Pyle teacher creates new way to get students involved

This past week Pyle hosted three evenings of shows, with students performing in not only ‘‘Mr. Uno,” but also ‘‘Ghost of a Chance” and ‘‘Rowdy Kate.”

‘‘We have a lot of talent at the school, so I had to find a way to incorporate as many kids as I could,” said the drama teacher.

Forty-eight students participated in the three shows, to roaring success Cox said. To help her with the additional cast members, Cox enlisted the help of two Walt Whitman High School drama students, who directed the two additional shows.

She said while it’s easy to add additional students to a musical, where a chorus can accommodate students, plays are more difficult. This was the best way to make sure every student had a role, and at least one line, she said.

‘‘It’s a tight ensemble atmosphere with all the students,” Cox said. ‘‘They all get to work together each night; it really feels like a troupe.”

Voices from Darfur comingto Walter Johnson

The Walter Johnson High School chapter of Amnesty International, along with the school’s Peace and Social Action Club and Save Darfur Club welcome Voices from Darfur, a speaking tour of Darfuri refugees at 7 p.m., Tuesday.

The event will be held at the school’s auditorium, and is free to the public.

A short documentary film will be shown, and refugees will speak about the atrocities in Sudan.

For more information, contact Will McCurry at 301-875-7368.

Holton-Arms counselorawarded fellowship

Beatrice Fuller, co-director of college counseling and a 12th grade English teacher at Holton-Arms School in Bethesda, recently received a fellowship for aspiring school heads.

The award, bestowed by the National Association of Independent Schools, allows the awardees to attend leadership seminars and to study major issues facing independent schools.

Fuller is one of 79 fellows for the program this year; fellows were named from 24 different states.

Grace Episcopal studentshonored at Maryland History Day

Grace Episcopal Day School students Eva Branson, Brittani Campbell, Dorothy Hastings and Erin Monahan took top honors at the eighth annual Maryland History Day Competition, held March 15.

The event, at Julius West Middle School in Rockville, was an opportunity for students to show off their research and scholarship skills in the field of history.

The four girls wrote and performed a short play entitled ‘‘You’ve Got to Get an Education: Integration of the Montgomery County Schools,” a piece based on two area women who experienced integration first-hand.

The play earned three individual awards: the Charles Jacobs Special Prize for Local History, The Expression of African-American History Prize, and the African-American Educational Prize.

Wootton student selectedfor national biology competition

Jonathan Liang, a student at Thomas S. Wootton High School in Rockville, has been named as a national finalist in the USA Biology Olympiad. Liang, of North Potomac, will travel to George Mason University in Virginia in June for a two-week training session.

More than 10,000 students applied for the competition; Liang was one of only 20 students nationwide selected as a finalist.

This column is for you and your school community. Share your School Notes about students, teachers and anyone associated with your school. Feel free to send press releases and news tips. Contact Bradford Pearson via e-mail at bpearson@gazette.net, phone at 301-280-3003, fax at 301-670-7183, or snail mail at 9030 Comprint Court, Gaithersburg, MD 20877.