Disney's "High School Musical" is coming to Clarksville. The River Hill Theatre Arts Department promises to have the entire audience singing and dancing along.
The show is produced, directed and choreographed by Theatre Arts teacher Pam Land and co-choreographed by dance teacher Jennifer Hennessie and alumna Becca Gover ('11). Colleen Clark, Josh Cohen, Brianna Costabile, Thaddeus Harold, Sarah Tossman and James Via are student directors.
Joe Blasko, longtime friend of RHHS Theatre Arts, is directing construction of the set along with alumni parents George Stone and Bob Bost and a crew of more than 30 students. Student stage managers David London and R. J. O'Brian have a big job building and running the show.
Helen Hayes Award winner Doug Lawler will direct vocals and conduct the pit orchestra prepared by Director of Bands M. Joseph Fischer. Joe also designs the sound.
RHHS math teacher Rhonda De La Mar coordinates costumes with assistance of parent volunteers.
There is a cast of more than 70 students and 13 Howard County middle school students.
All performances will be in the school auditorium March 5, 6 and 7 at 7 p.m. and March 8 at 2 p.m. Box Office opens 90 minutes before curtain. Advance tickets at $12 are available at http://www.seatyourself.biz/rhhs. Tickets at the door are $13 or $12 if you bring a nonperishable food item for the Howard County Food Bank.
More and more, girls are being encouraged to explore careers in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). A free Girl Power event for middle and high school girls is set for March 8, 2-5 p.m. at Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab on Johns Hopkins Road.
To learn more, contact aplstem@jhuapl.edu or call 443-778-7836.
There's a lot of good news coming from Clarksville Middle School.
Of the 450 students countywide participating in the PTA Reflections Program, three CMS students placed in the top three in their categories and will be going to the Maryland competition. Mariana Lennon took second place in Literature, Caroline Lovelace took third place in Music and Preetha Ramachandran took third in Visual Arts.
Congratulations to winners and all who made the effort to compete.
Many CMS students participated in the National History Day competition. Caroline Tang, Ashley Ballou, Christine Zhou, Shaiza Mansoor and Sara Jain won for Group Documentary. Brennan Young and Diana Oh won for Individual Documentary. Yamini Ananth took Web Site. Jeremy Jablonover and Liza Goldberg won Individual Paper. Sriya Potluri won Individual Performance. Sophia Glaros and Marissa Torre won Group Performance.
Good luck as you move to Howard County finals.
Three CMS boys made an impressive appearance in the recent Maryland State Wrestling Association's 12th annual age/weight State Championships. Drew Pruett, 8th grader, battled to a fourth place finish in the 14 and under 77-pound weight class. Sixth grade brother Brady Pruett finished third in the 12 and under 70-pound division, defeating a boy who had previously been state champion. Sam Kalishman, 7th grader, was in the 12 and under 90-pound weight class and went undefeated to be crowned state champion. This is the third time that Sam is a Maryland State Wrestling Champion. All three boys wrestle for the Warhawks, a Howard County-based team.
Our grandchildren, John, Claire and Dominic Sanford, all play lacrosse so it is with great pleasure that I join Atholton Athletic Boosters in congratulating Coach Wendell Thomas on being awarded the U.S. Lacrosse's 2014 Gerald J. Carroll Exemplary Coaching Award. Coach Thomas, a former president of the Athletic Boosters and member of the Atholton Athletics Hall of Fame, has served as a coach and teacher in Howard County since 1977 until his retirement from teaching at AHS in 2014. He continues to serve as an Atholton coach.
The annual River Hill High School Yard Sale is set for March 21. The River Hill SGA is teaming with River Hill Cheerleading to host a great event. Vendor spots cost $30 a table. Make checks payable to River Hill High School. Space is limited. First come, first serve. For questions, contact kfinkelston@me.com.