THE GAZETTE
Page A-12
Wednesday, November 13, 2013 o
SCHOOL LIFE
Tilden students remember classmate with hospital donation Students raise $1,000 for children’s hospital
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BY
PEGGY MCEWAN STAFF WRITER
Samantha Heald knows how to make a pink frosted cupcakes. She and her friends have made enough of them. But the sweet treats weren’t for a party. They were made to raise money in memory of a classmate who died just months after school started last year. Lisa Carmona, a 12-year-old sixthgrader at Tilden Middle School in Rockville, died unexpectedly on Nov. 2, 2012, at Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, D.C. “I never met Lisa but I knew it was really sad and I wanted to do something,” said Samantha, now a seventhgrader at the school. Principal Irina LaGrange said Samantha’s reaction was typical of many students who heard about the death and asked what they could do. The students, with LaGrange’s help, came up with a plan to raise money for the children’s hospital in Lisa’s memory. On Nov. 6, the school presented a check for $1,000 to Dr. Kurt Newman, the hospital’s president and chief executive officer. The fund grew with pennies, nickels and dimes donated by the students, LaGrange said. Samantha came up with the idea of making cupcakes to sell at a basketball game, then at the school’s spring con-
PEGGY MCEWAN/THE GAZETTE
Tilden Middle School Principal Irina Le Grange with student leaders and volunteers who helped raise money in honor of sixth-grader Lisa Carmona, in photo, who passed away one year ago. Students (from left) are Samantha Heald, Andrew Resnick, Kevin Tavaras, Jessica Silverman and Patricia Cuff. The school raised $1,000 for Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, D.C. cert and annual talent show. “Me and a lot of my friends made cupcakes. We cooked for hours,” she said. Even members of her Girl Scout Troop 4848 of Potomac helped with the cupcakes, always frosting them pink, Lisa’s favorite color. Andrew Resnick, 13, an eighthgrader who was a member of the Student Government Association last year and is president this year, said they got
behind the idea and decided that the best act in the talent show would be “voted on” with donations of change from the students. “Kids were coming with bags of pennies and other change,” LaGrange said. Patricia Cuff, 12, a seventh-grader, knew Lisa. The two met in fourth grade at Garrett Park Elementary School in Kensington. “She was a caring person,” Patricia said. “She cared about everyone. She
loved to sing and dance and she was very witty.” Fittingly, Newman said the money the students raised would go toward a fund to bring artists and musicians to the hospital to add a little interest to the patients’ days while at the hospital. Jessica Silverman, 12, a seventhgrader, said the best part of the donation ceremony at the school, complete with pink frosted donuts, was knowing they had raised money to help others in
Lisa’s name. “It was a celebration of Lisa,” she said. “When Dr. Newman spoke he said the $1,000 would make a difference.” Until then, Samantha said, she didn’t realize what she and the other students had accomplished. “I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, we made a difference,’” she said. Last year the community helped Lisa’s family with her funeral expenses. LaGrange said the day after the news of Lisa’s death and her family’s need for help with funeral expenses got out, parents arrived at the school with cash and checks, she said. “The family and funeral expenses were taken care of the first day,” LaGrange said. “It really was a village [working together].” Angela Hammie-Bonner, school counselor, worked with Lisa’s mother to give Lisa a proper funeral, finding a church for the service and, she said, a family stepped forward to donate a burial site at Parklawn Memorial Park in Rockville. “We were helped a lot by Thibadeau Mortuary Services in Gaithersburg,” she said. “They helped us find the plot.” Lisa would have wanted the students to honor her just the way they did, LaGrange said. “She would want us to do something for others,” LaGrange said. “She was a connector.” pmcewan@gazette.net
EDUCATION NOTEBOOK Whitman student selected for national chorus Oliver Ades, 16, a junior at Walt Whitman High School in Bethesda, was selected as a member of the 2013 All-National Honor Chorus sponsored by the National Association for Music Education. He joined more than 670 high school students from across the U.S. on Oct. 27-30 in Nashville, Tenn., for three days of music education culminating in a concert at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel. The rehearsals included one at the Grand Ole Opry. Oliver is the first Whitman student ever selected for the chorus. “After singing in the state and county choruses for a few years, starting an a capella quartet with friends and joining another singing group, I thought, ‘Why not give it a try?’” Oliver said in a news release. For his audition, he sang “Danny Boy” which, he said, he recorded a capella on his smartphone. Rollo Dilworth, professor of choral music education at Temple University, led the choral students. “It was awesome,” Oliver said. “The experience with Rollo took me to a higher level of musical understanding and performance. I would love to be invited back.”
CLAUDIA ADES
“I would love to be invited back,” says Oliver Ades (center), a junior at Walt Whitman High School in Bethesda who performed Oct. 30 with the 2013 National Association for Music Education All-National Honors Chorus at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel in Nashville, Tenn.
Wootton students to hold annual blood drive The Thomas S. Wootton High School Organization for Humanitarian Aid will hold a blood drive in cooperation with Inova Blood Donor Services from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Nov. 26 in the school’s lower gym at 2100 Wootton Parkway, Rockville. This year the group is expanding the drive beyond staff and students to include adults in the community, although they will be allowed to donate only from 3 to 6 p.m. Walk-ins will be accepted. “Wootton High School
has an excellent track record when it comes to donations and always leads Montgomery County Public Schools in the number of participants they are able to attract,” said Jeffrey Benya, the club’s sponsor. “We use it as a way to teach citizenship; you have to give back to the community.” For more information, email Jeffrey_A_Benya@mcpsmd.org.
High schools present fall musicals Several Montgomery County high schools will present their annual fall musicals in the next
few weeks. Here are a few: • Winston Churchill High School in Potomac will present the musical “Auntie Mame” at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, with a matinee performance at 2 p.m. Sunday. The school is at 11300 Gainsborough Road. Tickets cost $10 at the door. Information: scott_r_courlander@ mcpsmd.org. • Sherwood High School in Sandy Spring will present “Disney’s Beauty & the Beast” at 7:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday, and Nov. 22 and 23, and at 2 p.m. Saturday and Nov. 23. The school is at 300 Olney-Sandy Spring Road. There will be a tea party with Mrs. Potts and Belle from the play from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. before the Saturday matinees. The tea includes drinks, snacks and pictures with Mrs. Potts and Belle. All seats for the performances are reserved and cost $15. They can be purchased from sherwoodhs.org. Tickets for the tea are $5 and available online with tickets for the performances. • Watkins Mill High School in Gaithersburg will present “The Cat in the Hat” at 7 p.m. Friday and Nov. 22, and at 10 a.m., 2 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. Saturday. The school is at Watkins Mill High School, 10310 Apple Ridge Road. Tickets are $10 and $5 for children 2 through 5. Tickets can be purchased at the door. Information: 301-840-3959. • Thomas S. Wootton High School in Rockville will present “Romeo and Juliet,” with a his-
torical twist, at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 2 p.m. Sunday. As Maryland commemorates the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, the Shakespeare classic will be set in the fictional town of Verona, Md., as the war rages on. Director Jessica Speck focused on Maryland’s role as a border state to illustrate how war tensions could play out within a single town. Tickets are $5 for students and $10 for adults. They can be bought online at schooltix. org/wootton/ or at the school’s box office. The school is at 2100 Wootton Parkway. Information: Jessica_L_Speck@mcpsmd.org.
Christ Episcopal School to hold open house Christ Episcopal School in Rockville will hold an admission open house at 10 a.m. Friday at 109 S. Washington St. Staff will discuss the school’s Learning Integration for Tomorrow and science, technology, engineering and mathematics programs. They also will discuss why Johns Hopkins University established multiple programs with the school and how they can enhance the learning experience. The morning also will feature a campus tour and the opportunity to meet with members of the school community. The school has students age 2 to grade eight. For more information and to register for the open house, visit www.cesrockville.org or call 301-424-6550.
Girls invited to prepare for success The 13th annual Preparing for Success Fall Forum will be held from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday at Montgomery College, 51 Mannakee St., Rockville, The an all-day conference is designed to provide practical information to high school girls headed for college or the workplace. There will be workshops that address interviewing, resume writing, career choices, getting into college and helping girls stay safe while in high school and also when using the Internet. The free program is sponsored by the Montgomery County Women’s Bar Foundation. For more information and to register, visit www.preparing4success.com.
Richard Montgomery choral concert Tuesday The annual Richard Montgomery High School Cluster
Choral Concert will be held at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the school auditorium, 250 Richard Montgomery Drive, Rockville. The concert also will include performances by students from Beall, College Gardens, Twinbrook and Ritchie Park elementary schools and Julius West Middle School. For more information, call 301-610-8046.
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