Charles Co. Public Schools News Briefs

North Point High School Criminal Justice Students Stand Out at Regional SkillsUSA Competition

The Criminal Justice Students at North Point High School have had an impressive start to the 2016 SkillsUSA Competitions. On February 6, the students competed in the Regional Competition at the Forrest Center in St. Mary's County and came away with two first-place titles and one second-place title, qualifying the winners to compete at the State Competition in April.

In February, sixteen students from North Point competed against students from other Criminal Justice Programs in Calvert and St. Mary's Counties at the SkillsUSA Regional Competition. The competition was divided into two categories: Criminal Justice and Crime Scene Investigations.

During the Criminal Justice portion, students were challenged on an individual basis and were scored on how well they handled a traffic stop, report of a missing person, a disturbance call, and a written test. Senior Justin Arter won first place and Senior Matt Bowie placed second, qualifying both for the State Competition.

The Crime Scene Investigation portion of the competition consisted of three, three-man teams who were scored on their ability to process a crime scene. North Point students Dylan McCabe, Estefany Garcia, and Ethan Snider won first place, qualifying their team for the State Competition.

"Our Criminal Justice students' commitment to the program throughout the school year is exemplified by their performance at these competitions," said Master Corporal Rhett Calloway, who heads the Criminal Justice Program at North Point High School. "We look forward to them representing Charles County at the State Competition."

"We are very proud of all of our Criminal Justice students and instructors, and their dedication to the program," said Sheriff Troy Berry. "The students set a great example for their peers and their outstanding accomplishments at these competitions speak highly of our program."

The 43rd Annual SkillsUSA Maryland Leadership and Skills Conference will take place on April 15-16 at North County High School near Glen Burnie, MD. Information about SkillsUSA and the competition can be found at www.mdskillsusa.org.

New world language books proposed

Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) is proposing several new world language textbooks that include content aligned with Maryland World Readiness Standards for Learning Languages. The books are available for review at the Jesse L. Starkey Administration Building in La Plata, and at Piccowaxen Middle and North Point High schools.

The proposed books include updated assessments in areas such as reading, writing, speaking and listening. The texts also include teacher resources for grammar, vocabulary, visuals and interactive native-speaker audio and videos. The new textbooks, once approved by the Board, will replace world language textbooks currently used in middle and high schools. All textbooks were reviewed by a selection committee and piloted at selected schools. The following are the new proposed textbooks.

"¡Qué chévere!," Levels I, II and III are authored by Alejandro Vargas Bonilla and published by EMC Publishing, LLC. They will be used in Spanish I, II and III courses for middle and high school students. The books were piloted at Piccowaxen and North Point from August 2015 through January 2016.

"Temas," authored by Cole Conlin, Parthena Draggett, Max Ehrsam and Elizabeth Millan, and published by Vista Higher Learning, is a textbook for use in Spanish IV and Advanced Placement (AP) Spanish Language and Culture classes. The text was piloted at Henry E. Lackey and La Plata high schools from August 2015 to January 2016.

"T'es branché?," Levels I, II, and III, written by Toni Theisen and Jacques Pechéur, and "T'es branché?," Level IV authored by Martine Corsain, Eliane Grandet, Nathalie Gaillot, Diana Moen and Adrien Payet, will be used with high school French students. All books are published through EMC Publishing, LLC and were piloted at North Point and Thomas Stone high schools from August 2015 through January 2016.

"Deutsch Aktuell," Levels I, II and III were reviewed by CCPS German teachers and piloted at Thomas Stone from August 2015 through January 2016. The books are published by EMC Publishing, LLC and authored by Wolfgang Kraft.

New texts for students enrolled in Latin courses were reviewed by CCPS Latin teachers and piloted at La Plata, Stone and Westlake high schools from August 2015 through January 2016. The texts, "Ecce Romani," I, II, and III are authored by Prentice Hall and published by Pearson Education, Inc.

A new sign language text, "Master American Sign Language," was reviewed by a staff member at Stone in 2015. The text is published by Sign Media Inc. and authored by Jason E. Zinza.

The Board of Education is reviewing the books and will take action on the books at the May 10 meeting. Community members are encouraged to review the books and provide comment in writing to the Board of Education, P.O. Box 2770, La Plata, MD, 20646; through email to boardmail@ccboe.com; or in person at the Public Forum at the April 19 or May 10 meetings.

Registration for the three-year-old program opens April 11

Registration for the Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) three-year-old program begins Monday, April 11 at county Title I elementary schools. Interested parents must schedule an appointment at their child's zoned elementary school to complete the application process for the 2016-17 school year. Applications will be accepted by appointment only.

The three-year-old program is located at C. Paul Barnhart, Indian Head, Mt. Hope/Nanjemoy, J.P. Ryon, Dr. Samuel A. Mudd and Eva Turner elementary schools. The program serves Title I elementary schools and students must reside within Title I school zones to be eligible. Title I is a federal program that provides funding to schools based on the percentage of students qualifying for free and reduced price meals.

Children must attend the appointment with their parent and will participate in an observation and skill assessment. Additionally, completing the application process does not guarantee enrollment in the program. Children admitted to the three-year-old program must meet the following guidelines:

• Reside in a Title I school zone;

• Qualify for free- and reduced-price meals (proof of income must be provided);

• Demonstrate an academic need;

• Must be three-years-old on or before Sept. 1;

• Be toilet trained at the time of application.

No appointments will be made before April 11. Contact the Charles County Public Schools Title I Office at 301-934-7408 with questions or for additional information. Parents can find out what school their address is zoned for by using the School Locator feature of the website at www.ccboe.com.

High school teams compete in tri-county Computer Bowl

Nine Charles County Public high school computer bowl teams competed in the 2016 Southern Maryland Regional Computer Bowl held March 5 at North Point High School. Two teams—one from North Point and one from Maurice J. McDonough High School—placed among the top 10 competing teams.

A team from North Point earned seventh place overall and a team from McDonough earned tenth place overall. A total of 18 teams competed from high schools in Calvert, Charles and St. Mary's counties. Teams from Henry E. Lackey, La Plata and St. Charles high schools also participated.

In the first round of the competition, students complete a written test about computer history, hardware and software. In the second round, teams of up to three or four students create computer programs to solve specific problems, using programming languages such as Java.

Each year, student teams in the tri-county area compete in the event. The competition was sponsored by SMECO, the College of Southern Maryland (CSM) and Booz Allen Hamilton. Prizes were awarded by SMECO and CSM.