Friends Meeting students earn honors

Students earning a B average or higher include third graders Gabriel Reiziss, Brian Stanley, John Urban, Daya Jessee, Will Miller, John Dun, Alexis Passaro, Alex Schwartz, and Kyle Van Scoy; fourth graders Samantha Benitez, Nicholas Browning, Jared Fletcher, Fiona Kenyon, Serena Menegaz, Madison Burgee, Melissa Lempicki, John Daugherty and Christopher Gerran-Davison; fifth graders Elizabeth Peterson, Matthew Blumhardt, Neal Roberts and Eric Galinsky; sixth graders Rachel Curtis, Jordan DeLawder, Tracey Loos and Maddy Schoal; seventh graders Peter Fotopolous, Jonathan Paige, Trevor Roberts, Nathan Levy, Jared Willis, Emily Bertram and Brighton Greene; and eighth graders Andre Weimann and Kim Schwartzbeck.

The Friends Meeting School is an independent Quaker school for people of all faith backgrounds located in southeastern Frederick County.

For more information about the school, call 301-798-0288.

‘Gator-Aid’ programmakes debut at Tuscarora

The Frederick County Sheriff’s Office School Resource Deputies presented a new program to ninth graders enrolled in health classes at Tuscarora High School.

The program, ‘‘Gator-Aid,” educates the students on the effects and consequences of reckless, aggressive, and impaired driving. A total of 185 students participated in the program on Nov. 19. The program will be used throughout Frederick County High Schools during the school year.

After a presentation on Maryland’s driving laws, the students left the classroom setting for a first-hand look at their next challenge. Students are provided a an opportunity to operate a specially designed John Deere Gator cart while wearing ‘‘Fatal Vision Goggles.” According to a press release, the goggles give the wearer the feeling of alcohol impairment through visual distortion, slowed reaction time and a loss of equilibrium.

Students then navigated the Gator through a closed cone course without the goggles. When they were comfortable with the course, the students then put on the goggles and attempted to drive the course again, experiencing the dangers of drinking and driving.

For more information about the Gator-Aid Program, contact Frederick County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Cpl. Jennifer Bailey, 301-600-2534.

Middletown Highcollects canned foods

The class officers of the senior class at Middletown High School are holding a Canned Food Drive to benefit the Middletown Food Bank.

Students will collect non-perishable food items at all of the home boys’ and girls’ basketball games throughout the entire season.

A grocery shopping cart is located at the front door of the gym to collect the items. Prizes will be awarded to those who donate three or more cans.

Middletown High School is located at 200 Schoolhouse Drive, Middletown. For more information, call the school at 240-236-7400.

National Geographic Bee scheduled

The National Geographic Bee will be held at Urbana Middle School on Jan. 9.

Students will be chosen from their science and social studies classes through a series of National Geographic classroom questions.

The top winners from each class will be invited to attend a school-wide competition on Jan. 9.

The school winner will take a written qualifying test, which will be mailed in to the Geographic Bee headquarters by Jan. 17.

The National Geo Bee will take place in Washington, D.C., on May 20-21. The top winner receives a $25,000 scholarship and lifetime membership in the National Geographic Society. Other prizes will be awarded to the top 10 finishers.

‘‘Jeopardy” host Alex Trebek will lead the top students from across the nation in two days of difficult geographic questions.

For more information, call Urbana Middle School, 240-566-9200.