Forrest Center Seeking Welding Instructor
The Dr. James A. Forrest Career and Technology Center has an opening for a welding instructor. Candidates should have industry experience in welding. Potential applicants can review the job posting and apply for the position at:
stmarymd.cloud.talentedk12.com/hire/ViewJob.aspx?JobID=588. The deadline for applications is Wednesday, December 11, 2013.
Bioethics Book Adoption: Public Review of Books at Leonardtown Library
St. Mary's County Public Schools is in the process of adopting books to be used in the new Bioethics class at Leonardtown High School. The books are entitled Flight Behavior, by Barbara Kingsolver; Oryx and Crake, by Margaret Atwood; Refuge, by Terry Tempest Williams; The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, by Rebecca Skloot; and State of Wonder, by Ann Patchett. These books are now available for public review at the Leonardtown Library. They will be available for review from Monday, December 16, 2013 to Friday, January 3, 2014.
For more information, please contact Mr. Jason Hayes, Science and STEM Supervisor at 301-475-5511, extension 32135.
St. Mary's County Public Schools' Ethics Panel Vacancy
Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Michael J. Martirano, is seeking applicants to serve on the St. Mary's County Public Schools' Ethics Panel. The Ethics Panel is the advisory body responsible for interpreting the Ethics Policy and/or Ethics Regulations, subject to review by the Board of Education, and for advising persons subject to the Ethics Policy and/or Ethics Regulations regarding their application. Panel members serve a three-year term and they meet at a minimum, quarterly. If you would like to be considered, please call (301) 475-5511, ext. 32177, for more information.
Board of Education to Meet on Thursday, December 5, 2013
The Board of Education of St. Mary's County will meet in executive session at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday, December 5, 2013 in the Board of Education Meeting Room, 23160 Moakley Street, in Leonardtown. The Board will be meeting in closed session under Article 24, Section 4-210a(c)8 for an appeal. For more details, call (301) 475-5511, ext. 32177.
Board of Education Meeting Rescheduled
The Board of Education of St. Mary's County meeting previously scheduled for Wednesday, January 29, 2014, has been rescheduled for Tuesday, January 28, 2014. For more details, call (301) 475-5511, ext. 32177.
St. Mary's County Public Schools Website Updates
The St. Mary's County Public Schools website,
www.smcps.org, has been updated to include four new hyperlinks on the main page: Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Channel 96. All are encouraged to visit our site, follow us on Twitter, like us on Facebook, and subscribe to us on YouTube. Real time information about our schools, informative videos, and our Board of Education meetings will be available on the social media sites.
Head Start Spaces Available for Income Eligible Four-Year-Olds
St. Mary's County Public Schools Head Start program has available spaces for income eligible four-year-old students. Income eligible students must be four years of age with a date of birth on or before September 1, 2009.
For more information, please contact Mrs. Kelly Dobson, Head Start Coordinator at 301-690-2441.
Donation to St. Mary's County Public Schools
St. Mary's County Public Schools (SMCPS) is proud to accept the generous donation from Mr. Chuck Bryson, county businessman, of $10,000.00 to continue a new program of Virtual Field Trips from Colonial Williamsburg. Mr. Bryson, who is a member of the Colonial Williamsburg's donor society called the Burgesses, brought the program to the attention of the school system last spring. The program's cost, $250.00 for each public middle school, was made available for this school year for the monthly programs from Williamsburg. But there was a concern expressed about it continuing. The program was piloted in October 2013 at Leonardtown Middle School in hopes of expanding to all middle schools. The program provides live, interactive lessons that explore such topics as the Bill of Rights, the three branches of government, 18th century trades and the Continental Army, the complicated relationships between slaves and their masters, Civil War ironclads, and the War of 1812. The program features Emmy-Award winning live internet events and television broadcasts for grades 4-8.
The program included a professional development webinar for teachers on October 3rd which provided an overview of: how to integrate the Virtual Field Trip into daily instruction; how to gain access to the instructional resources; and literacy activities with primary sources. At the November 26, 2013, Board meeting, Leonardtown Middle School Social Studies Teacher, Ms. Tamara Payne shared how the first program on the Bill of Rights engaged her students, not only on the day it was presented (October 10th) but in subsequent lessons. Also participating in the presentation were Dr. Jeff Maher, Executive Director of Teaching, Learning and Professional Development and Mr. Kevin Wright, Supervisor of Instruction for Social Studies and Student Relations.
Dr. Salvatore L. Raspa, Board Chairman, stated "We are very grateful to Mr. Bryson for his passionate interest in making history come alive for our middle school students. He saw the worth in the Williamsburg Virtual Field Trip project and wanted our St. Mary's County students to benefit from this unique interactive method of teaching our children. We very much appreciate Mr. Bryson's generosity and the students will benefit for years to come."
Dr. Michael J. Martirano, Superintendent of Schools, said "We want students to be enthusiastic about learning and the Williamsburg Virtual Field Trip project will be another innovative way for students to learn about history and look to the past to explain the future in real-life terms. I am so appreciative of Mr. Bryson's generous donation."
For more information on the Colonial Williamsburg program, visit their website at
www.history.org/history/teaching/eft/.