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Richard Adkins and Michael Robinson of Eleanor Roosevelt High School in Greenbelt and Helzy Diaz of Northwestern High School in Hyattsville were three of seven students that were awarded full tuition scholarships to Prince George's Community College totaling $6,000 for a two year period. The Apartment and Office Building Association of Metropolitan Washington is giving $42,000 worth of scholarships to PGCC in support of education. The winning students were honored at the 14th annual AOBA Scholarship Ceremony on Oct. 22 in the Marlboro Art Gallery at PGCC.

Students who qualified for the AOBA scholarship were residents of Prince Georges County accepted to PGCC with an overall GPA of 2.5. The students selected completed an application which included an essay, their grades were also evaluated and they had an interview process, said Lisa Hoover a Maryland lobbyist for AOBA.

AOBA, established in 1974, represents commercial and multi-family residential real estate in the metropolitan Washington, D.C., area through lobbying, environmental initiatives, and hosting special events and meetings to connect members and the community. AOBA has partnered with PGCC for 14 years awarding more than 100 scholarships to students who go on to participate in an academic and career preparation program focusing on community service and leadership.

"We believe very strongly in giving back to the community and supporting education," Hoover said.

‘Evening at the Gallery'

at Excel Academy

Excel Academy Public Charter School in Riverdale held an evening arts event Oct. 22.

All of the school's approximately 250 students spent five weeks creating visual artwork that was hung on the school's walls during the event. After parents and guests strolled through the hallways to view the art, they were treated to a performance featuring a tap dancer, violinist and others. Fifth-grader John Leslie sang during the assembly and sixth-grader Nicole Folkard performed a ballet routine.

Robyn Hall, of the school's fine arts committee, said she had wanted to produce the event as part of the school's emphasis on integrating arts into education since the school's opening in 2006.

"Art curriculum is lost a lot in the schools because so much importance is placed on the scores, so it tends to go by the wayside in a lot of our schools," she said.

The school's founder, Pastor Denise E. Johnson, said cultural arts is one of the school's central principles.

"The arts, music, art expression, not only provides balance in the educational experience but also allows children to have a sense of confidence and self-esteem, which translates into classroom performance," she said. "Our goal is to cultivate a love of the learning process and the development of the whole child."

Halloween celebration

in College Park

The College Park Youth and Family Services Center will hosts its "Annual Halloween Thing" from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday afternoon in College Park.

Admission is free and families are invited to attend the event, which will include a costume parade, arts and crafts activities and a "haunted hallway."

The Youth and Family Services Center is located at 4912 Nantucket Road in College Park. For more information, call 301-345-4425.

Free cab rides

on Halloween night

Would-be drunk drivers in Prince George's County have a safer alternative on Halloween night. The Washington Regional Alcohol Program will be offering free cab rides through the SoberRide program from 10 p.m. Saturday to 6 a.m. Sunday. During that time, residents who are 21 and older can call 1-800-200-TAXI and get a no-cost ride home that normally would cost up to $50.

City offering signage grants

for local businesses

The College Park Business Incentive Program is offering as much as $2,500 in matching grants for city businesses looking to improve their storefront signage.

To be eligible, businesses must be located in a local commercial district. The program will pay for 50 percent of total costs up to $2,500.

For more information or to apply, call city Economic Development Coordinator Chris Warren at 301-277-3445 or e-mail cwarren@collegepark

md.gov.

Bladensburg High alum completes Army ROTC training

Bryant Jones of Cheverly recently completed four weeks of a "Leader's Training Course" through the U.S. Army Reserve Officer Training Corps in Fort Knox, Ky.

Jones, a 2005 Bladensburg High School graduate, is the son of Cheverly residents Gary and Barbara Jones. He is a student at the University of the District of Columbia.

Local student completes

Creative Connection Program

Taj Wilkinson, 8, of Berwyn Heights completed the Creative Connection Program at the Living Classrooms Foundation in Baltimore through a joint program with the John Hopkins University Center for Talented Youth on Sept. 27. The students were able to study water quality and aquatic flora and fauna of the Bay and the Lower Patapsco River. Taj dissected a live oyster and viewed live plankton under a microscope. His favorite part of the day was a three-hour tour on a historic skipjack, which included viewing and reading charts, hoisting the mainsail, testing salinity and turbidity of the waters and a stint at the wheel of the vessel as it passed historic Fort McHenry. For more information, about the Living Classrooms Foundation visit www.livingclassrooms.org.

ACE launches grant

program for Greenbelt schools

The city's Advisory Committee on Education is launching a grant program for Greenbelt schools and parent-teacher organizations. The program will solicit proposals due by Nov. 2 for up to $500 each that will fund activities during the 2010 school year.

According to the release from ACE the grant program will support activities that enrich school-based activities such as field trips, bringing an activity into the school, or equipment and materials for a special project.

Schools eligible for the program are ACE's core schools: Greenbelt Elementary, Springhill Lake Elementary, Magnolia Elementary, Turning Point Academy, Saint Hugh's of Grenoble, Greenbelt Middle and Eleanor Roosevelt High School. The school itself or the schools parent-teacher organization may submit applications.

ACE serves as a liaison between the community and the city council to address education issues and promote a higher quality of schools for the area. To receive an application for the grant program, e-mail a request to wwexler@greenbeltmd.gov or dnwhiteman@yahoo.com.

King Middle students named

to county's Honors Chorus

Joanna Dubon, Rachel Dwivedi, Teresa Johnson, Nadine Roberts, Paulan Smith, Anisha Sukumaran and Brian White, all eighth-graders at Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School in Beltsville, have been named to the county school system's Middle School Honors Chorus.

Students are chosen annually to participate in the county's elementary, middle and high school honors choruses, senior youth orchestra and high school honors Band.

The students are scheduled to perform Nov. 29 at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. Tickets go on sale Sunday and will cost $10 to $23.