Elementary Students

School and health officials worked Friday to ease parents' fears after three classmates at George Washington Elementary in Southwest Baltimore were diagnosed with scarlet fever — an ailment with a scary history, but one that is easily treated and usually not life-threatening. Principal Amanda Rice and a school liaison official from the Baltimore City Department of Health met with about 50 parents Friday morning to reassure them that students were safe. The school's facilities team spent the previous evening wiping down desks, bathroom stalls and stair rails with antibacterial agents, paying special attention to the classroom shared by the students.

An elementary school student threatened a schoolmate with a bb gun during a morning school bus ride Wednesday in Northwest Baltimore, according to a city schools spokeswoman. Both students were boys, on a bus bound for Arlington Elementary School, said Edie House Foster, the spokeswoman. The threat was reported to school officials, and an investigation was launched by school police. House Foster said she did not know who reported the threat, nor did she know whether school police were able to find the weapon involved.

A beautiful fall afternoon provides youngsters with many options. Last week, more than 100 area schoolchildren chose to steer clear of video games and stay outside instead after they got out of class. Riderwood Elementary School was awash in runners on Oct. 23, as students from that school were joined by runners from eight other schools for the last scheduled elementary-school cross country event of the season. Cromwell Valley, Stoneleigh, Hampton, Rodgers Forge, Pinewood, West Towson and Kingsville elementary school students also participated in the program, where youngsters from grades three to five competed in six separate races in boys' and girls' divisions.

A beautiful fall afternoon provides youngsters with many options. Last week, more than 100 area schoolchildren chose to steer clear of video games and stay outside instead after they got out of class. Riderwood Elementary School was awash in runners on Oct. 23, as students from that school were joined by runners from eight other schools for the last scheduled elementary-school cross country event of the season. Cromwell Valley, Stoneleigh, Hampton, Rodgers Forge, Pinewood, West Towson and Kingsville elementary school students also participated in the program, where youngsters from grades three to five competed in six separate races in boys' and girls' divisions.

WHEN THE archaeologists of the 31st century work their way down past R2D2 and C3PO, they may be impressed, but when they arrive at the substratum that was Eastport in 1997, they could be truly amazed, perhaps finding the remains of a robot built at Eastport Elementary School in March of that year.The android is the work of third-grader Morgan Dowd and fifth-graders Jeremy Browning and Katie Lewellyn, who are among eight Eastport Elementary students who participated in the recent Odyssey of the Mind Regional Tournament at Southern High School.

Fourth-graders at Hampstead Elementary School are designing T-shirts to celebrate what they do best.The T-shirts will depict "baseball, music notes, a math problem, all types of symbols or terms to illustrate their strengths," said vocal music teacher Julie Hollenberg. "Our art teacher, Barbara Hammond, is helping students represent areas that are their strengths on the T-shirts."The shirts designed by the 95 students will constitute the costumes for the fourth-grade spring musical production, "Celebrate You and Me."

As the chief executive officer of "Elkridge Continental Savings Bank," Lauren Vint presides over the board of directors' meeting and keeps track of the bank's weekly deposits.But Lauren is not some seasoned Wall Street financier.She's a 10-year-old fifth-grader at Elkridge Elementary School, where students learn about the world of finance in a 3-year-old partnership between the school and Elkridge National Bank."The kids are really into it and really enjoy it," said Stacey Fishman, a fifth-grade teacher who helps coordinate the program.

WHILE THOUSANDS of athletes around the world are preparing to compete for Olympic gold this summer in Atlanta, hundreds of students are "reading for the gold" at Mount Airy Elementary School.The theme for this school year's reading incentive program parallels the 1996 Summer Olympic Games. The elementary students are being asked to focus on developing lifelong gold medal reading habits.Students who reach their monthly reading goals will be declared "Gold Medal Readers" and receive a sticker.

When Janayah Trabilsy, 7, learned she would be taking technology classes as part of her third-grade curriculum at Talbott Springs Elementary School, she was excited. "I thought it was cool," she said. She was using a computer at home to play games. But as she worked on a project in Ruth Walker's technology class Monday at the Columbia school, she was learning things that were new to her, such as how to save files and how to drag and drop icons. The class is part of a Howard County school system initiative to enhance computer training.

A decade after passage of a federal law requiring statewide school assessments, nearly 90 percent of Maryland's elementary students are passing their reading and math tests, but that success does not continue when students hit middle school. Last school year, 69 percent of students passed the math tests in eighth grade, up nearly 3 percentage points from the year before. Achievement in reading was at 79.8 percent. Middle school math scores were the low point in the latest Maryland School Assessment results, released Tuesday by the state, and are likely to be a focus of attention for a number of school systems in the coming months.

Charlesmont Elementary in Dundalk chose Sept. 14, the anniversary of the bombardment of Fort McHenry, to launch its War of 1812 interactive learning center. The students held a flag ceremony and demonstrated how they are mastering 19th-century history with an assist from 21st-century technology. The school's one-stop resource center offers materials to engage children and adults in the history of the War of 1812. The computer lab, a project of Maryland Public Television, the National Park Service, Friends of Fort McHenry and the Maryland Heritage Areas Authority, features interactive role-playing games and provides educators with lesson plans and electronic field trips.

Maryland School Assessment test results have been revised for some Anne Arundel County students, causing the county's overall scores to fall slightly from what was reported earlier. Revisions were made to include results from a modified version of the test (known as MOD-MSA) that school officials said was taken by special-education students unable to take the regular MSA. Anne Arundel officials said that 1.6 percent of students were administered the MOD-MSA but the MOD-MSA scores were not factored in when results were reported in July.

WEATHER The National Weather Service is calling for Thursday to be mostly sunny in the Baltimore area, with a high near 94 and southeast winds 5 to 8 miles per hour in the morning. Thursday night is expected to be mostly cloudy, with a low around 76 and south winds around 6 miles per hour or less. Friday is expected to be partly sunny, with a high near 91 and winds around 5 miles per hour in the afternoon. TRAFFIC Check our traffic updates for this morning's issues as you plan your commute.

At Shipley's Choice Elementary— one of the highest-achieving schools in the Baltimore region — the important state test is almost not relevant to what is going on in the classroom anymore. "I believe the [Maryland School Assessment] is not a great challenge for the boys and girls at Shipley. Their ability levels are higher than MSA," said Principal Rocco Ferretti. "We are not drilling the skills. ... Our boys and girls are doing things that don't look anything like the test.

A decade after passage of a federal law requiring statewide school assessments, nearly 90 percent of Maryland's elementary students are passing their reading and math tests, but that success does not continue when students hit middle school. Last school year, 69 percent of students passed the math tests in eighth grade, up nearly 3 percentage points from the year before. Achievement in reading was at 79.8 percent. Middle school math scores were the low point in the latest Maryland School Assessment results, released Tuesday by the state, and are likely to be a focus of attention for a number of school systems in the coming months.

Baltimore County Superintendent Joe A. Hairston looked out this week at 700 elementary students spread out on their school's lawn to celebrate the groundbreaking for a long-awaited new wing. The ceremony was like dozens before it, but for Hairston the event took him full circle. He told the children that he had been there a dozen years before, breaking ground for an earlier addition to Stoneleigh Elementary. "Twelve years of my life has been devoted to Baltimore County," the departing superintendent said later in an interview.

The Baltimore City school board gave the go-ahead yesterday to development of a citywide, phonics-based elementary curriculum -- a move that could end the years-long practice of scattered and piecemeal reading instruction in city schools.The board hopes that the new curriculum -- part of more than $65 million in reforms that make up the board's first-year initiatives under a legally mandated master plan -- will help boost chronically low reading scores among city elementary school students.

The redistricting wars are about to begin.Anne Arundel County School Superintendent C. Berry Carter II is to make his recommendation tomorrow on the redrawing of school boundaries in Pasadena and Annapolis and the shifting of students at Fort Meade-area elementary schools.Traditionally any talk of redistricting has led to numerous battles between parents who don't want to see their children moved and school officials who are trying to accommodate growth in crowded schools.This school year has proven to be no different.

Westminster, Winfield students get lesson in energy efficiency Students at Westminster and Winfield elementary schools have been participating in the "BTU Crew" interactive program, conducted by a team of associates from Boland, an office of the Trane company. During this program, students explored how to make the buildings more energy efficient and sustainable. Students participated in hands-on lessons to discover how they can make an impact on energy efficiency and conservation while learning about green career options.

School and health officials worked Friday to ease parents' fears after three classmates at George Washington Elementary in Southwest Baltimore were diagnosed with scarlet fever — an ailment with a scary history, but one that is easily treated and usually not life-threatening. Principal Amanda Rice and a school liaison official from the Baltimore City Department of Health met with about 50 parents Friday morning to reassure them that students were safe. The school's facilities team spent the previous evening wiping down desks, bathroom stalls and stair rails with antibacterial agents, paying special attention to the classroom shared by the students.