THE EXCITEMENT OF the state elections swept through Oklahoma Road Middle School the day after Election Day last week when social studies teacher Christine Baummer revealed the results of pupil voting to one of her seventh-grade, team 5 classes.

Baummer had allowed all 118 pupils on the team to cast ballots in the election for governor and state delegate, two positions she felt would help students understand differences between the two political parties, and give them issues to focus on in the mock voting.

"Their vote doesn't count," she said, "but their vote does have a voice."

Pupil voting had taken place Monday, and Baummer tallied the votes that afternoon to compare with the true election results.

Pupils at the Eldersburg school gave Republican Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. an easy win over Democrat Kathleen Kennedy Townsend in the governor's race. Susan W. Krebs narrowly defeated Kenneth Holniker in the House of Delegates race in District 9B. Both also won in the real election.

After she read the results to her Wednesday morning class, she used her laptop computer to project www.sunspot.net (The Sun's Web site) on an overhead screen. She also displayed the front page of the newspaper to discuss the election results.

On the Web site she browsed through "The Day in Pictures," allowing the children to view photographs taken Election Day. One photo showed Townsend at the polling booth preparing to cast her ballot. Chris Henry, 12, found it interesting that the candidates can vote for themselves.

Baummer described the atmosphere in a polling booth to the class and said it was similar to that of a library.

"The process of democracy is a very quiet one," she said. "People walk in and out of the building in a very quiet fashion."

When Baummer asked the class for their reactions to the results, most pupils said they were happy with the overall results.

Baummer noted that the pupils' votes closely matched the real election tallies, which she said indicated that they must have spent time talking to their parents about whom they were voting for.

Amanda Wilmore, 11, said her family is interested in politics and spent a great deal of time before the election talking about the candidates, watching the news together, and discussing politics around the dinner table.

Another pupil said she was disappointed that their votes matched their parents.

Baummer replied: "It's OK to be influenced by the role models in our life, and parents are your role models, as they should be - so I'm OK about that."

The discussion that followed between the pupils and the teacher could have been similar to any adult discussion overheard in a local coffeehouse or office after an election.

Pupils recalled the negative campaign ads; they talked about the closeness of some of the national elections; and how recounts may be involved, remembering the Florida recount for the presidential election. The young voters wondered about the future endeavors of the defeated candidates.

Although next year's curriculum is scheduled to teach pupils how to vote, Baummer and her pupils felt the mock voting was a good learning experience, taking advantage of the election year and all the issues that arose out of the state and local campaigns.

Century homecoming

Without a class of seniors, or a class of returning students to mark a homecoming celebration, Century High School - which opened in August 2001 - still pulled off a spirited homecoming week that culminated at Saturday night's homecoming dance.

Penny Foster, media specialist at Century in Eldersburg, said that school spirit ran high all week as the students prepared for the weekend celebrations. On Friday, the school held a pep rally and students turned out in force bearing their school colors of green and gold.

"Spirit for the school is really starting to build," said Foster. "It's really neat to see."

Although the football team lost to Southside Academy, attendance at the game was high. The half-time presentation included the naming of homecoming princes and princesses. Foster said that because the school does not have a senior class, they could not name a king and queen.

The freshman class named Steven Rice and Amanda Carr, the sophomore class Matt Vander Veer and Kris Breeden, and the junior class Mike Cook and Christina Woody.

The theme of homecoming week was a country hoe-down, which Foster said reflected a fall theme. Students decorated the cafeteria as a barn, with cornstalks and trees bearing fall colors, all made from paper kits. But the casual theme was not reflected in the attire at the semiformal dance.

Catrina Whites, 15, and her friend Stephanie Riley, 15, were among many female students who spent Saturday preparing for the evening ahead by having their nails and hair done, finishing touches for their formal attire.

"The students looked wonderful," said Foster. "And they all seemed to have a lot of fun."

The turnout for Saturday's homecoming dance was 665 students .

Debra Taylor Young's neighborhood column appears each Tuesday in the Carroll County edition of The Sun.