CLOSE TO HOME County forum centers around race, police. A-6
NEWS: Northwestern’s new principal ready to “take school to next level.” A-3
The Gazette
NORTHERN AND CENTRAL PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNT Y
SPORTS: Northwestern football team believes this is the year it can go to the playoffs. B-1
DA I LY U P DAT E S AT G A Z E T T E . N E T
Thursday, October 9, 2014
25 cents
Arts, core subjects to integrate n
Initiative starts at 15 schools
BY JAMIE
ANFENSON-COMEAU STAFF WRITER
Students at Oaklands Elementary School in Laurel will be getting more art time this year, thanks to their school’s participation in a new arts integration pilot initiative. “I think it’s fantastic,” said Oaklands’ Principal Audrey Briscoe. “I’m really excited about this program.” Briscoe said last year, students only had an arts teacher once every two months. Now, the arts teacher is at the school twice a week, and is working with teachers to incorporate the arts into their lesson plans. Arts integration is the incorpora-
See ARTS, Page A-10
County on Ebola watch GREG DOHLER/THE GAZETTE
Paulette Mpouma (right), explains the rules of the board game she invented, Afriqu’enjeux: The Africa Memory Game, as her son, Blaise Banum, 9, looks on Oct. 1 at their home in Laurel.
Finding new tools ALICE POPOVICI STAFF WRITER
T
rivia buffs and board game enthusiasts of all ages can experience Africa – and soon the Caribbean – with the roll of a die, thanks to a board game created by Paulette Mpouma, 43, of Laurel. Mpouma, who is originally from Cameroon, said she created The Africa Memory Game in 2009 after becoming frustrated that stories her four children were learning about Africa in school focused mostly on disease, corruption and war. She said she wanted
them — and everyone else — to learn other things about the continent, from the history of the pharaohs of Egypt to the capitals of the different countries to its diverse wildlife. “They are learning about the culture. They are learning about the history,” Mpouma said. “They are learning about the wealth of the continent.” Mpouma said the game, which has sold nearly 6,000 copies in the U.S. and Africa, borrows features from popular board games such as Trivial Pursuit and Monopoly. Players roll the die to move their pegs across a color-coded board featuring an image of the continent, and are allowed to advance if they answer
the questions correctly. If they don’t know the answer they pay a penalty in “Hega,” the game’s play currency that Mpouma said is based on old African currency. “It’s competitive,” said Mpouma’s son, Ben Banim, 14, who said he’s learned quite a bit of trivia from playing the game with his 16-year-old brother, Axel, his 9-year-old brother, Blaise, and his 11-yearold sister, Joelle. “Everyone wants to win...it’s like a fight to the finish.”
See TRIVIA, Page A-10
Renovated Beltsville library reopens to ‘thrilled’ patrons Features expanded computer section, bookstore cafe and fairy tale-themed children’s area n
BY
ALICE POPOVICI STAFF WRITER
After 10 months of reading books on her iPad while the Beltsville Branch Library was undergoing renovation, Marie Gore said she was “thrilled to pieces” that the building was finally reopening. “I’m looking forward to having a book to hold in my hand to read,” said Gore, 86, of Beltsville on Monday afternoon as she stood outside waiting for the library doors to open. “When you’re
See LIBRARY, Page A-9
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CHALLENGE ACCEPTED Police face off in county’s annual Iron Team Competition; First all-female team tackles land and water obstacle course. A-8
BILL RYAN/THE GAZETTE
(From right) Jayden Madan, 4, of Beltsville reads Monday with his mother, Schira Madan, and Adelina Rodigez reads to her brother, Torin Madan, in the children’s area of the library.
Volume 17, No. 41, Two sections, 24 Pages Copyright © 2014 The Gazette Please
RECYCLE
MUNICIPAL SCENE
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October 16, 2014 1932786
BY JAMIE
ANFENSON-COMEAU
No cases of the deadly Ebola virus have been found in Maryland, but the Prince George’s County Health Department is warning residents whose travels may have exposed them to the virus to watch for symptoms. Two recent “false alarms” in the region have raised awareness, and the county is preparing for the possibility in an overabundance of caution, according to officials. A patient admitted to Shady Grove
See EBOLA, Page A-10
Goddard gets Blue Ribbon n
Greenbelt school receives national education honor
BY JAMIE
ANFENSON-COMEAU STAFF WRITER
NEWS
INDEX Automotive Calendar Classified Entertainment Opinion Sports
an old person and you live alone, it’s nice to have a place to go in your community.” Gore was among about 300 people who strolled among the shelves in the new building Monday afternoon, taking in the expanded computer area, the modern, open-ceiling design, the bookstore cafe and a redesigned, fairy tale-themed children’s area. Library officials said the total cost of the renovation, which also included six study rooms, a conference room and a laptop sitting area, was $2 million. “I think it turned out really well. I think it makes a huge difference,” said Kathleen Teaze, director of the Prince
No cases detected in Maryland STAFF WRITER
Laurel woman shares Africa trivia through game
BY
n
Parents of Robert Goddard French Immersion School students are feeling “tres enthousiaste” — French for “very excited” — that their school has received top honors from the U.S. Department of Education. “We are super excited,” said June Evans of Bowie, who has two children attending the Greenbelt school. “I am just ecstatic to know that our school was recognized at the national level as a top school.” The U.S. Department of Education announced 337 National Blue Ribbon Schools — an honor reserved
See SCHOOL, Page A-10