Guilford Elementary/Middle School
Good Things Continue to Happen at Guilford Elementary/Middle School
By Nancy Getter
A number of continuing and new events are happening at Guilford Elementary/Middle School. On Friday, April 18, 2008, students, faculty, and administrators participated in the school’s Playground Dedication Day. The school day was filled with fun activities geared toward celebrating the school’s two new playgrounds.
In addition, plans continue to evolve on ways to add more green space not just around the two new playgrounds but also around the entire school property. Administrators and teachers from the school are joining forces with the Maryland Port Administration and the Jones Falls Watershed Association to explore ways for the school to develop an ambitious greening project, one that would include planting more trees, creating rain gardens, and removing large amounts of pavement from the school’s property. Significant pavement removal would dramatically enhance the exterior of the school, provide a more park like setting where the children could play, develop numerous green spaces for outdoor educational opportunities, and greatly reduce runoff which pollutes the Jones Falls and ultimately the Chesapeake Bay.
The Foreign Language Project, created and run by full-time faculty, graduate, and undergraduate students from Johns Hopkins University’s Department of German and Romance Languages and Literature continues to flourish this spring semester. Fifteen Guilford Elementary/Middle School students are enrolled in this innovative program where students learn French and Spanish and participate in a foreign language laboratory that incorporates elements of culture, conversation, and technology. The March 3, 2008 issue of The JHU Gazette front page story chronicles this exciting program. The school plans to enroll more students this coming academic year.
Some Guilford residents now volunteer as tutors at the school. Several tutors work one on one with students; while others tutor several students in a small group setting. Tutors currently work with children in grades 4 through 6, and all are finding the experience challenging, enlightening, and wonderfully rewarding. If you would like to tutor a few hours a week starting next fall, contact either Carol Rice at crice445@verizon.net or Nancy Getter at kgetter@aol.com to learn more.
As many of you know, a number of Guilford residents have been working together in ways to support Guilford Elementary/Middle School in whatever ways the school requests and in whatever ways we can. We call ourselves, FANS, Friends and Neighbors of the School. Several Guilford neighbors have taken interest in our efforts and have chosen to make monetary donations to our efforts. To date, these most generous individuals have collectively given over $20, 000 to our cause. To each donor, we are most grateful, and we plan to use these dollars to further enhance all the happenings listed above as well as meet other significant needs of the school. From the day the FANS group began working with the school, we knew that many Guilford residents would want to reach out to the administrators, the teachers, and the children there. So many good people are helping out. It’s exciting to see all that is happening at Guilford Elementary/Middle School.
Please let us know if you would be interested in getting involved with the school.
Interested neighborhood residents include:
Nancy Getter – (410) 662-0934 – kgetter@aol.com
Jane Webster – jane@sumersault.com
Beth Felder – bethfelder@hotmail.com
Carol Rice – crice445@aol.com
Jim Durkay – webmaster@guilfordnews.com
