Lifelong Learning Center now located at Stethem campus
The Lifelong Learning Center, which offers adult education programs to Charles County community members, is now located at the Robert D. Stethem Educational Center in Pomfret. The fall session begins on Tuesday, Sept. 9 and most classes available through the Lifelong Learning Center will be held in Building A on the Stethem campus.
The new address is Lifelong Learning Center, Building A, 7775 Marshall Corner Road, Pomfret, MD 20675. The Lifelong Learning Center was moved this summer from its longtime Waldorf location due to fire damage to the building. Community members can reach Lifelong Learning Center staff by calling 301-753-1774 or 301-645-4549.
The Center offers General Education Development (GED) preparation, Adult Basic Education, English as a Second Language, Citizenship and Civics classes. Additional programs include the National Adult External High School Diploma. Some classes are offered in partnership with the Judy Centers and for students 16 and older who have withdrawn from school.
Classes are held throughout the day and evening and on-site childcare is available. More information about the programs offered at the Lifelong Learning Center is available on the Charles County Public Schools website at http://www.ccboe.com/schools/lifelong.php.
Board of Education announces September 9 agenda
The Board of Education’s next monthly meeting is Tuesday, Sept. 9, at the Jesse L. Starkey Administration Building on Radio Station Road in La Plata. The public portion of the meeting begins at 1 p.m. The meeting is televised live on Comcast Channel 96 and Verizon FiOS Channel 12, and is rebroadcast throughout the week. Board meetings are also streamed live on the school system website www.ccboe.com. Select CCPS TV and then choose the Live Broadcast tab.
Executive session – 12 p.m.
Call to order – 1 p.m.
Pledge of Allegiance – Westlake High School
Superintendent’s update to the Board
Reports of officers/boards/committees
-- Correspondence/board member updates
-- Education Association of Charles County update
-- Student board member’s update
-- Opening of schools
-- Capital Improvement Program (CIP) update
-- Report item: FY 2014 Comprehensive Maintenance Plan
-- Legislative update
Unfinished business
New business and Future agenda items
-- New business
-- Future agenda items
Public Forum – 6 p.m.
Action items
-- Minutes
-- Personnel
-- FY 2015 CIP state and local CIP program
-- Policies 5161.1
-- Athletic eligibility grade-point average
-- Recurring resolutions: American Education Week; American Freedom Week; African-American History Month; Career and Technology Education Month; Gifted and Talented Education Month; National School Counseling Week; Read Across America; Women’s History Month; Fine and Performing Arts Month; Month of the Young Child; National Student Leadership Week; Teacher Appreciation Week; Administrative Professionals Week; Child Nutrition Employee Appreciation Week; National Physical Education and Sport Week; Washington Post Distinguished Educational Leader; Charles County Teacher of the Year; Employees Retirement; and Washington Post Agnes Meyer Outstanding Teacher Award.
Adjournment
Vaccination requirement deadline is Sept. 15; clinics available
The state health department is requiring kindergarten and seventh-grade students to get additional vaccinations this school year. Failure to receive the immunizations or provide proof of updated shot records by Sept. 15 could lead to the exclusion of students from school.
Charles County Public Schools kindergarten students are now required to have two doses of the Varicella, or chickenpox, vaccine and seventh graders must have one dose of the Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis/whooping cough) and one dose of the Meningitis (MCV4/Meningococcal) vaccine. These are new requirements for the 2014-15 school year from the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, and updated shot records for these students must be provided to the school within the first 20 calendar days of the school year.
The 20-day calendar rule is required by law under the Code of Maryland Regulations (COMAR). By law, if proof of immunization (an updated shot record) is not provided to the school by Monday, Sept. 15, students will be suspended. Students will be reinstated once proof of the new vaccinations is received.
Students can receive the new vaccinations from their physician. The Charles County Department of Health is also hosting vaccination clinics on Thursday, Sept. 4 and Thursday, Sept. 11, both from 3 to 7 p.m., to provide students in kindergarten and seventh grades with the new vaccinations required this school year.
The Charles County Department of Health is located at 4545 Crain Highway, White Plains, Md., 20695. Appointments for either clinic are preferred and can be made by calling the Health Department at 301-609-6900, ext. 6018. Parents attending the clinics should bring a copy of their child’s shot record.
These are in addition to the already required vaccines of DTaP, polio, measles, mumps, rubella (MMR), chickenpox (Varicella), hepatitis B, Hib and prevnar.
The MCV4 vaccination protects students from certain meningococcal bacteria that can lead to meningitis or sepsis. After students are initially vaccinated before seventh grade, an additional booster shot is recommended at age 16. Typically, MCV4 is a required vaccination for college/university students; however the State Department of Health has found it necessary for students age eleven and older to receive these vaccinations.
As for Tdap, the original vaccination received in early childhood for tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis (DTaP) wears off; therefore a supplemental booster shot is suggested at age eleven for continued protection against the bacteria that causes these diseases.
Parents with questions about the vaccinations should contact their child’s physician or the nurse at their child’s school.