Tuesday, May 7, 2013
The magazine's 2013 rankings came out Monday.
On mobile? You can see interactive map here. Newsweek has ranked all three of Ellicott City's high schools among its list of the best high schools in the country. In its list, Centennial High School ranked 632; Mount Hebron High School ranked 1,325 and Howard High School ranked 1,344. See how Ellicott City schools compare. Here is the full list of Howard County rankings from Newsweek: For its rankings, Newsweek sent out a survey to more than 5,000 high schools, with about 2,500 schools responding. You can see the details about Ellicott City schools' ranking, and every other ranked high school, by clicking on the markers in the interactive map above. The survey scores were then weighted and calculated using several criteria including on-…
Monday, May 6, 2013
Students, parents and school organizations all have something to say about proposed changes to the HCPSS wellness policy.
Football fans aren’t likely to buy celery sticks in the stands, and the Girls Scouts wouldn’t be the Girl Scouts without cookies. But that's where some parents are saying Howard County Public Schools are headed with the Superintendent’s proposed changes to the school system’s wellness guidelines (policy 9090, Wellness Through Nutrition and Physical Activity). At issue for some parents is the addition of the requirement that foods available to students conform to HCPSS Nutritional Guidelines; guidelines which have not yet been spelled out. “Until guidelines are clearly defined,” PTA Council of Howard County President Christina Delmont-Small said at the April 11 Board of Education Public Hearing, “it is impossible for our organization or …
Thursday, May 2, 2013
Lauren Shen's doodle is a state finalist in the national Doodle 4 Google contest.
You never know what you’ll find if you point your browser to Google’s home page. On May 23rd it might be a doodle from a Howard County seventh grader. Burleigh Manor’s Lauren Shen is the Maryland finalist in the Web giant’s Doodle 4 Google contest, which gives young artists from around the country a chance to showcase their artistic skills on the Google home page. Google asked entrants to re-work the company's recognizable logo to depict it as their “best day ever.” Shen's drawing depicted Travel to Taiwan. “The day I arrived in Taiwan was my best day ever,” Shen wrote. More than 130,000 students, from kindergarten through 12th grade submitted a Doodle of their best day. Shen was chosen as one of 50 state finalists. Five national …
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
There are several efforts underway in Howard County to combat bullying.
Children and parents in Howard County will soon have access to a desktop or mobile app to report bullying anonymously online as it happens. The California-based company that make Sprigeo.com, the bullying reporting app, has donated it to Howard County so it can be used for free among its residents, according to a county news release. The app is part of a larger program in Howard County to deal with the issue of bullying, which has made headlines after Howard County’s 15-year-old Grace McComas committed suicide on Easter Sunday in 2012 following what the Baltimore Sun called nearly a year of “electronic torment.” Statewide, “Grace’s Law,” scheduled to be signed into law this week by Gov. Martin O’Malley, makes it a misdemeanor to harass …
Or milkshakes, or smoothies, or frappes ... McDonald's celebrates Teacher Appreciation Week.
Shiny red apples and adorably misspelled hand-drawn cards will always express our appreciation of teachers. But sometimes, don’t you think, they’d like a milkshake too? Next week is Teacher Appreciation Week. From Monday, May 6 – May 10, McDonald’s is recognizing teachers in its own way – with free drinks. Just stop inside a restaurant, or roll through the drive-thru, mention you are a local educator, show your school ID and you’ll get a small drink – coffee, smoothie, shake, frappe – you name it, for free. Looking for a location in Ellicott City? For more local news, sign up for the Ellicott City Patch newsletter. Keep the conversation going on Facebook and Twitter.
Sunday, April 28, 2013
High schools in Ellicott City have proms scheduled through April and May.
A lot goes into having the perfect prom. There’s the dress, with nails, hair and shoes. Plus there is the limo, dinner beforehand, the actual prom ticket and any after-prom activities. All of these activities are adding up and causing the average cost of prom to skyrocket. According to a recent report published on Huffington Post, the average prom cost in 2013 is $1,139, which is a 5 percent increase from last year. Proms for Ellicott City high schools are scheduled through April and May. Centennial High School's was April 20; Mount Hebron is scheduled for April 27; and Howard High School is May 17. But it seems like the spending for the special senior night begins long before the actual dance. According to an article on MSN Money, two of …
Thursday, April 25, 2013
Last week, four Howard County high schools hosted nearly 1,000 students for the library's Battle of the Books.
The point of Howard County Library's Battle of the Books annual reading competition is to make reading fun. Based on photos from the event, the more than 900 fifth grade students that competed had a great time. See hundreds of photos from the event on the Howard County Library's Flickr page. The event featured more than 150 teams of students who read from 16 different books pre-determined by the library. At the event, which took place on Friday, April 19, students were asked questions about the books, such as plot details, quotes or picture descriptions. Members of the first, second, and third place teams all received gift cards to a local book store. Prizes were also given out for best team name, best team costume, best team spirit and …
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
The schools will be closed for a professional development day.
At least the local kids will be able to enjoy the beautiful spring weather expected on Thursday. All Howard County Public Schools will be closed on Thursday for a pre-scheduled professional development day.
Find out which high schools in Howard County made the cut in the latest U.S. News & World Report rankings.
Eleven Howard County high schools were ranked among the 2013 “Best High Schools in the Nation,” according to new rankings U.S. News & World Report released this week. U.S. News said it reviewed 21,035 U.S. high schools and 64 of Maryland's 241 high schools made the rankings. U.S. News calculates its national “Best High School” rankings through three steps, according to its website, which factored in reading and math results on high school proficiency tests, whether minority and low-income students performed “better than average” compared to similar students in the state and college readiness performance through Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate test data. Winston Churchill High School in Potomac was ranked No. 1 in Maryland…
Sunday, April 21, 2013
The end of the 2012-2013 school year was recently announced by Howard County school officials.
Howard County public school students will be getting out of school this year a little earlier than expected. Earlier this spring, Howard County school officials said the last day, subject to change, would be June 18, 2013. Then, there was an unexpected snow day in March (remember ‘Snowquester?) and, as of April 8, school officials said the last day of school would be one day later, June 19. One Friday afternoon, Howard County released a new date for the last day: June 14, 2013, a day set earlier because the school system received a waiver from the Maryland Department of Education for three inclement weather days taken during Hurricane Sandy and at other points in the school year. And that date is still subject to “additional modifications…
Jack
9:13 pm on Wednesday, May 8, 2013
This survey is by invitation only, does not go out to all the over 27,000 public highschools, does not include private schools or reflect homeschooled children. Since it is by invitation it is something the hcpss actively participates in and touts the results albeit they are very deceptive and do not address the fact we have almost no career training, our high remedial ed rate and low college … more ›