National School Breakfast Week, March 3-7
To promote participation in the School Breakfast Program, St. Mary's County Public Schools will celebrate National School Breakfast Week from March 3-7, 2014. This year's theme, "Take Time for School Breakfast," encourages parents to consider the school breakfast program as a time-saving option for those busy mornings.
The theme will appear in school cafeterias during National School Breakfast Week. Cafeterias will promote school breakfast with special menus, decorations, activities, and events all week long. Breakfast is served at every school in St. Mary's County Public Schools and offers students the healthy breakfast they need to get set for a busy school day. Every school breakfast served meets federal nutrition standards limiting fat, calories, and sodium.
"Take Time for School Breakfast" was created by the non-profit School Nutrition Association with support from Kellogg's Foodservice. Celebrating its 25th Anniversary, National School Breakfast Week was launched in 1989 to raise awareness of the availability of the School Breakfast Program to all children and to promote the links between eating a good breakfast, academic achievement, and healthy lifestyles.
National Board for Professional Teaching Standards Certified Teachers Recognized
St. Mary's County Public Schools is proud to announce that Bernadette Scheetz, mathematics teacher at Leonardtown Middle School, recently achieved National Board Certification as an Early Adolescence Mathematics teacher through the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS). St. Mary's County Public Schools is also proud to announce the recertification of two St. Mary's NBPTS certified teachers, Colleen Gill who earned recertification as an Early Adolescence English Language Arts teacher, and Contina Quick-McQueen, who earned recertification as an Early Childhood Generalist. Ms. Gill is currently an English Language Arts teacher at Leonardtown High School, and Ms. Quick-McQueen is currently an Assistant Principal at Great Mills High School. St. Mary's County is now home to 54 nationally board certified teachers. There are currently 2,575 nationally board certified teachers in the state of Maryland, and 106,365 across the nation.
National Board Certified Teachers (NBCTs) are highly accomplished educators who meet high standards. The NBPTS certification process is quite demanding, requiring the submission of a lengthy portfolio and video tapes detailing and analyzing teaching practices and student learning in the candidate's classroom. In addition, the NBCT candidates are required to take a rigorous content area assessment in order to earn certification. Several recent research studies, including one completed by Harvard University's Center for Education Policy Research, have linked NBCTs with increased student achievement in the classroom.
For more information on the NBPTS certification process, visit http://www.nbpts.org.
2014 Mathcounts Individual and State Qualifiers for the Southern Maryland Chapter
On February 1, 2014, middle school students from Esperanza, Leonardtown, Margaret Brent, and Spring Ridge Middle Schools represented St. Mary's County Public Schools at the Southern Maryland Chapter MATHCOUNTS Competition at Theodore G. Davis Middle School in Charles County. A mix of nineteen public and parochial middle schools from Calvert, Charles, and St. Mary's counties - consisting of over 100 students - participated in this event sponsored by the Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative, Inc. (SMECO). Middle school teams that finished in the top 5 overall and individual participants that scored in the top 25% at the regional competition were invited to participate in the MATHCOUNTS Maryland State Competition to be held on Saturday, March 15, 2014 in Hodson Hall at Johns Hopkins University.
Leonardtown Middle School, coached by Nic Cox, finished third overall in the team competition. Official team members were: Rosa Bates, Danielle Gore, Kaitlyn Ng, and Raymart Tuazon. Raymart Tuazon finished 5th overall and placed in the top 25% of all individual participants.
Margaret Brent Middle School, coached by Craig Modrzejewski, finished eighth in the team competition. Official team members were Austin DeStefanis, Tommy DeStefanis, Jacob Dolinar, and Alex Oliver. Individual participants were Ben D 'Angelo, Alessandra Huerta-Hernandez, Sydney Rye, and Noah Tack.
Spring Ridge Middle School, coached by Bridget Dunbar and Dr. Gary Robinson, finished eleventh in the team competition. Official team members were David Cannavo, Hannah Cha, Andrew Nixon, and Lisa Sipe. Individual participants were Adam Abril, Kailey Chase, Kaela Dothard, and Victoria Voellm. David Cannavo, who finished 12th overall, qualified for the state competition by placing in the top 25% of all individual participants.
Esperanza Middle School, coached by Gabrielle Sivak and Chris Adams, finished twelfth overall in the team competition. Official team members were Andrew Feddersen, Josh Grafil, Margaret Holmes, and John Ronquillo. Individual participants were Rachel Appleby, Matthew Bobrowski, Amanda David, Allison Robinson, Slade Scriber, and Emme Staats. Esperanza students that qualified for the state competition and placed in the top 25% of all individual participants were: Margaret Holmes (14th overall), Emme Staats (18th overall), Josh Grafil (20th overall).