Poolesville High applauded for ‘green’ practices

Laura Gilfrich and Katie Stamm, students in Poolesville’s Global Ecology magnet program, helped obtain the certification by documenting the ways the school teaches about the environment in different subject areas as part of their senior project.

Other county schools receiving the designation were Chevy Chase Elementary, Christ Episcopal in Rockville, Clarksburg Elementary, East Silver Spring Elementary, Oakland Terrace Elementary in Silver Spring, Piney Branch Elementary in Takoma Park and Takoma Park Middle. John Poole Middle School in Poolesville also received its first recertification.

School Notes on break

This is the last School Notes of the school year. School Notes will resume in the fall for the start of the 2008-2009 school year. Congratulations to the class of 2008!

Story ideas and photographs are welcomed for other pages of The Gazette. Send items to Melissa A. Chadwick at mchadwick@gazette.net, fax to 301-670-2071 or mail 9030 Comprint Court, Gaithersburg, MD 20877.

Recycling contest winners

Thirty-two student artists from schools throughout Montgomery County have been announced as winners in the annual Montgomery County School Recycling Poster Contest sponsored by the county’s Division of Solid Waste Services in partnership with Montgomery County Public Schools and Waste Management Inc.

The theme was ‘‘Don’t Throw It Away, Recycle Every Day.”

The following upcounty students won awards: Kindergarten-First Grade, first place: Susana Ochoa, Rosemont Elementary in Gaithersburg; Fourth-Fifth Grade, honorable mention: Aditya V. Kaliappan, Clearspring Elementary, Damascus.

Sixth-Eighth Grade, third place: Carly Stoliker, John Poole Middle, Poolesville; and High School Foreign Language, first place: Xiomara Portillo, Seneca Valley High, Germantown.

Rachel Carson scholar

Poolesville High School senior Michael Chamberlain was recently honored with a third place Rachel Carson Scholar Award for his environmental stewardship work.

The group he founded, the Poolesville High School Potomac Floaters Club, organized a public float and a Potomac River clean-up near Mirant Mid-Atlantic’s Dickerson Generating Plant. Chamberlain, a student in Poolesville’s Global Ecology magnet program, also produced a video on the environmental problems caused by bottled water for his senior project.

Sikandar Porter-Gill of Gaithersburg High School won an honorable mention.

The Rachel Carson Scholar Award was founded in 2007 by the Newton Marasco Foundation, an environmental nonprofit based in McLean, Va.

Congratulations

High school seniors from around the region are scheduled to be honored today for their leadership in the classroom and community at the 11th Annual Hispanic Heritage Youth Awards ceremony on Capitol Hill.

Honorees from Montgomery County are: Isabel Maria Marin of Kensington, a student at the National Cathedral School, bronze medallion for academic excellence; Kelley Marie Brady of Olney, a student at Academy of Holy Cross, silver medallion for business; Medalis Rayza Trelles of Rockville, a student at Richard Montgomery High School, silver medallion for education; Amanda Trejo of Takoma Park, a student at St. John’s College High School, bronze medallion for education; and Briana Rivas-Morello of Montgomery Village, a student at Our Lady of Good Counsel High School, bronze medallion for journalism.

Apply for art program

The Yellow Barn Studio invites high school students to apply for its free 10-week program of intensive art learning that begins Sept. 13.

The application deadline is Saturday. Visit www.YellowBarnStudio.com. The course runs Saturday mornings from Sept. 13 through Nov. 15.

Yellow Barn Instructor Glen Kessler will work with students on individual projects designed to improve the students’ artistic ability. Significant out-of-class work is expected on projects.

For more information contact the Yellow Barn Gallery at 301-371-5593 or brandt4749@aol.com or Glen Kessler at GlenKessler@hotmail.com.

Six schools in top 100

Montgomery County had six high schools listed in the top 100 high schools in America by Newsweek magazine.

This is the first time six schools from the county have been in the top 100. The six top schools and their rankings are:

*Richard Montgomery: 32

*Thomas S. Wootton: 59

*Bethesda-Chevy Chase: 63

*Walt Whitman: 68

*Walter Johnson: 75

*Winston Churchill: 96

Make a difference

Young people who will be entering 7th through 12th grade who would like to help make a difference in the lives of youth throughout the county are invited to apply to serve on the County Executive’s Youth Advisory Committee.

The deadline for applications is June 20.

The committee plans alcohol, drug- and violence-free middle and high school events such as the Battle of the Bands, movie nights and pool parties.

The committee also works to strengthen students’ voices in the schools through speakouts. For more information, call 240-777-6985.

Red Cross needs volunteers

The American Red Cross Greater Chesapeake & Potomac Blood Services Region is seeking volunteers who are at least 14 years old to assist blood collections staff at blood drives. Service learning hours are available.

Training is offered 10 a.m. to noon on June 24 and 2-4 p.m. on June 26 at the American Red Cross, Montgomery County Chapter, 2020 East West Highway, Silver Spring. Call 1-800-272-0094, ext. 1, or e-mail karlofft@usa.redcross.org for more information.

Host a student

World Heritage Student Exchange Program is seeking host families for students from Europe, Asia and Mexico.

Host families, which can include couples, single parents and families with and without children, provide room, board and guidance.

Students will arrive shortly before the start of the fall 2008 school year. For more information, call 1-800-888-9040 or visit www.world-heritage.org.

This is the last School Noters column of the school year. Send story ideas to Melissa A. Chadwick at mchadwick@gazette.net, by fax to 301-670-7183 or by mail to 9030 Comprint Court, Gaithersburg, MD 20877. Have a great summer!