Five county students earn leadership awards

The cash awards are sponsored by the law firm of Shulman, Rogers, Gandal, Pordy and Ecker of Rockville.

The students and their parents will attend a dinner and receive the award at Leadership Montgomery’s annual Celebration of Leadership on June 21 at the Montgomery County Conference Center.

The recipients of the awards are Nikki Duong, Sherwood High School; Komal Dilawari, James Hubert Blake High School; Margaret Ellen Johnson, Col. Zadok Magruder High School; Benjamin Moskowitz, Walter Johnson High School; and Benjamin Simon, Montgomery Blair High School.

Student scientists honored for air, energy projects

Two middle school students were recently honored by the Energy Air Quality Advisory Committee of Montgomery County and the Rockville Rotary Club for their contributions to the scientific understanding of air quality and energy issues.

The winning students are Melodi Anahtar from Takoma Park Middle School, who was recognized for a project entitled, ‘‘The Effect of Use of Movable Insulation on Optimum Window to Wall Area Ratio,” and Vishnupriya Kareddy, a student at Parkland Middle School in Aspen Hill, who explored the question ‘‘Which Type of Solar Cells Are Best Fit for Use in Solar Panels?”

The students were among more than 500 participants in the 52nd annual ‘‘Science Montgomery,” a countywide science fair for middle and high school students that is affiliated with the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair.

Staffed by the Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection, the Energy Air Quality Advisory Committee of Montgomery County advises the county executive and County Council on energy and air quality matters and develops recommendations to promote energy consciousness.

For the past six years, the Energy Air Quality Advisory Committee has teamed with the Rockville Rotary Club to present the award. Volunteers from the Energy Air Quality Advisory Committee and the Rockville Rotary Club examined the projects, interviewed science fair participants and selected the winners.

Each winner received a $100 prize donated by Rotary Club members and certificates from the Energy Air Quality Advisory Committee and the Rotary Club.

Richard Montgomery’sPTSA honored

The PTSA of Richard Montgomery High School was recently recognized for ‘‘Outstanding Volunteer Service” by the Montgomery County Public Schools Division of Family and Community Partnerships.

The Richard Montgomery PTSA was one of three high school PTSAs in the county to be honored.

Richard Montgomery’smagazine earns awards

Richard Montgomery High School’s literary magazine, Fine Lines, recently won two awards for last year’s publication.

Fine Lines won the Columbia Scholastic Press Association’s Silver Crown and The National Scholastic Press Association’s Pacemaker Award, making it one of five school magazines nationwide to win the honor.

Student editors last year were Aku Ammah-Tagoe, Brian Zhang and Fiona Mathews; faculty sponsors were David Dumas and Paul Klein.

Four RM students place fifth in programming contest

A team of students from Richard Montgomery High School placed fifth in the annual University of Maryland High School Programming Contest on March 8.

Thirty-nine high schools from the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area competed.

Daniil Kitchaev, Abiola Laniyonu, Martin Petrov and Ailun Wang shared a cash prize.

RM alum’s photosappear in Post, Times

Photographs of Zachary Tracer, a 2007 graduate of Richard Montgomery High School, have appeared in The Washington Post and The New York Times.

The photos were used in a story on a Duke student from China whose support for Tibetan independence triggered threats of retaliation against her and her family.

Tracer, a former editor at Richard Montgomery’s student newspaper, The Tide, works on Duke University’s paper, The Chronicle.

Alumni basketballtournament at RM

The Richard Montgomery Booster Club will present the 2008 RM Alumni Basketball Games at 6 p.m. Friday.

Former Richard Montgomery High School players from the 1990s and 2000s teams will compete in a three-game tournament in the school’s gym, located at 250 Richard Montgomery Drive in Rockville.

The event will feature music, an open-entry shooting contest, raffles, prizes and more. General admission is $5.

For more information, visit www.rmboosters.org or e-mail Coach David Breslaw at dabreslaw@yahoo.com.

Colonelval is comingto Magruder

Col. Zadok Magruder High School will hold Colonelval, its annual end-of-the-year carnival, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.

The festival will feature food, moonbounces, games and more on the school’s practice field.

The Magruder PTSA will also hold a silent auction during the carnival from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Magruder is located at 5939 Muncaster Mill Road in Derwood.

Items appropriate for this column may be sent to Melissa J. Brachfeld, The Rockville⁄Aspen Hill Gazette, 9030 Comprint Court, Gaithersburg, MD 20877; faxed to 301-670-7183; or e-mailed to mbrachfeld@gazette.net. Deadline is 5 p.m. Wednesday. All items are subject to space availability and editing.