Phelps Luck

PHELPS LUCK Elementary School in Columbia earned a triple play recently when three of its staff members were honored for their work. Nancy Koza, a first-grade teacher, was named Howard County teacher of the year last month by the school system. Tricia McCarthy was chosen as the county's elementary school counselor of the year. Also, Heather Yeo was designated Maryland school social worker of the year by the state's chapter of the National Association of Social Workers. "[The awards] show that we have some high-quality professionals that work at our school," said Assistant Principal Jonathan Davis.

The Columbia Neighborhood Swim League closed out its season with the annual All-City meet, held July 29-30 at the Phelps Luck pool. Nearly 1,100 swimmers participated, about 150 more than in previous summers. Three new meet records were set. Michael Lazris, of Wilde Lake, set a new 15-18 boys individual medley record of 53.13; Katie McDaniel, of Kings Contrivance, set a new 5-U girls backstroke record (27.11) and the Long Reach 15-18 mixed medley relay team of Stephanie Foster, Kendrick McDonald, Trey Perry and Victoria Radcliffe established a new mark in that event (1:50.59)

EVERYONE LIKES a parade, and at high noon Aug. 21 Phelps Luck Elementary School's parade will celebrate a new school year.Vice Principal Sana Wilson and Parent Teacher Association Vice President John Snyder have planned a "Welcoming Caravan" for students and their families, friends and neighbors.Principal Jim Weisner and Wilson will lead the parade in Long Reach village on a Howard County Fire and Rescue truck.The school's new and returning staff, community association members, Maryland Dels.

Barbara Kellner was placing a catalog order over the phone when it happened. She told the person taking the order that she lived on Phelps Luck Drive. "Oh, you must live in Columbia," the order taker joked. Kellner has heard that line before. A staff member at the Columbia Archives, she often fields calls from residents seeking to find out why their streets are named after such odd things as a stray camel and a green dragon. Kellner, fellow archivist Robin Emrich and Columbia resident Missy Burke have spent the past four years researching the history of Columbia's place names.

A small fire that broke out in an office area next to the gymnasium at Phelps Luck Elementary School in Columbia yesterday afternoon was quickly extinguished by Howard County firefighters.The fire at the school in the 5300 block of Old Stone Court in Long Reach village was reported at 3: 50 p.m. It apparently began in an area used by gym teachers and was confined to a small office and a bathroom, said Lt. Dave Tumblin of county Department of Fire and Rescue's Station No. 9 in Long Reach.The building was evacuated before firefighters arrived.

After three weeks of etiquette training, 30 pupils from Phelps Luck Elementary School tried out their newly acquired skills last week at Kings Contrivance Restaurant. "I was very impressed -- and these are students that I teach on a regular basis," said reading and math teacher Kim Quintyne, an organizer of the trip. "And it was very nice to see them outside of school in a formal setting." The meal started with bread, "and they learned how to appropriately break the bread and butter the little pieces of bread," Quintyne said.

IT WAS "Silly Hat Day" on Friday at Phelps Luck Elementary School. Hats appeared from everywhere -- from the backs of closets and even borrowed from light fixtures.The event, which recognized the National Education Association's "Read Across America" program, was inspired by the books of children's author Dr. Seuss.In every classroom, parents and volunteers read aloud to children."The kid wearing the lamp shade was so cute," said Stazy Godlewski, who was taking time off from her job as a Navy program analyst to read "It Happened on Mulberry Street" to her son Josh and his third-grade class.

It comes as no surprise that Patricia Phillips, a reading specialist at Phelps Luck Elementary, was so focused on a lesson with three second-graders that she did not immediately notice her husband, David, and the dozen or so officials enter the classroom. After spotting Superintendent Sydney L. Cousin, County Council Chairman Calvin Ball and school board Chairman Diane Mikulis in the room Friday, it began to sink in. A nervous smile crept onto her face. They were there to tell her she had been chosen Howard County's 2007 Teacher of the Year.

It starts early on a Saturday morning and, aside from a lunch break, continues till late afternoon. For at least five or six blocks, well beyond the streets lined with cars and sport utility vehicles of parents whose kids are competing, you can hear the starting horn every couple of minutes. Then come a few seconds of yells and cheers, most of them from children - but not all. Just down from Howard High School, on the Columbia side of the hill that is Howard County's highest point, residents know the upbeat sounds as part of the rhythm of summer weekends: a swim meet at the Phelps Luck neighborhood pool.

The answer to Phelps Luck Elementary School's low test scores might lie in the small reading groups being enjoyed by students like Prashanth Challa. "We're getting more attention," says the 9-year-old fifth-grader. "We're learning more."At the east Columbia elementary -- struggling to rebound from a precipitous decline in test scores-- the new emphasis on small-group, directed reading instruction offers hope to administrators, teachers and, most important, parents.It's an idea Phelps Luck unapologetically copied two months ago from Bryant Woods Elementary in west Columbia's Wilde Lake village -- one of the most successful elementaries in Howard County at turning around a record of low achievement.

Athletes at Howard High School are teaming up with youngsters at nearby Phelps Luck Elementary in a program that encourages academic excellence and self discipline. The Athletes for Achievement program started in the fall, and educators are promoting its success. "Wonderful relationships have developed between the high school students and the elementary school students," said organizer Nancy Ottey, who also is the head of the reading-recovery team at Phelps Luck. "We're just really pleased."

Tristan Hinman, 12, usually races across the pool in Columbia Neighborhood Swim League meets. But Saturday, Tristan had all night to swim laps. He and more than 50 Phelps Luck Snappers swam for pledges and donations to the Special Olympics aquatics program in an overnight Swim Mania at Phelps Luck pool. "I think it's a good idea because they should have a chance to swim, too," Tristan said. While every CNSL team holds a charity event, the Snappers have formed a bond with the Special Olympics athletes, who swim with the Snappers every year at Swim Mania.

It comes as no surprise that Patricia Phillips, a reading specialist at Phelps Luck Elementary, was so focused on a lesson with three second-graders that she did not immediately notice her husband, David, and the dozen or so officials enter the classroom. After spotting Superintendent Sydney L. Cousin, County Council Chairman Calvin Ball and school board Chairman Diane Mikulis in the room Friday, it began to sink in. A nervous smile crept onto her face. They were there to tell her she had been chosen Howard County's 2007 Teacher of the Year.

Brooks Whiteford scurried around the Phelps Luck pool, talking to a seemingly endless mix of swimmers, parents, coaches and officials. Wearing an eye-catching tie-dyed red T-shirt, the Phelps Luck head swim coach worked especially hard to keep his swimmers aware of what was happening and ready for their next race. But on this hot Saturday morning during the All-City Championship Meet, Whiteford could not do it alone. The 20-year-old Columbia resident found his assistant coach and went over some lineup changes.

The Phelps Luck pool resembled a state of controlled chaos. Parents and volunteers scurried around the 25-yard pool to help instruct, score and do administrative tasks. Several manned the concession stand, and others helped inform the children when their races would take place. Some just played the role of nervous parents. But the children, well, they were having a blast. "The kids just have a great time," said Columbia resident Mary Nakagama, whose son, Matthew, is a member of the Phelps Luck Snappers.

During his 26 years of teaching art in the Howard County school system, Thomas Allen Fox touched the lives of students and staff alike. "The testimonials from parents and students have been phenomenal," said Cathy Bejm, a central office administrative secretary who is a friend of the Fox family. "Story after story you hear the impact he's had on a child's life." Today, members of the school community will have the opportunity to pay their last respects to Fox, 49, who died Monday of kidney cancer.

Charell Gillian has seen a lot of changes since she joined Phelps Luck Elementary School as a teachers' secretary 27 years ago. Fewer than 400 pupils were enrolled at the time, and they all walked to school, Gillian said. Now, the school, which opened in 1972, has an enrollment of about 500, not including 40 children in two prekindergarten classes. And more than a half-dozen buses take the children to school. "It's definitely busier," she said, taking a moment to sit in the hallway and talk Thursday afternoon, the day before the school's open house for pupils and parents and just a few days before the start of the new school year.

Phelps Luck man, 26, killed in fiery car crashA 26-year-old Phelps Luck man was killed early yesterday when his car struck an embankment, overturned and caught fire at Tamar Drive and Snowden River Parkway, police said.Police said Jeffrey Robert Jones of the 5500 block of Phelps Luck Drive was driving north on Snowden River Parkway at 2:16 a.m. when he failed to halt at a stop sign. The car continued across the intersection and into the embankment, police said.Mr. Jones, who was alone in the car, was pronounced dead at the scene.

To qualify for a $1,000 Carson Scholar prize, Gloria O'Koth, a fifth-grader at Phelps Luck Elementary School had to have a grade point average of at least 3.75, had to be involved in her community and had to write an essay about a hero in her life. Her teacher, Toni Sommerville, thought she would choose a sports figure or celebrity. Her mother, Atieno Anyango, suggested she write about Nelson Mandela or the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. But Gloria instead chose to write about her mother.

Charell Gillian has seen a lot of changes since she joined Phelps Luck Elementary School as a teachers' secretary 27 years ago. Fewer than 400 pupils were enrolled at the time, and they all walked to school, Gillian said. Now, the school, which opened in 1972, has an enrollment of about 500, not including 40 children in two prekindergarten classes. And more than a half-dozen buses take the children to school. "It's definitely busier," she said, taking a moment to sit in the hallway and talk Thursday afternoon, the day before the school's open house for pupils and parents and just a few days before the start of the new school year.