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Schools

Woodholme Elementary Enjoys Blue Ribbon Status

The school has fun in the days after being named a Blue Ribbon School.

 

Principal Maralee Clark is full of surprises.

When she found out that had been chosen as a 2012 Maryland Blue Ribbon School, she didn't tell everyone right away.

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Instead, she announced near the end of the school day that they were going to have an all-school assembly in a few minutes.

Everyone came into the room, and Clark called every teacher and staff member onto the stage. The kids were getting more excited by the minute.

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Finally, they pulled down a banner that read: “Maryland Blue Ribbon School.”

“Everyone’s a winner,” Clark said to the excited crowd.

Clark and Woodholme have been basking in the glow of being named a Blue Ribbon School since they learned of the honor last week.

She gave the staff and teachers a blue ribbon with a silver label saying “Maryland Blue Ribbon School 2012” and each student a blue ribbon and flyer explaining the award to parents.

“Now we’re being recognized,” Clark said. "We were under the radar before. Now we’re on the radar.”

Part of the school's anonymity thus far is because the school is actually on a dead-end road that has little traffic, she explained.

But since the award, the school has been getting congratulations from all over the place. There’s a school in Baltimore City with the same name—Woodholme—and even they've sent along their best wishes.

Clark said Woodholme is going for national recognition, applying for the National Blue Ribbon Schools program sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education. They’ll find out about that in the fall.

But for now, Clark said the school’s going to keep doing what they’ve been doing since opening in 2005—pushing students to do their best and embracing the areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

In fact, the school will be hosting a STEM fair from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday. It will feature workshops for parents, kids doing rap songs, and a variety of projects that everyone can take a look at.

“We’re getting them college-ready and career-ready,” Clark said. “That’s our goal. It takes hard work. Our teachers go above and beyond expectations every single day.”

According to an article in the Baltimore Sun, the other elementary schools to receive the award are: Crofton Meadows in Anne Arundel County; Ring Factory in Harford; Rachel Carson in Montgomery; Whitehall in Prince George's, and Pocomoke in Worcester County.

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