Schools

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.

The Charlotte's Web puppet shows made a difference. The nagging proved effective. Being able to vent on “one of those off days” was deeply appreciated. The instruction to “never give up” was not forgotten. These meaningful lessons and many more were recounted Tuesday at Berkeley County Schools' Business Education Partnership leadership recognition dinner by a dozen high school seniors who saluted individual teachers who made a lasting impact on their life. The students themselves were celebrated at the reception for their achievements and recognized for their participation in the Business Education Partnership leadership program, which paired them with a mentor in the business community through the school year.

A feasibility study will start soon to determine if an educational foundation can raise enough money to replace the track and football field at Waynesboro Area Senior High School. Waynesboro Area Business, Education and Community (WABEC) Foundation will be hiring a consultant to estimate how much fundraising can be accomplished for the project. Officials said the capital campaign will focus on athletic facilities but could also address arts and academics if contributions allow. WABEC representatives addressed the Waynesboro Area School Board on Tuesday about starting the initiative.

The Waynesboro Area School Board has whittled down a budget shortfall for 2013-14, preliminarily approving a $49 million spending plan that does not raise taxes. The board has until June 30 to adopt a final budget. On Tuesday, the district's business administrator, Thomas Dick, talked to the school board about an $832,765 deficit he had anticipated. He said the administration and school board's budget committee eliminated that deficit over the past month using several methods.

Berkeley County Schools will be able to use $5.9 million in state funding it had received for the construction of two new schools to instead renovate Martinsburg North Middle School. The grant award of the reallocated funding was decided Monday by the West Virginia School Building Authority at the agency's quarterly meeting in Charleston, W.Va. Berkeley County Schools Superintendent Manny P. Arvon said he was pleased that the state allowed the reallocation of funds previously awarded for Spring Mills High School and Gerrardstown Area Middle School to the Martinsburg project.

A reader recently expressed concern about bags and boxes of books being thrown into a Dumpster at Conococheague Elementary School. The reader wondered why the books weren't donated to others. Washington County Public Schools spokesman Richard Wright said the elementary school did throw out some damaged books, as well as historical books that no longer were relevant. Wright said the school also had a shed full of books that were going to be donated. Every school donates books as new editions arrive, Wright said.

Here are some of the things happening this week in Washington County Public Schools: Monday, April 22 Barbara Ingram School for the Arts - Visual-arts exhibit for Earth Day in main lobby Boonsboro Elementary - Book fair all week Fountaindale Elementary - Spring pictures, 8 a.m. Pleasant Valley Elementary - Spring book fair all week Tuesday, April 23 Barbara Ingram School for the Arts - Visual-arts open...

Eight-year-old Blake Shupp posed next to her artwork of an elephant made of geometric shapes while her father used a camera to capture the moment. “We had to make a picture out of those shapes,” the Clear Spring Elementary School second-grader explained. The elephant had a circle for a head, while its legs, trunk and torso were made out of rectangles. The mountains Blake drew in the background were triangular, her father, Sid, pointed out. Sid Shupp said his daughter was so excited about the elementary art exhibit, she has been telling everyone in the family about it. “I think it's awesome,” he said of the exhibit at the Washington County Museum of Fine Arts.

Eastern Elementary School named its Citizens of the Month for March.

A girl is warming up on her violin as her instrumental music class gets in gear at Pangborn Elementary School in Hagerstown's East End. The class is sitting on the stage in the cafeteria/auditorium. Lunch isn't going on, but during the short time that class is in session during lunch, the stage curtains are closed to limit distractions for the music students, Principal Eric Meredith said. The instrumental music class is on the stage because the instrumental music classroom is home to a kindergarten class, Meredith explained.