Middle School

We've reached the point in the school year where I feel like we're settling down for the long slog. The new notebooks and binders are scuffed. The excitement of new teachers and new classes has faded.  October has only just begun and I'm already tired. The transition to middle school has been tough on all of us. It isn't just that the work is harder. It's that my 11-year-old is expected to be much more responsible. This is a lesson I'm struggling to teach. Six weeks have passed and he has yet to bring home his gym uniform for me to wash.

Jarrettsville Elementary School, Fallston Middle School and Patterson Mill High School are the recipients of the Harford County Public Library (HCPL) 2012 Summer Reading Trophies. The trophies were awarded to the public elementary, middle and high schools with the highest percentage of students who completed the Dream Big: READ Summer Reading Program. In addition, John Archer School was presented with an Extraordinary Achievement Award for having the largest increase in completions between 2011 and 2012.

Though 99 percent of Singapore's students pass national exams, a delegation of the city-state's educators recently traveled the globe to Anne Arundel County schools to learn innovative ways to help the other 1 percent succeed. Five educators from the Assumption Pathway School and Children-At-Risk-Empowerment (CARE) in Singapore visited classes at Lindale Middle School in Linthicum this month as part of a two-week tour of facilities in the state. They spoke with local school officials about organization, teaching strategies and assistance for at-risk students.

Anne Arundel County police charged a 13-year-old Laurel student Tuesday with possessing a dangerous weapon on school property. The boy, who is being charged as a juvenile, also faces second-degree assault and reckless endangerment charges. He has been released into the custody of his parents. While MacArthur Middle School students waited a bus stop in Fort Meade Tuesday, a parent called to alert school that a student was carrying a BB gun in the waistband of his pants. School officials contacted police and their own security office and met the bus when it arrived.

The Anne Arundel County school system has one of the most accomplished science, technology, engineering and math programs in the state, garnering national awards while ensuring that its initiatives remain available to all students, according to school officials. "Anne Arundel County is doing a fabulous job," said Donna Clem, state coordinator of STEM initiatives. "Anne Arundel County is right here in a hotbed, in the I-95 corridor … with many organizations that are looking for the development of a STEM workforce.

City police chasing a suspected car thief on foot forced a lock-down at Roland Park Elementary/Middle School in the city's northwest neighborhood for less than an hour Monday morning. The city dispatch notified area schools of the incident, which began about 8:10 a.m. Police chased the suspect, who abandoned the stolen car and ran across a field at the school in the 5200 hundred block of Roland Avenue. Staff heard police calling "Stop" and saw the suspect continue running, officials said.

We've survived the first week of school and I'm not sure who had more homework, the kids or I. I had to write my contact information for every one of my middle school student's six teachers. Really, can't the school give the teachers this information so I only have to write it once? And if it was OK to give my son a cough drop last year, it's still OK this year. I also signed up to get grade reports for my kids, although I'm thinking it's time to stop nagging my high school junior about doing his homework.

Dumbarton Middle School is closed Wednesday due to lack of water, according to the Baltimore County Public Schools website. No other closings or cancellations have been reported for Baltimore County public schools, according to the website.

Since opening its doors in 1952, Westowne Elementary School has seen plenty of first days. But while every first day of school is different, the one common theme for students, teachers, and staff at the school on Harlem Lane has been a feeling of excitement. Pat Vogel, who is beginning her 18th year as a teacher/administrator in the Baltimore County school system, felt the enthusiasm again when Westowne opened on Monday. "Parents are excited because it's their time to send their children back to us," said Vogel, Westowne's principal since 2006.

When Christina O'Neill was a little girl, she dreamed of following in the footsteps of her aunts and becoming a teacher. But she probably never imagined she'd one day become Harford County's 2012 Teacher of the Year. “I am extremely proud of the teaching profession,” says O'Neill, 41. “For me, it is an honor to represent the dedicated and hardworking teachers of Harford County Public Schools. I am one of many educators who give their best each day to ensure that our students are prepared for today and tomorrow.” O'Neill, who currently teaches sixth grade language arts at Bel Air Middle School, was nominated by the school's principal, Sean Abel, before she was chosen by a panel among four other finalists to represent the county's more than 3,000 teachers.