Community Notes

Time to think about Summer Camp

Registration for summer camp is in full swing at 4-H Camp Middlesex in Ashby. Camp Middlesex, located on Willard Brook, 1031 Erickson Road, Ashby, offers Day Camp (ages 6-12) and Overnight Camp (ages 8-15) for boys and girls, running seven weeks in July and August. Open to all, 4-H membership is not required.

An Open House will be held from noon to 4 p.m. Sunday, April 22, and Sunday, June 3, or stop by their booth at the Earth Day Celebration on the Townsend Common, on Saturday, April 28.

Day Camp offers various extended day options for early morning drop-offs (includes breakfast) and/or late afternoon pickups (includes dinner), for flexible hours to accommodate working parents.

The camp offers dance, theater, archery, fishing, boating, swimming, low ropes, sports & games, arts & crafts, barnyard, horse management, nature, pioneering and rocketry, to name a few.

To learn more about the camp, visit www.campmiddlesex.com, where you can download registration forms or register online.

For more information, call (978) 386-7704 or e-mail office@campmiddlesex.com.

Spring Fishing Derby to be held

The Townsend Rod and Gun Club is holding a Spring Fishing Derby on Sunday, April 22. Registration begins at 7 a.m., followed by the derby from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., which will be held at the club pond on Emery Road, off Route 13.

Entry fee is $15 per person with a four-fish limit; re-registration is $10 after the four-fish limit. There will be cash prizes for the five biggest fish. Raffle tickets for a Stihl Farm Boss Chain Saw will be sold and the winning ticket will be drawn at noon, winner need not be present.

The derby is open to all area adults and children. The club kitchen will be open for breakfast and lunch from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. A Townsend Rod and Gun Club membership is not required and a fishing license is not needed.

For more information, call Rob Colburn at (978) 433-9404.

A "Day at Hogwarts School" in Townsend The Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry will be coming to Townsend United Methodist Church from noon to 2 p.m. Saturday, April 28. If children have read the Harry Potter books or seen the movies, they will love this event.

On arrival, Hogwarts students will be sorted into houses. Then the students will enjoy a lunchfeast, attend classes in potions, herbology, transfiguration, care for magical creatures, and charms and compete for the house cup. Wearing a costume will make it lots of fun for everyone attending, and be sure to bring your robe and wand to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Enrollment is limited to 40 students between the ages of 6 and 11 years old. The cost per student is $10. Townsend United Methodist Church is located at the corner of routes 13 and 119, 265 Main St. For information or to make reservations, call Kim and Alicia Heymann at (978) 597-5275.

Library to host parent-student book discussion group

Townsend Public Library will hold a Parent-Student Book discussion Group at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 18, in Room 1 of Memorial Hall. They will be talking about "In the Stone Circle" by Elizabeth Cody Kimmel. While spending the summer in an old stone house in Wales, 14-year-old Cristyn comes to terms with the death of her mother while satisfying the request of a 13th-century princess. This group is open to fourth-, fifth-, and sixth-graders and their parents. Stop by the library to sign up and pick up your copy of the book. Refreshments served. For information, call (978) 597- 1714.

Celebrate Young People's Poetry Week and National Poetry Month at your library

The Townsend Public Library is calling for entries in a poetry contest. The library will be taking entries in five categories; grades 1 and 2, 3 and 4, 5 and 6, 7 and 8 and 9 through 12.

Students from Spaulding Memorial, Squannacook Elementary, Hawthorne Brook Middle and North Middlesex Regional High schools are eligible to participate in the contest. Townsend students who are home-schooled or attend schools outside of Townsend are also eligible.

There will be a first, second and third cash prize awarded in each category. All entries will be displayed in the library after judging is completed.

Each student may enter one original composition. Original compositions can be brought to the Children's Room anytime up until Saturday, May 12, at 2 p.m.

Entry forms are available at the library and should be picked up prior to passing in the entries. For more information, call The Townsend Public Library at (978) 597-1714.