La Plata wrestlers named to All Academic Teams
Three student wrestlers from La Plata High School – senior Anthony Cable, junior Marty Margolis and sophomore Cameron Butler – were named to the Maryland State Wrestling Association’s (MSWA) 2014 All Academic Teams. The teams honor outstanding student wrestlers for their academic performance as well as their performance on the wrestling mat.
Two teams – a first team and a second team – were selected for recognition, and additional students were recognized with honorable mention designations. Cable was selected to represent the 170 lb. weight class on the first team and was honored for his high grade-point average and exemplary SAT score. Cable also received first place in the 4A/3A state tournament in his weight class.
Margolis was selected to represent the 126 lb. weight class on the second team and was honored for his high grade-point average. Margolis also received first place in the 4A/3A tournament in his weight class.
Butler was selected to represent the 106 lb. weight class on the first team and was recognized for his high grade-point average. Butler also won third place in his weight class in the 4A/3A finals.
All three students were recognized by the MSWA in a special ceremony on March 11. The MSWA accepts nominations of students for consideration on the All Academic Teams. Only one wrestler per weight class in Maryland is selected for both the first and second teams. Students can be nominated by parents, teachers, school staff or their coach. Jonathon Pankhurst, special education teacher and wrestling coach at La Plata, submitted letters of recommendation on the athletes behalf.
For more information on the MSWA All Academic Teams, visit http://marylandwrestling.org/.
Six county DI teams advance to global tournament next month
Six Charles County Public Schools Destination Imagination (DI) teams advance to the global tournament, scheduled for May 21-24 in Knoxville, Tenn., after winning first, second or third place at the state competition held April 5 at the University of Maryland Baltimore County.
The following teams earned a spot to compete in the global tournament as a first-, second- or third-place winner at the state level:
Dig In challenge:
-- Thomas Stone High School, DI Like Donuts team, first place. Members of the team are Stone freshman Rya Nelson, Adam Park, Luke Roberts and Alzandra Williams, and Kaitlyn Vance, an eighth grader at John Hanson Middle School.
Laugh Art Loud challenge:
-- Indian Head Elementary School, Little Rascals team, first place. Members of the team include fifth graders Lamia Allen, Jaden Hobdy, Malishia Meyer, Hunter Paulin and Anastazia Scherer.
Pandemonium challenge:
-- Theodore G. Davis Middle School, Ditwaca team, first place. Team members are eighth graders Emily Decker, Carsen Essing, Andrew Gausepohl, Hannah McMillen, Lindsay Polk and Sarah Steele.
-- Davis and Matthew Henson Middle School, DI’nception team, third place. Team members from Davis include eighth graders Xavier Prince, Kevin Rohrbaurgh, Logan Steele and Jacadi Tillman, and Henson eighth graders Amelia Dudley, Hannah Gates and Christina Murphy.
-- North Point High School, Broken Fingers team, first place at the secondary level. Team members are North Point senior Ethan Kriemelmeyer, and juniors Caitie O’Donnell and William Remik.
The Tension Builds challenge:
-- North Point, Supreme DI-eties team, third place. Team members include North Point juniors Arianna Clark, Erin Green, Kylie Green, Joel Rogers and Andre Winkfield, and sophomore Dennis Whitley.
Special awards were also presented to teams and individual students at the competition. The Little Rascals team from Indian Head was presented with the Spirit of DI award, which recognizes teams for outstanding school and team spirit. Noah Gibson, a North Point senior, received a $500 DI college scholarship.
Two other Charles County Public Schools teams were recognized for placing in the top five in their challenge area. They are
-- North Point, Um… What?! team, fifth place, Dig In challenge; and
-- Mt. Hope/Nanjemoy Elementary School, Building Beavers team, fourth place.
Destination Imagination is a creative problem solving program for students in grades kindergarten through college and is active in 50 states and more than 40 countries. Teams of up to seven members work to solve different challenges and present their solutions to a panel of judges. Students compete at the regional, state and global levels. For more information on Destination Imagination, visit http://www.idodi.org/.
High schools on Post’s top school list for AP performance
Two Charles County Public high schools were among the nation’s top 1,000 schools ranked for Advanced Placement (AP) performance by The Washington Post this week in its annual “America’s Most Challenging High Schools” list for 2014, compiled by Post education columnist Jay Mathews.
Westlake High School’s ranking is 973 and La Plata High School is ranked at 979. A total of 2,025 high schools were ranked in the list. North Point High School ranked at 1,323, followed by Henry E. Lackey High School at 1,354, Maurice J. McDonough High School at 1,552 and Thomas Stone High School at 1,804.
The list also ranks schools by state and region. Statewide rankings for the six Charles County high schools are Westlake, 61; La Plata, 62; North Point, 77; Lackey, 78; McDonough, 90; and Stone, 109. A total of 122 schools in Maryland were included in the list and used to rank schools by state.
Mathews began to rank public high schools in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area using the Challenge Index in 1998. The Challenge Index measures how effectively a school prepares students for college. In 2011, the Post expanded the rankings to include high schools nationwide.
Rankings on the list are formulated by dividing the number of AP, International Baccalaureate and Advanced International Certificate of Education tests given at a school each year by the number of seniors who graduated in June. Schools included on the national list achieved a ratio of at least 1.00 for 2013, which meant they had as many tests in 2013 as they did graduates.
The list was published earlier this week on Monday and varies dependent upon additional data reported to the Post. The list including national, regional and local rankings is posted on the Washington Post website at http://apps.washingtonpost.com/local/highschoolchallenge/.
Summer school registration begins June 25
Registration for the 2014 Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) Summer School program is June 25-26 at the Robert D. Stethem Educational Center. Summer school begins on Tuesday, July 1, at Westlake High School.
Walk-in registration times for Wednesday and Thursday, June 25-26, are 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Registrations will not be accepted after 7 p.m. on June 26. Registration forms, as well as copies of the summer school rules and procedures, are available at all middle and high school counseling offices.
Registration forms must be completed by the parent/guardian, verified by the school counselor and signed by the principal before registration. The summer school rules and procedures form must be signed by the student and parent/guardian, and must accompany registration forms. Graduating seniors must provide a completed graduation release sheet from their home school during registration.
The summer school session begins Tuesday, July 1 and ends Thursday, July 31. Classes are Monday through Friday. The fee is $200 per make-up class and the fee for make-up extended classes is $300 per class. Fit for Life classes for students will be offered July 1 through July 16 and are $100 per class.
Parents/guardians are responsible for student transportation to and from summer school. Payment is due at registration. Cash, Visa, Master Card and money orders are the only accepted forms of payment. Checks and partial payments will not be accepted. Refunds are only given if a course is canceled or a written request is received by administration by July 2. No refund is given if a student is removed from the summer school program for a violation of the Charles County Public Schools Code of Student Conduct or attendance policy.
Graduation is Thursday, July 31 at 4 p.m. at Westlake High School.
For more information, contact Brian McCarthy or Sandy Rooney at 301-932-1003. For a list of available summer school courses and additional information, visit http://www.ccboe.com/community/summer_school.php.