Gpa

When the school board voted in August to raise the minimum grade point average for students participating in sports, it marked not the end but the beginning of controversy.But the new 2.0 GPA comes up for discussion again at the Board of Education meeting, set for 9:30 a.m. tomorrow at board headquarters on Riva Road.Since the Aug. 5 decision, parents, students and coaches have appeared at nearly every board meeting to express concern over the new GPA policy.Many people, including board Vice President Dorothy Chaney, have complained the decision was made without input from the community.

As a sophomore in 2011, Westminster senior pitcher-third baseman Trevor Houck was called up to varsity for the state playoffs. It turned out to be an extended stay as the Owls won the Class 4A state championship. Houck enjoyed the ride to an undefeated season, mostly watching the games from the bench for Westminster that year. Now the Owls' staff ace and top player, he would like to lead the team to another state title to close out his high school career. He's doing everything he can for Westminster, which is 6-3 through Tuesday.

As we get into another batch of "Q's and A's," let's focus on two important items, academics and sportsmanship. Remember, any "Q's" or answers you have are always welcome on the 24-Hour Sportsline, 647-2499.* Isn't it good news to learn that the 1.67 grade-point average requirement for extracurricular activities is not etched in stone andthat the school board is looking at ways to raise it?How about this idea from school board member Tom Twombly?"We're looking at a weighted scale for grade-point averages," said Twombly, who is a known advocate of the 2.00 GPA for student-athletes.

The C. Milton Wright boys soccer team will be awarded a second consecutive National Team Academic Award by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America. To qualify, teams must have an average minimum grade point average of of 3.25. C. Milton Wright held a 3.4 average GPA.

The school board voted unanimously yesterday to retain its controversial new policy requiring a minimum 2.0 grade-point average for students playing sports. But they expanded it to cover students involved in all extracurricular activities, except student government.After almost five hours of testimony and discussions among board members, parents, coaches and students, the board revised its August decision to raise the minimum GPA from 1.6 to 2.0 for athletes only."This was never intended to be just sports," board member Maureen Carr-York said.

In one semester last year, Shannon Henderson failed two courses at Annapolis High School. By the end of the next semester, however, she had replaced those grades with A's with the support of her basketball coach and teammates.Yet under the school board's recent decision to raise the minimum grade point average for student athletes she wouldn't be able to get that help, she and others complained at a board meeting Monday night."My coach made me strive for something," Shannon said. "She encouraged me. She helped me a lot."

For the past three years, the National Soccer Coaches Association of America has honored Catonsville's boys soccer team as one of the nation's top academic teams. This year, the Comets rank No. 1. With a weighted team grade-point average of 4.28, the Comets earned the best average of the 55 boys teams honored. Only one of the 116 girls teams honored -- South Carroll -- had a higher average. Loch Raven's boys and Hereford's girls were honored for a third straight year, while Dundalk's boys were honored for the first time.

Good morning --Kyle Boller -- Did you read yesterday's report card? That should lift your GPA.

Allison Wentworth of Old Mill and North County's Shawn Moyer took honors as the top female and male on the Anne Arundel All-County Academic-Athletic Team awards ceremony Thursday evening at the BWI Marriott.The 11th annual ceremony honoring the county's top 20 student-athletes was sponsored by The Baltimore Sun and was part of the Anne Arundel Trade Council Spring Membership Meeting.Wentworth and Moyer both have 4.0 grade-point averages and are ranked No. 1 in their senior classes.Wentworth played volleyball and basketball and is involved in numerous school and community activities, including volunteering at the Ruth P. Eason School For Handicapped Children.

Five Harford Community College Fighting Owls were recognized for their academic excellence with an award from the most prestigious collegiate committee of academics in the nation. These fall student-athletes earned Capital One Academic All-District honors from CoSIDA. Men's soccer's Kevin Connelly; Audrey Baldwin, Alex Kaputsos and Becky McManus of the women's soccer program; and volleyball's Abby Stevens were named to the Academic All-District Team for District 34. They were five of 16 junior college student-athletes named on the prestigious list among fall student-athletes.

At 6 feet 6, 275 pounds, Alec Auwaerter plays a key role on the offensive line for a No. 9 St. Paul's football team with a stellar running game powering its 8-0 season and a shot at the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association B Conference title. The offensive guard, who has been selected for the Maryland Crab Bowl senior all-star game, is an Eagle Scout and an International Baccalaureate diploma candidate. Auwaerter has a 3.7 grade-point average and is considering majoring in biology.

Five Harford Community College Fighting Owls were recognized for their academic excellence with an award from the most prestigious collegiate committee of academics in the nation. These fall student-athletes earned Capital One Academic All-District honors from CoSIDA. Men's soccer's Kevin Connelly; Audrey Baldwin, Alex Kaputsos and Becky McManus of the women's soccer program; and volleyball's Abby Stevens were named to the Academic All-District Team for District 34. They were five of 16 junior college student-athletes named on the prestigious list among fall student-athletes.

The state school board voted Tuesday to recommend that students maintain a C average to be able to play sports in public high schools over concerns raised by some educators and coaches that marginal students might drop out without the incentive of sports. The decision, passed with two dissenting votes on the 12-member board, will take effect next school year. While advocates say the minimum grade standard will motivate student athletes to do better in school, critics, including board member Kate Walsh, who voted against the standard, say schools should not discourage struggling students from staying in school.

Jonathan Ogden parted ways with the NFL more than three years ago, but the retired Ravens offensive tackle remains an active presence in the Baltimore community. During the past 15 years, Ogden has helped more than 500 students from disadvantaged neighborhoods get their diplomas and prepare for college through participation in the Jonathan Ogden Club, an academic support program formed specifically for student-athletes at Patterson High School in 1997. "I saw a lot of kids … especially when I moved to this city, where the academics wasn't impressed upon them," Ogden said.

Selena Guerrero-Martin must have a Time-Turner. The Poly senior couldn't possibly do so much so well without being in two places at one time. She has to be hiding one of those little hourglass necklaces that hurled Harry Potter's friend Hermione Granger back in time so she could double up on her classes. Just look at this slice of Guerrero-Martin's academic resume: 4.0 weighted grade-point average, National Merit Scholar commended student, Maryland Distinguished Scholar semifinalist, Maryland Hispanic Recognition Program finalist.

Lansdowne High School, according to indoor track coach Charles Pridee, had not scored a point in the Baltimore County indoor meet in more than a decade entering this season. But last weekend, the Vikings scored 32 points and finished fifth out of more than 20 teams. Leading the Vikes was junior Yelnats Calvin, who joined the team as a sophomore and who has become its leader. He won the 500 meters (1 minute, 11.10 seconds), finished second in the 300 and helped the 800-meter relay team to second place and the 1,600-meter relay team to third place.

In another life, Abby was a racing greyhound, careening around a circular track chasing a robotic rabbit.She lived in a wire cage and if she were ever stroked and given affection, it was only because she had just run well enough to bring some money to her owner.But at age 3, Abby was deemed too slow to win at the track. The greyhound's owner carted her off to a facility where she waited, with scores of other so-called retired racers, for the lethal injection that would kill her.This is the modern dog racing era, where animals are destroyed when they can no longer make their owners a winner at the track.

The C. Milton Wright boys soccer team will be awarded a second consecutive National Team Academic Award by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America. To qualify, teams must have an average minimum grade point average of of 3.25. C. Milton Wright held a 3.4 average GPA.

Stored blood more likely to lead to infections transfusions Hospitalized patients who received blood that had been stored for more than four weeks were nearly three times as likely to develop infections as those who received fresher blood, researchers said last week. The blood itself was not infected, but the stored blood's release of chemical agents called cytokines may have affected the recipients' immune systems, rendering them more susceptible to infections, said Dr. Raquel Nahra of Sparks Regional Medical Center in Fort Smith, Ark. The patients typically suffered an increase in urinary-tract infections, pneumonia and infections associated with intravenous lines, but those who were infected were no more likely to die, Nahra told a Philadelphia meeting of the American College of Chest Physicians.

Howard County high schools are standardized in many ways - bell schedules, cafeteria lunches and county curriculums to name a few. However, the selection process for admission to the National Honor Society, as well as member expectations and service requirements, is different at all 12 high schools. The only standardization the county has for entry into the honor society is a cumulative minimum 3.4 grade-point average. Most schools use teacher recommendations, a personal essay and a list of extracurricular activities to determine a student's eligibility for entry.