More News

Damascus High School will present its International Night 6-8 p.m. April 18.

The event will feature international cuisine and live entertainment by the school's own dance crew, ampliFLY, and others.

Tickets are on sale this week in the Hornet's Nest. Tickets are $10 for students and $12 for adults.

Getting parents

ready for college

Parents of middle school students are invited to attend a college orientation program that will focus on college awareness, readiness and financial preparation.

The session will be held at 9:30 to 11 a.m. April 21 at John T. Baker Middle School, 25400 Oak Drive in Damascus.

The program is geared toward parents of middle school students, but is open to all parents. Speakers will include Montgomery County Public Schools counselors and representatives from Morgan State University, Montgomery College and the College Savings Plans of Maryland.

For more information, e-mail Genevieve Floyd at Genevieve_L_Floyd

@mcpsmd.org.

A winning poem

A poem written by Anneliese Girson, an eighth-grader at John T. Baker Middle School in Damascus, was one of three poems in the fifth- through eighth-grade group selected to be read on stage Saturday at the Smithsonian Kite Festival Poetry Contest.

Anneliese and the other selected poets received special ribbons and were invited, along with their families, to a reception later that evening.

Baker girls win math

and science award

John T. Baker Middle School eighth-graders Danielle Moxley and Roberta Lock are among the 12 county students to receive the Achievement in Mathematics or Science Annual Motivational Award this year.

The award recognizes eighth grade girls who show enthusiasm for math or science and evidence of analytical thinking and who have an inquiring, curious and questioning mind.

The girls will receive certificates and small gifts at a reception April 26 at Montgomery College in Rockville.

Kindergarten orientation

to begin this month

Kindergarten orientation will be held in April and May for children who will be 5 years old on or before Sept. 1.

Parents should register children on the date scheduled for the elementary school that serves their neighborhood. Parents who are not certain which elementary school serves their area should call the Montgomery County Public Schools Boundaries Office at 240-314-4710 between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.

During orientation, parents and students will meet the school principal and teachers. There will be activities for children and an opportunity for parents to ask questions about the school's procedures and programs.

For more information about the kindergarten program, call the Division of Early Childhood Programs and Services at 301-230-0691.

Kindergarten orientation in the Damascus and Clarksburg clusters is scheduled as follows:

Cedar Grove, April 21 and 22. Call 301-253-7000.

Clarksburg Elementary, May 8. Call 301-353-8060.

Clarksburg No. 8, May 19 and 20. Call 301-253-7000.

Clearspring, April 30 and May 1. Call 301-253-7004.

Damascus, May 22. Call 301-253-7080.

Little Bennett, May 7 and 8. Call 301-540-5535.

Lois P. Rockwell, May 13. Call 301-253-7088.

Woodfield, April 17. Call 301-253-7085.

DHS sociology class conducting community service projects

Robert Dickie's sociology class is conducting several community-oriented service projects this year to address the needs of residents in the region.

The projects include collecting old cell phones for the "Cell Phones for Soldiers" program that provides members of the U.S. armed forces stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan with a one-hour phone card to enable them to call home. For more information, visit www.cellphonesforsoldiers.com.

The Damascus High School students are also collecting used eyeglasses for the Lion's Club "Gift of Sight" program that matches up discarded eyeglasses with someone in need, empty computer printer ink cartridges, Campbell Soup Company product labels and school supplies to be sent do a school in Honduras by Monday.

Items may be dropped off in Room 134 after school or during C lunch period.

Van Hollen announces annual Congressional Art Competition

The 28th annual Congressional Art Competition is now accepting submissions. 

High school artists who live or attend school in the 8th Congressional District are invited to submit work for the competition, which is sponsored by U.S. Rep Christopher Van Hollen Jr. (D-Dist.8) of Kensington.

The winning entry will be displayed in the U.S. Capitol for one year and runner-up artwork will be displayed in Van Hollen's congressional offices. 

A juried exhibition of approximately 80 pieces of the submitted artwork will be shown May 4-30 at The Mansion at Strathmore, located at 10701 Rockville Pike in North Bethesda.

To participate, students must complete and submit an entry form, which they can get by going to www.vanhollen.house.gov or by calling 301-424-3501. Entry forms need to be signed by the student, a parent or guardian, and a faculty member and faxed to the Rockville district office by April 17.

Van Hollen will host reception to showcase the exhibit, honor all participants and announce awards May 4 at The Mansion at Strathmore.

For more information, call the Rockville district office at 301-424-3501 or Linda Pepper, Congressional Art Competition coordinator, at 301-657-8650 or e-mail her at

pepper461@aol.com.

Items appropriate for Education Notebook should be sent to Susan Singer-Bart at ssingerbart@gazette.net, sent by fax to 301-670-7183, or mailed to Education Notebook, The Damascus/Clarksburg Gazette, 9030 Comprint Court, Gaithersburg, MD 20877. Deadline is 5 p.m. Wednesday for consideration for the following week's paper. Items will be used on a space-available basis.