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Around South County: Girl Scouts plant vegetable garden

Mitchelle Stephenson — The Capital From left, Girl Scouts Katie Bedard, 11, Alyssa Rose, 10, and Cassie Keenan, 11, explain their gardening techniques to Liles Creighton at the Capt. Salem Avery Museum in Shady Side.






By MITCHELLE STEPHENSON, Staff Writer

Three south county Girl Scouts, of Troop 148 recently helped the Capt. Salem Avery House Museum in Shady Side and in the process earned their Bronze Award. Alyssa Rose, Cassie Keenan and Katie Bedard were recognized at a garden dedication this past Sunday at the Shady Side museum.

The project was to plant a vegetable garden near the boat house on the property. But first they had to conduct research on 1800s garden varieties and clear the spot of overgrown shrubs. The project got off the ground about a year ago when the girls approached Vicki Peterson, the museum director, to try to find a good community service project.

Katie was already a junior docent at the museum, so she had some familiarity with the Capt. Salem Avery House mission. The museum's new garden, the Heritage Eco Tour, was in its planning stages, and Vicki told the girls that maybe there might be some way for them to be involved.

"The lilacs were overgrown and we thought we could do something like an ancestry vegetable garden," Katie said. She explained that the goal was to plant the kinds of trees, vegetables and herbs that might have been used during the 1800s - the era of Capt. Salem Avery.

Cassie did her research on the herb portion of the project. She said that she found that the kinds of herbs used - lavender, yarrow, mint, thyme, sage and lemon balm - were grown not just for cooking and making tea, but also for medicinal purposes. She also learned that children in the 1800s liked candy, one of the reasons for growing mint. Katie planted a red bud tree.

Alyssa procured tomato seeds from one of the volunteers at the museum, and researched an 1800s Maryland technique for growing corn, beans and squash called, "three sisters." In the three sisters growing pattern, corn is grown in a row, interspersed with plantings of beans.

The beans use the corn stalks as a trellis. The squash is planted all around the corn and beans as a method for keeping the soil moist. She made a planting box in the style of the three sisters at Capt. Salem Avery museum. Some of the work was too onerous for the three girls, so they enlisted the help of Boy Scouts from Troop 853 of Shady Side.

The Boy Scouts helped with clearing out the overgrown shrubs and building the planter boxes. The girls brought in the dirt and plants.

Vicki said that she thought the project turned out to be more than the girls had anticipated. "But it came out great," she said. The vegetables and herbs that the girls harvest over the summer will be given to the South County Assistance Network, or SCAN, the local food bank.

Principal Teresa Zablonski is leaving Tracey's Elementary School after having served there for eight years. Faculty and students recently gave her a send off in the form of a schoolwide assembly. The assembly was organized by Jennifer Foster, the school counselor. During the event, the 16 classes at Tracey's each compiled a presentation for the beloved principal.

Some gave her posters andartwork, while others read poems. Teresa accomplished much at the school. During her time at Tracey's, she oversaw the students during a two-year renovation of the building. During the construction, students were housed at Southern Middle School in Lothian.

That was from August 2005 until January 2008. She got to enjoy the new environs for the past two years. She's headed to Glen Burnie Park Elementary School for her next assignment.

Tracey's students will welcome Kathleen Fitzgerald as their principal for the next school year. She is currently the principal at Jones Elementary in Severna Park.

South River High students inducted into dance honor society

At a ceremony in Edgewater earlier this month, 14 dancers from South River High School were inducted into the National Honor Society for Dance Arts. Each of the inductees take dance at the school, and most participate in dance with other dance schools and companies.

The dancers bestowed with the honor include seniors Christine Moren, Alison Quigley, Jennifer Snowden, and Lindsay Tarr; juniors Andrea Crino, Kara Halsey, Violet Hill, Ashley Krogel, Molly Maloy, Kelly Olsen, and Madeleine Raley; and sophomores Samantha Blonder, Cara Ervin and Emily Vitacolonna.

The dance honor society is new to South River, where teacher Nicole Deming teaches an elite group. Deming offers a dance class that meets every other day.

Students can take dance as a fine arts credit, as their second physical education credit, or as a general elective.

Through the course of the year, the class goes through ballet, modern, jazz and tap. They also learn choreography and choreograph student shows in the winter and spring.

Getting into the class is competitive and requires an audition.

Deming said that she heard about the honor society program through Judy Fey, dance consultant for the county schools. Deming said Severna Park High School has a dance program and also participates in the dance honor society.

The honor society is administered through the National Dance Education Organization, a nonprofit that promotes dance. The organization was launched in 1998, and has received grants from the U.S. Department of Education to further research in dance education.

At South River, students needed 30 credit points in order to be inducted. At least 20 of the points had to be earned through participation within the school. The other 10 could be in school or outside of school.

Students in grades nine through 12 were eligible, although earning 30 credit points for ninth-graders proved too difficult a hurdle. No freshmen were inducted at the April 15 ceremony.

Since it was the first year for the honor society, the necessary points were retroactive to a student's freshman year.

Students were also required to maintain an overall 3.0 grade point average.

Deming said that students could earn points in a variety of ways, although all points had to be dance related.

"I made a cheat sheet of how each point is earned, and from there students were responsible for figuring out how many they had," Deming said.

For example, a performance at a county dance festival could earn one point. Teaching creative movement at a day care center might earn a point.

"Some of the girls stage manage or crew for other productions like Talent Machine," Deming said. That could also earn them points.

One girl earned points for doing the program layout for one of the school's dance productions.

Now that the school has an established chapter, the seniors who participate will be given honor cords to wear at graduation.

For more information on the National Dance Education Organization and the National Honor Society for Dance Arts, visit www.ndeo.org.

Around South County: Cub Scout Pack 853 collects food for the needy

By Mitchelle Stephenson

Cub Scout Pack 853, comprised of den units from Shady Side, West River, Churchton and Deale, recently held a food drive with proceeds benefiting the South County Assistance Network, or SCAN, a food pantry that serves needy families in southern Anne Arundel County.

There are about 50 kids in the pack, and the group managed to collect about 1,300 nonperishable items. The food was delivered to SCAN, which operates out of St. James Church in Lothian.

The boys are all elementary school-aged.

The 10 dens in the pack received a challenge earlier this year - if each unit could get 100 percent participation to fill five bags of food, they would receive an ice cream party.

Each of the dens managed to reach that goal.

Scott Martin and Lynn Benning, two of the den leaders, credited fellow den leader Brian Christian with coordinating the drive.

Lynn said that each of the boys were given bags that they could give to family, friends and neighbors. Once the bags were filled, the Scouts would pick them up.

At the March Blue and Gold banquet celebrating Scouts, the boys brought the bags of food they had collected. Later, some of the boys went to the SCAN site in the basement of St. James Parish in Lothian to sort the food for distribution.

Max Benning, 9, was one of the Scouts who participated. He said that it was fun, "although we worked really hard."

"I felt like other people had empty stomachs, and the food drive can help them," Max said.

Max worked alongside his friend Jacob Goudy, 10, to sort the food at the pantry once it was delivered.

Dotty Fender is the volunteer coordinator at SCAN, and she said the need for food at the pantry is always growing.

"We get a couple of new families each time we are open," Dotty said. SCAN is open two days a week, Thursdays and Saturdays, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

"The Cub Scouts have done an amazing job of collecting food and clothing over the last couple of years. The items will benefit over 300 families in south county," Dotty said.

Central Middle School sixth-grader Katie Mosier, 11, was recently named the winner of the Clean Air Partners Earth Day poster contest.

As a result, Katie got to be Clean Air Partners/Washington Metropolitan Council of Government's special guest at the Earth Day celebration on the Washington National Mall on Sunday, where she was interviewed by WUSA TV-9's weatherman Howard Bernstein. The interview was broadcast on the Sunday evening newscast.

In the poster, Katie drew four pictures, one in each corner. In the middle, a big blue Earth divided the drawings. On the left side were problems caused by pollution, like acid rain and vehicle exhaust. On the right side were solutions, like planting trees and bicycling when possible.

She created the poster as a part of an assignment from Kelly Berkley, her science teacher. Berkley submitted the posters of those who wanted to participate in the contest.

That was in March.

Katie found out recently that out of the 300 posters, hers was selected as the first place winner.

"We couldn't tell anyone until the official announcement on Friday," Katie said.

Another Anne Arundel County student, Maddy Ramsey, took second place. Maddy is a sixth-grader at Old Mill Middle.

As part of her prize, Katie will receive $150 at a banquet for the six winners at the Maryland Science Center in Baltimore on May 20.

The West/Rhode Riverkeeper will begin its free kayaking program on the first and third Thursday of each month starting May 6. The evening program will begin at 5 p.m. and end a half-hour before sunset.

Kayaks, paddles and life vests will be provided on a first-come, first served basis. Both single and tandem kayaks are available. Children are welcome, but must be accompanied by an adult. In the event of inclement weather, kayaking will be canceled or postponed.

Chris Trumbauer, the riverkeeper, said that the program is held to provide an opportunity for the community to get out on the water.

The launching point is Discover Village in Shady Side. Boats set off from Parish Creek at the mouth of the South River.

For more information, visit www.westrhoderiverkeeper.org.

Around South County: Girl Scouts demonstrate Mrs. Avery's lost arts

Nicole Walls, 9, works with Kaitlyn Hynes, 13, to make a small braided rag rug at the Capt. Salem Avery Museum in Shady Side. The activity is part of the “Mrs. Avery’s Lost Arts” program at the museum.

By Mitchelle Stephenson

A century ago, south county women were the ultimate conservationists. They used scraps of fabric to make rugs to insulate the floors in their homes and used pieces of wood left over from carpentry and boat building projects to make toys for their children.

There was no quick trip to Target or Toys R Us at the turn of the 20th century.

As we recognize Earth Day, three south county teens have gone back in time, researched some of these lost crafts and are presenting them at the Salem Avery House in Shady Side. The program is called "Mrs. Avery's Lost Arts."

The programs run three Sundays in a row, the last will be on May 2. The arts are demonstrated from 1 to 4 p.m.

The project started about a year ago when Kaitlyn Hynes 13, Madison Frederics, 13, and Katherine Milbradt, 13, got together to think about their Girl Scout Silver Award projects.

The girls were already junior docents at the Salem Avery Museum, so they met with Vicki Peterson to discuss ideas for a project at the site.

At the time Vicki was a member of the museum and a volunteer. Since then, she has been named interim director.

Vicki said that the idea for a Lost Arts program wasn't new. She'd heard about such programs at other local museums. Once the idea came up, everyone agreed that it was something that they could do that would be long lasting.

"We wanted something that they could teach, something where we would have the packages put together," Vicki said.

So the girls set out investigating some of the lost arts and crafts that might have been practiced in the area.

Kaitlyn investigated the making of braided rag rugs. Last Sunday she held demonstrations at the site from 1 to 4 p.m.

She had carefully cut dozens and dozens of long strips of fabric in various patterns and colors. Patrons who participated in the demonstrations didn't complete full-sized rugs, but with the lesson from Kaitlyn, guests were able to take home small rag rug coasters.

The sturdy braided rugs that Mrs. Avery might have made 100 years ago look similar to what shoppers might find in home shopping catalogs like L.L. Bean.

But Mrs. Avery's rugs would have been made from leftovers.

Kaitlyn demonstrated how to tie the end and braid three strips of fabric together. Each strip was cut to three feet. At the end of the braiding, three new strips were basted on. This was done again until there was a nine-foot strip of braided cloth.

Then Kaitlyn showed visitors how to sew the cloth into a circle, twisting and adding stitches every now and again to keep the coiled cloth secured.

In the end, they would have a four-inch miniature round version of a braided rug.

Kaitlyn had as a sample a rug that her great-great-grandmother made in Baltimore.

"I had to make the sample through trial and error after reading the directions," Kaitlyn said.

Kaitlyn said that she found the instructions online.

"Pioneers wouldn't waste anything, and so the fabrics didn't have to match," Kaitlyn said.

This Sunday, Katherine will demonstrate the making of scrap pillows and on May 2, Madison will demonstrate the making of Jacob's Ladder wooden toys.

Don't worry if you can't make it to one of the demonstrations. Vicki said that the girls have made packages to keep at the museum, so that even when the girls aren't there, guests will be able to practice the lost crafts on their own.

In addition, the girls will demonstrate the lost arts on May 15 at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center's Open House on Carr's Wharf Road in Edgewater.

For more information about the Capt. Salem Avery Museum, visit www.shady sidemuseum.org.

Around South County: Schools win big at sport stacking and chess

Mitchelle Stephenson — The Capital Joe Shenton, 10, begins the relay event in the 3-6-3 stack with Deale Elementary “Soaring Eagle” partners at the ready: Michael Hamlin, 10, Mina Work, 11, and Georgia Campbell, 10. The students hold the Maryland state record with a time of 0:19.25.

By Mitchelle Stephenson

Students at two south county elementary schools were recent winners in local and national competitions.

Students at Deale Elementary not only succeeded at the World Sport Stacking Championships in Denver, Colo., but also set records at regional competitions. Meanwhile, students at Davidsonville Elementary had a clean sweep at a county chess championship.

In Deale, Physical Education teacher Vern Brumfield mentors about two dozen second- through fifth-graders in sport stacking, also known as speed stacking or cup stacking. In the activity, students stack plastic cups into pyramids in a specific order, then break them down.

For example, the students will take 12 cups and stack a "Cycle," which is a 3-6-3, then a 6-6, then a 1-10-1. Some of the Deale competitors complete the Cycle stack in seven to eight seconds.

It is lightning fast.

Michael Hamlin, 10, just returned from the World Sport Stacking Championships on April 11, where 700 competitors from every continent competed.

"My best event is the 3-3-3," Michael said. This is where a competitor starts with nine cups and quickly makes and then breaks down three pyramids of three cups each.

Michael also competed in the Cycle, where he placed 11th in the world. The winning stacker, from Illinois, completed the Cycle in 6.08 seconds.

Michael competed in a team event with Joshua Brumfield, Vern's son and a student at Southern Middle. They made it to the finals, but were bested by a team from Germany.

The sport stacking season is now over, but other members of the Deale Elementary "Soaring Eagles" now hold records.

"We have one of the best teams east of the Mississippi," Vern said.

The four-person relay team of Michael, along with fifth-graders Georgia Campbell, 10, and Mina Work, 11, and fourth-grader Joe Shenton, 10, hold the Maryland record for the 3-6-3 stack with a time of 0:19.25.

Stacking came to the school about three years ago. Vern had purchased a set of cups and a timer to demonstrate the sport.

He was ready to show the kids how to do it when then-second-grade student Joe Shenton took the cups and gave a quick demonstration.

He'd been practicing at home.

"Joe was the fastest anyone had ever seen," Vern said.

Vern now credits Joe with bringing cup stacking to Deale.

After that, Vern started a club with about a dozen students. The team size has doubled since then.

Even Vern enjoys the sport and competition. He competed last weekend in Denver in the adult division.

Vern made it to the finals.

"But I choked. My cups were all over the floor. I was really nervous," Vern said.

Competition is open to anyone, four to 60 years old. Some competitors are affiliated with schools and teams, while some students compete on their own.

Vern said that he believes sport stacking helps children to develop in a variety of ways.

"Physically, it helps children to use both sides of the brain. Emotionally, it creates confidence because the students don't have to be athletic to succeed," Vern said.

"Getting them on a team helps them build self esteem, which is very important at this age," he said.

Vern noted that once children are on a team and begin to compete, they often practice at home because they take pride in improving not only for themselves, but also for their teammates.

"I want to show the kids that they can be successful," Vern said.

At Davidsonville Elementary, a small group of students who participate in a weekly chess club recently took trophies in a clean sweep at the "King of the Hill" county chess tournament, played earlier this month at the Severna Park Community Center.

The students played against teams from Hillsmere and Germantown Elementary schools.

Pamela Davis is the Davidsonville PTO coordinator of the club. The school had a club in the past, but this year, brought in chess coach Andrew Lubenski, who upped the level of play.

"Now the kids eat and sleep chess," Pamela said.

The students not only met once a week to practice play, but they also had chess homework.

They started in October. The club was open to any student in first through fifth grade.

They met before school with about 40 kids in all. It was so popular, they had to bring in a second coach - Chase Gwinn.

Pamela said that one of her goals was to have students play in a tournament, and Andrew found the one in Severna Park so they decided to sign up. Nobody was sure how they'd fare.

At King of the Hill, the Davidsonville students played 22 games in all, winning every one.

Andrew said that results like these are unheard of.

"With so many games played, there should be a few draws or some losses," Andrew said. "Shutouts are virtually unheard of in team chess."

The students who participated and won trophies were: third-graders Josh Gallatin and Noah Burckman; fourth-graders Connor Morris, Alex Rozner and Dylan Cyphers; and fifth-grader Enzo Cicchinelli.

The club is finished for the school year, but Pamela is hopeful that the success the team found this year will lure new chess enthusiasts when school starts again in the fall.

Around South County: Novice runners transform from couch potatoes to 5K ready

Mitchelle Stephenson — The Capital Some of the members of the Riva Trace running club are shown completing their 2.5-mile run last Saturday. From left, Melody Creswell, Eric Grevin, Tina Simmons, Lisa Grevin and Sue Sturgell.

By Mitchelle Stephenson

Estate attorney Eric Grevin has been an avid runner since high school. In college, he was an NCAA Division III track and cross-country competitor. Eric, along with his wife Lisa - also an avid runner - have recently taken on the task of bringing the joy of running to about two dozen novice athletes at Riva Trace Baptist Church in Davidsonville.

The group started in January with a goal of completing the upcoming Tiger Trot 5K race at Central Elementary School in Edgewater. The 3-mile, PTA-sponsored race will take place at 8 a.m. April 24.

The Grevins started the running club 12 weeks ago.

"We started them out walking with a little running, now we have worked our way up to running with a little walking," Eric said.

Amy Krause is one of the runners. She is a 43-year-old grandmother who started the program as a way to stay healthy.

After last week's 2.5-mile trek around Riva Park in Davidsonville, Amy said that her new goal is to "run the Marine Corps Marathon one day."

The group runs together once a week on Saturday mornings. Eric said that everyone starts the run together, and runs the same distance, but they keep their own pace.

During the week, the club participants are expected to work out twice on their own. They are encouraged to keep a running journal to track their progress.

"The hardest thing is the consistency," Amy said. She tries to stay true to running three days a week.

Eric said that the training method he is using with the group is the "couch potato to 5K" run-walk-run method.

"Runners are encouraged to be able to carry on a conversation," Eric said.

Sandi Watt said that her daughter-in-law Jaime motivated her to begin the running program.

"She got me started, and she'll be running with me in the Tiger Trot," Sandi said.

Sandi will be attending her 40th high school reunion soon, and she wanted to step up her exercise regimen. She's always been a walker, but thought that she'd give running a try.

"Once you start running, you can't go back to walking," Sandi said.

After their run last week, some of the other women in the group joked that even though Sandi is 63, she seems to be the one in the club with the most energy.

As we talked on a chilly Saturday morning after the group's 2.5 mile run on April 3, Sandi bounced back and forth - looking like she was ready to run another 2.5 miles.

The participants come from all backgrounds: for example, there is a dental assistant, an office manager, a graduate student and a mortgage broker.

Eric sees running as a metaphor for life. "The discipline in that one area can spill over into other aspects of life. It can really make you a better person," Eric said.

Eric started to talk about the vitality and energy that running gives carries through the day.

All of the runners agreed with him that on the days they run, they feel like they have more energy, not less.

The group has another two weeks to practice before the big race April 24. By then, the 3.1 mile race will be just another weekly run.

As to the coaching effort that the Grevins have put in for the team, "we're really just their cheerleaders," Lisa said.

The Lothian Ruritan Club recently awarded five $1,000 scholarships to graduating high school seniors. Earlier this year, the club asked local students to submit applications. The criteria for consideration included community service, letters of recommendation and scholastic achievement.

The recipients were Jacob Smith of Lothian; Benjamin Catterton III of Harwood; Julie Marie Crawford of Lothian; Jillian Dorr of Lothian; and Amanda M. Sullivan of Shady Side.