Time for the BCPS Haiku Contest! -- This Week in BCPS

Monday, February 13, 2023

Time to write the haiku!

Annual systemwide writing contest begins this week

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. BCPS is only seeking 17 syllables.

For the BCPS 2023 Haiku Contest, each student is invited to choose from among 10 pieces of student artwork and to write a haiku inspired by that artwork. (Below are only partial images of each artwork.) Entries for the annual BCPS Haiku Poetry Contest will be accepted from 12:01 a.m. on Thursday, February 16, through 4:45 p.m. on Thursday, March 2.

All haiku must be original and must be submitted using the online 2023 Haiku Contest Form. Winning haiku will be chosen at the elementary, middle, and high school levels. Winners will be announced on Monday, April 17, International Haiku Poetry Day, and will receive prizes.

As in prior years, the winning poems and additional selected haiku will be compiled into an online book with student artwork. Each school library will receive a print copy.

Join us for the Black Excellence Program closing event

The Black Excellence Program is an extracurricular BCPS activity that teaches students about the Black experience in America. This year's program has three key components: a book study, a school-based competition, and the development of presentations.

The program will conclude with a systemwide public event to showcase presentations students developed in response to the books they read or the independent research prompt: “Breaking Barriers and Innovation: How have others created the world I live in today?”

BCPS students make gains in Advanced Placement exam participation and performance

BCPS students took more than 10,000 Advanced Placement (AP) exams during the 2021-2022 school year, and nearly 65 percent of those exams earned a college-ready score of 3 or higher, according to data recently released by the Maryland State Department of Education. Among Maryland’s 24 school systems, BCPS ranks seventh in AP exam performance for the 2021-2022 school year.

Learn more in a recent news release.

A math holiday? Students at General John Stricker Middle School recognized National Natural Logarithm and 'e' Day

For most people, February 7 is just February 7, but this year, in Dr. Sarah Jeanne Sayles’ mathematics classes at General John Stricker Middle School, the date took on special significance.

“The numbers used for February 7 – 2.7 – are a close approximation of ‘e,’ the mathematical symbol used to denote the inverse of the natural logarithm,” Sayles explains. “Students at General John Stricker Middle School celebrated National Natural Logarithm and ‘e’ Day to generate enthusiasm for the famous irrational number ‘e’ and its inverse function, the natural logarithm.”

Find more of the story in a new blog post.

BCPS-TV launches new "CTE Show" during Career and Technical Education Month

February is Career and Technical Education (CTE) Month and the perfect time for BCPS-TV to launch its new "CTE Show."

The first episode features segments on the engineering program at Pikesville High, a student profile, and a partnership profile of Ken Guttman, a vice president of Gannett Fleming and a Loch Raven High School graduate. Throughout the show, in "Ask Dr. G" segments, Dr. Michael Grubbs, the BCPS CTE coordinator, answers questions.

The BCPS Office of Career and Technical Education

provides students an opportunity to pursue a sequential technical and academic program of study leading to advancement in a career field. High school CTE programs give students the opportunity to transition smoothly into postsecondary education and to earn college credit and/or industry credentials in a career field of interest.

Beyond BCPS: Crystal Watkins Johansson, M.D., Ph.D., a Dulaney High graduate

A leading clinician and researcher in studies of resilience and coping capacity in the geriatric population

Dr. Crystal Watkins Johansson was the first African-American student government president of Dulaney High School. She went on to become the first female Meyerhoff Scholar from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, to earn a medical degree and doctorate and one of only a few African-American women to earn a doctorate in molecular and cellular neuroscience from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Her thesis work with Dr. Solomon Snyder was featured on the cover of the Wall Street Journal and led to a patented discovery and proposed clinical trial for diabetic nerve disorders.

She is now chief of psychiatry and operational chair at MedStar Harbor Hospital and an assistant professor at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.

Learn more about her impressive career in a new Beyond BCPS blog post.

Bocce ball at Ridge Ruxton

BCPS-TV was there to capture Ridge Ruxton School students engaged in their first-ever interscholastic athletic competition -- an allied sports bocce ball match against Dulaney High School.

Latest "Why I Teach" video: Liz Miller, visual arts educator at Bear Creek Elementary School

More information about Liz Miller can also be found in a Face of the Week blog post from earlier this school year.

for parents

from BCPS Parent University

Understanding Your Anxious Child & Building Trust, a virtual workshop presented by Mariposa Education

Anxiety is a growing concern among adults and children alike. It can feel almost insurmountable to help your child. The opposite of anxiety is trust…trust in yourself, in your abilities, and in those around you. In this workshop, you will discover a new way of understanding your child’s anxiety by exploring the science linking anxiety and your child’s behavior. And you will learn one specific way you can help.

Lunch & Learn: What Children Need When Stress is Rising, a virtual workshop presented by Mariposa Education

The pressure to help kids heal, socialize and catch up is creating more stress on parents and children. Relationships have been strained and tested. And, while things are getting closer to “normal,” questions such as “Did I do enough?” and “Will they be behind?” are still coming up. In this workshop you will discover specific factors that account for resilience in the face of adversity as well as specific things you can do to quiet the stress response, increase connection and help your child engage again.

Looking for more ideas and information? Please sign up for the Parent University newsletter! It is designed specifically for parents and caregivers and offers ideas, information, resources, and opportunities.

for your viewing pleasure

"Lucy's Lovely Portrait" by Lucy Tessier, Grade 6, Ridgely Middle School, from The 2023 BCPS Winter Art Exhibition

To see more artwork by BCPS students, teachers, and other members of the BCPS community, please visit the Office of Visual Arts gallery webpage.

mission moment

from The Education Foundation of BCPS

Preparing for State of the Schools 2023

The Education Foundation of BCPS, Inc., is proud to announce that State of the Schools 2023 will be held at Dundalk High School/Sollers Point Technical High School on Wednesday, March 22, from 4:30 – 6 p.m. The celebration will begin with a We Are Team BCPS gallery showcasing and recognizing the major accomplishments of BCPS students and staff. The program will feature musical, dance, and oratorical performances by students and will culminate with an address by BCPS Superintendent Dr. Darryl L. Williams. We are pleased to look forward, together again.

A new Mission Moment blog post reviews the history of the event and its purpose.

A Word from Dr. Williams, Superintendent

February 13, 2023

Dear Team BCPS,

Throughout Black History Month, we are featuring BCPS alumni in a social media campaign on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. So far, we have recognized:

Hilton Carter, interior designer, author, and plant stylist – George Washington Carver Center for Arts and Technology graduate
Ta-Nehisi Coates, award-winning author and journalist –Woodlawn High School graduate
Tiera Hawkes, assistant public defender, Baltimore County Juvenile Division – Towson High School graduate
Adrienne Jones, speaker of the Maryland House of Delegates – Lansdowne High School graduate
Ego Nwodim, “Saturday Night Live” cast member – Eastern Technical High School graduate
Quincy Roche, outside linebacker for the Pittsburgh Steelers -- New Town High School graduate
Idris Somoye, senior engineer – Chesapeake High School/Sollers Point Technical High School graduate
Crystal Watkins Johansson, M.D., Ph.D., neuroscientist, psychiatrist, researcher, and assistant professor -- Dulaney High School graduate

We are so proud of these graduates and look forward to showcasing many more from across the county as the month proceeds.

Please note that our communications team celebrates all of our students, staff, schools, and alumni throughout the year in multiple ways. If you have any story ideas, please email them to communications@bcps.org.

You can help us tell the more complete BCPS story.

Sincerely,

Darryl L. Williams, Ed.D.

Superintendent

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