Lauren Miller earns Magruder Award

‘‘Lauren was not only one of few young women in the first graduating class for our Engineering Academy, she was also an outstanding leader who served as co-founder of our Robotics Club, co-president of Students Against Drunk Driving and captain of our varsity softball team for two years,” Principal Lee Evans said.

She is an AP Scholar with a grade point average of 3.97 unweighted or 4.73 when adjusted for honors and Advanced Placement classes. She is a member of National Honor Society and Key Club. She played on the school’s varsity volleyball team for two years and on the varsity softball team for three years, and earned the athlete-scholar award.

Miller, the daughter of Dave and Nancy Miller, will attend Clemson University, in the Calhoun Scholars program, and will major in bioengineering.

Finalists for the Magruder Award included Ashley Bayton, Rebecca Hammer, Javier Pena and Cooper Tilton.

Miller and the finalists were nominated by faculty and staff and interviewed by the Magruder Award Selection Committee, comprised of Magruder teachers, staff, administrators and PTSA representatives. Final selection was based on written material provided by the finalists, teacher recommendations and the interview.

New organization created for Taiwanese Americans

Senior Taiwanese Americans in the metropolitan area now enjoy a greater support system with the newly created Taiwanese American Seniors Society (TASS).

Launched on April 28 and based in Derwood, the organization aims to improve the quality of life for its members by providing opportunities to network and strengthen social supports, and by encouraging more active, healthier and happier lifestyles.

More than 70 Taiwanese Americans aged 55 and older showed their support for the organization at its inaugural meeting. The organization plans to regularly offer social, cultural, educational, physical and other beneficial activities for its members.

‘‘TASS will be the place where members can celebrate their culture, freely speak their native dialect and share stories of their home country, and foster a greater sense of community,” said Jia-Huey Yu, the first chair of the organization. ‘‘With TASS, members can come together to resolve problems unique to senior lives, look out for each other and plan ahead.”

All activities of TASS will initially be financed by its members or through contributions by other private donors, including the members’ children. The activities, which will be held one day per week this month, will initially focus on networking and gradually expand to five days per week.

Eventually, the organization hopes to provide meals, transportation and day care for seniors in need.

The society is affiliated and located at the Taiwan Culture Center, a non-profit organization established by the Taiwanese American Association and located at 7509 Needwood Road.

‘‘We hope the inauguration of the first TASS in the greater Washington, D.C., area triggers the establishment of more TASS-like organizations across the country in areas where there are concentrations of Taiwanese Americans,” Yu said.

For more information on TASS, send an e-mail to Yu at jhyu5161941@yahoo.com or to Lin-Whei Chuang at chuanglw@gamail.com.

Youngsters helpingyoungsters

Thirteen Rockville youngsters turned out for the 20th annual Make-A-Wish Kids Triathlon at Martin Luther King Jr. Park in Silver Spring, where more than 150 kids ages 5-14 came out on a recent Sunday morning to participate in the swim, bike and run competition.

The triathlon raised more than $50,000 for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

The Make-A-Wish Kids Triathlon is a ‘‘kids-helping-kids” event where children participate in a fun athletic event and raise pledges to help make wishes come true for area children with life-threatening medical conditions.

Local youngsters who participated included Adam Cohen, Gerritt Molloy, Hannah Hazlett, Paige Keller, Lucy Schoemer, Cole Ahnell, Sean Geier, Zach Hazlett, Amanda Bengtson, Bryn Molloy, Nisha Joshi, Ellie Kobylski and Sabrina Kirsch.

Sponsors included Chevy Chase Supermarket; Debbie, Jeff, Amanda and Max Greenblatt; the Michael Dunitz Crisis Foundation; and Ralph A. Nappi Jr.

RFL offers campscholarships

The Rockville Football league, which has been providing youth football opportunities to children in Rockville and surrounding areas for more than 40 years, has established a scholarship program to help families send children to football or cheerleading summer camps.

To be eligible, a child must participate in the Montgomery County Public Schools free lunch program and either have played in the RFL in 2006 or be registered to play in 2007.

Registration for the fall season is available on the RFL Web site at www.rfl.cc. The RFL Scholarships are available for attendance at approved youth camps such as those conducted at Rockville, Wootton, Bullis, Good Counsel, Dematha, St. John’s (D.C.) and Georgetown Prep high schools. Other camps may be approved by request.

To apply for a scholarship, send an e-mail to president@rfl.cc or call 301-365-2200 with name, address, birthdate, telephone number, school attended and last RFL team on which the child played or cheered.

Scholarships are funded by donations collected during registration and proceeds from sponsors.

The only deadline is the start of the camp and the capacity. The dates of the approved camps are on the RFL Web site.

Aronson offers some TLCto local students

At The Treatment and Learning Centers’ Katherine Thomas School in Rockville, students with autism, ADD, ADHD and auditory processing deficiencies have tremendous difficulty staying focused in the classroom, making academic achievement extremely challenging.

Four years ago, KTS elementary classroom teachers began using sound-field FM amplification systems to address the challenges.

Aronson Foundation, the charitable arm of Rockville-based Aronson & Company, awarded TLC a $6,000 grant to expand the successful program into all KTS middle school classrooms.

On hand to present the gift on April 26 were Aaronson executives Lisa Cines, managing officer of the Aronson Foundation; Jeffrey Capon, senior officer; and Stephen White, director of sales and marketing.

Accepting the grant were Judith Owens, director of KTS lower and middle schools; Esther Goetz, senior speech pathologist; Paul Deerin, president of TLC’s Board of Trustees; and Debbie Ezrin, TLC’s director of development.

Richard Pavlin, TLC’s executive director, was also on hand to help celebrate the partnership of two Rockville-based organizations.

TLC is a private, non-profit agency that provides educational, therapeutic and vocational services to children and adults with disabilities.

Items appropriate for this column should be sent to Judith Hruz, Editor, The Rockville Gazette, 1200 Quince Orchard Blvd., Gaithersburg, Md. 20878; faxed to 301-670-7182 or 301-670-7183; or e-mailed to jhruz@gazette.net. Deadline is Thursday at 5 p.m. Items are subject to editing and used on a space-available basis.