Monday, August 5, 2024

Are you ready for BCPSfest?

It's less than two weeks away!

BCPSfest, the school system’s back-to-school festival, will feature many hands-on, family-friendly learning activities; information about community resources and BCPS employment opportunities; live entertainment by students and staff; face-painting; double-Dutch jump-roping; the Multilingual Welcome Bus; the Baltimore County Public Library’s bookmobile; fire engines; dental screenings from Colgate Bright Smiles Bright Futures; field games; and much more.

A list of vendors and entertainers, information about parking, and more details can be found online.

New this year at BCPSfest: A Vaccine Clinic

To help families prepare for the upcoming school year, the Baltimore County Health Department will host a vaccine clinic during BCPSfest. Register online for an appointment. Vaccinations to be offered include (but are not limited to):

Many thanks to our generous BCPSfest sponsors!

Platinum Sponsor

Gold Sponsor

In-kind Sponsor

Things to know for the 2024-2025 school year

A new Community Update, available online in both English and Spanish, is filled with valuable information for BCPS families. Please read it to learn more about:

Important dates

The Talking Points app for multilingual families

Xello, the new college and career exploration platform

Curriculum Nights

Marking periods

Cell phone and social media policies

Free meals

Required immunizations

Mental health services

Learning options and opportunities

Parent information systems and how to resolve issues

School safety

Special education services

Student expectations

Transportation/buses – and more!

BCPS-TV recaps summer learning programs

Catch up on the latest Summer Stories

Having fun and building skills at Hereford Zone Robotics Summer Camp

Twenty-six students in Grades 4-7 participated in the Hereford Zone Robotics summer camp at Hereford High School from July 22-26. By the end of the week, students had learned new skills in coding and building, including learning about pneumatics, and practiced teamwork. The week concluded with a challenge game created by the camp counselors. The campers’ families visited to observe the game and celebrate their children’s achievements. A new Summer Stories blog post tells more of the story.

Loch Raven High senior takes on an apprenticeship and a job

This summer, Christine Omanga, a senior at Loch Raven High School, is working as a fiscal accounting apprentice at Maryland Auto Insurance and as a team member at Chick-fil-A. She also turned 17, earned her driver's license, and reached her goal of reading 100 books on the Kindle her dad bought her last year.

In a new Summer Stories blog post, Christine writes about her experiences and expresses gratitude for all she is learning and how it is helping her prepare for a career as an accountant.

Supervisor of Magnet Programs performs in "Splash Games"

Attending a Fluid Movement water ballet is what led Liberty Grayek, BCPS supervisor of Magnet Programs, to join the troupe in 2014. “When I went to my first show, I just loved it,” Grayek says. “It was such a joyous occasion – nothing but joy. And now being a part of it is like participating in an adult summer camp.”

This year’s show is called “Splash Games: A Water Ballet of Imaginary Sports.”

“This year, I perform in a scene about competitive napping,” Grayek says. “Half the performers are nappers, and the other half are dreamers. The dreamers try to lull the nappers to sleep and then try to wake them up. The napper who sleeps the longest wins.”

She continues, “Along with two others, I also co-direct a children’s scene based on the idea of combining the old Frogger video game with game of leapfrog.”

A Mission Moment blog post dives into more of the story.

Grayek in the competitive napping scene

Grayek and her daughter, Scarlett Whipple, who is also a Fluid Movement performer

Seeking more summer stories

Every summer since 2018, BCPS has invited its students, teachers, and staff to share stories about their summer activities and adventures on the BCPS blog. The invitation to contribute to the Summer Stories series is extended again this year. To submit a blog post or suggest a story idea, please write to communications@bcps.org. We want to know about your summer jobs/internships/externships, vacations, creative projects, competitions, camps, and more!

Looking back at BCPS Band and Ukulele Music Camp

BCPS held its Band and Ukulele Music Camp on July 15-19 at Dumbarton Middle School. BCPS-TV stopped by to learn more.

Free books for teachers (and everyone else!) available from The Book Thing of Baltimore on Sunday, August 11

The Book Thing of Baltimore is a local nonprofit "bookstore" where all the books are free. The bookstore, located in the Abell neighborhood of Baltimore City, is holding one of its monthly openings on Sunday, August 11. They particularly invite teachers to come collect books for their classrooms in preparation for the upcoming school year -- but all are invited.

On August 11, The Book Thing will accept book donations from 9 a.m.-2 p.m., and will giveaway books from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Please visit The Book Thing website for important details about how to "shop" and how to donate books. The Book Thing's address is 3001 Vineyard Ln., Baltimore 21218.

Small and minority-owned firms encouraged to register for the Meet the Primes Networking Event

Small, minority, veteran, and woman-owned firms looking to provide goods and services on public contracts across Maryland are invited to participate in “Meet the Primes.” At this event, firms can introduce themselves, in a relaxed atmosphere, to more than 100 state and local agencies offering potential subcontracting and partnering opportunities. Those attending are encouraged to bring capability statements and references. For more information about Meet the Primes, contact Robert Ball at rball@bcps.org or 443-809-9390 or Cherelle Vasudevan at cvasudevan@bcps.org or 443-809-9948.

Registration deadline: Monday, September 30 – to be listed in published event program. Registration accepted through October 9. Walk-ins are welcome. The Meet the Primes event will be held on Wednesday, October 9, from 8 a.m.– 12 p.m. at the Maryland State Fairground – Exhibition Hall, 2200 York Rd., Timonium 21093.

Summer meal service continues through August 16

BCPS is offering free breakfast and lunch meals through the Summer Food Service Program on weekdays through Friday, August 16. Free meals are available for all children ages 2-18. All students who attend BCPS summer learning programs through August 2 will receive free breakfast and lunch every weekday.

Weekly bulk meals (five breakfast and five lunch meals per child) are being distributed at two rural drive-through locations. Lunch meals, which must be consumed onsite, are offered at 16 community locations.

Even with a telescope, we are limited in what we can see. However, books, like those recommended this week by our wonderful colleagues in the Baltimore County Public Library Collection Department, can help us see places and times beyond our view. This week's books include the story of a Grade 3 student starting a business, a mystery involving endangered birds, a travel through American history dish by dish, and a glimpse at what artificial intelligence might look like in the 26th century. See descriptions of all four books in this week's Dive into Summer Reading blog post, which is available in English and Spanish.

Please remember to stop by your local library branch to participate in the summer reading program, have them put together a Be Surprised Bundle for you, and take part in their many activities.

Join us for a webinar on "Mental Health & Back to School"

Tune in on Thursday, August 8, from 6-7:30 p.m. for a webinar on "Mental Health & Back to School," sponsored by the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Metropolitan Baltimore and Maryland Wellness.

During the webinar, local experts, including BCPS Mental Health Services Supervisor Courtney Brown, will discuss key issues, strategies, and resources.

Register online.

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.

"Self-Portrait with Cat and Dog" by Adelaide Bylkas-Moore, Grade 8, Dumbarton Middle School. Work is featured in 2024 Middle School Art Exhibition and received a Grade 8 First Place award.

Artist Statement:

I created this self-portrait to embody parts of my personality as well as my physical appearance. I have a very humorous personality, and the facial expression embodies that aspect of myself. In the background, there are two animals, my pets. I have a love for animals and my pets in particular. In the artistic process, I paid close attention to value and the changes of value. I made sure that my face, the focal point of the artwork, had extreme highlights and shadows to emphasize the focal point.

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

Putting Students First Grant program accepting applications

For a fourth consecutive year, the partnership with First Financial Federal Credit Union is providing grant opportunities to BCPS classroom teachers, teams of teachers, and/or school-based academic departments. The Putting Students First Grant program awards up to $10,000 (via individual grants of up to $1,000 each) to fund project supplies, resources, and opportunities/experiences to fulfill classroom needs and impact students' educational readiness.

Applications for grants are open through Friday, September 27, at 5 p.m. An optional grant information session will be held on Wednesday, September 4, at 5 p.m.

More details about the program as well as a list of recent grant recipients can be found in a new Mission Moment blog post.