Magruder to premiere work honoring fallen soldier

Burkart was killed in Baghdad on May 11, 2006, during combat patrol operations when an improvised explosive device (IED) detonated near his vehicle. Burkart served in the United States Army on two tours of duty to Afghanistan and Iraq; he was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 71st Cavalry Regiment, 10th Mountain Division out of Fort Drum, N.Y. Burkart attended Magruder High School from 1993-1997 and was an active member of the school’s band.

He is survived by his wife, Christy Burkart, father, John Burkart, and brother, Pete Burkart.

Boyle, also a former Magruder band member, is a friend of Burkart and a Magruder High School alumnus (Class of 1996). His works have been premiered at Carnegie Hall and The Kennedy Center. He holds degrees from The Peabody Conservatory, The University of Pennsylvania and The University of South Florida. Mark Eisenhower, director of Bands at Magruder High School, said, ‘‘Armer was a positive and special person whose energy and spirit was typical of the young musicians who continue to make music at Magruder. He is missed and the members of the music department and the Magruder community could think of no better way to honor him than with a new work in his memory by one of his own friends.”

Blake Arts and Humanities Fest on Friday

James Hubert Blake High School will hold its annual Arts and Humanities Festival on Friday from 5:30 to 9 p.m. throughout the school.

The festival will feature displays of student artwork and performances by students, as well as an awards recognition assembly held at 8:00 p.m. in the Cafeteria.

The highlights of the evening will include:

*A visual art show of student work including exhibits from AP Studio Art and the Senior Art show.

*Performances by various groups including The Stage Company, Improvisation Company, highlights from Blake’s production of ‘‘High School Musical” and the Blake Forensics Team’s award-winning pieces from ‘‘The Glass Menagerie,” ‘‘A My Name Is Alice” and ‘‘Time Flies.”

Blake’s dance program will have a showcase of pieces including presentations from the highly acclaimed Dance Company.

The Blake Choral Program, including the award-winning Jazz Choir and the Acappela Choir will present barbershop, pop and jazz vocal numbers. Various bands from the Instrumental Music Program will also perform.

Blake’s English, foreign language and social studies departments will be highlighting various student humanities projects throughout the evening.

The Blake PTSA will serve a dinner catered by TomChef for $10 a plate from 6-8 p.m. Dinner will include Greek and Ceasar salads, Chicken Carbonara and Beef Stroganoff.

For more information, call the school at 301-879-1300

Sherwood to collect bikes on Saturday

The Sherwood High School Interact Club, in cooperation with the Olney Rotary Club, is sponsoring a ‘‘Bikes for the World” bicycle donation on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Oakdale Emory Church parking lot.

Bikes for the World is a non-profit organization based in the D.C- area that ships bikes to overseas partners where they are refurbished and used for transportation. More information can be found at www.bikesfortheworld.org.

A suggested $10 donation per bike is used to defray costs of shipping and refurbishing. Receipts are available for all monetary and materials donations.

Questions can be directed to Mike Miehl, Sherwood High School, at 301-924-3200 or Michael_J_Miehl@mcpsmd.org.

Sargent Shriver students learn about serving others

The students at Sargent Shriver Elementary School in Aspen Hill proved that you’re never too young to help someone in need when they teamed with Shepherd’s Table, Montgomery County’s oldest resource center for the homeless, on May 3 to make 125 bagged lunches for the hungry.

Students from kindergarten through fourth grade helped assemble lunches, decorate lunch bags and write notes of inspiration for Shepherd’s Table guests as part of a two-day learning experience that taught students about the problem of poverty in this area and allowed them to experience the satisfaction of giving.

As students worked together, the message of the day was stated by one second-grader who announced, ‘‘Sharing with people is fun and if you share with people, they will share back.”

The week before, through classroom visits by the school counselor and presentations by Shepherd’s Table employees Jordan Kough and Jim Webner, students at Sargent Shriver, learned about the work of the organization, the importance of volunteering, and ways that children can make a difference in their community.

‘‘I was happy to see that the students were so excited to learn about this serious problem,” said Kough, Shepherd’s Table’s volunteer manager. ‘‘I was very impressed by their ability to understand such a complex issue.”

The projects mirrored the model of service that has been the lifelong commitment of Sargent Shriver, the Potomac man for whom the school is named, to serving those in need.

For more information about the Shepherd’s Table, visit www.shepherdstable.org.

Two dozen more students earn Merit Scholarships

Twenty-four Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) students have won $2,500 National Merit Scholarships after meeting rigorous academic standards and other criteria.

The local scholars account for almost 45 percent of the 54 winners from Maryland. Nationally, 2,500 winners were chosen from among finalists in the 2006-2007 program, sponsored by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC).

NMSC finances most of the $1,500 scholarships with its own funds. Companies and businesses that sponsor awards through NMSC also help underwrite the scholarships with grants.

The announcement brings the number of Merit scholars from MCPS to 33, including nine winners of corporate-sponsored awards announced earlier. College-sponsored Merit awards will be announced on May 23 and in mid-July.

Listed by school, the latest MCPS winners and their intended career fields are:

*Bethesda-Chevy Chase: Eli B. Hager, writing; Joseph D. Hiatt, mathematics; and Thomas J. Kramer, undecided.

*Montgomery Blair: Andrew T. Durnford, computer science; David B. Gootenberg, medicine⁄research; Jeffrey Y. Guo, linguistics; Brian R. Lawrence, mathematics; Richard M. McCutchen, computer science; Yi An Sun, finance; and Rebecca A. Vogel, ecology.

*Winston Churchill: Rebecca M. Fradkin, writing; and Allen Yang, economics.

*Walter Johnson: Scott I. Golden, law (underwritten by the UPS Foundation).

*Richard Montgomery: Joan M. Pulupa, engineering; Neena R. Satija, medicine; and Zachary P. Tracer, undecided.

*Northwest: Matthew D. Romney, mathematics.

*Quince Orchard: Reagan T. Lynch, chemical engineering.

*Walt Whitman: Brian D. Dellon, computer programming; Sarah E. Grant, engineering; and Karen C. Orrick, pediatric medicine.

*Thomas S. Wootton: Andrew L. Chang, medicine; Thomas J. Bolek, medicine; and Mindy B. Lin, law.

The winners are finalists in each state judged to have the strongest combination of accomplishments, skills and potential for success in rigorous college studies.

County students earnHispanic Heritage Awards

Seven Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) seniors were honored for their leadership in the classroom and community at the Hispanic Heritage Foundation’s Regional Hispanic Heritage Youth Awards Ceremony on April 25.

The event was hosted by Howard University.

Each of the 24 regional winners in the Washington, D.C,. area will receive educational grants of $3,000 for Gold Medallion winners, $2,000 for Silver Medallion and $1,000 for Bronze Medallion.

Winning awards for academic excellence were:

*Patricia G. Moscoso, Richard Montgomery High School, Gold.

*Andrea E. Medina, Col. Zadok Magruder High School, Silver.

*Yihana von Ritter, Gaithersburg High School, Bronze.

*Guillermo A. Olaizola, Walt Whitman High School, Bronze.

Students receiving journalism awards for print, broadcast or Web-based media were:

*Arly-Lian Costa, Col. Zadok Magruder High School, Gold.

*Meaghan I. Mallari, Montgomery Blair High School, Silver.

*Rossana G. Espinoza, John F. Kennedy High School, Bronze.

County schoolshonored for HSAs

The Maryland State Department of Education has announced that 12 local high schools received awards in the 2006 Maryland School Performance Recognition Program.

The awards are based on overall high performance on the 2006 High School Assessments (HSA) and⁄or for improvement among subgroups from the 2005 to the 2006 HSA.

Two schools, Damascus and Winston Churchill high schools, were recognized for both subgroup improvement and overall performance.

Subgroup improvement recognition went to Albert Einstein, John F. Kennedy, Northwood and Wheaton high schools.

Overall performance honorees were Bethesda-Chevy Chase, Poolesville, Richard Montgomery, Thomas S. Wootton, Walt Whitman and Walter Johnson high schools.

The 12 award winners represent half of Montgomery County’s high schools. Statewide, 80 high schools in 15 of 24 jurisdictions received awards in the School Performance Recognition Program.

Items appropriate for this column may be sent to Judith Hruz, Editor, The Olney Gazette, 1200 Quince Orchard Blvd., Gaithersburg, MD 20878; faxed to 301-670-7183; or e-mailed to jhruz@gazette.net. Include a telephone number for clarification purposes. Deadline is 5 p.m. Thursday. All items are subject to space availability and editing.