Manchester Elementary

The winners of the 1997 School Media Festival have been announced.Best of Show winners in photography were Jennifer Warner, North Carroll Middle, first; Jessica Boyd, Westminster High, second; and Tiffany Tarbet, Elmer Wolfe Elementary, third.First and second place winners, awarded in color and monochrome by category and grade, were:Life Study -- Grades K-2: Caitlin Costello, Mount Airy Elementary, first; Ashby Haines, Manchester Elementary, first; T. J. Desmond, Manchester Elementary, and Allyson Lethbridge, Elmer Wolfe, (tie)

FAMILY FUN will be the theme for Spring Garden Elementary's annual Spring Garden Party on Saturday.The carnival is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the school on Boxwood Drive in Hampstead.Games that cost 25 cents each, a free magic show and food choices are scaled to the elementary school child.Crafts this year include sand art, bracelets that display one's name, spin art and colored hair spray -- perhaps the most popular choice for all ages last year, said one teacher.At noon, Hampstead magician Cal Horelick will present his "Magic by Cal" show on the school stage.

FEELING HOUSEBOUND? Wishing for an inexpensive day out with the kids? Winterfest at Manchester Elementary School might be the answer.From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, the school cafeteria and gymnasium will become a carnival grounds complete with games, door prizes and all of your children's favorite foodstuffs. Parking will be available at the school or Fire Department carnival grounds.This is Manchester Elementary School's first winter carnival. The PTA chose a winter event in hopes of attracting parent volunteers who have been too busy with spring sports to help during a May festival.

THE HOUSE OF Pasta at 3173 Main St. in Manchester is throwing a pre-Thanksgiving party at 7 p.m. today with raffles, door prizes and karaoke, to benefit the Harvest Times Helping Hands Food Pantry. Partygoers are asked to bring two nonperishable food items or $2 for admission.The pantry, founded four years ago by Manchester couple Jack and Shirley Sealover, serves 50 to 60 families a month. TheSealovers began their charitable work by providing a Christmas dinner to a family from their church, the Harvest Time Temple.

Local bow hunters have been occupying their tree stands for a week and will continue to do so until the lengthy bow season takes a breather to allow for the Oct. 17-19 early muzzleloader deer hunt.The remaining dates for the year's bow season are Oct. 21-Nov. 29, Dec. 16-Dec. 20 and Jan. 6 to Jan. 31, 1997. Last year, Carroll County archers bagged 777 whitetails, of which 523 were antlered bucks. That represented a 13-percent increase over the previous season's bow bag. The entire 1995-96 deer season bag total representing bow, firearms, muzzleloader and Junior Hunter hunts was 3,149.

Supporters of Manchester's Nature Center have formed a nonprofit foundation to maintain the center, which is used as an outdoor classroom by students at Manchester elementary and middle schools.Volunteers plan to take responsibility for most of the upkeep of the center and apply for grants to fund educational projects there.The year-old center, in Pine Valley Park off Walnut Street at the end of a path down the hill from Manchester Elementary School, began as the dream of town Councilwoman Charlotte Collett.

When entomologist Marty A. Condon had trouble distinguishing among three species of fruit fly, she sought the advice of a rarely consulted group of scientists -- 10 Manchester Elementary fifth-graders.Not only did the students identify differences among the flies, but they developed a theory that allowed scientists to identify the insects in the Venezuelan jungle accurately.Now, four years later, the fly -- a variety that feeds on rain forest cucumber -- has been named the Blepharoneura manchesteri or, loosely translated, the eyelash vein fly of Manchester.

When entomologist Marty A. Condon had trouble distinguishing among three species of fruit fly, she sought the advice of a rarely consulted group of scientists -- 10 Manchester Elementary fifth-graders.Not only did the students identify differences among the flies, but they developed a theory that allowed scientists to identify the insects in the Venezuelan jungle accurately.Now, four years later, the fly -- a variety that feeds on rain forest cucumber -- has been named the Blepharoneura manchesteri or, loosely translated, the eyelash vein fly of Manchester.

The thought of children going to bed hungry troubled Jamie Ridgely.So the 10-year-old Manchester Elementary student decided to tackle the problem.Over the past two weeks -- with the help of neighbors and schoolmates -- Jamie has collected more than 640 food items for Carroll County Food Sunday."

Carroll County's Manchester has a new window on the world. It's a glass wall in an eight-sided wooden frame building set in a meadow of the town's Pine Valley Park, down the hill and through the woods from Manchester Elementary School.The new nature center was formally opened for the community this month, although the school has been using it for outside classes for a while now. It's a place to recall the discoveries of a nearby field trip, to work on art and writing projects, to display nature projects and student artwork.