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A Richard Montgomery High School senior had an impressive showing recently in a national poetry recitation contest that draws on a pool of more than 320,000 student competitors.

Bethesda resident Nora Sandler, the Maryland state champion for the Poetry Out Loud national recitation contest, took third place in the national competition in April. For her win, Sandler received $5,000, along with an additional $1,000 for being included among the nine finalists.

The contest is sponsored by the Poetry Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts, and is run in conjunction with state arts organizations. This year, the National Finals in Washington were hosted by actor John Leguizamo.

The competition aims to promote poetry among younger generations as an oral art form, and foster self-confidence and improve public speaking skills amongst youth.

Sandler chose to read the poems "Mingus at the Showplace," by William Matthews; "The Canonization," by John Donne; and "Hate Poem," by Julie Sheehan.

"I've always like poetry, but I think [the competition] made me see it as something that can be a lot more immediate and accessible and that you can engage with in a direct way," Sandler said.

Students select poems to recite from an anthology of more than 600 works of both classic and contemporary poetry, said Sally Gifford, a spokeswoman for the National Endowment for the Arts.

"This is a way to reintroduce recitation as a way to discover how poetry is alive and the beauty of language," Gifford said. "And, of, course, having a competitive aspect it's very appealing to young people."

Sandler said reading poetry aloud gave her a different perspective on the art form.

"What I definitely noticed more was the sound of the words, and how those worked and how they added to the poem," Sandler said.

Visit www.poetryoutloud.org for details.

Kudos

Congratulations to Urja Mittal, a Holton-Arms senior who has been selected as one of 560 semifinalists in the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program.  From a pool of about 3.2 million graduating seniors from across the country, 3,000 candidates were chosen as finalists and the 560 semifinalists came out on top.

This month, a panel appointed by the president will announce those who have been awarded the title of Presidential Scholar. For more information, visit www.ed.gov/programs/psp.

Keeping kids and pets

living in harmony

Your Dog's Friend, a Potomac-based advocacy and education group for dog owners, is hosting a presentation on "Living With Kids and Dogs ... Without Losing Your Mind."

The workshop will take place at 2 p.m. Sunday, May 16, at the Potomac Community Center, 11315 Falls Road, Potomac. The workshop will be lead by noted dog trainer Colleen Pelar, who will discuss how to avoid dog bites, answer questions and show videos about the best ways to keep kids and dogs living together in harmony.

For more information, visit www.livingwithkidsanddogs.com. To register for the workshop, visit www.yourdogsfriend.info. No dogs or children at the workshop, please. The workshop is free.

Fine arts on display

this weekend

Get ready for the Bethesda Fine Arts Festival, slated for 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday in Bethesda's Woodmont Triangle, at the intersection of Norfolk and Auburn avenues. The festival will feature artwork and crafts — including clothing, ceramics, mixed-media, paintings, woodwork, photography, glass, sculpture and furniture — from 140 artists hailing from across the country, as well as live entertainment.

To learn more, visit www.bethesda.org.

Taking it to the streets

Volunteers from the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Rescue squad took to the pavement April 25 for a 10K race. The race, the Kaiser Permanente Pike's Peek 10K and Kid's Fun Run, is organized by the Montgomery County Road Runners Club. This year, proceeds from the event benefitted the Montgomery County Youth Recreation Fund, the Rockville Youth Recreation Fund and the Scleroderma Foundation of Greater Washington, D.C.

The rescue squad's team was made up of 23 members — 21 squad members and two family members — and they report the entire team finished the race. For more information about this year's race, visit www.pikespeek10k.com.

Olympians of Science

A team from North Bethesda Middle School recently took home first place in their division at the Maryland Science Olympiad, a K-12 science tournament that challenge competitors in fields including biology, earth science, chemistry, physics and technology.

But the state champs need a little help from the community to make it all the way to the finals. The team came in first in their division for middle schools at the state competition April 17 at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, beating out 21 other teams, and they hope to go to the national tournament May 20-22 at the University of Illinois. To do so, they need to raise $11,000. The team is accepting tax-deductible donations to help their cause.

For more information, contact the school at 301-571-3883.

Want to build a house for Mother's Day?

Habitat for Humanity is inviting women to come out on Mother's Day and help a family in need of adequate housing.

This week is National Women Build Week, and Lowe's and Habitat for Humanity of Montgomery County, MD are looking for female volunteers to work on HFH-MC's construction site. Construction or home improvement experience is not necessary

HFH-MC Women Build Week Events include build days today, Thursday and Friday. A networking event is scheduled for May 27 at BlackFinn restaurant in Bethesda. Women Build participants are encouraged to attend the networking event and share their Women Build Week experiences.

To volunteer or donate to this project, call 301-990-0014 ext.18 or e-mail molly.martin@habitat-mc.or.

Computer camps for girls

Montgomery College and the county Commission for Women are sponsoring computer camps for girls this summer.

The two-week camps for girls in grades six through eight begin June 21 and will take place at Montgomery College's Germantown, Rockville and Takoma Park/Silver Spring campuses. Topics include creating digital graphics, designing Web sites, computer programming and exploring technology careers. Other activities include sports and arts and crafts.

A limited number of scholarships based on financial need are available through the Commission for Women. The deadline to apply for a scholarship is May 17.

For more information, call 240-777-8330 or visit www.montgomerycountymd.gov/cfw.

Darnestown Day

Celebrate the first Darnestown Day on Saturday.

The event, hosted by the Seneca Academy and St. Nicholas Episcopal Church, kicks off with a community yard sale from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Donate items for the yard sale between 3:30 and 5:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday or after 7 p.m. Saturday at the Seneca Academy, 15601 Germantown Road, Darnestown.

"It's something we're hoping will become an annual event for the community as well as people from outside the community," said Pam Hauck, a teacher at the Seneca Academy.

There will be a fair from noon to 4 p.m. with a moon bounce, food, karate demos, face painting, balloons and other activities. There also will be vendors selling items such as jewelry and handbags.

The yard sale will be at the Seneca Academy. The fair will be at the school and at the adjacent church, 15575 Germantown Road, Darnestown.

For more information, contact Hauck at 301-869-3728  or phauck@senecaacademy.org or Terri Murphy at rainyshamrocks@aol.com.

Share your good news! Send items to Erin Donaghue via e-mail at edonaghue@gazette.net, fax at 301-670-7183 or snail mail to 9030 Comprint Court, Gaithersburg, MD 20877.