To have an item listed mail to 10220 River Road, Suite 303, Potomac, MD 20854, e-mail to almanac@connectionnewspapers.com, or fax to 703-917-0991. Deadline is Thursday at noon for the following week’s paper. Photos and artwork encouraged. Unless otherwise noted, all events are in Potomac. If you have any questions, call Rebecca Halik at 703-917-6476.
Adventure Theatre introduces a new Book Club for Kids focusing on the best-selling children’s books that inspired each of its plays for the 2006-07 Season. Children experience the journey of reading the books at home to seeing the plays unfold before their eyes on stage at Adventure Theatre. Performances are followed by a “Talk About” session and a fun and creative activity related to the book and the play. Books are available at the Little Falls library. Registration is free. Go to www.adventuretheatre.org for more information about the many benefits members will receive. Special Book Club performances are Sundays at 1:30 p.m. on special dates. Discount tickets will only be given for the designated Book Club performance dates. No substitutions. Adventure Theatre is located at Glen Echo Park, 7300 MacArthur Blvd., Glen Echo.
Princeton Review offers an MCAT class at the John Hopkins University-Montgomery County Campus this fall. The MCAT course is on Mondays-Wednesdays 6:30-9:00 p.m. from Oct. 16-April 4, 2007 and some Saturdays from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. for practice tests. Cost of course is $1,699. To sign up for the course, visit www.PrincetonReview.com or call 1-800-2REVIEW .
Seventeen local teens participated in a week-long training institute to prepare them to work with teens with special needs at local congregational schools and youth groups. Sponsored by the Partnership for Jewish Life and Learning, the Special Needs Assistance Program (S.N.A.P.) partners each student with a peer throughout the school year. Participants range in age from 9-12 grade, and most had no previous experience working with people with special needs. The teens participate in study and hands-on activities to gain knowledge, resources and perspective on working with children and teenagers with different needs. After completing the training institute, teenage participants choose whether they would like to be aides in a congregational school classroom or in a youth group setting, beginning in the fall.
Young people who would like to make a difference in the lives of a homeless child are invited to join the County’s Youth Advisory Committee’s “Big Buddy, Little Buddy” program. Mentors must attend Montgomery County public or private high schools, provide their own transportation and commit to three hours a week for six months. Two sessions are planned — October through March and January through June — and are at the Greentree Shelter in Bethesda. Mentors will assist their “buddies” with homework and arts and crafts projects, plus play games and participate in sports activities with them. Group activities are planned once a month off the premises. Students will qualify for student service learning credits. Applications must be received by Sept. 22. The mentoring program is sponsored by the Montgomery County Youth Advisory Committee, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Department of Recreation. For more information or to request an application, call David Branick at 240-777-6985.
The following students were finalists in the 2006 Letters about Literature contest:
* Avi Kallmeyer of Rockville, wrote about Richard Bach's "Jonathan Livingston Seagull."
* Abigail Newburger of Rockville, wrote about Lisi Harrison's "The Clique."
*Megan McAndrews of Potomac, wrote about Marilyn Singer's "All We Needed to Say: Poems about School from Tanya and Sophie."
* Hailey Blain of Bethesda, wrote about Peg Kehret's "Small Steps."
Justine Cummins-Oman from Walt Whitman High School was the recipient of a Merit Scholarship to attend Brandeis University where she will study psychiatry.
Benjamin Umans from Walt Whitman High School was the recipient of a Merit Scholarship to attend the University of Chicago where he will study science.
Rachel Kirsch from Montgomery Blair High School was the recipient of a Merit Scholarship to attend the University of Maryland, where she will study mathematics.
Abhishek Dhar from Montgomery Blair High School was the recipient of a Merit Scholarship to attend Northwestern University and study medicine.
Erik Li from Montgomery Blair High School was the recipient of a Merit Scholarship to attend the University of Maryland, where he will study bioengineering.
Derek Turnbull from Richard Montgomery High School was the recipient of a Merit Scholarship to attend Washington University where he will major in international development.
David Liu from Richard Montgomery High School was the recipient of a Merit Scholarship to attend Washington University, where he will study business.