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Honeygo Student named winner in Team BCPS Haiku Contest

The 2019 Team BCPS Haiku Contest challenge was simple: write a haiku on the theme of family.

The response from Baltimore County Public Schools students was extraordinary. A record 2,223 entries flowed in from 105 schools and centers. Students opened their hearts and imaginations to craft emotional, thoughtful, and sometimes funny poems. They reflected on the daily challenges of getting along with siblings and parents. They expressed the pain of separation through death and divorce. They described families created by choice – adoption, foster care, remarriage, friendship – as well as genetics. But, primarily, they described the sense of security and comfort that family brings. And they offered glimpses into the big and small family traditions – from movie-watching and cookie-baking to annual trips to the beach or beyond – that fill their lives with joy.

After a lengthy debate, a panel of judges selected just three winners. One of those winners was Honeyo Elementary School student Jayla Clovis, who won named Elementary School winner. Clovis is a third-grader in Ann Murk’s class at the first-year school in Perry Hall and was honored for the following poem:

Warmth in the kitchen

Brown sugar, secrets and love

Making Mom’s cookies

Annie Cullinane, an eight-grader at Cockeysville Middle School and ninth-grader Aaron Partin of Catonsville High School named the Middle and High School winners.A

The three winners of the 2019 contest will each receive as prizes: four game tickets from the Baltimore Orioles, a gift card from Ukazoo Books, a gift certificate to a writing workshop from The Ivy Bookshop, and a writing journal and framed poster of their haiku from BCPS.

“The depth of our students’ creativity and talent never ceases to impress me,” said BCPS Interim Superintendent Verletta White. “The winners wrote exceptional poems, but I also want to congratulate every student who entered and every teacher who encouraged his or her students to write. Writers improve through reading and through the practice of writing. We celebrate every one of our students from Kindergarten through Grade 12 who took the time to sit and write, to think about which words best expressed their ideas.”

The haiku were judged by several staff members from the Office of English Language Arts and the Department of Communications and Community Outreach, in addition to four award-winning student poets: Lilian Davison of Dulaney High School, Nadia Karber and Rebecca Scherr of George Washington Carver Center for Arts and Technology, and Kayla Yup of Towson High School.

Three local residents nominated for BCPS Teacher of the Year

Three local residents are among five BCPS educators that have been named finalists for 2019-20 BCPS Teacher of the Year. Perry Hall resident Jaime Metzgar, Middle River resident Kristen Nielsen and Christina DeSimone of Parkville will also compete with Ronald McFadden and Abigail Metcalf to see who will be named BCPS Teacher of the Year on April 24.

Metzgar is a fifth-grade teacher at the new Honeygo Elementary School in Perry Hall. This is her 13th year as a BCPS educator and Metzgar previously taught at Joppa View and Grange elementary schools, where she was also nominated at those schools for the Teacher of the Year honor.

After being a teacher at Eastern Tech, Nielsen is in her second year as an English language arts teacher at Crossroads Center in Middle River. Nielsen serves on Crossroad Center’s equity team and teaches Grades 9 and 12.

Although DeSimone lives in Parkville, she teaches child development teacher at Catonsville High. She previously taught seven years at Dundalk High. A second-generation BCPS educator, DeSimone leads her school’s community preschool program, where high school students teach preschool students.

Principals at the 174 BCPS schools, programs, and centers could nominate one educator for BCPS Teacher of the Year. Nominations were received from 164 schools, and all nominees are featured on the Team BCPS blog by zone: east, central, and west. The BCPS Teacher of the Year selection committee, comprised of administrators, teachers, students, and staff, selected the five finalists.

The BCPS Teacher of the Year will be Baltimore County’s Maryland Teacher of the Year representative and Interim Superintendent Verletta White said she is proud of all five candidates.

“I’m so proud of these dedicated educators for the ways they creatively promote literacy across the subject areas and a warm and welcoming school climate,” White said. “All five finalists are champions for equity in their classrooms, and I am grateful for their tireless efforts to support all students.”

Eastern Tech senior qualifies to take AIME

Jeffrey Cai, a Grade 12 student at Eastern Technical High School, has become the first Eastern Tech student to qualify to take the American Invitational Mathematics Examination (AIME).

To qualify, Cai scored 87 out of 150 – which placed him in the top 5% of test takers – on the AMC12 Exam offered by the Mathematical Association of America. Cai’s performance on the AIME exam could qualify him for additional competitions in mathematics as well as present opportunities for scholarships and further academic recognition.

The AIME is a 15 question, three-hour examination in which each answer is an integer number from 0 to 999. All problems on the AIME can be solved by pre-calculus methods, and the use of calculators is not allowed.

Honeygo & Perry Hall students win two of four writing contests for Black History Month

Anderson J. Williams of Honeygo Elementary School and Gabriella Chiericoni of Perry Hall High School were named winners of Baltimore County Public Schools annual Black History Month Writing Contest for their respected age groups.

Williams is a second grader at Honeygo and was named the K-2nd grader winner for all of Baltimore County. She is in Ashley Schuchardt’s class.

Chiericoni is in Chris Turner’s class at Perry Hall High School and was the winner of Grades 9 through 12.

Kollin Anderson Pringle of Timber Grove Elementary School was named the winner for Grades 3 through 5 and
Dylan Patrick Carson of Dumbarton Middle School was announced the winner for the Middle School division.

More than 100 students entered the contest, which was cosponsored by the BCPS Offices of English Language Arts and Social Studies. Entries were received from 21 elementary schools, 10 middle schools, and three high schools.

Students were asked to write in response to the following quote by Jesse Owens, recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, Congressional Gold Medal, and four Olympic gold medals: “We all have dreams. In order to make dreams come into reality, it takes an awful lot of determination, dedication, self-discipline, and effort.”
“The quotation required students to reflect on the achievements of notable African Americans and their impact on society and on students’ lives,” said Janetta Jayman, supervisor of English language arts.

“This writing contest is one way BCPS is making literacy a significant part of Black History Month. It is our way of celebrating our students, their voices, and individual talents. In turn, students share appreciation of the significant contributions African Americans have made in history and in their personal lives.”

The winners for each grade-level category received certificates and a book of poetry, Out of Wonder by Kwame Alexander, and their teachers received The Write Thing, also by Kwame Alexander. School visits to surprise the secondary winners took place on February 28, and elementary school visits on March 8.

BCPS Educators Recognized at Statewide Ceremony for Technology and Engineering Education

The Technology and Engineering Association of Maryland (TEEAM) honored local Baltimore County Public Schools educators at its Awards Banquet on Feb. 22 at the Engineers Club in Baltimore.

The East Side honored educators are: Nicole Boyd and James Hemming, Stemmers Run Middle, who received the Program Excellence Award and Angela Waldrop, Eastern Tech, named Exemplary Teacher at the High School Level.

Jennifer McGough of George Washington Carver Center for Arts and Technology, Michael McIntyre, a retired and contractual employee, and Brendan Penn of Lyons Mill Elementary and the 2018-2019 BCPS Teacher of the Year was also honored.

Boyd, Hemming, and Waldrop will also be honored at the International Technology and Engineering Educators Association Conference to be held in Kansas City in March.

“Congratulations to all six of these impressive educators,” said BCPS Interim Superintendent Verletta White.

“Our great teachers bring honor to our school system, and every day, across the county, they inspire, inform, and challenge our students. We can never thank them enough for all they do.”

Local BCPS Students Honored at MD Regional Braille Challenge

Three area Baltimore County Public Schools students earned high honors in the 2019 Maryland Regional Braille Challenge.

This year, more than 35 students from Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Washington, D.C. participated in the regional event held on Feb. 9, hosted by the Maryland School for the Blind and the Maryland State Department of Education. During the event, participants, ages 4 to 19, competed in five categories requiring them to read and type braille. Regional events are the first step on the road to the national competition. Once all the regional tests have been completed throughout North America, the 50 students with the top scores (10 from each of five age divisions) will be invited to compete in the National Braille Challenge Competition, to be held in Los Angeles in June. The BCPS students will find out in early May if they have qualified as finalists for the national competition.

Eniola Osunkoya of Nottingham, a Grade 2 student at Chapel Hill Elementary, won first place in the Apprentice division (Grades 1 – 2), and was also the highest scorer in the competition and the most improved participant (from last year). He received an Orioles uniform shirt that had Braille on it. This shirt was worn in a game last year, and that was the first time braille ever appeared on a major league baseball shirt.

The other first place winner from BCPS is Julia Stockburger of Nottingham, a Grade 8 student at Perry Hall Middle School. She won first place in the Junior Varsity division (Grades 7 – 9). She has qualified five times for the national competition.

Also in Grade 8 at Perry Hall Middle, Sujan Dhakal placed third in the Junior Varsity division. A new BCPS student, Dhakal has previously qualified for the national competition.
The Braille Challenge® is the only academic competition for blind and visually impaired students in the United States and Canada.

Parkville High Student Named Art Winner; Perry Hall and ET High Students Also Nominated

Kimberly Zepeda Garcia, a Grade 10 student at Parkville High School, was named the high school level winner at the Maryland Art Education Association Youth Art Month Maryland Flag Contest. Her art teacher is Matt Duvall. Garcia, along with Evelyn Epstein, a Grade 3 student at Summit Park Elementary School, will receive $100 in art supplies, while their teachers will receive $300 in classroom supplies from Sargent Art. (Youth Art Month is March of each year.)

In addition, four Baltimore County students are among the 22 finalists in the 11th Annual Maryland High School Juried Art Show at the Reginald F. Lewis Museum. Those students are include local winners:
Peace Odumeru, Grade 12, Eastern Technical High
Rebecca Smith, Grade 12, Perry Hall High

The show is presented by the museum in conjunction with the Maryland State Education Association and is open to students from Baltimore City and Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll, Howard, Montgomery, and Prince George’s counties. This year participants were challenged to create work inspired by Romare Bearden and reflecting on social activism, history, music or womanhood.

The exhibit is on display at the Reginald F. Lewis Museum through Feb. 28.

Overlea High’s Zachary Clark named Maryland School Counselor of the Year

The Maryland School Counselor Association has named Zachary Clark, of Overlea High School, as the 2019 Maryland School Counselor of the Year.

He will be honored at the National School Counseling Week gala on February 8, 2019, at Martin’s Crosswinds in Greenbelt, and he will be nominated to the American School Counselor Association for the National School Counselor of the Year award.

Clark was recognized for creating and implementing an exemplary comprehensive school counseling program at his school. Reviewers noted that he uses data to inform his practice, advocates for the needs of all students, and continuously and proactively works to improve equity in his school. He was lauded for his contributions to the development of a 6 Year Plan process used systemwide to help students focus on their ambitions and goal setting, and to support them in exploring opportunities, selecting courses, and accessing resources.
Under Clark’s leadership as school counseling department chair, Overlea High has doubled its 4-year college acceptance rate in one school year and achieved a 90% graduation rate.

His efforts in growing the AVID program at Overlea High School have led to the implementation of a course for Grade 9 students, based on the AVID model, called Effective Learning for College and Career Readiness. In addition, Clark is working to bring restorative practices to his school.
In a letter of recommendation, a colleague wrote, “I have never once witnessed him put forth less than everything he has in service to students.”

Chesapeake High Student Named 2019 Coca-Cola Scholar semifinalists

Chesapeake High student Heather Howard received a prestigious honor given to 1,896 students nationally out of 95,000 applicants.

Heather Howard of Chesapeake High School was one of two Baltimore County Public School students and among the 1,896 students just named 2019 Coca-Cola Scholar semifinalists. Mofeed Najib of Towson High School was also named a semifinalists.

Howard is a member of both the National Honor Society and National Math Honor Society at Chesapeake High in Essex. For the past two years, she has been a peer mentor and peer tutor for other students. She has been a member of the girls varsity volleyball team for four years and cheerleading team for one year. Outside of school, Howard maintains two part-time retail jobs and has done extensive volunteer work at Baltimore Animal Rescue Center, Pets on Wheels, Days End Farm Horse Rescue and Maryland Food Bank.

Chesapeake High school counselor Jillian Ganley describes Howard as “pretty amazing.”

Howard and the other semifinalists were selected – based on their leadership, academics and service – from among the more than 95,000 students who applied from across the nation. Forty Maryland students were named semifinalists. In January, 250 of the semifinalists will be named regional finalists, and 150 of those will ultimately receive $20,000 per year college scholarships.

Eastern Tech Teacher Awarded TEEAM Honor

**Angela Waldrop is an engineering teacher at Eastern Technical High School.** *-Photo Courtesy of BCPS –*

The Technology & Engineering Educators Association of Maryland (TEEAM) has selected Angela Waldrop, an engineering teacher at Eastern Technical High School, as the High School TEEAM Teacher Excellence Award winner for Maryland.

To receive this award, a teacher must have an extensive background in technology and engineering education and must pursue meaningful ongoing professional development opportunities. Creative and innovative use of resources and meeting the needs of a diverse student population are also crucial factors considered.

Waldrop, who has taught for Baltimore County Public Schools for 13 years, said, “The main goals of technology and engineering education are to prepare students to recognize and use various sources of technology, including cutting-edge tools and devices … to prepare them to be competitive, global citizens.”

Waldrop emphasizes that her global approach to teaching technology and engineering education is focused on the ‘Design Thinking’ process, in which students are taught to investigate and innovate based on the needs of a particular person or group of people. She added, “This branch of education should prepare students to have a positive attitude when problems arise so they may seek out tools and systems to solve such problems.”

Waldrop, who, in addition to teaching at Eastern Tech is also the coordinator of the school’s MESA (Math Engineering Science Achievement) Club, will be recognized at the TEEAM Teacher Excellence Awards dinner in February 2019 at The Engineers Club in Baltimore. She also will be considered for a state/national award at the ITEEA 2019 Conference to be held in Kansas City, Missouri.