Pupils

The play's the thingWherein I catchthe conscience of the king.+"Hamlet," by ShakespeareTHE PLAY certainly was the thing for fourth-grade pupils at Point Pleasant Elementary School, who recently participated in a play-building workshop presented by Interact Story Theater of Silver Spring.Sponsored by the school's PTA and a grant from the state Cultural Arts Foundation, the weeklong workshop emphasized the relationship between writing plays and the acting, staging technique, costume changes, props and timing of a production.

THE FACULTY and staff of Brooklyn Park Middle School are dedicated to giving their pupils everything they need to be successful. Pupils are held to high standards, and are rewarded when the standards are met. One of the ways that the pupils are rewarded is by being chosen pupil of the month. Each month one sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grader is singled out for academic achievement, pupil involvement, school spirit and consideration for others. The Brooklyn Park Middle School pupils of the month for September through this month are: Shantel Pumphrey, Tabitha Boone, Destiny Cheeves, Lindsey Hall, Mary Pham, Steven Noonan, Katie Green, Matthew Deitz, Mackenzi Gawthrop, Sammy Shepley, James Delph and David Kincaid.

WESTMINSTER Elementary School pupils have offered hundreds of helping hands to local firefighters and the American Red Cross. As they filed into art classes during the past few weeks, pupils pressed their hands into paint and then onto a 6-foot-by-14-foot canvas. By the time the final handprints are collected (from seven pupils who were absent), 544 prints will form an American flag. This unique creation was part of a schoolwide tribute to patriotism. Pupils also sang patriotic songs, signed oversized thank-you cards and donated coins to local firefighters.

FRENCH TEACHER Karen Mentz swished into the first- and second-grade classrooms at Trinity School dressed in a full-length, lavender satin gown with a three-tiered skirt.She sported a matching white lace parasol, and her curly shoulder-length hair was framed by a wide-brimmed white lace hat.For the past two years, Mentz has taught French to grades five through eight at Trinity Middle School in Ellicott City.Teaching French culture is as important as teaching the language, she says.Last week, Trinity pupils learned about Mardi Gras.

ELKRIDGE LANDING Middle School pupils jumped rope, shot baskets and swung Hula Hoops around their hips last week to raise money for the American Heart Association.Physical education teacher Carol Jones expected to raise about $4,000 through pledges for the school's Jump and Hoops for Heart events.Participation in the activities, held during physical education and health classes Thursday and Friday, was voluntary.Jones and her colleagues, Jeff Freimanis and Charles Stewart, organized the event to complement the physical education curriculum and help pupils reach their target heart rates and build endurance.

THE IDEA of an operating carousel built by pupils ages 6 to 10 might seem a little far-fetched to most people, but not to art teacher Diane Ovelgone at Eldersburg Elementary School. The carousel on Ocean City's boardwalk, which Ovelgone enjoyed while on vacation with her family last summer, inspired the project. She watched as her niece Abby Kahn, 2, became captivated by the magical ride - with its flashy lights, bright colors and booming organ music. Ovelgone decided to work a carousel into her curriculum for the school year.

BROOKLYN PARK experienced its first Olympics on Thursday. There was no television coverage with high-priced commercials, no endorsements for the athletes, and a runner carrying a torch up Hammonds Lane was nowhere to be seen. Regardless, Zeus himself would have felt at home on the fields of the Brooklyn Park Middle School when the sixth-grade section B pupils took the fields to compete in a series of events in the ancient Greek style. In the morning, the pupils were welcomed to the games by their teachers, all dressed in togas with wreathes on their heads.

FOR THE SECOND TIME in six months, pupils from Friendship Valley Elementary School will be honored at the governor's mansion in Annapolis.Fifth-graders Katie Allen, Tim Evelius, Brittany Byers, T J Farley, Will Landon, Patricia Repsher, Kurt Udseth, Anna Zawacki and their parents will participate in a dedication ceremony to "Celebrate the Holidays through Literature" at 1 p.m. Saturday.Their invitations came from Gov. Parris N. Glendening and first lady Frances Hughes Glendening after each pupil, under the direction of Friendship Valley art teacher Deb Welle, created ornaments for Christmas trees at the mansion.

FOR SANDYMOUNT Elementary pupils, yesterday should have been a bit more than just a day off from school. After a week of learning about the origins and meaning of Memorial Day, the children spent part of Friday morning participating in a service honoring those who gave their lives for this country. "We're not focusing on a death scene," said PTA member John M. Keydash Jr., who organized the 15-minute ceremony. "We're trying to show the students that adults, especially those in uniform, take patriotism seriously."

SLAM DUNK has taken on new meaning for third-graders at Mount Airy Elementary School.Thanks to a powerful demonstration by Western Maryland College basketball players, pupils score their writing in terms of a perfect "slam dunk."Pupils can score two points when their writing efforts show thought, detail, extension and elaboration. Slam dunk is basketball lingo for a hard stuff of the ball into the goal.The idea was a collaboration between physical education teacher Robin Townsend, language arts specialist Phyllis Sonnenleiter, and third-grade teachers Annie Blonkowski and Eileen Himes.