THE GAZETTE
Page A-12
Wednesday, January 22, 2014 p
SCHOOL LIFE Silver Spring ninth-graders’ volunteer efforts reap praise from Obama n
President sends a letter to Silver Spring youths BY
PEGGY MCEWAN STAFF WRITER
In this era of texts and emails, it’s rare to write a letter— and even more rare when you get one back from the president of the United States. But on Dec. 23, President Barack Obama addressed a letter to the ninth-grade students at John F. Kennedy High School in Silver Spring, thanking them for “the thoughtful letters you sent about the difference each of you can make in the lives of others.” The ninth-grade English students, about 350 of them, wrote the letters for a mandatory assignment explaining why it is their responsibility to make a difference in their community, said Ashley DeLonga, one of Kennedy’s ninth-grade English teachers. The writing project was more than just thinking of something nice to do in the community and writing about it, DeLonga said. “They had to go out to the community and do something or create an ac-
tion plan for what they would do, ” she said. Obama’s letter helped the students realize the importance of their commitment to their community, the teachers said. “... I could see that you understand service does more than help the causes we gather around — it helps those of us who choose to serve recognize our own potential,” Obama wrote. “If you remain committed to helping others, and if you focus in school and believe in yourselves, I know there is no limit to what you can accomplish.” Classmate Dehuris Mateo said he was happy to hear from the president and learn that he was actually reading the letters. Dehuris said his plan was to welcome new people to his neighborhood by talking to them, even making brownies as a welcome gift. “Sometimes they don’t feel they belong in the neighborhood,” he said. “This would make you just feel welcome.” Dehuris also said his letter to Obama was the first letter he ever wrote. When Jennifer Pineda, a ninthgrader at John F. Kennedy High School, Silver Spring, heard that Obama re-
PEGGY MCEWAN/THE GAZETTE
From left, Dehuris Mateo, Josias Worou, Jennifer Pineda, Marianny Calderon and Yaritza Padilla from John F. Kennedy High School in look at their letter from President Obama. sponded to the letters her class wrote him this fall she was “shocked.” “I was very shocked because usually the president doesn’t take time to write a letter back,” Jennifer said. “He’s so busy.”
Another student, Josias Worou, said that before Thanksgiving he helped pack boxes of food for the needy. He said that in his letter he added facts for the president about the increasing number of needy people in the United
States. “I was not expecting a response,” he said. “He thanked us for taking actions to help the population.” Yaritza Padilla’s project was to gather unused clothing from her family and donate them to the needy using a clothing drop box near her home. “It made me feel good about myself,” she said. “I wanted to share what I had.” She said it also felt good to know that the president knew what she had done. Marianny Calderon agreed that getting the letter felt good, knowing that someone appreciated what she had done. Her project was to take food and clothes to a local food kitchen and homeless shelter. The English teachers — DeLonga, Kelley Adams, Anne Reiner and Jessica Lidh — thought the writing assignment was a success and the response from the president a bonus. “We wanted to make these kids realize they actually are important to society,” Lidh said. “At this age they aren’t children and they aren’t adults, but they can still make a difference.” pmcewan@gazette.net
EDUCATION NOTEBOOK Clemente Middle School holds first Literacy Night Arrivals on Thursday were greeted by Clifford the Big Red Dog, star of a children’s book series. Inside there was a book fair, speakers and sessions on topics related to reading and writing. It was the first-ever Literacy Night at Roberto Clemente Middle School in Germantown. All Clemente students and their parents were invited, although the evening was planned by seventh-grade literacy coach Colleen Roux with her seventh-graders in mind. Its purpose, Roux wrote in an email, was to re-energize students and parents about reading and to increase awareness of the literacy resources within the Germantown community. Roux did that by inviting local speakers to share their literacy experiences. Patricia Buck, community outreach associate from the Germantown Library, linked her computer to the school’s computer lab’s whiteboard, ready to share the many resources the county’s public library system offers. She showed how to access programs for learning a new language, download free music, research a topic of interest and download e-books. Many middle schoolers use the Germantown Library, she said. “Germantown has a great teen section,” she said. “Teens go there just to hang out.” Down the hall, Marc Waldman, an English and journalism teacher at nearby Kingsview Middle School, shared his career as a published author of books for fifth- to ninth-graders: “Mighty Mac” and “Mac is Back.”
PEGGY MCEWAN/THE GAZETTE
Josephine Crucillo, a seventh-grader at Roberto Clemente Middle School in Germantown, selects books from the book fair during the school’s first Literacy Night on Thursday. “If you want to become a writer, write, write, write,” Waldman said. “Keep doing it even if it stinks, and read a lot of [different] people until you find your voice.” Josephine Crucillo, a seventh-grader, said she would like to be a writer and asked Waldman plenty of questions. “I thought it was inspirational,” she said. “And [it] made me think about the writing process.” Chandan Murthy, an eighthgrader at Rocky Hill Middle School in Clarksburg, listened to Waldman with his sister Anjali, a sixth-grader at Clemente. He said he found Waldman interesting, especially when talking about the publishing process. He does not think he wants to be a writer, but his sister does. “I want to be an author,” Anjali said. “I thought it would be cool to meet an author and ask questions.” Though very few people attended, Roux said she was not
discouraged. “This is our first year and I’m not going to give up,” she said.
Schools plans open houses Three schools plan open houses in the coming week. • Christ Episcopal School in Rockville will hold an admission open house at 10 a.m. Friday at 109 S. Washington St. Staff will discuss programs that Johns Hopkins University established with the school to enhance the students’ learning experience. Visitors can tour the campus and meet with teachers and others. Founded in 1966, the school serves students age 2 to grade 8. For more information or to register for the open house, visit cesrockville.org or call 301-4246550. • St. Jane de Chantal School, a Catholic school at 9525 Old Georgetown Road, Bethesda, will hold an open house for grades K-8 from 9 to 11:30 a.m. Monday. A presenta-
tion for parents will be held at 9:30 a.m., with tours offered throughout the morning. For more information, call 301-530-1221 or visit www. dechantal.org. • Thomas Edison High School of Technology will hold its annual open house from 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday at 12501 Dalewood Drive, Silver Spring. The open house was postponed from Jan. 15. Students interested in enrolling will have the opportunity to learn about the school’s programs, meet teachers and current students, see live demonstrations and complete applications. Edison has students in grades 10, 11 and 12 who are in good standing at a Montgomery County public high school. Students may apply for enrollment in one of 18 career and technology education programs: an automotive cluster of four courses; principles of architecture and computer-aided design technology, also four classes; a six-course construction cluster; and the Academy of Hospitality and Tourism, which covers cosmetology, medical careers, restaurant management, and manicures and pedicures. Applications are available at montgomeryschoolsmd.org/ schools/edison. Completed applications may either be mailed to the school or submitted to the Edison counselor liaison at the students’ home schools.
Scholarships available for student-athletes The CKA SAVE Project of Silver Spring, which is designed to help students and the people who work with them through educational and professional development, has started a stu-
dent-athletic academic scholarship program. The program will select two student-athletes — one boy and one girl — for a $250 higher education scholarship. The program is open to seniors who meet the the following criteria: • Has played or managed at least two years of high school athletics. • Has a cumulative grade point average of at least a 2.5 and completed at least one Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate class. • Has at least 100 community service hours. Students must submit an application, available at www. ckasaveproject.com, along with a copy of the student’s unofficial transcript, two letters of recommendation, a written essay on the topic of “How has being a student athlete helped you achieve your career goals?” and a copy of an admittance letter to a post-secondary institution by April 1, Winners will be notified by June 1. For more information, contact Keith Adams at ckasaveproject@gmail.com or visit www. ckasaveproject.com.
Registration open for summer camps, programs Registration for Montgomery County’s summer camps and programs opened Tuesday. Programs include sports, nature, robotics, magic, swimming and theater. They are available for young children to teenagers and at all skill levels at hundreds of locations. Space is limited and registration is on a first-come, firstserved basis. Individuals can register online at recweb.montgomery-
countymd.gov, by mail, by fax or in person at the recreation department, 4010 Randolph Road, Silver Spring. Copies of the Summer Camps Guide are available at county recreation facilities and online at montgomerycountymd.gov/rec. For more information, call 240-777-4980.
Free seminars offered on Common Core Discovery Education will hold a series of free professional development seminars for educators implementing the Common Core State Standards. The seminars will take place from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Jan. 29-31 at Discovery Communications, 1 Discovery Place. Silver Spring. The sessions are as follows: • Jan. 29: “Literacy and the Common Core in a Digital World,” offering English language arts instruction and assessment strategies to help develop digitally literate students for college, careers and citizenship. • Jan. 30: “Teaching and Assessing Common Core Math in a Digital World” on standards for mathematical practice and their implementation with assessment strategies. • Jan. 31: “Leadership Strategies to Support Digital Literacy and the Common Core,” which offers leadership approaches for administrators to help teachers implement digital literacy instruction and assessment. Sessions will be led by Johnna Weller of Discovery Education. For more information or to register, contact Shawnee Cohn at 240-662-2661 or shawnee_ cohn@discovery.com.