School's out! School's out! Well, the school year is drawing to a close and there are still a few school-related notes to share.

Vincent Paul Hipp, son of Barbara and Mark Hipp, of Wayside Drive, recently graduated from Our Lady of Good Counsel High School. Vincent attended St. Louis Catholic School before attending Good Counsel where he had perfect attendance all four years. Now there's a good healthy boy for you.

Vincent is the grandson of Phyllis and Butch Hipp, of Clarksville, and Doris and Paul Wolf, of Laurel. Vince will be studying engineering at Clemson University in the fall and cheering for the Tigers. Congratulations and best wishes, Vince.

Out of 6,500 high school senior applicants in all the fine arts (visual, dance, theater, cinematic, Jazz, music, photography, voice and writing) only 20 in the nation were named Presidential Scholar in the Arts for 2008. Congratulations to Jennifer Liu, of River Hill High School, on earning this distinction.

Eric Lin, River Hill class of 2008, competed in the Columbia Triathlon last month. He finished fifth in the 17-19 age group. The Triathlon included 1.5k swimming, 41k biking and 10k running. Not bad, Eric. Stay well.

River Hill's Anna Demaree was selected as the DigitalSports.com and RunningMaryland.com Female Athlete of the Week. Congratulations. She was also named the Columbia Flier/Howard County Times Female Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year.

Staff from all our local schools have been voicing thanks for teacher appreciation week activities. They were feted with plenty of meals, prizes, balloons, flowers, notes, letters, gift cards and cakes.

At Pointers Run, volunteers gathered to wash more than 40 cars of appreciative staff members. Such warm memories will bring renewed energy into our classrooms and can only benefit our students.

Walking is a good thing to do at any age. Pointers Run Elementary students have been participating in Walking Wednesdays. Third-grader Gregory Nelson accumulated more than 22 miles and two fourth-graders, Daniel Fisher and Dylan Mitchell, both accumulated 20 miles.

The 50+ Walking Club is free and continuing to walk the lovely shaded pathways of River Hill on Thursdays at 10 a.m. New members are welcome to come to Claret Hall and join the group. Bring a friend or meet new friends. Several of the walkers are getting together to walk at additional times. To learn more, call Gina at 410-531-1749 or email rhevents@columbiavillages.org.

The best days of your life may come when you are 50-plus or, at least, you can make the best of those days. "Living Well ... Take Charge of Your Health" will be presented by the Howard County Office on Aging at the Senior Luncheon Tuesday, June 17 at noon in Claret Hall. This is sponsored by the River Hill Community Association but, all are welcome.

You'll learn more about the six-week Living Well program for people with chronic health conditions. Topics include advance directives, nutrition, exercise, relaxation techniques and communication skills to better manage symptoms and make the most of life. The cost for lunch is $5 for non-River Hill residents. Register by calling Gina at 410-531-1749 or e-mail rhevents@columbiavillages.org.

Did you happen to see Margaret Walton at Healthy Howard Days at Centennial Park? She was a volunteer at the American Cancer Society table in the afternoon.

Walton and Wayside Drive friends will be participating in their second annual Western Howard County Relay for Life June 20 at Western Regional Park on Carrs Mill Road in Woodbine. The team is called Survivors and Friends. If you are interested in joining the team or contributing, call Walton at 301-854-0345 or email walton111@yahoo.com.

You will find more information about Relay for Life in my blog at www.explorehoward.com/blog/clarksville.

Save the dates June 26-28 to attend a special performance of "The Glass Menagerie" at River Hill High School at 7:30 p.m. You might find more information about that on the blog and in next week's column. It's going to be something extra special.

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