Field Trips

There's a children's show on public television, the "Magic School Bus," about a nutty teacher, her class and their school bus, which can transform into everything from a diving bell to a time machine to take the students on field trips to places they otherwise couldn't visit.Magic school buses are make-believe, but we have the next best thing: a magic school bus route.Welcome to the information superhighway and the Maryland Teleplex. The futuristically named project is a venture of Maryland Public Television, the State Department of Education and Bell Atlantic.

As a Baltimore City teacher of infants and toddlers, I was appalled, frustrated and disappointed after reading your article regarding the recent financial audit of the city school system ("Schools get 'F' in finance control," Oct. 7). Providers of early intervention services to children under 3, our most vulnerable population, were recently told that there is no money for field trips this year. This will force us to charge at least $20 for a trip to the pumpkin farm in a few weeks.

The new school year brought a turnover in teachers at the Carroll County Education Center. Unfortunately, the turnover included teachers who were licensed to drive the school's buses.But some county school bus drivers have been volunteering to transport special educationstudents to out-of-class lessons and field trips."It's so nice to have people come forward like this," said Robin L. Farinholt, school principal. "We have some real generous people here."At least one of the school's 10 homerooms ventures outside the building for classroom instruction each week.

While Anne Harrington was mourning the loss of close friend Lee Griffin 10 years ago, she asked herself whether there was a way to create a living legacy to honor him. She quickly found her answer: Box of Rain. Box of Rain is an organization that mentors disadvantaged children ages 9-14 through maritime activity. Harrington, along with others, founded the organization in 2003 and named it after Griffin's boat, which he named after a Grateful Dead song. But despite the weather the name might suggest, Box of Rain children thrived under the resplendent sun as they paddled into the shore of Spa Creek on a surprisingly mild June morning.

You can't go nose-to-nose with a shark there, or touch a cannon ball or study the cosmos.But Oriole Park has become the hot new ticket for school field trips from throughout the state.More than 20,000 students from nearly 200 schools have toured the stadium this year, without any public-relations push by the team. That's double the 1993 student total.Yesterday, 180 children from two middle schools, Old Mill and Holabird, stepped up to the plate.The students scrambled over box seats, paraded past the luxury suites and even tiptoed onto the diamond that has been gathering dust since the strike began.

Scheduling field trips for the school system in Harford County is an exercise in frustration. There are too few buses and too many students. There are not enough drivers and too many places to go.And, field trips must be completed inside a five-hour time frame, often shortchanging youngsters the amount of time they can spend visiting the Walters Art Gallery, the National Aquarium or Fort McHenry.Because of budget constraints, the school system owns and contracts for the bare minimum of buses needed to handle school routes.

The Baltimore County school board has lifted the ban on field trips abroad that it instituted after the terrorist attacks a year ago today and instead will review requests for such trips on a case-by-case basis while making regular checks to ensure that destinations are safe. The board unanimously agreed to rescind the ban, which forced the cancellation of trips to Spain, France and other destinations last school year out of concern that students could be stranded abroad during another terrorist attack.

Hannah Leone, a 14-year-old freshman at Glenelg Country School, was a little apprehensive about transferring to the school this year. But after a three-day trip to the Western Maryland 4-H Education Center in Mountain Lake Park with her new classmates, the Lutherville resident was at ease and ready to begin. High school students at Glenelg Country started their first day of school last week in an unusual way - they went on overnight field trips. School officials and students say that the expeditions are beneficial and help everyone prepare for the new year.

Baltimore County schools Superintendent Joe A. Hairston - concerned about student safety in light of terrorist attacks, anthrax scares and whatever fresh threat could be coming - is recommending that all foreign field trips be canceled for this year. Harford County schools have gone a step further, canceling domestic trips to big cities - Washington, Philadelphia, New York and perhaps Annapolis - and instead choosing spots closer to home. Schools have long sponsored trips around the country and overseas as extensions of what goes on in the classrooms - to France to practice French, to Italy to tour museums, to New York to see Broadway shows - and of what goes on outside the classrooms, such as drill team competitions in Florida and band performances in bowl-game halftime shows.

Carroll school officials, concerned about the prospects of terrorismin the wake of Operation Desert Storm, have canceled student field trips to Washington and Baltimore.Brian L. Lockard, Carroll's assistant superintendent of instruction, notified school principals of the decision last week."Due to the current international situation, all field trips scheduled for Washington, Baltimore or other metropolitan areas will be canceled," the memo stated.School officials said the situation will be re-evaluated Feb. 1.Although there were no field trips planned this month at Westminster Elementary School, principal Larry W. Thompson called the administrative decision a good one."

A high school English class at Baltimore City College will be featured in a virtual field trip Tuesday afternoon at 1 p.m., where students and teachers nationwide can go to the Folger Shakespeare Library and discover techniques for reading and understanding Shakespeare language.  An English I class at City was filmed for the documentary film, which will be featured on PBS and online in the coming weeks. According to a description of the fim, we'll see "a  high school classroom in Baltimore to see students grappling with the language of Shakespeare and using performance to discover meaning, take a trip backstage with professional actors rehearsing for a Shakespeare performance, see original documents relating to Shakespeare's life and times, and enjoy special behind-the-scenes access to the Folger.

In response to your report on Baltimore City's population decline, since most of the people leaving are parents with school-age children, the city must consider ways to compete with the county schools ("Grow the city's population, but don't stop there," Nov. 29). Here are some ways Baltimore City could improve public education for its students: •Raise funds to cover costs by floating bonds, while seeking donations of money, books and supplies and holding fundraisers such as bazaars, festivals, ticketed performances and auctions.

First Generation College Bound is participating in the Greater Washington Give to the Max Day event on Nov. 9 through Razoo to help raise money for nonprofits in the area, http://give2max.razoo.com/ . Prizes for nonprofits that raise the most money that day. FGCB will be using the money raised for its College Access Program . The program helps low- to middle-income seniors at Laurel, Central, Potomac, Parkdale and Fairmont Heights high...

Auditions Columbia Pro Cantare is holding auditions for all parts for its 35th anniversary season. Regular rehearsals begin Sept. 6 and are held from 7:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesdays at Hammond High School in Columbia. To schedule an audition, call 410-730-8549 or go to procantare.org. Baseball Tryouts will be held for the Elkridge Hurricanes' 8U, 9U, 10U, 11U, 12U, 13U, 14U, 15U and 16U travel baseball teams on Sunday, Aug. 21, Saturday, Aug. 27 and Sunday, Aug. 28 at Rockburn Branch Park, Howard High School and Long Reach High School.

Career development trainer Brian Smith knows that finding a job requires more than excellent job skills. It also requires a job seeker to excel in applying for and interviewing for positions. Smith seeks to get them back on track with career development courses, which are among the many classes his Laurel-based nonprofit organization, EduSerc, offers to adults. "We have been experiencing an increase of individuals who have become comfortable being out of work and have lost the thought process to keep a job or maintain a job," Smith said.

Linda Flaherty has been teaching at Mayo Elementary School in Edgewater for so long that she says her first students are now approaching their mid-50s. She was hired out of college in 1967, when Lyndon B. Johnson was president and the first Super Bowl was held. As Tuesday marked the end of the school year for students in Anne Arundel County, Flaherty officially retired after 44 years in the system. She capped a career that has seen many approaches to education while teaching several members of the same family — including siblings, parents, aunts and uncles.

Listings are accepted on a space-available basis. Events must be open to the public, and priority will be given to those in Howard County. Items typically appear two weeks prior to the date included in the listing if sent far enough in advance. Deadline is 5 p.m. Thursday prior to date of publication at the latest. To submit camp items, mail to Camps, Patuxent Publishing Co. Editorial, 501 N. Calvert St., Baltimore, MD 21278; email hccalendar@patuxent.com ; fax 410-332-6336; or call 410-332-6497.

Harford County School Superintendent Jacqueline C. Haas has notified students and parents that all field trips to Washington, Philadelphia and New York City have been canceled until further notice because of the risk of war. In a letter to parents, Haas said that other field trips outside the county would be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Schools have been reminded that anyone entering buildings must display a photo identification badge, employee identification or visitors badge. Vendors going into school buildings or offices must show company identification.

Listings are accepted on a space-available basis. Events must be open to the public, and priority will be given to those in Howard County. Items typically appear two weeks prior to the date included in the listing if sent far enough in advance. Deadline is 5 p.m. Thursday prior to date of publication at the latest. To submit camp items, mail to Camps, Patuxent Publishing Co. Editorial, 501 N. Calvert St., Baltimore, MD 21278; email hccalendar@patuxent.com ; fax 410-332-6336; or call 410-332-6497.