County Students

A chorus of "Sign it! Sign it!" grew louder and stronger as the young audience at a Howard County elementary school urged a slightly reluctant teacher to swear off soda for the next month. The fourth-grade teacher at Talbott Springs Elementary School in Columbia hesitated for just a minute or two before writing her name on a "Soda-Free 30" pledge sheet that read, "Who says resolutions have to wait for the new year?" beneath a time span of Oct. 20 to Nov. 18. "It will be hard," Debra Washington said.

Eli Madden , of Ellicott City, has been named to the dean's list for the spring semester at Washington University, in St. Louis. Madden is a graduate of River Hill High School. Andreas Mitchell , of Ellicott City, has been named to the dean's list for the spring semester at Washington University, in St. Louis. Mitchell is a graduate of Centennial High School.

Classes start Monday, Aug. 22 for all students in Prince George's County public school. School officials are encouraging parents to walk their child to school or the school bus stop on the first day. An inaugural Back-to-School Fair will be held on Saturday, Aug. 20, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., at Eleanor Roosevelt High School, 7601 Hanover Pkwy., in Greenbelt. The event is open to all county students, teachers, staff, parents, community leaders and county agencies. The fair will provide parents and students with access to the resources needed for a successful school year.

Prince George's County Prince George's County Public Schools will host its inaugural Back-to-School Fair on Saturday, Aug. 20, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., at Eleanor Roosevelt High School, 7601 Hanover Pkwy., in Greenbelt. The event is open to all county students, teachers, staff, parents, community leaders and county agencies. The fair will provide parents and students with access to the resources needed for a successful school year. Guests will have the opportunity to speak with school representatives and get information on before- and after-school programs, school registration, PTA registration, school supplies and more.  For more information, call 301-780-6898 or 301-952-6095. 

The following students earned degrees from Excelsior College, in Albany, N.Y.: Christine Comfort , of Ellicott City, earned a Bachelor of Science; Sungmin Yi , of Elkridge, earned a Bachelor of Science; and   Luke Carneal , of Woodbine, has been named to the dean's honors list for the spring 2011 semester at Connecticut College, in New London, Conn. Nicholas Donohue and John Steger , both of Laurel, have been named to the dean's list for the spring 2011 semester in the Villanova School of Business at Villanova University, in Villanova, Pa. The following students have been named to the dean's list for the spring 2011 semester in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at at Villanova University, in Villanova, Pa.: Austin Gallas , of Laurel; Kelly Holt , of Laurel; Kelly Donovan , of Ellicott City; Alexandra Argenti , of Fulton; and Trevor Safko , ofSykesville.

Craig Benjamin Jr. said that before enrolling in Howard County schools' Chinese Summer Learning Camp, he knew how to say "hello" in Mandarin. In fact, many kids know "ni hao" because it's part of the name of the popular children's television series, "Ni Hao, Kai-Lan. " But the rising fourth-grader now also knows how to count to 100, say his first name and denote each ocean — all in Chinese. He is among several dozen of the county's schoolchildren who have spent the summer immersed in the program that school officials hope will be the first step in offering a foreign language program in elementary schools.

Pointers Run Elementary first-grader Nicholas Taber logged onto the First In Math online program recently and demonstrated his prowess for problem-solving, quickly accumulating electronic award stickers for correct answers. Then his math teacher, Patty Jannetti, stopped him long enough to get a printout of where he ranked among elementary school students across the country who collect stickers on the program. As it turned out, Nicholas, who has been playing the game since October, was first at First in Math, ranking at the top of the list with 32,132 stickers, nearly 11,000 points ahead of a second-place player from California.

The Howard County Public School System includes 40 elementary schools; 19 middle schools; 12 high schools; one school for students with severe disabilities; one school for students with behavioral and emotional issues; and one school for students enrolled in technical and vocational programs. The “Career Academies” offered at the Applications and Research Laboratory, which are designed both for students going immediately into trade school or work and for college-bound students, include multimedia and computer technology; biotechnology and health services; energy, power and transportation; architecture and engineering; business and entrepreneurship; hotel management; and education.

Baltimore County high school students rallied Monday to keep their teachers in their schools, taking their protests to Towson's streets and county officials' offices. About 60 students from across the county gathered at the Old Courthouse in Towson to protest a proposal to eliminate nearly 200 teaching positions, many of them at the high school level. "The board of education is employed because of county residents like us," said Saskia Matthews, a Towson High School junior who helped organize the rally.