Role Models

Age gaps or high school cliques don't matter when it comes to developing friendships among members of the Grace Academy Beauty Project. “I've enjoyed getting to know high school girls,” said Ruthie Buser of Berkeley Springs, W.Va., a 13-year-old seventh-grader at Grace Academy in Hagerstown. “I really feel more connected to the middle and high school girls altogether.” The project is designed to provide encouragement and serve as a positive role model to girls in the sixth through eighth grades.

HAGERSTOWN -- "The day will come when this is your spot," Catherine Parson said, gripping the podium that held notes for her keynote speech. "When you arrive, don't tell me you don't have anything to say. You will be tested, so you will have a testimony. " Parson's words bounced off the walls and hung in the air over the Black Achievers Gala Saturday night. "Get prepared, you have a place to go," she said. The students in the Hagerstown YMCA's Black Achievers Program have heard the message before.

The following list takes a chronological look at the relationship between PenMar and Role Models. · March 2000 - Role Models announces plans to open the school at the base to serve 535 students and create 175 jobs. By June, the relationship between PenMar and Role Models is tense. · Oct. 23, 2000 - Role Models begins classes with 50 students, down from the 100 students anticipated. · February 2001 - PenMar sues Role Models in Washington County Circuit Court to bar the school from installing flagpoles at the former base and also wants the court to order the school to remove two existing poles that fly the United States and Maryland flags.

There was no shortage of role models at Friday night's No Smoking Youth Club banquet for family and friends at the Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center. Staff, visitors and even the keynote speaker were there to sing the praises of quitting smoking or better yet, never starting. "Smoking is probably the most preventable health problem we have," author and health educator Richard Williams said. "Diabetes, heart and lung problems are all connected to smoking. " Williams has a doctorate in health education and administration, and has taught college-level courses in nutrition and health education.

To teach children about love, parents need to be role models Teaching your Child | By Lisa Tedrick Prejean My 5-year-old recently told me he is "going with" one of the girls in his kindergarten class. continued "Oh, that's nice. What exactly does it mean to 'go with' someone?" I asked. "Well, girls have boyfriends, and boys have girlfriends. You know, we love each other, like you and Daddy do," he said, quickly skipping out of the room. I thought about what he said and wondered how he came to realize that his parents love each other.

Six local youths were honored Sunday for completing the YMCA Achievers Program for Minority Students. The achievers program, which is part of a national program that began at the Harlem, N.Y., YMCA in 1971, connects adult role models with students to help the youths set career and educational goals. It is also intended to turn idle time among youths into productive time. High school seniors who completed the program received plaques and were honored before dozens of people Sunday afternoon at the Bridge of Life church on South Potomac Street in Hagerstown.

Ruth Ann Monroe Primary School chose its December citizens of the month. The character trait for the month was community. The students were chosen by their teachers for being role models of this trait in their classrooms and throughout the entire school. Honored were Janelle Hedgecock, Austin Ball, Angelique Schildtknecht, Aubrey Stickely, Drea Malasky, Gary Cedillo, Alex Frias, Lanaya Frazier, Brenna O'Reilly, Tyrique Johnson, Connor McCardell, Camryn Price, Benjamin Gilroy, Mackenzie Gettel and Madison Corral, Myles Stover, Mary Oliver, Piper Wright, Henry Sullivan, Logan Staples, Ty McCaw, Megan Waldrop and Hayleigh Brawner.

Dan Jenkins, a single parent of three children, this week was named a “Champion of Change,” part of President Obama’s Winning the Future program. The president’s initiative singles out citizens and representatives of business and nonprofit organizations who promote the president’s goal to “out-innovate, out-educate and out-build the rest of the world,” according to a White House news release. Jenkins, of Martinsburg, was chosen as a representative among fathers who are there for their children and community, the release said.

Hancock Elementary School and the Family School Partnership recently sponsored a program called Dads and Donuts. Students were given invitations to give to their dad or male figure in their life to attend a breakfast Nov. 13 at the school cafeteria. There they shared doughnuts and juice and spent time with their dad, grandfather, uncle or brother before heading back to class. A total of 247 attended. After the students returned to their classes, a speaker from the Family School Partnership spoke to the men about how they can actively involve themselves in their children's educational success and be role models for their children.

HAGERSTOWN -- Thirteen-year-old Santana Stevens talked Sunday about her interest in arts and culture. The E. Russell Hicks Middle School student has been able to get a taste of the arts thanks to the Black Achievers program at the Hagerstown YMCA. The national program, which started at the Harlem New York YMCA in 1971, connects adult role models to students to help the youth set career and educational goals. Stevens said she has enjoyed the discussions about arts and culture, and she decided to enroll in the program for the third time this year.

Will you be a hero to a child who needs one? To the editor: How do you contribute? How many of you make a conscious effort each day to make a positive contribution to our society? How many go out of your way to show kindness to and concern for the children in our community?  As a teacher and citizen, I'm fed up with the direction of our society and country, especially the amount of children being raised in neglectful, abusive homes. I'm disgusted by the lack of quality programming and quality role models for our children.

As a parent, you are the most important influence on your child. You can do many things to help your child develop healthy lifetime eating habits.  Offering a variety of foods help children get the nutrients they need from every food group. They will also be more likely to try new foods and like more foods. Eat vegetables, fruits and whole grains with meals or snacks. Let your child see that you like to munch on raw vegetables. Grocery shopping can teach your child about food and nutrition.

It used to be so easy. Back when I was a kid, all you did was flick on the TV and sit and watch sports. You were moved, inspired and driven to be just like those guys, those athletes who dazzled you with their brilliance. They were role models - or so we thought - because all those athletes were great talents, engaging with their followers and giving an image of being the perfect person. Back then. This is probably the point where I sound like I'm slipping back to that forbidden land.

Hancock Elementary School and the Family School Partnership recently sponsored a program called Dads and Donuts. Students were given invitations to give to their dad or male figure in their life to attend a breakfast Nov. 13 at the school cafeteria. There they shared doughnuts and juice and spent time with their dad, grandfather, uncle or brother before heading back to class. A total of 247 attended. After the students returned to their classes, a speaker from the Family School Partnership spoke to the men about how they can actively involve themselves in their children's educational success and be role models for their children.

Age gaps or high school cliques don't matter when it comes to developing friendships among members of the Grace Academy Beauty Project. “I've enjoyed getting to know high school girls,” said Ruthie Buser of Berkeley Springs, W.Va., a 13-year-old seventh-grader at Grace Academy in Hagerstown. “I really feel more connected to the middle and high school girls altogether.” The project is designed to provide encouragement and serve as a positive role model to girls in the sixth through eighth grades.

Continuing to learn, no matter your age, wisely selecting role models and seizing opportunities were among the advice Tri-State area leaders shared at a black history tribute Sunday afternoon. “But education is expanding your vision beyond what you know today to be true. We would still be stuck in 1964 if there weren't folk, without schooling, without what we consider now formal education, who didn't step up and take the challenge to understand a little more today than they understood yesterday and pass that on to the next generation,” jazz singer Kerensa Gray told the audience at the Review and Herald Publishing Association's auditorium south of Hagerstown.

Ruth Ann Monroe Primary School chose its December citizens of the month. The character trait for the month was community. The students were chosen by their teachers for being role models of this trait in their classrooms and throughout the entire school. Honored were Janelle Hedgecock, Austin Ball, Angelique Schildtknecht, Aubrey Stickely, Drea Malasky, Gary Cedillo, Alex Frias, Lanaya Frazier, Brenna O'Reilly, Tyrique Johnson, Connor McCardell, Camryn Price, Benjamin Gilroy, Mackenzie Gettel and Madison Corral, Myles Stover, Mary Oliver, Piper Wright, Henry Sullivan, Logan Staples, Ty McCaw, Megan Waldrop and Hayleigh Brawner.

As they say, “Go West, young man,” and that's what Williamsport graduate Will Taylor did more than two years ago. Now, Taylor is a starter for the Cal Poly at San Luis Obispo University men's basketball team and looking forward to his future on and off the basketball floor. A fifth-year senior, the 6-foot-7, 230-pound Taylor is third for Cal Poly in scoring, averaging 9.4 points per game, and is first in rebounding with 6 a game. He is shooting 53 percent from the floor and 88 percent from the foul line in Cal Poly's 5-3 start to the season that includes a victory over Southern California.

Dan Jenkins, a single parent of three children, this week was named a “Champion of Change,” part of President Obama’s Winning the Future program. The president’s initiative singles out citizens and representatives of business and nonprofit organizations who promote the president’s goal to “out-innovate, out-educate and out-build the rest of the world,” according to a White House news release. Jenkins, of Martinsburg, was chosen as a representative among fathers who are there for their children and community, the release said.

Six local youths were honored Sunday for completing the YMCA Achievers Program for Minority Students. The achievers program, which is part of a national program that began at the Harlem, N.Y., YMCA in 1971, connects adult role models with students to help the youths set career and educational goals. It is also intended to turn idle time among youths into productive time. High school seniors who completed the program received plaques and were honored before dozens of people Sunday afternoon at the Bridge of Life church on South Potomac Street in Hagerstown.