Here we are, the real heart and soul of Chips, the ever-loving managing editors, and we're ready to answer your questions.
The Blair swim team swam an intense meet today against the top swimmers from all 24 MCPS high schools, ultimately resulting in a second place finish for the boys' team and a 15th place finish for the girls - leading to a combined eighth place finish, along with three record times from the girls' team. Walter Johnson ended up with the top combined score for the second year in a row, outscoring its closest competitor by 25 points.
Two Blazers broke Blair swim records today in the last duel meet of the season. Senior captain Kelsey Dean and freshman Melanie Snail broke a combined three records swimming against the Whitman Vikings, a Division I team. The boys' swim team won 108 - 76 and the girl's suffered a 85 - 97 loss, but the results do not factor into Blair's record this season because the meet was non-divisional. As a result, the boys' team finished the season undefeated with a 6-0 record, and the girl's finished with a 1 -5 record.
The boys' swim team took another victory today against the Magruder Colonials, bringing their undefeated record to 5 - 0 after a win of 93 - 78. This winning streak has led to the Blair boys' team's fourth place ranking in The Washington Examiner's local swimming ranks. The girls' team underwent another disappointing loss of 71 - 100, bringing their record to 1 - 4, but the meet was not a complete loss for the girls as senior captain Kelsey Dean set a new record in the 200 IM.
The boys' swim team pummeled Damascus today, beating the Hornets 112-59 and continuing their undefeated winning streak to give them a record of 4-0. The girls' swim team suffered from a near exact reversal of the score, losing 56-113, for a 1-3 record, causing a split meet that has become commonplace for the Blazers.
The boys' swim team outswam Wootton High School today, beating the Patriots 95-76, bringing them to a still-undefeated record of 3-0. Unfortunately, the girls' team did not fare as well and had a crushing defeat, 60 - 111, bringing their record to 1 - 2. The boys swam a strong and consistent meet, while the girls had mediocre times and showed erratic strength.
After a three week hiatus from swim practice due to the absence of their coach and winter break, the Blair swim team opened up 2006 with a strong second place finish in the Division II Relay Carnival. Blair lost by only one point to Wootton, who is currently leading the division.
The Blair boys' swim team earned an easy victory today against the Blake Bengals, scoring 107 points to the Bengals' 61 and bringing their divisional record to 2-0. The girls fell to Blake with a score of 72-99, bringing their record to 1- 1. The boys swam a strong meet, taking either first, second, or both in all but one event, while the girls' downfall was their lack of first place victories.
Both Blair boys' and girls' swim teams won their first divisional meets of the season today against the Quince Orchard (QO) Cougars. While the boys' team won handily 96-75, the girls fought tooth and nail for a 90-81 victory that was their first win in two years.
The Blair swim team began their season this Saturday with a non-divisional swim meet against the Bethesda-Chevy Chase (BCC) Barons. The Blazers, in Division II, swam a hard meet against the Division I Barons and ended up with a split score, with the boys' team claming a slim victory of 89-82 and the girls' losing with a score of 74-92. Because the meet is non-divisional, the official score will not factor into divisional records.
After a disappointing season last year with a record of 2-3 for the boys' and 0-5 for the girls', the Blair swim team is expected to come back strong. After last year's combined sixth-place finish in the Division I standings, the team has dropped to Division II, where Coach David Swaney expects both teams to be able to hold their own.
"Harry Potter" author J.K. Rowling has bewitched people of all ages with her boy wizard and the magical world he lives in. From the start of the series, it's been apparent that words play an important role in the novel. Spells depend on using the exact words (and pronunciation), Harry's archrival Lord Voldemort's name is really an anagram and the mysterious Mirror of Erised is really the Mirror of Desire - just reverse the letter order. While some of these word connections may be obvious, what many readers may not realize is the level of complexity and thoughtfulness that goes into nearly every name, place and spell in the books.
It's three days before homecoming at Colonel Zadok Magruder High School. As students turn into the senior hallway, they walk under a giant green dragon, mouth open wide, greeting them to the medieval scene that lies ahead. As they walk down the hall, other students act out medieval scenes, paper mâche pigs sit in hay, aluminum foil knights guard a working drawbridge and an old wizard stands by his cauldron. All along the walls are intricate paintings of coats of arms and long banquet tables, jailed prisoners and mysterious potions, torches and spell books. About thirty seniors are frantically rushing around, putting the final touches on their homecoming masterpiece. Meanwhile, less than ten miles away, a handful of Blair juniors are putting the final touches on their single pole on Blair Boulevard, decorated with a few posters and flimsy Pacman figures. A few feet down the hall, some seniors are finishing the pole for the freshman class - not enough freshmen volunteered to decorate their own pole.
At the 2005 Maryland Scholastic Press Association's (MSPA) annual high school journalism convention, Silver Chips, Silver Chips Online and Silver Quill all won numerous awards for their literary and journalistic work. In addition, Silver Chips' Nov. 2005 issue placed second in the best-in-show competition at the annual fall National Scholastic Press Association's (NSPA) competition.
Three Blair seniors were announced as Maryland semifinalists in the prestigious Siemens Westinghouse Competition in Math, Science & Technology. Lu Chen, Debbie Cheng and Yuan (Chelsea) Zhang were selected to move onto the regional competition. Regional finalists will be announced on Oct. 31.
The concept of a Latin metal as a genre may seem a bit far-fetched. What's next, country opera? Folk hip-hop? Gospel trance? Believe it or not, though, Latin metal is exactly what Latin-American band Ill Nino's plays. Already having produced two spectacular Spanglish albums, their third installment, "One Nation Underground," bests them both. The lyrics are emotionally charged, the meaning is powerful and the music is memorable.
Disturbed's latest CD, "Ten Thousand Fists," is the same sound that fans have listened to since their debut, "The Sickness," but sans passion and emotion. Sure, there's screaming and angsty lyrics, but the guttural screams, the sense of attachment to the lyrics and the raw anger is all gone. Disturbed's new sound is fake and boring, and the screams and angst seem like a show for cash.
The new season of "The Simpsons" is, well, just like every other season. The seventeenth season of the cartoon family is virtually indistinguishable from the last few seasons, and it's not surprising - after all, the show is older than about half of Blair's population. The series still maintains the level and type of humor employed in previous seasons. Old fans have nothing to complain about, but there's nothing to attract anyone new to the show.
Cold's latest album, "A Different Kind of Pain," is, unfortunately, quite a pain to listen to. The album is slow and mediocre, and it is nearly impossible to distinguish all but three of the songs from one another. The so-called "metal" band whines throughout the CD about broken hearts and lost love, sounding more like a soft rock group than anything even resembling metal.
If Hurricane Katrina has made anything clear, it is the need to be prepared in advance for natural disasters. Two years ago, Hurricane Isabel took Maryland by surprise, and this summer has been full of lightning storms, flash floods and tornados across the local area. Weather emergencies can strike anytime, and it is vitally important for people to be able to protect themselves while the event is happening. With that, Silver Chips Online has compiled a list of safety weather tips for a variety of disasters. These tips are for immediate action only and do not include pre- or post- disaster advice.
Tech-Ed teacher Leonard Clay is retiring at the end of this year, after 14 years at Blair and 37 years with MCPS. He plans to go into a small home-based telecommunications business after leaving Blair.
System of a Down's latest album, "Mezmerize," does just that. By combining old styles with new styles, political messages with typical rocker topics and metal with harmony, the band creates a varied CD that is sure to catch your attention and have you singing (or screaming) along.
Northrop Grumman announced 24 winners of its $10,000 scholarship engineering competition last Wednesday, May 4. Included in the winners was Blair senior Amelia Sagoff.
Eleven Blazers won National Merit Scholarships. Four won corporate scholarships while the remaining seven seniors were rewarded money directly from the National Merit Scholarship Corporation.
Blair placed second in the Spring 2005 Knowledge Master Open (KMO), an international bi-annual team trivia competition that Blair's "It's Academic" team participates in. The two-hour competition was held Tuesday, April 19 and results were announced Friday, April 22.
A boy skates up to the stairs, gliding back and forth as he approaches the concrete structure. He jumps. His skateboard and body soar over the short flight of steps. Effortlessly, he lands the jump and skates off. Another boy jumps up and grinds down a curb. Skater after skater jumps, grinds and performs tricks off various pieces of urban landscape.
Two teams from Blair advanced to the state level of competition in the Destination Imagination (DI) regional tournament on Saturday, March 19. The tournament, which was held at Watkins Mill High School, hosted 65 teams of all age levels from Montgomery County.
Two Blair staff members were mentioned last week in The Washington Post. The newspaper printed a letter to the editor from journalism and English teacher Anne Cullen on Monday, Feb. 28 as well as a feature on security guard Cedric Boatman's family on Tuesday, March 1.
We've all heard it before: good nutrition and exercise are the keys to a healthy lifestyle. But many people complain that they just don't have the time or opportunity to exercise. Therefore, a Silver Chips Online investigation has been conducted of local gyms open from sun-up to sun-down that offer a variety of machines, classes and pools for members. So now, there's no more excuses. It's time to start up those forgotten New Year's resolutions and get in shape.
Junior Sarah Janesko leans against the wall. Her hands are in her lap, immobile, while she talks about her nervous habit. As she explains how hard it is to stop, one hand slowly rises to her mouth. "Darn. I'm doing it right now," she jokes, realizing what she was about to do. However, what Janesko, a nail-biter, doesn't realize is that her habit is far from trivial.
Four Blair students won the Maryland High School Chess Championship last weekend, Jan. 30 and 31. Blair narrowly beat Northwest High School, winning the championship for the fourth consecutive year.
The Young Republicans Club (YRC) is sponsoring a letter drive in order to collect appreciation letters and cards for soldiers in Iraq. The drive began in late November and will end Feb. 2.
Historically, film adaptations have disappointed devoted fans. Then came Lord of the Rings, and Tolkien fans saw that successful adaptation was, indeed, possible. Now, Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, the adaptation of the first three books by a popular series of the same name, breaks the old rule into smithereens. This adaptation is not only true to the first three books but combines fantastic set design, brilliant costumes, makeup and amazing acting to make a movie worthy of the series and its many fans.
It's that time of the year again, the time when you're asked again and again what you want for the holidays, when your relatives are undeterred by your insistence that money and gift cards are fine and that you really aren't still interested in more dorky clothes from your Aunt Mabel. However, while you might not need anything this holiday season, Blair is definitely in need of some new gifts. So in the spirit of the season, Silver Chips Online has put together a list of what Blair wants for the holidays.
Every Blazer knows the drill. Shut the door, cover the windows, turn off the lights, stay away from the entrances and whatever you do, don't make any noise. To many students, Code Red and Code Blue drills are just a short break in the school day. By now, nearly every student knows why an alert would be sounded. But what most Blazers don't know is what happens when the situation outside is so life threatening that no one is allowed to leave the building.
President Bush named Margaret Spellings as his new Secretary of Education on Wednesday, Nov. 17, continuing a trend of selecting cabinet members based on their names.
Movies filled with romance and dance are exhilarating and exciting. Flashdance and Footloose, for example, combined the two elements with terrific results. And so Shall We Dance? had the potential to be great. But the romance in the movie is between a middle-aged couple already married to each other, and the dancing is not the wild, crazy, and spectacular dancing found in other dance films. Instead Shall We Dance? offers viewers ballroom dancing: waltzes, quickstep and rumba. And the footwork is not enough to keep the movie from tripping and falling into boredom.
The Holland and Knight Charitable Foundation, Inc. has announced the start of its 2005 Holocaust Remembrance Project essay contest.
The storms of mudslinging from the Bush and Kerry campaigns have clouded voters' minds, leaving some unclear about which presidential candidate is the better choice for the next four years. The name-calling and accusations cannot obscure the truth. President George W. Bush has proven during his first term in office that he's the best man for the position.
The following is a list of the various ways students can become politically involved prior to the 2004 state and presidential elections.
Blair's creation of a freshman wing this year has been a positive addition to the school, teachers and students said. The wing contains nearly all of Blair's freshman classes and has contributed to a decrease in tardiness and an improvement in freshmen adjustment to high school, according to freshman teachers.
There's a tiny new addition to dining options at Four Corners. With its bright blue roof and vibrant signs posted on its windows advertising the food inside, Harry's Coffee Shop is a welcome new neighbor to Blair. Located on University Boulevard diagonal from Blair and across from 7-11, the small shop joins the competition for Blair students' business.
With the recent surge of huge movies involving bloody men with swords and predictable plots, moviegoers are looking for an action film that stands out from the crowd. Director Antoine Fuqua (Tears of the Sun, Training Day) tried - and failed - to make King Arthur that film. This movie isn't the worst thing ever produced, but unfortunately Arthur falls into the mediocre category that encompasses so many summer flicks.
Juniors Abby Goldman and Lynn Abe perform as cells at Saturday's regional DI tournament.
One of the several workout areas at Fitness First.
Several exercise machines at Kimble's.
Senior Harris Falwell works out in the free weight room at the YMCA.
The YMCA has a heated indoor pool open year-round.
The spinning room at Bally Total Fitness.
Bally members exercise in the cardio area of the gym.
Two courts inside the tennis bubble at the Aspen Hill Club.
One row of treadmills at Gold's Gym.
Some of the spinners at Gold's Gym.
The Korean team walks in (lower left) to the opening ceremonies at DI globals in May 2004.
Abby Goldman works on the team's timing device as the pieces are scattered around her.
Juniors Abby Goldman, Tess Minnick and Sarah Janesko present a skit at the 2004 Destination ImagiNation® regional competition.