Monarch Academy Annapolis, a public contract school with Anne Arundel County Public Schools, announces the launch of Transformation Theatre Company, a performing arts summer camp July 5 to Aug. 13. One- and two-week camp programs will be available for rising prekindergarten through eighth grade students in performing arts, instrumental rock music, choral music, songwriting, dance, and drama.

Campers will have the opportunity to discover and develop their talents under the guidance of performing arts educators with performance experience. Each program will culminate with a showcase event for families. Academic tutoring will also be available upon request for children who would benefit from academic support during the camp day.

“We are thrilled to offer a robust theatre performance camp this summer at Monarch Academy Annapolis,” said The Children’s Guild Alliance’s Chief of Educational Services Kathy Lane. “We are committed to the integration of the arts in our curriculum and school environments. We are excited to offer the families of budding thespians and musicians in our Monarch community, and throughout Anne Arundel County, this transformative opportunity.”

Broadway Bound, for students in third through eighth grades, is a weeklong camp from July 5 through July 9 focusing on the three main components of musical theatre: singing, dancing and acting. Director Vicki Smith is a performing arts and production specialist for The Children’s Guild Alliance and Monarch Academy schools and owner of StageWorkz Theatre Arts Project.

Monarch Rocks! is a weeklong music camp from July 12 through July 16 for beginner and intermediate students in third through eighth grades. Instruction will include making music and songwriting using guitar, bass, drums, keyboard and vocals. Students will work collaboratively writing songs and playing in a band. Monarch Rocks! Director Sean Lane is a music teacher and registered music therapist at The Phoenix Academy in Annapolis. He has maintained a full schedule of performances for the past 20 years and has performed at inauguration events for the past three presidents.

It’s Showtime is a two-week camp from July 19 through July 30 for students in third through eighth grades. On the first day, campers will learn the auditioning process, an opportunity for beginning performers to practice in a safe environment. It’s Showtime Director Karin Abbott has been teaching for 22 years and is the arts integration specialist at Monsignor Slade Catholic School. She formerly worked at Monarch Academy Annapolis. Abbott has provided musical theatre workshops and camps for children and teens in Anne Arundel County for 13 years.

Merry Tales is a weeklong camp from Aug. 2 through Aug. 6 for students in prekindergarten through second grades. Campers will explore and perform fairy tales. They will be introduced to theatre, speaking and stage presence, while they practice reading comprehension strategies. Merry Tales Director Meg Nemeth is the arts integration teacher at Monarch Global Academy Laurel. Additionally, she teaches middle school theatre and leads the school’s drama club in full-scale plays and musicals.

Kids First Chorus offers a one- or two-week camp for the weeks of Aug. 2 and Aug. 9 for students in third through eighth grades who want to gain skills in singing, performing, a cappella, show choir, hip-hop, and a bit of pizzazz!

Campers will learn skill sets in: vocal technique, harmonizing, stage presence, choreography, and vocal projection for theater and concerts.  Campers will also learn the teamwork skills necessary to join their voices together in harmony!

In addition to learning skills in the two-week camp, there is potential for Monarch Academy and Children’s Guild students who take part in the Kids First Chorus camp to perform with the Kids First Chorus later in the school year at different events.

The camp is open to children living in Anne Arundel County, and scholarships are available on a sliding scale on a first-come, first-served basis for Monarch Academy families.

For more information on Transformation Theatre Company, including dates and costs, visit MonarchAcademy.org/camp.

The entire Children’s Guild Alliance family mourns the untimely death of 18-year-old Simeon Mukuna, a student in our TAWS (Tranzed Academy for Working Students) program. Our sincerest sympathy and prayers go to Simeone’s family and friends. He was an excellent student and athlete and was an all-around great young man, loved by many. He will be truly missed. A GoFundMe link has been set up for the family to cover funeral expenses.

From Anne Arundel County Public Schools 

Students in Early Childhood Education and prekindergarten through fifth grade whose families selected for them to return to school buildings in a hybrid environment will do so on March 1 under a reopening plan presented by Superintendent George Arlotto to the Board of Education at its February 3, 2021, meeting.

Under the plan, students in grades 6, 9, and 12 who are taking part in hybrid learning would return on March 8, followed by students in grades 7, 8, 10, and 11 on March 22. Students at all three levels would attend class in school buildings on either Monday and Tuesday or Thursday and Friday each week. All learning would take place virtually on Wednesday, when schools would undergo a thorough cleaning.

Approximately 39 percent of elementary school students will return in a hybrid format. That number is 36 percent in middle school and 34 percent at the high school level.

On January 14, 2021, the Board of Education directed Dr. Arlotto to begin the hybrid reopening of schools for as many students as possible by March 1. That is the same timeline that has been publicly urged by Governor Larry Hogan and Maryland State School Superintendent Dr. Karen Salmon.

Dr. Arlotto also provided the Board with the following timeline that will see smaller groups of students come back to buildings beginning next week:

• February 11, 2021: Center of Applied Technology – North; Developmental Centers (Phase I elementary)
• February 16, 2021: Developmental Centers (Phase II elementary)
• February 18, 2021: Center of Applied Technology – South; Developmental Centers (secondary)
• February 22, 2021: Elementary ED Regional Centers (Glendale ES, Odenton ES, Rolling Knolls ES); J. Albert Adams @ Mary Moss Academy (all grade levels); Phoenix Academy (ED elementary students)
• February 25, 2021: Secondary ED Regional Centers (Bates MS, Chesapeake Bay MS, Chesapeake HS); Secondary Autism Classrooms (Old Mill MS South and Old Mill HS); and Phoenix Academy (alternative education programs and ED secondary students)

School-based staff would return to buildings no later than February 17, 2021, with school system central and satellite office staff returning on a similar timeline. Teachers and others involved with instructing small groups of students will return earlier.

More information on the reopening of schools, including safety protocols and other mitigation measures, can be found at www.aacps.org/spring2021.

Monarch Academy Annapolis, a public contract school with Anne Arundel County Public Schools, is using $51,135 in federal CARES Act funds to support tutoring for students. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act was passed by Congress last year to provide economic relief to Americans.

Monarch Academy Annapolis is partnering with Huntington Learning Center, a tutoring and test prep organization, to provide virtual or in-person one-on-one tutoring for students in kindergarten through fifth grades and small-group tutoring for students in second through fifth grades. Tutoring is helping students who show the most need in reading and math.

“While the pandemic has presented numerous challenges to schools and families, we are thankful for the grant funding that has been provided to support student learning in this time,” said Rachel Amstutz, principal of Monarch Academy Annapolis. “Our partnership with Huntington Learning Center has been such a gift to our school and our identified students. The flexibility of HLC in offering in-person or virtual tutoring at all times of the day and on school days and the weekend has proven to work well for all of our identified students.”