AROUND THE PARK AGAIN by Sharon Lee Tegler
Arriving for school in the morning looks somewhat different for St. Martin’s-in-the-Field Episcopal School students these days. Each day they arrive by automobile with a parent, have their temperatures taken and masks checked while still in the vehicle, then enter the school through one of multiple entrances earmarked for their particular class.
Once in the classroom, they head for desks that are set the prescribed distance apart.
According to Head of School Jamey Hein, the guidelines and protocols for the 209 member student body of preschool through eighth grade children are strictly adhered to and teachers receive tremendous support.
“We maintain classrooms of no more than 14 students with proper social distancing,” Hein said. “We see a great deal of outdoor time for the various classes. In addition to regular recesses, each student is given a St. Martin’s towel which they bring outside with them to the shaded areas or pavilion where some classes take place.”
Outdoor games for small groups like one imaginatively named “Gaga Ball” give children a chance to stretch their legs. Resembling 4 square/dodgeball , the game is great for burning off excess energy.
Wide-open spaces on St. Martin’s Benfield Road campus allow plenty of room for socially distanced mask breaks.
Though aware that adjustments may be needed on the long road ahead, Hein is pleased that the plans drawn up by a task force of administrators, staff and medical consultants enabled the school to “hit the ground running so our children are learning in person again”.
Good weather or bad, St. Martin’s spacious new Learning Center (opened last December) allows room for adequately spaced classes and small-group lunches while the adjoining Parish Hall provides ample overflow room for activities.
Hein observed that the school has a slightly different look and feel this year due to an increase in the size of the student body by 50 students – a quarter of the previous student population.
“We’re told by parents that the enrollment of our new students is completely due to where the public schools are at this time,” he said
Hein said the teachers are doing really well, the children seem happy to be back, and their families are ecstatic. He believes watching the process unfold over the past couple weeks has given them all a growing confidence.
St. John the Evangelist Catholic School, like all schools of the Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore, opened for in-person learning the week before Labor Day. The preschool through eighth grade parish school at the corner of Ritchie Highway and Cypress Creek Road is once again abuzz with activity.
From learning basic skills to projects like a fifth-grade science lab exploring how pressure affects the viscosity of fluids, students were enjoying learning.
“It feels good to be back,” said Principal Casey Buckstaff. “Our families have the option for their children to interact through remote learning or to be here in person. So our staff and teachers have been working extraordinarily hard.”
Though the school has expanded through new construction in recent years, enrollment was limited to more or less its standard target numbers to insure that there would be enough space for proper social distancing.
“The teachers are doing such a wonderful job and they love being back,” Buckstaff said. “They certainly have risen to the challenge of teaching in two places at once – being on-camera teaching children at home while also teaching the children in front of them.”
Severn School opened the school year with a “hybrid model” that combines on-campus learning with remote learning for grades 2-12 according to communication specialists Nicole Anderson and Erin Lewis.
The goal is to have as many students on campus as possible and still meet mandated physical distancing restrictions. Severn’s carefully considered plan divides students into two groups where one will be on campus and the other will be at home engaging with their teacher and fellow classmates via technology.
A several page online Return To School Plan gave parents a large amount of detail about health and safety protocols, family support, in-person and remote learning models and classroom technology.
Preschool and first-graders at the Lower School’s Chesapeake Campus on Baltimore Annapolis Boulevard in Arnold will be accommodated on-campus as fully as possible.
Other Lower School, students, along with Middle School and Upper School students from the Severna Park campus at 201 Water Street, will be able to attend school on campus for part of the week (2 or 3 days ) and will be able to attend classes remotely using technology on the remaining days. Thus far, the plan is working well.
Greater Severna Park & Arnold Chamber of Commerce Golf Tournament a great success
Greater Severna Park & Arnold Chamber CEO Liz League couldn’t be more excited. The organization’s Driving Force For Business Golf Tournament on September 14 was a great success.
A major fundraiser, the event was held at Chartwell Golf and Country Club and was the first staged by the Chamber since COVID-19 caused the cancellation of most other events.
“Oh my gosh, the tournament was spectacular,” League said. “The weather was outstanding and we had 113 golfers. We also had thirty sponsors and were able to position many of them on the holes. There was great food and many give-aways and people just had a blast.”
She added that many sponsors were quite involved like Lean On Dee Senior Advocates who provided the hot dog tent.
There was so much space for everyone that there were no problem social distancing.
Tournament winners shone including First Place winnerTeam Conway from Garry’s Grill,
Second Place winner Team Wyble from The Matt Wyble Team of Century 21 New Millennium , and Third Place winner Team Cassilly from Cassilly Financial Group. The Putting Contest was won by Chris Schenick of Chick-fil-A.
A final piece of interesting news from League was that Landmark Roofing sponsored a “Pro Shot ” opportunity that raised $1,000 for the Severna Park Community Center.
A trio of churches combine to create Severna Park Youth Collective
Aware that their relatively small congregations were having difficulty attracting youth, Pastor Stephen Mitchell of Trinity Bible Church, Pastor Dave Brown of Severna Park Baptist Church and Pastor Brian Miller of Bay Life Church joined forces to create a new in-person weekly youth ministry.
Each meeting begins with a game or activity that everyone can participate in. Photo by Pastor Dave Brown
“We’d all been struggling with our youth ministries when Pastor Dave Brown approached us with this idea,” Pastor Mitchell said. “It’s a project we’ve never attempted before but we felt the time is right to try this approach.”
The concept of partnering together with other churches to be able to attract more middle school and high school students to a faith-based youth group occurred to Pastor Brown while considering Severna Park Baptist’s track record in attracting teens.
“We’ve had highs and lows with our numbers kind of like a roller coaster over the ten years I’ve been here,” he said. “Looking at how I could be more effective, I came up with the idea of partnering with two similar sized churches to make it more of a community effort.”
Severna Park Baptist and Trinity Bible Churches had worked together last year on a Grad Bag gift project for graduating seniors so coming together seemed natural. Bay Life Church recently had to relocate from Glen Burnie and is holding its worship services at Severna Park Baptists Church so they were a good fit Pastor Brown said.
“We alternate between the churches in hosting the weekly meetings,” Pastor Brown explained. “We meet Wednesday evening from 6:30 to 8 pm. Our purpose is to encourage youth in developing friendships and encouraging them in their Christian faith. We have activities, food, and a Bible lesson each week.”
All three ministers were pleased with the launch meeting on September 16. Drawing teens from each of the three churches, they ended up with a sizable group. With a socially distanced game to loosen everyone up, plenty of food, and a tent for a properly distanced Bible lesson, it was fun.
Hopefully, word will spread and other teens will join future meetings. For information, visit www.spbcmd.com
