Schools To Open Two Hours Late Tomorrow (Tues. 2/16)

On the first day of school after a very long and unanticipated snowcation, it appears Montgomery County Public Schools are on a two hour delay tomorrow. This from MCPS:

Montgomery County Public Schools will open two hours late on Tuesday, February 16, due to emergency weather conditions. Bus service will be provided on a two-hour-delayed schedule. Morning prekindergarten, morning half-day Head Start, other morning half-day programs and field trips are canceled. Other activities and programs that begin at 10:30 a.m. or earlier are canceled. Administrative offices will be open on time. Day care programs in school buildings will remain open as scheduled.

Schools Closed For The Rest Of The Week (Feb. 10-12)

The Montgomery County Public Schools have bowed to the inevitable and closed for the rest of the week. Here is their announcement:

Montgomery County Public Schools are closed Wednesday, February 10, Thursday, February 11 and Friday February 12, due to emergency weather conditions. All school activities and community activities in school buildings are canceled. A decision about administrative offices will be made at a later time.

Dr. Weast, my kids thank you.

Schools Closed Monday And Tuesday (Feb. 8 & 9)

Thank you to Montgomery County Public Schools for letting us know in plenty of time: Schools will be CLOSED on Monday and Tuesday, February 8 and 9. Here’s the official notice:

MCPS schools closed Monday (2/8) and Tuesday (2/9) due to emergency weather conditions. Administrative offices closed Monday.

Montgomery County Schools Closed Today Weds. Feb. 3

From the school district:

Montgomery County Public Schools are closed today due to emergency weather conditions. All school and community activities in school buildings also are canceled. All administrative offices are open. Day care programs in school buildings will remain open as scheduled.

Snow day, kids!

Julius West Students Donate To Haiti Relief

Organizations and individuals all through Rockville are donating to relief efforts in the quake-stricken Haiti. (For example, KidzCare.) Here’s a new effort that just crossed our desk.

Gail Fribush, the IB Middle Years Program director at Julius West Middle School recently wrote the following, which was shared with the JW community:

“Why I’m Proud to Work at Julius West”

From Gail Fribush

On January 15, three days after the earthquake in Haiti, we began an effort to collect money to aid with relief efforts. Students were encouraged to bring in spare change (or bills) to fill our large water bottle and BOSS, SGA and French students helped to coordinate and encourage contributions during lunch each day.

Here is what the water bottle looked like after 5 days.

Students had an opportunity to guess how much we collected before we counted the money, and I think we were all amazed at how much all of those pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters and bills added up. In fact we collected $2,224.32!

The money was sent to the Save the Children Foundation Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund. For me personally one of the best parts of the drive was seeing the number of students who brought in zip lock bags full of change, as well as those who gave a little each day that we were collecting. So while there may be a few more empty piggy banks in Rockville, there was much to be proud of here as our students proved once again that they are well on their way to becoming responsible global citizens.

Thanks to parents for raising such great kids and for your support as well.

Wootton High School Houses DNA Teaching Lab

As Rockville Central readers may have noticed over the years, in my view one of the major problems facing the nation is our citizenry’s lack of basic numeracy and understanding of science concepts. (For instance, even a quick look at the “balloon boy” story should have shown authorities that there was no way that a boy could have been on the floating “UFO” but instead they wasted a huge amount of resources on a wild goose chase . . . but I digress.)

So, I was delighted to read this morning in the Washington Post about an effort to ensure Montgomery County public high school teachers stay up to daye when it comes to biotechnology. I was even more delighted to learn that the program is housed at our own Wootton High School!

Here’s the deal from the article:

In many school districts, teachers have to take it upon themselves to keep up to date with late-breaking research and translate it into their classrooms; in Montgomery, they get help. . . . The school system’s DNA Resource Center has developed nine lab experiments that teach biotechnology concepts. The center is funded by six-figure annual grants from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, managed by a handful of part-time staff members and housed at Thomas S. Wootton High School in a supply room filled with pipettes and flasks. The center staff trains teachers to use the lab activities in their classrooms and delivers all of the equipment and consumable materials that the exercises require.

The DNA Resource Center, which dates to the 1980s, has primarily served Montgomery County’s high schools. Beginning in the spring, it will expand into middle schools. Seventh-grade teachers will be trained in biotechnology concepts and activities, such as DNA gel electrophoresis, that once were reserved for advanced science courses.

How cool is that! I am excited to hear that this program is being expanded so that middle school teachers can stay on top of latest biotech developments too.

MCPS Schools Opening Two Hours Late Today, Fri. Jan 8, 2010

From Montgomery County Public Schools:

Montgomery County Public Schools will open two hours late today (Jan. due to emergency weather conditions. Bus service will be provided on a two-hour-delayed schedule. Morning prekindergarten, morning half-day Head Start, other morning half-day programs and field trips are canceled. Other activities and programs that begin at 10:30 a.m. or earlier are canceled. Administrative offices are open on time. Day care programs in school buildings will remain open as scheduled.

Rockville High School Named Grammy Signature School Finalist

According to MCPS:

The Rockville High School Music Department has been named a finalist for the 2010 Grammy Signature Schools program. Rockville is one of 140 finalists nationwide, four within the state of Maryland and the only school in Montgomery County to be named a finalist.

The Grammy Signature Schools program, sponsored by the Gibson Foundation, recognizes and awards public high school music programs each year. Each Grammy Signature School receives a monetary grant from $1,000 to $10,000 to benefit their music program.

The 2010 Grammy Signature Schools will be announced in March.

Very cool!

Rockville Scholarship Foundation Awards 2009 College Grants to Record Number of Local Students

Terrific news from the Rockville Scholarship Association:

Thirteen students displaying exceptional academic careers and unique extracurricular involvement have been named winners of college scholarship grants by the Rockville Scholarship Foundation. This is the [largest] number of students the Foundation has honored since 1986, when the Foundation began distributing the awards to students in need in the community. (more…)

Richard Montgomery, Thomas S. Wootton In Top 100 High Schools

The closely-watched Newsweek listing of America’s top high schools is out, and Rockville has two high schools that have made the list. Richard Montgomery High School is ranked 38 in the nation, while Thomas S. Wootton High School is 58.

Read the press release from from the school district here.

Here is a list of all the MCPS high schools, along with their rank on the “Challenge Index,” which is what Newsweek used in its calculations. (The index was created by the Washington Post’s Jay Mathews.)

High School and 2009 Rank:

• Richard Montgomery — 38
• Bethesda-Chevy Chase — 55
• Thomas Wootton — 58
• Winston Churchill — 94
• Walt Whitman — 104
• Walter Johnson — 109
• Rockville — 209
• Montgomery Blair — 287
• Quince Orchard — 294
• Albert Einstein — 295
• Poolesville — 305
• Springbrook — 324
• Paint Branch — 332
• James Hubert Blake — 381
• Watkins Mill — 391
• Sherwood — 393
• Col. Zadok Magruder — 479
• Northwest — 502
• Damascus — 577
• John F. Kennedy — 616
• Wheaton — 657
• Seneca Valley — 674
• Gaithersburg — 847