Brooklyn Park Elementary

Despite parent protests, Brooklyn Park Elementary School will have a new principal in September: Donald Leuschner will replace Michael Trippett, who had been at the school for 11 years.Trippett's transfer, as well as dozens of other reassignments, were announced during Wednesday's school board meeting in Annapolis.The promotions, transfers and retirements are part of routine moves to accommodate school staffing needs. Trippett will be principal at Deale Elementary.'Very disappointed'"I guess we are just very disappointed in the process.

THIRTY STUDENTS IN the Maryland's Tomorrow program at Northeast High School will be traveling to Brooklyn Park Elementary this morning to read stories and have a piece of cake with 60 second-graders to celebrate Read Across America Day. This is the third year that students in Maryland's Tomorrow - a program helping at-risk young people stay in school - have participated in the event marking the birthday of Dr. Seuss with the children at Brooklyn Park....

It was love at first sound when Tom Neuenschwander heard handbells ringing at a music convention 25 years ago.Since then, he has started handbell choirs around the county, in churches, senior centers and schools -- teaching students from ages 8 to 97.Neuenschwander spends three days a week after school at Brooklyn Park Elementary School -- where he has been the music teacher for 14 years -- teaching and rehearsing with fourth-, fifth- and sixth-graders....

THE PUMPHREY Achievers are making a comeback. Organized in 1993 by community activist Yolanda Dickerson, Achievers, an after-school tutoring and enrichment program for children from elementary age through high school, met at the Lloyd Keaser Center three nights a week. The program ceased in 1998 when United Way funding ended, but Dickerson is working with the faculty of Brooklyn Park Elementary School and Pumphrey residents Nina Lattimore and Geraldine Brooks to get the program started again.

DOZENS OF community organizations and many of our neighbors are taking part in Tobacco-Free Kids Week to encourage youngsters not to smoke or to give up the habit.The weeklong program, which begins today, is part of the Health Department's Learn To Live cancer-prevention campaign.The Boys and Girls Club of Pumphrey will hold a family day tomorrow at the Lloyd Keaser Center on Belle Grove Road, where members will present a program about the hazards of tobacco use.At North County High School, Evelyn Klass, the school nurse, and junior Eddie Engles have created a bulletin board showing the link between tobacco and disease.

Fourth-graders at Brooklyn Park Elementary School will celebrate Maryland Day on Friday as the culmination of their social studies unit about the state by preparing a lunch of crab soup, biscuits, fried chicken and Rice Krispie treats in the shape of Maryland.Lt. Governor Kathleen Kennedy-Townsend will be their guest from noon until 1 p.m. State Comptroller Louis S. Goldstein will be on the scene at 2 p.m. Students will be wearing their custom-designed Maryland Day T-shirts.*The PTA and CAC for Brooklyn Park/Lindale Middle School will meet at 7 p.m. tomorrow.

MAY. WHAT A BUSY -- and expensive -- month for parents of graduating high school seniors. I'm beginning to feel like an ATM machine, constantly asked to spit out money.Tickets to the senior prom these days cost more than I paid for all my junior and senior activities together.And your daughter has to have the perfect outfit -- one that nobody else has -- along with the shoes, gloves, matching accessories and hairdo.Now add flowers, pictures, a drama banquet (she's a Drama Queen), a T-shirt with the names of graduating seniors, a cap and gown, a Thespian cord and a drape from the National Honor Society to wear over the gown, a graduation party and gifts for all those friends your child has made throughout her 13 years in school.

Pulling her winter coat tight against the wind, Mildred McClure marched into the middle of the street with a jaunty wave to the parents at the curb."Hi, how you doing?" she called out to one of the volunteers leaving Brooklyn Park Elementary School. Then, checking her watch, she assumed her post just as the bell rang.On cue, a swarm of children raced out the school doors and headlong across the street. With a stern hand motion and a toot on her whistle, McClure, 63, kept the traffic at bay.Two little boys stoppedto give her a hug. Another pupil wanted to show her a picture.

Six-year-old Rachel Shannon knows all about crack cocaine and marijuana -- the first-grader is learning about them in school.In an authoritative voice, Rachel, a student at Belle Grove Elementary Schoolin Brooklyn Park, tells what she would do if a dealer tries to peddle his wares."

If you graduated from St. Rose of Lima Catholic School in 1968, it's time for your 25-year reunion. The event is from 7:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. Nov. 13 at the St. Rose Catholic School Hall, 410 Jeffrey St.The menu includes a hot and cold buffet, beer and setups. Music will be provided by the disk jockeys, "Havin' A Party." A photographer will take photos and a souvenir booklet will be distributed. Tickets are $18 per person.Call Sharon Anderson Zacks at 551-8359. Spread the word to your classmates and enjoy a night of reminiscing.

IF ANYONE doubts that elementary school pupils in the Brooklyn Park community love to read, stop by one of the book fairs taking place in the area.A book fair at Brooklyn Park Elementary School begins tomorrow and runs until Nov. 19. Park Elementary will hold a book fair next week.This week, Brooklyn Park pupils will get a look at the selections and make a "wish list" of titles. Next week, they will have an opportunity to purchase them as the school holds Family Night at the Book Fair from 6: 30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Nov. 16.Parents will be able to inspect the books their children have chosen, and teachers will be there with suggestions and answers to any questions.

ONE OF the great things about living in Brooklyn Park is having easy access to two library systems. The Brooklyn Park branch of the county library system is right in the center of BP, and the Brooklyn branch of the Baltimore's Enoch Pratt Free Library is a short walk from the county line. For children in kindergarten to eighth grade, it means being able to participate in two summer library programs. "Catch the Reading Wave," the county program, begins tomorrow at the library, 1 E. 11th Ave. Participants may register at any time, even after the program has started.

Despite parent protests, Brooklyn Park Elementary School will have a new principal in September: Donald Leuschner will replace Michael Trippett, who had been at the school for 11 years.Trippett's transfer, as well as dozens of other reassignments, were announced during Wednesday's school board meeting in Annapolis.The promotions, transfers and retirements are part of routine moves to accommodate school staffing needs. Trippett will be principal at Deale Elementary.'Very disappointed'"I guess we are just very disappointed in the process.

It was love at first sound when Tom Neuenschwander heard handbells ringing at a music convention 25 years ago.Since then, he has started handbell choirs around the county, in churches, senior centers and schools -- teaching students from ages 8 to 97.Neuenschwander spends three days a week after school at Brooklyn Park Elementary School -- where he has been the music teacher for 14 years -- teaching and rehearsing with fourth-, fifth- and sixth-graders....

At Brooklyn Park Elementary School, Michael Sanford sits squinched in a desk that almost rests in his lap. "It feels a little small for me," said the sixth-grader.So does his low-to-the ground chair, the sinks in the open space classroom decorated with giant cut-outs of yellow pencils, and the few freedoms he and his classmates are allowed.Michael is one of 520 sixth-graders in North Anne Arundel County trapped in elementary schools even though they, their parents, school administrators and national educational experts say middle schools are where they belong.

MAY. WHAT A BUSY -- and expensive -- month for parents of graduating high school seniors. I'm beginning to feel like an ATM machine, constantly asked to spit out money.Tickets to the senior prom these days cost more than I paid for all my junior and senior activities together.And your daughter has to have the perfect outfit -- one that nobody else has -- along with the shoes, gloves, matching accessories and hairdo.Now add flowers, pictures, a drama banquet (she's a Drama Queen), a T-shirt with the names of graduating seniors, a cap and gown, a Thespian cord and a drape from the National Honor Society to wear over the gown, a graduation party and gifts for all those friends your child has made throughout her 13 years in school.

Showing people respect is the theme we grew up with. Respect your parents, your neighbors and yourself. Martin Luther King Jr. had the same idea, except he said we should extend our notion of respect to include the entire nation. He had a dream that all people, regardless of the color of their skin or their religious preference, would be judged only by the content of their character. Martin Luther King Jr. has been dead 27 years, yet we are still fighting to make his dream come true.*On snowy and icy days, school closings and late openings are announced on local radio and television stations, and the school system's central office has its own information phone line.

OLDE BROOKLYN Park Improvement Association meets at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Brooklyn Park Elementary School, 200 14th Ave.The guest speaker will be County Sheriff George Johnson, who will explain the department's operations.Brooklyn Park reunionBrooklyn Park High School graduates are planning a combined reunion for the graduating classes of 1956 to 1959.Information and updates on alumni are needed. Call Pearl (Truitt) Carpenter at (410) 768-0648 or Mary Ann (Stuchinsky) Ferrin at (410) 643-2828 for more information.

THE BROOKLYN PARK Broncos are holding five registration sessions for football and cheerleading at Bronco Field, onHammonds Lane behind the old Brooklyn Park/ Lindale Middle School.Boys ages 7 to 14 and girls ages 4 to 14 are invited to register from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., today and June 9; 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. June and July 13; and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. July 21.Registration is $50 for the first child and $40 for siblings. Cheerleaders in the 4-to-5-year age group pay $20. All children must bring a copy of their birth certificate.