Beautification Award

The Odenton Kiwanis Club awarded Odenton Elementary with its 2004 Beautification Award. During an awards ceremony at Arundel High School, our school received a plaque in recognition of its efforts in maintaining a clean and neat school. Kiwanis members had inspected classrooms and grounds of the schools in the greater Odenton area prior to determining what school would win the award. We salute the staff and students at Odenton Elementary for their efforts in making our school a wonderful place to work and learn.

Flat Stanley Goes Global

The first grade classes at Odenton Elementary incorporated a modified version of the Flat Stanley Project with our reading program. The Flat Stanley Project is based on the book Flat Stanley, written by Jeff Brown. Stanley was a boy leading a normal life until one day a bulletin board fell on him and suddenly he was flat. Since then, his life became quite interesting. Stanley’s father never worried about losing him in crowds; he just rolled Stanley up and carried him under his arm. His parents also mailed him to California to spend his holiday there because it was more economical than flying on an airplane.

We continued his adventures by having each child mail at least two letters and their Flat Stanley to relatives and/or friends who live in other states. The letter asked their relatives and/or friends to send letters, postcards, pictures or souvenirs to us about his adventure with them and information about their state or country.

Flat Stanley traveled throughout the continental United States as well as Switzerland, Bangladesh, Nova Scotia, Egypt, Japan, Italy, Canada and Hawaii. He assisted a pilot on American Airlines, went fishing, skiing, sailing, escaped from three Boston policemen, ate at numerous restaurants, and met many interesting people. He even surfed the net under the guidance of Mrs. Yates, our school secretary. Every time Flat Stanley visited a new state, we would put up the piece representing that state on our puzzle of the United States. He almost made it to every state. When he visited a country, we would place a miniature Flat Stanley on a world map to show the continents he visited. We also posted the letters, pictures and souvenirs that were sent to the children. The entire school was able to see where he had been.

Four months later, we were still receiving letters, pictures, postcards and souvenirs. We finally decided to celebrate his journey by having a Flat Stanley party. We watched a slide show of his journey while eating cake and ice cream. Weis and Shoppers Food Markets donated cakes with Flat Stanley’s picture on it. They were delicious!

Maryland Community Plant Award

The Maryland Urban and Community Forest Committee of the Maryland Association of Forest Conservancy District Boards and the Maryland Department of Natural Resources recognized Odenton Elementary for its efforts in enhancing community forests. Odenton Elementary was presented the 2003 Maryland Community Bronze Plant Award during the Anne Arundel County Council meeting that took place in April of 2004.

Marcus D’Arcangelis, a fifth grade teacher, has coordinated several projects during the past several years. One area of the school grounds was restored to its natural state by removing the grass and planting native plants and flowers. Students also took a field trip to a greenhouse and planted cuttings of cranberry and pine native to Maryland. These will later be transplanted to an identified site. This spring, during with Arlington Echo, we identified an area on school property that had poor water drainage due to excessive water runoff. Fifth grade students planted over a hundred trees and shrubs in this area to help to improve the drainage.

Mr. D’Arcangelis has worked with the Chesapeake Bay Trust in securing grants for these projects. He has also worked with the staff at the Arlington Echo Outdoor Education Center to educate our students on environmental education. 

Math-A-Thon for St. Jude Childrens's Hospital

Congratulations to Mrs. Malley, a third grade teacher, for successfully coordinating a Math-A-Thon to help raise funds for St. Jude children's Hospital!  Interested students in grades 3-5 were given the opportunity to take part in an educationally based fund-raising program in which students obtain sponsors for the number of math problems completed in a special workbook.  This year the students at Odenton Elementary raised over $2,000.  "We are very proud of our students for working so hard on the Math-A-Thon"  Mrs. Malley said.  With their help, St. Jude's Hospital will be able to create new treatments that may one day lead to a cure for many forms of cancer that will benefit the children of our state, our country and our world.  We extend our thanks to all of the participating students and their parents for their support in making the project a success this year.

Bay Grasses Project

Odenton Elementary has received funding from a Chesapeake Bay Trust grant to extend a forest buffer to a stream adjacent to school property and to reduce the water runoff from the parking lot and school grounds.  Marc D’Arcangelis, a fifth grade teacher who wrote the grant, is coordinating the project with the Department of Natural Resources and Arlington Echo Outdoor Education Center.

The project will begin this spring and extend into the next school year.  Activities will include experiments depicting water runoff, testing the water quality of the stream, transplanting bay grasses, raising and planting seedlings, and investigating how water quality affect animals and plants.  Preparation for the bay grasses project was initiated by a fifth grade trip with the Living Classrooms Foundation, a voyage that provided direct observation of environmental concerns of the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries.

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