Monday, May 21, 2012
The school was one of 11 county schools to get the designation. Four others earned recertification.
Crofton Woods Elementary School earned an official Maryland Green School certification this year for its conservation efforts. The school was one of 11 to earn the designation this year from the Maryland Association for Environmental and Outdoor Education (MAEOE). There are now 52 education facilities in the county with the designation. Four other schools also earned recertification, according to a press release from Anne Arundel County Public Schools. To earn Green School status, a school must go through a two-year process of establishing a program for environmental awareness. Efforts often include recycling, conservation programs and other activities designed to encourage "green" thinking. This is the third year in a row that 11 county …
Ambareen Jafri, a volunteer at Nantucket Elementary, received the Maryland Parent Involvement Matters Award on Friday.
UPDATE (12:15 p.m.)—Crofton parent Ambareen Jafri, described as "Nantucket Elementary School's great communicator," received the 2012 Parent Involvement Matters Award for the state on Friday. Jafri was selected from among 24 semifinalists recognized for their exceptional support of public education. An awards ceremony was held Friday night at Eastern Technical High School in Baltimore County. According to a news release, parents are nominated for demonstrating significant, positive impact in their education communities. Here is an excerpt from Jafri's bio as listed on the Maryland State Department of Education's website: Answering a "call for help," she sprung into action for ESOL students to serve on the Diversity Committee as an Urdu …
Friday, May 18, 2012
The Giant supermarket in Gambrills announced some upgrades to its produce and meat department. It also presented a check to School of the Incarnation.
Officials from Giant Food celebrated the grand re-opening of the Gambrills supermarket on Friday, and presented a check for more than $8,000 to a local school. The Giant store in the Crofton Station shopping center was recently updated with an expanded produce and meat section, plus a new seafood counter. It’s part of an ongoing effort to “refresh” all stores in the grocery chain, District Manager John Hicks said. During a ribbon-cutting ceremony, Giant officials also announced the donation of $8,248.58 to School of the Incarnation as part of its A+ School Rewards campaign. Colby Raber, a fourth-grader at the school, said the donation from Giant comprised about one-fourth of all money raised at the school this year, and would go toward new…
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Stefanie Biondi, Kendal Crawford and Ginal Lee could win $50,000 in scholarships from the Siemens Foundation for their environmental project to filter farm runoff.
Three South River High students are national finalists in the Siemens “We Can Change the World” challenge for their project on tackling pollution from farm runoff on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, according to a release by the Siemens Foundation. Team Duckweed includes Stefanie Biondi, Kendal Crawford and Ginal Lee. The team was concerned with the dangerously large dead zone in the Chesapeake Bay caused by agricultural runoff. The young scientists designed a system to filter farm runoff through bioremediation with duckweed plants. Thanks to their efforts and ingenuity, the team—under the guidance of Tanya Marushak—has a chance to win more than $50,000 in prizes and scholarships, according to a release by the Siemens Foundation. “[Team …
Joshua Bradley, a senior at Rockbridge Academy in Millersville, was one of two students to win scholarships from the Rotary Club of Annapolis.
Gambrills resident Joshua Bradley, a senior at Rockbridge Academy in Millersville, recently won more than $1,000 in scholarship money from the Rotary Club of Annapolis. Bradley was one of two students awarded scholarships in the Rotary Four-Way Test speech competition. According to a press release from the organization, Bradley is the son of Terry and Connie Bradley of Gambrills and placed second in this year’s competitions at Rockbridge Academy and the local Annapolis Area High School competition. He also advanced to the Rotary District 7620 semi-finals where he represented the Annapolis Rotary Club. Bradley was selected as a finalist for the district competition held at the Hyatt Regency in Cambridge in March. He placed second in the …
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Governor calls budget package "good for all Marylanders." Republicans say burden to local governments may force county governments to increase taxes.
The Maryland House of Delegates gave final approval Wednesday to a package of three bills that increases taxes on some state residents, shifts part of teacher pensions to local governments and undoes the so-called "doomsday budget." The votes Wednesday afternoon capped the three-day special session called by Gov. Martin O'Malley in order to override more than $500 million in cuts made in a budget passed in early April. The Senate approved the same three bills Tuesday. As part of the package, legislators approved by a vote of 86-51 what amounts to a 50-50 split of teacher pension costs with local governments. The split will be phased in over the next four years beginning July 1 with the new budget year. That bill also includes a doubling of…
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
The schools superintendent rails against the county executive in a speech at the second budget hearing.
Hundreds of parents and teachers raised their voices in support of a fully funded school system at the Anne Arundel County budget hearing on Monday night. An estimated 800 people filled the auditorium at Old Mill High School with applause after dozens of parents testified before the County Council during the second hearing on the budget for fiscal year 2013. The County Council holds the purse strings for the school system, which takes up $572 million of the county's proposed $1.2 billion budget. Most who testified on Monday implored council members to fully fund the school budget, but had some additional projects in mind for their local schools. Some of these projects included a replacement for Edgewater Elementary, construction …
Help raise funds for technology for the school while participating in a fun run or 5K.
Mark your calendars on June 2 for the third annual Trek4Tech fun run to help raise funds for technology at Crofton Middle School (CMS). The following information was submitted to Crofton Patch by Denise Pollak. You can register online at active.com or you can access the registration form through the CMS website, on the right hand side, under Trek4Tech. (Forms are also attached as PDFs to this article.) Babysitting is offered for parents while they run the 5K. If you have participated in the past, we have something new in store for you this year—chip timers—so you will know exactly how you performed. CMS is also looking for volunteers to help make this as successful as it has been in years past. They need volunteers for the day of the event…
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Crofton Middle School
2301 Davidsonville Rd, Crofton, MD
/articles/crofton-middle-to-host-trek-for-tech
458889
/locations/6867973
Monday, May 14, 2012
Now is the chance to speak up about the county's budget for the coming year.
The second public hearing on Anne Arundel County's fiscal year 2013 budget—which includes the school system's budget—will be held at 7 p.m. Monday at Old Mill High School. Sign-ups to speak at the public hearing will begin at 6 p.m. The members of the County Council will be present to hear testimony on the budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1. Later this month, they will be reviewing and voting on the operating budget, which weighs in at $1,243,571,900 (see attached PDF). The first public hearing, held May 7, brought out many Severna Park High School parents asking to secure funding for a new school. The second hearing is expected to draw parents from other schools that need renovated or replaced. Much of the controversy over the …
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-76.626899
600 Patriot Ln, Millersville, MD
/articles/second-hearing-for-budget-at-old-mill-monday
/locations/7008122
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Plan to fix "Doomsday Budget" includes $247 million in tax increases and elimination of exemptions for single filers earning $100,000 or more and joint filers earning $150,000 or more.
UPDATE (5:59 p.m.)—Some Maryland residents will pay more taxes in the coming year under a plan worked out between Gov. Martin O'Malley and legislative leaders. O'Malley, accompanied by House Speaker Michael Busch and Senate President Thomas V. "Mike" Miller, announced the nearly $35.8 billion plan during a Wednesday morning news conference in Annapolis to discuss the upcoming special session. "To leave this budget incomplete, to leave this budget as it stands right now, would damage the very forward motion that all of us, together, have worked so hard to achieve for our state," O'Malley said. "Progress is a choice," O'Malley said. "Job creation is a choice. Building America's number one schools, making a college education affordable, …
roy biondi
9:00 am on Friday, May 18, 2012
Proud to have a granddaughter amongst the finalists that are developing a system to make the Chesapeake bay an improved body of water for the coveted Maryland Blue. Crab. Way to go Stef! GP more ›