Release Date: 8/27/2012

Contact: Charles Herndon, (410) 887.6111

Saturday, August 25

Get ready for heading back to school at the Back to School Festival
Featuring educational games, free backpacks and school supplies, and live entertainment, the 2012 Back to School Festival is an opportunity for school children of all ages to celebrate the arrival of the new school year, which begins Monday, August 27. Sponsored by the Kevin Liles For A Better Baltimore Foundation, Inc., and co-hosted by BCPS Superintendent Dr. S. Dallas Dance and Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz, the festival is open to all county students from 12 noon to 4:00 p.m. at Security Square Mall, 6901 Security Boulevard, Woodlawn. The festival will include opportunities to learn about college and career options as well. Liles, who is president and CEO of Def Jam Records and a Woodlawn High School graduate, started the festival as a way to help children focus on preparing for the new school year. More than 2,000 people are expected for the festival. The mission of the Kevin Liles For A Better Baltimore Foundation, Inc., is to help communities through youth-oriented services.
Contact: Charles Herndon, Office of Communications, 410.887.6111

Sunday, August 26

Cross country run/walk to honor former BCPS coach and benefit Hereford High School
Running Maryland and Holabird Sports will host "Conquer The Course: The Coach Jerry Martin Memorial Cross Country Run" at 8:00 a.m. on the campus of McDonogh School in Owings Mills to honor the memory of Jerry Martin, a high school track and field coach in Baltimore County's school system for more than 30 years. After he retired from coaching at Dundalk and Perry Hall high schools, Coach Martin volunteered for the Hereford track team; proceeds from the activity will go to the American Heart Association and the Hereford High School scholarship fund. The event costs $20 for the 5-kilometer run and $10 for the 2-mile run or walk or the 1-mile family walk. McDonogh School is located at 8600 McDonogh Road in Owings Mills.
Contact: Charles Herndon, Office of Communications, 410.887.6111

Monday, August 27

Classroom doors open to the new 2012-2013 school year
The 2012-2013 school year gets underway across Baltimore County when schoolhouse doors open to 107,000 students from Glyndon to Sparrows Point and Kingsville to Baltimore Highlands. In addition to first-day activities at schools across Baltimore County, Superintendent Dr. S. Dallas Dance and members of the Board of Education, accompanied by Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz, will begin the new school year by visiting the new George Washington Carver Center for Arts and Technology, Cedarmere Elementary School, Deer Park Middle School, Woodlawn High School, Parkville High School, Stemmers Run Middle School, Hawthorne Elementary School, and Stoneleigh Elementary School.
Contact: Charles Herndon, Office of Communications, 410.887.6111

Friday, August 31

Chesapeake Gateway Chamber to donate supplies, funding for homeless children
The Chesapeake Gateway Chamber of Commerce in eastern Baltimore County will present to BCPS Superintendent Dr. S. Dallas Dance school supplies and a donation of $1,500 to benefit homeless children in Baltimore County schools. The presentation will take place at 10:00 a.m. at school system headquarters at 6901 Charles Street in Towson.
Contact: Janelle Gwynn, Chesapeake Gateway Chamber of Commerce, 443.317.8763

Ongoing

Back-to-School Nights 2012
Part of a successful start to a school's new year is its annual Back-to-School Night, and across Baltimore County, schools will begin holding Back-to-School Night activities as early as the week of August 20. The events give parents an important way of learning about the school, its unique opportunities, upcoming events, volunteer and involvement activities, and other facets of school life. The events are also a good way for parents to gain information to help their children have a successful school year. To learn more about Back-to-School Nights in Baltimore County, and to find out when your school will hold its Back-to-School Night or other Back-to-School activities, visit http://www.bcps.org/news/back-to-school.html on the BCPS Website or call your neighborhood school.
Contact: Charles Herndon, Office of Communications, 410.887.6111

Oliver Beach Elementary School student artwork chosen for national exhibit

A sculpture by Allison Diveley of Oliver Beach Elementary School in Bowleys Quarters is on display this month in Washington, D.C., as part of the national 2012 "All Kids Can Create" exhibition. Allison's sculpture, "Maryland Blue Crab on Rock," is one of two selected to represent Maryland in the 102-piece exhibit. She was among 3,000 children aged 5-15 from across the nation who submitted artwork for consideration in the show. The competition is sponsored by CVS Caremark and VSA, an international arts and disability organization and an affiliate of The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Her artwork and the exhibition will be on display through Sunday, August 26, at the Martin Luther King, Jr., Memorial Library at 901 G Street NW, in Washington. Library hours are Sundays from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., Mondays and Tuesdays from 12:00 noon to 9:00 p.m., and Wednesdays through Saturdays from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Contact: Amanda Hunter, The Kennedy Center, 202.416.8441

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