Carroll Students

THE ARRIVAL OF spring often signals the beginning of prom season for many high school students. The opportunity to preview the latest in prom fashions for men and women is the highlight of South Carroll High School's annual Spring Fashion Show. The show begins at 7 p.m. tomorrow in the school auditorium, 1300 W. Old Liberty Road, Winfield. This is the third year the school's PTSO has sponsored this increasingly popular event. Twenty-nine student models will show prom fashions and casual wear provided by local clothing merchants.

John Carroll juniors Kate Rizzieri, Emily Patrick and Rita Watson, members of Girl Scout Troop 1382, earned the Girl Scout Gold Award, the highest award in Girl Scouting, presented to them at a reception at Martin's East on April 14. Their efforts were acknowledged, in the form of Congressional, Senatorial, Gubernatorial and Presidential Citations. To receive this honor, a girl must use her organizational, leadership, project management and teamwork skills to serve her community.

Five Carroll County Public Schools students have been selected to serve as student pages for the 2013 General Assembly session, which starts Jan. 9. Each year, the Legislature chooses high school students from throughout the state to serve as pages on the floor of the House of Delegates and Senate. Carroll County is eligible to select four representatives and one alternate. Seniors from all eight public high schools in the county were eligible to apply. The following were selected: • Bobby Crumbaugh, of North Carroll High School; • Susan Price, of Westminster High; • Abigail Shriver, of Westminster High; • Maya Spaur, of South Carroll High; • Cole Holocker, of Century High (alternate)

Eldersburg resident James Whittenburg was named to the dean's list for the fall semester at DeSales University in Center Valley, Pa. He is a medical studies major. Kathleen Bird, a junior politics major from Sykesville, was named to the University of Dallas Honor Roll for the fall semester. Collin Mitchell Orf of Eldersburg, a freshman majoring in engineering at Missouri University of Science and Technology in Rolla, was named to the honor list for the fall semester.

Hidden amid the hoopla surrounding Carroll's third-place ranking on the Maryland schools' report card were the results of another test --the Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills.For the most part, Carroll students, tested in second, third, fifth, eighth and 10th grades, performed equally well on the CTBS, which is another measure of student achievement in the state's education reform efforts.In fact, students performed "significantly above" the national median -- 50 percentile -- and the county's own expectations, said Judith Backes, supervisor of school performance and assessment.

Summer vacation will start a week earlier for Carroll County students in 1995, but only because it will be a week shorter in 1994.Carroll County schools will start Aug. 29, before Labor Day, which will allow them to dismiss students for the summer on June 8, 1995, a week earlier than usual.Many school administrators have favored such a calendar in the past, but the school board approved it only once.Most complaints about the idea were related to Carroll students who participate in the state 4-H fair during what will now be the first week of school.

FOR THE STUDENTS in the North Carroll Business Club, the key to raising funds for computers is unique entertainment. For years, they've tapped into the wrestling craze, luring pro wrestlers and teachers to the stage at North Carroll High School. This year's event, Pro Wrestling Spectacular IX, will be held at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 11. Featured professionals include Bam Bam Bigelow and Dino Casanova. The popular event will be a homecoming for another wrestler, Otto Schtark. A decade ago, Schtark was an athlete at North Carroll.

Carroll County students are smoking, drinking and using drugs less than they did five years ago, according to a survey by the State Department of Education. Carroll school and law enforcement officials said yesterday they were thrilled with the improvements, crediting increased education of younger pupils about the dangers. Officials said they were particularly pleased with significant drops in drinking and smoking rates at all age levels and across-the-board drops in drug and alcohol use among sixth- and eighth-graders.

Carroll schoolchildren have a lot to do before school begins Monday. They have clothes, books and school supplies to buy. Bus numbers and classroom schedules to memorize. And, if they're so inclined, prayers to say. At a time when many call on police and government agencies to help solve family and social problems, Carroll County Heritage Foundation wants to let people know they can call on God for solutions. At 6 p.m. tomorrow, the foundation will sponsor its third annual Prayer in the Park, an event billed as a "a night of praise, worship and prayer for all the students of Carroll County as they begin the new school year."

IF YOUR sixth- , seventh- or eighth-grader tells you he or she will dance for hours when school's out on Friday, believe it.A six-hour dance-a-thon starts at 3 p.m. Friday. Students from North Carroll Middle School will dance at the school as long as they can -- or until 9 p.m. -- to raise money for the homeless and to help a teacher go to the Olympics."They just have to make sure their bodies keep moving," said Kate Rudy, an eighth-grade teacher for the Family and Consumer Sciences class that is sponsoring the event.

Twelve students in grades four through 11 from Carroll County Public Schools were selected as Carson Scholars for 2013, based on their academic achievements and humanitarian efforts. Those named for the first time receive a $1,000 college scholarship. Students can be honored multiple times in their scholastic careers for maintaining their high academic standards and level of commitment to their communities, but they do not receive more than one scholarship award. Carroll students named for the first time are: • Cameron Ducey, grade eight, Oklahoma Road Middle School • Caroline Freundel, grade five, Runnymede Elementary School • Natalie Singer, grade 10, Manchester Valley High School Three-time scholars are: • Harrison Curnutte, grade 10, Francis Scott Key High School • Jennifer Nguyen, grade seven, Shiloh Middle School Four-time scholars are: • Jared Harless, grade eight, Northwest Middle School • Allison Williams, grade 11, Liberty High School • Laura Wonilowicz, grade 11, Winters Mill High School Five-time scholars are: • Nicolas Holocker, grade 12, Century High School • Grace McCarthy, grade 12, Liberty High School • Nathan Saurusaitis, grade nine, Manchester Valley High School Seven-time scholars are: • Anna Parsons, grade 12, Westminster High School The students will be honored at the 17th annual awards banquet on Sunday,...

Five Carroll County Public Schools students have been selected to serve as student pages for the 2013 General Assembly session, which starts Jan. 9. Each year, the Legislature chooses high school students from throughout the state to serve as pages on the floor of the House of Delegates and Senate. Carroll County is eligible to select four representatives and one alternate. Seniors from all eight public high schools in the county were eligible to apply. The following were selected: • Bobby Crumbaugh, of North Carroll High School; • Susan Price, of Westminster High; • Abigail Shriver, of Westminster High; • Maya Spaur, of South Carroll High; • Cole Holocker, of Century High (alternate)

Francis Scott Key High School's auditorium was filled with red, white and blue on Wednesday night, Sept. 13, as the school hosted "Voices of Freedom," a program designed to honor the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812 through dance, song, music and readings. Featuring students from Runnymede Elementary, New Windsor Middle and FSK, the event was coordinated by Mickey Brilhart, a visual arts teacher at FSK, and Shellie Rosso, the high school's dance teacher. The program was created after the school's administration approached the fine arts department last year requesting ways to recognize the War of 1812 - and its link to Francis Scott Key, who lived in Carroll County and penned the words by dawn's early light that became our national anthem.

Carroll County posted some of the highest scores in the state in the 2012 Maryland State Assessment scores released this week. More than 89 percent of students in Carroll passed the tests in every category but eighth-grade math. MSA exams in reading and math are given to students in the third through eighth grades, and the results are ranked in the categories of basic, proficient and advanced — the latter two of which constitute a passing score. Carroll students also showed improvement from last year in every category except for fourth-grade math, where they nonetheless passed at a rate of 94.6 percent.

Carroll County students reaped rewards for their educational excellence with the following degrees, honors and awards: Hannah Sterling of Mount Airy recently earned a bachelor's degree from Wells College in Aurora, N.Y. She majored in biological and chemical sciences with a concentration in biochemistry and molecular biology. Sterling graduated magna cum laude with distinction, was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa and was awarded the 2012 Wells Women in Science Prize.

"This was truly an outstanding class," said Principal Gregory C. Eckles as of the North Carroll High class of 1993, which graduated at ceremonies Sunday at Western Maryland College.Of the 263 young men and women cheered by family and friends, many already had received certificates for special achievement and 40 students had been placed on the honor roll for 16 consecutive semesters. More than half the class, 160 students, had been admitted to two- or four-year colleges.Smiling under red and white mortarboards, each armed with a diploma and a handshake, the graduates stepped into a future that seemed to promise success.

Despite a slight drop in their SAT scores, Carroll County students continued to outperform other test-takers statewide and nationally, earning a combined average of 1,037 points out of a possible 1,600 on the college-entrance exam. Statewide, the 2004 class of high school seniors posted slightly better SAT scores than last year's seniors and Maryland students also showed a modestly higher rate of improvement than the rest of the nation. Scores in the Baltimore region were a mixed bag. They increased in the city and in Anne Arundel and Howard counties, but dropped in Harford, Carroll and Baltimore counties, according to local school officials who hastened yesterday to analyze data as it was being made public by the College Board, which administers the SAT. Montgomery County led all counties in Maryland by earning the highest combined score of 1,102.