Cheverly Parents Resource Group
	NEWSLINE December 2003
	Happy Holidays!

Dates for the Calendar

December 8 & 19: CPRC Playgroup @ Judith P. Hoyer
December 9: Cheverly House and Garden Tour meeting@Town Hall Conference Room, 7:30 p.m.
December 12: CRPC Meeting @ Cheverly Conference Room, 7:30 p.m. 
December 12: CPRC Playgroup Librarian Day @ the Community Center
December 18: Kids' Holiday Sharing Event@the Community Center Gym, 4:30 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
December 19: Playgroup Holiday Party@the Community Center, 11:00 a.m.

NOTES from the Coordinator
-Good news! Sonya and Robert Braddock are expecting a new family member. CPRC WOULD LIKE TO WISH THEM CONGRATULATIONS!
-Cheverly Week Day Nursery will be selling beautiful greenery/plants this holiday season so please stop by and buy a plant for the beautification of your home and increase the holiday feelings of good cheer.
-CRPC is in need of someone to host the Christmas caroling at their home in the month of December. If you are interested please contact Geneva at 301/772-3740. Thanks!
 
HELP WANTED!

The CPRC needs someone to manage the membership database. The duties are: enter new and updated membership info into a Microsoft Access database. Every other month you print labels for the newsletter. The database is completely set up; you do not need to know how to program to do this job! All you need to have is a computer capable of running Microsoft Access. On-the-job training is provided! To learn 
more about how you can help, please e-mail Tammie Nelson-Stringer at tammienelson@comcast.net.

 
Playgroup Update
As fall has flown by, the unseasonably pleasant weather has treated us to some bonus outdoor playgroup days. We had a glorious day on Halloween, as many kids (and some parents) came to the park in full costume. Beth was DP that day and treated the kids to marker tattoos and a Halloween craft. The kids had a great time - thanks Beth. On Monday, November 10th, we had a sample Kindermusik class led by Nancy Wood. Tammie was kind enough to schedule this event, which featured various instruments for the kids to play and cooperative group songs and dances. This was a big hit! 
 
Our playgroup holiday party will be held on Friday, December 19th, from 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. at the Community Center. The party will include a pot-luck lunch and plenty of holiday fun. We're even working on arranging a visit by a special, toddler-friendly Santa. I am looking for some help to incorporate Hanukkah and Kwanza elements into the party, so please let me know if you can help with this. I will send more information about the holiday party on the playgroup listserve (coolest). If you are not on this list and would like your e-mail address added, please let me know. I can be reached at playgroup@cheverlyparent.org or 301/559-3254. Hope to see you all there!
 

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Newsline

Bulletin Board

Home for Cats
Due to allergies in the family, we are looking for a good home to our two dear cats. Bella and Picabo (both females) are about six years old and are very good natured. They are updated on shots; both have their claws and are currently "indoor" pets. If you are interested or know someone who may be, please let me know. They would make a wonderful addition to a home.
Cindy Popol
301/559-3254
lcpopol@mdonline.net

Childcare/Housekeeping

As many of you know, my mother-in-law Aura Marina recently moved from Guatemala to live with us.She would like to offer childcare or babysitting services to local families. She is available most days and can do evening/night baby-sits as well. She is a wonderful woman who loves children and can provide extremely reliable and experienced care (and can teach your children Spanish). In addition, Aura Marina is available to provide housecleaning services. Wouldn't it be nice to have someone else do the vacuuming, dusting, bathroom cleaning, etc. for you? I can personally attest to her outstanding skills in these areas. If you are interested in any of these services, please feel free to contact me, Cindy Popol, at 301/559-3254.

TO PLACE AN AD
To place an add in Newsline, contact Marisa Summers at
editor@cheverlyparent.org. 
It’s FREE!
 
 

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Welcome Baskets
In the true "Cheverly Spirit" we now deliver a baked good with the Welcome Basket. Bakers have been much appreciated! Thank you to 
Jan Brabham, Sonya Braddock, Caroline Bridgers, Elizabeth Hatch, Anna Lovejoy, Tammie Nelson-Stringer, Cindy Popol, Wendy Shenk-Evans, Shannon Taitt, and Katie Troyner. Also an additional thank you to Caroline Bridgers for donating many straw baskets to the Welcome Basket
Committee. If you would like to be on this list to bake something a couple times a year and deliver the baked goods with me, please e-mail me at 
welcome@cheverlyparent.org
 
Birth Announcents
- New CPRC members Matt and MaryAnn Ormiston and "big brother" Zachary welcomed their new addition to the family. Isabella (Bella) was born at the end of September.
- Dino Efantis, Amy Chevalier and "big sister" Kiki welcomed their new addition to the family. Theodore Michael (Theo) was born on October 1st.

CPRC welcomes these little ones and wishes a good night's rest to their parents! Please send all baby announcements and information on new families in Cheverly to Sue McElroy at welcome@cheverlyparent.org.

 
In the Spirit of Giving
As we enter the season of giving, please consider these many ways that you can contribute to your community now and all year!
 
Family Volunteering
Volunteering as a family provides quality time, strengthens communication, and provides opportunities for family members to be role models, while making significant contributions to their communities. Family volunteering creates life-long volunteers and a legacy of volunteering for the next generation to carry into the future! For family volunteering ideas: http://www.1800volunteer.org/learn/family.jsp
 
Kids Care Club
As parents, it is important that we instill a sense of service and lifelong love of giving in our children. On December 18th, 4:00-5:30, children ages 6-10 are invited to participate in a Holiday Sharing Project at the Cheverly Community Center. Each child should bring a new gift for a child, or non-perishable food items appropriate for a food basket. We will wrap gifts, make cards for homebound seniors, and pack food baskets for the county's Holiday Sharing Project. Children can come for all or part of this time. Please plan to stay with your child, or designate another parent (who is present) to be responsible for your child. If there is sufficient interest, we will start a Kids Care Club: a children's service club, with monthly 
age-appropriate service projects. For more information, or to contribute to the Holiday Sharing Project, please contact Tammie at tammienelson@comcast.net or 301-386-3782. 
 
Girl Scouts at the Holiday Tree Lighting
The Girl Scouts will be collecting canned goods at the Cheverly Holiday Tree Lighting for local churches "Feed the Hungry" programs on 
Friday, December 5 at 7 pm. The canned goods should be brought to the community center that evening.
 
SIDS Educational Services
SIDS-ES, a Cheverly-based national nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization needs your help. Its designation number through the Combined Federal 
Campaign and United Way is 8966. SIDS-ES offers peer support, professional counseling, and informational materials to families grieving the loss of babies to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and other causes. The non-profit also provides support to children grieving any type of death. SIDS-ES publishes and distributes the SIDS & Infant Death Survival Guide and its Spanish language counterpart and Dancing on the Moon, a picture book to help children through grief. The director and founder (in 1994) of SIDS-ES is Cheverly resident Joani Horchler, who lost her only son Christian Gabriel to SIDS in 1991. Joani and her husband Gabe have five other children. 
 
Patricia M. Sitar Center for the Arts
Cheverly resident (and mom to three young boys) Maureen Dwyer has worked at the Patricia M. Sitar Center for the Arts in Adams Morgan for 
five years and is deeply passionate about this place and its mission. The young people who attend the Center are faced with circumstances that make them especially vulnerable: families with low incomes and unstable relationships; regular exposure to drug and alcohol abuse; low-quality schools and perhaps most dangerous of all, the presence of gang violence and crime on the streets where they live. The Sitar Center believes that giving these children opportunities to embrace the arts can change the direction of their lives. 
 
Herbert has studied Saxophone at the Sitar Center for six years. He is 17 and shares much of the same environmental background as his peers in gangs, but Herbert is a senior at the Duke Ellington School for the Arts and is currently applying to prestigious universities to major in music. Herbert's story is just one of many that Maureen can share about the wonderful kids who benefit from the after-school programs in music, dance, theatre, visual arts and writing. As you are considering where to put your charitable dollars, consider this worthy organization. Its designation number through the Combined Federal Campaign and United Way is 8684. For more information, visit www.sitarcenter.org.
 
The Perfect Match
The Gazette's web site offers a weekly list of diverse local volunteer opportunities. A sampling: tutoring, fundraising, house-building, 
gardening, puppeteering! You are sure to find something on this list that matches your skills and schedule. Check it out! 
http://www.gazette.net/200346/princegeorgescty/volunteeropps/ 
 
Meals on Wheels
Cheverly Meals on Wheels is a very efficient way to give your time. Several CPRC moms are MOW drivers. Your commitment is only two hours 
every other week, and yet you make a big difference in the lives of the people on your route. Substitutes are also needed. For information, call 
301-618-3930.
 

 
 
Cheverly Day Committee
Plans for Cheverly Day 2004 are already under way. If you want to be part of the planning for our annual town celebration, you need to 
get involved NOW. We still have open positions for some very important jobs, and without volunteers to staff those positions, we cannot provide this town with the celebration it deserves. Our next planning meeting is Tuesday, December 9th, at 7:30pm at Town Hall. Please come with your ideas and your hand in the air to volunteer. We have a web site at http://pub144.ezboard.com/bcheverlyday2004 where you can send your suggestions, comments, ideas, hopes, dreams, whatever. We haven't had much interchange on the website, but I have had several e-mails from people who want to come to a meeting, but can't make the meeting date. USE THE WEBSITE ! Click on announcements and/or discussions. The minutes from each planning meeting will be posted there, and you can pontificate to your heart's content when you have time! Don't let meeting dates and times be your excuse for not putting your personal stamp on Cheverly Day 2004! Our November meeting minutes are online NOW.
 
 

RENEW YOUR MEMBERSHIP DUES!

The Cheverly Parent Resource Center is collecting dues for September 2003 through August 2004. These dues will help us continue our regular activities such as the twice-weekly

playgroups, educational seminars, and new initiatives. To continue receiving Newsline and to support CPRC's efforts to make Cheverly a great place for children, please send your $10.00 check made payable to CPRC using the CPRC Membership Form. If you're not sure if you’re

paid up or not, check your label on the newsletter. If you are receiving this electronically (and therefore have no label to check) e-mail database@chevelryparent.org if you wish to check your payment status.

 
PG Sports & Learning Center
by Audrey Ichida
The PG Sports and Learning center has a great indoor swimming pool. It has a water slide, fountains, beach, and a "river" area. The hours are:
Mon 11am-5:30 pm, TWT 3pm-5:30 pm, Fri 11am -8 pm, Sat 11am-7pm, Sun 10am-5pm. For PG and Montgomery county residents, admission is $4 for adults, $2.50 for children, under 2 is free (it may be under 3 is free, I couldn't get a clear story). Between 2pm and 5pm on weekdays (MTWTF) it is ONLY $1. 
 
They do monitor the guests for following the rules. One strange rule that you might not be prepared for is that kiddos in diapers need to wear a swim diaper AND plastic elastic pants OVER the diaper. They sell fancy ones with cloth covers for $9 in the gear shop. But I think the cheap plastic diaper pants would also be fine.
 
Declan and I had a fun time swimming today. I hope to go once a week. If you are interested in joining us, let me know and we can make a 
play date!
 
Directions:
Take Landover towards the beltway (east). Before you get to the beltway:
Make a right onto Brightseat Road.
Make a right onto Sheriff Road.
Make left at the first light (Harvey Drive).
Drive up the hill onto the grounds of the Complex.
Plenty of parking!
 

2004 Cheverly House and Garden Tour Meeting

Meeting for Co-Chairs and other interested Cheverly residents Tuesday, December 9th, 2003 at 7:30 p.m. in the Town Hall Conference Room. Be sure to drop in if even for a short time to give us your information and input. Call or e-mail Melanie at 301/386-5387 or hd.squared@verizon.net to RSVP.

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2003-2004 CPRC Officers

Geneva Harris, Coordinator, (301)772-3740, coordinator@cheverlyparent.org

Lisa Lincoln, Treasurer, (301)773-4844, treasurer@cheverlyparent.org

Kathryn Andrews, Web Page Coordinator, (301)386-3852, webmaster@cheverlyparent.org

Tammie Nelson-Stringer, Acting Membership Database Coordinator, database@cheverlyparent.org

Susan McElroy, Welcome Coordinators, (301)341-3497, welcome@cheverlyparent.org

Marisa Summers, Newsline Editor, (301)773-4489, editor@cheverlyparent.org

Ann Caldwell, Newsline Distribution, (301)386-5613

Cindy Popol, Playgroup Coordinator, (301)559-3254, playgroup@cheverlyparent.org

Melanie Hartwig-Davis, House Tour Chairperson, (301)386-5387

About Newsline

Newsline is the quarterly publication of the Cheverly Parents Resource Group (CPRC). The next Newsline will be mailed in February 2004. Send your copy to Marisa Summers at editor@cheverlyparent.org.

Visit Our Web Site

Check out the CPRC web site at http://www.cheverlyparent.org! It includes a schedule of CPRC events, summaries of CPRC parenting workshops, a list of area libraries with links to story time schedules, information on schools, ideas for kids’ outings and much more.