More News

Six teams from Montgomery County Public Schools took part in a pilot program that added bocce to after-school sports. It is one of three sports, along with track and field and softball, offered as corollary sports in the county, sports in which part of the team is made up of special needs students.

"It seems like a noble pursuit. A lot of us coaches and players are hoping it continues," John Haigh, coach of the Montgomery Blair High School, Silver Spring, bocce team, said.

When the season ended Feb. 12, Blair came out on top, emerging as champions after defeating Sherwood High School in Sandy Spring. Other schools taking part in the first bocce season were: Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School; Col. Zadok Magruder High School in Derwood; Northwood High School in Silver Spring and Albert Einstein High School in Kensington.

In bocce, a ball, called the pollino, is rolled down a court and then two teams roll four balls each to get as close as possible to the pollino, scoring points for balls that land closest, Haigh said.

"There is a 30-minute clock per match and whoever gets 16 points or leads at the end of 30 minutes wins," Haigh said.

Haigh hopes bocce will become a countywide sport next year.

"The kids enjoyed it, it was a good experience," he said.

Nominate a special person in special education

The Montgomery County Council of Parent-Teacher Associations Special Education Sub-Committee is seeking nominations for its 23rd annual recognition ceremony. The public is invited to nominate either a person or a program that has made an outstanding contribution to the success of students with special needs. Awards will be given at a ceremony May 9.

For details and a nomination form visit  www.mccpta.

com/specneeds.html. Deadline for submissions is March 4.

Enter Youth Art Contest

Grab a paintbrush, crayon or camera and create original artwork to enter in the Montgomery County Federation of Women's Clubs' Youth Art Contest.

The contest will be held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. March 12 at Clubhouse 1, 3701 Rossmoor Blvd., in Leisure World, Silver Spring. The contest is open to all Montgomery County public and private school students in grades six through 12.

Works in both art and photography are eligible and will be judged in two classes: grades six through eight and grades nine through 12.

Registration and submission of work will be from 9 a.m. to noon, with judging to fallow the same day. Awards will be presented at 2 p.m. and the exhibit will be open to the public from 2 to 4 p.m.

Nine cash prizes ranging in value from $100 to $25 will be awarded.

All entries should be original. Work may be in various media: oil, lead pencil, pen and ink, charcoal, pastels, watercolors, acrylic, mixed media, photography and computer art.

The art work of the winners will go to state competition in Baltimore in April.

For more information, e-mail rockinruth@verizon.net or call Ruth Melson at 301-221-4469.

Scholarship offered for auto repair student

High school seniors who attend public school in Montgomery County and are planning a career in the automotive repair industry are invited to apply for a $1,000 scholarship sponsored by Performance Automatic, Gaithersburg.

The 2011 scholarship is earmarked for a high school senior maintaining a 3.0 unweighted grade-point average or higher, who is currently enrolled in or applying to an undergraduate, graduate, professional or trade school in Maryland and is a resident of Montgomery County, according to Brookeville resident Tom Cyr, owner of Performance Automatic. For an application call 301-963-8078.

Apply for construction scholarship

Rising Montgomery County Public Schools seniors are eligible to apply for the Montgomery County Students Construction Trades Foundation scholarship, which provides free tuition and books for one construction management class per semester. Fifteen qualified rising seniors will be selected. Visit www.ctfcareers.org or contact 301-929-2197 for details.

Wheaton Catholic school to hold open house

St. Jude Regional Catholic School will hold an open house from 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at the school, 4820 Walbridge St., Wheaton. For details, call the school office at 301-946-7888 or visit www.stjuderockville.org.

Check out ‘Chicago'

The Richard Montgomery High School Black Maskers Drama Club will present "Chicago, the Musical," at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday and at 7 p.m. the following weekend, March 4 and 5, in the Richard Montgomery Auditorium, 250 Richard Montgomery Drive, Rockville. Reserved tickets are $13 for adults and $5 for students; they may be purchased in advance at https://richardmontgomerydrama.ticketleap.net. Tickets will also be available at the door for $14 for adults and $6 for students. Due to mature themes, the performance is not acceptable for children under 13. For further information, call Denise Saladyga, 301-610-8041.

Education Notebook accepts news items and photographs about events, people and good news at your school. Please send us story ideas at least a week in advance of the event. Contact Peggy McEwan at pmcewan

@gazette.net, fax at 301-670-7183 or 9030 Comprint Court, Gaithersburg, MD, 20877.