MRHS Music Foundation Continues Citrus Fruit Sale

By Cassie Felch
Posted: January 14, 2009

Invite a little sunshine into your home this winter in the form of fresh citrus fruit, available once again through the Marriotts Ridge Music Foundation. Proceeds will help fund the students’ spring trip to the Fiesta-Val Music Festival in Gatlinburg, Tenn. Order your red grapefruit, Navel oranges, Temple oranges, or tangerines by Feb. 12 for Feb. 28 pickup at the school.

To print an order form, go to www.marriottsridge.net/fruit.php. Call Karyn Littlejohn at 410-442-5440 or e-mail mrhsfruit@yahoo.com for more information.

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Marriotts Ridge High School Offers SAT Prep Course

By Cassie Felch
Posted: January 14, 2009

Beginning next month, the Marriotts Ridge High School PTSA will sponsor a preparatory course for the 2009 college SAT Reasoning Test. Renowned education specialist Martha Gagnon and her associates will teach test-taking strategies, problem solving, math concepts, and vocabulary development. Students will also practice test questions and analyze how to derive the correct answers.

This four-week course runs from 7-9:15 p.m. on Tuesdays, beginning Feb. 17. To register or obtain more information, go to www.marthagagnon.com or call 410-442-1600.

Additionally, MRHS will act as a test center for the SATs on March 14 and June 6.

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Cub Scout Pack 762 Enjoys Pinewood Derby Tradition

By Cassie Felch
Posted: January 14, 2009

Cubmaster Ron Gula, Tiger Leader Cyndi Gula and Pack Leader Troy Osten, from left, announce the Pinewood Derby winners to an excited group of scouts (Photo by Charlotte Savoy).

Bear Cub Jalen Savoy’s finished car. (Photo by Charlotte Savoy).

Bear Den Leader Chris Thorpe, parent Larry Cartee and Cubmaster Ron Gula, from left, begin the race as scouts and parents watch. (Photo by Charlotte Savoy).

Since the 1950s, Cub Scouts have enjoyed building and racing miniature cars in their annual Pinewood Derby event. Each Scout begins with a car kit containing a block of pine, plastic wheels, and metal axles, and then – with help from an adult — whittles or carves the wood into a car shape and assembles the wheels. The Scout may paint or decorate his car as desired.

Since the derby cars “run” on gravity, the boys attempt to reduce the friction and wind resistance of their vehicles while strategically centering the weight. They may sometimes add additional weight to bring their cars up to the five-ounce maximum. The race then takes place in heats using a 35-foot-long, multi-lane, downward sloping track.

On Jan. 10, Cub Scout Pack 762 held its Pinewood Derby at the Howard County Fairgrounds. Out of the 33 cars in the race, Bear Cub RJ Gula took first place, Wolf Cub Tommy Wehr took second and Bear Cub Maxwell Daugherty took third. Like most members of Pack 762, these students attend West Friendship Elementary School. Congratulations, boys, on a fun and successful day!

Pack 762 also looks forward to participating in the Klondike Derby in February. Using a dogsled that they will make and pull themselves, the boys will transport their equipment from station to station, where they will practice various leadership and scouting skills. If your child is interested in joining Scouts, e-mail Ron Gula at rongula@comcast.net.

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Puerto Rican Holiday Traditions Continue in January

By Cassie Felch
Posted: January 9, 2009

Does the end of the holiday season leave you feeling blue? Do you dread packing away your lights and decorations? If so, you may appreciate some Puerto Rican holiday traditions that I learned from neighbor and substitute Spanish teacher Marilyn Villanueva Barker. As Marilyn explains, “Puerto Ricans love extending a party!”

Our Caribbean counterparts celebrate Christmas in ways similar to Americans, including a more secularized Santa Claus, but they place greater emphasis on Jan. 6, the date Americans call Epiphany and Puerto Ricans refer to as Dia de Los Tres Reyes Magos, the “Day of the Three Magi Kings.” This day commemorates the Biblical visitation of the baby Jesus, an event important to Christians because the three scholarly “wise” men confirm the child’s birth and grant significance to it.

On the eve of Three Kings’ Day, Puerto Rican children decorate a box symbolizing a manger, which they fill with grass and a cup of water for the kings’ camels. They then place the box under their beds. In the morning, they awaken to find gifts from the kings. Marilyn has continued this fun tradition with her children, 13-year-old Gabriella and 10-year-old Will.

The Barker family’s celebration also includes some traditional Puerto Rican foods, such as pernil (roasted pork), arroz con gandules (rice with pigeon beans), pasteles (mashed plantains or yucca filled with meat and vegetables and wrapped in banana leaves), arroz con dulce (a rice pudding), tembleque (a jiggly coconut custard), and perhaps most vital to the culture, coquito, a coconut beverage similar to eggnog and heavy on Puerto Rican rum. Since the dishes are labor-intensive, Marilyn usually incorporates just one or two into her holiday meals alongside American favorites from husband Bill’s side of the family.

Of course, as you read this information about Three Kings’ Day, Jan. 6 has already passed. Marilyn assures me that the festivities need not end, though. (Remember – Puerto Ricans love a party!) Many Puerto Ricans continue celebrating Las Octavitas, the eight days after Epiphany. Although Marilyn knows of no religious basis for the extra merriment, she explains that this period is the most boisterous. Neighbors often form parrandas, groups that travel house-to-house singing loudly. Unlike American carolers, parrandas accompany their lively songs with maracas, bongos, guitars, and guiros (hollow gourds with a grooved surface that players rub with a stick). Parrandas also grow progressively larger because neighbors do not just listen, they join in the excitement and continue on to the next house. As the sun comes up and the revelry draws to a close, the inhabitants of the last house prepare asopao (homemade chicken soup) for the entire group.

Thankfully, Marilyn has not yet tried to incorporate parrandas into her cross-cultural celebration. Although I love the idea of Las Octavitas, I admit that I do not wish to hear my neighbors singing on my doorstep at 3 a.m. However, I am stocking up on cans of chicken soup, just in case….

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Local Elementary Schools Congratulate Musicians of the Month

By Cassie Felch
Posted: January 9, 2009

Amy Bejm, band director for both Dayton Oaks Elementary School and West Friendship Elementary School, would like to extend kudos to her January Musicians of the Month. These students have shown superior musicianship skills and outstanding attitudes. DOES students receiving this honor are Julia D’Zmura, Stone Graham, Jack Loazer, Kyle McDermott, Journee McMillan, Branden Murphy, Drew Palmer, Kevin Reynolds and Kayla Sphon. WFES Musicians of the month include Hunter Cestone, Samie Costa, Anna Lee, Alexandra Pickett, Megan Plummer, Jake Polinsky, Niklas Schnake, Sam Sisney and Brent Wade. Congratulations to all!

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