Free meal service begins Thursday, June 20-- This Week in BCPS

Monday, June 10, 2024

Free summer meal service begins Thursday, June 20

BCPS will offer free breakfast and lunch meals through the Summer Food Service Program on weekdays from Thursday, June 20, through Friday, August 16 (with the exception of Thursday, July 4). Free meals are available for all children ages 2-18.

This year, daily on-site lunch meals will be offered at 16 community locations across the county. All students who attend BCPS summer school from July 8-August 2 will receive free breakfast and lunch every weekday. There is no registration required. If a student is enrolled in summer school, they will automatically be able to receive meals.

In addition, in two rural areas, once per week, families will be able to pick up five breakfast and five lunch meals per child.

Weekly bulk meals will be distributed at two drive-through locations:

Mondays, 12-12:30 p.m., beginning Monday, June 24

Kingsville Elementary School, 7300 Sunshine Ave., Kingsville 21087

Tuesdays, 8-8:30 a.m., beginning Tuesday, June 25

Sparks Elementary School, 601 Belfast Rd., Sparks 21152

Lunch meals, which must be consumed onsite, will be offered at 16 community locations:

Monday – Friday, from 12-12:30 p.m.

Essex Park Townhomes & Apartments, 1572 Alconbury Rd., Essex 21221
Lakebrook Circle Park, 2926 Lakebrook Cir., Lansdowne 21227
Morgan Properties Community Pool, 3736 White Pine Rd., Middle River 21220
The Commons at White Marsh, 9901 Langs Rd., Middle River 21220

Baltimore County Library Branches (times vary by location)

Arbutus branch, 855 Sulphur Spring Rd., Arbutus 21227 – 12-1 p.m.
Essex branch, 1100 Eastern Blvd., Essex 21221 – 12:30-1:30 p.m.
Lansdowne branch, 500 Third Ave., Lansdowne 21227 – 12-1 p.m.
Loch Raven branch, 1046 Taylor Ave., Towson 21286 – 12:30-1:30 p.m.
North Point branch, 1716 Merritt Blvd., Dundalk 21222 – 12:30-1:30 p.m.
Parkville-Carney branch, 9509 Harford Rd., Parkville 21234 – 12:30-1:30 p.m.
Perry Hall branch, 9685 Honeygo Blvd., Perry Hall 21128 – 12-1 p.m.
Randallstown branch, 8604 Liberty Rd., Randallstown 21133 – 12-1 p.m.
Reisterstown branch, 21 Cockeys Mill Rd., Reisterstown 21136 – 12-1 p.m.
Rosedale branch, 6105 Kenwood Ave., Rosedale 21237 – 12-1 p.m.
White Marsh branch, 8133 Sandpiper Cir., Baltimore 21236 – 12-1 p.m.
Woodlawn branch, 1811 Woodlawn Dr., Woodlawn 21207 – 12:30-1:30 p.m.

BCPS continues to seek organized summer programs where free meals can be served

Each summer, BCPS provides free meals to more than 300 organized programs in Baltimore County, such as summer camps, daycare programs, and religious groups. Programs can register online to receive free breakfast and lunch meals for participating children. The program must serve at least 25 children (ages 2-18) daily, and staff will be required to complete annual compliance training. For additional information, program organizers can email SFSP@bcps.org or call 443-809-7855.

BCPS wants to hear your thoughts on how student cell phone misuse impacts classroom instruction and teaching. Students, parents/caregivers, and stakeholders are invited to share their feedback by completing a brief online survey by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, June 11. The survey is available in both English and Spanish.

Every summer since 2018, BCPS has invited its students, teachers, and staff to share stories about their summer activities and adventures on the BCPS blog. The invitation to contribute to the Summer Stories series is extended again this year. To submit a blog post or suggest a story idea, please write to communications@bcps.org. We want to know about your summer jobs/internships/externships, vacations, creative projects, competitions, camps, and more!

This June for national Pride Month, the BCPS Mind Over Matters campaign offers a variety of activities, resources, and tools related to the theme “Pride Matters.”

12th annual Student Independent Research Symposium can be viewed online

The 12th annual Student Independent Research Symposium showcases the results of original research conducted by students during the 2023-24 school year. Under the direction of their library media specialists, students have engaged in a year-long research process culminating in their research presentations.

Catonsville High School

Angenine Goode, library media specialist

Eleanor Ewald – "Students' Perception of Linguistic and Dialectical Variation"

Franklin High School

Christie Rigilano, library media specialist

Lindsay Adjei – "Parasocial Interaction: How are we affected by those we've never met?"
Bea Montances – "Regenerative Medicine for Enhancing Performance and Injury Recovery"
Anthony Nery – "Accelerated Orthodontics: Implications to a Wider Audience"

Hereford High School

Jen Houseknecht, library media specialist

Abigale Gonzales – "Adolescent and Young Adult Oncology: Survivorship"
Azra Syed – "The Impact of Period Poverty on Education and the Attendance of Teen Students"

Parkville High School

Melyssa Kenney, library media specialist

Ivey Sigwart – "Helping Those Who Suffer from Narcissistic Abuse"

Western School of Technology

Tracey Osborne, library media specialist

Nkechi Enyioma – "The Ethical Implications of Genetic Research in Clinical Psychiatry"
Fatima Hafeez – "Poison Potential: Evaluating Tetrodotoxin for Pain and Addiction Treatment"
Phoebe Nguyen – Growing the Herd: An Evaluation of Reintroduction Techniques for Herbivores"
Fatimah Olufayo – "Flip Your Phone: Evaluating the True Costs of e-Waste Recycling Methods"
Tolib Sanni – "Decoding Inequality: Identifying Risk Factors in Facial Recognition"
Aarti Srinivas – "Engaging the Senses: The Impact of Sensory Gardens in Special Education"

To support these students and learn more about the Independent Research Seminar course, please view this year’s Virtual Symposium program online.

Students from 17 high schools earn awards at BCPS' 36th Annual High School Art Exhibition

Many of Baltimore County Public Schools’ best student artists were honored during a June 6 reception and awards ceremony for BCPS’ 36th Annual High School Art Exhibition. The juried exhibition featured the work of 122 student artists from across the county.

“We are especially proud this year that the honored works are by students from 17 BCPS high schools," said Ryan Twentey, coordinator of the BCPS Office of Visual Arts. "This reflects the excellence in arts education and distribution of talent across the county. We extend our heartfelt thanks to all those who nurture our outstanding young artists, including teachers, parents, caregivers, mentors, and community partners.”

Best in Show winner: "Pathway" by Nihla Isaac, Randallstown High School

Twentey specifically thanked Towson University for its continued partnership and allowing BCPS to display art at The StarTUp; Azrael, Franz, Schwab, Lipowitz & Solter, LLC, for awarding monetary prizes to student artists for the past 17 years and for displaying student work in its offices year-round; the Baltimore Watercolor Society for awarding monetary prizes and free memberships to student artists for the past five years; and Hannah’s Café for supporting the visual arts by catering events and receptions.

A list of award winners and information about exhibition hours can be found in a BCPS news release.

Recent honors for Team BCPS

New BCSC and BCJC officers sworn in for the 2024-2025 school year

On May 24, student leaders from across the county gathered at BCPS headquarters to celebrate the swearing in of new Baltimore County Student Councils (BCSC) and Baltimore County Junior Councils (BCJC) officers and to recognize the accomplishments of graduating seniors.

The following officers were sworn in for the 2024-2025 school year:

BCSC President – Jordan Salkeld, Grade 10. Towson High School
BCSC Vice President – Foresight Ogungbe, Grade 10, Eastern Technical High School
BCSC 2nd Vice President/BCJC Chair – Arcenio Nwugo, Grade 7, Parkville Middle School
BCSC Community Outreach Director – Sam Park, Grade 9, Eastern Technical High School
BCJC Vice Chair – Cassidy Kim, Grade 7, Hereford Middle School

Left to right: Nwugo, Park, Ogungbe, and Salkeld

Left to right: Kim and Nwugo

Pikesville High, Eastern Tech students earn Minds in Motion Scholarships

The Maryland Public School Athletic Association presented $1,000 Minds in Motion Scholar-Athlete Scholarships to Ava Burgunder of Pikesville High School and Gregory Hrica of Eastern Technical High School.

Eastern Tech students win car graphics award at the 12th annual Electric Grand Prix

Fifteen Eastern Technical High School students participated in the 12th annual Electric Grand Prix at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C. The event, which took place the first weekend in June, involved more than 30 teams from Maryland, D.C., and Virginia. One of Eastern Tech's two teams won an award for car graphics.

"The day was long with technical issues," said Ryan Hoge, Eastern Tech technical education teacher, "but, overall, our students rose to the challenge and had an amazing time. They experienced the intense real-world problem solving, teamwork, and high-level engineering that this sport has to offer. I am immensely proud of our students."

Chesapeake High teacher honored for inclusion efforts

Chesapeake High School Functional Academic Learning Support teacher Tara Wrightson was recently recognized by The Arc Baltimore as a 2024 recipient of the School Inclusion Award. In addition to teaching, Wrightson coaches Allied Soccer and Softball, which afford students with disabilities an equal opportunity to participate in interscholastic sports alongside their non-disabled peers. Wrightson also spearheads the Best Buddies program, fostering peer advocacy and inclusive relationships among students.

Six 2024 BCPS graduates earn college-sponsored National Merit® Scholarships

Six 2024 Baltimore County Public Schools graduates are among the more than 2,900 distinguished high school seniors from across the nation who have earned college-sponsored National Merit® Scholarships. Colleges sponsoring National Merit scholarships offer selected finalists between $500 and $2,000 annually for up to four years of undergraduate study at their institutions.

Nathan D. Brojan, Eastern Technical High School – scholarship sponsored by Brigham Young University.
Mingni L. Dong, Dulaney High School – scholarship sponsored by the University of Maryland.
Enyu Ling, Western School of Technology – scholarship sponsored by the University of Maryland.
Akash E. Paranilam, Dulaney High School –scholarship sponsored by the University of Maryland.
Cadence J. Scott, Eastern Technical High School – scholarship sponsored by Rochester Institute of Technology.
Frank Zhang, Towson High School – scholarship sponsored by the University of Maryland.

for parents

from BCPS Parent University

Baltimore County Public Library offers summer reading program and events for children of all ages

Children of all ages are invited to participate in Baltimore County Public Library's 2024 Summer Reading Challenge. Participants can register online or at a BCPL library branch and can log their reading on the Beanstack app or a paper game board. Those who read for at least 10 hours can pick up completion prizes and enter drawings for prizes such as family memberships to the Maryland Science Center, Maryland Zoo, Port Discovery Children’s Museum, and National Aquarium or a Nintendo Switch.

In-person events at library branches across the county will include programs about animals, magic, and science.

Looking for more ideas and information? Please sign up for the Parent University newsletter! It is designed specifically for parents and caregivers and offers ideas, information, resources, and opportunities.

for your viewing pleasure

"Negative Space Plant" by Avery Whipps, Grade 9, Catonsville High School. Work featured in The Superintendent's Gallery: West Zone School Exhibition.

To see more artwork by BCPS students, teachers, and other members of the BCPS community, please visit the Office of Visual Arts gallery webpage.

mission moment

from The Education Foundation of BCPS

Clean Green 15: Litter Challenge celebrates 10th anniversary

On June 4, The Education Foundation of Baltimore County Public Schools, Inc., in partnership with the Baltimore County Department of Environmental Protection and Sustainability, celebrated the 10th anniversary of the Clean Green 15: Litter Challenge. During the ceremony, $38,000 in grants were awarded to participating schools.

Since 2014, this innovative program has engaged more than 50,000 BCPS students, staff, and community members in more than 3,300 hands-on litter clean-ups, removing nearly 325,000 pounds of trash from area communities.

A new Mission Moment blog post lists the 2023-2024 award-winning schools and recognizes key partners and volunteers behind the program's success.

10th Anniversary Grand Prize Volunteer Winner: Charlesmont Elementary School

10th Anniversary Grand Prize Clean Up Winner: Reisterstown Elementary School

A word from Dr. Rogers

June 10, 2024

Dear Reader:

As the school year ends this Friday, I wish all our students and 10-month employees a summer filled with sunny days, fun times with family and friends, travels near and far, and, of course, continued learning.

Over the next few months, some of our students will continue learning with us through summer camps and programs. In addition, this summer, BCPS will provide more than 30 days of systemwide professional development and training sessions to school-based and central office employees.

I am excited to share that BCPS has just signed a three-year lease agreement with Loyola University Maryland to utilize the Loyola Graduate Center in Timonium as a professional development center for BCPS employees. The 65,000-square-foot facility will provide a flexible learning environment for BCPS staff and will host a range of professional development activities including individual skill development sessions, small group learning communities, and large-scale training opportunities.

Both the new professional development center and the summer professional development series are investments in our people and highlight our commitment to building our capacity as a learning organization and providing our staff with relevant and engaging opportunities for training and development as well as access to continuing education that supports their unique goals.

Regards,

Myriam Rogers, Ed.D.

Superintendent