The silent auction is our biggest fundraiser and a lot of fun. Your bids in this auction make it possible for every child in the class to participate. The sponsors for this auction represent businesses and organizations whose services the children's families use personally. Check out the great items available this year by clicking the 'Go!' button to begin. Before you forget, make a bookmark for this web page NOW. That way, getting back to this page is never more than a single mouse click away. Maryvale Elementary School in Rockville, Maryland provides a home to the oldest public French immersion school program in the United States. The program started in 1970, and today, twenty- nine years later, some 250 Montgomery County youngsters are becoming completely fluent in French language by attending school in a French-language environment every day. Most pupils have never heard their teachers speak anything but French. As a visiting diplomat from the French Embassy once observed: "C'est incroyable!" The Maryvale French Immersion Program is a public school activity; the pupils are chosen by lottery and represent the complete socio-economic spectrum of Montgomery County, Maryland. For some families, a trip to France is unthinkable without considerable scholarship support. For nearly all, the transportation costs would mean a major financial burden. The fundraising is an incredible amount of work. Every year, the class parents meet well in advance to be sure it is absolutely necessary and worthwhile. Gerald Johnson, Principal Maryvale Elementary School 1000 First Street Rockville, MD 20850 301-279-4990 (Weekdays) or send email to maryvaleauction@cres.com