MISSING Search underway for Clarksburg mom and children. A-7
The Gazette
ENTERTAINMENT: “Colossal,” about life after a serious injury, opens in Olney. B-5
SPORTS: State champion Damascus manages volleyball expectations with new core. B-1
GERMANTOWN | CLARKSBURG DA I LY U P DAT E S AT G A Z E T T E . N E T
Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2014
25 cents
TennisPlex takes center court Holy Cross
hosts public in Germantown
Boyds complex ranked one of 12 U.S. ‘outstanding’ tennis facilities
n Instructor Andrew Sailo (left) works on swinging the racquet with James Aspilcuetta, 7, of Gaithersburg during free tennis lessons at the Montgomery TennisPlex in Boyds on Sept. 7.
BY
W
Most people don’t usually welcome a trip to the hospital just for fun, but an upcoming event in Germantown could be an exception. Holy Cross Germantown Hospital — the first new hospital in Mongtomery County in 25 years — is hosting an open house for general public on Sept. 21. It officially opens for business Oct. 1. “[The hospital] brings all of the services we have down here [in Silver Spring] to an area of the county that doesn’t have a hospital,” said Kevin J. Sexton, president and CEO
See HOLY CROSS, Page A-10
VIRGINIA TERHUNE STAFF WRITER
hile tennis players at the U.S. Open celebrated at Flushing Meadow, Queens, last weekend, tennis players in Montgomery County also had something to cheer about. On Sunday, the Montgomery TennisPlex in Boyds celebrated being named one of the 12 outstanding tennis facilities in the country by the U.S Tennis Association based in White Plains, N.Y. “They must have taken a look at all of
Credit union helps Manna have a cow Germantown-based cooperative purchases steers from 4-H youth
n
BY
SAMANTHA SCHMIEDER STAFF WRITER
While many Montgomery County residents can say that they have donated food items to Manna to help them fight hunger in the area, how many can say they donated a whole cow? What about three? The Mid-Atlantic Federal Credit Union, based in Germantown, recently launched a fundraising campaign to raise money in order to buy steers to be made into meat products for the Manna Food Center. Manna provides
See FOOD, Page A-13
them and found it aesthetically pleasing,” said TennisPlex CEO and coach Jack Schore, who owns and operates the for-profit complex. His business partners include his wife, Anne Pallie, who designed the facility, and Kevin Dowdell of Gaithersburg, who is the general manager. A former award-winning coach at the Bullis School in Potomac and Georgetown Preparatory School in North Bethesda, Schore now lives in northern Virginia. The nearly $4 million project in the South Germantown Recreation Park includes eight indoor courts in two air-conditioned bubbles
Automotive Calendar Classified Entertainment Opinion Sports
and four outdoor courts with lights. The association judged facilities around the country based on overall layout and adaptation to the site, programming quality, excellence of court surface and lights, accommodations for players, aesthetics, amenities, food services and social areas and participation in USTA programs. “Outstanding tennis facilities like Montgomery TennisPlex help us grow the game at the grass-roots level, and for that reason and so much more, we are proud to recognize
Students look to board on bus, walking issues n
BY
LINDSAY A. POWERS STAFF WRITER
Nicolas Holt-Barrett said he catches a Ride On bus to and from school in part to avoid crossing Md. 118 on foot to get to Northwest High School in Germantown. “When I walked and I get to there, there’s never a time where there isn’t a car in sight,” the 11th-grader said. “You
See TENNIS, Page A-8
See STUDENTS, Page A-13
Poolesville High ninth grader hopes her experience will help others prepare for test
n
BY
LINDSAY A. POWERS STAFF WRITER
Nina Todd said she struggled to find materials to help her study for a test that makes up part of the middle school magnet program application. So she made her own. Nina, now a 13-year-old ninth grader at Poolesville High School, wrote a study guide and a workbook this past spring to help fifth-graders get ready for Montgomery County Public Schools’ test used to help determine which students make it into the system’s middle school magnet programs. “I wanted to compile all of the studying that was necessary into one place to make it even more convenient for my readers,” she said. Nina said “A Kids Guide To Get-
ting Accepted Into Magnet Middle Schools” explains how she studied for the test and that she hopes her experience will motivate her readers. Between the guide and the workbook, students can look through samples of reading comprehension questions and essays, practice math problems and study vocabulary lists, among other prep methods. She said the guide advises students to organize their studying around their particular strengths and weaknesses. “I stress the point to stay focused,” she said. “My readers need to focus on what their goal is. For the majority of my readers, that would be getting into the program.” Nina said focus was a significant factor during her preparation for the test. She said that some friends she talked to who had not gotten into the program told her they got distracted. “I eliminated a lot of distractions,” she said. “I sacrificed a lot during my time studying.”
The time spent studying was “definitely worth it,” Nina said. Roberto Clemente Middle School’s magnet program challenged her and gave her the opportunity to create documentaries, write essays and enjoy other experiences, she said. “In that [program] we were pushed to explore our creative sides of ourselves,” she said. The guide and workbook — at $9.99 each on Amazon — are priced to be accessible to lower-income families who may not have the resources to pay for more expensive prep classes, she said. For middle-school students looking for help preparing for the highschool level magnet test, Nina is working on another guide that she expects to release next year. The school system provides booklets to give students an idea of what the test will be like at both the middle school and the high school levels, said Jeannie
See GUIDE, Page A-13
SPECIAL SECTION B-13 A-2 B-9 B-5 A-12 B-1
Youth group says busy roads around Northwest aren’t safe
Student creates guide for magnet program hopefuls
INDEX Volume 31, No. 36, Two sections, 32 Pages Copyright © 2014 The Gazette
Please
RECYCLE
MONTGOMERY HOSPICE Learn how Montgomery Hospice can help you and your loved ones, plus get advice on helping men grieve. ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT
September 18, 2014 1934334
VIRGINIA TERHUNE STAFF WRITER
GREG DOHLER/ THE GAZETTE
BY
Open house scheduled for Sept. 21
DAN GROSS/THE GAZETTE
Nina Todd of Germantown presents the cover of a book she wrote for students to help them pass the middle-school magnet program test in Montgomery County.