Thursday, April 25, 2013
Last week, four Howard County high schools hosted nearly 1,000 students for the library's Battle of the Books.
The point of Howard County Library's Battle of the Books annual reading competition is to make reading fun. Based on photos from the event, the more than 900 fifth grade students that competed had a great time. See hundreds of photos from the event on the Howard County Library's Flickr page. The event featured more than 150 teams of students who read from 16 different books pre-determined by the library. At the event, which took place on Friday, April 19, students were asked questions about the books, such as plot details, quotes or picture descriptions. Members of the first, second, and third place teams all received gift cards to a local book store. Prizes were also given out for best team name, best team costume, best team spirit and …
Friday, March 15, 2013
A computer glitch caused everyone who received the letter to be told they were eligible for the gifted and talented program, even if they were not.
UPDATE - 3:15 p.m. - This post was updated with information from a schools spokesperson. Parents receiving letters about their students' eligibility for gifted and talented classes at Howard County Public Schools may get a surprise. A software glitch caused every letter to state that the student is eligible for gifted and talented classes, even if their score didn't meet the eligibility requirements, according to notice sent home by the school on Thursday. Of the 3,513 letters that went out, 2,210 were incorrect, according to Howard County schools spokesperson Rebecca Amani-Dove. The notice stated the student scores in the letter are accurate, "So, even those students whose scores are below the minimum eligibility scores, received letters …
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
The Rev. Msgr. Joseph Luca said, "He is known as an exceptionally humble, gentle person with a heart for the downtrodden and the poor."
Catholics around the world and in Howard County are reacting with excitement to the news that Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina has been elected pope. At 3:22 p.m. EDT Wednesday, Bergoglio, who took the name Pope Francis, appeared on the balcony overlooking St. Peter’s Square after news outlets reported that white smoke was pouring from a Sistine Chapel chimney, signaling the election of a new pope. Roman Catholic Church cardinals began meeting Tuesday at the Vatican. The 115 voting cardinals took four or five votes over two days, USA Today reported. The Guardian describes Bergoglio as "a Jesuit intellectual who travels by bus and has a practical approach to poverty." In Howard County, the news of the new pope was met with …
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Howard County Schools are waiting until Wednesday morning to make a decision.
Is the anticipation of waiting until 5:30 a.m. Wednesday to figure out if Howard County Schools are canceled for the day making you cringe? Or do you think the looming winter storm is not serious enough to cancel schools the day before? Currently, the school system is in the midst of its two-day math state testing. If school is canceled Wednesday, the testing will be moved to Thursday or Friday depending on how the roads are Thursday. In addition, the school system is inching closer to using up its inclement weather days. Currently, they have used two out of the five allotted when Superstorm Sandy hit. Over five, and the school year will be extended. As it is now, the last day of school in Howard County will be June 17, but that could …
A school cancellation could delay Maryland state testing that began on Tuesday.
The impending snowstorm poised to dump more than five inches on Howard County may have commuters worried, but Howard County Public Schools will wait to see how serious it is. The school system will make a decision whether to delay or cancel schools on Wednesday morning, sometime before 5:30 a.m., according to school spokepserson Rebecca Amani-Dove. Take our poll: Should school be canceled Wednesday? Who wants a snow day? And who doesn't? On Tuesday, Howard County schools started the math test for the Maryland State Assessment (MSA). Students are scheduled to finish the math portion of the MSA on Wednesday. If school is canceled or delayed on Wednesday, students will finish the math portion of the test on Thursday, said Amani-Dove. Also, if…
Monday, March 4, 2013
Here are this week's top posts in Howard County.
Here are some highligths of this week's Local Voices from Patch sites in Howard County. If you have something on your mind and want to contribute to Patch, just go to the front page of this Patch site and click "Start a Blog" under the top stories. Have a question about blogging on Patch? Email Associate Regional Editor Lisa Rossi at lisa.rossi@patch.com Starting School Later does not have to cost more: A Howard County dad points out other jurisdictions that have later start times for schools. Support HB 1462 - A Maryland Task Force for Later School Start Times: Another reader, a cofounder of a national initiative on the subject, pushes statewide legislation to allow later school start times. HCGH Celebrates its 40th Anniversary This Year…
Friday, February 15, 2013
The store in Columbia will close on April 7.
A big banner was draped over the windows in front of the Blockbuster video store on Dobbin Road in Columbia on Friday afternoon. It read "Store Closing." The location will officially close on April 7, according to sign posted inside the store, making it the last Blockbuster in Howard County to close. The last Ellicott City Blockbuster closed earlier this year. Inside the store on Friday, a customer who was returning rentals told one of the employees she thought the store was never going to close because it was so busy and the employee responded, "I guess they just picked us." As part of the closure, DVDs inside the store are priced at $9.99 or less and pre-used video games are selling between $10 - $40. Rentals are no longer available, …
Thursday, February 14, 2013
Automatic cuts at the federal level could impact counties.
Howard County Budget director Ray Wacks told the County Council on Monday that if the federal government's AAA bond rating is downgraded due to federal budget problems, the county's bond rating could be downgraded as well, according to an Explore Howard report. Wacks told the council that Moody's believes jurisdictions with significant exposure to the federal government, such as through federal jobs, cannot have a higher bond rating than the federal government, reported Explore Howard. Howard County has kept a AAA bond rating, the highest possible rating, since the mid-1990s, an achievement Howard County Executive Ken Ulman touted in his recent State of the County address. The bond rating helps the county access lower interest rates on …
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Police said the following two people have been using stolen credit cards around the county.
Howard County police said they believe the man and woman pictured here have charged more than $3,000 to stolen credit cards at multiple stores in Howard County and are asking residents to help identify them. The credit cards were stolen from an employee's purse in an office building located in the 2900 block of Chestnut Hill Drive in Ellicott City on Feb. 8, police said. The pictures were captured on video surveillance cameras at the stores where the cards were used, according to police. The photos are of a man and a woman, as well as a gold van police said the suspect are driving. Police asked that anyone who recognizes the suspects call them at 410-313-3200 or submit a tip through the smartphone application, iWatchHowardCounty.
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Police provided a more detailed outline in court documents of what they said happened at Wilde Lake High School earlier this week.
The 14-year-old female who accused a fellow student of raping her at Wilde Lake High School told police the incident happened Monday inside a choir room, according to the statement of probable cause filed in court documents. Police said that the school provided evidence that shows the girl and DeShawn Rasheed Jones, 17, entering and leaving the choir room, as well as the 14-year-old taking one of her friends to the restroom after it happened, according to the documents. Jones is currently being held on $500,000 bond, according to court officials. He is being charged as an adult with second-degree rape, second-degree assault and false imprisonment. Patch contacted a woman who said she was Jones' mother on Wednesday. The woman said she …
'An adult GT'
1:26 pm on Monday, March 18, 2013
I agree with 'CollieMom' regarding this program; it is divisive among other things. In the past, gifted and talented did not mean someone who scored high on a test; remember child prodigies. Based on my personal experience - including myself, many of these kids are not GT, just bright and/or good test takers. Going forward if these kids don't live up to this designation, it can be harmful. Get … more ›