For those who enjoy walking, you will appreciate this little snippet. Many of you may know that Forest Ridge Elementary School had initiated a friendly walking competition during recess. The program was called "Walk and Talk" and took place throughout the year as a means for encouraging children to exercise. The class that walked the furthest for the week won the "Golden Shoe" award and would proudly display it in their classroom.

I received information that the last week of school, there was a tie. Ashley Downs' kindergarten class and Ashley Pietryka's third-grade class both ended with 63 laps. In order to share in the award, each class kept the Golden Shoe for half a week. The entire student body walked a whopping 1,790 miles this year and made it just past Cave Creek, Ariz.!

The following students were recognized at the end of the school year for being the Top Walkers:

Kindergarten-Grade 2: first place, Bill Cao, second grade, 13 miles; second place, Nicole Warner, second grade, 12.375; third place, Oyinlola Alli, second grade, 11.125; fourth place, Thomas Williamson, first grade, 10.125 miles; fifth place, Julian Mbat, kindergarten, 9.25; sixth place, Matthew Kwak, kindergarten, 9.25.

Grades 3-5: first place, Thomas Parish, fourth grade, 17.375 miles; second place, Joshua Loeffler, fourth grade, 15.375; third place, Tyrone Clark-Turner, fifth grade, 13.5; fourth place, Isabella Perez-Lugones, fourth grade, 12.75; fifth place, Bahar Lakeh, fourth grade, 12.5; sixth place, Jesse Rocco, fourth grade, 12.375.

Congratulations to all of those who placed and for all of those who walked! The staff at Forest Ridge want to encourage students to keep walking and to maintain some sort of exercise regimen.

Now that summer vacation is here, Jennifer Neimiller wanted to make sure parents are aware that there is no TeamKids program at the First Baptist Church during the summer months. Neimiller indicated that a "... well-deserved rest is needed, not just for the children, but for the TeamKids teachers."

A heartfelt thanks goes out to Neimiller, Beverly Mullins, Shirley Paul, Karen Davis, Delores and Gilbert Duck for all of their efforts with this program throughout the school year. Get rested, guys, because the success of this program is too great to not begin in September. This program has anywhere from 30 to 45 children on Wednesday nights. All of whom seem to thoroughly enjoy the Christian activities. See you in September!

Just a reminder concerning children's immunizations for the school year. I realize one school year just ended, but it will not be long before parents will be gearing up for the 2008-2009 school year.

The Howard County Health Department offers free vaccines to children and adolescents to meet their school immunization requirements.

A parent or guardian must accompany their child to the clinic and must bring the child's immunization record. The walk-in clinics are held from 3 to 6 p.m. at the Southeastern Health Center, 9525 Durness Lane, in Laurel. Call 410-880-5888.

Parents are asked to arrive before 5:30 p.m. for children's shots. The next available free clinic is July 17, so mark your calendars.

I want to wish all of my readers who will celebrate either a birthday or an anniversary during the upcoming week -- a very happy one!

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