Oklahoma Road Middle

WEARING WETSUITS and carrying an assortment of plastic beach toys, Oklahoma Road Middle School Principal Larry Barnes and Assistant Principal Cathy Hood sat on a drop seat awaiting the inevitable.The two administrators agreed to be dunked last Wednesday in exchange for students raising a particular amount during the school's recent PTA "Twistin' the Day Away" fund-raiser.Any student who collected pledges of $25 or more had a chance to hit the target and send one of the administrators into the tank.

THE DRAMA CLUB at Oklahoma Road Middle School has been hard at work for weeks preparing to bring audiences a real "blast from the past" as its member present "Schoolhouse Rock Live!"The play is based on the Emmy-Award winning short animated pieces that were seen on Saturday morning television from 1973 through 1985. Shown between cartoons, "Schoolhouse Rock!" brought the classroom into living rooms across the country. Its well-crafted songs brought depth and meaning to fundamental subjects from grammar and history to math and biology.

An eighth-grade boy brought a handgun to Oklahoma Road Middle School yesterday morning and fired a single shot in a school bathroom in an apparent suicide attempt, police said. No one was hurt in the incident at the Eldersburg school, authorities said. The boy, 13, took his father's .44-caliber revolver from a locked box at home and brought the gun to school in a backpack, said Maj. Greg Shipley, a state police spokesman. The boy fired the handgun about 10 a.m. in an empty boys' bathroom while pupils at the school were between classes, police said.

THE STAGE at Oklahoma Road Middle School was christened Friday evening by members of the drama clubs at Sykesville and Oklahoma Road middle schools.Under the direction and guidance of teachers from both schools, 24 actors performed scenes from the theater about teens and starring teens. The scenes were staged with very few props -- a cot here, a school desk or music stand there -- so the performers were the focus of attention.A few of the youngsters came to the stage with performing experience.

Sun Editorial Was Wrong on School FundingI am writing this letter in response to an editorial in your paper on Jan. 25, entitled "Biting the Bullet on New Schools," and your initial statement, "There is no question about the need for the proposed Oklahoma Road Middle School. Overcrowding is severe at Sykesville Middle; its enrollment of 1,000 exceeds capacity by more than 200 students. Given the continued growth in South Carroll, the situation will only worsen." This portion of the editorial was accurate.

O LITTLE TOWN of Eldersburg could very well be the name of a holiday project at Oklahoma Road Middle School.Since early this month, students have spent time each day creating a detailed train garden display featuring many Eldersburg landmarks.The project has been dubbed Winter Wonderland and is the result of the cooperative work of more than 80 students who are members of the Partners Club.This club provides an opportunity for students of resource teacher Lois Dolan to meet on a regular basis and work on this holiday project together.

THE GIVING SPIRIT OF Christmas is flourishing at Oklahoma Road Middle School. Pupils at the Eldersburg school have been working to create a town scene dubbed Winter Wonderland.More than a dozen pupils in a group called the Partners Club have spent the past two weeks working on the display, which covers about 50 square feet. Pupils in the club spend time during their skills class working with pupils in teacher Lois Dolan's Learning for Independence class.I visited the Winter Wonderland display last week as the children were putting finishing touches on their work.

They begin arriving as early as 7:20 a.m. Some Oklahoma Road Middle School teachers walk a few laps outside the building. Others drift over to the nearby McDonald's for coffee. Many remain huddled in the parking lot, just across the bus loop from the building's main entrance, where they talk about their quiet protest for respect, appreciation and better pay. What the few dozen teachers don't do is escort early-arriving pupils to the cafeteria, meet with parents or spend extra time setting up their classrooms - all the normal before-school activities of a teacher.

About 500 people simulated the crowding at Sykesville Middle School last night as they filled the gymnasium to capacity.They came to tell county and state officials they wanted Oklahoma Road Middle School built in South Carroll as soon as possible. And they had packed the gymnasium on purpose, in order to demonstrate the crowded conditions at the school."What are your projections for new home construction in South Carroll, which could soon become the population center of the county?" asked Robert Martz.

If yesterday's meeting between the Board of Education and the Carroll County legislative delegation in Annapolis does nothing more than get state money for Oklahoma Road Middle School, that will at least save the county $6 million."