Thurmont Elementary to mark pair of anniversaries

Thursday, March 16, 2006

Click here to enlarge this photo Tom Fedor⁄The Gazette Rehearsing ‘‘Alice’s Adventures” Monday afternoon at Friends Meeting School in Ijamsville are Sarah Stoddard, as Alice, and Olivia Curry, as the Mad Hatter.

The school celebration will take place during the school day, according to PTA member Karen Myers. Students who have been chosen to represent the school during the county’s history bee will read the history of the school during the program. The school will also honor all staff members for their length of service to the school.

‘‘We’re going to put together a time capsule that will remain at the school,” Myers said. ‘‘The chorus will sing a couple of selections including the school song, and then we’re going to sing ‘Happy Birthday’ and have cupcakes in the classrooms.”

During the evening, starting at 7 p.m., the school will hold an open house and a special program to honor the PTA. Anyone is welcome to attend.

Students will again read the school’s history, and the PTA will make a presentation celebrating its 50th anniversary, Myers said. Principal Kate Krietz will also talk about a renovation this summer involving a relocation of the principal’s office to an area closer to the front of the building.

Memorabilia and photographs of the school’s history will be set up for visitors to look through. The anniversary planning committee is still looking for class photos from years past to display.

The celebration of the anniversaries won’t end Monday, Myers said.

‘‘Later on the spring when it warms up, we’re planning on planting a tree and placing plaque recognizing both the school and the PTA,” Myers said.

For more information or to share a class photograph for display, call Myers at 301-271-3854.

Student earns merit award

Walkersville High School senior Anna Nicodemus was one of eight students at Frederick County Public Schools who made the list of National Merit Scholarship Program finalists this year.

The scholarship program is an academic contest in which students compete for recognition and scholarships. Students take the Preliminary SAT⁄National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test and must meet entry and participation requirements.

About 15,000 semifinalists are notified in February of advanced standing to finalist. High school principals receive certificates to present to each finalist. About 8,200 merit scholarship award finalists are chosen from the finalist group. They receive $2,500 National Merit scholarships as well as corporate- and college-sponsored and special scholarships.

For more information on the National Merit Scholarship Program, visit www.nationalmerit.org.

Students dive into pi

To some people, pi is just a number — or a tasty treat. Yet to the students and teachers at St. John’s Regional Catholic School, the number pi is a reason to celebrate, as they did on Tuesday — 3⁄14, the first three digits of pi.

The day was an explosion of pi lessons, pi presentations and pie to eat. Students brought in more than 120 pies. Math teacher and event coordinator Teri Tisckos said there was ‘‘more pie than you can imagine,” ranging from apple and peach to chocolate and pizza pie.

Students gave presentations in the gymnasium. Mara Francifcovich in grade six presented pi facts in the form of a ‘‘four and twenty black birds baked in a pie” theme. Fellow sixth-graders Marial Pearce and Kelly McLaughlin interviewed each other on the facts of pi.

One sixth-grader, Maggie Motherway, displayed her excellent memorization skills in a recitation of pi to 65 digits. This came nowhere near close to the record holder in this contest, however, who memorized pi to 120 digits and is now a senior in high school.

Other entertainment for the day included singing the ‘‘Happy Pi Day” song to the tune of ‘‘Happy Birthday.” In tradition, they sung the song at 1:59 p.m., in honor of the fourth, fifth and sixth digits of pi.

Students perform ‘Alice’

Students at the Friends Meeting School in Ijamsville will present ‘‘Alice’s Adventures” at 7 p.m., April 1, at the Weinberg Center for the Arts in Frederick.

Tickets are $5 and can be purchased by calling the Weinberg Center at 301-228-2828.

Drama teacher Brenda Yankaskas described the spring play as having elements of ‘‘Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass” and noted that the cast includes students of all ages.

The students will give two performances at the Friends Meeting School: at 9 a.m., March 23, and at 4 p.m., March 24. Parents are also welcome to join.

Windsor Knolls Middleplans science fair

Seventy-five eighth-grade students at Windsor Knolls Middle School will participate in the school’s annual Science Fair at 7 p.m., Tuesday.

The eighth-graders — students of science teacher Bernard Buckley — will present their scientific explorations to a panel of scientists and engineers acting as judges.

Buckley gave his students two months to prepare their projects and guided them through the scientific process, from hypothesis to final conclusions. Also, several representatives from major companies like Bechtel and BP Solar recently gave scientific presentations for students at Windsor Knolls, Buckley said.

Students also have another forum outside of Windsor Knolls in which to present their scientific findings. The 25th Frederick County Science and Engineering Fair will take place from 2 to 4 p.m., March 25, at Walkersville High School.

Do you have an item for School Notes? Contact reporter Ingrid Mezo at 301-846-2127 or imezo@gazette.net.