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Media Relations Archive
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Teacher feels at home in classroom
Seat Pleasant educator attended kindergarten where she works now
Thursday, Jan. 26, 2006
by Jennifer Donatelli
Staff Writer
Greg Dohler⁄The Gazette
Indica Harley, a teacher at St. Margaret of Scotland School in Seat Pleasant, teaches kindergarten in the same room where she was a student in 1980. Here, student Aaron Hackett, 5, points to a cloud in author Eric Carle’s book ‘‘Little Cloud” during story time.
Teacher Indica Harley considers her 16 kindergartners at Seat Pleasant’s St. Margaret of Scotland School to be her friends.
‘‘They are my friends. I spend every day with them,” she said.
For that reason, she wants the room to be as inviting as possible. She has decorated it with bright primary colors, large drawings of pictures matching the letter of the alphabet with which they begin, the ‘‘Lord’s Prayer,” and illustrations on parts of speech and the parts to a book.
Harley knows exactly what it’s like to look at her classroom from a 5-year-old’s perspective since she was a kindergarten student in the same room in 1980. She graduated from the Catholic school as an eighth-grader.
‘‘When you’re in kindergarten, everything is so much bigger. Now that I’m an adult, it’s so small, but it’s a comfort,” she said. ‘‘It’s that feeling of home because I’m familiar with it.”
Harley, who lives in Forestville, felt the same way when she returned to St. Margaret’s three years ago. She had been teaching at a school in Baltimore for five years, heard about the St. Margaret’s opening and applied.
In her interview with Principal Charon Hines, she asked to be placed with the kindergartners. The school has one kindergarten classroom, she said.
Teaching in the room in which Harley was a student is not her only connection to St. Margaret’s. Lorraine Mayfield, her mother, has run the Child Center there for the past decade.
For Mayfield, having her daughter teach at the school is a source of pride.
‘‘It makes me feel good to have her here,” the Capitol Heights resident said.
For Harley, working with her mother means another person she can turn to for advice or even if she needs someone to watch the children when she needs to use the restroom.
She said she depended upon her mother for that reason a lot when she was pregnant with one of her two sons, two years ago, she said.
The best part of working with kindergartners is seeing their growth from September as she prepares them for first grade, Harley said, as the children practiced their penmanship.
‘‘When they come in, there are some things they may not be able to do,” she said, adding she enjoys seeing their penmanship become neater over the year and how they remember terms like ‘‘symmetry” she had mentioned days earlier.
In a classroom of 16, where boys outnumber girls three to one, Harley is patient and calm with the children. When she wants quiet, she raises one hand high and puts the fingers of her other hand over her lips. The children typically and quickly follow suit.
‘‘You have to have a lot of energy, a lot of patience. But it’s fun. Every day is different. They say the funniest things,” she said.
Her first year at the school, she had more girls than boys. Last year was similar to this year.
‘‘I find the girls to be more talkative. The boys are more aggressive and playful,” Harley said.
Whether parents have boys or girls, they seem to appreciate her efforts. The mother of one boy wrote a letter apologizing for his misbehavior and promising to work with him on it. She also made him write his own apology letter.
Waldorf resident Tikki Teixiera, whose daughter Jayla is in the class, said she knows how hard Harley’s job is since she is a fifth-grade teacher at John Eager Howard Elementary in Capitol Heights.
Since this is Jayla’s first year in the school, she didn’t attend the prekindergarten program like many of her classmates and was a little behind at first, Teixiera said.
But since Harley has been working with the girl, she now proceeds with her homework independently at home, her mother said.
‘‘She’s a very caring, nurturing teacher. She likes to challenge the students,” Teixiera said of Harley.
Harley also has received attention from other educators.
Liz Whelan, principal of St. Hugh’s School, which teaches kindergarten through eighth grades in Greenbelt, toured St. Margaret’s for the first time last month as part of a parent meeting. She said she was impressed with the displays of words and parts of speech she saw in Harley’s classroom.
‘‘I picked it up in five minutes. It showed how much education is going on in the classroom,” Whelan said.
E-mail Jennifer Donatelli at jdonatelli@gazette.net.
Home care provider makes foray into franchising
Washington Business Journal - by Neil Adler Staff Reporter
Options for Senior America has signed its first franchise agreement, and if things go well it could lead to more down the road.
The Silver Spring-based company, which has provided health care services to the elderly for the past 15 years, completed the deal for a franchise in Raleigh, N.C., in about a month. Options for Senior America had been thinking of getting into the franchise world. North Carolina was just one of several states it was considering.
Robert Bedwell, a former branch manager for Options, paid $26,000 for the franchise. The business will cover eight counties in North Carolina with a potential market of 1.5 million people.
The franchise model is still experimental and if it succeeds Options plans to market its franchise opportunities more aggressively, says Ramzi Rihani, senior director of Options. "It could trigger a domino effect."
With the expansion, Options now operates in about a half dozen states, including Maryland, Virginia and D.C. The private company, which will collect about 5 percent of the franchise's sales, has 45 employees.
Rihani says a one-time fee for the franchise was $26,000.
School observes 50th year, reflects on role in community
May 26, 2005
Denny Carter
Special to The Gazette
Sitting at a table far away from the hustle and bustle of the day's events, three soon-to-be graduates of St. Margaret's of Scotland School played a friendly game of cards.
As they played, they reflected on their time at what they described as a sanctuary from the outside world.
"It's become a safe haven for a lot of kids around here," said Dyani Miller, a St. Margaret's eighth-grader, who lives in nearby Capitol Heights.
"We just have a good environment for us all," said Miller's classmate, Amber Davidson.
Davidson Dyani and Miller were just two of a number current and former students at St. Margaret's school and church, which celebrated its 50th year Saturday. Events included a barbecue, a silent auction and an anniversary mass.
Dozens of the more than 3,000 St. Margaret's graduates roamed the school hallways , reminiscing in their old classrooms or bumping into a former classmate for the first time since they left the school.
"When you come back and meet people, it's funny to see they have kids as old as we were when we went to school here."
The was the view of 1980 graduate Leon Reynolds, as he stood in a dimly-lit hallway, admiring the myriad of sports trophies St. Margaret's has won since he was a student.
After a quarter century outside the confines of St. Margaret's, Reynolds still has fond memories of the school's religious and educational values.
"When I was here, the teachers always challenged you and made you do your best in everything," said Reynolds, who lives in Waldorf.
In anticipation of the silent action, tables full of gift baskets lined the hallways Saturday afternoon as church members, faculty and students conversed over hot dogs and barbeque.
John Cooley, a longtime member of St. Margaret's and an active participant in several of the church's outreach programs, has seen the church's positive effect on the Seat Pleasant community. "As long as I've been here, I've seen an outreach to the community," said the District Heights resident.
St. Margaret's outreach efforts include the SHARE program, a local volunteer organization that provides food for those in need of help.
"We try to help people get what they need to survive on a day-to-day basis ... It's very gratifying because you get to see the benefit to people's lives."
As he helped make final preparations for the weekend's festivities, the Rev. David Lupo, pastor at St. Margaret's since 2002, discussed the church's influence in the Seat Pleasant area.
"We have provided the foundation for a lot of people who have passed trough here," said Lupo, who also served as pastor from 1991 to 1995. "Whether they were students or teachers or the administration ... we've provided a structure for people."
Lupo said St. Margaret's community is strengthened when parishioners enroll their children in the school.
Paa Kwesi Bartels, a church member and an eighth grader at the school, has reaped the benefits of St. Margaret's moral and educational guidance.
"They've taught me how to go off in life and not get lost," said Bartels, who lives in the area. When a rash of crime hit the Seat Pleasant region, Bartels sees St. Margaret's as a safe haven. "There's been some bad things that go on around here, but St. Margaret's has been a place for us to get away and go somewhere else."
For those who didn't know St. Margaret's Principal Charon Hines before last weekend, it was nearly impossible to pick her out of the crowd.
Dressed in a blue volunteer shirt and scurrying around the hallways carrying boxes piled above her head, the energetic Hines joined the other workers who made sure the 50th anniversary went smoothly.
Hines, in her third year as principal, said St. Margaret's would thrive for another 50 years if parishioners, faculty, and students continue to spread the church's message. But last Saturday, she was content mingling with priests, nuns, and parishioners on a perfectly sunny afternoon.
"The 50th anniversary merges our past, present, and future," she said. "It is exceptionally exciting to have everyone here together."
Dennis Carter at e-mail cdcarter13@comcast.net
Principal on a mission at Seat Pleasant's St. Margaret's School
Nov. 20, 2003
Tyisha Manigo
Staff Writer
In 2002, Charon P. W. Hines truly came full circle when she joined St. Margaret's School in Seat Pleasant.
A devout Catholic who spent her secondary years attending Catholic schools, Hines joined St. Margaret's as the principal in June 2002.
Hines, who at age 30 is one of the youngest principals hired under the Archdiocese of Washington, said her path was set at an early age by parents who instilled the importance of a good education.
"Forever it's been in my heart to teach," she said. "My parents put a lot of emphasis on education, because just like most parents, they always wanted their children to exceed their potential."
The Archdiocese of Washington covers Washington, D.C. and five Maryland counties, including Prince George's.
Hines' teaching career began in 1995 with a return to her former elementary school, Holy Name School in the District, before joining public schools in the District and later, the county.
But spiritual and personal reflection, in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, made her want to return to a place where faith could be openly expressed. Hines said her search led to the small Catholic school housed within St. Margaret's Church on Addison Road South.
"I felt a need for spiritual healing," Hines said. "I definitely marveled in the fact that the church and school are in the same building ... and that's what it really came down to--uniting the church and school."
Part of that mission has included launching initiatives aimed at nurturing students' personal, as well as educational and spiritual, growth. Some of the new projects Hines introduced include health classes focused on character building and the Angel Eye Award, which recognizes students for performing simple but helpful tasks like volunteering in class.
"I think [Hines] has being doing a wonderful job," said Janin Willis, president of the school's Home and School Association (HAS)--the school's equivalent to the PTA. "She's very enthusiastic and dedicated to the children. She brings a new youthful spirit to the school."
Willis said the simple measures Hines takes--such as offering smiley-faced slippers to cheer up students having a bad day--sometimes make all the difference.
"It's little things like that [which] she does to encourage them," Willis said.
Hines said her greatest challenge this year has been parent-involvement and funding. With 157 students registered this year, St. Margaret's is facing one of its lowest enrollment figures in recent years.
Bill Murray, the school's development director, said the school is responding by introducing a newsletter and alumni association, which officials hope will spread word-of-mouth.
Challenges notwithstanding, Hines said she remains focused in creating a school that operates as a community, one in which faculty, students and parents work together.
"I strive to lead the school based on that [community] premise ... so that everyone considers themselves a stakeholder in the future of the children here at St. Margaret's," Hines said.
E-mail Tyisha Manigo at tmanigo@gazette.net.
Helping young minds connect, with technology's help
Apr. 9, 2003
Sean Sands
Staff Writer
Susan Whitney/The Gazette
Armande Condillac, the technology coordinator of Our Lady of Sorrows school in Takoma Park, helps third-grader Kureece Gordon, 8, of Lanham use a computer program in the lab that will soon be connected to the Internet and cable television.
Donated work gets private school online
Personal computers and the Internet play an important role in many classrooms across Montgomery County. But even with the explosive growth of networked computing, there are still schools in the area that lack the basic tools to connect their students to the Internet, including Our Lady of Sorrows School in Takoma Park.
Although the school has a 28-seat computer lab, its Internet connection is limited to two computers in the main office that use a relatively slow dial-up connection. That's about to change, however, thanks to the work of school staff and the generosity of a business owner from the far northern end of the county.
Our Lady of Sorrows School opened in 1950 as a Catholic school behind the church off New Hampshire Avenue bearing the same name. Bill Murray, the school's development director, said the racial make-up changed dramatically in the 1980s, and today's student body of about 205 students in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade is made up mostly of Haitian, West African and Latino students, some coming from homes where parents face economic challenges and language barriers.
The effort to upgrade the school's technology began when Murray contacted Oscar Fuster, president of Damascus-based F-Squared Communications, a technology infrastructure and consulting firm which specializes in building networks for businesses and schools.
"We've always been involved in community service," Fuster said Monday, noting that the work at Our Lady of Sorrows School was "a perfect match for what we're doing here."
F-Squared will donate several personal computers, Internet routers, a cable modem and the wiring needed to create a high-speed network in the school. The company also will help the school determine the most cost-effective way to use the new technology.
Principal Gail Ruffin is trying to secure discounted Internet and cable TV service from Comcast, a local cable and high-speed Internet provider, Murray said. Once the service is turned on, the system will carry video signals to each classroom while connecting all of the computers to a local network and the Internet.
Fuster said he will enlist the help of his brother and former business partner, restaurant owner George Fuster of Darnestown, to complete the work. He has even gotten his 17-year-old son, also named Oscar, involved in the project. The younger Fuster, a senior at St. Johns at Prospect Hall in Frederick, will install most of the wired connections between computers and other equipment as part of his community service requirement for high school.
"This means a lot to us," the senior Oliver Fuster said. "Catholic schools in general don't have the resources that public schools have, yet they do a pretty good job educating our kids. I'm looking forward to working with the school."
Fuster, who attended Catholic school in Peru from first through fifth grades, said he hopes the work at Our Lady of Sorrows will begin this weekend and wrap up by the end of the month.
Hands-on experience
Although the budget for new computer equipment is tight, Our Lady of Sorrows School's existing computer lab has made a difference in the lives of the students and their families, said technology coordinator Armande Condillac. Now in his fifth year at the school, Condillac works with children as young as 2 years old, introducing them to basic computer hardware like the keyboard and mouse.
While the younger children use the computers to learn shapes, colors and other fundamentals, he said they also get important lessons in self-esteem and confidence.
"It's nice to see their tiny fingers holding the mouse," Condillac said Monday, "but it's better to see the excitement that comes to their faces when they are able to achieve something. Their small minds can really learn a lot."
Tuesday morning, one of the school's third-grade classes had an opportunity to brush up on its math skills using a software suite called Math Blasters. Xavier Carter, 9, of Takoma Park rapidly typed the solution to math problems in order to earn ammunition for his on-screen space ship, while his classmate, Simon Pompey, 8, also of Takoma Park, used the arrow keys on his keyboard to throw bananas at flying monkeys that represented the solution to a math equation.
Condillac said he tailors his teaching to the age of the student so that older students can learn more advanced concepts like word processing and basic business writing. He said the students are able to share their computer skills at home, allowing parents and siblings to learn valuable skills, sometimes in their native language.
Once the school's upgrades are complete, Condillac said he will teach the students how to use Internet search engines and e-mail. "We'll increase their ability to access online reference materials for assignments like research papers. Down the road, our teachers could even have their own Web pages for posting homework assignments."
Until then, the students will continue using programs like Math Blaster in the computer lab without actually connecting to the Internet, and that's fine for third-grader Kureece Gordon of Lanham. As the 8-year-old student looked up momentarily from the on-screen cockpit of his fighter ship, he smiled and said the computer lab has made learning math fun.
"It's great," he said, his attention abruptly pulled back to the game by a loud alert. He quickly typed the answer to two multiplication problems before flying off to save the universe.
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