This week at the pool...

We gave away 130 free ice creams to children at some adults during our fun-filled Fourth of July celebration last week!

We had crafts, water balloons, a scramble at the bottom of the pool to find foreign coins, a cannonball contest off the diving board, and relay races using doughnut floats in the lap lanes.

The pool was packed with smiles from end to end. A great time was had by all!

Special thanks to Sherri Spritzer, our socials director and the celebration's mastermind! (That's her below, blowing up a doughnut float.)

Some 30 women have been happily making waves every Monday evening at our Water Dance Fitness classes. Shouldn't you, too?

The classes start promptly at 7:30 p.m. and will continue into August:

• July 9 (tonight)
  
• July 16
  
• July 23
  
• July 30
  
• August 6
  
• August 13 - RAIN OUT/MAKEUP DAY IF NECESSARY

NO CHARGE to KMSC members.

Nonmembers pay $5 per class at the front desk. But we'll reimburse those payments to any nonmember who subsequently joins the pool!

Please come and show out swim team, the Kemp Mill Kangaroos, your support at their final home meet, which is WEDNESDAY, July 11.

The pool will close to non-team patrons at 4, to give the team's parents time to set up for the meet.

But you can buy some dinner from the Kangaroo Kafe (Ben Yehuda's pizza will be available!) and claim a seat with a good view while you wait for the first relay squads and the 8&Under swimmers to start the meet! And wear light blue to show your spirit!

Please note: KMSC does not have an arrangement this year with Parkland Pool that permits our members to go over to that facility when we're closed for home swim meets. Please do not try to use the Parkland facility when our pool is closed Wednesday.

Update after deadline: We were able to work out a reciprocity agreement with Parkland after the newsletter's deadline, so KMSC members can choose to go over to Parkland during this home meet at our pool.

Parkland's rules and fees will apply. Kemp Mill members must pay Parkland's guest fees to visit that pool during the meet: Parkland’s weekday guest fee is $5 before 6 p.m. / $3 after 6 p.m. Children find and under may enter for free.

We added giant Dominoes and Twister to our Yard Games at the Pool last Sunday!

With the help of parent volunteers, our socials director, Sherri Spritzer, is leading the games over in our grassy picnic area every Sunday from 3 p.m.-4:30 p.m. on Sundays.

You won't want your kids to miss out!

Rafting with a break for pizza. What could be better on a lazy summer Sunday evening?

Not much, apparently! We're packing them in every Sunday, and the rafts have become quite incredible! Did you see the huge unicorn that was carrying a fair maiden across the pool on Sunday? And the dueling frogs?

The pizza comes from Ben Yehuda and can be purchase from 5-7 p.m. or while supplies last (and they didn't last night -- we were sold out in 15 minutes!).

The pizza sells for $3 slice, $5 for two slices,and $20 for an entire pie, cash or credit (a transaction fee will apply for the latter). You can down the slice with soft drinks and round out the meal with ice cream, both available for purchase from the Snack Bar.

Please eat your pizza and other food only in the designated areas around the deck. They are marked by signs on the picnic tables. The lifeguards have been spending too much time picking up ant-infested food wrappers and worse from all around the pool.

We need some more people to help with picking up the pizzas at Ben Yehuda's and with selling them poolside. Please use this Sign-up Genius to volunteer.

Roses are read,

Violets are blue.

We have a great garden,

Do you?

Vinca. That plant is one of the secret weapons in pool volunteer Pete Lublin's success with the lush garden at our poolhouse entrance. He says it's a plant that deer still avoid, along with the datura, acrus, tall cleomes, upright elephant ears, and creeping jenny that are in our pool's garden.

Pete, who also tends the garden around the entrance sign to Kemp Mill Estates, admits to a second secret weapon: ground leaf mulch, which he obtains from the Takoma Park Public Works Department (see https://takomaparkmd.gov/services/mulch-delivery/ ). He uses the mulch as a soil amendment.

Obviously, it's working (see photo above)! Many thanks to Pete for putting his passion and talent to work in our garden!

The recent closing of our facility because of fecal matter in the main pool prompts this message to all members.

Our operating rules require that children who are not potty-trained wear a swim diaper AND rubber pants in order to keep feces out of the pool. This rule is not only to protect our members' health, but also to avoid inconveniencing our members by having to shut down the pool for at least several hours, and possibly as much as a full day. The swim diaper/rubber pants requirement is non-negotiable; those who violate this rule may subject to suspension of membership privileges.

As part of their responsibilities, our lifeguard staff are authorized to validate that very young children are properly attired and to forbid from the water (including the baby pool) any child whose swim diaper and/or rubber pant is missing. In fact, I stressed this particular responsibility to the staff at the beginning of the season, and told them that I'd rather one parent be irked at having to yank his/her child from the pool than half our membership irked at not being able to use the pool.

To preclude children who ARE potty-trained from having accidents in the pool, please have them use the rest room at each Adult Swim. Should you need a swim diaper, we sell them for $1 each in the front office. Just ask a lifeguard.

If your child or one of your guests is identified as having left feces in the pool, you will be expected to reimburse the Club for the cost of cleaning up the waste.

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

- Cynthia D. Brandt Campagna

President, Kemp Mill Swim Club 2017-2019

You might expect to see flailing arms or hear a frantic call for help when someone is drowning, but drowning doesn't look like you may think it does.

Real-life drowning happens quietly and not at all like the dramatic scenarios that play out on TV or in the movies. People can't simply stop drowning long enough to take in a breath of air and call for help. The human body isn't built that way.

Children can drown right in front of parents, as little as 10 feet away.

Drowning is the second most common cause of accidental death among children 14 and younger, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About 750 children drown each year, 375 of whom do so within 25 yards of a parent or adult.

More startling, the CDC said 10 percent of parents watch their children drown because they don't know it's happening.

Before people drown, they may thrash around in the water — a sign they're in "aquatic distress," which may or may not happen before a drowning. They're normally able to assist in their own rescue by grabbing lifelines, throw rings and other devices.

Rescuers have as few as 20 seconds and up to a minute to save a person from drowning.

Here’s how you can spend all weekend, every weekend at the pool this month:

Sunday July 8th – Yard Games at the Pool - 3:00-4:30 p.m.

Sunday, July 8th - Pizza Night at the Pool – 5:00-7:00 p.m.

Sunday, July 8th - Raft Night - 5:00 p.m. to closing.

Sunday July 15th – Yard Games at the Pool - 3:00-4:30 p.m.

Sunday, July 15th - Pizza Night at the Pool – 5:00-7:00 p.m.

Sunday, July 15th - Raft Night - 5:00 p.m. to closing.

Tuesday, July 17th - Ladies Night - 7:00-10:00 p.m. The pool closes to non-party goers at 8:45 p.m. Cost: $5.00 for pool members, $7.00 for guests. Bring and salad, appetizer or dessert to share. Soft drinks will be provided. Bring your own wine or beer. Door prize raffle. No free coupons accepted. Need at least 15 people to have event. Wanted: 1 or 2 ladies to plan and host this event. Two guest pool passes for the hostess or hostesses. Contact Sherri Spritzer at Sherri.spritzer@verizon.net.

Sunday, July 22nd – No Pizza Night at the Pool (Jewish Holiday)

Sunday, July 22nd - Raft Night – 5:00 p.m.to closing.

Sunday July 29th – Yard Games at the Pool –3:00-4:30 p.m. (see previous description).

Sunday, July 29th - Pizza Night at the Pool – 5:00-7:00 p.m. (see previous description).

Sunday, July 29th – Raft Night – 5:00 p.m.to closing.

Kemp Mill Swim Club is a private pool in the Kemp Mill Estates neighborhood of Wheaton, Md. Inquiries: 240-389-KMSC (5672).

From June 16th through September 2nd we open:

• Mon.-Thurs., 11:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.
  
• Friday 12, noon to 9:00 p.m.
  
• Sat./Sun., 11:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.

To stay on top of all our events this summer:

Make sure @kempmillswimclubsecy@gmail.com has your email address for the weekly emails!

And join the Kemp Mill Pool group on Facebook.

We also post on Pinterest, Google+, S'more and Instagram, Next Door, and as @KempMillPool on Twitter.

Or just check for our messages in the Twitter feed on the Kemp Mill Swim Club website.

Lounging Dads:

Have you recognized any of the lounging dads? Let us know!

Editor: Mary Crowley

Photos this week by: Mary Crowley and Sherri Spritzer

Email: kempmillswimclubsecy@gmail.com
Website: http://swim.kempmill.org/
Location: 11805 Stonington Pl., Silver Spring, MD, United States
Phone: 240-389-5672
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/771687456283489/
Twitter: @KempMillPool