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A teen driver safety video outlining the "Smart Six Program" will be shown at four county high schools during National Teen Driver Safety Week this week.

The program recounts the 2008 crash that ended the life of 15-year-old Ryan Didone of Damascus and describes the six major causes of teen traffic fatalities. The goal of the presentation is to give parents and young drivers the tools they need to reduce the risks of teen traffic fatalities.

In addition to the debut presentation that was held at Damascus High School on Monday, the program was presented Tuesday at Winston Churchill High School, Potomac, and will be shown at 2 p.m. Thursday at Holton-Arms School, Bethesda, and 7:30 p.m. Thursday at Walt Whitman High School, Bethesda.

The programs are presented by I Drive Smart driver training company. Visit www.idrivesmart.com.

Sounding off at

Baker Middle School

A fall concert featuring the school's Advanced Orchestra and Concert Band under the direction of Mike Kamuf and Concert Chorus under the direction of Kari Liuzzi will be performed at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Damascus High School Auditorium, 25921 Ridge Road. Donations accepted at the door. Call 301-253-7010.

Music to their ears

Fifth-grade students from Montgomery County Public Schools attended a concert at the Music Center at Strathmore in North Bethesda last week.

The National Philharmonic, led by Music Director and Conductor Piotr Gajewski, performed music by Russian composers Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and Modest Mussorgsky in a program called The Strathmore Student Concerts presented by Strathmore in partnership with Montgomery County Public Schools.

"Live performance inspires children to learn an instrument, to sing or to dance, to explore their creativity, and to attend more arts events with their families now and later, as adults. They help develop the artists and audiences of the future," said Monica Jeffries Hazangeles, acting president and chief executive officer of Strathmore.

To accommodate the 10,000 MCPS students, two performances were held each day in the 1,976-seat concert hall. This is the third year that Strathmore has presented concerts for fifth-graders.

The lecture/demonstration format of the performances will followed the tradition of Leonard Bernstein's famous Young Person's Concerts, and was supported by imagery on a large projection screen above the stage.

Cash, cars and curriculum

Vehicle donations are needed for students' automotive education programs within MCPS.

Residents can donate old cars to The Montgomery County Students Automotive Trades Foundation, a nonprofit foundation.

Donations provide automotive students with a valuable educational experience and are tax deductible.

Most vehicles gratefully accepted at four locations: Damascus High School, Gaithersburg High School, Seneca Valley High School and Thomas Edison High School of Technology.

For more information, contact Mike Snyder at 301-962-4810 or Michael_C_Snyder@mcpsmd.org

Go to www.autocareers.org for additional program information, including the student-run used car sale dates. The first sale will be 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Dec. 11 at Gaithersburg High School.

Open House at Shady Grove

The Universities at Shady Grove Fall 2010 Open House on will be held 9 a.m. to noon Saturday. Visitors are invited to explore the more than 60 undergraduate and graduate degree programs offered at USG. They will also have an opportunity to meet with representatives from USG's nine partner universities to learn about admission requirements, transfer credits, career tracks, financial aid and more. For more information call 301- 738-6000 or visit www.shadygrove.umd.edu.

Parent Academy

classes in session

Three classes will be held by the MCPS Parent Academy on Wednesday, Oct. 27:

Parents are invited to Brush Up on Algebra with The Math Dude from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at Kingsview Middle School, 18909 Kingsview Road, Germantown. Refresh your algebra skills while learning tips and strategies to help your child succeed in algebra from Mike DeGraba, The Math Dude from the award-winning MCPS TV series.

A seminar on Special Education: The IEP Process and Special Education Law (part 2 of 4) will be held from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Forest Oak Middle School, 651 Saybrooke Oaks Blvd., Gaithersburg. Learn about the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and how parents can prepare for the Individualized Education Program (IEP) meeting. Components of the IEP will be discussed.

There will be a workshop in Spanish on The Teen Years: Effective Parenting Skills from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at Gaithersburg Middle School, 2 Teachers Way, Gaithersburg. Get the tools you need to help develop effective parenting skills during the teenage years. Learn how to strengthen and enhance family communication and explore techniques to develop age-appropriate expectations of behavior and consequences.

All Parent Academy classes are free and child care and interpretation services are provided. Registration is preferred. Call 301-279-3100, e-mail AskMCPS@mcpsmd.org or visit www.mcpsparentacademy.org.

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.