Education

Charles County School Renaming Committee Seeks Feedback on Name Recommendations

Charles County School Renaming Committee Seeks Feedback on Name Recommendations

The Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) School Renaming Committee seeks feedback on its name recommendations for General Smallwood Middle School. In November 2024, the Board of Education of Charles County moved forward with a vote to rename the school, following its school renaming policy, Board Policy 7230. Following Board Policy 7230, the renaming committee...
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Piney Point Lighthouse Museum Announces 4-Day Outdoor Spring Break Program for Junior Historians!

Piney Point Lighthouse Museum Announces 4-Day Outdoor Spring Break Program for Junior Historians!

St. Mary’s County Government’s Museum Division is pleased to announce the Junior Historian program for Spring Break. Designed for children aged 7 to 10, the Junior Historian program at Piney Point Lighthouse Museum will run for 3 hours per day from April 14 to 17, offering an exciting blend of outdoor exploration and hands-on...
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Southern Maryland School and Weather Updates for Thursday, February 20th, 2025

Southern Maryland School and Weather Updates for Thursday, February 20th, 2025

ST. MARY’S COUNTY – 2 Hour Delayed Opening – February 20, 2025 – Code 5 for Staff All SMCPS Schools will have a delayed opening of two hours on Thursday, February 20, 2025. Code 5 for staff. Ten and eleven-month employees report to work two hours late. Twelve-month employees and food service workers are...
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Get Ready to Swing into an Unforgettable Adventure with Summerstock!

Get Ready to Swing into an Unforgettable Adventure with Summerstock!

St. Mary’s County Government’s Department of Recreation & Parks (R&P) is thrilled to present TARZAN®: The Stage Musical for the 43rd production of Summerstock. Performances will be held at Great Mills High School on July 18–20 and July 25–27, 2025, with a total of 8 shows. TARZAN®: The Stage Musical is based on Disney’s...
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CSM Hosts 35 Middle and High School Teams in ‘High Stakes’ Robotics Tournament

CSM Hosts 35 Middle and High School Teams in ‘High Stakes’ Robotics Tournament

The College of Southern Maryland (CSM) hosted 35 teams of local and regional middle- and high-school students last weekend at the Southern Maryland VEX V5 Robotics Tournament held at the La Plata Campus. At the Feb. 15 tournament, student-team-built robots were inspected, put to the test, judged, and awarded for their high-tech efforts. “I...
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Leadership Maryland Announces Executive Program Class of 2025

Leadership Maryland Announces Executive Program Class of 2025

Leadership Maryland officially announces the Executive Program’s Class of 2025, consisting of 53 business and community leaders from across the state chosen to participate in the professional development program dedicated to building a better Maryland. The Class of 2025, the Executive Program’s 32nd class, reflects a cross-section of the state, including diversity of geographic...
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SMECO Sponsors Southern Maryland’s 31st Annual Math Competition

SMECO Sponsors Southern Maryland’s 31st Annual Math Competition

Southern Maryland’s annual MATHCOUNTS competition marked its 31st anniversary on Saturday, February 5, 2025. More than 150 students from 18 schools gathered at Calvert High School in Prince Frederick to test their math skills. A competitive technological world requires a proficiency in mathematics as a foundation for success in science, technology, and engineering. MATHCOUNTS...
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Charles County Board of Education Appoints Navarro to Second Term as Superintendent

Charles County Board of Education Appoints Navarro to Second Term as Superintendent

The Board of Education of Charles County unanimously voted during its Feb. 11 meeting to renew the contract of Superintendent Maria V. Navarro, Ed.D., for a second, four-year term. Navarro was hired by the previous Board in 2021 with her first term closing this summer on June 30. In the past four years Navarro...
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STEAM Room Catalyst Event Ignites Hands-On Learning on March 30, 2025

STEAM Room Catalyst Event Ignites Hands-On Learning on March 30, 2025

Imagine a place where young minds don’t just learn about science, technology, engineering, arts, and math (STEAM)—they create it. Pure Play Every Day Inc., a Southern Maryland non-profit, is making that vision a reality with the STEAM Room—an innovative children’s museum concept designed by students for students. This one-of-a-kind initiative gives middle and high school...
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CCPS Students Shine at Maryland FBLA State Leadership Conference

CCPS Students Shine at Maryland FBLA State Leadership Conference

Students from Calvert County Public Schools (CCPS) demonstrated outstanding business acumen and leadership skills at the Maryland Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) State Leadership Conference held Feb. 6–8 at the Hilton Baltimore Inner Harbor. The annual conference provides students with leadership training, networking opportunities, and competitive events that assess their knowledge and skills in...
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Classical Pianist Brian Ganz Reveals Chopin’s Superpowers At Free PianoTalk at SMCM February 18, 2025

Classical Pianist Brian Ganz Reveals Chopin’s Superpowers At Free PianoTalk at SMCM February 18, 2025

St. Mary’s City- February 11 – St. Mary’s College of MD Musician-in-Residence Brian Ganz will continue his popular mid-day PianoTalk series on Tuesday, February 18, 2025, at 11:20 a.m. with a free PianoTalk featuring Fryderyk Chopin’s Piano Sonata No. 1 in C minor, Op. 4. The program, which will take place in the recital...
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Southern Maryland Schools Closed on Wednesday, February 15, 2025 Due to Weather

Southern Maryland Schools Closed on Wednesday, February 15, 2025 Due to Weather

Wednesday, February 12, 2025 – Schools Closed for the following: ST. MARY’S COUNTY: Code 3 for staff – All Schools and Offices are CLOSED on Wednesday, February 12, 2025. Code 3 for staff. No employees should report to work. Administrative leave will be provided for twelve-month employees. Operations and Maintenance Emergency personnel will follow...
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Calvert County Awarded $98,500 Grant to Support Local Communities

Calvert County Awarded $98,500 Grant to Support Local Communities

Calvert County has been awarded $98,500 from the Governor’s Office for Children’s Engaging Neighborhoods, Organizations, Unions, Governments and Households (ENOUGH) Local Management Board (LMB) Capacity Building Grant. The funding aims to leverage the local infrastructure of the LMB to support local communities in pursuit of their goals. In May 2024, Gov. Wes Moore signed...
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School Weather Updates – Charles, St. Mary’s and Calvert Have Early Dismissal on Tuesday, February 11, 2025

School Weather Updates – Charles, St. Mary’s and Calvert Have Early Dismissal on Tuesday, February 11, 2025

ST. MARY’S COUNTY: February 11, 2025 – School Day begins on time with 2-Hour Early Dismissal Tuesday, February 11, 2025: All schools begin the day on time and will be dismissed 2 hours early due to the predicted snowstorm arriving in the afternoon. Staff: All 10-11 month employees may conclude their day 30 minutes...
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Charles County Public School Students Compete in Winter Chess Tournament

Charles County Public School Students Compete in Winter Chess Tournament

Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) hosted its annual winter chess tournament February 1, 2025, at Henry E. Lackey High School, with 150 students competing. The tournament was open to students in kindergarten through 12th grade. Students play peers at their or near their grade level. In between official games, students could practice with pick-up...
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Little Flower School “Shipwrecked! Pirates And Mermaids” Benefit Auction Returns March 1st, 2025

Little Flower School “Shipwrecked! Pirates And Mermaids” Benefit Auction Returns March 1st, 2025

Little Flower School will host its annual spring benefit auction, with a theme of “Shipwrecked! Pirates and Mermaids” March 1, 2025, from 5-10 p.m. at the school. Tickets, which are $100 for one and $175 for couples, include a Southern Maryland-style dinner by Rita B. Catering, drink specials, silent and live auctions, games and...
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Governor Wes Moore Delivers 2025 State of the State Address

Governor Wes Moore Delivers 2025 State of the State Address

Governor Wes Moore today delivered his third State of the State address. Before a joint session of the Maryland General Assembly, the governor spoke about investing in industries of the future, reforming the tax code, and investing in Marylanders by meeting crisis with courage in the face of one of the most challenging and...
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Juvenile Charged with Possession of Weapon on School Grounds, Trespassing and False Statement

Juvenile Charged with Possession of Weapon on School Grounds, Trespassing and False Statement

On Monday, February 3, 2025, at 10:20 a.m., a juvenile was observed walking outside of Mattawoman Middle School at a time when students should have been in class. The juvenile was escorted to the administrator’s office where they provided a false name. As administrators and a school resource officer attempted to identify the juvenile,...
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Two Students Begin Fight After Another Student Assaults Teacher at Robert D. Stethem Educational Center

Two Students Begin Fight After Another Student Assaults Teacher at Robert D. Stethem Educational Center

On Wednesday, February 5, 2025, a student at Robert D. Stethem Educational Center was involved in an argument with another student inside a classroom. During the argument, one of the involved students grabbed a teacher by the arm and pushed her against a wall. The student with whom he was arguing left the classroom....
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Where Do Birds That Leave Maryland for the Winter Go?

Where Do Birds That Leave Maryland for the Winter Go?

By Joe Zimmermann, science writer with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources: In recent summers on Maryland’s “tern raft,” a man-made conservation platform that serves as habitat for state-endangered colonial nesting waterbirds, scientists found a common tern with a distinctive orange tag on its leg. The tag indicated that Argentinian researchers had banded the tern...
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Growing to New Heights: CSM Offers New Vertical Agriculture Course Thanks to $490,000 Grant

Growing to New Heights: CSM Offers New Vertical Agriculture Course Thanks to $490,000 Grant

The world’s population continues to grow, beyond 8 billion people, and every one of them needs to eat every day. How do farmers keep up with the demand when there is only so much fertile agricultural land to work from? Thanks to a recently awarded $490,000 grant from the Tri-County Council for Southern Maryland...
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Calvert CTA Students Celebrate Huge Success at SkillsUSA Regionals and Take Home 29 Medals

Calvert CTA Students Celebrate Huge Success at SkillsUSA Regionals and Take Home 29 Medals

On February 1, 2025, the Calvert County Public Schools (CCPS) Career and Technology Academy (CTA) proudly kicked off Career & Technical Education Month by hosting the SkillsUSA Southern Maryland Regional Competition. Competing against students from Charles and St. Mary’s counties, CCPS CTA students demonstrated their dedication and expertise across 20 contests, earning an impressive 29 medals:...
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One Injured After Rear-Ending School Bus in Bushwood, No Bus Occupants Injured

One Injured After Rear-Ending School Bus in Bushwood, No Bus Occupants Injured

On Monday, February 3, 2025, at approximately 7:40 a.m., police, firefighters and emergency medical services responded to the area of 23000 Maddox Road in Bushwood, for the reported motor vehicle collision involving a school bus. Crews arrived on the scene to find a single vehicle into the rear of the school bus, with one...
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Leonard Hall Junior Naval Academy Closes for Remainder of 2024-2025 School Year

Leonard Hall Junior Naval Academy Closes for Remainder of 2024-2025 School Year

It is with great regret that Leonard Hall Junior Naval Academy (LHJNA) will not continue with academic instruction for the 2nd semester of the 2024-2025 school year. This has been openly discussed with all Corporation and Board Members and the hard decision made was based on what was in the best interest of the...
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Statement from Charles County Public School Superintendent Regarding American Airlines Plane Crash Tragedy

Statement from Charles County Public School Superintendent Regarding American Airlines Plane Crash Tragedy

January 30, 2025, Dear Parents, Guardians and Staff: On behalf of Charles County Public Schools (CCPS), I share a sorrowful and emotional update. We have learned that the devastating plane crash last night over the Potomac River involving an American Airlines regional flight and a U.S. Army helicopter has directly impacted our school communities. It...
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