Schools

Sixth marking period Distinguished honor roll Grade six - Logan M. Abbott, Maegan I. Aleshire, Emily G. Alexander, Safiyyah S. Ali, Myia J. Allison, Ryan S. Barnett, Olivia N. Barton, Madeline R. Blash, Sarah E. Demuth, Clara L. Desclous, Ally M. Frushour, Jazzman M. Gary, Simon B. Hammerlid, Samantha D. Harrast, Grace A. Hurwitz, Lauren M. Koontz, Carson D. Matthews, Molly E. Mc-Cook, Jessica L. Perrott, Mya C. Rattay, Elias W....

School is out for the summer. Please remember to drive carefully, since there will be many children out playing in the neighborhoods. I wish everyone a safe and happy summer vacation.   Winter Street group plans trip to Great Falls Winter Street Alumni Association members are planning an Odyssey Cruise to Great Falls, Va., on Wednesday, June 19. The group will meet at Valley Mall in Hagerstown at 7:45 a.m., depart by bus at 8 a.m., and return to the shopping center at approximately 6 p.m. Tickets cost $107, which includes transportation, lunch and visit to Great Falls.

A discussion Tuesday about the Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance served to illustrate why the Washington County Board of Commissioners is considering a new formula on how new residential developments should help pay for schools. Attorney Jason Divelbiss presented a plan to the board for The Reserve at Collegiate Acres, a 272-unit apartment complex. The plan offered no money for school mitigation, instead proposing a phase-in development over a period of years that would roughly coincide with the construction and opening of a planned West Side Elementary School.

Replacing Sharpsburg Elementary School remains Washington County Public School's next construction priority - after replacing Bester Elementary and building a “West City” elementary - although one county school board member last week asked about the possibility of building a general south county elementary school instead. If the school system were to use enrollment figures at the overcrowded Sharpsburg Elementary to justify a need for state funding for a south county elementary school instead of replacing Sharpsburg Elementary, that would mean the “elimination of Sharpsburg” Elementary, Deputy Superintendent Boyd Michael told board member Donna Brightman.

Steven E. Pappas took a tour of Waynesboro Area Senior High School on Tuesday, just minutes after he was hired as the building's new principal. The school board approved hiring Pappas, of York, Pa., at an annual salary of $87,500. He replaces Chris Dennis, who will return to a teaching position. Pappas told the board he and his wife, Davia, hope to build a home in the Waynesboro area. “We're excited. ... It's very positive,” he said. Pappas has been an assistant principal in the West Shore School District since 2008.

A proposal to rid Mercersburg Elementary School of a full-time principal drew dozens of parents to a Tuscarora School Board meeting held at the school Monday night. At issue is a plan to divide Mercersburg Elementary School Principal Lura Hanks' time between her current school and Montgomery Elementary School. That would free up Brett Kagarise, who currently serves as principal of two schools, Montgomery and  Mountain View Elementary School, to serve full time at Mountain View.

Antietam Bible College, Biblical Seminary and Graduate School, at 15 High St. in Hagerstown, announced its Class of 2013 graduates. Graduation was held May 18 in the sanctuary at First Baptist Church, High Street and Washington Avenue. The guest speaker was the Rev. H. Wallace Webster, senior  pastor at Mount Airy (Md.) Bible Church. Graduates were: • Patricia Anne Auxt, Bachelor of Science in church education • Elissa Ruth Elliott, Bachelor of Science in biblical studies • Jeremiah Daniel Gayman, Bachelor of Science  in missions • Joshua Nahum Toole, Bachelor of Science in  pastoral studies Graduates from the seminary and graduate school were: • Barbara Denise Calhoun, Master of Arts in Christian education • Bernard Albert Domowski, Master of Arts in biblical studies • D. Neil Suders, Doctor of Ministry in practical theology

Students from Smithsburg Middle School were inducted into the inaugural Junior Art Honor Society in March.   The honor society provides students in grades six through nine with recognition for outstanding ability and interest in art. The program engages students' artistic expression in middle and high school, and encourages their application to and participation in the National Art Honor Society.  The National Art Education Association launched...

Proposed evaluation model submitted Washington County Public Schools submitted its proposed model for evaluating teachers and principals to the state on June 3, Superintendent Clayton Wilcox said last week. State law calls for student growth to be part of teacher and principal evaluations starting with the upcoming school year. The deadline to submit the plan was June 7, Wilcox said. Some school employees' schedules change for summer Many Washington County Public Schools facilities are switching to a summer schedule, in which they will be closed Fridays, Superintendent Clayton Wilcox said last week.

It was a bittersweet graduation for Greencastle-Antrim High School's Class of 2013. For the 228-member class, the absence of one graduate was not far from anyone's mind. As the seniors walked to Kaley Field for Saturday's commencement, they wore orange ribbons pinned to their graduation gowns in honor of Marita Logan Shaffer. Shaffer died as a result of injuries suffered in a June 1 car accident near Mercersburg, Pa. “Her passing, as heartbreaking as it is, is an important reminder how precious and how fleeting this life is,” Pastor Mark S. Durniak said during the invocation.