Lake High School

The Howard County Board of Education, along with residents of the Dorsey Hall community, have a unique opportunity if they choose to grasp it.The issue at hand is the redistricting of the Wilde Lake and Centennial high schools. We believe that any redistricting effort must include boundary changes that move Dorsey Hall out of the Centennial district and into Wilde Lake. To do less would send a TTC message that the school system is not sincere about the goal of achieving a socio-economic balance in Howard schools.

There was a town meeting last Wednesday night, featuring top administrators of the Howard County school system at Wilde Lake High School, sponsored by the school's Parent-Teacher-Student Association. Parental concern for my child who attends Wilde Lake and for another who's in the Wilde Lake elementary feeder system assured my attendance.The stated purpose of the meeting was to allow Superintendent Michael E. Hickey and others who are structuring the future of the school system, and the Wilde Lake district in particular, to outline their programs, presumeably with the intention of easing the concerns of some parents.

Slayton House Theatre in Wilde Lake Village Center will start the 2003-2004 season of its "Marvelous Movies and More" film series with The Philadelphia Story, a 1940 film starring Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant and James Stewart, at 7:30 Oct. 17. Dessert and coffee will be served after a short discussion. The cost is $7. Seating is limited. The Mollycoddle, originally scheduled Sept. 19, will be shown at 3 p.m. Nov. 9. Information: 410-730-3987 Open-space cleanup set Oct. 25 in Wilde Lake Wilde Lake residents are invited to help clean open-space areas, street gutters and storm drains as part of Columbia Cleans Day on Oct. 25. Participants can pick up trash bags at Slayton House.

When some look at Columbia's Wilde Lake High School, they see a nurturing environment for creativity; others see a permissive atmosphere that has spawned discipline problems and low academic test scores.What you see probably determines how you feel about Principal Roger Plunkett, whose actions in his first year at Wilde Lake have divided the high school community. By all accounts the campus that once embodied Columbia's free-thinking tradition is the midst of a cultural shift -- changes that reflect those in the 31-year-old planned community.

Whether by fate or plan, Brenda Thomas has a habit of stepping into challenges.After nine years of teaching social studies at Wilde Lake Middle School, Thomas left in 1995 to become eighth-grade team leader at Elkridge Landing Middle School the year it opened. Two years later, she went to a severely overcrowded Clarksville Middle School as assistant principal.Then the call came asking her to take the helm of Wilde Lake Middle School this year, a racially and economically diverse school in the heart of Columbia that has struggled recently with test scores, a receding student population and bad word-of-mouth; a school where unhappy parents removed dozens of children this year to attend the new Lime Kiln Middle in Fulton.

SOMETHING HORRIBLE happened at Wilde Lake High School in Columbia last year and it has cast a shadow over an institution that doesn't deserve it.A female Muslim student was harassed on two occasions with threatening letters, one taped to the inside of her locked locker and the other left for her in the school's office mailbox.The messages referred to last spring's bombing in Oklahoma City, made a derogatory reference about Middle Easterners and expressed the desire for Muslims to "die" or "rot in hell."

A glance at the birth certificates reveals the equivalent of a groupof babies, but Wilde Lake High School's varsity wrestling team sure is growing up fast.Consider Wilde Lake's precocious make-up. Three freshmen, five sophomores and two juniors complement two seniors. Four of the 12 wrestlers were novices in November. The Wildecats have no heavyweight.Now, consider the Wildecats' recent performances as they gear up for this weekend's county tournament at Atholton High School.Ten days ago they threw the biggest scare of the year into defending league champion Oakland Mills, staying with the Scorpions for 11 matches before Oakland Mills pulled away to a 37-25 victory.

The four state football championships. The 174-41 career record. The still youthful face. The warm grin. The thick yellow hair that glistens when the sun hits it.It's no wonder that some people call Wilde Lake football coach Doug DuVall "The Golden Boy."He looks the part. And almost every team he coaches produces to its maximum.He needs that golden touch now more than ever. He faces one of his greatest challenges in 21 seasons.Doubt about Wilde Lake's invincibility is the first hurdle; graduation of key players is another; and practice conditions that no coaching staff should have to endure is the third hurdle.

Nearly two months have passed since Wilde Lake High School won its second state football championship, but the Wildecats' program still feels the effects of its most successful season in school history.Seven Wilde Lake seniors, notably running back Raphael Wall and defensive back Ricky Rowe, are mulling over full college scholarship offers.And Wilde Lake coach Doug DuVall has been selected as the Maryland team's head coach in the sixth annual Big 33 football game, played each summer in Hershey, Pa. It will take place on July 27, pitting Maryland's top 33 high school seniors against the best 33 from Pennsylvania.

The mother of a Wilde Lake High School freshman expelled for her participation in a fight that preceded a teacher's death last month picketed the school yesterday, protesting what she called an overly harsh sentence for a student with no history of violent behavior.Juanita Jackson, her daughter Nia and two of her sons stood yards away from the parking lot where the May 14 brawl involving students from Wilde Lake and Howard High took place. The family handed out copies of a one-page letter defending its position to students and parents leaving the school.