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February is a busy month for members of Project Change.

The organization, a collaboration of youths and adults working to offer meaningful activities and service projects for area teens, is involved with several activities that will raise awareness and funds for itself and other area groups.

On Saturday, the Project Change Community Service Club of Sherwood High School will sponsor an Animal Adoption/Cruelty to Animals Awareness Day from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Bark Pet Store, 16822 Georgia Ave. in Olney.

The event will be held in conjunction with Washington Animal Rescue, which will bring dogs and perhaps cats to the pet store for adoption, Project Change officials reported. Interested visitors will be able to begin the adoption process by completing paperwork on site.

The Sherwood students will also offer information about animal abuse and animal care.

Also on Saturday, Studio of Ballet Arts will sponsor a "Love That Swing! Dance Party" to benefit Project Change from 7:30 to 10:30 p.m. at the studio, 17810 Meeting House Road, Suite 350, in Sandy Spring.

The event will feature music by the Olney Big Band, a silent auction and raffle. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students, and are available at the door or in advance by visiting www.projectchange-md.org.

On Feb. 17, Mamma Lucia's restaurant at 18244 Village Center Drive will donate a portion of proceeds between 5 p.m. and closing to a Dance-A-Thon coming this spring at Sherwood High School.

The dance event will be held 4 to 10:30 p.m. April 9. Students will pay $10 to dance for six hours, and those who want to watch will be asked for a $5 entrance fee. Proceeds will be given to the winner, who will donate the money to a charity of his or her choice.

Shaare Tefila offers services at Olney Theatre

Shaare Tefila Congregation is now offering its Sabbath religious services at Olney Theatre Center's William Graham Sr. Actors Hall on Olney-Sandy Spring Road.

The congregation's Friday night services will remain at Olney Elementary School at 3401 Queen Mary Drive until March, when they will also move to Olney Theatre.

Shaare Tefila is building a small synagogue on a 4-acre property at 16620 Georgia Ave. in Olney.

It had been located on Lockwood Drive in Silver Spring.

JCC looking for athletes

for Maccabi Games

The Jewish Community Center of Greater Washington in Rockville will again be sending a delegation to the Mid Atlantic Junior Maccabi Games.

The games are a one-day athletic competition for Jewish pre-teens ages 10-12 (as of May 1, 2010).

The delegation will include teams for girls' and boys' basketball, girls' and boys' soccer, tennis and swimming. Tryouts will be held in February and March. For more information, visit http://www.jccgw.org/articlenav.php?id=480 or contact Lisa Reichmann at lisa_reichmann@yahoo.com or Sarah Bulka at sbulka@jccgw.org.

Get ready to rock ‘n' roll

at Sherwood High

Sherwood High School is accepting ticket requests for its 39th annual Rock ‘n' Roll Revival set for two weekends next month — March 5, 6 and 7 and again March 12, 13 and 14.

Performances will be held at 7:30 p.m. on the Friday and Saturday dates and at 2 p.m. on the Sunday dates in the school's Ertzman Theatre.

All seats are reserved and cost $15. To obtain tickets, an order form is available on the school's Web site, www.sherwoodhs.org (found in the center section under "Announcements"), or by sending a name, phone numbers (day, evening and cell), number of tickets (limit of 24 per order), date of show (indicate first, second and third choices and the number of tickets per date), and enclose a self-addressed stamped envelope and a check payable to Sherwood High School to: Rock ‘N' Roll Tickets, Sherwood High School, 300 Olney-Sandy Spring Road, Sandy Spring, MD 20860.

Show organizers say they will make every effort to fill all ticket requests but cannot guarantee that large groups will be seated together. No refunds or exchanges will be granted, show officials say.

Once the initial orders are filled, weekly updates concerning ticket availability will be posted on the school's Web site.

For more information, e-mail Judy_Adler_Reiff@mcpsmd.org.

Nomination time is here

Nominations are being accepted for the fifth anniversary Greater Olney-Sandy Spring Athena Award, designed to honor a local women for community service and professional and personal leadership.

Presented in memory of Brooke Grove Retirement Village founder and registered nurse Eleanor Howe, the program gives particular consideration to nominees who demonstrate a "dedication of self and a generosity of spirit" toward the greater Olney–Sandy Spring community.

Kulley Bancroft of Sandy Spring Bank and a longtime community volunteer won the award last year.

Other recipients of the Olney-Sandy spring Athena Award are Carolyn Snowden, a longtime civic activist in the Sandy Spring and Ashton communities; Lisa McKillop, recently retired director of Hospice Caring Inc. who was a longtime volunteer at Olney Theatre Center and the Olney Nonprofit Consortium, among other organizations; and Robyn Quinter, owner of Quinter Designs, who has donated countless services to the community.

Award criteria and nomination forms are available on the Olney Chamber of Commerce and the Brooke Grove Web sites, www.olneymd.org or www.bgf.org.

The deadline to submit a nomination is March 5. The recipient will be announced at an Award Tea at Brooke Grove Retirement Village on April 30. For more information, call the Olney Chamber of Commerce at 301-774-7117.

On campus

-Kaitlyn Krueger of Derwood, a member of the Class of 2011, was named to the dean's list for the fall semester at Lafayette College in Easton, Pa. Students must achieve at least a 3.60 semester grade point average out of a possible 4.0 to be named to the list.

-Samantha Lawrence of Olney, majoring in music , has been named to the dean's list for the fall semester at Westminster Choir College of Rider University in Princeton, N.J.

-Kathryn Ennes, a first-year nursing major at Eastern Mennonite University in Harrisonburg, Va., was named to the dean's list for the fall semester. She is the daughter of Mark and Anne Ennes of Brookeville. To qualify for the dean's list, a student must achieve a semester grade point average of at least 3.750 or above and complete at least 12 semester hours of credit.

-Three area residents were named to the honors list for the fall semester at Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, Pa. They are: Stephanie Douglas of Olney, the daughter of James Douglas and Teresa Douglas and a graduate of Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart; Rachel Packer of Olney, the daughter of Bonnie Packer and Walter Matyskiela of Olney and Daniel Packer and Ruenrudee Chanchaivanich of Arlington, Va., and a graduate of Sherwood High School; and Alexander Grassi of Brookeville, son of Robert Grassi and Bonnie Grassi and a graduate of McDonogh School.

If you have an interesting note about the people and the events of our community, send it to Judith Hruz, Editor, The Olney Gazette, 9030 Comprint Court, Gaithersburg, Md. 20877, or e-mail it to jhruz@gazette.net. Our fax numbers are 301-670-7182 or 301-670-7183. Deadline is 5 p.m. Thursday for consideration for the following week. All items are subject to space availability.

-Federal, state and county offices are closed Monday, Feb. 15, Presidents Day.

-Banks, libraries and courts are closed.

-MCPS administrative offices are closed.

-Refuse and recycling pickup — regular collection. County's waste transfer station is open.

-Ride On and Metrobus will operate on weekday schedules.

-Metrorail will run from 5 a.m. to midnight.

-MARC trains will not run.

-County liquor stores are open 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., with the exception of Cabin John, Diamond Square and Twinbrook, which will be closed.

-Parking is free at county lots, meters and garages.