Severn School

This time three years ago, Van Bokkelen Elementary school was trying to shed its title of Anne Arundel's lowest-performing school. State education officials had labeled it as in need of "restructuring." Its Achilles' heel was fifth-grade math, where the school consistently fell below state benchmarks. This year, fifth-grade math is one of the areas the school is most proud of, with the number of students passing the state test jumping 18 percentage points from last year. The school of 430 students also made solid gains in third-, fourth- and fifth-grade reading.

The Anne Arundel County Board of Education will host a three-hour workshop tomorrow for members of the County Council on the construction of the school system budget. The workshop will be divided into sessions on the capital and operating budgets. School system staff will provide an overview of the process -- including departmental reviews, decisions by the superintendent and adoption by the board -- and the many factors, such as state and federal requirements, that are taken into consideration.

RUBE GOLDBERG was an American cartoonist whose idea of fun was solving simple problems in ridiculously complicated ways.Long ago, Lolly Schorreck, Severn School sixth-grade science teacher, recognized the educational value of these funny solutions.So, she's challenged her pupils this year to "put cereal in a bowl" as Goldberg would have done it.On March 19 in the Great Room of Severn School, the pupils' working inventions will be on display from 1: 15 p.m. to 2: 15 p.m.The work is the culmination of an annual assignment by Schorreck, a 13-year veteran at Severn, who uses the project to explain all sorts of physical and scientific facts in an entertaining way.The pupils must name their inventions, and use at least eight steps and at least three simple machines (lever, wedge, screw, wheel and axle, gears or pulley)

IF YOU think teaching young children is hard, you're right. And the end of the school year is probably the most difficult time for teachers.Fifty percent of the kids left their concentration at the beach last weekend, and what brain power they have left is focused on after-school swim-team practice and end-of-year recitals.Thank goodness there were no snow days last winter.Rear Adm. Joseph D. Stewart, superintendent of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, will be returning to his alma mater when he speaks at the commencement ceremonies this Saturday at Severn School.

So, what are you doing for spring break?Forty-four eighth-graders from Severn School will spend March 5 to 16 touring Italy and Greece.I'm not sure who will get the biggest kick out of this trip -- the pupils or the 28 chaperones.Under the direction of Linda Bourdelaise, assistant director of the middle school, the youngsters, faculty members and parents will visit attractions in Delphi and Athens, and then board a ferry for a picturesque sail to Rome.In the Eternal City they'll visit the Sistine Chapel, the Catacombs and the Appian Way, followed by trips to Capri and Sorrento.

ALTHOUGH IT has been opening in phases for several years, and fully opened in mid-July, Kinder Farm Park will hold its grand opening Sunday -- along with its first Fall Harvest Festival."

Jim Doyle has stepped down as boys basketball coach at Severn School after nine seasons, and Brad Rivera is not returning as boys soccer coach after just one season.Severn athletic director David Hooks made the announcement yesterday. Hooks said that the Admirals are seeking a replacement for Doyle but that full-time teacher Ian Carr has replaced Rivera.Doyle led the Admirals to the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association B Conference playoffs, in which they were eliminated by eventual champion McDonogh (23-5)

FUTURE SPEAKERS of the House, news anchors and self-confident adults practiced writing and public speaking skills at the Severna Park Optimist Club's recent annual oratorical contest.Part of the club's commitment to youth, the contest for youngsters under age 16 attracted 10 students whose speeches were on "Optimism In My Life."Winner in the boys' category was Gregory Price, 15, son of Timothy and Catherine Price. Gregory is a sophomore at Severn School. Second place went to Alex White, 14, son of Mark and Cynthia White.

An 11-year-old Severn School pupil learned a hard lesson yesterday about what happens when one's reach exceeds his grasp: His right arm got caught in a soda machine.Garrett Nicholson of Gambrills was stuck for 90 minutes before Anne Arundel County EMS/Fire/Rescue workers could free him from the delivery chute of the machine, which had to be cut apart.He got a ride in a state police helicopter to Union Memorial Hospital in Baltimore and was given three free bottles of the Gatorade he had been after when the mishap occurred about 3 p.m."

WHAT'S AS American as baseball, apple pie, and mom? Garage sales, of course.Everyone seems to be selling cast-offs, judging from the yard sale signs sprouting around Central County like so many black-eyed Susans in a flower bed.Display your belongings along the driveway and you'll draw carloads of the curious, strangers and neighbors you haven't seen since the time everyone got together to celebrate the country's big birthday in '76.That's what makes yard...

Schools closing for spring break Anne Arundel County public schools will be closed Thursday through April 13 for Easter/Spring break. Schools will re-open April 14. Information: 410-222-5000. AACC open house Anne Arundel Community College will hold an open house for the noncredit, continuing education program in truck driving 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday at the Glen Burnie Town Center Arundel Center North, Room 420. Information: 410-777-2325. An "AACC Information Session" will be held from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Center for Applied Learning and Technology, Room 107, 101 College Parkway, Arnold.

School redistricting committees to meet The Anne Arundel County Public Schools' redistricting committees looking at school boundary lines for the Mountain Road corridor in Pasadena and the area south of the South River will meet this week. The Mountain Road corridor committee will meet at 7 p.m. tomorrow at Pasadena Elementary School, 401 E. Pasadena Road, to discuss redistricting options available in the Northeast and Chesapeake feeder systems. The committee studying redistricting in the south county will meet at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Tracey's Elementary School, 20 Deale Road in Tracys Landing, to discuss options in the Southern and South River feeder systems.

School redistricting meetings to be held Two school redistricting committees have scheduled public meetings this week. The Mountain Road corridor committee will meet at 7 p.m. tomorrow at Marley Elementary School, 715 Cooper Road, Glen Burnie. The committee is looking at redistricting options for the Northeast and Chesapeake feeder systems. The committee studying redistricting in the southern part of the county will meet at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Davidsonville Elementary School, 962 Central Ave. West.

Montessori to hold informational sessions The Montessori International Children's House will hold a series of informational sessions this fall at its Annapolis campus, 1641 Winchester Road. The public is welcome to any of the sessions, hosted by the school's educational director Nancy Anselm. Programs include a video, discussion and refreshments. Sessions are free, but reservations are required. Programs are: "Maria Montessori: Her Life and Work" at 7 p.m. Thursday; "Expectations: The Partnership Between Home and School" at 9 a.m. Oct. 2; "Montessori in the Home" at 7 p.m. Oct. 28; and "Doorway to Lifelong Learning" at 7 p.m. Nov. 6. The MICH is an independent school through sixth grade, accredited by the Association Montessori Internationale.

William Potter Dukes, a former educator who established a magazine in the late 1970s devoted to the culture and way of life of the Delmarva Peninsula, died Friday of pulmonary fibrosis at Perry Point Veterans Affairs Medical Center. The longtime Denton resident was 71. Mr. Dukes was born in Baltimore and raised on Wickford Road in Roland Park. He attended Friends School and then transferred to Severn School in order to prepare himself for entrance to the Naval Academy. At the academy, he studied electrical engineering and planned to become a Navy pilot.

"Ride the Wave to Success," the fourth annual Advancement Via Individual Determination Student Leadership Conference, will be held from 9:15 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. Wednesday at Glen Burnie High School. The conference features more than 350 high school and middle school students "in the academic middle" who are part of Anne Arundel County's AVID program. The conference is organized and planned largely by students and gives them an opportunity to broaden their educational experiences and learn from and motivate each other.

When Kristyn Kuhn started working at Severn School in the early 1990s, students were still using the original 1922 dining hall and a gym and academic buildings from the 1960s. Plays were performed in a basement where low ceilings made staging the balcony scene of Romeo and Juliet a claustrophobic experience. "Juliet's head was bumping into a sprinkler head on the ceiling," said Kuhn, now the school's director of communications and the parent of two sons in the upper school. "There were great programs, but the facilities were so poor."

Charles Frederick Lynch, chairman of the board of General Ship Repair Corp. and a Severn School benefactor, died of heart failure Monday at Baltimore Washington Medical Center. The Severna Park resident was 81. Mr. Lynch was born in Baltimore and raised in Severna Park in Anne Arundel County. He graduated from Severn School in 1944 and received a bachelor's degree in industrial engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1948. He worked for a Baltimore metal-fabrication company before joining the family-owned Key Highway ship repair yard that had been founded by his father, Charles B. Lynch, in 1924.

Anne Arundel County Public Schools will hold six information sessions, starting this week, for families interested in the International Baccalaureate Program. Parents and students can learn about the application process and meet students, parents and staff involved in the program. Current fifth-grade students may apply for the Middle Years Program. Current eighth-grade students may apply for a seat in the Extended Learning/IB Diploma Program for 2008-09. Middle Years sessions will be held from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday at Annapolis Middle School; Wednesday at MacArthur Middle School and Thursday at Old Mill North Middle School.

The Anne Arundel County Board of Education will host a three-hour workshop tomorrow for members of the County Council on the construction of the school system budget. The workshop will be divided into sessions on the capital and operating budgets. School system staff will provide an overview of the process -- including departmental reviews, decisions by the superintendent and adoption by the board -- and the many factors, such as state and federal requirements, that are taken into consideration.