410-767-0034 or go to MSDE.