Bryant Woods

At one time, Howard County police Officer Cpl. Susan Goldman would talk mostly about the dangers of drugs when she spoke in county classrooms as part of the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program.But her visit to Bryant Woods Elementary School yesterday dealt with another issue that educators say is of increasing concern to public school students nationwide: violence.Through role playing and lectures in the 17-week D.A.R.E. curriculum, students now learn how to walk away, "cool off" and adopt other alternatives to violence, Corporal Goldman said.

Listings are accepted on a space-available basis. Deadline is 5 p.m. Thursday prior to date of publication at the latest. To submit volunteer items, mail to Volunteers, Patuxent Publishing Co. Editorial, 501 N. Calvert St., Baltimore, MD 21278; email hccalendar@patuxent.com ; fax 410-332-6336; or call 410-332-6497. Howard County Library Board of Trustees - Seeking applicants for two board positions: one representing County Council District 5 (Western Howard County)

Alison Matuskey, vocal music teacher at Bryant Woods Elementary School, is running as fast as she can. Named Music Educator of the Year for 2002-2003 by Howard County Parents for School Music, she has generated a cascade of musical activities. Matuskey, who is trained as a concert pianist and sings opera, organized a song-writing project with songwriter Sue Trainor for children in grades one through five. Her students sang their compositions in the school's winter concert Jan. 15 to help raise money for Spenser's Hope, a nonprofit founded by Gretchen Miller, a parent at Bryant Woods, to help families experiencing pre-term labor or premature birth.

'Volunteer of the Year' Nomination forms for Howard County's Volunteer of the Year are available at howardcountymd.gov. Program recognizes individuals (youth and adults), nonprofit groups and agencies, or businesses that have demonstrated commitment and dedication to the community. Deadline is Friday, Sept. 16. To qualify, nominees must be either residents of Howard County or do their volunteer work in Howard County. In addition, their efforts should have an impact on an individual or the community.

An old friend is back in Bryant Woods.The neighborhood center, destroyed by arson last summer, has been rebuilt and reopens tomorrow night.The Columbia Association, which rebuilt the center, will sponsor a reception from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. for the Wilde Lake Village Board, the Columbia Council and Wilde Lake residents."

An arson fire in the Bryant Woods neighborhood of Columbia has caused at least $250,000 in damage to the neighborhood center and an adjacent pool building. Yet that's just the material loss. It does not speak to the mental and emotional scarring that such an act inflicts on a community.Bryant Woods is part of Wilde Lake, the oldest village in Columbia. It has ties to the community going back more than two decades.To understand the connection between communities and their neighborhood centers and villages is to realize James W. Rouse's original design for Howard County's planned city.

Investigators say a two-alarm fire that caused extensive structural damage to the Bryant Woods Neighborhood Center and an adjacent pool building early yesterday was set."We've determined the cause to be arson," said Bob Thomas, deputy chief state fire marshal. "At this point, we have no suspects for the arson fire, nor do we have a clear motive."State fire officers removed evidence from the scene yesterday and sent it to the State Police Crime Laboratory in Pikesville for analysis, Mr. Thomas said.

FIRST-GRADERS at Bryant Woods Elementary School -- who met the challenge of reading 21 books in 10 weeks -- will celebrate their success at a breakfast tomorrow morning.The challenge was part of Running Start, a reading-motivation program created by Reading Is Fundamental, sponsored by the Chrysler Foundation.Bryant Woods was awarded a grant for the program.Reading specialist Fran Clay said the program "is designed to ensure family involvement in encouraging first-graders to develop a lifetime love of reading."

In the latest round of principal assignments, Howard County school officials announced that Jason McCoy, principal at Bryant Woods Elementary School, will take over Cradlerock School, a prekindergarten-through-eighth-grade school, on Friday. McCoy, 35, replaces Stephen Zagami, who is taking a job as Montgomery County school system's director of student services. "They made a good offer, and it's a very exciting position to take," said Zagami, who began his teaching career in 1980 as teacher at Phelps Luck Elementary School.

The Columbia Association plans to rebuild the Bryant Woods Neighborhood Center, destroyed by a still-unsolved arson fire last summer, for an estimated $60,000 more than the $250,000 insurance coverage reimbursement.The razing and construction project will include the replacement of the adjoining Bryant Woods pool bath house and pump house.The association aims to start construction early next year and complete it in time for the pool opening in late May, said Dennis Mattey, the association construction manager.

A 38-year-old Columbia man who worked with special-education students at a local elementary school is accused of sexually abusing two children from September 2009 to last month, according to a source with knowledge of the case. Karl Marshall Walker Jr., who worked as a aide at Bryant Woods Elementary School in Columbia, faces two counts of sexual abuse of a minor and two counts of attempted sexual abuse, according to the source. Walker, of the 5600 block of Stevens Forest Road, was indicted by a Howard County grand jury on Wednesday and arrested Thursday by the sheriff's department, Howard County schools spokeswoman Patti Caplan confirmed.

A-OK (Assisting Our Kids) Mentoring-Tutoring Program needs adult volunteers to work in Howard County schools, grades K-8, and after-school programs. A-OK is working with the following schools: Oakland Mills Middle School, Bryant Woods, Longfellow, Phelps Luck, Running Brook, and Talbott Springs elementary schools. To volunteer and for more information, call Chaya Kaplan at 410-730-6030 or e-mail chayakaplan@verizon.net. div.talkforum #creditfooter { display: none; } div.talkforum .feedItemAuthor { display: none; }

Sixty awe-struck second-graders from Bryant Woods Elementary in Columbia saw their favorite books brought to life this week through culinary artistry by Wilde Lake High School students. The annual activity that mixes gingerbread-house-like creations with storytelling was a chance for Wilde Lake students to flex their culinary muscles while stressing an appreciation for reading and high school. "I really wanted to do something that encouraged reading," said Yvonne Lund, who heads the school's Culinary Academy.

Swansfield Elementary School Principal Jonathan Davis has a date with a dunking booth Tuesday afternoon. Davis, several teachers and an assistant principal, have agreed to be dunked by students who earned the right during the Maryland State Assessments, which were taken in March. During the testing period, Swansfield teachers had the opportunity to award up to five balls per student. The balls acted as incentive for students to take the test seriously. "The students are extremely excited to have the opportunity to drench their teachers and the principal," said a school spokeswoman Pennie Close.

Bryant Woods fifth-grader Ariel Hill would like to be president some day, and Marty Cifrese, a judge at the school's simulated congressional hearing, thinks she has a chance. "Ariel, I definitely see you in politics," said Cifrese, Bridges program manager for the county school system, and one of nine judges at Thursday's event. During the hearings, Ariel answered question after question about the Constitution and the way American government is organized. Though she aspires to the job herself, she does not think presidents should have too much power.

CHILDREN ARE first here," says new Principal Orrester Shaw of Bryant Woods Elementary School.On the job since July 1, Shaw said he is already finding his new position "an exhilarating, delightful experience."

What they lacked in flamboyance, they made up for in heart.The men of Bryant Woods Elementary School took to the stage last Friday, belting out "R-E-A-D," their version of the Village People's disco hit, "YMCA."Billed as the Bryant Woods Boys were Assistant Principal John Hammett, teachers Jon Wray and Charles Tompkins, student teacher Chris McCloin and Robert Blaze, a rather surprised substitute teacher who was tapped at the last minute.The number was a highlight of Friday's assembly kicking off the school's Reading for the Gold program that challenges students to earn bronze, silver and gold medals for reading books.