Board of Education Recognition Oakland, MD – The Garrett County Board of Education at its meeting on June 11, 2013, recognized one student for her accomplishments. Lindsay Crawford, 11th grade student at Southern High School, was recognized by the Board for her various pieces of artwork. Her artwork is conveyed through the use of layers of fabric. The Board of Education purchased one of her designs and will be displayed in the central office.  Pictured: Cindy Downton, Board of Education President; Lindsay Crawford; and Jane Wildesen, Director of Elementary/Middle School Education. Summer Feeding Program The
Garrett County Board of Education Food and Nutrition Services would like to
announce its participation in the Summer Feeding Program. There will be two sites in Garrett County
this year that anyone 18 years of age and under may receive free meals. The first site, opening June 17th,
is Garrett College at the Laker Café.
They will be offering breakfast from 8:00 – 10:00 and lunch from 12:00-
1:30, Monday through Friday. The second
site, opening June 13th, is Dennett Road School. They will be serving lunch from 11:30 –
12:30, Monday through Friday. Both sites
will be closed July 4th in observance of Independence Day. If
you have any questions please call Scott Germain at 301-334-8917 or
1-877-731-9300 or check out the Summer Feeding website at www.nokidhungrymd.org for additional
sites across Maryland. In
Maryland, over 257,000 children rely on the free and reduced price school
breakfast and lunch on a daily basis during the school year. When summer rolls
around, these children suddenly lose access to the reliable, nutritious meals
that help them develop healthy and strong brains and bodies. The
Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) is a federally funded nutrition program
designed to fill the nutritional gap for children when school is out. Free
summer meals help families stretch their food budgets throughout the summer
months. Participation in summer programming and free summer meals helps to
reduce learning loss for children, and helps them return to school ready to
learn. The program is funded by the United States Department of Agriculture and
administered by the Maryland State Department of Education. While
Garrett County has made progress in summer nutrition, there is still work to be
done to ensure that more low-income children are being reached when school is
out for the summer. Garrett County ranks
21st in the state in Summer Nutrition Program participation, with
only one open meal site operating in the summer of 2012. This year, Garrett
County Public School Food and Nutrition (GCPS FNS) has the capacity to sponsor
meals at an additional open site. After
analyzing the county’s need and discussing feeding site possibilities, Maryland
Hunger Solutions, Garrett County Public Schools, and representatives from
Wal-Mart targeted the Oakland area as a potential location to serve summer
meals this year. 2013-14 Student Board of Education Member  At May’s Board of Education meeting, the Board unanimously approved the appointment of John R. Major III as the new student board member for the 2013-14 school year. John is currently a junior at Northern High School. He is an Honors student on track for a University of Maryland System Completer with a concentration in Business Management. He is a member of the National Honor Society. John’s leadership experience includes being an associate member in the Northern Garrett Student Government Association and attending the 2012 Hugh O’Brien Leadership Seminar of Maryland where he received the Outstanding Leadership Award. John participates in a number of school activities. He is a member of the Northern Garrett marching band, stage band, and concert band. He is a member of the Northern Garrett chorus and men’s choir, as well as a participant of the mock trial team. Flag Presentation to Northern High JROTC
MSG Kenneth W. Hook, US Army, recently presented a Citation and Flag to the Northern High School Army JROTC "Husky Battalion" Corps of Cadets. The flag flew over Kandahar Air Field in Afghanistan. MSG Hook was recently redeployed back to the United States from his tour of duty in Afghanistan with the Joint Sustainment Command. MSG Hook has visited the Northern High School Army JROTC program in the past and has always made time during his leave to spend time with the cadets. MSG Hook is currently stationed at Fort Knox in Kentucky where he is assigned to the 3d Sustainment Command (Expeditionary). A 1992 graduate from Northern High School, MSG Hook is from Accident, Maryland, and is the son of Paul (a Vietnam veteran) and Claudia Hook of Accident.  In the picture, MSG Hook is presenting the flag and certificate to SGM Melvin Hoffman, Army Instructor for the Northern High School Army JROTC Program. Northern High JROTC Visits Quantico Marine Corps Base The Northern Husky Army JROTC Battalion recently conducted a field trip to Quantico Marine Corps Base (QMCB) on May 16-17, 2013. QMCB is located south of Washington, D.C. Prior to departure, all the cadets were assigned squad leaders responsible for their squad during the entire trip. This was a practical application of the leadership practices taught and discussed during the academic year as the whole chain of command was engaged. Upon arrival at QMCB, the Husky Cadets got a real taste of being on a Marine base – they went straight to Bruce Hall – which is the dining facility for a hardy lunch. The Husky Cadets were met by Marine Corporal Bennett who escorted the Battalion while at QMCB. The first activity sent the Husky Battalion to the ISMT (Indoor Simulated Marksmanship Trainer). The ISMT is a virtual range allowing individuals to familiarize themselves with military weapons that have been modified with compressed air, lasers, and computers. This system permits individuals to “fire” at targets with all the realism of an actual range but without the cost of ammunition and negative impact on the environment. The Cadets were taught weapon safety, basic marksmanship skills, breathing techniques, and proper sight picture.
Following the ISMT, the Huskies had an opportunity to shop at the Marine Corps Exchange (MCX). The MCX is the Base retail store where everyone in the military, and their families, can shop. The Cadets stayed the night at the Crossroads Inns Quantico, the Base hotel. Click here to read the complete article.
Southern High School’s FFA Excels at State Competition Southern High School students traveled to the University of Maryland, College Park campus, on April 16th, and competed in the Maryland State FFA (Future Farmers of America) Spring Career Development Event. The competition involved the areas of Agronomy, Agricultural Technology and Mechanical Systems, Horticulture, and Milk Quality and Products. The Agronomy team placed first in the state of Maryland. Team members were senior Kenya Rinker, who received 1st place honors in the competition; senior Charlie Harvey, placing 15th individually; sophomore Kaya Rinker, placing 2nd individually, and sophomore Sarah Miller, who placed 14th. The team is preparing to represent Maryland in the National FFA competition held in October at Louisville, Kentucky. The Agricultural Technology and Mechanical Systems team placed 3rd in the state with senior Levi Lantz placing 2nd in the state individually, and sophomores Myles Perron, Zachary Pritts, and Devan Helbig placing 5th, 23rd, and 28th respectively.  Agronomy Team Photo (L-R): Sarah Miller, Kenya Rinker, Kaya Rinker, Charlie Harvey  Agricultural Mechanics Team Photo (L-R): Myles Perron, Zachary Pritts, Devan Helbig, Levi Lantz | Local Team Wins FIRST Lego League (FLL) Global Innovation Award
Garrett County’s NeXT GEN FLL Team 780 attended an awards ceremony for the FIRST® LEGO® League Global Innovation Award on June 18th at the United States Patent and Trademark Office in Alexandria, Virginia, for the invention of the Gramma-Jamma. The team was one of 3 finalists in a world-wide competition. In the end, the team was honored with the top prize, winning $20,000.
The FLL Global Innovation Award is designed to celebrate the amazing inventions FIRST LEGO League teams create each year as the result of their FIRST LEGO League Projects. Separate from the FIRST LEGO League tournament season, the Award gives teams a way to learn about intellectual property and what it takes to develop an idea. Teams compete for the chance to win cash prizes or the opportunity to bring their products to market.
In its third year, the FLL Global Innovation Award received 477 submissions from 23 countries around the globe. Nearly 5 million online votes were cast for the inventions submitted by FLL students from their Senior Solutions Project. The Project’s theme was to improve the quality of life for senior citizens, helping seniors remain independent, engaged, and connected.
NeXT GEN FLL Team 780’s Gramma-Jamma is an innovative grabber to provide renewed independence to seniors with limited mobility. Using the Gramma-Jamma, seniors with tremors or poor vision will now be able to pick up small objects with ease. The team determined that the inability to grasp small objects was a fundamental problem for senior citizens, so they researched possible methods to produce an efficient grabber. Most existing grabbers are either unable to pick up small items such as pills, coins, or jewelry or they require such precise positioning that seniors are unable to operate them successfully. The research led to the robotics arena where they discovered a key component they could utilize. They applied leading-edge “jamming” robotic technology to a handheld gripper to enable anyone with reduced dexterity to easily grasp and release small objects. The jamming technology is a small vacuum that pumps the air out of a balloon with coffee grounds "jamming" around the object. The Gramma-Jamma improves the level of independence and is simple to construct from relatively inexpensive components. The team has built several fully functional prototypes and has received feedback from seniors that want to buy a Gramma-Jamma.  Pictured from NeXT GEN FLL Team 780 are: Row 1 – Tori Miske, Wesley Dixon, Will Baker, and Patrick Lee. Row 2 – Jake Toothman, Michael Hollingsworth, Jonah Facciolli, and Jessica Storck.
Book Representatives in the Area Are Not Endorsed by the School System
It has come to the attention of Garrett County Public Schools that there are sales persons currently in the area identifying themselves as representing a particular book company that sells educational materials to help students perform better in school. From information received, the salespersons are stating that Garrett County Public Schools and individual local schools are promoting and supporting these "door to door" sales. The school system wants to notify parents and the community that Garrett County Public Schools is not promoting or endorsing these sales contacts in any way, nor have we released the names of students or families to the sales representatives.
Parent Involvement Matters Award Semifinalists Named from Garrett County
 Pictured: Dawna Ashby, Broad Ford Elementary School Principal; Jeanine Sisler; Barbara Jeanine Sisler, parent volunteer at Broad Ford Elementary School, was chosen as a semifinalist to represent Garrett County at the 2013 Parent Involvement Matters Award (PIMA) gala. The 2013 Parent Involvement Matters Award was presented during an evening celebration on Friday, May 17. Five finalists and a statewide winner, selected from the 24 semifinalists, were announced during the award ceremony held at Eastern Technical High School in Baltimore County. The Parent Involvement Matters Award (PIMA) Program is the nation’s first statewide initiative of its kind – recognizing parents and legal guardians for their exceptional support of public education. Parents are nominated for demonstrating significant, positive impact in their education communities. The PIMA Program recognizes parents from local school systems across the State of Maryland, nominated for their contributions in one or more of the five areas of parental involvement: Communication; Volunteering; Learning; Decision Making; and Community Collaboration. According to the overview of candidates on the MSDE website, “Jeanine Sisler is the epitome of a caring and involved parent and a real asset at Broad Ford Elementary School. As the PTO president, Ms. Sisler has made great strides to improve the school's PTO budget, as well as the life of students. Her activities have ranged from working with a local dentist to offer dental services to students of families with limited resources to orchestrating a Gold Fundraiser to assist with the health costs for a student with a serious medical condition. Ms. Sisler wears a smile every day, shows that she has a heart of gold, and gives without an expectation of receiving.” For a list of the 24 PIMA winners, click on the following link: PIMA Awards .
Northern Garrett Music Department in the Worldstrides Heritage International Music Festival  Northern Garrett High School music department traveled to Cleveland, Ohio, May 23 – 26, to participate in the Worldstrides Heritage International Music Festival. This festival was held at St.Ignatius High School in Cleveland. Three instrumental ensembles and three choral ensembles competed against a nationally recognized scoring metric. All six ensembles did incredibly well. Earning Gold - Superior ratings were the Northern Marching Band Color Guard and the Northern Men's Chorus; earning Silver - Excellent ratings were the Concert Band, the Concert Chorus, the Stage Band, and the Women's Chorus. There were six music departments from Ohio, Maryland, Michigan, Florida, and Ontario, Canada. While all of the ensembles from the various schools were in different judging classifications, there were several awards available to all. Northern captured both Sweepstakes Trophies for the Overall Outstanding Vocal and Instrumental Departments, while the Men's Chorus captured the trophy for the Outstanding Vocal Ensemble. There were also awards given to soloists, called Maestro Awards. Maestro Awards are for soloists whose work is deemed of central importance to the composition being performed and at a superior level. There were four such awards given in Cleveland and all went to Northern High School students. Elizabeth Green received the Instrumental Maestro Award for her Alto Saxophone work in the concert band piece "Bella Beach". Sydney Holtschneider received the Female Vocal Maestro Award for her vocal solo in the stage band piece "Summertime". Trace Livengood and Garrett Yoder each received the Male Vocal Maestro Award for their work in the men's chorus performance of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight".  Pictured – Maestro Award Winners: Trace Livengood, Garrett Yoder, Sydney Holtschneider and Elizabeth Green In addition to the Music Festival, the Concert Band was invited to perform at the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame. The performance consisted of music from the past two marching band field shows. The band played a tribute to Rock 'n Roll legends such as Carlos Santana, AC/DC, Edgar Winter, Kansas, and Joan Jett. When the performance was finished, the floor manager offered the band the opportunity to come in the future and perform there again. Mr. Duane Salisbury, Northern High band/music director stated, "Garrett County should be proud of what these students have accomplished. The diligence and effort they have put forth in preparing for and performing in this festival was exemplary. But more important is the way our young people represented Garrett County. They were ambassadors of good will and great music. Everyone who saw and heard and associated with our students commented on their excellent behavior as well as their musical ability." Mr. Salisbury and Mrs. Debi Beachy, chorus director, also commented about a statement made by one vocal judge. Mrs. Beachy noted, "It was a great compliment to our students and our program when one of the judges asked the Concert Chorus students if they represented an "Arts" school. The students explained that several of them were performing in several ensembles both vocal and instrumental." Mr. Salisbury added, "The judges seemed genuinely impressed that our department works together as a department, and that we encourage our students to seek their full musical potential; both vocally and instrumentally." BOE Recognizes Garrett County Carson Scholars  Pictured: Mr. Jason Shank, Southern Middle School Principal; Brandon Green, Southern Middle School student; Alexandra Miller, Northern High School student; Mrs. Cynthia Downton, Board of Education President; and Dr. Janet Wilson, Superintendent of Schools. At Tuesday’s meeting, the Garrett County Board of Education recognized two students who were named Carson Scholars for 2013. Brandon Green, sixth grade student at Southern Middle, and Alexandra Miller, 9th grade student at Northern High School, received the Carson Scholar award for the third and fifth time, respectfully, at the 17th Annual Awards Banquet on April 7, 2013, at Martin’s West in Woodlawn, Maryland. The Carson Scholars Fund announced that 425 students across the country were named 2013 Carson Scholars. Each year the Fund recognizes a select group of high achieving students in grades 4 – 11 who demonstrate outstanding academic achievement and humanitarian qualities. Students receive a $1,000 college scholarship award and the coveted honor of being named a Carson Scholar. The Carson Scholars Fund is a nonprofit 501 (c)(3) public charity founded in 1994 by Dr. Benjamin Carson and his wife, Candy. The Carson Scholars Fund is dedicated to impacting the nation in a positive way by cultivating future leaders who are academically talented and socially conscious. Schools for Success Program Schools for Success Program 2013, a Garrett County high school senior recognition banquet, was celebrated on Tuesday, April 30, at Northern High School. The Garrett County Schools for Success Program was sponsored by the Garrett County Board of Education and NewPage Corporation.  Pictured above: Schools for Success students from Southern High School were recognized by Mr. Jim Maddy, Principal.  Pictured above: Schools for Success students from Northern High School were recognized by Mr. Gary Reichenbecher, Principal.
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