Work of Prince George’s artists featured in Bowie gallery

The Bowie Arts Committee invites community members to stop by and enjoy the work of the artists. City Hall is open from 8:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. on weekdays and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays. City Hall is closed on Sundays. Attendees may be asked to view the exhibits at another time if the rooms included in the galleries are occupied for meetings.

If you are an artist who lives in a community with a Bowie ZIP code and are interested in displaying your artwork in this gallery, or any of the other galleries at Bowie City Hall, contact Leni Stern, Arts Committee staff liaison, at lstern@cityofbowie.org or 301-809-3068.

Ask the legislators

Bowie will host its annual Legislative Open Door from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday at Bowie City Hall, 2614 Kenhill Drive. Attendees can ‘‘meet and greet” Bowie’s County Council representatives and state legislators.

The welcome and continental breakfast will be held at 9 a.m., followed by the panel at 9:30 a.m. Anyone interested in asking a question may sign up to do so during the breakfast.

The state officials invited to attend are Sen. Douglas J.J. Peters (D-Dist. 23) of Bowie, Del. James Hubbard (D-Dist. 23A) of Bowie, Del. Marvin Holmes Jr. (D-Dist. 23B) of Kettering and Del. Gerron Levi (D-Dist. 23A) of Woodmore. The county officials invited are County Councilwoman Ingrid Turner (D-Dist. 4) of Bowie and County Councilman Samuel Dean (D-Dist. 6) of Mitchellville. For more information, contact the Greater Bowie Chamber of Commerce at info@bowiechamber.org or 301-262-0920.

Making an early buzzfor student spelling stars

The Gazette and The Star will host the eighth annual Prince George’s County Spelling Bee 7 p.m. March 18 in the Gildenhorn Recital Hall of the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center on the University of Maryland, College Park campus. The event is free and open to the county’s public, private and homeschooled seventh- and eighth-graders. The winning student will receive a free trip for four to Disney World in Orlando, Fla., win a $1,000 check from The Gazette and The Star and represent the county at the Scripps National Championship May 28 and May 29 in Washington, D.C.

Mayor to give‘state of the city’ address

Mayor G. Frederick Robinson will give the annual State of the City address at 8:30 a.m. on Jan. 24 at T.J. Elliott’s restaurant in Bowie. Registration begins at 7:30 a.m., followed by breakfast at 8 a.m. and the presentation at 8:30 a.m.

The speech will be re-broadcast on Bowie’s cable channel and the text of the speech will be available at www.cityofbowie.org.

The cost is $20 to Greater Bowie Chamber of Commerce members, if paid by Jan. 18. The cost for non-members and anyone registering after Jan. 18 is $30. To register, contact the Chamber of Commerce at 301-262-0920.

Eighth-graders excelin first quarter

Benjamin Tasker Middle School students with a 4.0 grade point average were named to the Principal’s High Honor Roll in the first quarter.

The eighth-grade students named to the Principal’s High Honor Roll are: Shawn Asobie, Vishal Bagadia, Christophe Barbour, Tiffany Barnett, Amani Brooks, Terry Cooper, Jhasmyn Curry, Melanie Daley, Geanina Fripp, Faith Fugar, Rohan Jain, Kelsey Latorre, Samantha Martinez, Megan McKenna, Domenica Mejia-Clavijo, Anthony M. Neilson, Olivia Oberle, Nwamara Ogbonna, Chidinma Okafor, Alexandra Pantelides, Jonathan Sarceno, Quentin Scott, Kamli Sirjue, Marcell Smith, Jasmine Taylor and Kevin Todd.

Students with a GPA of 3.0 to 3.9 were named to the Principal’s Honor Roll.

Eighth-grade students named to the Principal’s Honor Roll for the first quarter are Reeham Abdelrazzag, Ahmed Abdosh, Doyin Adegbesan, Janet-Fola Adeosun, Olaoluwa Adeoye, Damilola Adetola, Christophe Allegrezza, Kelsey Allen, Ruth Alvarez, Henrique Gerardo, Amaya Perdomo, Thurman Anderson, III, Marie Vien Aquino, Brooke Armstrong, Malik Artis, Alice Bannigan, James Barnes III, Kendall Baxter, Melissa Bebout, Londyn Beechum, Kevin Bobby, Alexis Burke, Ericka Burton, Ayianna Caesar, Fana Cisse, Kortney Cox, Kwanza Cox-Baker, Ellen Dahl, Adam Daniel, Anthony Davis, Christophe Davis, Dominique Davis, Morgan Davis, Victoria Dehoyos, Shaviya Dickerson, Chinedum Dike, Deandre Dillard, Jamaal Dubose, Alexander Dymek, Shannon Eker, Brandon Enoch, Karen Escobar, Briana Evans, Carmen Ferrell, Brea Fields, Cristina Flores, James Flowers III, Melanie Furr, Amna Geko, Lexiss Golden, Alexis Greene, Ashlea Gwinn, Alexis Harvey, Shana Hawkins, Bryante’ Hayman, Sasha-Lee Hickman, Zachary Hopkins, Jordan Huften, Deshawn Jackson, Shondaleea James, Bailey Jarmon, Shed Jessup III, Deion Johnson, Jaylen Johnson, Aryn Johnston, Lambertine Jones II, Gianni Kemp, Brittany Kissinger, Granit Krasniqi, Sasha Ledesma, Dominique Lee, Nathan Leroux, Jacob Lewis, Haley Lloyd, Robert Lopez, Oliver Lumpkin, Julian Maddox, Michael Makoge, Jr., Jordan McNeeley, Sunhwa Moffitt, Autumn Moore, Christophe Moore, Haley Morgal, Melena Murphy, Abdul-Kudu Mustapha, Jamie Myers, Kristin Nowlin, Eyek Ntekim, Ifedimma Nwankwo, Archer Obrien, Whitney Okwuchi, Emile Palmer, Benjamin Panga, Meagan Park, Bria Parker, Gregory Payne, Dana Powell, Monica Powell, Andrew Price, Terrence Price, Devona Quasie-Woode, Devonte Quasie-Woode, Tyler Reed, Joseph Rice, Katherine Rivera, Jahmyl Robinson, Jacob Seaman, Allison Shellman, Brittany Simmons, Kiarra Simon, Kelly Sinclair, Jairus Slagle, Julie Smock, John Sohyda, Alex Stewart, Diamond Sydnor, Bongnwi Tangyie, Julie Thai, Courtney Thomas, London Thomas, Camrey Thompson, Camille Tillar, Alyssa Tomchick, Lea Valentine, Patricia Vicente, Blair Vizbulis, Alexis Wainwright, Datus Wall, Benjamin Walters, Victoria Walton, Karell Ward, Kevin Ware, Jr., Marina Waters, Jade Wilkins, Kara Wilson, Brea Wimbush, Aleah Windham, Christophe Wolff and Erin Worthman.

Calling all politically-minded fourth-graders

The Maryland Municipal League and the Maryland Mayors’ Association are now accepting submissions for their eighth annual ‘‘If I Were Mayor, I Would...” essay contest. Contestants are encouraged to write about what they would do if they were mayors in any incorporated city or town in the state.

‘‘The whole idea is to educate students and even teachers about municipal government in Maryland,” said Linda Burrell, manager of member relations and education at the Maryland Municipal League.

Every year 11 entries — one from each district in Maryland — win the contest, with each winner receiving a $250 savings bond and a copy of ‘‘Maryland’s 157: The Incorporated Cities and Towns.”

Winning entries are ones that have addressed the topic informatively and creatively, Burrell said. Information about the contest, the deadline of which is April 1, is available on the Maryland Municipal League’s Web site, mdmunicipal.org.