Mill Middle

If Phyllis Cherry is going to be successful as the new principal of Old Mill Middle School South in Millersville, the first thing she must learn is its name."

The Patterson Mill Middle School Drama Company performed "Pirates of Penzance Jr. " on March 22 to 24. Cast members included Todd Campo, Valerie Ziegler, Grace Fisher, Kaitlyn Iwanowski, Caleb Blomquist, Jonathan Myers, Cameron Warlick, Ali Leary, Hannah Moots, Anna Odell, Elise Alders, Ellie Byers, Makayla Hauk-Meyer, Hannah Lorenzo, Caroline McCarthy, Caren Meckelnberg, Lauren Piercy, Regan Rich, Meg Thompson, Jody Bogner, Cheyenne Croteau, Jade...

Brandon Lentz was apprehensive about attending Patterson Mill Middle School. First, there was the size of the building: Would he be able to find his way around the 266,476-square-foot building? And the middle school is housed in the same building as the high school: Were high school students really as mean as people said they were? "I was more than a little intimidated my first day of school," said Brandon, 14, of Abingdon. "You see kids on television in high school giving younger kids swirlies" - putting their heads in toilets and flushing - "and stuffing them in their lockers.

No drugs were found during a routine, random drug dog scan Friday at Patterson Mill Middle/High School. The scan, done as part of the school system's commitment to keeping illicit drugs out of the schools, was done using a police dog under the direction of the Harford County Sheriff's Office. The dog sniffed 250 lockers in 25 minutes (8:45 to 9:10 a.m.), alerting once. No controlled dangerous substances or tobacco products were found when the locker was searched. The scan was supervised by four Harford County Sheriff's Office deputies, one drug dog, four school administrators and the school system's coordinator of safety and security.

Courtney Scott is so excited about her new middle school that she has been roaming the halls every day - even though classes do not start until next week. "This is my floor," the 11-year-old seventh-grader said one afternoon this week, gesturing to the classrooms equipped with computers and TV screens at Windsor Mill Middle School. Courtney has spent the past few days helping teachers set up at the school, the first middle school that the county has built in 22 years. At Windsor Mill Middle, administrators hope that high-tech facilities such as radio and television studios, wireless Internet access and televised morning announcements will prepare pupils for the 21st century and engage youngsters during the crucial middle school years.

A 13-year-old Old Mill Middle School-North pupil told police that a stranger grabbed her, carried her into the woods and tried to sexually assault her yesterday morning, prompting school officials to issue a warning to parents of other young walkers. The incident shook parents and children in the neighborhood, where another Old Mill teen-ager, Lisa Kathleen Haenel, was stabbed to death a decade ago during her morning walk to school. That crime is unsolved. "These things are few and far between, but it only takes one time to end up like little Lisa," said parent Debbie Long, adding that she has never let either of her daughters walk to or from the campus of Old Mill middle and high schools in Millersville.

A 13-year-old Old Mill Middle School-North pupil told police that a stranger grabbed her, carried her into the woods and tried to sexually assault her yesterday morning, prompting school officials to issue a warning to parents of other young walkers. The incident shook parents and children in the neighborhood, where another Old Mill teen-ager, Lisa Kathleen Haenel, was stabbed to death a decade ago during her morning walk to school. That crime is unsolved. "These things are few and far between, but it only takes one time to end up like little Lisa," said parent Debbie Long, adding that she has never let either of her daughters walk to or from the campus of Old Mill middle and high schools in Millersville.

Together, they sashayed down the catwalk in the empty cafeteria Thursday evening. "You've got to work this runway, girl," Codia Harris, 13, said to Tierra Perry, 12. A half-hour later, they and their peers at Windsor Mill Middle School were doing the walk in formal gowns and business attire, with pop songs such as Beyonce's "Diva" and a shouting, adoring audience as their soundtrack. They did so under the gaze of a pro: McKey Sullivan, winner of the 11th cycle of America's Next Top Model, served as the event's mistress of ceremonies, guiding the hundreds in attendance from one fashion scene to another.

A bus company fired for refusing to transport a student with a severe medical handicap has asked the state superintendent of education todraw the line on what kinds of problems its drivers must handle.The county board voted Wednesday to revoke a bus contract with JosephB. Edwards Bus Service of Crownsville for one of his seven routes, based on poor performance.The problem stems from an April incident, when one of the driversrefused to transport an Old Mill Middle School student suffering from encopresis, a disease that limits the ability to control one's bowels.

Construction is under way on a middle school designed to ease crowding in western Baltimore County after years of community pleas for relief. Windsor Mill Middle School will cost $27.5 million to build and is expected to open for the 2006-2007 school year, officials said. Situated on 38 acres owned by the school district in the 8200 block of Windsor Mill Road, the school will accommodate 720 pupils in a building with 116,645 square feet. Parents, educators and community activists had been pushing for a new school for nearly a decade before yesterday's official groundbreaking.

Maj. Dan Wood was showered with thunderous applause as he rounded every corner of Ellicott Mills Middle School. The Howard County school's technical education teacher, who recently returned home from a stint in Afghanistan, marveled at the sight of students, faculty and staff who lined up Monday on both sides of the school's hallways and, in a ritual usually staged for students departing for high school, formed a gantlet of praise. A member of the Maryland Army National Guard, Wood has taught at the school for nearly 20 years.

Joshua Parker, a 28-year-old Windsor Mill Middle School teacher in Baltimore County, was named the Maryland Teacher of the Year on Friday night, beating out five other finalists from across the state. The announcement was a surprise, kept secret to everyone but a few state education staffers until it was announced to a large crowd at Martin's West about 9:30 p.m. The son of a Prince George's County teacher who encouraged him to enter the profession, Parker is language arts department chairman at Windsor Mill, a school with a high number of disadvantaged students.

Joshua Paul Parker readily admits he makes his language arts students at Windsor Mill Middle School work hard. "Proficiency is not enough," he said. "They have to shoot for perfection. There is strength in striving. " That attitude embodies Baltimore County's aspirations for its more than 100,000 students and led to Parker's choice as the teacher of the year Monday during the county's 24th annual celebration of its teaching talent. "He lives and breathes the philosophy of our blueprint for progress," said Joe A. Hairston, superintendent of county schools.

Among the first things that hip-hop performer Damon Holley showed the assembled students at Ellicott Mills Middle School was that, as in schoolwork, learning about hip-hop requires undivided attention. Hip-hop artists simply go about getting that attention differently. "Every time you hear me say, 'What's the name of the game?' I want you all to say, 'Pay attention!' And then I want you to remain completely quiet," said Holley of Illstyle and Peace Productions, a Philadelphia-based dance company that staged a high-energy performance, "The History of Hip-Hop," at Ellicott Mills on Thursday.

Seven Maryland schools were designated Thursday as national Blue Ribbon Schools of Excellence, an award given to those with consistently high performance or a high percentage of economically disadvantaged students who have shown significant improvement. Five of the schools are public, including Eastern Technical High in Baltimore County and Ellicott Mills Middle in Howard County, and two are Catholic. "This is one of the nation's most significant awards presented to public schools," state schools Superintendent Nancy S. Grasmick said in a statement.

%HTMLsymbol; %HTMLspecial; ]> ho.ellicottmills20.ART Blue Ribbon for Ellicott Mills Middle School is one of six honored by the state By John-John Williams IV "Ellicott Mills has become one of [Howard County's]...

Two county youths have been treated at North Arundel Hospital this week after apparently ingesting LSD in two unrelated incidents, county police said yesterday.Police would not release the boys' names. A spokesman at North Arundel Hospital would neither confirm nor deny if either boy had ingested LSD.Police charged a 14-year-old Glen Burnie youth as a juvenile with selling LSD in the second case.He was released to his parents, said Officer Randy Bell, a police spokesman.The most recent incident occurred Wednesday morning.

County Department of Health vision and hearing technicians and school nurses are conducting screenings in public schools for children in preschool, kindergarten, third and eighth grades and for students new to Anne Arundel schools.Special education students receiving speech therapy also may be recommended for screening. If the child wears glasses, the child should take them to school the day of the screening.Today: St. Mary's School, Old Mill Middle North, Linthicum Elementary; Tomorrow: Grandma's House -- Meade Village.

Cynthia Dillon and Shiney Ann John stood outside Oakland Mills Middle School splattered with whipped cream and couldn't have been happier. The two administrators agreed that a pie-throwing contest - where up to 20 lucky students in each grade level got an opportunity to throw whipped cream pies - was the perfect way to end the school year. Students were picked during a raffle where they traded in tickets they had accumulated for good behavior throughout the year for a chance at a slew of prizes, including the pie-throwing contest.