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University Park resident Jasim Mobaidin's soccer team, the Baltimore Casa Mia Bays, of the Baltimore Bays Soccer Club, won the 2008 U-15 National Championship in late July at the tournament final in Little Rock, Ark.

The Bays won the championship game of the tournament 2-1 over Solar FC of North Texas. The goal given up to Solar FC was the only goal given up by the Casa Mia Bays throughout the whole tournament.

The Bays opened up the round-robin with a 5-0 victory over the Boston Blast, and followed that win up with a 2-0 shutout of the Dallas Texans. They closed out the round-robin by beating the Chicago Fire 1-0 before moving onto the final.

Mobaidin has been playing soccer since he was 5 years old and got his start in the sport with the Lewisdale/University Park Boys and Girls Club. He was coached by University Park resident Roberto Vilarrubi.

Mobaidin is now a junior at DeMatha High School where he plays defense for the varsity soccer team.

Mobaidin's younger brother, Amos Mobaidin, has also had success on the soccer field. Amos Mobaidin is a sophomore at DeMatha, where he led last year's freshman team in scoring.

Calverton students

fly kite for peace

Students at Calverton Elementary School in Beltsville helped to celebrate the United Nations International Day of Peace on Sept. 22.

Children designed and constructed a giant "Peace Dove" that they flew, similar to a kite, outside the school that morning. The dove had a wing span of 10 feet.

The students that participated were all members of Calverton's Save the World environmental club. In total, eight students participated in the event.

Three fifth-graders, Save the World club founding member Leah Moreno, Shagun Sharma and Ife Otukoya, took part in the celebration. The other five participants, Brett Douglas, George Martin, Debosola Otukoya, Onyinye Obiefuna and Irlanda Luz-Aguilar are fourth graders at Calverton.

The Save the World club is headed by third-grade teacher Katherine Swanson.

UM professor honored

for contributions

University of Maryland, College Park, professor of communications James Grunig has won the 2008 Arthur W. Page Society's Distinguished Service Award for his contributions to the public relations business for more than three decades.

The Distinguished Service Award is given out annually to someone who has helped to strengthen the role of public relations.

Grunig has published more than 200 articles, books, reports and papers. He also served as editor of the award-winning book, "Excellence in Public Relations and Communication Management".

Over his 30-year career, Grunig has worked with The Arthur W. Page Society, The Public Relations Society of America, The Institute for Public Relations, The International Communications Association and The National Communication Association. International Association of Business Communicators, The International Public Relations Association and The Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication.

Grunig received his award from the Page Society at its 25th annual conference in Chatham, Mass., over the weekend of Sept. 21 and 22.

Free festival at city church celebrates fall

The Berwyn Baptist Church in College Park is holding a College Park Fall Festival from 1 to 5 p.m. on Oct. 18.

The event is free to the public and will be held at the church, 4720 Cherokee St.

There will be free food and games for kids as well as adults.

The games will include volleyball, football, basketball, a three-legged sack race, bobbing for apples, face painting, arts and crafts, bingo, horseshoes and a moon bounce.

Live music will be provided by the Stringbusters band playing country, bluegrass and gospel music.

A fire truck and an ambulance from the Branchville Fire Department in College Park will be on display after 2 pm.

For more information, call the Berwyn Baptist Church at 301-474-7117

MLK Jr. Middle announces newest Renaissance Roll winners

Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School has announced its Renaissance Roll winners for the week of Sept. 12.

Students that demonstrate good behavior are given "Renaissance Living the Dream" cards by their teachers. Each week, those students put their cards in a pot for a weekly drawing. Students can win prizes such as pencils, pens, locker mirrors and calculators.

The winners from Team M are Alvaro Aguilar, Dashay Coleman, Brandon Obeng and Elvis Perla. The Team L winners are Angelica James, Vertrice Seivwright, Jassimranpal Singh and Gwendolyn Yates. The winners from Team K are Maame Arthur, Sydney Davis, Jocelyn Lopez and Shiane Tucker.

Mother Jones Elementary looking for uniforms

Mary Harris "Mother" Jones Elementary School in Adelphi is looking for uniform donations.

For boys, the uniform consists of collared white polo shirts and navy blue pants. For girls the school is looking for collared white blouses and navy blue pants, skirts or jumpers.

The school has students from pre-K to sixth grade and is accepting clothing donations of all sizes.

Rainbow Community Development Center is also collecting monetary donations to purchase uniforms for the students. To send the center a check, make it payable to the development center. The center is located at 12144 Tech Road, Silver Spring, MD  20904

For more information, call Jean McFarlin at Mary Harris "Mother" Jones.  She can be reached at the 301-408-7900, ext. 229.