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Towson community leaders and school advocates are taking stock of the recent announcement that Cromwell Valley Elementary will change from a countywide magnet school to a neighborhood school with a magnet program — the latest piece of the school system's central area overcrowding relief plan.

Howard County Public School System officials last week said Internet outages that occurred over a week earlier in January were because of a cyber attack. The outages came a little more than a month before the school is set to pilot the new Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers test, which is administered via computer.

Common Core, a controversial newly adopted set of education standards nationwide, has become a major concern of educators, school administrators and parents in Harford County and across Maryland.

Tuesday doesn't count; students in Howard County Public Schools were out of school amid a winter storm, but they were slated to be out due to a Professional Work Day for system staff.

When heaving concrete from the deep freeze made opening the door at the Studio 10 Salon on Ten Oaks Road an impossibility, the mighty and stalwart team of Manuel Perez and Amilkay Canales of Hatfield's Equipment of Glenelg, remedied the problem.

The Reservoir High School Dance Company performed at the 25th annual Maryland Public High School Dance Showcase Concert.

At their teacher's suggestion, some Centennial High School students are closing their eyes in class and taking their minds off academic subjects.

With Superintendent Renee Foose's $742 million operating budget made public last week, the work to review and tweak the proposal has begun for both the Board of Education and a group of appointed citizens — a group that worried some of their purview was being curtailed by the administration.

The school system held the second of four information sessions on the Howard County curriculum¿s alignment with the Common Core State Standards Initiative Thursday, Jan. 16 at Howard High School in Ellicott City.

Discussion centering on the concentration of students living in poverty in various areas in Howard County, and how those students perform on state assessments, is not a new one. It was, however, the topic of conversation between the Howard County Council and the Board of Education at their quarterly meeting last week.

As the Baltimore region thaws out with a balmy weekend, roads, pipes and other infrastructure weakened by this week's below-freezing temperatures are expected to be damaged further by the swift rise in temperatures to the lower 60s Saturday.

The Howard County School Health Council is holding a general meeting Wednesday, Jan. 15, from 10 a.m. to noon in the Ascend One Building in Columbia. The meeting, which is open to the public, will include presentation of the Howard County Public School System¿s comprehensive plan for physical activity, which includes an overview of physical education, the Fitnessgram evaluation program and physical activity throughout the day.

New cell phone and social media rules in Howard County schools have been in place for almost five months now, but questions remain among parents as to how the changes are impacting their children's education. The PTA Council of Howard County Monday, Jan. 6, hosted a question-and-answer session at its general meeting, for parents to talk to several Howard County Public School System administrators.

The PTA Council of Howard County is calling for a swifter end to the annual student test known as the Maryland School Assessment. On Monday, Jan. 6, the council approved a resolution asking the Maryland State Board of Education and State Superintendent of Schools Lillian Lowery to apply for a waiver for the annual student test, which is in its last year.

Students from Catonsville Middle School and Hillcrest Elementary School, along with students from Ilchester and Rockburn elementary schools in Howard County, donated supplies to the Maryland SPCA for the Presents for Pets toy drive.

Congratulations to Murray Hill Middle's Kevin He. He was selected to have his Student Spaceflight Experiment to be on Mission Five of the International Space Station.

Reservoir and Hammond High had food drives before the end of the year to help others.

The Howard County Public School System announced last week that four information sessions on the Common Core State Standards and the local curriculum will be held in January.

The Chinese Language School of Baltimore is in its 43rd year of teaching children how to speak and write Mandarin. Originally founded so American-born Chinese children could learn to speak their native language, there are currently 30 youngsters, aged 5 to 18, enrolled and several are not Chinese but are learning the language so they can communicate globally.

The forum on the Common Core State Standards Initiative scheduled for Sunday, Nov. 8 has been cancelled because of the weather.

The Savage Mill and Community Association along with Howard County Recs and Parks and Howard County Tourism will hold their first Bollman Bridge and Holiday tree lighting on Dec. 7.

Thirty-four students from the Clarksville Elementary School Chorus performed with the 850-member Youth Choir at the Philadelphia Thanksgiving Parade last week (the oldest Thanksgiving parade in the country).

Event in Lansdowne attracted several hundred in 2012

Grace Episcopal Church of Elkridge recently welcomed a new rector, the Rev. Travis K. Smith.

The PTA Council of Howard County is holding a debate on Common Core at Reservoir High School on Dec. 8, 5 to 8 p.m.

Vansville Elementary School's PTA is holding its fourth annual Winter Bazaar Saturday, Dec. 7 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Beltsville school.

Harford County teachers, school administrators, Board of Education members, parents and children repeatedly urged County Executive David Craig Monday to "fully fund" the Harford County Public Schools budget for the upcoming fiscal year.

The Dancel Family Center YMCA is sponsoring its annual Turkey Trot Charity 5K on Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, Nov. 28, at 8:30 a.m.

Parent engagement stressed at the Public Advocacy for Education event at Heather Hills Elementary School in Bowie, co-hosted by Prince George's County Board of Education members Verjeana Jacobs and Zabrina Epps.

There was no shortage of trash or crafts at the recent Up-Cycle Kids Craft Day, a Family Fun event hosted by the Northfield Elementary School PTA.

One day soon at Bushy Park Elementary School the students will laugh and cheer as Principal Edward Cosentino and physical education teacher Tyson Echentile dress like cowboys and ride horses around the school. Both challenged the students to participate in the Bushy Bear Dash to raise money for the Parent Teacher Association.

Vidia Dhanraj's self-described nosiness led her to fight poverty in Howard County.

Clemens Crossing students enjoy hands-on STEM activities, having fun while learning

After five years of below-average performance, Baltimore County's only charter school will lose its license to operate in July, but will continue as a regular public school next year.

Although the weather forecast sounded a little iffy at first, the morning of Wednesday, Oct. 23, dawned crisp and clear for West Friendship Elementary School's fourth annual Tiger Trot.

During the past 2 1/2 to 3 years, our PTA has been actively involved in advocating for a new facility for YBES

Howard County PTA Council holds forum on student privacy and data collection

Baltimore County plans to fund elementary school construction over the next few years to add more than 1,700 seats in its central and southwestern neighborhoods, where overcrowding has pushed students and teachers into portable classrooms and hallways for their lessons.

Baltimore County Public Schools officials told a packed auditorium of Towson-area parents at Carver School Tuesday night that they planned to recommend opening a new school at the site of the former Loch Raven Elementary and expanding Cromwell Valley Elementary as short-term solutions for overcrowded conditions at central area elementary schools.

Patuxent Valley Middle School parents are concerned their school won't get the renovations they say it needs because of budget constraints. Meanwhile, the school is due to be redistricted in order to open the new Hanover middle school next year.

A second public workshop on Harford County Public Schools' new operating budget drew another small turnout at Patterson Mill Middle and High School on Friday afternoon.

I have been fortunate to be able to work with such an open-minded, dedicated, knowledgeable, and innovative group of men and women who comprise the Laurel City Council. As the former PTA President and Treasurer at Laurel Elementary School, I can honestly say that this group of individuals has our children's very best interests at heart. In partnership with Team Laurel, I know that the lives of all of Laurel's citizens will be the best it can be.

About 25 to 30 people, including Board of Education members, attended the first of a series of public input sessions on next year's Harford County Public Schools budget.