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BCP October 2016 Newsletter
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 BCP Summer PD Prepares New Teachers for the Classroom
BCP held the 20th Annual Summer Training Institute for new teachers during the week of August 8, 2016.
Thirty-seven
teachers from City Springs Elementary/Middle School, Govans Elementary School, Hampstead Hill Academy and Wolfe Street Academy participated in the week-long training conducted by
Marvelyn Johnson,
Brenda Kahn, Jeff Krick, Sue Lattimore and Jon McGill.
Training topics included the CHAMPS classroom management program, vocabulary, instructional coaching, building school culture and active monitoring.
"This is an extremely important aspect of the work we do at BCP, not least because it allows new teachers to be better prepared for their upcoming work, and it allows them to make connections with colleagues in schools other than where they will teach," said Jon McGill, BCP Director of Academic Affairs.
Classroom management is one of the areas in which new teachers struggle the most. BCP schools use
CHAMPS, a program of Safe & Civil Schools, which helps teachers to design a proactive and positive classroom management plan that will overtly teach students how to behave responsibly.
BCP's Summer Training Institute is part of BCP's comprehensive Professional Development (PD) program, which includes PD Conferences, in-class coaching, and Teacher Think Tanks.
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CareFirst Fitness Center Opens at City Springs E/M School
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(
l to r) Senator Bill Ferguson, Tavon McGee, Principal Rhonda Richetta, Laura Doherty and Julie Wagner officially open the CareFirst Fitness Center.
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Thanks to a generous grant from
CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield,
City Springs Elementary/Middle School officially opened its new Fitness Center with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on August 19, 2016. Special guests included
Senator Bill Ferguson,
Julie Wagner (Vice President, Community Affairs, CareFirst) and
Bonnie Downing (Manager, Community Affairs, CareFirst).
Under the direction of Athletic Director
Tavon McGee,
the Fitness Center will provide access to exercise equipment, diagnostic tools and educational materials for over 600 students, 75 staff members, parents, and community members.
The goal of the Fitness Center is to offer City Springs students a twenty-first century educational experience, combat childhood obesity, and promote wellness. The Center currently contains a pull up bar, rowing machine, scale, resistance cords, medicine balls, dumbbells and yoga mats.
Students in grades three through eight participate in a one-hour physical education class with Mr. McGee in the Fitness Center each week. Mr. McGee began this school year by introducing students to the fitness equipment. He is teaching proper form and technique, safety rules, how to exercise in a group, and how to build certain muscle groups.
Throughout the year students will learn about diet and build cardiovascular endurance, muscular endurance, muscle strength, and flexibility. Student health will be assessed once per quarter through a variety of metrics and tests including BMI, weight, push-ups, chin-ups, sit-ups, sit and reach, pacer test, and the mile run test.
In addition to the day school students, approximately 200 students who participate in after school sports programs are utilizing the Fitness Center for 45 minutes, three times each week. City Springs sports
programs include football, basketball, cross country, track and field, and baseball.
Teachers, parents and community members are also welcome to use the Fitness Room. Roughly twenty parents, mostly women, have participated in after school fitness classes that focus on high
intensity training, weight loss, endurance training, muscular training, and small group fitness.
The fitness room has made a huge difference in the quality of fitness programming being offered
at City Springs. In the past, indoor programming had to be provided in the school hallways and classrooms.
The Fitness Center is already being utilized to capacity. Mr. McGee reports that this school year parents have been asking day in and day out when they can participate in more fitness programming in the Fitness Room.
During the fall, the Fitness Center is used during after school hours by four football teams, a kickball program and a volleyball program. During the winter months, when there is less sports programming, parents will have more opportunity to utilize the Fitness Center.
BCP and City Springs would like to thank CareFirst for making the Fitness Center possible. Special thanks to
Business Volunteers Maryland
for brokering the partnership between CareFirst, City Springs and the Baltimore Curriculum Project.
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Outward Bound Brings City Springs Students and Baltimore Police Officers Together
By Abby Baldwin, Child First Community School Coordinator at City Springs E/M School
On Thursday September 22nd, twenty-five 7th and 8th graders from
City Springs Elementary/Middle School
visited the Baltimore Chesapeake Bay Outward Bound School to participate in team building activities and adventure challenges with over thirty Baltimore City Police Officers.
The day's activities were part of Outward Bound's Police Youth Challenge (PYC) program, which takes place each and every Thursday at Outward Bound's Leakin Park campus. The PYC takes participants through a progression of challenges designed to build trust and form relationships. Roughly, 30 students and 30 Officers attend the program each week.
Initially, the students were a little nervous to learn that they would be spending the day with police officers, but the nerves quickly wore off as the Outward Bound Facilitators began the activities. By the end of the day, laughter and hugs were shared by all.
Throughout the day, small groups of students and officers completed team building activities involving high ropes elements and strategic thinking.
A lot of the students were surprised to learn that many of the officers were just like them: they liked sports, sometimes got in trouble with their teachers at school, and many were born and raised in Baltimore. One of the officers grew up in Douglas Homes and attended Dunbar High School.
During the strategic team building activity the students and officers identified problems they see in Baltimore right now and envisioned what a new Baltimore would look like if we as a city could work together and create it.
The officers were impressed with our students' vision for a new Baltimore, which included having a grocery store in every neighborhood, more after school programs and activities for kids, more jobs, and raises for the police and firefighters.
"At the end of the day I was invited to speak briefly with all of the officers about City Springs and invited them for a school tour to see more of our students and the amazing work they do," said Abby Baldwin, Child First Community School Coordinator at City Springs.
Since 2008, Baltimore Chesapeake Bay Outward Bound School has been building a foundation to impact the relationships between police and youth in the city. This commitment was matched by a 2012-2015 study by Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health to prove the program's effectiveness. The Johns Hopkins team, funded by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, discovered undeniable truths about the shift in perceptions.
After the unrest in April 2015, Outward Bound worked closely with the Baltimore Police Department to expand the program's reach to serve all active duty officers, school resource officers, police trainees and Command staff. Thanks to a generous donation from an angel donor, the program was scaled up and coordinated with Baltimore City Public Schools as well as community partners Thread and Coaching Corps.
Since the start of 2016, the PYC has been running each and every Thursday with approximately 24-30 youth and officers who participate in a series of challenges within small groups. Each crew has one officer for every one youth and is instructed by Outward Bound instructors, each of whom receive specially designed training as part of the Police Youth Challenge Curriculum. In June 2016, Governor Larry Hogan awarded Outward Bound Policy Youth Challenge a grant of $131,000 to continue expanding their program.
For more information on the Outward Bound Police Youth Challenge visit:
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BCP Prepares for Frederick Elementary Charter Conversion
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State Delegate Antonio Hayes visited the Frederick Elementary construction site in September 2016. |
BCP and Frederick Elementary staff members have been hard at work laying the groundwork for next school year, when Frederick Elementary will become a BCP charter school and move into a fully renovated facility.
Frederick will officially become a BCP neighborhood charter school on July 1, 2017. BCP will ensure that Frederick Elementary offers a 21st Century education in its new 21st Century Building by providing a variety of supports and services including: customized teacher training, in-class teacher coaching, financial management, partnership-building, fundraising, strategic planning and teacher recruitment.
BCP has begun the implementation of Reading Mastery and Core Knowledge in selected classrooms. Ready Mastery is a research-based reading/language arts program with decades of data supporting its effectiveness with all learners. Core Knowledge is a content and vocabulary rich curriculum that helps children establish strong foundations of essential knowledge in science, social studies and literature knowledge, grade by grade.
In addition to an outstanding academic program, Frederick Elementary will offer a stimulating, fun, opportunity-rich life for its students both during and after school. All students will take part in art, music, sports, enrichment clubs and environmental education.
Teachers will receive intensive training in Direct Instruction, Core Knowledge and Restorative Practices throughout School Year 16/17. Restorative Practices is a conflict resolution strategy that emphasizes positive relationships over punishment.
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Govans Elementary Students Love Running and Robotics!
Govans Girls on the Go participated in the 3rd annual
OCHO 8K, 4K & Kids Run on September 24th at
Friends School of Baltimore.
OCHO provides medical and public health outreach in Honduras. One hundred percent of net race proceeds will be used to build a school for special needs children in Honduras. Thank you Mrs. Jobe, Mrs. Wheeler, and Mrs. Kelley for making this possible.
Govans is excited to be a
Girls on the Run of the Greater Chesapeake
site this year. Girls on the Run inspires girls to be joyful, healthy and confident using a fun, experience-based curriculum which creatively integrates running. This is the first year that every BCP school is a Girls on the Run site.
Govans Students are Robotics Ready
Autumn Flea Market a Success
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Girls Coloring for Change, winner of NFTE's 2016 National Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge, participated in the Autum Flea Market.
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Despite the stormy weather, Govans Elementary's Autumn Flea Market was a grand success. Attendees enjoyed food and a wide variety of vendors.
One of the vendors, Girls Coloring for Change, recently won the
National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship's
2016
National Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge. Their
coloring books include powerful women so the next generation of females have better role models.
We would like to thank all of the volunteers and vendors who made the Autumn Flea Market possible:
Cherry Ashley, Cedrick Crump, Jasmin Crump, Anna Doherty, Daleth Euther,
Sandi McFadden, Shanika Owens,
Crystal Powell, Hope Sacco, and Denise Williams.
Special thanks to the Mid-Govans Community Association for donating the food and beverages.
Dragons After Dismissal is Flying High
The second year of the Dragons After Dismissal after school program has taken off. In addition to the LET'S GO Boys and Girls STEM program, 110 students will enjoy a new photography class, physical education, soccer, dance, art, WLOY radio club, Diamond Girls, Creating Young Bosses, Yoga, Jump Rope, Spanish and more.
Fourth and fifth graders have begun the First LEGO League robotics program and will compete with teams throughout Baltimore City later this year.
Dragons After Dismissal is a program of the Baltimore Curriculum Project's 21st Century Community Learning Center at Govans Elementary. Thank you to Center Director Sarah Ceponis for running this outstanding program and to the Maryland State Department of Education for funding the 21st Century Community Learning Center.
We would also like to thank Kathy Dickinson, Lauren Bogue, and
Laila Roth for donating cameras for our new photography class, and Rev. Cristina Paglinauan, Associate Rector & Day School Chaplain for The Church of the Redeemer, for facilitating the donation.
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MSDE Recognizes Hampstead Hill Academy for Excellence in Gifted and Talented Education
The Maryland State Board of Education recognized
Hampstead Hill Academy
for their designation as a 2015 Excellence in Gifted and Talented Education (EGATE) school at the Board of Education meeting on September 27, 2016.
Last year, HHA received the prestigious EGATE award (Excellence in Gifted and Talented Education) from the Maryland State Department of Education and was designated a GAL Site (Gifted and Advanced Learning Site) by Baltimore City Public Schools.
The year HHA w
ill fully implement the gifted and advanced learning program. This program includes rigorous criteria for identifying students who require specific gifted or advanced programming. The goal is to create pull-out groups that meet the unique curricular needs of the gifted learner.
Congratulations to Principal
Matt Hornbeck
on this outstanding achievement. Special thanks to Hampstead Hill Academy's talented staff, especially Director of Enrichment
Laura Moyers Guitian
and STEM Tutor Zoe Fortier, for completing the rigorous EGATE application process, which requires school teams to reflect upon and document the ways in which the school's gifted and talented education program is aligned with the Maryland Criteria for Excellence: Gifted and Talented Education Program Guidelines.
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UFPIA Book Train volunteers Mollie Fein, Karyn Haasen and Alison VanDeursen.
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The Upper Fells Point Improvement Association (UFPIA) Education Committee has been busy with Wolfe Street Academy Library volunteer activities!
A neighborhood work night was held at the school in August, getting the library ready for the children, teachers and parents. The team was ready at the start of the school year, opening the library for Back to School Night on September 15th and for Parent Time each week on Thursday mornings from 8am - 9am following the Morning Meeting.
Parents are encouraged to borrow books to enjoy with their school age and younger children; many of whom gravitate to the board-book collection geared especially to them.
The Library team of Mollie Fein and Karyn Haasen welcomed a new member, Alison VanDeursen, this year. Many of the children recognized Alison as the neighbor they see from the playground, walking her dog, Bunny.
The trio kicked off the regular weekly schedule of the "Book Train" on September 29th, delivering books in bins to the classrooms for students to borrow, take home and enjoy. The three engineers, complete with a very loud train whistle, were greeted by happy faces and much excitement from the children. The program provides library books of all types -- from picture books to chapter books, biographies, mysteries, fiction and non-fiction -- for students in grades 2-5 to borrow. CHOO CHOO!
BCP and WSA would like to thank UFPIA for everything they do to support our students!
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