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The County Times
State’s Attorney Pulls an “All-Knighter” State’s Attorney Richard Fritz visited St. Mary’s Ryken earlier this month to present a check for $5,000. Fritz and the Office of State’s Attorney, St. Mary’s County, help sponsor the school’s annual All-Knighter program - an alcohol and drug-free post-prom event. This is the fourth year for the All-Knighter, held at the Capital Clubhouse Recreation Center in Waldorf, which keeps kids off of the roads and engaged in activities such as ice skating, rock wall climbing, basketball and dodge ball. The All Knighter is the culmination of the alcohol and drug abuse prevention programs and other awareness activities that go on throughout the school year. This well-supervised and safe after prom event sends a powerful message to the students that their school and community supports them in their decision to be alcohol, tobacco and drug-free.
Evergreen Elementary to Host Kindergarten Orientation Evergreen Elementary School will host its Kindergarten Orientation on Wednesday, May 5, 2010, 6:00-7:00 p.m., in the school’s cafeteria. The school is located at 43765 Evergreen Way (at the end of Wildewood Parkway), California, MD. Parents of incoming kindergarten students and their children will learn about grade level expectations and will get an inside look at typical day in kindergarten at Evergreen Elementary. After the presentation, families will have an opportunity to tour the kindergarten classrooms. For more details, contact the school at 301-863-4060.
State Developing New Evaluation System for Teachers, Principals
The General Assembly this month passed the Education Reform Act of 2010, which called for changes in the system used to evaluate educators. As a result, the Maryland State Board of Education has agreed to publish a new regulation that will add student achievement as a substantial part of the evaluation process for both teachers and principals. Under the proposed regulation, the student growth component of the evaluation will be 50 percent of the evaluation for both teachers and principals. The regulations, which follow the action of the Maryland General Assembly, also would set in place the use of multiple measures when evaluating educators. The evaluation would use more than one measure to determine student growth. No single criterion would account for more than 35 percent of the total per-
formance evaluation criteria. A stakeholder group will be brought together to determine the evaluation structure, state and local responsibilities, and the specific elements of the evaluation. “Our primary duty as a school system is to improve student learning,” said State Superintendent of Schools Nancy S. Grasmick. “Adding growth in student achievement to our evaluation system is a sensible approach to strengthen learning. It places children and their learning exactly where they should be: at the center of what we do in Maryland Public Schools.” Once published, the public will have the opportunity to submit commentary on the proposed new regulation. The State Board will review the commentary before taking final action on the regulation.
Sky Exhibit Lecture Series at CSM
CSM will present United States Navy Submitted photo pilot Commander Klas Ohman to lecture about his experience flying a replica of the 1903 Wright Brothers plane as part of the 2003 centennial celebration of that historic flight. CSM’s Heroes of the Sky Exhibit Lecture Series: Flying the 2003 Wright Flyer, will be at 7 p.m., May 7, at the College of Southern Maryland, Leonardtown Campus, Building A-Auditorium. CSM, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), will host the NEH traveling exhibit Heroes of the Sky: Adventures in Early Flight, Regina Bowman-Goldring, Director of Student Services at 1903-1939, on display on CSMs Leonard- CSM’s Leonardtown Campus, examines one of the “Hetown Campus. Display hours are 3 - 6 p.m., roes of the Sky” displays at CSM’s Leonardtown Campus. Monday -Tuesday and 12- 2 p.m., Wednesday - Thursday. Admission is free. For more 301-870-2309, Ext. 5312 or go to www.csmd. information, call 240-725-5312, 443-550-6199, edu.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Flying from London to New York by Concord (now retired), due to the time zones crossed, you can arrive 2 hours before you leave.
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STEM Teacher Receives Scholarship to Study Climate Change By Andrea Shiell Staff Writer Spring Ridge STEM teacher Tamarah Dishman said she will be keeping an open mind about the causes and ramifications of climate change this summer, as she’ll be going to the Bahamas to do field research as part of the Earthwatch Educator Program, which has partnered with Northrop Grumman to send 22 educators to study that and other issues related to coastal ecology. It’ll be a great opportunity for professional development, said Dishman, adding that she’ll be on expedition with 13 others in Inagua, the southernmost island in the Bahamas, to study and help preserve the coastal ecology of the region. 12 others are joining an expedition that will monitor climate change at the edge of the Arctic. The Bahamas expedition teams will focus on research sites at the archipelago’s southern islands of Long Island, Great Exuma and Great Inagua. The Arctic project will take teachers to Churchill, Canada, on the coast of the Hudson Bay near the geographical center of the North American continent. Dishman said she was excited to gain more field experience. “We’re going to be taking various samples, and we’re under the tutelage of someone
from the University of Miami,” she said, “and they’re doing studies that have to do with the land and water. There’s a large flamenco population on the island. There are also salt lakes on the island, and also because of its location, being the southernmost island in the Bahamas, they’re looking at the effects of weather, and especially hurricanes on the area.” Scholarship recipients were selected through a competitive application process. All middle school teachers from respective communities were eligible to apply. The applicant’s geographic region, potential contribution to the research, and follow-up curriculum plans were all taken into consideration. The expeditions are designed to provide educators with a hands-on, immersive professional development opportunity. As for Dishman’s plans after the expedition, she said she was interested most of all in sharing her discoveries with her students. “I thought that this expedition connected very well with what we have here, being a coastal region,” she said. “I was also intrigued by the technology they use. I think working for someone that’s a research scientist working for a large university, I think I’ll have so many opportunities to learn about field experience … and I’ll be able to bring that back to this area.
Second-Graders Study St. Mary’s River
Thirty-eight second-grade students from Chesapeake Public Charter School visited the St. Mary’s River on Monday, April 26, for an environmental field trip to learn about the river and the species that live within it first-hand. The students visited several learning stations at the Great Mills/Canoe Kayak Launch that focused on rivers, forests, human impacts on the environment, and plants and animals, such as fish, frogs, aquatic insects, and trees. Members of the St. Mary’s River Watershed Association and high school students from the James A. Forrest Career and Technology Center taught the second-grade students about the importance of a healthy watershed.
Benjamin Banneker Hosting Preschool Fair Benjamin Banneker Elementary School will host its Preschool Informational Fair on Thursday, April 29, 2010, 6:30-8:00 p.m., in the school’s cafeteria. The school is located at 27180 Point Lookout Road, Loveville, MD. Topics of discussion will include academics for preschool-aged children, speech and language development, fine and gross motor skills development, techniques and resources for children with hearing loss, and cooking and creating art projects with preschool-aged children. The St. Mary’s County Library, Partners for Success, The Arc of Southern Maryland, Southern Maryland Childcare Resource Center, and Greenwell State Park will be on hand to provide information about their programs. This is a free event, but reservations are required because space is limited. For more details, contact Ms. Michelle Carroll at the school at 301-475-0206, ext. 109, or by email at mccarroll@smcps.org.