Monday, August 14, 2023

Make next weekend a "BCPS-full" weekend!

FRIDAY, AUGUST 18 – Help us Stuff a Bus with school supplies

Stuff the Bus

Friday, August 18, from 2-7 p.m.

Walmart in Hunt Valley, 1 Frankel Way, Cockeysville 21030

All community members are invited to visit the Walmart in Hunt Valley to shop for school supplies and stuff a brand-new BCPS bus with donated supplies. 98 Rock will be on hand to play music and cheerleaders will provide entertainment.

Once stuffed, the bus will transport donations to the Exchangerees – educator resource centers where BCPS staff shop at no cost for school supplies and classroom resources. 

This event is the result of a partnership among WBAL-TV, 98 Rock, WBAL NewsRadio, Baltimore Orioles, Walmart, and The Education Foundation of BCPS, Inc.

SATURDAY, AUGUST 19 –  Celebrate the new school year at BCPSfest

BCPSfest 2023

Saturday, August 19, from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.

George Washington Carver Center for Arts and Technology, 938 York Rd., Towson 21204

Join us to visit the Bright Smiles, Bright Futures dental van from Colgate-Palmolive; explore the new English for Speakers of Other Languages welcome center bus; pick up a free book from The Education Foundation of BCPS, Inc.; learn to jump rope Double-Dutch style; meet Poe and two Ravens cheerleaders; get your face painted; hear upbeat, positive music from Ms. Blue and Golden Man; take a break in the Story Time Tent and let local leaders – including BCPS Superintendent Dr. Myriam Yarbrough – read their favorite children's books to you and your child; get a free snack from the CTE food trailer; launch a straw rocket; walk through a life-sized storybook; learn about career opportunities with BCPS; sign up for MySchoolBucks; snap pictures at our selfie station; accept the Wheel of Dance challenge; try your hand at robotics; be entertained by student performers; climb on a fire engine; participate putting out a (pretend) fire; register to vote; step onto the Baltimore County Public Library Bookmobile; meet some animals from Irvine Nature Center; AND SO MUCH MORE!

Parking: We strongly encourage BCPSfest visitors to park at BCPS headquarters/Greenwood, 6901 N. Charles St., Towson 21204, and to ride BCPS shuttle buses to and from the festival. Limited parking will be available on the Kenilworth Drive parking lot and on Kenilworth Drive.

We're still looking for Summer Stories!

Have you told us yours?

We asked what BCPS students, teachers, and staff are doing this summer, and the responses are flowing in. Have you shared your story idea with us? If not, please write to communications@bcps.org.

Dive into summer reading: August 14-20

Book recommendations from the Baltimore County Public Library Collection Development Department

Each week for the remainder of the summer, our wonderful friends in the Baltimore County Public Library Collection Department will put together a list of some of their favorite books. Learn more about this week's recommended books on the BCPS blog.

Many thanks to them, and please remember to stop by your local library branch to participate in the Summer Reading Challenge, have them put together a Be Surprised Bundle for you, and take part in their many activities.

Here are the books that were recommended for August 7-13!

BCPS-TV video: Woodlawn High School hosts summer camps for every interest

BCPS-TV video: Annual fair connects schools to business partners

Announcing registration dates for ESOL life skills, reading and writing, and civics classes at CCBC

The Community College of Baltimore County (CCBC) has announced registration dates for its fall semester ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) classes including beginning life skills, intermediate English learner civics, and upper-level ESOL reading and writing classes.

The classes are offered in-person and online via Zoom. For online Zoom classes, students must have a computer with a camera and microphone and unlimited internet access. Come to ANY registration location to register for ANY open class. Students are registered on a first-come, first-served basis, and classes fill up quickly.

In-person registration:

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.

"Tranquility" by Cayla Liss, Pikesville High School. Work featured in the 35th Annual BCPS High School Exhibition.

mission moment

from The Education Foundation of BCPS

Growing number of educators get free supplies from The Exchangeree

Who knew that during the last few weeks of summer we would see record-breaking numbers of BCPS educators swarm to the Exchangerees: Gizmos & Gadgets Galore, collaborative educator resource centers, to shop the shelves and bins for supplies and resources for their students and their classrooms. 

On August 3, at the Windsor Mill center, in four hours, we beat our record of shoppers in one day with 90 BCPS educators eagerly shopping with back-to-school in mind. And then on August 8, in yet another four-hour window, we broke our own record from just a few days before with 98 educators shopping at the Rosedale/Golden Ring center. 

A new Mission Moment blog post delves into all things Exchangeree, including a listing of most popular items, the upcoming Stuff the Bus event on August 18, and ways to get involved.