Sandymount

More than 200 parents from the Westminster and North Carroll areas voiced their concerns last night about proposed boundary lines for a new middle school.The public meeting at Hampstead Elementary School gave parents their first opportunity to comment on three redistricting options developed by officials in anticipation of the opening of Shiloh Middle School in August 2000.The 800-pupil school in Hampstead will be on Willow Street in the Westwood Park development adjacent to Hampstead Elementary School on Shiloh Road.

This table shows the percentage of Carroll County third-graders in each school who scored at a satisfactory level each year on reading tests administered under the Maryland School Performance Assessment Program. The last column shows the percentage point improvement since test results were first recorded 1994.'99 '98 '97 '96 '95 '94 Chg.Maryland 41.2 41.6 36.8 35.3 34.0 30.6 10.6Countywide 49.4 52.0 49.7 46.7 41.4 42.2 7.2Carrolltowne 60.3 56.6 50.4 61.5 50.9 65.3 -5.0Charles Carroll 47.8 56.1 29.3 42.5 30.2 29.7 18.1Eldersburg 50.5 43.7 47.5 43.9 39.6 47.3 3.2Elmer A. Wolfe 47.9 49.4 40.5 34.2 28.6 29.7 18.2Freedom District 45.2 59.9 57.5 41.7 41.3 47.3 -2.1Friendship Valley 56.4 63.4 54.5 47.6 41.1 42.6 13.8Hampstead 59.5 49.0 57.8 38.5 45.6 45.7 13.8Linton Springs 36.5 NA NA NA NA NA NAManchester 54.9 42.1 43.4 43.0 34.8 41.6 13.3Mechanicsville 55.3 56.8 61.5 56.0 50.0 56.5 -1.2Mount Airy 50.0 55.6 60.6 58.3 54.7 41.2 8.8Piney Ridge 55.6 50.0 53.7 48.0 31.1 37.2 18.4Robert Moton 48.2 52.3 48.5 43.2 36.6 41.1 7.1Runnymede 31.3 53.3 55.0 25.6 30.5 23.1 8.2Sandymount 50.6 45.1 46.9 64.3 41.9 44.8 5.8Spring Garden 55.9 57.1 47.3 59.6 47.0 40.9 15.0Taneytown 40.7 52.4 42.9 26.7 46.3 37.3 3.4Westminster 46.1 50.0 41.5 47.1 44.7 45.5 0.6Winfield 53.3 48.7 62.5 51.7 46.8 45.9 7.4Wm.

PoliceWestminster: A light at Westminster City Park was reported damaged Monday. Damage was estimated at $900.FireReese: Firefighters responded at 9: 49 p.m. Monday to a truck fire in the 2400 block of Sandymount Road. Units were out 1 1/2 hours.

EMILY FISHER and Kasey Parr have been best friends since they met in kindergarten at Sandymount Elementary School three years ago.They love to play soccer and talk (and talk and talk) on the phone. But what holds this friendship together is their pact to make the world a better place."These two friends are from a whole class of motivated learners, and they have vowed to stay motivated to help other people," said Kasey's third-grade teacher, Karen Jolle. "When they write paragraphs or papers, they write about how to cure diseases or how to help people."

FiresWestminster: Firefighters from Westminster, Reese, Pleasant Valley and Manchester responded at 1: 32 a.m. yesterday to smoke in an apartment in the 100 block of E. Main St. Units were out 30 minutes.Reese: Firefighters responded at 5: 49 p.m. Sunday to an auto fire at Route 140 and Sandymount Road. Units were out 15 minutes.PoliceWestminster: A resident of Buck Cash Road told police Thursday that someone damaged a glass door and took property from the home. The loss was estimated at $4,645.

FiresWestminster: Firefighters responded at 5: 15 p.m. Monday to mulch on fire in the 400 block of Robins Way. Units were out 20 minutes.Westminster: Firefighters responded at 7: 45 p.m. Saturday to an odor of gas in the 100 block of S. Center St. Units were out 14 minutes.Westminster: Firefighters responded at 7: 07 p.m. Saturday to smoke at Route 31 and Windsor Drive. Units were out 32 minutes.Reese: Firefighters from Reese and Westminster responded at 1: 41 p.m. Saturday to a house fire in the 2600 block of Sandymount Road.

ON OCT. 9, Cranberry Mall sponsored an awards ceremony for the winners of the Carroll County Volunteer Firemen's Association's annual Fire Prevention Poster Contest.Pupils from Sandymount Elementary School claimed three of the five grand prizes, which included coupons for Papa John's pizza and Cranberry Mall stores, two tickets to the Lineboro Fire Department's Haunted Hay Ride, and Carroll County fire prevention sweat shirts."This was the biggest year for the contest. We had 200 programs printed, and they were gone within minutes," said Susan Bowersox-Blizzard, chairwoman of the Fire Prevention Committee.

VOLCANOES ERUPTED, electricity flowed from minerals, buzzers buzzed, and a recording of Elton John's "Rocket Man" played behind an exhibit called "Rockets, Shuttles and Space Exploration" during Sandymount Elementary's first Science Show recently.Fifth-graders at the school had one week to research a topic of their choice and create an exhibit for the show; 96 entries filled tabletops in the cafeteria Tuesday night. Parents and children visited the displays to read about, and sometimes experience, the exhibits.

FiresWestminster: Firefighters responded at 5: 11 a.m. Tuesday to a report of a fire in the first block of Colonial Ave. Units were out 17 minutes.Westminster: Firefighters from Reese, Pleasant Valley and Manchester assisted Westminster at 5: 24 a.m. Tuesday, responding to a fire at Carroll Springs School in the 400 block of S. Center St. Units were out an hour.PoliceWestminster: A resident of Carrollview Avenue told police Monday that someone tried to force entry into her apartment. Damage was estimated at $200.

Sandymount Elementary School in Finksburg was designated one of 11 Maryland Blue Ribbon Schools of Excellence for 1996 yesterday by Nancy S. Grasmick, the state superintendent of schools.This honor puts Sandymount in the running for the National Blue Ribbon School competition sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education.Blue-ribbon schools are selected on the basis of leadership, teaching environment, curriculum, student environment, parent and community support, and performance. Sandymount and the other 10 schools applied for consideration and were chosen over about 800 other elementary schools statewide.

Fourth-grader Corey Brooks dipped the small white strip of test paper into the glass vial of cloudy water taken from the school parking lot. "Look at all the sediment in the bottom," said one of his lab partners, Brady Meixsell. A few minutes later, the fourth-grader and his peers at Sandymount Elementary School in Finksburg had determined the water's nitrogen and pH levels, and reasoned that its lack of clarity would mean a drop in the production of algae and zooplankton, minute animal life that floats in water.

In the farthest corner of the playground at Sandymount Elementary School in Finksburg, the fifth-graders are in the midst of a soccer game. They're running and pushing, falling and getting up again. They hit the ball with everything they have available - heads, knees, shoulders, elbows. They don't keep score, but that's not the point. They have only 15 minutes, and they're trying to make the most of it. For some youngsters, it's a chance to practice for a community soccer league game that day. But for many, those 15 minutes are the only opportunity for physical activity during the school day. In a growing number of elementary schools, even those 15 minutes of playtime are threatened.

On July 13, 2006 JESSIE M. MANN (nee Sellman) beloved wife of the late Harry H. Mann, dear sister of Elsie Nickey, and the late Norma Gentile, Anna Van Lill, John Sellman, Donald Sellman, Donald Sellman, Dewey Sellman and Olin W. Sellman. Also survived by many loving nieces and nephews. Relatives and friends may call at the family owned AMBROSE FUNERAL HOME, INC., 1328 Sulphur Spring Road, Arbutus, on Sunday from 3-5 and 7-9 P.M. where a service will be held on Monday at the funeral hour of 11 A.M. Interment to follow at Sandymount Methodist Cemetery Churchyard.

Grasping the flag's edges with the utmost care, the eight solemn boys and girls unfurled the tightly wound fabric from its triangular shape. The children, ranging from kindergarten to fifth grade, turned back one fold and then another - until all 13 folds had been undone. Standing before a crowd of hundreds of pupils, parents, school officials and staff members assembled in the auditorium at Sandymount Elementary in Finksburg, the children waited for their next cue. They had gathered yesterday to honor Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder, 20, a former Sandymount pupil who died in Iraq in March while serving with the Marines.

When Lorraine Fulton, Carroll County's newest assistant superintendent, ventured into Joy Nuzzo's second-grade class at Sandymount Elementary last week, she discovered the children would be spending the morning studying maps and communities. "That's what I'm studying now, too," a pleasantly surprised Fulton told them. "Because I just moved to Carroll County, I have to constantly look at maps because I don't want to get lost. And I want to be able to get home at the end of the day." Those maps will come in handy as Fulton crisscrosses the county in the days and weeks to come as she honors a personal commitment to visit each of the system's 42 elementary, middle and high schools.

Alex Twery said he reads nearly every day after school. He said he can get through about 50 pages a day - especially if it is a book with lots of action. "It's fun," he said. "You can just think about stuff, and it passes the time." Alex, 8, a third-grader at Sandymount Elementary School, thinks he will have no problem reading four books over the next two months as part of a reading incentive program. His reward will be a free ticket to a Frederick Keys baseball game, if he reaches his goal.

In a letter to elementary school pupils in Mississippi, Kristen Sew explained how sorry she was that Hurricane Katrina damaged their school. Kristen, 6, a second-grader at Sandymount Elementary School, told them to remember that while people can't be replaced, things can. She and other Sandymount pupils have been working to replace some of the things lost during the hurricane for the children who attend Oak Park Elementary, a school on the Gulf Coast....

On October 13, 2004, WILLIAM "BILL" F, Brother of Charles A. and Clayton Mann. Also survived by many nieces, nephews and devoted friends. Services Sunday 3 P.M. at Sandymount United Methodist Church, Finksburg. Burial in the church cemetery. Friends may call Saturday 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 at MYERS-DURBORAW FUNERAL HOME, 91 Willis Street, Westminster and 1 hour prior to the time of Service at the church. Contributions to Sandymount U.M. Church Building Fund, 2101 Old Westminster Pike, Finksburg, MD 21048.

MY GOAL IS to make kids like math," said Bonnie Prentice, who teaches the subject. Spurred by her son's interest in math, she launched a math club at Sandymount Elementary two years ago. In the spring, two Sandymount pupils scored in the top 2 percent internationally in the Math Olympiad for Elementary and Middle Schools, a New York-based program that includes about 150,000 children from every state and 25 countries who compete monthly. This year, after her son started sixth grade, Prentice is adding a math club at Shiloh Middle.

The drought that has drained residential wells, turned farm fields to dust and depleted streams and reservoirs has extended its reach into school classrooms as well. Two Carroll County elementary schools replaced drinking fountains with water coolers yesterday and served lunch on disposable trays to eliminate dish washing, after one school ran out of water twice this week and the other's well began kicking up mud and gravel. Carroll officials are so concerned about possible well failures at these and other schools that they're looking into using portable bathrooms at schools without water - and they're forming plans to run schools on split shifts in the event that some buildings must temporarily close for lack of water.