THE GAZETTE
Page A-14
Wednesday, April 9, 2014 r
SCHOOL LIFE Middle school students become Best Buddies n
EDUCATION NOTEBOOK Rockville High School PTSA honors parents
Andrew and DJ are more than Buddies: They’re friends BY
Carole Marks and Becky Hubbard were named Parents of the Year 2014 by the Rockville High School Parent-TeacherStudent Association. Holly Shropshire, Scott Smith and Konni Brantner received honor-
PEGGY MCEWAN STAFF WRITER
Andrew Resnick and DJ Orino see each other every day at Tilden Middle School in Rockville, go to movies together and listen to music, especially The Beatles, DJ’s favorite group. Their two-year friendship has a special component. They are Best Buddies, members of an organization that matches students with and without developmental disabilities in a friendship program. This year, the eighth-graders also are the 2014 Best Buddies Maryland Friendship Walk’s Honorary Buddy Pair and will cut the ribbon at the annual fundraiser May 3 at the University of Maryland. It’s an honor they earned by embodying what Best Buddies is all about, said Vince Fiduccia, the state director of Best Buddies Maryland. “They are a great example of our mission to develop friendships between two students — one with a disability and one without,” Fiduccia said. Accolades aside, both boys say their friendship is real and they love spending time together. “DJ has definitely been a great Buddy. He makes me happy. He makes me laugh,” Andrew said. The boys sometimes communicate with hand gestures, doing fist bumps or high fives to acknowledge each other at school. “DJ just lights up and smiles every time he sees Andrew,” Leah Arbeter, a special education teacher and Best Buddies sponsor at Tilden, said in an email. “DJ refers to Andrew by saying ‘my friend.’ They are just that — friends.” There are 23 students in Learning for Independence program at Tilden and 22 of them participate in Best Buddies, an optional program, Arbeter said. More than 60 regular education students join them for monthly after-school chapter meetings, she said. “That includes associate members who come to help the peer buddies,” Arbeter said. At those meetings, students play games, make craft projects and do “getting to know you” activities. Last month, Arbeter cut letters from newspapers and magazines. The Buddies had find the right letters to spell their names on friendship posters that included
able mention. The award celebrates volunteerism by parents, grandparents or guardians of current Rockville High students. Marks was recognized for her contribution through the Booster Club as vice president and lead person for the snack bar. Hubbard has been involved in a number of parent organizations, but was recognized for her contributions to the After Prom Party Committee. Shropshire has been active in the Booster Club, the PTSA, the Pipe Band Parents and, as president, Friends of Rockville Music. Smith is a Booster Club leader and also organizes and runs the annual mulch sale, the school’s biggest fundraiser. Branter has been PTSA vice president for membership for the past two years and, this year, added the responsibilities of co-chairwoman of the school’s after-school café. The five will be honored at the PTSA’s meeting April 22 at the school.
PEGGY MCEWAN/THE GAZETTE
Best Buddies Andrew Resnick (left) and DJ Orino, eighth-graders at Tilden Middle School in Rockville, were named 2014 Best Buddies Maryland Friendship Walk’s Honorary Buddy Pair. They will cut the ribbon to start the annual fundraiser May 3 at the University of Maryland, College Park. their photographs. “The middle school program is a yearlong program,” Fiduccia said. “We ask that [Buddies] see each other twice a month and make one phone call or email per week.” There are 20 chapters of Best Buddies in Montgomery County middle and high schools and 90 in Maryland, serving more than 4,100 students and adults statewide, he said. The Best Buddies Walk is a fundraiser for the friendship programs. Best Buddies does not require the extra time and effort Andrew and many others put in, he said. Last year, Andrew made Best Buddies his Bar Mitzvah project, rais-
Whitman again tops in fundraising challenge
ing almost $3,000 for the organization. “I really like [working with people with disabilities],” Andrew said. “If I can pursue it as a career, I will.” He also volunteers with the Montgomery Cheetahs, an ice hockey team for people with disabilities. Andrew said he has learned a lot from his friendship with DJ. It is not a one-way street. “I think I’ve learned more about myself,” he said. “I’m more responsible, organized and patient. With DJ, I need to plan ahead.”
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s High School Challenge, a fundraising competition, netted more than $150,000 in the region. Student teams from 14 Washington-area high schools were encouraged to develop leadership and fundraising skills in support of the nonprofit’s mission to cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families. The competition is usu-
pmcewan@gazette.net
OVERCROWDED SCHOOLS Cedar Grove Elementary School
ally limited to February, but because of snow days it was extended to March 19. For the second year in a row, Walt Whitman High School in Bethesda received top honors, bringing in $68,158. Not far behind was Walter Johnson High School of Bethesda, returning as the 2014 runner-up with $52,000. Whitman students will be rewarded for their work next month with a pep rally with a master of ceremonies from Hot 99.5 radio. Marcela Falck-Bados, Whitman’s Pennies for Patients student leader, attributes the school’s success this year to its increased commitment to the mission as a community and keeping its focus on the big picture: making a difference in the lives of blood cancer patients. “We are very proud to have raised such a large amount of money,” Falck-Bados said in a news release. “Our goal this year was to make LLS Month more about blood cancer awareness, rather than just fundraising and competing against other schools. Despite the several snow days and interruptions, the Whitman community has been very flexible and willing to help a cause that is very close to the Whitman community.”
BlackRock Center offers spring break camp BlackRock Center for the Arts in Germantown will offer Spring Break Camp: Musical Mayhem from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through April 17. Students ages 5-12 can participate in themed workshops, improvisational games, art projects, dance and puppet shows. Each age group will create a musical and perform it on the final day on BlackRock’s main stage. The cost is $285. The center is at 12901 Town Commons Drive. For more information call 301-528-2260 or visit blackrockcenter.org.
GERMANTOWN
n Each week, The Gazette will feature a county school by the numbers, giving a glimpse at how local schools are dealing with overcrowded conditions.
Number of students:
730
Current student capacity:
Number of students overcapacity:
Percent over capacity:
422 308 73 25.5 24.7 28.9
(Kindergarten through 5th grade)
School’s average class size:
MCPS average class size:
Kindergarten
PRINCIPAL’S
Grades 1 to 3
Grades 4 and 5
Number of school’s portable classrooms:
Total MCPS portable classrooms:
7 338 19.6 20.7
Kindergarten
Grades 1 to 3
Student/ instructional staff ratio:
19 24
Grades 4 and 5
MCPS average elementary school student/ instructional staff ratio:
11
1960 Year school was built 1987 Year of last renovation/modernization
Cedar Grove Principal Lee Derby said the extra students meant the school needed to convert five rooms, such as the staff lounge, into general classrooms at the beginning of the school year. “The kids don’t have a problem with it at all,” he said. “They don’t even notice.” The school also received three portable classrooms in October, he said, which allowed the school to use some of the converted classrooms for other uses again. Cedar Grove’s staff also grew by six new positions this school year, Derby said. Arrival and dismissal of students can also be “a little bit hectic,” he said, but the students are well-behaved and follow the rules. The school has also held events at the nearby middle school rather than at Cedar Grove, which Derby said has not impacted “attendance or enjoyment.”
TAKE
DATA FOR 2013-14 SCHOOL YEAR SOURCE: MONTGOMERY COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS
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