Elkridge Elementary penny drive brings in $1,307 for Oklahoma disaster relief

Jean Leslie's column is appearing today because of the Memorial Day holiday.

We adults never realize how deeply current events affect our children; Elkridge Elementary School students established this with pennies this month.

From May 1 through May 5, the school's Parent Teacher Association sponsored a penny drive, proceeds of which were to be sent to Oklahoma City to aid with disaster relief. The PTA members told the kids that they would match their pennies up to $500.

What ensued was an outpouring of emotion and pennies, as children, their parents, school faculty and staff members did what they could to help the bombing victims.

Children came with bags full of pennies and cash parents had collected from co-workers. One child brought a plastic bag full of pennies -- complete with ceramic chips from his just-broken bank.

Organizer Pat Elza collected the pennies in a large popcorn can. Each day of the drive, the can was too heavy to lift and had to be pushed to her car on a dolly.

Fortunately, the school had a sympathetic bank to help with the counting and accounting.

Ms. Elza thanks the Linthicum branch of Signet Bank's Angela Anderson, Phyllis LaPorte and Fran Dean, who counted the cash for the school. The service entailed many hours of their work.

On May 22, the PTA put a check for $1,307.39 into the mail, made out to the Victims and Family Relief Fund of Oklahoma City.

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Saturday, marks Ellicott City's turn to participate in household hazardous-waste collection. The collection will take place from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the George Howard Building.

Wastes to be collected include a variety of highly toxic chemicals such as insecticides, photography chemicals, solvents and furniture strippers.

For a complete list or to ask questions, call [phone].

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Tales of two new schools: Manor Woods Elementary School is a new school this year, the result of the blending of three school communities. Integrating the communities has been an important thrust of this first year.

To help the students meld, the Cultural Arts committee hired Maria Barbosa from Delaplane Arts Center in Frederick.

Dr. Barbosa, an artist/molecular biologist, began her work by teaching the children how the human body is created by individual cells. Dr. Barbosa then gave each child a handmade ceramic tile to paint to represent their individual cell.

Each of the 600 children's tiles will be combined into a mosaic, creating the "student body." The result will be a mural-sized mosaic in the cafeteria.

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Elkridge Landing Middle School is the newest middle school in the county, so new that its PTA meets in one of the "feeder schools."

The PTA has announced its executive board: Ginny Stickles, president; Barbara Wachs, first vice president; Joyce Grant-Mertins, second vice president; Edna Tooney, corresponding secretary; and Gwen Albright, treasurer.

The office of recording secretary and some committees are still open.

The new PTA has scheduled its organizational executive board meeting for Thursday at 7 p.m.

The meeting has been held at Elkridge Elementary school.

The new group seeks creative ideas for the next year.

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May 24-31 is Family Remembrance Week in Maryland. Friends of Whipps Cemetery observed it May 21 when they celebrated the 10th anniversary of Whipps Cemetery, a volunteer project.

Speakers included Jim Perman and Pastor Steve Bryant, who gave blessings; Atwood Barwick, a Somerset County resident who created Family Remembrance Week; Sen. Chris McCabe and Del. Elizabeth Bobo; County Councilman Vernon Gray, who spearheaded the cemetery preservation movement in the council; Clyde Humphrey, vice president of St. John's Community Association; William F. Whipps, a Whipps descendant; Neil Dorsey, director of the Community Service Program, which helps to staff the volunteer labor at the cemetery.

Two teachers active in the cemetery's preservation, Penny Zimmering of Dunloggin Middle School and Sandy Thompson of Mount View Middle School attended.

Two eighth-grade students, Lauren Koch and Peter Schoenbrodt Dunloggin Middle School, shared their historical research about the cemetery.

The weather was glorious, the rhododendrons were blooming, and Dunloggin's Junior Women's Club had worked to decorate each grave with fresh flowers.

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Willowood Association will sponsor a community-wide yard sale Saturday from 8 a.m. to noon.

Light refreshments will be sold to benefit future activities.

The rain date will be Sunday.

Willowood is on Meadowridge Road (Route 103) at the intersection of Wesley Lane and Old Stockbridge Road.

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Tomorrow, Northfield Elementary School children will be celebrating summer reading at the final book distribution for the Reading is Fundamental "Book Buddies" program.

The program pairs Northfield readers with students from Dunloggin Middle School.

The Dunloggin Middle School students earned community service credit for their participation in the project.

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The Howard County Library is kicking off the summer with a barrage of great children's activities.