Eastern county schools schedule graduations

*Springbrook: 10 a.m. June 4, DAR Constitution Hall, 18th and C streets NW, Washington, D.C. Speaker is art teacher Jonathan Mann.

*James Hubert Blake: 2:30 p.m. June 4, DAR Constitution Hall. Speaker is Murray Horwitz, director of the American Film Institute’s Silver Theatre and Cultural Center.

*Albert Einstein: 10 a.m. June 5, DAR Constitution Hall. Speaker is Freeman A. Hrabowski III, president of the University of Maryland Baltimore County.

*Bethesda-Chevy Chase: 7 p.m. June 5, DAR Constitution Hall. Speaker is Maria Shriver, first lady of California.

*Wheaton: 10 a.m. June 6, DAR Constitution Hall. Speaker is Jeannie Jones, radio broadcaster and motivational speaker.

*Paint Branch: 2:30 p.m. June 6, DAR Constitution Hall. Speaker is mathematics teacher Robert Ferber.

*John F. Kennedy: 10 a.m. June 11, DAR Constitution Hall. Speaker is Carmen Medina, associate deputy director of the CIA.

Blair senior wins contest for second straight year

Brian Lawrence, a senior at Montgomery Blair High School, received the top score for the second year in a row at the 2007 USA Mathematical Olympiad MAA announces winners of the USA Mathematical Olympiad sponsored by the Mathematical Association of America.

He was one of 12 high school students from across the country to win the prestigious contest; more than 225,000 students took part in a series of challenging contests put together by the MAA’s Mathematics Competitions program, which culminated with the challenging USAMO exam.

Lawrence was awarded a $20,000 scholarship and took part in an awards ceremony at the U.S. Department of State.

The winners also took the rigorous team selection test to try to qualify for the U.S. team, which will compete in the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO), to be held in Hanoi, Vietnam, July 19-30.

That team will consist of the six students with the highest combined scores.

Springbrook High holds Model UN Conference

Springbrook High School’s Model United Nations Conference, organized Sharon Cohen, was held May 25 with more than 40 student ‘‘delegates” in attendance, who discussed this year’s topic of nuclear weapons and disarmament representing the point of view of their respective nations.

The conferences were repeated throughout the day for each period, according to a news release from the school. Resolutions to the nuclear weapons issue ranged from complete nuclear disarmament to strict regulations on nuclear energy production to a facetious resolution mandating distribution of weapons to nations throughout the world.

Blake High School senior wins art award

Hannah Wides, a senior at James Hubert Blake High School, was awarded the 2007 Ida F. Halmovicz Visual Arts Award by the Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County. The award includes a $3,000 cash prize and a solo exhibition at the School of Art and Design at Montgomery College.

The exhibition will be on display 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. June 11 to July 8 at the Gudelsky Gallery, 10500 Georgia Ave. in Silver Spring. A reception and presentation of the award to Wides will be held 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. June 12 at the same location. Admission to both the reception and exhibition is free.

Thornton Friends School parade encourages peace

Students in Thornton Friends School, the Quaker middle and high school in Silver Spring, held a Peace Parade with area neighbors and local schools during May, according to a news release from the school.

The parade, a multifaceted celebration of peace, designed, built, choreographed and presented by the sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders of the Thornton Friends Middle School, combines education and celebration, highlighting events and people throughout history whose actions have promoted equality, integrity and peace in America and the world.

Funded through a grant from the Friends Council on Education, the parade is both serious and fanciful — students have made human floats with cardboard, collages, papier-mâché, and other media. They also performed their own compositions and dramatic readings, including a rendition of ‘‘Where is the Love” by the Black Eyed Peas.

Big Phat Band puts onconcert at Blake High

Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band, an 18-piece jazz ensemble, will perform 8 p.m. June 1 at James Hubert Blake High School, 300 Norwood Road, Silver Spring. The Eubie Blake Jazz Ensemble will perform as well. Tickets are $40. To purchase tickets or for more information, visit montgomeryschoolsmd.org⁄schools⁄blakehs⁄ or contact Director of Bands Brian Damron at 301-879-1339 or Brian_A_Damron@mcpsmd.org.

Blake High Schoolarts students honored

The second annual Blake Art Awards were presented May 18 during James Hubert Blake High School’s Festival of the Arts. The winners were: Cedric Hope, visual arts; Jessica Baker and Sean McComas, theater arts; Blair D’Amico, dance arts; Amanda Perlman, choral arts; Joe Del Balzo, media arts; and Matt Gallo, instrumental music.

Send school news to The Gazette, 13501 Virginia Manor Road, Laurel, MD 20707. They may be sent by fax to 240-473-7501 or by e-mail to jbrocker@gazette.net.

Blake awards scholarships in memory of late student

The 2007 winners of the Alicia Betancourt Prize for Excellence in the Arts at James Hubert Blake High School are Hannah Wides with a $4,000 scholarship, Alison Ostrow with a $750 one-time prize, and Marianne Goris with a $500 one-time prize.

Blake High School’s 3rd Annual 5K Run⁄3K Walk ‘‘Race for a Dream” was held May 6 in memory of Betancourt, a 16-year-old Blake student, who died in a car crash in 2004. The scholarships provide recognition to female seniors pursuing collegiate studies in visual arts or dance. This year’s event had 300 participants and helped bring the total amount raised in three years to $92,000, according to a news release from the school.

There will be an Alicia Betancourt scholarship awarded for 16 years, one for each year she was alive, with the last being awarded in 2022.

Springbrook jazz band to record DVD

The Springbrook Jazz Band has been granted an opportunity to record a DVD at Independent Media Studio in Arlington, Va., according to a news release from the school. The entire project is being donated at no cost by the studio. The project was made possible by Karim Ali, a parent of a band member who works at the facility. The DVD will be used as an educational tool to promote the music program. The taping will take place June 1.

The event also highlighted student accomplishments in visual arts, media arts, choral music, instrumental music, theatre, and dance as well as showcases for the social studies and foreign language departments.

Foundation offers free college tuition

Montgomery County Students Construction Trades Foundation Inc. will pay the tuition for the first 20 seniors accepted into the new dual enrollment program with Montgomery County Public Schools and Montgomery College, which can lead to an associate in applied science degree.

The Montgomery County Students Construction Trades Foundation is a nonprofit organization providing a partnership between the Montgomery County Public Schools and the Montgomery County business community, promoting construction-related student education, career training and preparation for college.

CTF has now partnered with Montgomery College to extend a scholarship opportunity to students interested in pursuing college level construction management courses while still in high school.

Candidates must be:

*rising seniors in the Montgomery County Public Schools system;

*interested in management of construction;

*at least age 16 and have at least a 2.75 grade-point average;

*able to get to⁄from Montgomery College Rockville campus or use the free Ride On bus

*and available 12:30 p.m. to 2:20 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays, beginning Sept. 5 for 15 weeks through Dec. 19; and for 15 weeks beginning Jan. 23 through May 14, 2008

Students may:

*attend home high school, and one college class (per semester);

*apply for dual enrollment in a new Management of Construction Program;

*earn MCPS high school credit for the Construction Methods and Materials class and also earn three Montgomery College credits (semester one)

*earn MCPS high school credit for the Construction Plan Reading class and also earn three Montgomery College credits (semester two)

Interested students may obtain an application by contacting Judyn Rengers at the Foundations Office at 301-929-2197, Judyn_a_rengers@mcpsmd.org, or by visiting www.itfcareers.org.

Applications must be returned to MCSITF, Attention: Judyn Rengers, 12501 Dalewood Drive, Room 1116, Silver Spring, MD 20906 or faxed to 301-929-2192. Deadline is June 15.

Highland ES seeks volunteers for Beautification Day

Highland Elementary School’s PTA is seeking volunteers to help with Beautification Day 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Friday at the school, 3100 Medway St. Call 240-426-7061 to volunteer.

‘Dads & Donuts’ at Kemp Mill ES

Kemp Mill Elementary School will host ‘‘Dads & Donuts” 8:10 a.m. to 8:45 a.m. Thursday at the school, 411 Sisson St., Wheaton.

The event was organized to bring fathers, father figures, sons and daughters together to learn about modeling effective parenting strategies.

‘‘The purpose is to emphasize and encourage the importance of taking a strong role in the academics of children and provide strategies on how to do that,” said Principal Emmanuel J. Jean Philippe.

Jean Philippe said there were some parents who had already volunteered to lead the discussion giving other fathers or father figures ways to stay involved with their child’s academic life.

Fore more information, call 301-649-8046.

Kennedy HS to hold basketball camps

The John F. Kennedy High School sports program will hold its Jr. Cavs Summer Basketball Camps for boys and girls ages 8-12 (grades 3-7) June 18-22, June 25-29 and July 9–13 at the school, 1901 Randolph Road, Silver Spring. The fees are $150 per session and after-camp care is $25 per session. Deadline to register is Saturday. Call Ken Cudd at 301-962-5936.

Arts organization honors area youth

YoungARTS, a program of the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts, has chosen 141 high school seniors as this year’s national finalists for the prestigious arts awards initiative, which gives out more than $500,000 annually for emerging talent. The students were evaluated in a dramatic series of final auditions and showcase performances during youngARTS Week in Miami, Jan. 8 through 14.

Students not named finalists were recognized with either a $250 Honorable Mention Award, given to those in the top 5 percent of the youngARTS registrant pool, or with a $100 Merit Award, given to those in the top 10 percent of the registrant pool.

Area finalists and merit winners include Lillian DiPiazza of Silver Spring, finalist in dance, ballet, Washington Christian Academy; Ka Lai Lou of Silver Spring, merit winner in visual arts, Albert Einstein High School; Tony Martinez of Silver Spring, merit winner in visual arts, Albert Einstein High School.

Send school news to The Gazette, 13501 Virginia Manor Road, Laurel, MD 20707. They may be sent by fax to 240-473-7501 or by e-mail to jbrocker@gazette.net.