Swimming in Summer Stories -- This Week in BCPS

Monday, July 24, 2023

Join us at BCPSfest on August 19

Celebrate the new school year with activities, entertainment, resources, and information

BCPSfest 2023

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

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

Please save the date for the biggest and best back-to-school festival in Baltimore County. This systemwide event is free and will feature family-friendly, fun learning activities, a storytime tent, student entertainers, face-painting, school mascots, and community resources. Please join us to celebrate the start of the new school year and the exciting learning opportunities BCPS offers.

Guess who'll be there?

From BCPS

Career and Technical Education (food trailer) + College and Career Readiness + Communications and Community Outreach + Deer Park Middle Magnet School Step Team + The Education Foundation of BCPS, Inc. + English for Speakers of Other Languages (new ESOL welcome center bus) + English Language Arts + Facilities Support Services – Energy and Sustainability Team + Family and Community Engagement (Parent University bus) + Food and Nutrition Services + Health and Physical Education + Human Resources – Office of Staffing + Library Media Programs and Educational Technology + Magnet Programs + Mathematics + Ms. Blue and Golden Man, musicians + Performing Arts + Randallstown High School Golden Ram Marching Band + Science + Social Emotional Support + Social Studies + Special Education + TABCO + Title I, Homeless Programs and Community Schools + Transportation + Various school mascots + Visual Arts

From the community

Abilities Network + Baltimore County Board of Elections + Baltimore County Fire Department (fire engine) + Baltimore County Office of Community Engagement + Baltimore County Public Library (Bookmobile) + CASA + CCBC + Chispa – Maryland League of Conservation Voters + Families4Families + Fire Museum of Maryland + First Financial Federal Credit Union + HealthCare Access Maryland + Irvine Nature Center + Just Uniting More People, Inc. (double-dutch culture group) + Kona Ice + Maryland Center for School Safety + Maryland Insurance Administration + Maryland State Department of Education + National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Metropolitan Baltimore + PTA Council of Baltimore County + Patient First + Retired and Senior Volunteer Program of Baltimore County

We're swimming in Summer Stories, but we still want more!

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.

Here are some of the most recent Summer Stories:

Broadway comes to Baltimore: The first BCPS musical theatre camp

The BCPS Office of Performing Arts partnered with Broadway Theatre Connection to bring its musical theatre intensive to BCPS students and beyond during the week of July 10-14 at George Washington Carver Center for Arts and Technology.

BCPS students in Grades 2-12 could enroll in the program without auditions. Camp faculty consisted of Broadway performers, directors, and choreographers. Camp staff instructed participants in music, dance, and acting. Staff also conducted mock auditions and offered Q & A opportunities with the faculty, including a New York casting director.

Perry Hall High student wins prestigious award at Advanced Space Academy®

Cloe Kidd's interest in space exploration has led her to Space Camp at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama, three years in a row. This year, the Grade 10 Perry Hall High student attended Advanced Space Academy® where she was awarded the Right Stuff Medal.

Riverview Elementary goes onstage and backstage at the Hippodrome

A cornerstone of the Community School initiative in Baltimore County Public Schools is leveraging partnerships to offer family engagement events and bring in opportunities for enrichment and new experiences for our young scholars. An example of a great Community School partnership is the one held between Riverview Elementary in Lansdowne and The Hippodrome Foundation, the nonprofit tied to the beautiful and historic theatre in downtown Baltimore.

Dive into summer reading: July 24-30

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.

Baltimore County Police Department seeks teens to join its Youth Advisory Council

BCPS summer programs support continued learning

Parents and students are encouraged to explore the many academic programs and resources available this summer to support continued growth.

County health department offers back-to-school immunization clinics

Does your child need immunizations for the 2023-2024 school year? Call 410-887-2705 for an appointment at a community health center. More information is available online.

County library's Summer Reading Challenge offers incentives and activities

BCPS students of all ages can register for Baltimore County Public Library's Summer Reading Challenge. Students who read for 10 hours can pick up completion prizes and enter in prize drawings!

Now serving free breakfast and lunch meals

The annual Summer Food Service Program, for all youth up to age 18, will continue through Friday, August 18. Breakfast and lunch are served at selected schools. Several public library branches serve lunch only. Check online for sites and times.

for parents

from BCPS Parent University

Maryland is offering aid for those who left college before completing a degree

The Maryland Higher Education Commission wants to help Maryland residents who left college before earning their associate's or bachelor’s degrees. The state is offering aid up to one-third of in-county tuition at a community college or one-third of in-state tuition in an in-state undergraduate program. To qualify, residents must have completed at least 45 credit hours toward their associate degree or 90 credit hours toward their bachelor’s degree. More information is available 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.

for your viewing pleasure

"Bisa Butler-Inspired Self Portrait " by Gabriella Ikejiofor Udenwa, Grade 7, Northwest Academy of Health Sciences. Honored with the Grade 7 Best in Show award in the Middle School Juried 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

Community partners join in campaign to help BCPS students get school supplies

During Maryland’s Tax-Free Week, August 14-18, WBAL-TV, 98 Rock, and WBAL NewsRadio are partnering with the Baltimore Orioles and local Walmart stores for an inaugural “Stuff the Bus” campaign benefitting Baltimore County Public Schools and five other Maryland school districts. This initiative is part of the "WBAL CARES" Campaign.

Working in collaboration with The Education Foundation of Baltimore County Public Schools, Stuff the Bus will take place in August. A new blog post shares more of the story and highlights more ways the community can support the effort to secure school supplies for students.

Save the date: Friday, August 18

Join us to "Stuff the Bus" full of school supplies for BCPS students

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 student performers and school mascots will provide entertainment.

VISIT THE BCPS WEBSITE