Did you know that Howard County just celebrated Choose Civility Week Oct. 5-11? In honor of the event, the staff of Mt. View Middle School launched a campaign to educate their students about the concept of civility and how it relates to behaviors at school, on the sports fields, and out in public.

Civility reminders still suffuse the building, from "power words" in the cafeteria to a book display in the media center and video clips on the classroom televisions.

Additionally, students who demonstrate principles of civility -- such as respecting others and speaking kindly -- can now earn Special Edition "Silver Civility Talon Tokens," which are worth three of the regular reward tokens students earn for displaying positive behaviors. Talon Tokens derive their name from the school mascot, the Falcon.

As part of the learning experience, students can also participate in a poster contest and in National "Mix-It-Up Lunch Day," scheduled for Nov. 10.

The latter event, developed from Teaching Tolerance, a project of the Southern Poverty Law Center, in Montgomery, Ala., encourages students to take a new seat in the cafeteria. In doing so, they cross invisible barriers, step out of their comfort zones, and meet new friends.

Kathy O'Ferrall, a counselor at Mt. View Middle, explains that the lunch "will be a fun way to energize our students and staff and reinforce our Falcon pride concepts of inclusivity, tolerance, and acceptance." For more information, go to www.tolerance.org/mix-it-up/lunch-day.

Kudos to Mt. View for supporting the county's Choose Civility initiative and encouraging our youth to treat others considerately, both inside and outside the classroom!

To learn more about the Howard County "Choose Civility" initiative, go to www.choosecivility.org.

Most high school students have just settled into the new school year and have not begun to contemplate their plans for next summer, but perhaps a great adventure awaits -- perhaps in the Land of the Rising Sun: Japan.

Educational travel provider People to People provides this two-week opportunity to students entering ninth through 12th grades.

Student ambassadors in the program will spend time with a Japanese family as they study both old and contemporary aspects of the culture. Experiences include the Imperial Palace Plaza and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Offices, a memorial for a young Hiroshima victim, a bullet train, an ancient farming village, a public bath and a tea ceremony, cormorant fishing, an anime workshop, and Mt. Fuji.

Trip leaders Amy Bejm, band director at Dayton Oaks and West Friendship Elementary, and Al Silberman, a former educator at Howard High School, invite interested students and their parents to attend an informational meeting at Goucher College ov. 14 at 3 p.m. The address is 1021 Dulaney Valley Road, in Baltimore.

For additional information, go to www.amybejm.com/p2p or www.peopletopeople.com.

Bejm would also like to recognize Colin Waddington, a fifth-grade trombonist at Dayton Oaks Elementary School. Colin has achieved quite a musical feat for his age; he has memorized and played all of his scales up to three sharps and three flats, as well as the chromatic scale. Congratulations, Colin, on your fine accomplishment!

October marks the return of "Jukebox," an annual dancing and singing extravaganza at Marriotts Ridge High School. More than 100 students participate in the event, described as a "rockin' celebration of songs" from the 1950s to today. The Marriotts Ridge theater department invites you to tap your feet and sing along to these songs, chosen to "enchant and entertain."

"Jukebox V" takes place Oct. 22-24 at 7 p.m., and tickets cost $12 at the door. For more information, go to www.mrhstheatre.org, or call the school at 410-313-5568. The address is 12100 Woodford Road, in Marriottsville.

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