THE POET Alfred, Lord Tennyson wrote "In the spring, a young man's fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love." And in Columbia, a young girl's thoughts turn to a dress for the prom.
A new prom dress can cost between $90 and $200 at the mall. If that sounds a little pricey, consider shopping at Project PROMise, a prom and formal wear consignment shop in Wilde Lake Village Center.
Ellen Barth had the idea to open the shop in 1993, when she was a student at Atholton High School.
Barth would pass the Grassroots Crisis Intervention Center -- a shelter for the homeless -- every day on her way to school. She knew that girls were spending a lot of money on prom dresses to be worn for only three or four hours. Barth, now a teacher in Owings Mills, had trouble reconciling the expense with the urgent needs of the homeless people at the shelter.
She thought of opening a shop where students could consign and purchase used prom dresses -- and the proceeds would be donated to Grassroots and the Domestic Violence Center.
Barth estimates that the project has raised more than $7,000 for the two charities.
The shop operated for a few years during prom season but has been on hiatus since 1995.
This year, Annemarie Paxton, a sophomore at Oakland Mills High School, and Darcey Ingram, a freshman at Hammond High, have reopened the store with help from mothers Dottie Paxton, Andrea Ingram and Toba Barth.
The store has more than 100 dresses and a few tuxedos in stock. There is time to give a dress a second chance at the dance: consignments and donations are being accepted.
Project PROMise is open Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sundays from noon to 5 p.m. through May 2. The store is at 10451 Twin Rivers Road in Wilde Lake Village Center.
Information: 301-596-5833.
Creative chemistry
What has 42 legs, sings, dances and teaches chemistry? The answer is the Chemikids -- a cast of Swansfield Elementary School fifth-graders in the Gifted and Talented Program and their teacher, Noel Richman. They performed in an original musical, "What's the Matter," at the school last week.
The musical, written by Richman, included songs about liquids, gases and solids, atoms and the Periodic Table of Elements.
Chemistry was made entertaining as students danced and performed skits and science experiments demonstrating the theories they had learned.
The cast's enthusiasm was contagious and encouraged spirited participation from the audience. Students and parents in the audience laughed, cheered and applauded.
Volunteers were invited onstage to recite elements from the Periodic Table. One parent, Thomas Nash, played along and recalled a dozen elements -- with a little help from the audience. Cast member Taylor Reese presented Nash with a Hundred Thousand Grand -- the candy bar -- as a reward.
Students performed "Science Sillies" -- vaudeville-style skits revolving around chemistry facts or jokes such as, "My teacher said she'd give me extra credit if I could tell her something about Albert Einstein. I told her he was dead."
As a tribute to Dmitri Mendeleev -- creator of the Periodic Table of Elements -- the fifth-graders sang, to the tune of "Rockin' Robin," "He works in the laboratory all night long/ Long ago in Russia he was making his cards/ All the scientists in chemistry/ Owe a debt of thanks to Dmitri."
"Mendeleev, (neat, neat, really neat) Mendeleev, (neat, neat, really neat)/ Oooh, Mendeleev, you really set those elements straight (neat, neat, really neat)."
"He saw relationships and families/ Looked for stuff with similar qualities/ He put all the elements in their rows/ Look at all the things Mendeleev knows."
Richman is known at the school for her creative approach to education.
Chris Najmi -- one of her former pupils who is a seventh-grader at Harper's Choice Middle School -- performed in the play when he was her student.
"Mrs. Richman really gives chemistry a flair that makes you want to learn more about it," he said. "I think the world would be a much better place with more teachers like her."
Cast member Gary Thompson performed a song and dance in top hat and cane, reciting the entire Periodic Table of Elements to music by Gilbert and Sullivan.
Gary thinks he knows why Richman's teaching style helps children learn. "She offers lots of hands-on learning where you can actually touch and feel stuff while you're learning, instead of just reading about it," he said.
Inga Tannenbaum, fifth-grade teacher at Swansfield, added more words of praise for Richman. "The kids love her," she said. "She models for the students how to use creativity."
The Chemikids cast included Nick Bulka, Gena DeLuca, Tahirah Foy, Mya Green, Christie Hill, John Kroeker, Lidang Li, Jonathan Najmi, Sara Nash, DeMarcus Norman, Lindsey Oken, Teresa Palasits, Jeannie Pearman, Alyssa Perrone, Taylor Reese, Lauren Smith, Gary Thompson, Jessica Tsaoi, James Wedde and Austin Williams.
YMCA volunteer
Guy Maseritz will receive the 1999 YMCA Adult Volunteer of the Year Award at a ceremony in May. The award is given in recognition of outstanding service and dedication to the YMCA.
Maseritz, of Hobbits Glen, has been a member of the YMCA's board of managers for three years. He has served as facilities chairman on a committee overseeing a "Y" renovation. Art Educator of the Year
Longfellow Elementary School art teacher Michell Salamony has been selected by the National Art Education Association to receive the Eastern Region Elementary
Art Educator of the Year Award.
According to NAEA's president, Michael Day, "This award recognizes a high level of professional accomplishment and service by a dedicated art educator. Ms. Salamony exemplifies the high quality of individuals involved in the field of art education."
NAEA's membership includes art teachers and representatives from art museums, arts councils and colleges and universities throughout the nation and 66 foreign countries.
Belly dancers win
Alix McDonough has announced that students in her Dorsey's Search Raks Noor School of Middle Eastern Dance won an excellent rating in the adult open category at Paramount's Kings Dominion Dance Festival on Saturday.
Making their debut on the Paramount stage were Tracy Misner Kroll and Miranda Pakulski.
Veteran dance performers included Cyndi Hawkins and Zite Suarez-Jones.
Information about the Raks Noor School of Middle Eastern Dance: 301-596-2715.
Pub Date: 3/31/99