High School Students

The conventional wisdom is that allowances make children responsible money managers as they learn to budget so they don't run out of cash. But Lewis Mandell, professor emeritus of finance and former dean of business at the State University of New York in Buffalo, says that's not always the case. In fact, says Mandell, who has studied financial literacy, certain allowances may even be hurting kids. According to Mandell, high school students who didn't get an allowance performed better on a financial literacy test than those who did, especially teens who received stipends with no strings attached.

The city school board is considering proposals for seven charter schools that include two named for female trailblazers, another attempt at an all-male, college-preparatory program in East Baltimore, and an elementary school for at-risk youths. The new programs were presented to the Baltimore school board Tuesday as part of the district's annual charter application process. The applicants, the majority of which want to open in 2014, had made it through at least one round of interviews with a district charter advisory board.

While your recent editorial ("A great investment," Oct. 10) is critical of the efforts made by opponents of the Dream Act, I would encourage you not to overlook the efforts being made by Dream Act supporters. The Intersection is a non-profit organization in Baltimore that empowers high school students to have ownership in improving their communities. The students of The Intersection, having completed a rigorous training program, seek to make a difference. In doing so, they have focused their efforts on passing the Dream Act. Students from The Intersection have talked with their peers, canvassed Baltimore neighborhoods, and pushed their communities to spread the word and garner support.

Del. Jon Cardin's recent comment on bullying suggesting that "kids were hurting kids" while "parents and teachers hadn't a clue" was remarkable ("Journey in grief leads to new curbs on bullying," May 2). Where has Mr. Cardin been? As a mother of three since 1980, my children and I can attest to the escalation and prevalence of bullying over the past 30 years. Teacher training on bullying in all its forms, including cyber-bullying, is provided at the start of every school year. Anti-bullying assemblies are held annually.

A rear seat belt that inflates like an airbag upon impact. A radar-based technology that warns of an impending collision. A car that does the parallel parking for you. All these cutting-edge safety-related technologies developed by Ford Motor Co. were on display Wednesday for high school students in a Johns Hopkins University summer engineering program. The Dearborn, Mich.-based auto manufacturer called the event an opportunity for prospective engineers of the future to explore some of the car safety technologies that are about to emerge for the ultimate test drive in the marketplace.

The students surveyed the photographs spread out on the table - a mix of black-and-white and color pictures depicting schoolchildren, a wedding and other family moments. "This is gonna be hard," said senior Harry Mikula, 17, looking at a partially discolored fourth-grade class photo dated 1968-1969. Katie Calkins, his teacher at Patapsco High School and Center for the Arts, picked up a more recent picture of an older woman that was stuck to another photograph, posing a different problem.

Forty-four of the nation's brightest high school students are in Baltimore to test their brains about the brain — in a two-day neuroscience competition that started Sunday morning with a visit to the cadaver laboratory in the University of Maryland School of Medicine and, for many of the teenagers, their first encounter with gray matter. Some had observed sheep's brains and rabbit brains in biology class, and all had studied plastic brain models and atlases as they prepared for the fifth annual U.S. National Brain Bee, founded by a University of Maryland neuroscientist.

The Maryland State Medical Society recognizes the health risks of adolescent sleep deprivation and for that reason recommends Maryland adopt later start times in the state's high schools ("Md. school systems study later start times for high schools," March 11). Studies indicate that a modest delay in school start time is associated with significant improvements in adolescent alertness, mood and health. A 2010 study published in the Archives of Pediatric & Adolescent Medicine offered compelling evidence for the potential benefits of adjusting school schedules to adolescents' sleep needs, circadian rhythms and developmental stage.

Jeremy Dy was among a small group of Chesapeake Science Point Public Charter School students who took the PSAT/NMSQT, a national standardized test considered a precursor to college entrance exams, during the past school year. He and his peers excelled at the test, which is good, because they might be retaking it a few times. While most students take the test during 10th and 11th grades, some CSP students were tested as sixth-graders. Their efforts illustrate how students at the Hanover charter school are excelling at national levels, particularly in math.

Parents, don't panic if your son or daughter doesn't come home from high school today with a report card.Your child isn't hiding it. The dog didn't eat it.Anne Arundel County school officials announced yesterday that report cards for high school students will be delayed nearly a week because of problems in computing new academic eligibility for students involved in extracurricular activities.High school students will receive their report cards Tuesday, said school spokeswoman Nancy Jane Adams.

As a physician at the April 11 public hearing on proposed changes in the HCPSS Wellness Policy, I left with an appreciation for the articulate students who expressed concern about the nutrition value of some foods offered in school during and after classes. A Centennial High student thanked Booster Club efforts to fund uniforms and trips for athletic teams.    Clearly we have in Howard County extraordinarily committed students, adults and...

Baltimore County schools Superintendent Dallas Dance plans to issue digital devices to middle- and high-school students and wants all children in the school system to graduate bilingual, believing it will make them globally competitive, he said in the county's first state of the schools address Thursday. "Earning a Baltimore County public schools diploma needs to have greater meaning," he told a crowd at Valley Mansion in Cockeysville. The superintendent hopes to see kindergartners learning world languages and older students carrying electronic devices within the next five years, he said in an interview Thursday.

The Maryland State Medical Society recognizes the health risks of adolescent sleep deprivation and for that reason recommends Maryland adopt later start times in the state's high schools ("Md. school systems study later start times for high schools," March 11). Studies indicate that a modest delay in school start time is associated with significant improvements in adolescent alertness, mood and health. A 2010 study published in the Archives of Pediatric & Adolescent Medicine offered compelling evidence for the potential benefits of adjusting school schedules to adolescents' sleep needs, circadian rhythms and developmental stage.

With her latest production, Annapolis Shakespeare Company founder and artistic director Sally Boyett-D'Angelo is expanding the young company's horizons, both artistically and physically. At a recent rehearsal of Jon Jory's adaptation of Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice," Boyett-D'Angelo announced the company will soon move to recently acquired space for rehearsals, offices, a costume shop and a performance studio, at 111 Chinquapin Round Road. It's the latest advancement under Boyett-D'Angelo's guidance.

It is 6:45 a.m. and Severna Park High School freshman Chelsea Rogers has a decision to make: skip the most important meal of the day or skip the school bus. "There's no time for breakfast," said Rogers after reaching the corner of Hill Road and Baltimore Annapolis Boulevard in Severna Park, where the bus will take her to school in time for classes to begin at 7:17 a.m. She said she hadn't had a bite since 8 p.m. the night before and wouldn't eat...

The College Board reports that Maryland high school students again led the country last year in their pass rate on Advanced Placement tests. Even better, the board reported that more African-American students earned passing scores than ever before. That Maryland has been able to increase the number and diversity of students taking AP classes while continuing to see rising test scores is a hopeful sign as the state stands poised to adopt a more challenging curriculum. Last year, 29.6 percent of Maryland high seniors passed at least one of the AP exams, which are offered in 34 subjects including chemistry, calculus, English literature, history and foreign languages.

Devron Troy Young, a senior acting student at the Baltimore School for the Arts, recently won an award of $1,500 from the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts. Also receiving $1,500 awards were visual artist Matthew Richard Saunders, a senior at Towson High School, and Jillian Lynn Harris, a modern dancer and senior at Oakland Mills High School in Columbia.These young artists were among 301 high school students throughout the country who shared $177,700 in cash awards given by the NFAA after its annual talent search.

High school students from around the county have been invited to participate Saturday in the eighth annual Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Chess Tournament.The event, which encourages youngsters to honor the memory of Dr. King, will be held in the cafeteria of North County High School.Matches begin at 9 a.m. Coaches are asked to bring chess clocks and boards with pieces.Registration fees are $9 per person, and there will be a time limit of 35 minutes per player per game.Trophies will be awarded to the first-place team.

The Baltimore Washington Corridor Chamber's Foundation will host its 56th annual gala and fundraiser for scholarships, Thursday, Feb. 21, from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m., at the Sheraton Columbia, 10207 Wincopin Circle, in Columbia. The gala's theme is "The Corridor's Got Talent. "Joe Castillo, a top finalist from the TV show America's Got Talent, will entertain. Sponsorships are available at six levels. The scholarship fund helps high school students attend college. For more information on the sponsorship levels and to register for the gala, go to http://www.baltwashchamber.org/events/eventdetail.aspx?

I remain opposed to the new plan for Symphony Woods as well as the process that has gotten it to the apparent finish line so quickly. CABD approved Cy Paumier's plan several years ago. If another architect had ideas why wasn't there an effort to combine talents and, perhaps, produce a plan all parties could approve? Since there seems no real hurry to improve Symphony Woods, why not consider a  more interactive, inclusive, holistic approach? The mall is a consumption entity belonging to Howard Hughes Corp., as well as others and with adjacent parts belonging to CA. Symphony Woods is a CA-owned public park with Merriweather Post Pavilion and empty acreage behind it belonging to Howard Hughes Corp.