Celebrating Excellence: Recognition and Award Breakfast

The Recognition and Award Breakfast began a day filled with gladness by rekindling the friendships that were made months or even years ago and by making new friendships as well.   The atmosphere within the venue at the Padonia Park Club on Wednesday, May 11, 2016, was that of joy and eager conversation as The Education Foundation of Baltimore County Public Schools, Inc. hosted the 3rd Annual Celebrating Excellence Recognition and Awards Breakfast.  “Celebrating Excellence provides the Education Foundation an opportunity to thank, recognize, applaud and celebrate individuals who have provided their time, talent, service and treasure to support us throughout the year.” stated Deborah S. Phelps, Director, calling those in attendance  our ambassadors, which includes but is certainly not limited to, our TEAM BCPS Business and Community Stakeholders, our Baltimore County Government, Baltimore County Public School Employees, throughout our entire school district – from the school house to the offices, and Foundation Board of Directors and Staff.

Celebrating Excellence also allows the Foundation the opportunity to showcase the success within TEAM BCPS throughout the year, sharing the EDFoundation’s story and the accomplishments to date from the 21st Century Instructional Initiative and TEAMBCPS Clean Green 15:  Littler Challenge grants, scholarships awarded  for post-secondary education,  our Golf Classic, Back to School Involves you Campaign, Teacher of the Year and Principal of the Year Awards, State of the Schools 2016 (our signature event), Education is a Blast Night, Baltimore County Night at Camden Yard, and the release of Building the Future, a commemorative book about Baltimore County Public Schools, 292 years, written and awarded to the Foundation by Mr. Farrell Maddox.

The Recognition and Awards Ceremony extended thanks, recognition, and awards to the following:

Thanking the Board of Directors who have provided their leadership and their time, talent, and service to the Foundation and Baltimore County Public Schools for many years:
  • Mr. Donald Arnold – President, Financial Planner Spectrum Wealth Management, LLC
  • Mr. George Moniodis, Coldwell Banker
  • Ms. Stacy Walsh – Integrated Media Sales Executive, WMAR-TV
  • Mr. David Uhlfelder, President, David Uhlfelder, PA
Congratulating the 2016 award recipients for their service, leadership, and innovation to the following:
  • Meritorious Service Award – Mr. Robert Powers
    • Supervisor, Distribution Center and Team, Baltimore County Public Schools Office of Logistics
  • Leadership AwardMs. Timmy Ruppersberger, Esq.
    • Clapp Communications, Director of Business and Community Relations, The Education Foundation President
  • Innovation in EducationDiscovery Education
    • Reaching 50% of the schools in the United States, with Baltimore County Public Schools being among them, they are proud to help transform schools one classroom, one educator and one child at a time. In the eye of this company, “The Future of Learning is Now”
  • Outstanding Board of Director 2016Mr. Steve Prumo
    • Merrill Lynch, Senior Portfolio Advisor, The Education Foundation Chair of the Program and Review Committee
Recognizing and awarding certificates and banners, to the 2015-2016 21st Century Instructional Initiative Grant recipients:

The schools who received grant recognition were as follows:

Arbutus Elementary School – ACE’s Math Games
Arbutus Middle School  – After-School STEM Club
Battle Grove Elementary School  – The North Point Village Pollinator Garden
Bedford Elementary School – Bedford’s BEE Healthy Fitness Club
Catonsville High School – My American Identity:  Fieldtrip as Argument
Chatsworth Elementary School  – Embracing the Individual, Creating a Whole:  Mosaics
Chesapeake High School, Deep Creek Elementary School, Deep Creek Middle School, Stemmers Run Middle School, Sandalwood Elementary School, Middleborough Elementary School, Deep Creek Elementary School and Mars Estates Elementary School  – Chesapeake Arts Festival
Dulaney High School – Genius Hour
Dundalk High School  – NFHS Web-based Broadcasting of DHS Sporting Events
Dundalk Middle School  – North Bay
Edgemere Elementary School  – Building Bluejay FIRST LEGO League Expansion
Essex Elementary School  – Engaging Minds
Franklin Middle School  – Student-Centered STEM Learning through Makerspace Implementation in a Library Media Center
General John Stricker Middle School  – North Bay
Grange Elementary School  – Family Fitness Fun Night
Gunpowder Elementary School  – Growing Gunpowder’s Garden
Halstead Academy  – Fostering Creative Writing Through the Arts
Hawthorne Elementary School – Family Fitness & Fun Night
Hawthorne Elementary School  – Robots Rocks
Holabird Middle School – STEM  – National Aquarium Aqua Partner’s 4th and 5th Grade
Lansdowne Elementary School  – Lego Robotics Club
Lyons Mill Elementary School  – Junior Achievement’s Biz Town Field Trip
Loch Raven Technical Academy  – North Bay Adventure
Martin Boulevard Elementary School  – STEM Fair Spectacular
Middleborough Elementary School  – Junior Achievement Biz Town
Middle River Middle School  – North Bay
Office of Visual Arts  – BCPS Inaugural Film Expo 2016
Orems Elementary School  – Animal Adventures
Padonia International Elementary School – Mighty Girls and Good Guys Reading Club
Perry Hall Elementary School  – Closing our Reading Gap
Pikesville Middle School – Rockin’ Out at Pikesville Middle!
Pleasant Plains Elementary School  – Environmental Literacy at Smithsonian Environmental Research Center
Prettyboy Elementary School  – Building Learner Centered Environments with PBL and UDL
Randallstown Elementary School  – The Village Bully Musical
Randallstown High School  – Unified Jazz Ensemble
Ridge Ruxton School  – Song Writing
Seneca Elementary School  – Makerspace:  Galaxy Bot
Shady Spring Elementary School  – Guys with Ties, Girls with Pearls
Southwest Academy Magnet  – Get Global
Southwest Academy Magnet  – i-Station Making Our Future
Southwest Academy Magnet  – Woman Instructing and Nurturing Girls in STEM
Southwest Academy Magnet  – Young Men of Honor Leadership Program
Sparrows Point Middle School  – Building Learning to Life Series
Sussex Elementary School  – Bucket Band
Sussex Elementary School  – Sussex Singers
Warren Elementary School  – One Warren, One Book
Westowne Elementary School  – STEM  Electricity Unit
Winand Elementary School  – 2016 Family STEM Night
Winfield Elementary School  – Winfield 30-30 Program
Woodbridge Elementary School  – STEM Career Club
Woodholme Elementary School  – 3D Innovations through DI
Woodlawn High School  – Community Art Show
Woodlawn High School  – Future Business Leaders
All grants are scored by multiple grant judges from the community who were honored and recognized along with the grant recipients.  The individuals who served as judges were as follows:
Debbie Piper

Jennifer Miller

Doug Eder

Elizabeth D ’Alto

Margaret Kidder

Linda Popp

Sue Hahn

Ernie Paszkiewicz

Queenstar Akrong

Cappy Jackson

Carol Batoff

John Staley

Michelle Boyle

Richard Weisenhoff

Jamie Bakert

George Roberts

Casey Banes

Christine Roberts

Jain Trader

Stacy Barry

Sharon Ochs

David Robb

Matt Musgrove

Jeanne Imbriale

Linda Meyer

Jennifer Weaver

Kellie Reardon

Tim Hayden

Christina Crawford

MaatenRe Ramin

Lisa Hathaway

Joe Harsel

Linda Marchineck

Jennifer Bodensiek

Janey Barranger

York Bradshaw

Alicia Fales

Penelope Martin

Michael Fort

Tim Bojanowski

Farrell Maddox

Christine Byers

Amy Cohn

Josh Smith

Joy Howard

Ellen Kobler

Fran Glick

Nick Schiner

Emily Gordon

Linda Roszel

 

Baltimore County Public Schools

Office Depot/Office Max

Oak Contracting

Shoprite

Baltimore County Public Schools

Baltimore County Public Schools

Baltimore County Public Schools

Gross Mendelsohn

College Board

Photographer

Baltimore County Public Schools

Baltimore County Public Schools

The Baltimore Zoo

Baltimore County Public Schools

Microsoft

Baltimore County Public Schools

Baltimore County Public Schools

Baltimore County Public Schools

Macy’s

Baltimore County Public Schools

Baltimore County Public Schools

Baltimore County Public Schools

The Padonia Park Club

Baltimore County Public Schools

Baltimore County Public Schools

Baltimore County Public Schools

Whitney, Bailey Cox & Magnani, LLC

Baltimore County Public Schools

Baltimore County Chamber of Commerce

Baltimore County Public Schools

Pearson

Valic

Baltimore County Public Schools

Junior Achievement

Baltimore County Public Schools, Retired Principal

Baltimore County Public Schools

Baltimore County Public Schools

Baltimore County Public Schools

Baltimore County Public Schools

Zest Social Media

Baltimore County Public Schools

Baltimore County Public Schools

Baltimore County Public Schools

Loyola University of Maryland

UPS

Baltimore County Government

Baltimore County Public Schools

Baltimore County Public Schools

Hot Spots Extended Care Program

Baltimore County Public Schools

 

 

The Foundation has been awarding grants to Baltimore County Public Schools since 2010-2011 for a grand total of nearly $240,000.  Currently during this school year the foundation awarded $100,000 with the same amount allocated for the next fiscal year, 2016-2017.

Recognizing and awarding certificates and banners, to the 2015-2016 TEAM BCPS Clean Green 15:  Litter Challenge, 21st Century Environmental Literacy Grant recipients:
  • Grand Prize $3,000 – Bear Creek Elementary School, Learning Garden and Environmental Initiatives
  • 1st Place Elementary School $2,000 – Charlesmont Elementary School Greening the Grounds
  • 2nd Place Elementary School – Reisterstown Elementary School
  • 1st Place Middle School $2,000- Sparrows Point Middle Schools, Pointers Pride Garden
  • 2nd Place Middle School – Ridgeley Middle School
  • 1st Place High School $2,000 – Western School of Technology, Tree Canopy Restoration
  • 2nd Place High SchoolChesapeake High School

During the 2013-2014 school year Baltimore County Public Schools partnered with Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz and the Baltimore County Department of Environmental Protection and Sustainability to host Team BCPS Clean Green:15 Litter Challenge.  To date we have accomplished our third year of working collaboratively to keep our school community clean.

The Education Foundation of Baltimore County Public Schools, Inc. solicited the community to obtain partnerships in order to award the winning schools funding to continue their efforts.  By working collaboratively thru active participation, we have made a real difference in the school community across the county by participating in this exciting hands-on project.  Along with educating our students and the school community about litter and including civic and community groups, our schools have recorded their litter clean-ups.   By working together we were able to bring together thousands of volunteers, participating in hundreds and hundreds of clean-ups, removing bag after bag, literally TONS of trash.

Thanks to our Environmental Ambassadors/TEAMBCPS Partners we were able to award $9,000 in 21st Century Environmental Literacy Grants, providing the Grand Prize recipient a check for $3,000.00 and the 1st place elementary, middle and high school recipients checks for $2,000.00 to the schools who had the most volunteers and bags of trash.  This challenge was made possible through the generous donations of our earth friendly earth citizens.  They are as follows:  Sparrows Point Terminal, Inc., Maryland Environmental Service, the Baltimore County Department of Environmental Protection and Sustainability.

A special shout out to those from the county government and the BCPS Office of Science who were quite instrumental in our litter challenges.  The individuals who provided assistance with reviewing the data and selected the recipients are as follows:
Ellen Kobler

Erin W. Wisnieski

Dan Fox

Amelia M. Atkins

Robert Hirsch

Charles Herndon

Natalie Allen

Deborah Phelps

 Baltimore County Government

Baltimore County Government

Baltimore County Government

Baltimore County Government

Baltimore County Government

Baltimore County Public Schools

Baltimore County Public Schools

Baltimore County Public Schools, The Education Foundation

During a collaborative dialogue with Emily Gordon, Executive Director of Hot Spots Extended Care Programs and Deborah Phelps, Director, a special announcement was made pertaining to the 2016-2017 school year.  Hot Spots Extended Care Program’s passion for children doesn’t stop when the school day ends.  With the vision to promote academic achievement by extending learning outside of the classroom and strengthening the school-community relationship through collaboration and partnership with educational leaders and community stakeholder, Hot Spots is partnering with the Foundation to gift ten (10) $3,000 21st Century Instructional Initiative Grants for the upcoming school year.   The grants will align with 21st Century Learning Themes but have two additional components, which is collaboration and a community engagement activity.

Closing remarks for the Celebrating of Excellence Breakfast were two-fold; one in the voice of the director, Deborah Phelps, who again took the opportunity to thank, recognize, applaud and celebrate individuals who have provided their time, talent, service and treasure to support the work throughout the year, restating the vision and mission of the foundation’s work.   As the audience was asked to turn to the back of the room, into the venue entered, OUR FUTURE Padonia Park Child Center, pre-school children – Katelyn Schoenwetter, Gianna DiBella, Christian Boyce, Oliver Bengermino, Luke Marshall, Kai Legenhausen, Rowan Meske,  Shravya Reddy,  Evie Freedman, Georgia Marshall, Greyson Welch and Gavin Heffernan led by their teachers – January Carr, Lisa Bradford and Susan Love who captured our hearts in song.   They were OUR FUTURE.  The FUTURE of Baltimore County Public Schools.

Oh the places THEY will go as they become OUR FUTURE!

The Foundation believes that a person’s

Attitude is Everything

Won’t YOU continue to Champion . . . our cause.

We Invite . . . you to stay actively engaged and encourage others to be an ambassador.

To continue to Invest . . . time, talent and treasure to the Education Foundation of Baltimore County Public Schools as we continuously work towards supporting the Superintendent’s vision that BCPS will create, sustain, and invest in a culture of deliberate excellence for every student, every school, and every community, which will result in BCPS being among the highest-performing school districts in the nation.