Elementary School

Building a “West City” Elementary School with an adaptable design was one of the ideas Washington County Board of Education members discussed Tuesday afternoon as they brainstormed ideas for the new school. The adaptability of school space was brought up a few times, in part because the building should last for at least 50 years and educators don't know what technological advances will be made or how learning spaces will be used so far in the future. Schools Superintendent Clayton Wilcox told board members to think about the physical school and about educational experiences board members would like to be available at a new school.

A public information meeting will be held tonight to provide information about the planned “West City” elementary school to community members of the Hager's Crossing housing development, Washington County Public Schools officials said Tuesday. The school is to be built in the development behind Walmart in Hagerstown's West End. The 7 p.m. meeting will be held in the Hager's Crossing community center. City of Hagerstown officials asked for the informational meeting to be held before the county submits an application for a Planned Unit Development amendment, said Chad Criswell, a senior project manager and planning supervisor for the school system.

Replacing Sharpsburg Elementary School, developing a plan for the school system's aging Central Office and addressing overcrowding at old middle schools were among the topics the Washington County Board of Education discussed Tuesday during a work session about future construction priorities. Deputy Schools Superintendent Boyd Michael and planning officials presented the board with a list of 10 priority projects for the next 12 years. At the end of the work session, Michael said staff members would present a similar proposed Educational Facilities Master Plan to the board on June 5 for its approval.

The following are the results for Washington County Public Schools students from Saturday's Elks Club Hoop Shoot at Williamsport High School: Boys Ages 8-9 Champion - Braden Kolb, Potomac Heights Elementary School Runner-up - Colby Knight, Maugansville Elementary School Ages 10-11 Champion - Chris Martin, Eastern Elementary School Runner-up - Brock Penn, Boonsboro Middle...

Phil Davis, with Allegheny Restoration and Builders, repairs a window frame at the former Zullinger (Pa.) Elementary School Thursday. The school is on Pa. 16, a few miles east of Greencastle, Pa.

Myersville (Md.) Elementary School, New Well Ministry invites you to hear Light Ministries, a music ministry from Liberty University, sharing in music and testimonies on Sunday, Feb. 11 at 6 p.m. For directions to the school call, 301-733-1866.

The Education Branch at Harpers Ferry National Historic Park, in conjunction with the John Brown Sesquicentennial, sponsored a creative design contest for students in grades kindergarten to 12. All submissions needed to be related to John Brown and original to the artist. Categories were posters, sculptures and poetry pose. The winners were: Posters Elementary school C.W. Shipley Elementary School: first place, Eva Smith; second place, Kailey Cullen; third place, Haley Finnegan.

On Dec. 14, Old Forge Elementary School held its annual school-level geography bee. Twelve rounds of competition were held in order to narrow the field to two contestants. Nick Bono and Jakob Keller then answered questions for an additional six rounds before Keller was declared the winner. He will take a written exam to determine if he will continue competition at the state level.

Hagerstown resident Darren Covington, 41, offered a simple and specific suggestion on how to help prevent mass shootings in schools such as what happened inside the Connecticut elementary school Friday while also giving his take on whether principals in schools should have guns. “I don't mind police officers trained to use guns, but for the principal to have one, that's a bit extreme,” said Covington, who was picking up his 10-year-old fifth-grade daughter, Lucy, on Monday from Fountaindale Elementary School.

The following were the Washington County winners from Saturday's Western Regional Destination Imagination competition: Assembly Required (technical challenge) Elementary school First place - St. Mary Catholic School, St. Mary Greek Freaks (Annie Balog, Zachary Mentzell, Madelyn Ortiz, Alice Poffenberger, Mason Reed, Quinton Reed, Stephen Reiter) Middle school First place - Smithsburg Middle School, Road Kill (Chandler Fishack, Zach Garvey, Kayla Keplinger, Megan McCulley, Lynn McCleaf, Mari Mullane, Karen Pastwa)